Market Review: Stocks drop as traders take profits after 5-day rise

Market Review: Stocks drop as traders take profits after 5-day rise

Stocks finished a choppy session lower on Thursday as traders took profits after a 5-day winning streak. The rally, which was fueled by a combination of positive global cues, domestic politics and lower oil prices, fizzled out as European stocks turned negative and investors turned cautious ahead of inflation data due after market hours.

"The rally over the past few sessions has given index returns of about 20 per cent, so it's only natural for traders to lock in some gains. The fall in crude and the trust vote victory have given a fillip to the market, but it would be too hasty to call this a reversal," said Hitesh Agrawal, head of research at Angel Broking.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 4433.55, down 43.25 points or 0.97 per cent. It touched a high of 4,539.45 and low of 4,385.85. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex closed at 14,777.01, down 165.27 points or 1.11 per cent. The index fell to a low of 14,608.05 from a high of 15,130.09.

Among frontline stocks, Tata Consultancy Services (5.66%), Tata Steel (5.66%), Reliance Communications (5.06%), State Bank of India (4.46%), ACC (4.25%) and BHEL (2.88%) were badly hit. ONGC (3.25%), DLF (2.35%), Reliance Industries (1.81%), Maruti Suzuki (1.8%), Reliance Infrastructure (1.23%) and HDFC Bank (0.7%) were the gainers. Secondline stocks were comparatively less affected. BSE Mid-cap Index closed down 0.62 per cent at 5,580.90 and BSE Small-cap Index ended 0.24 per cent lower at 6,796.11. Market breadth on BSE showed 1,258 advances and 1,458 declines.

Now that the political situation has stabilized, investors will go back to examining the fundamentals, which, analysts say, are still not very favourable. The wholesale price index is forecast to have risen 12.03 per cent in the 12 months to July 12. India's inflation currently stands at 11.91 per cent, the highest in over 13 years. "The under currents have certainly taken a turn for the better.

Inflation is also starting to fall in line with expectations. With the UPA holding fort, the market is looking toward some changes in the banking and insurance sectors, amongst other economic reforms. Corporate earnings so far have not taken up aback; there have been no major downgrades," Angel's Agrawal said. "But we have the monetary policy review at the end of the month, so there is some scepticism on that front. Also, the monsoon has not really set in, which is another worry for the market," he added. Price of oil was steady below $125 a barrel on Thursday.

US light crude for September delivery has dropped $23 since it hit a record above $147 earlier this month. Stocks ended mostly higher in the East Asian region as investors cheered the fall in crude oil. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.2 per cent, China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 2.55 per cent higher and the South Korean KOPSI added 2.2 per cent. Benchmarks in Hong Kong and Singapore ended flat with a negative bias. In Europe, the UK FTSE 100 was down 0.77 per cent, German DAX 30 had dropped 1.09 per cent and the French CAC 40 slid 0.88 per cent, at the time Indian markets closed.

Source:ET

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A2Zscholarships.com: One-stop shop for scholarships

The one-stop shop for scholarships



No deserving student shall be bereft of education due to lack of finances. That is the aim of A2Zscholarships.com, a website set up by two enterprising young engineering students at Veermata Jeejabai Technological Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai.


The website aims to provide deserving students with information on hundreds of scholarships and grants in India and provide access to institutions offering grants through its centralised application process.



The brainchild of Mukund Chandak, who graduated this year in civil engineering and himself a recipient of the Ratan Tata scholarship, the website took nearly five years to finally come to fruition as he went about gathering information, contacting trusts and institutions and setting up the site architecture with his friend Rameez Pojee, a third year IT student. The website, that was launched on January 31 this year, has already received a tremendous response with over 12,000 registered users.


Shifra Menezes caught up with Mukund to find out more about the website, the motivation behind the launch and future plans.


How did A2ZScholarships come about?
I've been working on this idea for the last five years actually, even though it was only launched in start 2008. Initially it began with searching for scholarships for myself. In the process I found that there was no one place where students could find all the information they needed to go about applying for a scholarship. Deserving students were just not aware of what all was available to them.


So I began by making a list of all the available scholarships and then visited their offices. I visited 210 offices in all, to find out more about the grants and discuss the idea with them. Once I collected all this information, Rameez and I started working on integrating this information into a system. That's how I began working on it part-time.


