`Tear` II cities: No frills, no thrills, moan BPO staff

Bangalore , Monday , Jul 14 , 2008 : When 26-year-old Nirup was asked by his company to get ready for a stint in Hubli-Dharwad, he decided to hunt for a new job. "What can I do in Hubli after office hours or during weekends? If I remain in Bangalore, I can spend time visiting shopping malls, multiplexes and pubs," Nirup explained to Business Standard while insisting that the BPO he currently works for in Bangalore should not be named. Nirup's is not an isolated case, there are several others of his ilk who are not keen on shifting to tier II and tier III cities for lack of a proper social infrastructure like shopping and entertainment facilities. Though BPO companies have the first-mover advantage while acquiring land in these tier II and III cities, industry experts admit the biggest challenge is attracting skilled employees to these locations. At present, the total direct employment provided by India's IT-BPO sector is 2 million, of which over 90 per cent is captured by the seven leading cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. According to the recent Nasscom-A T Kearney study on `location road map for IT-BPO growth', the share of sectoral employment in the top seven locations will decline to around 60-75 per cent over the next decade and that will subsequently result in the rise of tier II and tier III cities'. "But that cannot be achieved by only installing physical infrastructure like power lines and mass-transport system in tier II and tier III cities. Efforts should also be made to create an ecosystem that comprises social infrastructure with the trappings of metropolitan life," contended Saurine M Doshi, partner A T Kearney India. In fact, the Nasscom-A T Kearney assessment of 50 leading locations for IT-BPO sector had pointed out that a lack of recreational facilities was also a handicap for the tier-II and III cities. For instance: while cities like Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad were favoured by companies in terms of cost advantage, they fared badly in terms of social environment and location attractiveness. Though Hubli-Dharwad got an IT park a few years ago, it failed to make an impact because of the lack of social infrastructure. Youngsters who hail from that region prefer to enjoy modern lifestyle in Bangalore than lead a ‘no-frills life' there. It is a problem faced by the industry across the country, said H R Binod, Infosys senior vice president (commercial and facilities)

Market ends lower in choppy trade

Stocks ended volatile session with losses for the second straight day on sustained selling in IT and select blue-chip stocks. Ranbaxy Labs suffered over 10% on high volumes. The S&P CNX Nifty was up marginally. Fresh selling at day’s high in mid-afternoon trade derailed a sustained recovery from lower level in the day. Volatility was high in the later half of day. The market breadth was weak.
IT pivotals tumbled hit by sharp fall in American depository receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, 11 July 2008.
European stocks surged, boosted by a US plan to rescue embattled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and by a fresh surge of acquisition activity. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany rose by 0.97% and 1.43%.
Political uncertainty will continue to weigh on the domestic bourses in the near term. The government is holding a two-day special session of parliament on 21 July 2008-22 July 2008 to seek vote of confidence after it was reduced to minority following withdrawal of support by Left parties on 8 July 2008. The government hopes to retain power due to backing from Samajwadi Party, a regional party in Uttar Pradesh.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 101.13 points or 0.75% at 13,368.72, as per provisional closing. The Sensex gained 87.36 points at day's high of 13,557.21 hit in mid-afternoon trade. At the day’s low of 13,270.40, the Sensex slipped 199.45 points in late trade.
The S&P CNX Nifty held firm and was up 2.40 points or 0.06% at 4,051.40, as per provisional closing.
The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 1587 shares declined, 983 advanced and 73 remained unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4191 crore as compared to Rs 3073 crore by 14:30 IST
Oil, India's biggest import, was trading above $143 a barrel, but below a record high of $147.27 hit on Friday, 11 July 2008.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 15 advanced while the rest slipped.
India’s largest pharma company in terms of sales Ranbaxy Laboratories tumbled 10.83% to Rs 473.90 on 28.61 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack. The stock was hammered on reports the US government has levelled serious allegations against the company. The US department of justice (DoJ) has said that there was evidence to suggest that Ranbaxy used active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from unapproved sources, blended unapproved API with approved API, and used less-than-approved API at its Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) plant in its drugs, resulting in the sale of subpotent, super- potent or adulterated medicines in the US market.
In a statement, Ranbaxy strongly denied the allegations raised by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The company also stated that its business in the US continues as normal. Ranbaxy also said the company's deal with Japanse drug maker Daiichi Sankyo is binding and final and remains on track.
IT stocks extended Friday’s losses after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies said on Friday, 11 July 2008, at the time of announcing Q1 June 2008 results that the business environment was tough. The stock plunged 6.95% to Rs 1559.90, after declining 7.18% on Friday, 11 July 2008.
At the time of announcing the Q1 results, Infosys revised earnings and revenue guidance upward for the year ending March 2009 (FY 2009). Infosys has forecast 24.4% to 26.6% growth in earnings per share as per Indian GAAP at between Rs 98.79 to Rs 100.51 in FY 2009 over the year ended March 2008 (FY 2008). It has forecast a between 27.5% to 29.5% growth in revenue at between Rs 21278 crore and Rs. 21622 crore in FY 2009 over FY 2008.
TCS (down 3.63% at Rs 770.10), Satyam Computer Services (down 7.60% at Rs 410.65), and Wipro (down 1.48% at Rs 406.20), slipped. The ADRs of Infosys (down 13.30%), Satyam Computer Services (down 9.17%) and Wipro (down 2.82%) slumped on the NYSE on Friday, 11 July 2008.
ITC (down 3.53% to Rs 168.30), HDFC Bank (down 3.23% to Rs 1033), and Hindalco Industries (down 2.90% to Rs 150.70) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
India’s top tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) surged 4.50% to Rs 554.90 on 25,411 shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack.
India’s largest state-run oil exploration company in terms of market capitalisation Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) galloped 3.60% to Rs 879.85. The company is reportedly in talks with British firm Imperial Energy Corp to form an alliance which could include it buying an equity interest in the UK-based firm. If ONGC manages to strike a deal with Imperial Energy, it will strengthen the ONGC's overseas presence.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries rebounded from day’s low of Rs 1992.35. It was now up 2.11% at Rs 2059 on 12.03 lakh shares.
India's largest state-run bank by net profit State Bank of India vaulted 3.51% to Rs 1265.10 after touching a low of Rs 1205 in early trade. The bank is likely to report double-digit net profit growth in the Q1 June 2008, Chairman O.P. Bhatt told media reporters on Friday, 11 July 2008.
India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank recovered from day’s low of 573.25. It settled with loss of 1.88% to Rs 580.40. Its American depository receipt (ADR) lost 7.4% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, 11 July 2008.
World’s sixth largest steel producer in terms of annual capacity Tata Steel surged 3.11% to Rs 686.90 on reports the company is looking at acquiring an iron ore mine in Western Australia to supply iron ore to Corus' plants.
NTPC (up 3.71% to Rs 167.90) and Ambuja Cement (up 2.61% to Rs 82.60) edged higher from Sensex pack.
Larsen & Toubro, the country’s largest state-run engineering firm in terms of outstanding order book position advanced 2.19% to Rs 2408.80, after sliding to a low of Rs 2320.20
India’s largest state-run engineering firm in terms of outstanding order book position Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 3.35% to Rs 1470.40 despite reports of the company is looking to acquire a locomotive manufacturing facility in Europe.
Debutante KSK Energy Ventures settled at Rs 190.50 on BSE, a discount of 20.63% over the initial public offer price of Rs 240. The stock debuted at Rs 220, a discount of 8.33% over the initial public offer (IPO) price. It hit a high of Rs 234.80 and a low of Rs 176 in the day.
Among the side counters, Selan Exploration (up 20% to Rs 216.80), Suzler India (up 13.81% to Rs 777.90), Saurashtra Cement (up 20% to Rs 32.85), surged
Most Asian markets, which opened before Indian markets, were trading lower today, 14 July 2008. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan Taiwan and Singapore were down by between 0.23% and 1.21%. However China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.76%
US markets ended volatile session on Friday, 11 July 2008, with the Dow Jones falling below the 11,000 level for the first time since August 2006. Growing concern about the health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac send bank shares to an 11-year low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 128.48 points to 11100.54 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 18.77 points at 2239.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 13.90 points to 1,239.49.
India's industrial production rose 3.8% in May 2008, much lower than revised 6.2% growth in April 2008, the government data released on 11 July 2008 showed. Industrial production growth for April 2008 revised downwards to 6.2% from earlier 7%.
The market slumped on Friday, 11 July 2008 as spiraling crude oil prices and weak economic data dampened investor sentiments. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 456.39 points or 3.28% at 13,469.85 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 113.20 points or 2.72% at 4049, on that day.
The BSE Sensex rose 15.85 points or 0.12% to 13,469.86 in the week ended Friday, 11 July 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty edged up 33 points or 0.82% to 4,049 in the week.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index surged to a fresh 13-year high 11.89% in 12 months to 28 June 2008, above the previous week's annual rise of 11.63%, government data released on 11 July 2008 showed. This is much higher than the Reserve Bank's tolerance limit of 5.5% set for the current fiscal.
Source: Capital Market

