31 August 2008

Business Headlines, Stock Reports

Headines

RIL scraps KG basin stake transfer
Canara bank to open 100 new branches
ONGC to get five new onshore blocks in WB
Iran has 85 bn barrels heavy oil reserve: Report
Private oil cos suggest win-win formula to revive retail biz

RIL gearing up for for KG gas production
FIIs net buy Rs 1,586cr in F&O on Friday
iPhone price may fall 15%
R-ADAG takes on L&T on monorail project


Index Outlook
‘Stability’ was the theme in the Indian stock markets in August; accompanied by the attendant boredom. Though the Indian benchmark was thwarted in its attempt at surpassing the 15500 mark this month, it has managed to hold on to ...

Larsen & Toubro: BuyInvestors with a 2-3-year perspective can consider adding the stock of Larsen & Toubro to their portfolio. The company’s proven execution skills, quality clientele, well-entrenched presence in a wide range of businesses and ability ...

ONGC may rope in Rosneft as local partner in Imperial EnergyKolkata, Aug. 30 ONGC may rope in Rosneft Oil Company of Russia as its local partner in Imperial Energy Corporation Plc in case of a successful acquisition of the UK-based company having substantial oil equity in Russia’s Siberia region, ...

Infosys: BuyWith bulging cash coffers and inorganic growth aspirations, Infosys Technologies has for long been scouting for suitable acquisitions. It seems to have finally found an ideal candidate in the Axon Group. ...

Indiabulls Real Estate: BuyThe current macro scenario does not augur too well for the real-estate sector with issues such as funding challenges, tapering demand and slowing launches clouding prospects. The sharp de-rating of stocks in the sector in the past one year ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS:
Sideways movement seen for Nifty future (August 31, 2008)
Reliance Infra (August 31, 2008)
Unitech (August 31, 2008)
Infosys (August 31, 2008)
Tata Steel (August 31, 2008)
SBI (August 31, 2008)
Reliance (August 31, 2008)
Index Outlook (August 31, 2008)
Query Corner: What the charts say (August 31, 2008)

STOCKS: PNB: HoldShareholders of Punjab National Bank (PNB) can stay invested in the stock. Though the stock trades at an attractive valuation, it may under-perform in the near term, given the uncertain interest rate scenario. The current macro environment ...

STOCK MARKETS: Bull's EyeE-mail your response by Tuesday to:
STOCK MARKETS: Baskets of XE-mail your guess before Tuesday to:


Source:ET,BL

29 August 2008

Sensex up by 516 pts on Dip in Inflation,Inline GDP numbers

Closing Bell: Lower inflation, in-line GDP boosts market sentiment

Sensex surges 516 points as inflation eases

Bulls get their act together, lift Sensex up by 516 pts

After lying low for the entire week, Indian stock market benchmarks surged on Friday to close over 3 per cent higher backed by host of positive cues from domestic and global markets. Market opened with a gap-up reacting to drop in inflation to 12.40 per cent against expectation of 12.83 per cent, on moderation in prices of vegetables, meat, cement and a few non-administered petroleum products.

Directionless till Thursday, investors took this opportunity to build positions in recently beaten down banking and realty stocks as fears of Reserve Bank of India raising interest rates eased. Market also got a lift from a rally in Asia and the US earlier on the back of a surprise 3.3 per cent first quarter GDP growth in US. Retreating oil prices as traders discounted threat of hurricane Gustav to US installations boosted sentiments further. However, oil climbed back up to $117 in Friday’s trade as threat from Gustav continued to loom.

Back home, data showed the Indian economy grew at 7.9 per cent in the April-June quarter against previous quarter's 8.8 per cent. The numbers were also disappointing compared with previous year’s 9.2 per cent growth. This is the first time in last thirteen quarters that GDP growth has fallen below 8 per cent, but India is still expected to clock an annual growth of 8 per cent. “Moderation will continue for at least for two more quarters (factoring the further tightening by RBI).

