US STOCKS-Dow closes below 11,000 as bank fears mount

US STOCKS-Dow closes below 11,000 as bank fears mount

* Dow closes below 11,000 for first time in two years
* S&P 500 slides over 1 pct, Nasdaq nearly flat
* Oil plunges over $6 a barrel, hurting energy shares
* Fannie, Freddie shares fall on worries over rescue plan
* Financial shares end lower in choppy trading (Adds Intel, Sun Micro after-hours rise)
By Walter Brandimarte

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - The Dow industrials closed below 11,000 for the first time in two years on Tuesday as doubts about the U.S. plan to rescue mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae hurt financial stocks and tumbling oil prices hurt energy shares.
Freddie and Fannie shares plunged over 25 percent on fears that a government plan to stabilize the companies will dilute the value of their shares. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the plan was designed to be a backstop.

The whole banking sector finished lower, with the KBW banking index .BKX sliding 3.08 percent in an extremely volatile session, as investors feared the ongoing credit crisis could spur more bank failures after regulators took over IndyMac last week. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the banking system is well capitalized, but also said that financial markets remain under "considerable stress."

"The weakness was concentrated in financials and it seemed like, despite the testimony from Bernanke and Paulson, skepticism remains related to all the credit issues," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at Trusco Capital Management in Atlanta.

The Nasdaq edged up as investors bet Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would ease concerns about slower growth at its Windows business when it reports earnings later this week. Shares of the software maker jumped 4.0 percent to $26.15.

The technology sector may get another boost on Wednesday after Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's biggest chip maker, reported stronger-than-expected results after the market close and Sun Microsystems (JAVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted preliminary results that pleased investors. Shares of Intel gained as much as 2.4 percent in after-hours trade, while shares of Sun Micro rose as much as 12.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 92.65 points, or 0.84 percent, at 10,962.54, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 13.39 points, or 1.09 percent, at 1,214.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 2.84 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,215.71.
Shares of Freddie Mac slumped 26 percent to $5.26 while Fannie Mae shares lost 27.3 percent at $7.07.

Despite the slide in the bank sector, shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 6.6 percent to $13.22 after a report that the investment bank was considering ways to go private. [ID:nN15304704]

Among energy shares, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slid 3.8 percent to $82.19 as the price of crude oil plunged. The S&P energy index shed 4.19 percent.
Trading volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.85 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.7 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 3 to 1, whole on the Nasdaq, about 3 stocks fell for every two that rose. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Oil steady under $139, eyes on U.S. oil demand
Bank shares sink to 1996 levels on loss fears
Bernanke: Markets under stress, outlook uncertain


Source: Reuters.com

Sensex slides 654 pts as stock prices plummet, 15month low

Sensex slides 654 pts as stock prices plummet

Equities, led by bank stocks, opened on a negative note on the major Indian bourses this morning on weak global cues and drifted lower and lower as the session progressed as selling continued unabated right till the end.

Stockometer Top gainers Worst losers

Huge credit losses suffered by a few US banks, high oil prices, political uncertainties, spiralling inflation and declining growth all contributed in good measure to the market's sharp slide today. So bearish was the sentiment that stocks found support hard to come by even at sharply lower levels.

Tips to book profits in a falling market! Click here

The Sensex, which had hit a historic high of 21,206.77 in intra-day trades on in early January this year, has tanked by around 8,500 points over a short span of six months.

The Sensex, which crashed to 12,605, its lowest since April 4, 2007, when it had touched a low of 12,691.24, ended the day with a massive loss of 654.32 points or 4.91% at 12,676.19. The Nifty, which plunged to 3835.50 in intra-day trades today, settled at 3861.10, netting a huge loss of 178.60 points or 4.42%.

Besides stocks from the banking sector, several stocks from capital goods, metal, realty, PSU, FMCG, oil and auto sectors too declined sharply and finished with big losses today. Mirroring the sell-off in bank stocks, the Bankex tumbled by 7.75%. BSE Realty (down 5.44%), CG (down 5.25%), Metal (down 5.21%), Power (down 4.91%), PSU (down 4.37%) and HC (down 4.18%) declined sharply. The Teck, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and FMCG indices went down by 3% - 4% and BSE Auto eased by 2.5%.