IT drags index down : Infy sheds 2%

Indian shares fell 0.5 percent on Friday, led by export-focused software services after bellwether Infosys Technologies said the business environment was tough.

Infosys beat market expectations with a 21 percent rise in quarterly profit, and raised its full-year revenue forecast in local currency but kept it flat in dollar terms.

"The environment continues to be challenging. We are seeing bad news coming out of banking and retail," Chief Operating Officer S.D. Shibulal told reporters, adding that IT spending was "flat or marginally decreasing".

"There are delays in decision making."

V.K. Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stock Broking, said the outlook disappointed investors and underscored the increasingly difficult business conditions, particularly in the United States, the main market for Infosys.

"Infosys has told the markets nothing new. The change in rupee-based guidance is just a factor of currency," he said.

Shares in Infosys initially rose as much as 3.9 percent, but quickly fell and was 2.1 percent at 1,768.30 rupees by 11:34 a.m.

The main 30-share BSE index was down 0.45 percent, or 63.27 points at 13,862.97, with 17 components down, after rising 1 percent early.

Leading software exporter Tata Consultancy was down 2.8 percent at 844.75 rupees, while smaller rivals Wipro fell 2.5 percent to 420.10 rupees and Satyam lost 3.5 percent to 462.40 rupees.

The four tech stocks have a total weightage of more than 15 percent in the main index.

The BSE IT index, which has outperformed the broader market this year, was down 2 percent.

Investors were also cautious ahead of May industrial output, which is forecast to have grown an annual 7.2 percent, holding steady near April's 7.0 percent but well below the double-digit levels seen in 2006 and early 2007.

Bank stocks were down on fears of further monetary tightening as inflation quickened. ICICI Bank fell 2.6 percent to 601 rupees and HDFC Bank was down 0.8 percent at 1,046.40 rupees.

Data showed annual inflation was at 11.89 percent in the 12 months to June 28, above the previous week's annual rise of 11.63 percent.

In the broader market, 1,041 gainers were ahead of 930 losers on volume of 82.9 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 0.43 percent at 4,144.50.

Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-share index was down 0.68 percent at 11,693.49, but Colombo's All-share index rose 0.34 percent to 2,413.83

Tata Steel debuts on Fortune 500 list

New York, July 10 (IANS) Thanks to its acquisition of the Corus group, Tata Steel has entered the Fortune 500 list at rank 315, while India's largest corporate group Reliance Industries jumped 63 places to reach 206.

Tata Steel, part of the Ratan Tata-led Tata Group, has also been named as the company with the highest revenue growth of more than 350 percent over the past year, thanks to the consolidation of Corus' revenues with its balance sheet. Tata acquired Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in October 2006.

Companies qualify for the Fortune list on the basis of their revenues. The rankings are based on 2007 audited revenues.

Tata Steel had an annual revenue of $25,707 million. The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries posted $35,915 million.

Reliance and Tata Steel are the only two Indian companies in the private sector to figure among the Fortune 500, the other five are in the public sector.

Reliance, in fact, comes behind Indian Oil, which is ranked 116 with a revenue of $57,427 million. The other PSUs on the list are Bharat Petroleum (287), Hindustan Petroleum (290), ONGC (335) and the State Bank of India (380).

The US-based retail chain Wal-Mart continues to remain the world's biggest corporate with revenues of $378 billion. Oil majors Exxon Mobile and Royal Dutch Shell follow Wal-Mart on the global list with revenues of $373 billion and $355 billion respectively.

There were fewer American companies on the list this time (153 as compared to 162 last year) while 29 Chinese companies made it to the list, the best ever performance by China.

MMRDA, MSRDC will jointly build sealink to Nhava

he 22km road bridge will now have eight lanes instead of six

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) will be jointly executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. Deciding on the financial model of and raising funds for the Rs7,600 crore project will be the MMRDA’s responsibility. The MSRDC will build the 22km road bridge, which will now have eight lanes instead of the earlier proposed six.
The state cabinet took a decision to this effect on Wednesday. Public works minister Anil Deshmukh said the project would be completed within five years of the date of starting work as major permissions have already been taken. The sea link has environmental clearance from the Centre as well as security clearance from institutions like the BARC.

The other options that the cabinet considered were to set up a special purpose vehicle for the project or to allot it entirely to the MSRDC. But given the MMRDA’s fund-raising ability, the cabinet decided to involve it in the project to ensure its early completion. The MMRDA is likely to raise funds through debt from the World Bank or the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Deshmukh said it could recover the money in three ways - “toll charges levied on vehicles plying on this corridor, improvement fees levied in Uran and Khopate, and development rights taken from the government for the Nhava belt.

Deshmukh tries, and fails, to project MSRDC plan: MSRDC’s attempt to make a presentation to the cabinet on skywalks came a cropper as the projector refused to work. MSRDC is executing 18 skywalks in the city, including one between Churchgate and CST. MSRDC has claimed that its skywalks will be far superior to those being erected by MMRDA. When PWD minister Anil Deshmukh tried to prove this with the presentation, the projector failed to work. The cabinet waited for 10 minutes while Deshmukh and MSRDC officials tried to get the projector going again. The meeting was adjourned an hour ahead of schedule.