However, we do not expect GDP to fall below 8 per cent in 2008-09. The consumption demand (both from consumer and government) is still strong which should support the manufacturing sector. Investment and savings are also satisfactory and is reflected in growth of construction sector in this quarter (11.4% against 7.7% a year ago),” said Krupresh Thakkar, research analyst, India Capital Markets. “Growth in agriculture holds the key, as a good season would increase demand for other products from industrial and service sectors boosting the economy. The slight slowdown in service sector is an area of concern but we would like to watch the figures for one more quarter,” he added.

Bombay’s Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 14,564.53, up 516.19 points or 3.67 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 14,586.16 and low of 14,279.02. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 4,360, up 3.46 per cent or 146 points. It touched a high of 4,368.80 and low of 4,230.60.

Hitendra Nayee, institutional-head, dealing, India Capital Markets, said, “domestic funds and foreign institutions both turned buyers. After months, we saw inflation climbing down and GDP numbers were also in line with expectations. The good thing is volumes were high, that shows interest returning back into the market. Now, the NSG meet will be keenly watched. We are expecting short-term uptrend in the market.” However, second rung stocks were behind in the race as compared with heavyweights.

BSE Midcap Index closed 2.38 per cent higher at 5,742.29 and BSE Smallcap Index gained 1.61 per cent to close at 6,891.64. State Bank of India (7.19%), Reliance Infrastructure (5.97%), ICICI Bank (5.93%) Tata Motors (5.44%) and DLF (5.35%) were the major Sensex gainers. There were no losers in the index. Shares of Tata Steel surged nearly 5 per cent after the company posted 60.5 per cent rise in April-June consolidated net profit late on Thursday. The company's shares ended up 4.99 per cent at Rs 600.35 with volume traded at 22,11,323 against two-week average of 14,78,472 shares.

The steel maker is in talks to raise at least $1 billion from a stake sale to private equity firms or a private placement of shares, according to media reports. Gammon Infrastructure Projects ended up 1.17 per cent at Rs 94.95 on BSE after it got an order for a bridge project worth Rs 8 billion. Jai Corp ended up 5 per cent at Rs 324.30 on market talk that Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries may grant it a gas distribution contract. On BSE , advances were 1,851 and declines 790. According to NSE website, total turnover was Rs 10,626.94 crore (provisional), up from Rs 8,769 crore Wednesday—a prior to settlement day.

Source:ET,BL,Sify

India economy growth slows to 7.9 percent in Q1

India's economy grows at 7.9% in Q1

Indian economic growth moderated to 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of current fiscal, against 9.2 per a year ago as rising borrowing costs impacted manufacturing and some other sectors.However, moderation in the GDP growth was expected as RBI hardened interest rates to control double-digit inflation.

If the first quarter GDP growth continues in the remaining months of this fiscal, the economy would expand at the rate more or less projected by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
He projected the economy to grow by close to 8 per cent, compared to 9 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Manufacturing growth almost halved to 5.6 per cent, against 10.9 per cent as rising interest rates impacted their expansion. Even though agriculture grew by lower rate of three per cent, it is quite considerable on the high base of 4.4 per cent.

The other sectors which witnessed considerable decline in growth rate are electricity, gas and water supply, which expanded at the rate of 2.6 per cent against 7.9 per cent.In the services sector, trade, hotels, transport and communication grew by 11.2 per cent, against 13.1 per cent.
Finance, insurance, real estate and business services expanded by 9.3 per cent, against 12.6 per cent.

However, community, social and personal services grew by higher rate of 8.4 per cent, against 5.2 per cent.Construction activities also expanded at higher rate of 11.4 per cent, as compared to 7.7 per cent, while mining and quaring grew by 4.8 per cent, against 1.7 per cent.
In absolute terms, India's GDP stood at Rs 7,82,357 crore (Rs 7,823.57 billion) in the first quarter of this fiscal, against 7,24,949 crore (Rs 7249.49 billion) in the corresponding period of 2007-08.

In services, trade, hotels, transport and communication grew by 11.2 per cent against 13.1 per cent, while financing, insurance, real estate and business services rose at the rate of 9.3 per cent against 12.6 per cent.However, community, social and personal services grew at higher rate of 8.4 per cent against 5.2 per cent.