Tell us how you went about setting up the website.
Just gathering the information took two years. Once we had all the information we needed, we set about designing the site infrastructure. That took about 8-9 months. When we launched on January 31, the site only provided information about various scholarships.It did not provide any interactive mechanism.
The website was received very well. We got a tremendous amount of emails, some encouraging, some inquiries, some suggestions -- people were logging on and found the information useful. Responses came from across the country.
One of the main issues was that a candidate had to apply to each scholarship individually. This was time consuming and a troublesome process. That is why we then began working on a centralised application process. For this again we had to approach each institution and we finally launched the facility on July 1, 2008 with six institutions on board. About 12-15 others have also showed interest in signing up.


How does the application process on the website work?
We have the various application forms from all these scholarship institutions. We combine the requirements of all the forms and make it one consolidated form with all the relevant fields covered -- education, percentage scores, family income, field of study etc. This is then put online. Interested students can fill up the form and the details will be stored. The institution can then search through the list of candidates based on the criteria that is most important or relevant to them -- age, sex, percentage etc. Candidates that are not eligible are not presented in the search results. So trusts can search for eligible candidates based on their particular requirements.
So far we have six trusts with us. Now when a student applies online through our site, we get the details verified, we request for hard copies of the relevant documents apart from soft copies. We have set up a verification cell in Nashik. This team of 5-6 people checks the details that students have provided such as the percentage etc. Once verification is complete, the application is forwarded to the relevant trust.
After it reaches the trust, we get regular updates on how far the application has reached and its status. If the applicant is selected for the scholarship, he or she is notified through the website itself. This ensures that the student is a return visitor. Also, when a student is awarded a grant of say Rs 10,000, the other trusts in the system are also notified.


How do you plan on taking it to the masses?
In an effort to spread the word about the website, we have initiated a method whereby every student that refers a new student to the site and results in a registration, gets a monetary incentive. This ensures that publicity through word of mouth is kept going and it keeps the traffic growing. At every college we have created a partner system where five students join us as partners. These partners publicise the website and get a commission. The system is working well right now.
For every new registered user that is referred to us by a partner, we give Rs 30. Anyone can become a partner. The students who sign up as users however are not concerned with the payment of commissions; he or she is only concerned with registering and using the website's facilities. Students can register for Rs 250 either by DD or cheque payment.
So far the experience has been fantastic. Responses have come in from all over the country, not just Mumbai. We have had 12,000 registrations since February. Now if we are able to convert these 12,000 into partners, we should be able to bring in 60,000 registrations at least.
What kind of investment did you make to set up the site?
Well, the investment has all been made by me, although, I'm really not sure how much it all adds up to considering my initial travel expenses. However, since I am a student, it does add up to quite a large sum.


How do you plan to recover those expenses?
Initially this service was free. But as costs increased, we felt the need to use the system to bring in some funds. Now to grow further, we are thinking of beginning advertising on the site. As traffic to the site grows, and it is growing quite rapidly, we would need a plan in place to be able to sustain the increased bandwidth and manpower requirements.


You've just graduated, what are your plans going forward?
Placements are completed and I have received offers from three Mumbai-based companies. I will be joining one of these companies in August. The website will however continue to function independently of my professional career.


Are you aware of students who have managed to get scholarships?
Yes we are. While the students do write in informing us about their scholarships, we are also kept in the loop by the trusts and institutions.


Any other ideas in the pipeline
Well, there are a few ideas I've been thinking about, but it's all very early now. Right now the main focus is on making this website a success.



Source: Rediff

India Inc bets big on nuclear power :Rediff

India Inc bets big on nuclear power

Indian companies led by Anil Ambani's Reliance [Get Quote] Power (RPower), Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals [Get Quote] (BHEL) plan to invest over Rs 100,000 crore in the next five years to expand their presence in the nuclear energy sector after the country signs the nuclear agreement with the US, paving the way for import of fuel and transfer of technology.

Engineering major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is also foraying into the nuclear energy sector, with plans to manufacture nuclear reactors. The BHEL stock rose by 11 per cent to Rs 1,772, Reliance Power surged 19 per cent to Rs 170.95, while the L&T scrip went up by 7 per cent to Rs 2,766.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, whose benchmark index, the Sensex, shot up by 838 points on Wednesday.

Reliance Power has planned an initial investment over Rs 20,000 crore to foray into nuclear power generation. The company is already implementing 28,000 mw of thermal power projects.
"There are plans to start with 1,000-1,500-mw capacity initially with one or two reactors and then expand it to higher capacities in the long run,'' V K Chaturvedi, former NPCIL chairman and managing director and nuclear energy consultant for Reliance Power, said.

Reliance Power has already started negotiations with leading international companies in the field for joint ventures and strategic alliances in nuclear power generation, technology and equipment, he said. The country's nuclear power manager, NPCIL, hopes to double its capacity to generate an additional 10,000 mw with an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore by 2012.

