Money on the markets

from Expert Zone:

India Market Weekahead – Volatile market within a narrow range

(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)

A sharper-than-expected cut of 50 basis points in the repo rate boosted the benchmark indices early during the week. However, as expected, the Nifty could not gain higher than 5350 as apprehensions about the limited scope of further rate cuts suppressed sentiment.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sounded cautious as recent growth trends indicate the economy is operating below its post-crisis levels. We anticipate a very limited scope for further reduction in policy rates going ahead as persistent liquidity deficit would make rate cuts difficult. Also the upside risk to inflation remains and further slippage on the fiscal front can aggravate inflationary pressure.

Globally, the euro zone markets also witnessed positive action following a successful bond auction by Spain and France. Appetite for these bonds during such distress times renewed some hope of revival in that region.

Reliance Industries came out with its Q4FY12 numbers after market hours on Friday. Its net profit of 42.4 billion rupees just fell short of the street estimate of 43 billion rupees, down 21 pct year-on-year. Lower production from its KGD6 offshore fields and weak refining margins dented profits. Sales, however, grew 16 pct to 878 billion rupees. Due to falling KGD6 production and weak cyclical margins, its near-term earnings are expected to remain subdued. The stock should remain sideways for some more time due to a lack of positive triggers, with the downside protected due to the ongoing buyback plan. Among cement heavyweights, Ambuja and ACC results also disappointed markets.

For the coming week, the markets are expected to remain volatile on account of derivative expiry. Some of the major corporate results -- beginning with TCS on Monday -- will remain crucial. Others include Sesa Goa, Wipro, Sterlite Industries, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Jindal Steel & Power, Siemens and Maruti Suzuki.

The rupee continued to be weak quoting above 52 rupees against the dollar. Though the RBI intervention in the currency market was expected to stem the fall, there doesn’t seem to be any such move. The rupee would continue to remain weak within a range. Oil prices gave some respite by correcting to $118.Closer home, with no action on increasing the retail prices of petro products, the subsidy burden continues to balloon.

from Expert Zone:

Brace for volatility, but utilise opportunity

(The views expressed in this column are the author's own and do not represent those of Reuters)

After a 21 percent run so far this year due to unabated liquidity flow, markets paused for two weeks in a row with a cut of close to 5 percent. Data showing a slowdown in GDP growth in Q3 December spooked investors while macroeconomic worries arising from high oil prices also weighed on sentiments.

Foreign institutional investors’ (FII) flow continued unabated with $5 bln in February and $7 bln so far this year. Domestic institutional investors continue their selling spree with a net sell figure of $2.4 bln in February and $3.8 bln YTD.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced 530 bln euros in the second Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) operation that was marginally higher than expected and compared with a 489 bln euro figure last time. However, there are still fears looming the Greek crisis has still not been resolved and there will eventually be a Euro exit as we have been indicating in the past.

Back home, the 5 percent government stake sale through the ONGC auction route scraped through with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) moving in at the last minute to save the day for the government. There were debates the floor price was on the higher side. As a result, a large number of FIIs and mutual funds did not participate in the bidding. The decision makers needed to look at the market reality than pure mathematics. Any issuer should always pay heed to the reference price (which is the market quote) and give a suitable discount irrespective of the fundamentals. The ground rule of the market -- “the market price captures the current value of the stock” -- seems to have been forgotten by the decision makers. No investor (other than strategic), whether an institutional one or retail, would pay a premium especially when it’s not a scarce commodity. The government has to take this into account while strategising future divestments with regards to the pricing.

Markets this week are expected to remain volatile with three big events lined up over the next fortnight -- Uttar Pradesh election results on March 6, RBI credit policy on March 15 and the Union Budget on March 16.

If one were to believe the various exit polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) may be set to regain power and is likely to win around 185 seats in the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh assembly. However, it remains short of majority and may need a partner. The stock markets have to some extent build on a SP-Congress alliance; but in case they stick to their pre-poll stand of not forging a partnership, there also remains a possibility of a hung house with SP as the largest party. Hence, we could have a scenario of President's rule.

from Expert Zone:

India Market Weekahead: RBI policy holds the key

(The views expressed in this column are the author's own and do not represent those of Reuters)

Markets extended a rally for the third consecutive week led by strong FII inflows. FIIs have pumped in $1.2 billion so far this year as risk sentiment stabilised after several European debt auctions saw lower borrowing rates and overwhelming demand. Improvement in U.S. economic data, rupee appreciation and December quarter earnings exceeding lower expectations helped the market rally nearly 8 pct in three weeks.

The initial set of corporate results surprised the street as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies and Hero MotoCorp posted better-than-expected numbers.

However, Reliance Industries (RIL) disappointed with a net profit de-growth of 13.6 pct year-on-year on the back of lower refining and petrochem margins. Its gross refining margins declined sharply to $6.8 per barrel from $9 per barrel. The buyback of $2 billion at a maximum price up to 870 rupees/share for up to 120 million shares or 3.6 pct equity via open market is seen as a cover-up for the subdued results. RIL stock has already gained 8 pct during the week after the announcement of the buy-back program. We may see a knee-jerk reaction to the results when trading opens on Monday but the buy-back may provide a cushion at the lower end.

As expected, shares of power generation companies gained after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged help on chronic power shortages in the country in its meeting with business leaders. Our top pick Tata Power jumped 9 pct while NTPC gained 5 pct. Any action at the ground level will lend a helping hand to other sectors such as banking where there is a fear of NPAs from the power sector as well as capital goods which has seen a slowdown in order flows.

The rupee maintained a stronger tone during the week and strengthened to near 50 levels against the dollar. Sustained net inflows so far in 2012 along with short covering helped strengthen the rupee. It may be difficult for the rupee to extend the recovery further in the near term and we expected consolidation at current levels.