Commenting on the growth figures, PM's EAC member Saumitra Chaudhuri said, "It is on expected lines. When EAC came out with the GDP projection, monsoon conditions were not clear. If monsoon turns out to be good, which seems to be the case, there could be some upside."
What is heartening is that investment in the economy continues to be buoyant.
"The investment-GDP ratio has risen to 37.9 per cent, which means GDP growth is likely to be maintained," a finance ministry official said.

However, some analysts believe that economy is likely to expand at lower growth rate in the next quarter. "I expect that the figures would be flat below 7.9 per cent in the next quarter," CRISIL principal economist D K Joshi said.

Moderation in economic growth, particularly in manufacturing, was expected as RBI had tightened monetary policy to curb double digit inflation.For the first quarter, wholesale prices-based inflation stood at 9.4 per cent. Mineral inflation was at a huge 46 per cent, while food articles inflation stood at 5.8 per cent, fish at 1.5 per cent, manufactured products at nine per cent and electricity at 1.4 per cent.

The consumer price index for industrial workers, which is a better indicator of the impact of price rise on the common man, rose by 7.7 per cent in the first quarter.
-----------------------------------------------
India's economy grows at 7.9% in Q1
Growth at 3 year low but rates to stay tight
Economic growth slows to 7.9%
GDP moderates to 7.9% in Q1



Source: ET,Rediff,BS, BL

Top Business Headlines

Top Headlines

Top 10 open ended funds
3G auction to be over by Sept 30: DoT
Wall Street hit by weak data
BHEL gets contract worth $264 mln
Tata Steel consolidated Q1 profit up 60.5 pc

Tata Steel Global eyes $1 bln PE deal
Market discounts GDP slowdown; indices up over 2%
RIL gets nod to transfer KG assets to four arms
India kicks off FX futures trade, front-months lead

Cabinet approves changes to Companies Bill 2008
FinMin confident of close to 8% economic growth this fiscal
Revised draft for NSG ready
July crude oil import up 9% as production dips
Private insurers slash term cover premia by 10-40%
Sensex rallies 516pts; financial, realty stocks lead

Source:ET, BS, BL etc

28 August 2008

Inflation falls marginally to 12.40 percent

Inflation down to 12.40% Vs 12.63%
Inflation falls marginally to 12.40%
28 Aug, 2008, 1800 hrs IST, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
Inflation slipped marginally to 12.40% for the week ended August 16 from 12.63%.

Giving a little respite to the hapless consumers, inflation slipped marginally to 12.40 per cent for the week ended August 16 from 12.63 per cent a week before. Earlier Lehman Brothers expected inflation to increase to 12.82 per cent y-o-y from 12.63 per cent in the previous week, due to higher prices of food articles, rubber, sugar, paper products, oilseeds, textiles & rubber and plastic products.

"We expect the final WPI inflation to peak in Oct/Nov at around 13.5-14.0 per cent, but to stay in double-digit territory until February 2009. Based on our forecast of slower GDP growth of 7.3 per cent in FY09, our energy team's forecast of the price of oil falling sharply to $90/bbl in Q1 2009, plus favorable base effects, our forecast is that WPI inflation will start turning down decisively in January 2009," it said in a report.

It is the 27th consecutive week the inflation rate has been above 5.5 per cent, the RBI's original target for inflation at the end of the fiscal year in March 2009. At a policy review in late July, the RBI raised its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 9 per cent and also increased banks' reserve requirements, and said it was now aiming to bring inflation down to 7 per cent by the end of March. The government has said the inflation rate would hit 13 per cent and thereafter start moderating from December, before settling at 8.0-9.0 per cent by the end of the fiscal year in March.

A slide in prices of oil, India's biggest import, to around $117 a barrel from a record high above $147 in mid-July, is expected to ease the pressure on inflation. However, analysts said pressure from primary articles and strong demand despite the several rounds of policy tightening would most likely propel inflation higher for some months.