Strong market breadth

The market ended a volatile session on a mixed note. The Sensex ended in the red while the Nifty ended unchanged. All sectoral indices on BSE barring BSE Metal index and BSE PSU index, were in the negative region. India's largest aluminium producer by sales Hindalco surged. Volatility was caused by uncertainty as to whether the government will be able to win vote of confidence in the parliament. Reports suggest that government may hold a special session of parliament on 20 July 2008-21 July 2008 to seek vote of confidence following withdrawal of support to the government by Left front this week. The government is confident of retaining power due to backing from Samajwadi Party, a regional party in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party (SP) yesterday, 8 July 2008, said it will vote with the government in support of the nuclear deal with the United States. Cues from global markets were mixed. In Europe, key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were down by 0.97% to 1.64%. Asian markets were mixed. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan were up by 0.07% to 1.19%. Key indices in Singapore, and China were down by 0.55% to 1.54%. As per provisional closing, the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 58.13 points or 0.42% at 13,906.13. It shed 200.32 points at the day’s low of 13,763.94 hit in afternoon trade. At the day’s high of 14,047.43, the Sensex gained 83.17 points in early trade. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was unchanged at 4156.70. The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.10% at 5,465.17, while the BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.29% at 6,809.82. The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1431 gainers as against 1194 losers. 71 stocks remained unchanged. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4807 crore as against Rs 5,093.01 on Wednesday, 9 July 2008. India's largest aluminium producer Hindalco surged 4.84% to Rs 152.75 and state-run National Aluminium Company jumped 9.07% to Rs 361.90 tracking London Metal Exchange aluminium futures which surged to a record high of $3,350 a tonne. ACC (up 3.51% at Rs 553), Ambuja Cements (up 2.46% at Rs 79), and Reliance Infrastructure (up 2.25% at Rs 854.90), were the other prominent Sensex gainers. World’s sixth largest steel maker Tata Steel rose 3.11% at Rs 698.20 on reports the company plans to list a holding firm for steel and raw material assets outside India, on the London Stock Exchange to raise funds for acquiring iron ore and coal mines. India’s largest real estate developer by market capitalization DLF rose 1.40% to Rs 456.60 after the company today said it has set aside Rs 1100 croer for buyback of shares at a maximum price of Rs 600 a share. India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.61% at Rs 1810. The company will declare Q1 June 2008 results on Friday, 11 July 2008. The key thing that analysts and market men will be looking at is whether Infosys revises its year ending March 2009 (FY 2009) guidance given at the time of announcing the year ended March 2008 (FY 2008) results in April 2008. Some analysts expects Infosys to revise the guidance upwards due to good Q1 June 2008 results and also to factor in sharp fall in rupee against the dollar. Infosys had given FY 2009 guidance based on a rupee/dollar rate of 40.02. Rupee is currently hovering at below 43 a dollar. India’s largest private sector bank by market capitalization ICICI Bank fell 1.43% at Rs 613. India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 1.97% at Rs 2039. Real estate developer DS Kulkarni Developers surged 5.04% to Rs 100.10 after the company said it has sold 50% in a unit that is setting up a premium Bangalore residential project to ICICI Prudential PMS Real Estate Portfolio, for Rs 35 crore. Engineering and construction firm Petron Engineering Construction spurted 6.74% to Rs 209.90 after the company said on Wednesday, 9 July 2008, it has received letters of intent for four power project works in Uttar Pradesh, totally worth Rs 14.07 crore. Aluminium producer Madras Aluminium Company jumped 11.41% to Rs 741.50 after the company fixed 24 July 2008 as record date for a 5-for-1 stock split. IT services firm Allied Digital Services moved up 7.02% to Rs 890 after company acquired 80.5% in infrastructure management business of US-based EnPointe Technologies for $30 million. Paint maker ICI India rose 1.94% at Rs 538 after the company said its board will meet on 17 July 2008 to consider extending the share buyback scheme, at a price of up to Rs 575 each. Tyre maker JK Tyre & Industries slipped 2.44% to Rs 92 on reports that it has raised truck tyre prices by 6% effective yesterday, 9 July 2008, in the wake of rising input costs. Two and three wheeler maker Bajaj Auto gained 14.23% to Rs 515. The company reported 4.37% fall in net profit to Rs 175 crore on a 9.24% rise in total income to Rs 2340 crore in Q1 June 2008 over Q1 June 2007. As per reports, Bajaj’s quarterly figures were higher than expectations. US stocks plunged yesterday, 9 July 2008 with financial stocks taking the biggest hit as concerns over the credit crisis took the spotlight again, sending cautious investors to the sidelines. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 236.77 points, or 2.08%, to 11,147.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 29.01 points, or 2.28%, to 1,244.69, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 59.55 points, or 2.60%, to 2,234.89.

Source: Capital Market

Oil prices plunge by $6 over 2 days

Oil prices swung below $140 a barrel on Tuesday after a plunge of nearly $4 in the previous session, as the dollar strengthened and fears of a supply disruption faded.

But analysts warned the pullback was likely to be fleeting.

"The plunge is really a temporary bull correction and is viewed by the market as a buying opportunity," said Victor Shum, an analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "We are also seeing the US dollar easing a bit ... and that has helped support oil pricing."

Trader and analyst Stephen Schork said the expectation just a few days ago that crude prices would touch $150 this week now "does not look like the proverbial done deal."

Be that as it may, we have seen this movie before, i.e. crude oil weakens a little and the bubble-bears jump in," he added in his Schork report, suggesting the price respite might be temporary.

Sweet crude for August delivery fell $2.32 to $139.05 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe. The contract fell $3.92, or about 2.7 percent, to settle at $141.37 in New York on Monday.

Oil hit a trading record of $145.85 on Thursday before settling at a record close of $145.29 a barrel. There was no floor trade in the US on Friday due to the July Fourth holiday.

The US dollar was stronger against most other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning.

A falling dollar has helped boost oil prices around 50 percent this year, with investors often buying commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the greenback weakens.

Along with some signs of life from the dollar, fears that fresh conflict in the Middle East could cut oil supplies eased over the weekend after Iran gave an undisclosed response to an international offer of incentives if it suspends a central part of its nuclear program.

But Shum said the conflict isn't over.

Britain allows Anil Ambani to open office in London

LONDON: Britain's Financial Services Authority has approved an application by the Anil Ambani owned Reliance Asset Management (RAM) to open an office in London.

The company has launched an offshore fund 'Emergent India' targeted at international investors, according to the Wealth Bulletin, a Dow Jones-owned online service for the global wealth management industry.

RAM manager Sunil Singhania said: "The timing for marketing may not be right, but from an investment perspective it is just right. From these levels there is a great opportunity for investors, although there will also be some short-term dips."

Singhania started raising his cash weighting in October in expectation of a market correction. He had 25 per cent in cash at the start of June, but has just started to put the money to work.

The online services reported that: "He (Singhania) likes capital goods and construction companies, where he has been underweight of late. With valuations in these sectors down by more than half, its stocks are starting to look attractive again."

He also likes financial services companies on the grounds that India is under-banked, although he expects the next six months to be tough for the local economy. India is in danger of becoming a hostage to inflation, which has hit 11.4 per cent, due to the rising cost of fuel and food", it added.