IT stocks, which bounced back in early trade after recent losses, lost their way around mid afternoon and posted sharp losses. Reflecting the losses posted by key stocks in that space, the BSE IT ended lower by 2.34%.

Due to heavy selling at side counters, the Midcap and Smallcap indices plunged by around 3.15% today. The market breadth remained weak right through the session. When trade ended, out of a total of 2696 stocks that were seen in action on BSE, as many as 2093 stocks were down in the red. 543 stocks posted gains and 60 stocks ended flat.

All the components of the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty finished in the negative territory today. Infosys Technologies (down 0.77%) suffered the least damage. Satyam Computer Services, which stayed in the positive territory for a long time today, closed with a loss of 2.7%. Tata Consultancy Services lost 2.5% while Wipro dropped down by around 6.5%.
Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 14%) has another disastrous outing. Banking sector heavyweights HDFC Bank (down 11.26%), ICICI Bank (down 8.7%) and State Bank of India (down 6.35%) nosedived on sustained selling pressure.

Metal stocks Hindalco and Tata Steel lost 8.3% and 5.4% respectively. Reliance Industries (down 3.4%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 6.1%) and Reliance Communications (down 7.2%) posted sharp losses.

BHEL, HDFC, Jaiprakash Associates and DLF lost 6% - 7%. Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC lost 3% - 5%. NTPC closed with a loss of 2.75%. ACC, Grasim Industries and Tata Motors lost 1.25% - 1.75%.

Idea Cellular ended nearly 8% down. Unitech, Siemens, Sterlite Industries, HCL Technologies, ABB, Suzlon Energy, SAIL, Power Grid Corporation, Nalco and Reliance Petroleum lost 3% - 6.5%. Punjab National Bank, GAIL India, Tata Power, BPCL, Zee Entertainment, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Communications, Cairn India, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Hero Honda also ended with sharp losses.

IVRCL Infrastructure, Tata Chemicals, Chambal Fertilizers, Century Textiles, IDFC, India Infoline, Financial Technologies, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Union Bank of India, Sun TV Network, Essar Shipping, Shree Precoated Steels, Alstom Projects, Mundra Port, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Adani Enterprises, Moser Baer, CMC, Lok Housing, Champagne Industries, Arshya International, Sterlite Technologies, Aptech, Advanta and Assam Company were among the major losers today.

IFCI, Tech Mahindra, ABG Shipyard, Bhushan Steel and Aban Offshore finished with marginal gains. BF Utilites, Walchandnagar Industries, Prithvi Infosystems, Zuari Industries, Allcargo Global, SKF India, SpiceJet, Cranes Software, ING Vysya Bank, Kesoram Industries, Marg, Ahluwalia and Consolidated Construction Consortium moved up sharply on selective buying support.
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Q1 2009 Results

Adinath Bio-Labs reports net profit of Rs 0.09 crore in the June 2008 quarter

Sales reported at Rs 4.69 crore

IKF Technologies net profit rises 64.29% in the June 2008 quarterSales rise 78.17% to Rs 15.18 crore

Uniply Industries reports net loss of Rs 1.01 crore in the June 2008 quarterSales decline 31.01% to Rs 20.78 crore

State Bank of Travancore net profit declines 52.89% in the June 2008 quarterOperating income rises 9.74% to Rs 923.99 crore

KIC Metaliks reports net loss of Rs 8.86 crore in the March 2008 quarterSales decline 23.52% to Rs 33.10 crore

Biofil Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of Rs 0.49 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Bambino Agro Industries reports net profit of Rs 8.61 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Novartis India net profit rises 29.77% in the June 2008 quarter

Dhruv Estates reports net loss of Rs 0.01 crore in the June 2008 quarter

Standard Capital Markets reports net profit of Rs 0.05 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Jubilant Organosys net profit declines 89.52% in the June 2008 quarter

Tata Investment Corporation net profit rises 8.41% in the June 2008 quarter

Odyssey Technologies reports net profit of Rs 0.14 crore in the June 2008 quarter