Other Top stories:
Sensex ends down 248pts; Reliance weighs / Sensex ends 248 pts down as
Cash based selling widens September premium, rollovers low
Bears rule on inflation jitters, crude prices
Market ends sharply lower; RIL down over 3%
US stocks open higher on GDP data

Forbes' Top 25 powerful women in pics
Mayawati enters Forbes' power women list; Sonia slips in rank
Forbes' Top 25 powerful women in pics
Aditya Birla Nuvo to buy 56% in Apollo Sindhoori


Source: ET,BS etc

Tata Steel Q1 cons PAT at Rs 3901 cr

Tata Steel Q1 cons PAT at Rs 3901 cr
Tata Steel Ltd has announced the following...
Tata Steel Group Earnings Beat Estimate on Prices (Update2)
Tata Steel Profit, Including Corus, Climbs

By Debarati Roy and Paresh Jatakia
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Tata Steel Ltd., India's largest producer, reported a better-than-expected 60 percent gain in first-quarter profit, including unit Corus Group Plc, on increased prices and output of high-grade products.

Net income rose to 39 billion rupees ($891 million) in the quarter ended June 30 from 24.3 billion rupees a year earlier, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement today. Five analysts in a Bloomberg survey estimated a median profit of 19.7 billion rupees. Sales climbed 39 percent to 435.6 billion rupees.

Steelmakers including ArcelorMittal and Posco raised prices this year after a threefold increase in coking coal rates and a near-doubling of iron-ore costs. Tata, which has held prices in India because of a government directive, faces the challenge of battling record raw-material costs, Chairman Ratan Tata said at a shareholders meeting in Mumbai today.

``Cost pressures will start kicking in in the coming quarters and that'll have a moderating impact on profits,'' said Sanjay Jain, an analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. The brokerage has a ``buy'' rating on the stock.

Global prices of hot-rolled coils, a benchmark product, are poised for their first monthly drop in a year, according to Steel Business Briefing. That may leave Indian producers little choice but to lower rates after keeping them unchanged since May.
``If international market prices come down, they will have to cut,'' Steel Secretary Pramod Rastogi told reporters Aug. 22.
A government order kept domestic prices as much as 15,000 rupees ($342) a metric ton below global levels, according to S.K. Roongta, chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd., the nation's second-biggest producer.
Discount Narrows
A fall in global prices and cheaper imports from Southeast Asian countries has reduced this discount to $100 a ton, Mumbai- based India Infoline Ltd. said in a note dated Aug. 26.
``Domestic prices can come under pressure if international prices soften by $100-150 a ton,'' Bijal Shah and Sumit Pathak, analysts at the brokerage, said. ``Demand is weakening in Europe, U.S. and China and there are concerns on the global outlook.''
Tata Steel shares fell 1.6 percent to 571.95 rupees at the close of trading in Mumbai, before the earnings were announced. The stock has lost 39 percent of its value this year, compared with a 31 percent decline in the benchmark Sensitive Index.
The shares trade at about 8 times forecast profit, according to data on the Bloomberg. Falling prices may keep valuations for Indian steelmakers depressed, said Shah and Pathak.
Tata Steel is the worst-performer on the benchmark Sensitive stock index in the past three months, according to Bloomberg data.
`Buy' Ratings
Still, as many as 22 of 28 analysts tracking Tata Steel have a ``buy'' recommendation on its shares, with an average one-year price target of 932 rupees, according to Bloomberg data.
The company last month reported a 22 percent jump in first- quarter profit to 14.22 billion rupees from its Indian mills.
Tata Steel and Corus sell more than two-thirds of their production in Europe. While Tata imports a third of the coal needed for its Indian plants and mines its own iron ore, Corus buys both the raw materials.
The company is looking at forming iron-ore and coal ventures in Mozambique and scouting for limestone ventures in Oman, to secure raw material supplies, Tata told shareholders today.
Pension Assets
Meantime, the value of the pension funds of Corus, worth 14 billion euro ($21 billion) -- more than twice Tata Steel's market value -- eroded by 648 million euro in the period. The reduction has been accounted in the balance sheet, instead of profit and loss account, Tata Steel said in the statement.
Pretax profit would have been lower by 53.52 billion rupees had the previous practice of reflecting the value of pension fund assets in earnings been followed, Tata said.
``Given the size of the pension assets, it is a good idea to route it through the balance sheet to avoid huge fluctuations in earnings from quarter to quarter,'' said Giriraj Daga, an analyst at Khandwala Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. ``The losses are mark-to- market and can change. It's not a negative.''
-----------------------------------------
Tata Steel has declared its consolidated results for the quarter ended June 2008 (Q1). The company's net profit was at Rs 3914.6 crore (including Corus) versus Rs 2409.12 crore.
Its net sales were at Rs 43,508 crore (including Corus) versus Rs 31,162 crore.