"The availability of fuel will help our existing reactors to increase the capacity utilisation (plant load factor) from around 50 per cent currently to about 90 per cent, almost double the current production, Sudhinder Thakur, executive director, NPCIL, said.

At present, India has 17 nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 4,120 mw in operation. BHEL, India's biggest power equipment maker, plans to triple spending on nuclear components to Rs 1,500 crore in two years once overseas companies are allowed to supply technology, Bloomberg News reported, citing K Ravi Kumar, the managing director of the company.

Reliance Power's Chaturvedi said the company has already started negotiations with leading international companies to foray into nuclear power generation. However, he pointed out that the plans depended on the government opening up the sector for private players.
NPCIL has plans to set up 10,000 mw of new capacity during the 11th Five-Year Plan of 2007-12. Six additional units, with a capacity of 3,160 mw, are under various stages of construction.
These include expansion of the Rawatbhata station in Rajasthan (2X220 mw), Kaiga in Karnataka (220 mw) and Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu (2 X1,000 mw).

NPCIL and the government have an understanding with the Russian government to increase capacity of the Kudankulam project (Kudankulam 3-6). Further, the government has sanctioned to set up a 1,000-mw reactor in Jaithalpur, Maharashtra.

BHEL too has drwan up big plans to enter the nuclear energy sector. "If the nuclear deal comes through, we are quite confident that there will be a lot of orders in this area and we don't want to be left out,'' BHEL Chairman and Managing Director K Ravi Kumar said in an interview.
BHEL plans to spend Rs 1,500 crore in two years building plants to supply components for reactors of 1,600 mw, Kumar said yesterday. Without the accord, BHEL will invest Rs 500 crore to build steam turbine generators and other components for 700-mw plants designed in India, he said.

BHEL will set up a 50-50 venture with state-run NPCIL that will supply components for nuclear plants with a capacity to generate 700 mw, 1,000 mw and 1,600 mw of power, Kumar said. The company will also seek overseas partners to provide technology for these plants, he said, declining to name the companies. "We will invest depending on the volume,'' he added.

"The orders could be divided and companies such as Areva, Siemens and ABB will be involved,'' said Taina Erajuuri at Glitnir Asset Management in Helsinki, which manages $158 million in Indian assets, including BHEL. "The government may prefer some local companies as well, like BHEL and L&T.''

"The existing sites can accommodate about eight reactors and another five could come up on new sites, which will be developed in the future," said an NPCIL official. NPCIL's strategy is to set up power plants in coastal areas as large equipment for reactors can be shipped into country easily.

A site selection committee of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has already recommended four sites for the new nuclear projects in the coastal areas of Saurashtra in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. The officials said NPCIL is in touch with international players for equipment supply and civil construction of the new plants.
"It is too early to talk about it and everything depends on how soon the government is able to go through the deal so that we can source the fuel," said an official.

-------------------------------
Vinod Khosla, smartest guy in Silicon Valley!

Source: Rediff

Results: Sesagoa, Zee,Crompton greaves etc

Sesa Goa net profit rises 442.42% in the June 2008 quarter
Net profit of Sesa Goa rose 442.42% to Rs 644.72 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 118.86 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales rose 175.59% to Rs 1251.68 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 454.18 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises net profit rises 104.19% in the June 2008 quarter
Net profit of Zee Entertainment Enterprises rose 104.19% to Rs 130.97 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 64.14 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales rose 48.52% to Rs 333.32 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 224.43 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007

Crompton Greaves net profit rises 29.29% in the June 2008 quarter
Net profit of Crompton Greaves rose 29.29% to Rs 88.90 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 68.76 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007. Sales rose 20.85% to Rs 1082.86 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 896.07 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2007.

Pidilite Industries net profit declines 5.31% in the June 2008 quarter
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services net profit rises 24.81% in the June 2008 quarter
SEL Manufacturing Company net profit rises 215.32% in the June 2008 quarter

Infotech Enterprises net profit rises 99.26% in the June 2008 quarter
Kalyani Steels net profit declines 25.44% in the June 2008 quarter
Sterling Tools net profit rises 286.05% in the June 2008 quarter

Mastek net profit rises 205.23% in the June 2008 quarter
J Kumar Infraprojects reports net profit of Rs 7.58 crore in the June 2008 quarter
Sterlite Technologies net profit declines 30.93% in the June 2008 quarter

Lakshmi Machine Works net profit declines 3.09% in the June 2008 quarter
MMTC net profit rises 38.09% in the June 2008 quarter
Aries Agro reports net loss of Rs 0.90 crore in the June 2008 quarter



