Money on the markets

Realty gains in volatile market

The BSE Sensex today shrugged off shaky early trade and ended 0.6 percent higher on speculation the government would announce an economic stimulus plan in its interim budget.

On the global front, World stocks fell after five days of gains as investors fretted over U.S. plans to boost the economy and save its banks.

According to SEBI, FIIs were net buyers today. Their net investment in equities was $71.7 million, while their net sales in debt was $1.3 million.

India’s industrial output in January is expected to be better than November and December as there were encouraging signs from the cement, steel and auto sectors. In November, factory output rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, after declining 0.3 percent in October.

Trade Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday assured that the government was committed to taking more measures to prevent job losses. Exports lobby groups estimate job losses of 10 million by March-end, as the global recession clouds over the Indian industry.

Sectorally, the Realty index was the best performer, ending 6.58 percent higher. Stocks like DLF jumped over 9 percent, while rival Unitech gained 9.45 percent.

Prominent among the other Sensex gainers were BHEL and Mahindra & Mahindra which rose 4.2 and 3.3 percent respectively. Tata Motors and Reliance Infrastructure were on the losing side of the index.

Stimulus hopes boost investor sentiments

The BSE Sensex ended on a strong note on Monday, extending gains to more than 3 percent on hopes of fresh economic stimulus measures and another round of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Gains were led by heavyweights like Reliance Industries, which was up 3.3 percent; ICICI Bank, which rose 5.1 percent, and State Bank of India which added 2.6 percent.

Amongst sectors, the Metals Index topped the charts, gaining over 4 percent mainly on a surge in steel makers. Bhushan Steel jumped 16.98 pct while Tata Steel and Welspun Gujarat rose 7.2 pct and 7.3 pct respectively.

The Oil & Gas Index gained over 3 percent, helped mainly by a rise in Reliance Industries, which was up 3.3 pct at 1389.05, and ONGC which was up 5.95 percent at 721.6 rupees.

Among individual stocks, Satyam continued moving south, closing 2.7 percent lower at 46.1 rupees. Its chairman today announced that the board would decide on a long-term action plan by next week, including a possible sale of the company.

Shares of Piramal Healthcare, which surged 25 percent in early trade on reports of a likely acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Aventis, ended 1 percent lower at 192.55 rupees as the current valuation does not convince the company for a sell-out.

On the global front, equities were weaker in Europe and Japan, but emerging markets were putting in a fifth consecutive day of gains, reflecting positive investor sentiments. Caution remained over the contents of both the U.S. stimulus package and a delayed plan to rescue the U.S. banking system.

Week ends on strong note, Sensex gains 2.3 pct

Investors were relieved as markets ended with strong gains on the last trading day of the week, tracking rises in Asian bourses. The BSE Sensex gained over 200 points to close at 9301.

Gains were led by heavyweights like Reliance Industries, up 4.4 percent; ICICI Bank, up 4 percent, and Infosys Technologies which rose 2.1 percent.

Amongst sectors, the Oil & Gas Index was the top performer, gaining over 3 percent helped mainly by a jump in Reliance Industries.

Some realty stocks rallied today. Puravankara surged by 17.2 percent while Parsvnath Developers was up 12.3 percent.

Shares in Satyam, which were seen heading south in the last few sessions, managed to close 2.5 percent higher at 47.4 rupees. However, the volumes were not as high as in the previous sessions.

The focus now is on the developments on the new $900-billion U.S. stimulus plan, which will be closely watched for cues. U.S. President Barack Obama has urged action on the bill to stave off a “catastrophe”.

Do you think the U.S. bailout package, if approved, will help financial systems globally? Will our markets rally too?

Profit taking caps Sensex rise

For the second day in a row, the Sensex registered small gains after a volatile session.

A surge in Asian markets helped the benchmark add over 2 percent by late morning, but the gains could not be sustained and the index ended marginally higher at 9202 as investors booked profits in stocks such as Reliance Industries.

Sectorally, the metals index was the best performer, ending 3 percent higher. Stocks like Ispat Industries jumped over 12.4 percent, while Tata Steel gained 4.9 percent.

Prominent among the other Sensex gainers were DLF and JP Associates which rose 5.1 and 4.6 percent respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra and Ranbaxy Labs were on the losing side of the index.

The realty index, which was beaten down in the last two trading sessions, witnessed a recovery of 1.18 percent.

Shares in fraud-hit Satyam fell for the second straight day, ending down 6.7 percent at 50.1 rupees. It was the top traded stock on the BSE and NSE with volumes of over 75 million shares.

An obvious answer to what can help the Sensex sustain its gains is a pickup in demand for goods and another round of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank. A top policy advisor today said the RBI may cut interest rates after February’s interim budget is approved and it has a better sense of the country’s fiscal situation. Do you think the market sentiment will improve significantly if the RBI actually slashes rates?

Sensex ends 1 pct higher after volatile session

Indian markets remained volatile throughout the day but the Sensex managed to close nearly 1 percent higher, tracking gains in global bourses.

A weak early morning session was followed by a bounce back, leading the benchmark index to 9302. But it pared gains later to close at 9149.

Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries (up 1.9 percent), ITC (up 1.8 percent) and Bharti Airtel (up 1.5 percent) led the rise.

Oil & Gas stocks did well in trade, sending the Oil & Gas index up 1.4 percent. Shares in Cairn India, Reliance Petro and ONGC ended with decent gains.