Rally in heavyweights brings Sensex close to 14,000

The market snapped yestaerday’s fall on strong global cues and on sharp fall crude oil prices on Tuesday, 8 July 2008. The market was also boosted on hopes the government may push through some of the economic reforms which Left parties had stalled over the past four years. Today's sharp surge took Sensex within striking distance of 14,000 mark. Reliance Infrastructure and Jaiprakash Associates rose more than 10% each. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys spurted. Back home, over the last four years, Left parities had stalled privatisation of state-run firms, pension reforms, higher foreign limits in insurance and more liberal norms for foreign bank. Left parties on Tuesday said they are withdrawing support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to protest Indo-US nuclear deal. The government is expected to face a vote of confidence in parliament in the coming weeks. The government is confident of retaining power due to backing from Samajwadi Party, a regional party in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party (SP) yesterday, 8 July 2008, said it will vote with the government in support of the nuclear deal with the United States. All the sectoral indices on BSE were in green. All the Sensex stocks were in positive zone. The market breadth was strong as buying was witnessed across the board. Realty, banking, capital goods and power stocks surged. The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally ended up 641.76 points or 4.81% at 13,991.41. At the day’s high of 13,998.48 hit during late trade Sensex gained 648.83 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 175.4 points or 4.4% at 4,163.95 as per the provisional figures. Earlier in the day, the market had pared some of earlier strong gains after a report that Iran had test fired missiles, raised fears about a jump in oil prices. Europen markets which opened after Indian markets were firm. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were up by between 1.18% to 1.49%. Asian markets which opened before Indian market turned mixed in contrast to a broad-based initial surge after the Iran news. Oil rose 0.7% in Asia today around $137 a barrel. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5,073 crore today,9 July 2008 as compared to a turnover of Rs 4,643.50 crore on 8 July 2008. The BSE Mid-Cap index up 2.87% at 5,468.46, while the BSE Small-Cap index up 3.55% to 6,795.65. The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 2,125 gainers outpacing 535 losers. 63 stocks remained unchanged. India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 5.63% to Rs 2,090. Reliance Industries (RIL) has reportedly signed an agreement with Peru's Perupetro to jointly explore for oil and gas in the Andean country. The two firms are likely to bid in a Peruvian government auction of 22 oil blocks with hydrocarbon potential. As part of the deal with Pan Andean, Reliance will incur all exploration costs through commercial discovery. Following a commercial find of an agreed size, Pan Andean will reimburse Reliance for its share of the exploration cost. Realty stocks rose. Lanco Infratech (up 15.73% to Rs 326.75), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 5.86% to Rs 282), DLF (up 4.32% to Rs 448.20) and Unitech (up 7.87% to Rs 174.15) edged higher. Power stocks climbed. Reliance Infrastructure (up 10.34% to Rs 833), Reliance Power (up 9.27% to Rs 149.70), NTPC (up 4.68% to Rs 168.75), Tata Power Company (up 3.11% to Rs 1,061.40) edged higher. Capital goods stocks were firm. Larsen & Toubro (up 4.7% to Rs 2,512.95), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 5.14% to Rs 1,575.30) and Suzlon Energy (up 6.25% to Rs 209.05) edged higher. Banking stocks gained. Axis Bank (up 10.08% to Rs 669.75), ICICI Bank (up 4.72% to Rs 6321.90), HDFC Bank (up 5.72% to Rs 1,058.75) and State Bank of India (up 2.83% to Rs 1,238.50) edged higher. Jaiprakash Associates (up 10% to Rs 173.30), Tata Motors (up 7.49% to Rs 404.55), ITC (up 6.78% to Rs 183.50),Tata Consultancy Services (up 5.92% to Rs 875.65), Bharti Airtel (up 4.99% to Rs 747.40) and Infosys (up 4.9% to Rs 1,821.10) edged higher from Sensex pack. India’s second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications rose 6.15% to Rs 440.95. South African mobile phone operator MTN Group said today, 9 July 2008, it had agreed to extend its exclusive talks with India's Reliance Communications until 21 July 2008. MTN and Reliance Communications started talks on 26 May 2008 that could create a $66 billion emerging markets telecoms group with operations in about two dozen countries and around 120 million subscribers. US crude oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday, 8 July 2008, under pressure from a stronger dollar and forecasts that eased worries about Hurricane Bertha. Crude oil for August delivery slumped 3.8% to $136.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In Asia, key benchmark indices in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan were up by between 0.15% to 3.75%. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.05% to 0.92%. US markets had another wild trading day of ups and downs but ended with decent gains on 8 July 2008, after oil prices retreated from record highs, easing concerns on consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 152.25 points, or 1.36%, to 11,383.21. The S&P 500 advanced 21.39 points, or 1.71%, to 1,273.70, while the Nasdaq composite index added 51.10 points, or 2.28%, to 2,294.42. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 7 July 2008 said that the government will go through the remaining formalities of the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Prime Minister is likely to discuss the progress of the Indo-US nuclear deal with US President George Bush today, 9 July 2008. He also expressed confidence that UPA government will survive the trust vote and avoid early elections.

