Money on the markets

L&T shares fall after quarterly results

Shares in engineering conglomerate L&T ended down 1.65 percent on Monday after the company posted a 10.5-percent rise in standalone profit for the quarter ended in December, but a fall in its operating margin hit investor sentiment.

The company said its operating margin in the third quarter was at 10.8 percent compared with 12.4 percent a year ago.

The BSE Capital Goods Index ended down 1.17 percent.

Do you think it is worth investing in L&T at this stage?

L&T gains 1.2 pct

Shares in Larsen & Toubro ended 1.2 percent higher at 2013.15 rupees after the firm announced a good set for Q2 numbers.

The firm topped market estimates with a 32 percent rise in profit on the back of a pickup in orders, and stood by its outlook for 20 percent revenue growth in fiscal 2011.

The stock had touched an intra-day low of 1928.8 rupees, but erased losses later in the day.

Will you buy this stock now?

L&T shares jump 3.3 percent

Shares in engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro rose more than 3 percent on Thursday on improving outlook in the backdrop of a rapidly expanding economy.

The stock, which also ended as the top Sensex gainer, has gained 9 percent this month.

India’s economy grew at its fastest pace in six months in the March quarter on the back of government and consumer spending.

Last month, the company had declared better-than-expected quarterly numbers and said it expected 20 percent revenue growth in the current fiscal year.

Do you think it’s worth investing in L&T at this stage?

L&T gains more after result boost

Shares in leading engineering and construction firm L&T continued their climb and closed 3.26 percent higher on Tuesday, after a good set of quarterly numbers declared on Monday.

The firm had said it was upbeat on outlook, which helped the stock reach its best closing level in four months.

JPMorgan has raised the stock to “overweight” from “neutral”, while Deutsche Bank has upgraded the share to “buy” from “hold”.

The company on Monday said its order backlog stood at more than 1 trillion rupees at the end of March.

The engineering firm’s shares have gained 9.1 percent since May 11. Would you invest in this counter at this stage?

L&T skids over 10 percent in 2 days

Larsen & Toubro shares have dropped over 10 percent in the last two trading sessions. On Friday, it was among the top Sensex losers.

Shares in the company ended 3.4 percent lower at 1472 rupees with volumes of nearly 1.4 million shares.

India’s largest engineering and construction conglomerate, Larsen & Toubro, in its quarterly review on Thursday lowered its full-year revenue guidance citing project delays.

The company’s shares have fallen over 12 percent this year. Do you think L&T is a good buy?

Capital goods index drops 5 pct

The BSE Capital goods index witnessed a sharp drop over 5 percent on Thursday as top stocks like Larsen & Toubro (L&T) slumped 6.8 percent after results.

Shares in L&T, which announced its quarterly numbers, closed at 1524 rupees after losing 112 rupees after it reported its quarterly sales dropped 6.1 percent. It also ended as the top Sensex loser.

Havells India ended as the top loser in the index, slipping 7.6 percent. Gammon India dropped 6.7 percent. Only three stocks in the index managed to close in green.

L&T shares have dropped over 9 percent in 2010, far higher than the 4.3 percent fall in the capital goods index.

Would you take advantage of the fall and pick a stock from this sector?

Market ends flat, L&T down after results

It was a lacklustre day for the Sensex which ended three points lower at 14,250 as investors booked profits after a two-day rally.

Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro fell 3.6 percent and was the main stock that pushed the benchmark lower. Earlier in the day the company had announced its Q1 net profit had risen to 15.98 billion rupees.

Top listed firm Reliance Industries posted a smart rise of 3.1 percent to close at 1934 rupees.

The top Sensex losers included Sterlite Industries, which was down over 6 percent, and Reliance Infra which ended nearly 4 percent lower.

Sectorally, the auto index topped the space with a 1.95 percent rise. TVS Motors gained more than 10 percent while Maruti Suzuki and Hero Honda gained over 3 percent each.

The BSE capital goods, metals, banking and realty indices ended the day in negative territory.

Do you think the benchmark will post decent gains on Friday and end the week on a high note?

Sensex down 0.77 pct led by Reliance

The Sensex clawed back from mid-day losses on Monday but still closed 103 points lower at 13400, adding to last week’s slide of over 1400 points.

Worries about the global economy and corporate results weighed on investor sentiments throughout trade, which saw the benchmark hitting the day’s low of 13,220.

The fall in the index was led by Reliance Industries, which lost 1.7 percent, and L&T which dropped 2.1 percent. Reliance Infra was the top index loser with a slump of over 6 percent.

The BSE Info Tech index bucked the trend and gained 1.7 percent with stocks such as HCL Tech and Infosys adding 2.8 and 2.4 percent respectively.

On the other hand, the BSE Consumer Durables Index was the worst hit with losses of 5.6 percent, followed by the realty and metal indices, both dropping over 3.5 percent.

Gammon Infra was down over 17 percent at one point after a Delhi Metro bridge the contractor was working on collapsed on Sunday. Its shares recovered later and closed 2.73 percent higher.

The mid-cap index lost 2.8 percent, with stocks such as SREI Infra dropping 17.8 percent and Bajaj Hindustan losing 12.7 percent.

Sensex range bound in choppy trade

The Sensex remained volatile in trade and ended 0.08 percent lower on fears of a fall in corporate earnings for the June quarter.

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies, will kick off the earnings season on Friday.

The rupee weakened to 49/dollar, its weakest since May 18. It was down 2.2 percent on week early in opening trade.

The Wholesale Price Index fell 1.55 percent, with the primary and food article indices gaining and the fuel index remained unchanged. Manufacturing, however, slipped 0.1 pct.

The 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day high of 13,879 to an intra-day low of 13,643 and closed 11 points lower at 13,757. The fifty-share Nifty ended 0.05 percent higher at 4080.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Consumer Durable Index dropped 1.4 percent, followed by the Capital Goods Index which ended 1.07 percent lower. However, the BSE Metal Index closed 1.53 percent higher.

FIIs bought net $158.5 million in shares and sold $3.6 million in debt.

Sensex tanks on global economic worries

Selling pressure pulled the BSE Sensex below 14,000 on Wednesday as concerns over global economic recovery spooked financial markets all around.

Trade was volatile and the 30-share sensitive index touched an intra-day low of 13,701 before closing 401 points lower at 13,769. The fifty-share Nifty ended 2.93 percent down at 4,078.

The fall in the benchmark was led by L&T, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Realty Index dropped 8.47 percent, followed by the Capital Goods Index which ended 5.05 percent lower. All other indices ended in the red.

On the global front, Asian and European markets felt the selling heat as investors pulled funds out of bets on the global economic recovery.

Doubts about the strength of the global economy saw oil prices falling more that a dollar. Do you think the Sensex fall is a sign of a downtrend setting in, or is it a correction that will see the benchmark scaling new heights?