However, there was no respite for realty stocks. The realty index extended losses by 7.5 percent after an over 10 percent decline yesterday.

DLF, India’s top-listed realty firm, fell 13.2 percent, while Indiabulls Real Estate was down nearly 9 percent.

Outsourcer Satyam closed down 6.6 percent at 53.75 rupees, shrugging off a company statement that the firm had won 15 contracts in January despite revelation of a fraud at the company.

Weak start to week, mkts slump nearly 4 pct

The week started on a negative note today, as the Sensex dropped more than 350 points to close 3.8 pct down.

Investor sentiments have been hit yet again by weak U.S. data for the fourth quarter and a survey that showed Indian manufacturing activity fell for a third straight month in January.

Amongst Sensex components, shares in DLF, India’s top listed firm, took a beating as they slipped 13.5 pct. DLF reported a 69 percent slump in quarterly profit to 6.71 billion rupees on Saturday.

As the Satyam saga continues, the Economic Times reported that SEBI will consider a proposal from Satyam’s government-appointed board to set the open offer price over a shorter period, probably two weeks, instead of the usual six-month average.

The shares of the embattled outsourcer jumped over 6.5 pct in trade to close at 57.6 rupees. It remained the top traded stock on BSE and NSE today with total volumes of over 10 crores.

Sensex heavyweights like Reliance industries dropped 3.6 percent whereas ICICI Bank slipped 7.5 percent.

Sectorally, the realty index was worst hit as it ended with losses of 10.3 percent, followed by Metal Index that shed 5.3 percent.

Sensex slips, RBI policy eyed

The Sensex took a hit on Friday as disappointing corporate results outlook and fading hopes of a rate cut sent it down to its lowest close in two months. The benchmark index dropped 1.5 percent to close at 8,674.

Energy giant Reliance Industries bucked the trend and rose 1.8 percent on lower-than-expected fall in quarterly profit. Outsourcer Satyam jumped 31 percent. U.S.-listed iGate has told the Satyam board that it is interested in buying the firm.

Financial stocks reeled on worries over rising bad debts ahead of earnings from lenders SBI and ICICI. State Bank of India fell 4.3 percent, ICICI dropped 3.7 percent and HDFC Bank lost 2.2 percent.

Technology shares fell, tracking U.S. markets. TCS and Infosys lost 2.1 percent each, while Wipro dropped 1.7 percent.

Ranbaxy hit a 7½-year low during trade after reporting a net loss for the second consecutive quarter, but recovered later.

The effect of a gloomy earnings season seems to have set in. Tata Steel, SAIL, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors are among those reporting earnings next week. The automakers are expected to post dismal results.

A government panel has cut its growth forecast for the economy to 7.1 percent for the current fiscal from 7.7 percent, and its chief has said there is room for more cuts in interest rates.

Markets lacklustre as results pour in

It was a results packed day as big companies like Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Ranbaxy reported their quarterly earnings.

The profits of Reliance Industries, India’s largest listed company, fell 9.8 percent, its first drop in three years. Ranbaxy Labs’ foreign exchange losses pushed it into the red in the December quarter.

But Bharti Airtel’s profits jumped 25 percent as it signed up a record 8.2 million users and remained confident of sustaining growth.

The markets however remained lackluster as the benchmark index ended marginally higher by 35 points at 8813.

Realty stocks took a beating as its index ended down 5.4 percent. Shares in DLF dropped over 9 percent whereas rival Unitech shed 3.4 percent.

Fraud-hit Satyam Computer gained 6.6 percent in trade. Larsen & Toubro denied media reports that it would put a revival plan to the board of Satyam. Shares in L&T slipped 3.3 percent.

The government announced yesterday that it would unveil more relief steps for exporters in 10-12 days. Do you think it will help boost the overall market sentiment?

Obama magic fails to fire up markets

Bad day for the equity markets as the Sensex plunged 3.5 percent to close at 8779.

The Obama magic failed to enthuse investors which was evident from the 4 percent fall in Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) after his inaugural speech.

And, as if on cue, Asia trailed the US markets down and the Sensex slid as foreign investors remain worried about a fragile world economy and gloomy earnings outlook.

Even IT major Wipro, which met expectations with an 8.7 percent rise in quarterly profit, slipped 3.5 pct as India’s third largest IT outsourcer gave a downbeat outlook.

Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries (down 5.3 percent) and ICICI (down 7.1 percent) added to Wednesday’s woes.

But shares in Satyam gained 3.3 percent, remaining the top traded stock on both the BSE and NSE.

With a gloomy outlook from the companies, have investors started looking for cues from the RBI?

Market begins week on cautious note

It was a day of weak trade on Dalal Street as the Sensex ended with a small gain of six points.

Worries over domestic quarterly numbers continue to weigh on sentiments as investors look for cues from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural speech, due on Tuesday, which should give some idea about his likely policy measures for growth.

The Realty index was the best sectoral performer with gains of over 2 percent. Unitech bounced back smartly to close at 31.9 rupees, after hitting an intra-day low of 25.75 rupees.

Fraud-hit Satyam Computer gained 4.1 percent in today’s trade.

In the evening, the corporate affairs minister said that there appeared to be a “nexus” between the fraud at the outsourcer and other firms linked to its promoters.

What’s your take on tomorrow’s market? Will Satyam shares be hammered by this new development?