Source: Capital Market

Market ends well off lows

The market came off lower level after an initial sharp fall, shrugging of decision of Left parties to withdraw their support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The moment the Left front announced their decision in afternoon trade, recovery began on the bourses. FMCG, consumer durables, and IT stocks slipped while capital goods and power stocks climbed. The market breadth was weak
Stocks declined in Asia and Europe after sharp decline in shares of top US mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday, 7 July 2008, on funding concerns reminded investors about the fragility of global credit markets.
The left's exit is expected to lead to a parliamentary vote of confidence in the government, which hopes the newly enlisted support of the regional Samajwadi Party (SP) will enable it to win such a ballot and avoid calling early general elections. Left parties had for months threatened to end their support if the government pressed ahead with the deal and approached the International Atomic Energy Agency for its approval.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, 7 July 2008 said the UPA government will go through the remaining formalities of the nuclear deal with the US and expressed full confidence that his government will last its full term. SP said on Tuesday it will vote with the government in support of the nuclear deal with the United States.
In Europe, key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 2.26% to 2.29%.
The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally ended down 155.40 points or 1.15% at 13,370.59. At the day’s low of 13,049.96 Sensex lost 476.03 points in mid-morning trade. At the day’s high of 13,451.67 hit in late trade Sensex lost 74.32 points.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 37.25 points or 0.92% at 3,992.75 as per the provisional figures.
BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,513 crore today 8 July 2008 as compared to Rs 6,784.55 crore on Monday, 7 July 2008.
The BSE Mid-Cap index down 0.41% at 5,317.78, while the BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.3% to 6,573.01.
The market breadth was weak on BSE, with 1394 losers outpacing 1,180 gainers. 81 stocks remained unchanged.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 2.47% to Rs 1,978.
India’s largest commercial bank State Bank of India rose 3.24% to Rs 1,209.70. It recovered from session’s low of Rs 1,059.40.
Capital goods stocks rose. India’s largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 1.5% to Rs 2,400.20 as it bagged a Rs 1047-crore order from Railways. It recovered from session’s low of Rs 2,260.80. Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 2.18% to Rs 1,498.25) and Suzlon Energy (up 1% to Rs 196.75) edged higher.
Power stocks also rose. NTPC (up 3.6% to Rs 161.20), PowerGrid Corporation of India (up 2.4% to Rs 78.95), Reliance Power (up 0.96% to Rs 137) edged higher. India’s second largest power utility firm in terms of sales Reliance Infrastructure fell 3.03% to Rs 754.95.
India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 3.62% to Rs 1,736.
India’s third largest IT services provider by sales Satyam Computer Services fell 2.99% to Rs 467.55. The company said on Monday, 7 July 2008, it has entered into an alliance with Tyfone, a global provider of mobile financial services, infrastructure and fully-integrated mobile payments capabilities. The two companies will collaborate to provide businesses with an even greater edge when competing in the mobile financial services sector.
Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.97% to Rs 826.70) and Wipro (down 4.61% to Rs 419.70) edged lower.
FMCG stocks declined. ITC (down 3.24% to Rs 171.85) and United Spirits (down 2.52% to Rs 1,100.10) edged lower. India’s largest FMCG major by sales Hindustan Unilever rose 0.07% to Rs 209.60.
Consumer durables stocks fell. Videocon Industries (down 2.99% to Rs 269.10), Titan Industries (down 1.35% to Rs 1,035.70) and Rajesh Exports (down 4.45% to Rs 52.60) edged lower.
ACC (up 6.21% to Rs 527), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.92% to Rs 515.80), Hindalco Industries (up 2.18% to Rs 145.40), Ambuja Cements (up 0.81% to Rs 74.50) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Tata Motors (down 4.13% to Rs 376.35), Grasim Industries (down 3.19% to Rs 1,670.70), HDFC (down 2.14% to Rs 2,010.95), ICICI Bank (down 1.64% to Rs 593.85), Bharti Airtel (down 2.03% to Rs 711.90), edged lower from the Sensex pack.
India’s second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications fell 1.05% to Rs 415.40. The stock recovered from session's low Rs 395.05. As per reports, talks between Reliance Communications (RCom) and South Africa's MTN Group which are due to end on Tuesday, 8 July 2008, may be extended by three or four weeks. The deal may be structured in a way whereby RCom Chairman Anil Ambani will take 51% in the South African firm through a cash and share swap. Such an arrangement will require more scrutiny by MTN which is the reason why the deadline for the 45-day exclusivity pact might be extended, reports suggest.
Asian markets which opened before Indian market, retreated after sharp declines in shares of top US mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on funding concerns reminded investors about the fragility of global credit markets. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan were down by between 1.74% to 3.94%. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.81%.
US markets edged lower yesterday, 7 July 2008, on concerns that the top two mortgage providers would have to raise even more capital, eroding existing shareholders' stakes further. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 56.58 points, or 0.50%, to 11,231.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 10.59 points, or 0.84%, to 1,252.31, and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 2.06 points, or 0.09%, to 2,243.32.
Oil, India's biggest import, rose by more than half a dollar to nearly $142 a barrel, rebounding from the previous day's near $4 fall as the US dollar weakened.
Source: Capital Market

In yet another instance of people of Indian origin hitting it big, the Forbes magazine has listed as many as 14 in its 'Midas 100 List' of those who invest in start-up companies and then sell off their stakes with handsome gains.
This list of tech dealmakers is prepared every year by the business magazine based on the value of the companies these people have taken public or sold in the past five years as well as the capital and involvement it took to get there.
Ram Shriram, who invested early in Internet search giant Google, has been ranked third in the list, moving up from number four last year. He currently runs venture capital firm Sherpalo. He has invested in travel portal Cleartrip and internet-based photo service provider Xoom.in, besides online money management firm Mint.com.
L. John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, whom Forbes has described as the 'mentor and money man to founders of Google, Amazon, Intuit and Sun Microsystems', has topped the Midas list.
Others of Indian origin on the list include Navin Chaddha (rank 10), an IIT graduate who heads India investments of Mayfield Fund, and well-known venture capitalist Vinod Khosla (rank 70).
Chaddha, ranked 58th in the previous year's list, has successfully managed deals like IL&FS Investsmart and India Infoline in financial services space and Provogue in fashion.
Parag Saxena of Vedanta Capital is at number 31. He had a big initial public offer (IPO) last year and has also raised a $1.4 billion fund called New Silk Route to take advantage of deregulation in India and elsewhere. His investments range from wireless to biotech.
Arjun Gupta, ranked 51, founded TeleSoft Partners in 1996. His big deals have included Salesforce.com and Sierra Design Automation.
The others of Indian origin who made it to the list are Aneel Bhusri of Greylock Partners (rank 16), Promod Haque of Norwest Venture Partners (rank 48), Ryan D. Limaye of Goldman Sachs (rank 52), Rob L. Soni of Matrix Partners (rank 58), Deepak Kamra of Canaan Partners (rank 69), Raman Khanna of ONSET Ventures (rank 74), Ravi Adusumalli of SAIF Partners (rank 77), Shirish Sathaye of Matrix Partners (rank 82) and Rob S. Chandra of Bessemer Venture Partners (rank 96).
The magazine's ranking considers venture-backed technology and life sciences companies that have gone public or been acquired in the past five years, as well as the amount of capital it took to get there and the level of involvement in a company by its investors and advisers.
Forbes' annual Midas 100 list surveys the top tech dealmakers in the world. Last year, companies that venture capitalists helped launch hauled in $34 billion from 86 public offerings and 304 acquisitions.
The final quarter of 2007 saw 31 initial public offers - more than any other quarter since the third quarter of 2000 - worth $3 billion.