Chettinad Cement Corporation net profit rises 23.94% in the June 2008 quarter

BWL reports net loss of Rs 0.16 crore in the June 2008 quarter

Rallis India net profit rises 197.89% in the June 2008 quarter

Shyamal Holdings & Trading reports no net profit or loss in the June 2008 quarter

Manali Petrochemical net profit declines 74.79% in the June 2008 quarter

Bhagheeratha Engineering reports net loss of Rs 4.67 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Sanwaria Agro Oils net profit rises 139.20% in the June 2008 quarter

Patel Engineering net profit rises 17.94% in the June 2008 quarter

UT reports net loss of Rs 4.03 crore in the March 2008 quarter

PSL net profit rises 52.01% in the June 2008 quarter

Mahanivesh India reports net loss of Rs 3.39 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies & Allied Chemicals net profit rises 70.42% in the June 2008 quarter

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Company net profit rises 91.48% in the year ended March 2008

Orissa Sponge Iron and Steel reports net profit of Rs 8.15 crore in the March 2008 quarter

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Source: capitalmarket

Deadpresident Blog updates

Eveninger - July 15 2008
Infy
Marico, Edelweiss Capital
India Property Sector

UTI Bank, Axis Bank, Sanghvi Movers
Bush lifts ban on oil drilling
Post Session Commentary - July 15 2008
Bears on a rampage as Sensex tanks 654 points

Adjust to the wind, avoid a windfall!
Axis Bank
Merger and Acquisitions dip


Source: deadpresident b.lo

Q1 results: Axis Bk, Geojit, Tanla, TataSponge etc

Axis Bank net profit rises 88.67% in the June 2008 quarter

Net profit of Axis Bank rose 88.67% to Rs 330.14 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 174.98 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Total operating income rose 47.46% to Rs 2266.44 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 1536.97 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

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Geojit Financial Services net profit declines 55.02% in the June 2008 quarter
CMC net profit rises 4.11% in the June 2008 quarter

Tata Sponge Iron net profit rises 77.43% in the June 2008 quarter
Net profit of Tata Sponge Iron rose 77.43% to Rs 29.33 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 16.53 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales rose 8.82% to Rs 101.77 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 93.52 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

Tanla Solutions net profit rises 28.71% in the June 2008 quarter
Net profit of Tanla Solutions rose 28.71% to Rs 25.06 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 19.47 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales rose 58.54% to Rs 41.03 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 25.88 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

Everonn Systems India net profit rises 403.28% in the June 2008 quarter
PSI Data Systems net profit rises 485.71% in the June 2008 quarter
Celestial Labs net profit rises 4.62% in the June 2008 quarter

Source: Capital Market

Closing Bell: Market consolidates, techs badly bruised

Closing Bell: Market consolidates, techs badly bruised

It was a choppy session for equities on Monday on account of mixed global cues, which finally saw key indices end with losses. Fears about corporate earnings with higher fuel charges, inflation and the likelihood of further monetary tightening also did not leave investors' minds.

"Though there is nothing positive for the market to go by, price wise, we have already seen a very sharp correction, and for the time being, I don't see the indices declining much further than current levels. I don't expect any sharp movement on either side. On the Nifty, 4000 is a strong support level, while resistance is faced around 4150," said Viral Doshi, independent technical and derivatives analyst.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 4,039.70, down 9.3 points or 0.23 per cent. It touched a high of 4,118.10 and low of 4,004.25. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex closed at 13,330.51, down 139.34 points or 1.03 per cent. It touched a high of 13,559.36 and low of 13,269.62.

Ranbaxy Laboratories (-10.45%), Satyam Computer (-7.92%), Infosys Technologies (7.18%), Tata Consultancy Services (3.79%) and HDFC (3.38%) were the major Sensex losers. The gainers comprised ONGC (3.24%), NTPC (3.15%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.91%), State Bank of India (2.9%) and Tata Steel (2.69%).

BSE Mid-cap Index ended 0.64 per cent lower at 5,330.80 and BSE Small-cap Index closed down 1.1 per cent at 6,640.06. Market breadth remained negative through the day. On BSE, 1,576 shares declined and 1,009 advances. IT stocks were punished yet again, following a leading brokerage downgrade on industry major Infosys citing concerns demand from US customers may slow. The BSE IT Index lost 5.94 per cent.