Source: CM

Market cheers UPA win: Sensex settles 838 points up

Market cheers UPA win: Sensex settles 5.94 % up
FIIs turn bullish; invest Rs 1,306.56 cr in equities

The government emerging victorious in the confidence motion gave bulls the much needed trigger to trample bears on Wednesday. Buoyant global cues following crude oil's further fall added to the upbeat mood. The confidence vote win in parliament meant that the government could revive stalled economic reforms. It also meant that the country could now go ahead and sign the civilian nuclear deal with the US which has the potential to significantly boost India's nuclear energy production. The euphoria was witnessed across the board. Power and capital goods cashed on to the prospects of the Indo-US nuclear deal while investors fancied banking stocks on expectations of more mergers and restructuring in the sector.

Crucial legislations in insurance and banking sectors and bills for setting up of a pension regulatory body and one for unorganised sector had been pending following opposition from the Left parties that had the government's hands tied down. But the sustainability of the current rally remains a question for many. Analysts cautioned that macro-economic issues, such as soaring inflation and growth slowdown, are likely to peg back sentiment. "It is too early to call it a secular bottom yet. Bear market rallies of such nature are typical. But that does not mean the rally will die in a day or two. In any case, the market was in an oversold territory which is why over the last few it has seen sustained buying.

So this can take it to north of 15,500 quite comfortably. However, gains are likely to be limited as economic worries still persist," said an analyst with a local brokerage. Further, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review is due on July 29. After two surprise rate increases in June, many expect the central bank could either raise its key lending rate again. This could again dampen sentiment.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex settled 5.94 per cent or 838.08 points higher at 14,942.28, just 58 points away from the 15000 mark. It soared to a high of 14,979.90 from a low of 14,568.22. National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 4476.80, up 5.58 per cent or 236 points higher. The broader index touched a high of 4491.55 and low of 4246.70 during the day. Secondline stocks also gathered momentum.

BSE Midcap Index gained 5.05 per cent to close at 5,615.94 and BSE Smallcap Index ended 4.23 per cent up at 6,812.64. Reliance Communications (12.12%), ICICI Bank (12.04%), HDFC (11.29%), State Bank of India (11.17%) and BHEL (10.86%) fronted the Sensex rally. Financial stocks were the star performers in Wednesday's trade with index heavyweights ICICI Bank (11.64%), HDFC (10.92%), State Bank of India (10.45%) and HDFC Bank (9.57%) stealing the show.

Other gainers in the 30-share index comprised Reliance Communications (12.2%), BHEL (10.92%), Reliance Infrastructure (10.36%) and DLF (9.12%). Cipla (-2.21%) and Hindustan Unilever (-0.65%) were the only frontline stocks that disappointed. Market breadth was impressive with 2270 advances outnumbering 436 declines on BSE, while on NSE, there were 1176 gainers and 111 losers. Meanwhile, oil continued its retreat on Wednesday, with US crude oil futures down $2.51 at $125.94 a barrel as fears that Hurricane Dolly would hit Gulf of Mexico crude supply faded. The drop in oil prices, which is now down more than $20 after hitting a record above $147, eased recent concerns over inflation and rising costs for companies.

ADAG cos among top traded counters
Oil prices fall past $126 a barrel
Higher FDI in insurance likely soon
Rupee too cheers UPA trust vote victory
Markets greet govt win with relief, stocks hit a month high
Sensex surges 838 pts as bulls go on rampage
Kamat Hotels to expand ecotels
Era Infra bags NATRIP contract
Infotech Enterprises Q1 net up
Sesa Goa Q1 net up at Rs 633 cr



Source:ET,sify

Oil at 6-week low as storm fears ease

Oil at 6-week low as storm fears ease
US STOCKS-Market up as oil's drop trumps earnings; Yahoo up late

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to a six-week low on Tuesday amid concerns over sliding U.S. energy demand and expectations that a hurricane pushing through the Gulf of Mexico would spare most offshore oil production.
The losses extend a decline from the July 11 peak over $147 a barrel that has marked the steepest price fall in dollar terms in oil's history -- leading some analysts to question how soon the market will resume its six-year rally.

"We've now seen more than a $20 decline in the crude oil market from the highs and this suggests that we've seen enough of a shift in the supply and demand balance on a larger scale to cap the market," said Tim Evans, energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York.

U.S. crude futures fell $3.09 to settle at $127.95 a barrel after dipping as low as $125.63 -- the lowest level since early June. London Brent crude fell $3.23 to $129.38 a barrel.