Highlights
Margins at 16.1% vs 15.4% (YoY)
Margins at 16.1% vs 12.3% QoQ
Forex loss of Rs 303 cr vs loss of Rs 537 cr
Increase in stock in trade at Rs 1607 cr vs Rs 336 cr
Actuarial gains/ losses not shown in P&L in accordance with IFRS principles and permitted in AS21
Had it been accounted then Q1 profits would have been lower by Rs 5352 crore resulting in loss of Rs 1438 crore
----------------------------------------------
Other MC stories:
RIL can assign 80% in D6 to its affiliates
Marksans buys UK co for Rs100cr
Aditya Birla Nuvo eyes 56% in ASCIL
Tatas may miss Oct deadline on Nano

Tata Steel Q1 cons PAT at Rs 3901 cr
RNRL shifts stance, ready to trade gas for 3 yrs

Source:MC, Bloomberg

26 August 2008

Reliance may transfer 80% in KG D-6 to four affiliates

Reliance may transfer 80% in KG D-6 to four affiliates

Reliance Industries (RIL) is planning to transfer 80% of its participatory interest (PI) in the famous D6 block in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin to four unlisted subsidiaries. Valued at nearly $50 billion with 14 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, this is the arguably the most valuable asset held by the company. These four entities — Reliance KG Exploration and Development, Reliance KG D6 E&P, Reliance KG Basin and Reliance E&P KG — have recently become majority-owned subsidiaries of RIL. RIL has sought the petroleum ministry’s approval for this.

The ministry, in turn, has asked the upstream regulator, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), to furnish a list of similar cases where more than 50% of PI in blocks have been transferred to affiliates. A source familiar with this development told ET: “This is a usual practice in the global oil and gas business. It will provide greater financial flexibility to these subsidiaries for raising funds.” However, Director General of Hydrocarbons VK Sibal declined to comment, saying he has not seen any such request from the company. The RIL spokesperson too declined to comment on the issue. An email sent to Niko Resources, which holds 10% stake in the block, failed to elicit any response.

RIL holds 90% participating interest in the block. The exact value or structure of the transaction by which RIL would transfer its stake to the four subsidiaries could not be ascertained. However, it is learnt that RIL will continue to be operator of the block with at least a 10% stake, post the transaction. An analyst with an international research firm said: “The four affiliates will have strong balance-sheets, with a part of the KG basin assets. This will help them bid for global oil and gas assets. It also means that these companies may raise funds, if required, for their overseas bidding without stretching the RIL balance-sheet.” The analyst cautioned that there may be a perception that the interest of RIL shareholders may be affected by transferring this asset to the subsidiaries if it does not hold very large equity in them after the transaction. RIL’s exact shareholding in these four unlisted firms could be not ascertained.

What is known is that these firms are subsidiaries of RIL, meaning RIL’s shareholding may vary from 51-100%. However, the source quoted earlier said there would be no impact whatsoever on RIL’s shareholders as the subsidiaries were majority-owned and controlled by RIL.

Last week, in the course of his arguments, the government counsel TS Doabia had said in the Bombay High Court that RIL cannot transfer or assign its participating interest in favour of any other company without government approval, under the provisions of the production sharing contract. Mr Doabia made this comments in response to RNRL’s counsel Ram Jethmalani. Mr Jethmalani had asked for the transfer of RIL’s participating interest in the KG basin to RNRL so that the latter can sell the gas till its proposed 7,800 mega watts (MW) power plant at Dadri comes up. “RNRL will sell the gas in line with the government policy as is the case with RIL.