The coming week is truncated on account of Republic Day on January 26. We have the all important quarter review of monetary policy on January 24. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is widely expected to keep its key lending rate -- the repo rate -- steady. However, a few sections of the market are expecting a CRR cut.

from Expert Zone:

2012 – Boom or Doom?

(The views expressed in this column are the author's own and do not represent those of Reuters)

What a year 2011 has been. Except certain commodities such as gold and oil, every other asset class has been hit. With Sensex down more than 20 pct YTD, 10 year g-sec yields up by almost 1 pct and rupee down by almost 14 pct against the dollar, it has been a poor year for investors. This was caused by a bout of strong global risk aversion led by the European sovereign debt crisis, high inflation in emerging markets and consequent monetary tightening, and lack of proper policy action in India. The only salvation came from commodities such as oil (up almost 26 pct in rupee terms) and gold (up almost 38 pct in rupee terms).

Are any of these likely to continue haunting us in 2012? Or will there be a new set of problems? Is the worst already behind us? That's the million dollar question on everybody's mind. The irony is few of us, if at all, have the right answers. Still based on evidence available today, one can hazard a guess.

What does 2012 have in store for the investor? There is no doubt that growth has slowed down. The poor industrial growth numbers over the last quarter and the latest second quarter real GDP growth of 6.9 pct (manufacturing growth was a mere 2.7 pct whereas mining output contracted) drive the point home.

Is it going to change in a hurry? Seems improbable. After all, more than a year of continuous rate hikes should have taken its toll on growth. And to top it up, inflation is yet to subside at least on a year on year basis, even though that is not the best way to look at it. The fall in the rupee hasn't helped either, exacerbating the already high trade deficit and inflation by making imports costlier.

But aren't we pricing it all in? Aren't equity valuations cheap and yields already near 2008 highs? True. But stocks can get cheaper still? Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. Remember, we are still looking at Sensex valuations with respect to FY13 earnings which price in a 16-17 pct growth over FY12. Whereas FY12 earnings growth is already being revised down to 10 pct, expected FY13 growth can be downgraded further if macro indicators worsen. Also, the Sensex earnings yield (basis forward PE of 13-13.5 as per FY13 earnings estimate) at approx 7.5 pct is still short (approx 0.8 pct) of the one year bond yield. Historically, equity markets have come out of a bear phase once Sensex earnings yields have been higher than bond yields by more than approx 50 pct i.e. the ratio between Sensex forward earnings yield and bond yields has been around 1.5. On this basis, valuations seem to be in a fair zone rather than being screaming cheap. For Sensex yields to become 1.5 times of bond yields today either the Sensex will have to be de-rated further or the bond yields will have to come down significantly. It is unlikely that either of these events happen in isolation. Rather a combination of both, i.e. a price or time correction in stocks coupled with the bond yields coming off significantly seems to be a more plausible scenario going ahead.

The initial part of the year 2012 (probably the first half) thus might continue to see high volatility as a result of the above. But as we move to the latter half of 2012, things should start improving. Bond yields are most likely to have come down quite some distance by that time (assuming that inflation moderates -- month on month growth momentum in core WPI inflation is already showing signs of slowing down -- and RBI starts cutting rates) and equities should be available at a real bargain by then. The second half of 2012 should thus be much better than the first.

Unitech shares jump more than 9 pct

Shares in Unitech, one of India’s leading real estate firms, rose 9.3 percent to close at 38.2 rupees, after a sell-off amid allegations that the firm was among those who were favoured in 2G licence grants in 2008.

On Tuesday, the CBI questioned Unitech’s MD as part of a probe into the alleged telecoms corruption scandal.

In 2011, shares in Unitech have slumped over 42 percent. Do you think it is the right time to invest in this counter?

Mahindra Satyam shares jump on earnings

Software services exporter Mahindra Satyam jumped 11.7 percent to 64.65 rupees after the firm reported its third quarter net profit, which more than doubled from a quarter ago.

The company also said that it put a planned merger with its parent firm, Tech Mahindra, on hold.

Shares in Tech Mahindra ended 10.6 percent higher.

Do you think it is a good time to buy Mahindra Satyam’s shares?

Good day for RIL shares

Shares in Reliance Industries, India’s top listed firm, gained 4 percent on Friday, helping the benchmark Sensex post gains of more than 250 points.

RIL, which has the highest weight in the Sensex, ended with volumes of 944,021 on BSE.

The stock had hit an intra-day low of 980 rupees but managed to recover.

Do you think it is the right time to invest in RIL shares?

Real estate index rises

Stocks of real estate firms posted decent gains on Thursday, with HDIL standing out with a 9 percent jump.

The realty index closed 2.2 percent higher, topping the BSE sectoral indices table.

Top firms DLF and Unitech notched gains of 0.7 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.

The sectoral index has gained 12.4 percent this week. Do you think it is the right time to enter this sector?

IOC shares surge

Shares in Indian Oil Corporation ended 10.96 percent higher on Wednesday. Its chairman said the firm aims to raise $4.4 billion in January through a FPO and that the pricing for offer was likely to be at 450 rupees apiece.

Shares were up as much as 14 percent during trade.

The Indian government is selling a 10 percent stake, while the company will offer an equal number of new shares to raise 20 billion rupees, making the sale the biggest-ever share offering in the Indian market.

Would you invest in IOC at this stage?

Reliance Industries gains

Reliance Industries gained 3.7 percent on Monday, recovering from the recent underperformance.

Shares in India’s top listed firm closed at 998.2 rupees after helping the benchmark index gain more than 200 points.