Dealers said mounting economic trouble in the United States and continued lackluster energy demand from the world's biggest consumer nation were the key focuses of oil's slide.
Gasoline consumption in the United States is running about 2.2 percent below year-ago levels in a sign drivers stunned by soaring pump prices are curbing their road travel, according to a MasterCard survey released Tuesday.
Even so, oil remains nearly 30 percent higher than at the start of this year, and more than six times higher than in 2002, in a rally driven by startling growth in China and other developing Asian economies.

Oil traders and analysts added that Hurricane Dolly, moving through the western Gulf of Mexico on a path toward the Texas-Mexico border, was unlikely to seriously disrupt the region's oil production. Continued...
------------------------------------

Yahoo profit falls, CFO says 2008 outlook intact
Fannie, Freddie rescue gets big price tag as House vote looms
GE, Abu Dhabi firm in $8 bln joint venture
E*Trade loss deeper than expected; issues warning
United, US Airways, JetBlue post losses on fuel woes

Source: Reuters.com

Market to rally on govt confidence vote win

Market to rally on govt confidence vote win
23 Jul, 2008, 0600 hrs IST, REUTERS

Rupee and stock markets are expected to rise on Wednesday after the government won the confidence vote ensuring its immediate survival, with analysts expecting it could revive some of its stalled economic reforms. But economists expected rallies to be short-lived as concerns about inflation nearing 12 percent, high oil prices, slowing economic growth and rising interest rates are likely to return to the fore now the political uncertainty had faded.

"The markets will be relieved, and now that there is no uncertainty, investors will turn to the fundamentals, like inflation and oil and the global markets. Foreign investors will look at how further reforms take place," said Andrew Holland, head of the strategic risk group at DSP Merrill Lynch in Mumbai. "The stock market is likely to go up by 1-2 percent in the morning, then we will go back to the fundamentals, locally and globally." Ahead of the vote on Tuesday, which the government won by 275 votes to 256, the rupee ended at 42.73/74 per dollar, weaker than Monday's close at 42.68/69, but the 30-share index closed 1.84 percent higher at 14,104.20 points.

The stock market had climbed in anticipation of a government win for four days in a row ahead of the vote, rising off a recent 15-month trough of 12,514.02. American depositary receipts also rose sharply after the vote. The Congress-party led coalition won the confidence vote late on Tuesday with the help of regional parties, after splitting with its communist allies of four years, who pulled their support in protest at a nuclear energy deal with the United States. Analysts said the government should now survive until the end of its term, with elections due by next May, although its joy at the victory was tempered by opposition lawmakers saying they were offered bribes to abstain.

REFORMS

Analysts said the government could now try to sell stakes in some state-run companies to boost revenues as its finances worsen due to oil and food subsidies. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said it would work with other parties to take reforms forward. The currency was also likely to gain with the political uncertainty out of the way and a revived reform agenda potentially bringing in foreign investment, economists said. "There will be a knee-jerk positive reaction in the currency market and the rupee may open at today's high of around 42.58 per dollar and may even test 42.50," said Agam Gupta, head of trading at Standard Chartered Bank. The rupee touched a 15-month low earlier in July of 43.50 per dollar, under pressure from a rising trade and current account deficit due to record oil prices. The benchmark 10-year bond yield ended at 9.12 percent on Tuesday, above Monday's close of 9.06 percent. It hit a seven-year high of 9.55 percent this month on concerns about inflation and a rising oil subsidy bill.
..................Continued...Next >>
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Indian ADRs jump after govt wins confidence vote
US stocks jump as crude drops by $3
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Coverage

UPA wins: 275 for, 256 against

15 MPs cross-vote; BJP leads the pack

JD-S MP speaks: Why I cross-voted

Source: Rediff, ET

Economic Reforms: India Inc's wish list

Economic Reforms: India Inc's wish list


Following are some of the key components of economic reforms which India Inc will now hope the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will address, having won the trust motion in parliament on Tuesday:

- Divestment of government equity in public sector undertakings
- Privatisation of state-run companies
- Liberal labour policies for corporate sector

- Foreign equity in multi-brand retailing
- Higher equity for foreign companies in single-brand retailing
- Higher foreign equity for foreign companies in insurance sector

- Development of a vibrant corporate bond market
- Easier norms for foreign banks to set up operations in India
- Removal of 10 percent cap on voting rights for investors in non-state banks

- Relaxation of land ceiling for foreign realty developers
- Easier entry norms for credit rating companies
- Higher foreign equity in asset reconstruction companies

- Higher equity for foreign firms in state-run refining projects
- Higher foreign equity in newspapers and current affairs periodicals
- Permission for news and current affairs programming on FM radio
- More liberal policies for foreign equity in commodity exchanges

Source:ET