Market skids in late trade

The market lost close to 300 points in late trade provisionally ending marginally higher after reports filitered in that India's Defence Attache Brigadier R D Mehta and three other Indians have been killed in a suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul today. A sharp slump in prices of Reliance Industries, Reliance Communcations, Reliance Infrastructure, Larsen & Toubro, and Bharat Heavy Electricals caused the late slide on the bourses.
IT, FMCG stocks gained whereas oil & gas and capital goods stocks fell. The market breadth was strong with small-cap and mid-cap shares staging a comeback after a sharp recent plunge. Market had remained firm in most part of the day on firm global cues and due to easing of political uncertainty.
Poitical worries receded with Samajwadi Party (SP), a regional party, on making it clear during the week end that it will support the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), at a time when Left parties are on the verge of withdrawing support. The Left front has set 7 July 2008 as deadline for the government to let them know whether it intends to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency to seal the India-specific safeguards agreement.
European markets which opened after the Indian markets were in green. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were up between 0.09% to 0.59%.
The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally rose 48.99 points or 0.36% at 13,502.99. At the day’s high of 13,793.39 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex had gained 339.29 points. Sensex was up 22.29 points at the day's low of 13,476.29 hit in opening trade.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty ended up 14 points or 0.35% at 4,030.
BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 6,697 crore today 7 July 2008 as compared to a turnover of Rs 5,677.98 crore on Friday, 4 July 2008.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.92% at 5,326.81, while the BSE Small-Cap index was up 2.15% at 6,588.32. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1817 gainers outpacing 820 losers. 65 stocks remained unchanged.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 21 advanced while the rest declined.
India’s second largest power utility firm by sales Reliance Infrastructure declined 0.31% to Rs 771.05. It came off from session's high of Rs 838.75. India’s second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications fell 3.9% to Rs 421.10. It came off from session's high of Rs 454.90.
India’s largest private sector bank by sales ICICI Bank slipped 0.76% to Rs 596.10. It came off from session's high of Rs 639.95.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 3.88% at Rs 2,017.50. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack.
Cairn India (down 5.49% to Rs 237.70), Essar Oil (down 1.95% to Rs 176.20) and Reliance Petroleum (down 2.77% to Rs 166.55) edged lower. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies rose. BPCL (up 5.52% to Rs 240.90), HPCL (up 4.2% to Rs 192.20) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.96% to Rs 348) edged higher.
As per reports, private oil companies like Reliance Industries (RIL), Essar and Cairn may have to forgo some of their profits to share the huge subsidy burden in the oil sector. A proposal on these lines, which was first mooted by the Left parties, is now being considered seriously by the ruling party leadership, following a similar demand by the Congress' latest political ally, the Samajwadi Party. A windfall tax is normally levied on oil exploration and production companies who reap huge profits when global crude prices increase.
Capital goods stocks declined. India’s largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) lost 1.06% to Rs 2,408. The company today bagged an order worth Rs 446 crore from JSW Power Transco for transmission lines. India’s largest electric equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 2.26% to Rs 1466.35. However Suzlon Energy rose 1.35% to Rs 194.80.
IT stocks gained. India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies rose 2.61% at Rs 1,801.20. The company will announce its Q1 Result on 11 July 2008. Satyam Computer Services (up 4.28% to Rs 481.95), Wipro (up 2.54% to Rs 440) and Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.98% to Rs 852) edged higher.
FMCG stocks rose. ITC (up 3.98% to Rs 177.60), United Spirits (up 4.15% to Rs 1,128.50), Hindustan Unilever (up 3.89% to Rs 209.45) edged higher.
Jaiprakash Associates (up 4.47% to Rs 160.15), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 4.4% to Rs 496.35), Maruti Suzuki India (up 4.34% to Rs 574.35), State Bank of India (up 3.92% to Rs 1,171.75), ACC (up 3.82% to Rs 496.20) edged higher from Sensex pack.
Tata Motors (down 2.07% to Rs 392.55), HDFC (down 0.02% to Rs 2,055), Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 0.65% to Rs 534.90), Ambuja Cements (down 1.07% to Rs 73.90) edged lower from Sensex pack.
Everonn Systems India rose 4.45% to Rs 452 after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Himachal Pradesh state government to implement IT education in 793 senior secondary schools in the state.
Asian markets which opened before Indian market, edged higher. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.11% to 4.59%. US stock markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday on Friday, 4 July 2008.
US light crude for August delivery traded at $143.92 a barrel and London Brent crude rose 23 cents to $144.65 a barrel. Crude oil hit a record $145.85 on 3 July 2008.
Source: Capital Market

Market ends on an upbeat note; RCom soars

The market today shrugged off higher inflation on hopes a political turmoil arising from Indo-US nuclear deal may be avoided. Blue chips bounced back. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also recovered. Realty, capital goods and power counters which had declined sharply in the past few days were at the forefront of today's rebound. Reliance Communication, India's second biggest mobile services firms by market capitalisation surged.
The government is seeking support from the Samajwadi Party (SP), a key regional party in Uttar Pradesh to retain power at a time when Left parties are on the verge of withdrawing support. SP party leaders today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hinted that they would approve the deal.
SP has 39 seats in parliament, compared with 59 for the communist parties. The Congress-led ruling coalition needs the support of 44 lawmakers to reach a majority. It would try and win the other five seats from smaller parties. SP is likely to announce its decision on supporting the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in a couple of days
India's wholesale price index rose 11.63% in the 12 months to 21 June 2008, above the previous week's annual rise of 11.42%, government data released today afternoon showed.
Oil, India's biggest import, rose to a fresh record high above $145 per barrel on Thursday, 3 July 2008. The US oil settled up $1.72 at $145.29 a barrel on Thursday.
As per provisional closing, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 310.76 points or 2.37% at 13,404.87. At the day’s high of 13,509.74, the Sensex gained 415.63 points in late trade. Sensex lost 66.32 points at the day's low of 13,027.79, hit in early trade.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 75.40 points or 1.92% at 4001.15.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.96% at 5,263.01, while the BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.49% at 6,444.06.
The market breadth was strong on BSE, with 1688 gainers outpacing 912 losers. 74 stocks remained unchanged.
BSE clocked a turnover Rs 5604 crore as against Rs 5,645.90 on Thursday, 3 July 2008.
India’s second largest listed cellular service provider Reliance Communication rose 13.41% at Rs 441.75. As per reports, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries (RIL) on Thursday, 3 June 2008 shot off another letter to Reliance Communications (RCOM) invoking a right of first refusal (RoFR). A copy of the letter was also sent to South African telco MTN with which RCOM is negotiating a deal, the exact contours of which are not yet clear.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitlisation Reliance Industries rose 1.07% at Rs 2093.20.
India’s largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank rose 2.64% at Rs 589.
India’s second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies rose 0.36% at Rs 1754.
The top gainers from the Sensex pack were DLF (up 7.69% at Rs 411.20), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 7.62% at Rs 1503), Reliance Infrastructure (up 7.13% at Rs 773), and larsen & Toubro (up 5.86% at Rs 2365).
The top Sensex losers were, Tata Steel (down 3.62% at Rs 633.65), Cipla (down 2.01% at Rs 207.30), Maruti Suzuki (down 1.27% at Rs 541.90), and TCS (down 1.98% at Rs 838) and Wipro (down 0.66% at Rs 427).
Abrasives maker Carborundum Universal rose 2.97% to Rs 125 after the company entered into an agreement with Foskor (Proprietary), South Africa to acquire 51% stake in Foskor Zirconia (Proprietary), Phalaborwa, South Africa, for an undisclosed sum.
Pharmaceuticals products maker Panacea Biotec spurted 8.99% to Rs 303 after the company announced its foray into healthcare delivery by entering into a collaboration to set up a 220 bed multi speciality hospital in the National Capital Region, Gurgaon.
Irrigation equipments maker Jain Irrigation Systems advanced 5.35% to Rs 460.05 after a block deal of 25.45 lakh shares was struck on the counter at Rs 442 per share by 10:06 IST on BSE
Brigade Enterprises rose 1.09% to Rs 102.15 after the company said it has won an auction bid of 10.5 acres of land of ERL, a division of BPL on the Old Madras Road, Bangalore.
Low cost carrier Spicejet spurted 7.33% at Rs 24.90 on reports Kingfisher Airlines is close to sealing a share-swap deal with the Delhi-based low-cost carrier. The share swap is expected to be in the ratio of 1:3, where SpiceJet shareholders will get one share of the merged entity for every three SpiceJet shares owned by them.
Jewellery maker Gitanjali Gems rose 10.81% at Rs 259.95 on reports the company plans to buy US-based retail chain Whitehall Jewellers Holdings, which recently filed for bankruptcy. The deal, if concluded, would be between Rs 350 - Rs 400 crore.
Auto components maker Amtek Auto jumped 5.38% at Rs 229 on reports Private equity firm Chrys Capital has reportedly acquired close to 7% in the company for Rs 229 crore via open market purchases in the past three months. The sellers included Citigroup, CLSA and Copthall.
European market, which opened after Indian markets, were in red. Key benchmark indices in Germany, France and UK were down by 0.37% to 0.76%.
Asian stocks were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, and Singapore were up by between 0.42% to 0.85%. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.21% to 2.24%.
US market ended mixed on Wednesday, 3 July 2008 as the payrolls data in the United States was not as weak as some had feared and with another record oil price boosting energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.03 points, or 0.65%, at 11,288.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.38 points, or 0.11%, at 1,262.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 6.08 points, or 0.27%, at 2,245.38
Communist parties today, 4 July 2008, said the government must tell them by Monday, 7 July 2008, if it plans to press ahead with the next step in a controversial civilian nuclear deal with the United States. Left parties have threatened to end their backing for the government if it seeks approval for the deal from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the next international move needed to operationalise the pact.
Left parties also decided to launch a national campaign from 14 July 2008 to explain its opposition to the nuclear deal and over runaway inflation.
Source: Capital Market

