Money on the markets

Auto stocks end lower

The BSE Auto Index fell 1.4 percent and was the top sectoral loser, with stocks like Hero Honda and Tata Motors slipping.

Hero Honda shed nearly 3 percent after it posted a 1.6-percent drop in quarterly net profit. JPMorgan cut its share price target for the stock.

Tata Motors ended down 2.2 percent while Ashok Leyland ended down 1.5 percent.

M&M was among stocks that closed in the green, closing 2.7 percent higher.

Would you take advantage of this fall and invest in these counters?

Banking index gains

The BSE Banking index rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday as banks shrugged off rising trend in rates and climbed on hopes robust economic growth will boost demand for loans.

Federal Bank shares gained 2.6 percent and ended as the top gainer in the index, followed by Bank of Baroda which gained 2.5 percent.

Shares in ICICI, India’s top private sector lender, ended nearly 2 percent higher.

A Reuters poll has shown that the RBI may hike interest rates again by September. Would you invest in banking counters at this stage?

Oil & gas index dragged lower by RIL

The BSE Oil & Gas Index closed as the top sectoral loser on Wednesday, falling 1.92 percent mainly on losses in Reliance Industries which saw brokerage downgrades.

Shares of Reliance Industries fell 3 percent after brokerages such as Edelweiss, Motilal Oswal and IIFL downgraded the firm saying the company would take longer to increase gas production at the KG-D6 block.

Other losers in the index were Reliance Natural, which fell nearly 1 percent, and GAIL which slipped 0.8 percent.

Prominent among those that bucked the downtrend was Aban Offshore, which jumped nearly 9 percent after the company said it had received a major portion of the $235 million insurance claim for its semi-submersible rig.

Which your favourite pick in this sector? Would you take advantage of the fall in RIL’s price?

Rate-sensitive sectors gain despite rate hike

It was a good day for rate-sensitive sectors like banking, autos and realty as they shrugged off a hike in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India.

The BSE Auto Index gained 2.4 percent and closed as top sectoral gainer, followed by realty which gained 1.5 percent. The Bankex ended 0.7 percent higher.

Dealers said RBI’s tone was hawkish, but not harsh.

The RBI is likely to raise interest rates more aggressively in the rest of the fiscal year, a new Reuters poll found.

Would you place your bets on rate-sensitive stocks as of now?

Fortis Healthcare shares rise

Shares in Fortis Healthcare rose nearly 3 percent on Monday after Fortis said it is accepting Khazanah’s offer for Parkway.

Click here for main story.

Fortis made  S$116.7 million profit on its stake and will look for other opportunities in the region. The company’s chief financial officer also said that Fortis will be debt-free following the sale of its stake in Parkaway Holdings.

Do you think shares in Fortis will extend their rise on Tuesday?

Wipro ends lower after results

Profit sales saw Wipro shares end 0.8 percent lower on Friday after the firm reported a forecast-beating, 31-percent rise in quarterly profit.

The firm said it was seeing strong business environment, which helped pull up sectoral stocks early in the day. The stock had risen as much as 4.2 percent in trade.

The stock is not far away from its highest level in a decade — 451.80 rupees, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Wipro’s upbeat results also helped TCS rise to a record high of 850 rupees during trade.

Which is your favourite IT stock at this stage?

Results fail to prop up Dr Reddy’s

Shares in Dr Reddy’s dropped 1.6 percent on Thursday despite the drugmaker reporting a 7.5 percent rise in profit for the June quarter.

Net profit was at 2.44 billion rupees ($52 million), up from 2.27 billion rupees a year earlier, according to a posting on the National Stock Exchange.

Shares in the counter have given a positive return of over 20 percent so far this year. Do you think it is the right time to invest in the stock?

TVS Motor rises on results, bonus announcement

India’s No 3 two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Co, reported a surge in April-June profit riding booming sales on higher demand for motorcycles, and announced a bonus issue of shares, sending its shares soaring.

The counter rose over 10 percent in intra-day trade but pared most of its gains and ended 5.7 percent higher at 128.55 rupees with volumes of 10.5 million shares on the BSE.

The firm’s board on Wednesday recommended a one-one bonus issue sending its shares soaring to a life high of 137.2 rupees.

Shares in TVS have gained over 80 percent so far this year. Do you think it is the right times to invest in this counter?

Realty Index gains

The BSE Realty Index ended higher in a lackluster market as weak global cues continued to dampen sentiments at higher levels.

Some buying was seen in realty stocks and the sector remained the top performer among BSE sectoral indices.

Unitech (up 2.3 pct), Sobha Developers (up 3 pct) and DLF (up 2 pct) were among the leaders in the BSE Realty Index. Unitech was also among the top traded stocks on the BSE with volumes of 5.3 million shares.

The sector has dropped over 11 percent so far this year. Do you think it is the right time to invest in realty stocks?

Reliance Comm gains

Shares in Reliance Communications closed 2.2 percent higher on report that Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat) is close to buying 26 percent in the firm.

The stock was among the top Sensex gainers with volumes of over 1.8 million shares on the BSE.

Last month, Reliance Comm agreed to merge its telecoms communication towers business with that of GTL Infrastructure Ltd in a deal that a source said would cut its debt by $3.9 billion.

Keeping in mind that the counter has gained over 30 percent since June this year, would you invest in Reliance Comm at this stage or wait for a correction?