The government counsel’s submission that Mukesh only can sell gas but Anil cannot is biased. If needed, the court can direct transfer of PI in PSC to RNRL to enable RNRL to sell the gas. RNRL is prepared to share RIL’s investment for the development of the KG basin proportionately,” said Jethmalani in his submission to the court last week. He also said that RNRL is ready to invest Rs 25,000 crore for this. Production from the KG basin is likely to commence in the December quarter.

The company will initially produce up to 40 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas, which would be scaled up to 80 mmscmd by 2010. The sale of gas from the initial production is disputed and the Bombay High Court has restrained the company from selling gas to any third party besides NTPC and RNRL. RIL is embroiled in separate legal battles with NTPC and RNRL. On the BSE, RIL shares declined by a marginal 0.65% or Rs 14.7 to close at Rs 2230.95 on Monday. The stock has gained 0.27% over the past one week and 3.89% in the last one month.

----------------------------------------
Other Stories:
Chidambaram confident of 8-9 per cent growth
TCS gets Singapore Airlines Cargo contract
ONGC makes four oil & gas discoveries
Mixed views on Infosys-Axon deal
Rupee slips to fresh 17-month lows

Imperial Energy says ONGC makes $2.6 b approach
Tata and Ambanis among bidders for Worli-Haji Ali sealink
Emami in talks with Zandu Pharma over management sharing
Falling oil bolsters short covering
Not just gas, Ambani brothers have at least a dozen issues to resolve

OVL to buy Imperial for 1.4 bn pounds
Reliance aims to transfer 80 pc stake in gas block
Cairn to produce 16 pc more oil from Rajasthan fields


Source:ET,SIfy.

Sensex stages a smart recovery, ends 32 pts up : Sify

Sensex stages a smart recovery, ends 32 pts up

After opening on a weak note this morning and remaining in the red for a long time, the market staged a smart recovery in late afternoon trade to end on a positive note today thanks to heavy buying in auto, bank and IT stocks. Reports of a near normal monsoon aided the sentiment to an extent.

While the 30 share BSE sensitive index Sensex ended the day with a gain of 31.87 points or 0.22% at 14,482.22, the broader 50 stock Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange settled with a small gain of 2.15 points at 4337.50. Earlier, after opening at 14,338.27, the Sensex had tumbled to 14,286.38 in morning trade.

A weak close on Wall Street, a negative trend on the Asian bourses and a jump in oil prices had triggered heavy selling in morning trade today. Information technology stocks surged higher following Infosys Technologies making the biggest ever overseas acquisition by the Indian IT sector.

Though the bellwether stock remained subdued for a better part of the session - in fact it ended with a loss of 0.3% today - other IT majors Satyam Computer Services (3.25%), Wipro (2.15%) and Tata Consultancy Services (1.8%) signed off on a firm note.

But it was bank stock HDFC Bank, which topped the list of gainers from the Sensex today. The private sector bank major ended stronger by nearly 4%. BHEL gained nearly 2%. Mahindra & Mahindra also ended with a gain of close to 2%.

Reliance Infrastructure, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, State Bank of India and Hindalco gained 1% - 1.75%. ACC, Tata Power, NTPC, DLF, Larsen & Toubro and ONGC ended with modest gains.

Reliance Industries (down 2.3%) remained weak right through the session today. Jaiprakash Associates lost 1.85%. Tata Steel declined by 1.35%. HDFC, Reliance Communications, Sterlite Industries and Bharti Airtel lost 0.4% - 0.8%. Tata Motors and Grasim Industries posted marginal losses.

Suzlon Energy (down 4.25%) was the most prominent loser in the Nifty index. Zee Entertainment, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ABB and Idea Cellular also declined sharply.
HCL Technologies, Punjab National Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Cipla, GAIL India, Reliance Petroleum and Siemens ended with sharp to moderate gains.

Bosch vaulted 13.65% on a share buy-back proposal. Max India jumped nearly 7%. Phoenix Mills gained 5.7%. Piramal Healthcare, KSK Energy, IFCI, Punjab Lloyd, IRB Infrastructure, Bajaj Holdings, REI Agro, Bank of Baroda, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank, Reliance Capital, UCO Bank and Crompton Greaves gained in strength.