Fall resumes on the bourses as oil hits record high

A surge in oil price to a record high above $144 a barrel and overnight fall in US stocks that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to bear market, weighed on the investor sentiment with Sensex falling more than 700 points at one point of time. The Sensex provisionally ended just above 13,000 mark while Nifty ended below 4,000 mark. Tata Steel fell more than 11%. European markets were in red
All the sectoral indices on BSE were in the red. Power, banking realty and metal stocks slumped. The market breadth was weak.
Oil, India's biggest import, rose to a fresh record high above $144 per barrel on Wednesday, 2 July 2008. Oil has risen more than 40% in calendar 2008 so far and it is the key reason for the turmoil of Indian equities. A section of the market reckons that only a sharp fall in oil prices can bring out a meaningful recovery in battered Indian stocks.
In Europe, key benchmark indices in France , UK and Germany were down by between 0.58% to 0.9%. In Asia, key benchmark indices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea were down by between 0.16% to 2.13%. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan and China were up by between 0.55% to 1.95%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank into a bear market on Wednesday, 2 June 2008, after a report showed US private employers cut the most jobs in nearly six years and oil shot to another record, increasing concerns about the health of the economy and corporate profits. Dow tumbled 166.75 points, or 1.46%, to 11,215.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 23.39 points, or 1.82%, to close at 1,261.52, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 53.51 points, or 2.32%, to end at 2,251.46.
The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally ended down 607.88 points or 4.45% at 13,056.74. At the day’s low of 12,934.92 Sensex lost 729.7 points in afternoon trade. Sensex was down 133.94 points at the day's high of 13,458.30 hit in opening trade.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 172.9 points or 4.22% at 3,920.45 as per the provisional figures.
The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5,585 crore today 3 July 2008 as compared to a turnover of Rs 6,421.03 crore on Wednesday, 2 July 2008.
Hopes that a political crisis over Indo-US nuclear deal may be avoided triggered a strong rebound on the bourses yesterday, 2 July 2008, with the Sensex surging 703 points, its biggest single day rise in more than three months.
Back to today's trade, the market breadth was weak on BSE. 769 shares advanced as compared to 1,852 that declined. 61 remained unchanged. 28 from 30 Sensex stocks were in red.
India’s largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 3.22% to Rs 2,074.
India's second largest IT exporte by sales Infosys declined 4% to Rs 1,747.80.
From the side counters, Lok Housing Constructions (down 18.18% to Rs 49.50), IP Rings (down 15.81% to Rs 45.25), Cyber Media India (down 15.58% to Rs 40.10) and Arvind Chemicals (down 15% to Rs 36.55), declined sharply.
Realty stocks declined. The BSE Realty index was down 9.95% to 4,260.46 and it was the major loser from sectoral indices on BSE. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 8.65% to Rs 261.45), Unitech (down 9.99% to Rs 154) and DLF (down 9.93% to Rs 381.85) edged lower. The BSE Realty index had risen more than 12% in yesterday’s rebound on the bourses.
Metal stocks fell. Tata Steel (down 11.3% to Rs 657.45), Steel Authority of India (down 9.8% to Rs 128), Sterlite Industries (down 7.99% to Rs 658.10), Hindalco Industries (down 4.6% to Rs 135.75), National Aluminium Company (down 2.22% to Rs 341.70) edged lower.
Banking stocks fell ahead of inflation data scheduled at 12:00 IST tomorrow, 4 July 2008. ICICI Bank (down 7.89% to Rs 573.85) and HDFC Bank (down 3.6% to Rs 983.80) edged lower. However, India's biggest commercial bank, State Bank of India gained 0.6% to Rs 1086
Power stocks fell. Tata Power Company (down 9.03% to Rs 1,000.05), Reliance Infrastructure (down 8.72% to Rs 721.55), NTPC (down 3.91% to Rs 152.55) and Reliance Power (down 1.51% to Rs 130.55) edged lower.
ACC (down 5.94% to Rs 472.30), ITC (down 5.71% to Rs 169.35), Tata Motors (down 5.55% to Rs 390.45), Grasim Industries (down 5.45% to Rs 1,678.15), HDFC (down 5.09% to Rs 1,935.50) edged lower from the sensex pack.
India’s second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications fell 6.91% to Rs 389.50. It may reportedly partner with a sovereign wealth fund in Middle East and may directly buy a large equity stake in South Africa's MTN, thereby emerging as the single-largest shareholder.
India’s largest state owned oil exploration firm by sales ONGC rose 0.56% to Rs 859.20. As per reports, ONGC sees the cost of replacing its exploration and production infrastructure in the north-eastern state of Assam to double to around Rs 4000 crore due to rising steel prices.
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises India declined 5.24% to Rs 152 despite securing a two-month diving services contract worth Rs 33 crore from a Malaysian firm.
As per media reports, Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government may be able to retain power as Samajwadi Party (SP) is likely to provide support to the government at a time when Left parties are on the verge of withdrawing support to the government over Indo-US nuclear deal. SP has 39 seats in parliament, compared with 59 seats for the communist parties. The ruling coalition needs the support of 44 lawmakers to reach a majority and it hopes to also win support from a few smaller parties.
Latest media reports also suggest that SP may seek removal of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Reserve Bank of India Governor Y.V. Reddy and Oil Minister Murli Deora, blaming them for high inflation.
Foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 668.43 crore on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, provisional data released by stock exchanges showed.
There are concerns that the rise in input costs and tough macro economic environment comprising high inflation, record high global crude oil prices and rising interest rates, will result in slowdown in earnings growth of India Inc. According to Morgan Stanley, net earnings of 30 Sensex firms are expected to grow just 6% in Q1 June 2008 over Q1 June 2007.
Source: Capital Market

