Money on the markets

Weak day for metal stocks

The BSE Metals index ended down more than 2 perncent on Wednesday with stocks like Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa slipping more than 3 percent. Tata Steel fell 2.7 percent.

Such stocks declined as base metals prices fell in London and Shanghai following a sell-off in the international market on Tuesday after China’s first rate rise since 2007.

All stocks in the index closed in red. Do you think it is time to enter this sector?

Tata Steel rises on sale agreement

Tata Steel ended 3.5 percent higher at 527 rupees after the company said on the weekend its unit Corus has reached an agreement with Thailands SSI on the potential $500 million sale of its mothballed Teesside plant.

Shares in Tata Steel were among the biggest gainer among the Sensex stocks and ended with volumes of 1.9 million shares on BSE.

For the year the stock has declined over 15 percent but for the month of August it had gained a little over 13 percent.

Do you think the price tag for the acquisition is right for Tata Steel and will help the counter in diversification process?

Metal counters post gains after yuan move

Metal stocks jumped on Monday, boosted by China’s move to make the yuan exchange rate more flexible.

Prices of industrial metals jumped in London as China’s pledge on the yuan raised hopes of stronger demand growth in China.

Sterlite Industries’ shares rose 8.2 percent and ended as the top gainer on the BSE Sensex. Sesa Goa climbed 9.5 percent to top the list of gainers in the metals index. Tata Steel rose 6.3 percent.

All components in the metals index posted gains, with five adding more than 5 percent.

Do you think these stocks are going to rally further?

Tata Steel climbs after early losses

Tata Steel’s warning on profit growth saw its shares drop nearly 2 percent in early trade on Thursday, but the counter pared losses lateto close 1.7 percent up.

The company late on Wednesday said that rising raw material costs and the euro zone’s debt crisis could crimp Tata Steel profit growth.

The company late on Wednesday that rising raw material costs and the euro zone’s debt crisis could crimp profit growth.

The world’s eighth-largest steel maker reported a full-year net loss after minority interest and share of profit of associates of 20.1 billion rupees.

The global steel industry took a beating in the 2008/09 downturn, when demand from key construction and auto consumers slumped and some producers cut output by as much as half.

The metal index has dropped over 16 percent so far this year, while Tata Steel shares have fallen over 20 percent over the same period.

Tata Steel rises after results

Shares in Tata Steel, the world’s No.8 steelmaker by output, soared over 5 percent in intra-day trade and ended 4.8 percent higher at 585.55 rupees.

The stock, valued at $11.7 billion, nearly trebled last year, easily beating an 81 percent gain on the main index.

The company declared its quarterly results, registering profit for its India operations. Sales jumped 49 percent while net profit rose to 11.92 billion rupees from 4.66 billion rupees a year ago.

Do you see this counter will be a good buy at this point?

Metal stocks rally

It was a good day at the bourses for metal stocks, with the BSE Metal Index gaining 4.2 percent in a broader market that jumped over 400 points.

All stocks in the metal index closed in the green, with Gujarat NRE Coke and Sesa Goa leading the pack with gains of over 7 percent each.

Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel added 6.5 and 4.2 percent respectively.

The metal index has gained over 12 percent this month, outperforming the return of the Sensex which has gained only 6 percent in the period.

What’s your favourite pick in this sector?

Tata Steel leads metals

Tata Steel shares jumped 8.2 percent on Wednesday, registering their biggest one-day rise in more than three months and their best close in a year. The surge helped the BSE Metal Index gain 4.2 percent.

The counter led the gainers on the BSE after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. recession was probably over, boosting metals stocks across regions. Shanghai copper futures also rose but lagged the international market.

According to Thomson Reuters data, Tata Steel shares have gained 25 percent this month and over 140 percent since January.

Data shows the company, with a relatively high Beta of 1.76, balances it with good operating margin of 37.6 percent and has a price-to-book value ratio of 1.45.

Do you think the counter can reach new highs as the global economy shapes up again?

ICICI Bank leads Sensex decline

The BSE Sensex ended 0.85 percent down on Tuesday, as investors saw an opportunity to book profits after the market rallied 13.4 percent over the past five sessions.

The 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day high of 15,234 to an intra-day low of 14,955 and closed 128 points lower at 15,062.

The fifty-share Nifty ended 0.74 percent down to 4,469.

The fall in the Sensex was led by ICICI Bank, ITC and Infosys.

IT stocks felt some heat after a sharp rally triggered by better-than-expected Q1 June 2009 results by TCS, India’s top software services firm by sales.

The decline in IT stocks was led by TCS which fell 4.5 percent after surging over 15 percent on Monday. Infosys dropped 1.5 percent and Wipro was down 0.46 percent.

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.

Cheer for investors as Sensex rises for second day

It was another bright day for Indian investors as gains across world markets allayed concerns over risk aversion and triggered short covering ahead of the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts on Thursday.

The BSE Sensex closed 2.81 percent up at 9257, with heavyweight Reliance Industries leading the march.

Investor mood seemed positive despite poor corporate results. Globally too stocks did well on reassuring corporate results on Wall Street.

Reliance rose 3.8 percent to 1273.15 rupees.

Fraud-hit Satyam rallied 17.6 percent to 55.45 rupees, extending gains to an eight session after the government-appointed board said it had received proposals from companies and buyout firms.

ICICI Bank’s better-than-expected quarterly results sparked short covering which pushed the scrip up 7 percent to 408 rupees.

ONGC rose 3.4 percent on a rebound in global oil prices. The company reported a 43.4 percent drop in quarterly net profit after market hours.