On Friday, data showed industrial production rose 3.8 per cent in May 2008, much lower than the revised 6.2 per cent growth in April 2008. Inflation based on the wholesale price index rose 11.89 per cent in 12 months to June 28, above the previous week's annual rise of 11.63 per cent. It was the highest in more than 13 years. Elsewhere in Asia, markets were choppy on account of renewed concerns over the US mortgage market. High oil prices also continued to weigh, after touching a record $147 per barrel on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.23 per cent, Hang Seng closed down 0.77 per cent in Hong Kong, Taiwan's TAIEX shed 1.21 per cent and Singapore's Straits Times dropped 0.78 per cent.
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Source: ET

Week Ahead: Crucial support at 3900: BS

Week Ahead: Crucial support at 3900

A small recovery was followed by another downturn in a very volatile market. The Nifty ended up 0.82 per cent at 4049 points after hitting highs of 4215. The Sensex was up an even more nominal 0.1 per cent at 13,469. The Defty gained 1.5 per cent as the rupee recovered from $43.40 to $42.70.

The FIIs continue to be net sellers while domestic funds are still buying, albeit in small quantities. Volumes remain low and declines slightly outnumbered advances.
Relatively smaller stocks did better than pivotals with the Junior jumping 3.6 per cent and the Midcaps up 1.6 per cent while the BSE 500 gained 1.26 per cent. However, really small stocks suffered from lack of liquidity Outlook: The market is likely to range-trade between 3900-4200 with fairly high daily volatility. A breakout in either direction would lead to a 200 point move. So a breakout could lead to a swing till either 3700 or 4400. Expect weakness early in the week.
Rationale: The intermediate trend, which turned bearish in early May could now be petering out. The long-term trend is clearly negative.

Daily high-low ranges of 200-plus points are likely. Support at 3850-3900 is strong while there is powerful resistance at 4200-plus. There could be a boost to sentiment if the UPA wins the confidence vote.

Counter-view: The test of support at 3900, which is likely to occur early this week, is crucial. If 3900 holds, the intermediate trend will reverse. This is a long F&O settlement and technical factors like short-covering will not come into play immediately. For the market to hold at 3900 and then break 4200 on the next bounce will require some genuine value-buying.

Bulls & bears: Q1 results have just started floating in and obviously that has a major impact. IT scrips lost ground this week after Infosys' results and guidance was released. There was massive volatility across the sector and end-Friday, majors such as HCL Tech, Wipro, I-Flex, Polaris, Satyam and TCS all looked bearish.

Much of the recovery came from banks and real estate stocks which had been beaten down severely and saw reversal this week. The BankNifty gained over 5 per cent with most banks spiking up. In real estate, DLF, Omaxe and Sobha looked most interesting in terms of potential bullishness.

However, Friday saw momentum being lost in both these sectors. Select cement stocks and capital goods and engineering construction outfits also made comebacks. Non-ferrous metal producers like Nalco, Hindalco and Sterlite saw lots of bull interest. If the SP shores up the UPA successfully, there may also be a bounce for ADAG scrips such as RCom, Reliance Infra, and RNRL. There was scattered interest in scrips such as Cairn, Dabur, Tata Chemicals and Voltas.
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MICRO TECHNICALS

Aban Current Price: Rs 2,845.95 Target Price: Rs 3,000
The stock has risen off a support at 2550 and is likely to move till 2900 before it hits resistance. If it closes above 2900, the next resistance is at 3000. It looks quite likely to move above 2900 since volumes have built up. Keep a stop at 2820 and go long. Book a partial profit at 2900.

HDFC Bank Current Price: Rs 1,067.8 Target Price: Rs 1,125
HDFC Bank is amongst the most promising bank shares. It has maintained its recovery on Friday when other bank stocks saw a repeat sell off. The scrip has the potential to rise till around the 1125 mark and maybe even 1150. Keep a stop at 1050 and go long. Start closing out the position above 1125.

Nalco Current Price: Rs 380.70Target Price: Rs 410
The stock has shot up from 305 on strong volume expansion. It has just completed a bullish formation with a breakout above 370. The target projection would be around 410. Keep a stop at 375 and go long.