Among midcap stocks, FSL zoomed nearly 23%. Motherson Sumi ended with a hefty gain of 9.8%. Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Apollo Tyre, IndusInd Bank, BF Utilities, Zee News, Torrent Pharma, KEC International, 3i Infotech, NIIT, Provogue and Shristi Infrastructure also ended on a firm note.

As the focus was on large cap stocks today, not many stocks from midcap and smallcap segments made it to the positive territory. The market breadth was negative. Out of 2692 stocks traded on BSE, 1199 stocks closed with gains. 1389 stocks posted losses and 104 stocks ended flat.

Source:Sify India.

25 August 2008

Investor's Guide: ET

Investor's Guide

Top stories
Bargain hunting helps indices close higher25 Aug, 2008, 0513 hrs IST, DEEPAK MOHONI
The market declined for the second successive week, with the Sensex finishing 2.19% or 323 points lower, the Nifty losing 2.33% and the CNX Midcap falling 2.71%.


Global stock indices mirror each other 25 Aug, 2008, 0502 hrs IST, Shakti Shankar Patra
Though the harbingers of globalisation may not have envisioned it, the interdependence of world economies and the free flow of capital have made global stock indices mirror each other.


BoI's stock a good bet for long term investors
25 Aug, 2008, 0452 hrs IST, Karan Sehgal & Diana Montei Ro
Bank of India’s cheap valuations belie its strong performance across key parameters. The stock is an interesting bet for long-term investors.


Piramal stock outperformed the Sensex 25 Aug, 2008, 0433 hrs IST, Kiran Kabtta
Piramal Healthcare’s stock has outperformed the Sensex since the start of this year. There’s still significant upside left in the stock and long-term investors can accumulate it at the current price.


Analysts'Picks: Tata steel, Idea cellular, Tata chemicals, Lupin, ONGC
25 Aug, 2008, 0424 hrs IST
Tata steel, Idea cellular, Tata chemicals, Lupin, ONGC are good for investment.

Analysts'Picks: ONGC Govt had indicated that subsidy-sharing in FY09 will be fixed at Rs 45,000 crore for upstream cos Rs 20,000 crore for OMCs and oil bonds issuance at Rs 94,600 crore.
Analysts'Picks: Lupin Lupin has entered into multiyear agreement with Forest to promote the latter’s VHC product AeroChamber Plus to paediatricians.
Analysts'Picks: Tata chemicals Goldman sachs initiates ‘buy’ recommendation on Tata Chemicals with a target price of Rs 435, implying 29% potential upside.
Analysts'Picks: Idea Idea launched its mobile services in Mumbai last week.
Analysts'Picks: Tata steel CLSA maintains ‘outperform’ rating on Tata Steel, but lowers its target price to Rs 745.

Stock market may undergo correction in short term 25 Aug, 2008, 0418 hrs IST
With FY09 valuations looking fair, the stock market may undergo a correction in the short term before seeking a trend.


KEL stable growth is good bet for investors 25 Aug, 2008, 0415 hrs IST, Ramkrishna Kashelkar
Kabra Extrusiontechnik’s stable growth prospects, low valuations and healthy dividend yield make it a good bet for long-term investors.


Investors can scale operations with Unitech and DLF
25 Aug, 2008, 0349 hrs IST, Supriya Verma Mishra
Investors who want to take advantage of growth in the domestic real estate sector can draw strength from DLF’s impeccable delivery record and scale of operations, while the bravehearts can go for Unitech.


LIC is on shopping spree! 25 Aug, 2008, 0331 hrs IST, Krishna Kant
Not Everybody is selling while it’s demoralising for investors to hear about the exodus of deep-pocketed FIIs, they can take heart from the fact that LIC, the big daddy of the Indian equity market, is on a shopping spree.


IT sector grapples with fluctuating rupee
25 Aug, 2008, 0325 hrs IST, Santanu Mishra & Ranjit Shinde
The IT sector is grappling with problems, but all’s not over yet. There are still some value picks for investors who are willing to be patient.



Source:ET