DMRC revenue up by 32 %

With over 700,000 passengers every day, Delhi Metro has registered a 25 per cent rise in ridership and around 32 per cent jump in revenue in the last one year, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Tuesday.“The rise in ridership comes in the wake of the opening of Shahdara-Dilshad Garden line of Phase II, admissions in the Delhi University and spread of Metro feeder bus services,” said Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesman.The Shahdara-Dilshad Garden line opened to the public June 4 this year. DMRC is also operating 97 feeder buses on 16 routes.“The ridership jumped by almost 10 per cent in just a month from May 2008 to June 2008,” Dayal added.He said that in June the average daily ridership has been 702,731, whereas last year, the average daily ridership was 563,095.“The corresponding period also recorded a rise of 31.62 per cent in daily average revenue from Rs.6.26 million to Rs.8.24 million,” said Dayal.Delhi Metro is the modern mass transport system of Delhi. Currently it has a network of over 68 km and constructions are on to add another 120 km before the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Key benchmark indices fall below important psychological levels

A third day of sell-off on the bourses pulled the two key benchmark indices below psychological levels - the barometer index BSE Sensex fell below 13,000 mark and the S&P CNX Nifty fell below 4,000 level. Bears are in complete command of the proceeding on the street thanks to record high oil prices, surging inflation, higher interest rates and political uncertainty which have rattled the bourses in the past few days.
Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure fell more than 10% each in late trade. Banking, realty, auto and metal stocks fell. The market breadth was weak. Asian markets were fell. Except NTPC all other Sensex stocks ended in the red. All the sectoral indices on BSE were in red. European markets which opened after Indian market, were weak.
Crude oil, India's biggest import, was trading above $141 a barrel today, 1 June 2008. It had hit a record $143.67 in the previous trading session. In Europe, the benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 1.88% to 2.49%.
The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally lost 543.42 points or 4.04% at 12,918.08, its lowest level in more than 14 months. At the day’s high of 13,613.01 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex rose 151.41 points.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 158.8 points or 3.93% at 3,881.75 as per the provisional figures. Nifty hit a low of 3,878.20, its lowest level in more than 14 months.
The market breadth was weak on BSE with 396 shares advancing as compared to 2,278 that declined. 48 remained unchanged.
India’s largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 3.25% to Rs 2,025.30.
Auto stocks tumbled. India’s largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 8.52% to Rs 565.10. Its vehicle sales rose 2% to 61,247 units in June 2008 over June 2007. Mahindra & Mahindra (down 10.53% to Rs 440.10), Bajaj Auto (down 1.43% to Rs 444) edged lower.
India’s largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors fell 4.23% to Rs 408.45. Tata Motors today said it had raised prices of commercial vehicles by an average of 3% with immediate effect on account of higher input prices.
Metal stocks declined. Hindalco Industries (down 5.67% to Rs 134.05), Tata Steel (down 4.19% to Rs 697.85), Sterlite Industries (down 4.13% to Rs 673), Steel Authority of India (down 1.08% to Rs 137.90), National Aluminium Company (down 0.21% to Rs 348.80) edged lower.
Realty stocks extended recent steep fall. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 7.65% to Rs 250.45), Unitech (down 6.48% to Rs 159.60) and DLF (down 7.02% to Rs 368.40) edged lower.
Banking stocks fell after some of the major lenders hiked their lending rates. India’s largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank declined 6.46% to Rs 589.50. India’s largest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income HDFC fell 6.47% to Rs 1,835.45.
HDFC said on Monday, 30 June 2008, its prime lending rate would go up by 50 basis points from Tuesday, 1 July 2008. On the same day, ICICI Bank said rates on consumer loans would rise by 75 basis points on Tuesday, 1 July 2008. Both HDFC and ICICI Bank also raised deposit rates between 50-100 basis points.
India’s largest commercial bank State Bank of India fell 7.81% to Rs 1,024.65. It will decide in a week's time whether to raise interest rates on home loans, its chief, OP Bhatt, said today, 1 July 2008. The bank raised its benchmark prime lending rate by 50 basis points to 12.75% last week, after the central bank aggressively tightened policy in the face of surging inflation.
India’s second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank fell 4.22% to Rs 960.
NTPC rose 1.02% to Rs 153.20 and was the lone gainer from Sensex pack.
Reliance Communications (down 10.49% to Rs 396), Reliance Infrastructure (down 10.54% to Rs 702.05), Jaiprakash Associates (down 6.01% to Rs 135.20), Grasim Industries (down 5.02% to Rs 1,753.70), edged lower from Sensex pack.
Punjab Tractors was down 1.48% to Rs 189.30 despite recording 74% rise in tractor sales to 3,443 units in June 2008 over June 2007.
Most of the Asian markets which opened before Indian markets were in the red. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down between 0.13% to 3.09%.
US markets, stocks ended mixed on Monday 30 June 2008 .The Dow Jones was up 3.50 points to 11,350.01. The Nasdaq Composite index lost 22.65 points to close at 2,292.98.
Rising inflation, high interest rates, record high global crude oil prices and political uncertainty rattled Indian bourses in the past few days. Market’s concerns are that the rise in input costs and tough macro economic environment comprising high inflation, record high global crude oil prices and rising interest rates, will result in slowdown in earnings growth of the corporate sector. Nevertheless, advance tax payment by the Indian corporate sector this year so far has been strong. Government’s direct tax collection from the corporate sector rose 39.81% to Rs 30655 crore until 21 June 2008 compared to the corresponding period last year.
Sustained selling of Indian stocks by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) has also dented market sentiment. As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 208.66 crore on Monday, 30 June 2008. FII outflow in June 2008 totaled Rs 10095.80 crore (till 30 June 2008). FII outflow in calendar year 2008 totaled Rs 25465.30 crore.
Political uncertainty continues to haunt the bourses. The media continues to speculate whether the ruling Congress led United Progressive Alliance government will be able to push through a much-debated Indo-US nuclear deal and still retain its power, in the face of heavy opposition from its key communist allies. The Left parties on Sunday, 29 June 2008, renewed their threat to withdraw support from the ruling coalition if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh forged ahead with the nuclear deal. Singh on Monday, 30 June 2008, promised to bring the nuclear pact with the US before parliament before going ahead with the deal that is fiercely opposed by his communist allies, a report said.
The Prime Minister played down the communists' threats to withdraw support to his government saying all that he wanted was that the government should be allowed to complete the negotiation process with the International Atomic Energy Agency-IAEA and Nuclear Suppliers' Group-NSG. Singh expressed confidence that the government would be able to address concerns of all including the Left parties on the civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the US.
For the stock market, the political uncertainty pertains to whether there will be stability at the centre if mid-term polls are held i.e. whether the new government will complete five years and whether the new government restarts economic reforms process which has virtually come to a halt in the last two years or so.
The good news is that the Indian Meteorological Department (IND), in its long-range forecast update for the 2008 southwest monsoon, has maintained that rainfall for the country as a whole is likely to be ‘near normal’. The department classifies rainfall as near normal when it's between 96% and 104% of the 50-year average.
Good rains will bolster farm production which in turn may help rein in inflation.
Source: Capital Market