ONGCCurrent Price: Rs 849.5Target Price: Rs 820
The stock has seen a bearish engulfing pattern where prices on Friday moved between a high -low range of 845-927 and closed at the low end. The range was far more than in previous sessions. The target would be about 820. Keep a stop at 860 and go short.

TCS Current Price: Rs 798.60Target Price: Rs 770
A massively bearish engulfing pattern was visible in TCS where the price also made a downside breakout from a trading range but not on very high volumes. There could be a downside till around the 760 level. However this target may not be achieved due to lack of volume. More likely we will see range-trading between 770-830. Go short with a stop at 810 and be prepared for high volatility.

(The target price and projected movements given above are in terms of the next five trading sessions unless otherwise stated.)

Source: Business Standard

Investor's Guide : ET

Investor's Guide

Have stock prices of PSU banks bottomed out?
Bull's eye: Where to invest
Conservative investors can put their money in PSU bank

Hawkins Cookers: Good defensive bet for investors
Inflation targets don't kill jobs, economies
MD speak: Trikona Capital

Good time to switch out of failing sectors
Domestic pharma industry is at the crossroads
Bears bailing out, rather than shorting


Declining liquidity is root cause of market meltdown
Interview: Oiling The Wheels
India Inc's Q4 results depict future trend
Dolphin Offshore: Growth opportunities for long-term
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Stock/Sector Analysis:

Tata Power
Sintex Industries
Industrials, Construction, Insurance
Piramal Healthcare, Welspun Gujarat
India Strategy, Jaiprakash Associates, Jindal SAW, India Economy
Hindustan Unilever, Banks



Source: ET, Deadpresident blog

Q1 2009 Results: IFCI, SouthIndian Bk, Edelweiss Etc

IFCI net profit declines 38.80% in the June 2008 quarter

Net profit of IFCI declined 38.80% to Rs 151.07 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 246.86 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales declined 11.56% to Rs 309.48 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 349.95 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

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Geojit reports 55% drop in net

Geojit Financial Services reported a 55 per cent drop in its standalone net profit at Rs 4.93 crore against Rs 10.96 crore in the same year ago quarter. Total income rose 12.5 per cent to Rs 39.52 crore (Rs 35.12 crore). Total expenditure however rose 36 per cent to Rs 32.71 crore from Rs 24.03 crore. Operational costs rose because of the company’s continuing expansion of its branch network, and this is expected to produce results over the next two quarters, said a company statement.
Geojit’s consolidated net profit fell by 41.3 per cent to Rs 7.1 crore (Rs 12.1 crore).
(The company had made a profit of Rs 4.74 crore from sale of non-trade investments during the same period last year.)“The fall in profit before tax after adjusting for the Exceptional Item is therefore only 22.6 per cent,” said the statement. The consolidated total income for the quarter rose 13.4 per cent to Rs 47.34 crore (Rs 41.75 crore).
The company’s income from other operations increased to Rs 43.82 crore from Rs 37.90 crore.
The diluted EPS of the company decreased to Rs 0.33 from Rs 0.56. Geojit’s joint venture with BNP Paribas for institutional broking will commence operations in the current quarter, said the statement.The shares of the company closed at Rs 39.6 on Friday, 0.88 per cent down from its previous close.
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Edelweiss standalone net down 10%
Broking firm Edelweiss Capital reported a 10 per cent drop in standalone net profit at Rs 6.78 crore as against Rs 7.5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company’s total income stood at Rs 56.63 crore, up from Rs 30.69 crore in the year-ago period. The company got listed on the stock exchanges in December last year.
The consolidated net profit for the same period rose 52 per cent to Rs 63.78 crore (Rs 41.93 crore). The total income increased 87 per cent from Rs 143.74 crore to Rs 268.93 crore

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South Indian Bank net profit rises 27.16% in the June 2008 quarter

Net profit of South Indian Bank rose 27.16% to Rs 38.62 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 30.37 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Total operating income rose 24.82% to Rs 371.61 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 297.71 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

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Garware-Wall Ropes net profit rises 23.23% in the June 2008 quarter


Source: BusinessLine, Capitalmarket.