Shares to track corporate earnings numbers in week ahead - News

India's blue-chip equities are expected to closely track the crucial quarterly corporate earnings reports, to be unveiled in the weeks ahead, before pouring more money into the trading ring.
Market analysts and traders say shares of select heavyweight companies may continue to inch higher as overseas fund operators expand their portfolio on hopes of robust economic growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The stock market barometer, the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index or Sensex, closed Friday at 8,634.48, representing a staggering gain of 411.89 points or nearly five percent over its previous week's close.

The stock market closed in the positive zone for the week ended Friday after slipping lower in the previous week. The market index touched an all-time high of 8,650.17 Thursday on across the board buying interest.

Stock markets to remain calm till Q2 results - Business News

The stock markets are expected to ease a bit when they open on Monday after the fast-paced rise last week in which the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index (Sensex) hit a new high day after day and gained 412 points.
With the second quarter (Q2) results still a week away, the markets will pause and ponder about the economic data released by the government this Friday. They will draw strength from 8.1 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter (Q1) and more than 11 per cent growth in the industrial sector.

However, the growing trade deficit which went up to 15 plus billion US dollar in Q1 compared to around five billion US dollar in the Q1 last year, is an alarming sign.

With the global crude oil prices hovering above USD 65 per barrel and no signs of coming down, the trade deficit may touch 100 billion USD for this financial year. The import of other commodities along with crude oil has also been growing at hectic pace as the industrial activity is picking up.

Also, there are reports of export suffering during the rains in Mumbai. The export figures for August and September will be keenly watched by the investors, especially the Foreign Instituional Investors (FIIs).

The FIIs flow in the equity markets will be quite crucial.

The impact of the sudden withdrawl of interest in the small cap shares due to negative sentiments in the markets will also be visible Monday onwards.

News about global crude oil prices will be the prime mover for the markets in absence of any other big events before the Q2 results. The data about results will start coming in from October 11 as Infosys announces its Q2 numbers on October 11.

Sensex snaps rally

In a highly volatile trading the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) ended lower by 15.69 points after a fall of over 100 points.

The Sensex on Friday opened at 8672.66, touched to a high of 8683.57, declined to a low of 8527.38 and finally closed at 8634.48, losing 15.69 points from its previous close of 8650.17.

Meanwhilethe Securities and Exchange Board of India has barred the promoters of Konkan Tyres Ltd (KTL) and promoters of Prime Property Development Corporation Ltd from the capital market. The BSE brokers, Bhupendra M. Bheda, Unique Stock Brokers Ltd and DSE Securities Ltd were directed not to buy, sell or deal in securities of KTL on behalf of its promoters and directors, directly or indirectly, till further directions, the SEBI said.

The stock brokers Indiabulls Securities (formerly Orbis Securities), Mansukhlal M. Upadhyay, Harikishan Hiralal, Ajmera Associates and Ventura Securities Ltd were also directed not to buy, sell or deal in securities of Prime Property Developments Corporation Ltd. on behalf of its promoters, directors and clients directly or indirectly, till further directions, it added.

Small-cap and mid-cap stocks lose further ground

For the second day in a row, a host of small-cap and mid-cap and penny stocks lost ground.

Some of the major losers of the day were Whirlpool India (down 7.9% to Rs 25.65), Standard Industries (down 6.3% to Rs 28), Agro Tech Industries (down 5.95 to Rs 100), Ester Industries (down 6% to Rs 16.45), Kale Consultants (down 5% to Rs 36.50), Financial Technologies (down 5% to Rs 1,223.40), IFB Securities (down 18.9% to Rs 3.12), Bilpower (down 9.95% to Rs 96.40), Patel On Board Couriers (down 9.8% to Rs 73.35), IFSL (down 10% to Rs 21.95), Speciality Papers (down 9.6% to Rs 35), Liberty Phosphate (down 9.8% to Rs 47.85), C J Gelatine Products (down 9.5% to Rs 14.70), Elnet Technologies (down 9.9% to Rs 74.90), SKS Ship (down 9% to Rs 35.25) and Siel (down 8% to Rs 107.85).

A number of stocks were down by between 3% to 7%.

Select small- and mid-cap stocks were in demand. The major gainers were Bharat Electronics (up 6.9% to Rs 842), Hindustan Construction (up 5.7% to Rs 1,155), TIL (up 6.5% to Rs 186), Kinetic Engineering (up 5% to Rs 186.40), Kalpataru Power (up 3.9% to Rs 650), IFCI (up 3.9% to Rs 15.95), Taj-GVK Hotels (up 3.6% to Rs 623), Apollo Hospitals (up 3% to Rs 458.50), Ramco Industries (up 2.9% to Rs 1,174), Atlas Copco (up 2.3% to Rs 1,163), and Thermax (up 2% to Rs 854).

The BSE Small Cap Index was down 155.16 points or 2.6% to 5,651.15. The BSE Mid Cap Index shed 46.88 points or 1.1% to 4,166.39.

The market breadth was quite weak. 2,172 stocks declined on BSE as compared to 252 stocks that advanced. 18 stocks were unchanged. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 8.6:1.

The last few days have seen some small-cap, mid-cap and penny stocks lose ground. Some of these stocks have witnessed high volatility due to alternate bouts of buying and selling. Select stocks have staged a rebound from lower levels. The BSE Small Cap and the BSE Mid Cap indices are sharply off their peaks reached in mid-September 2005.

The recent fall in small- and mid-cap stocks has materialized at a time when stock exchanges have spruced up risk management. For instance, 100% upfront margin is payable on over 500 scrips on BSE’s B1, B2 and S group from 26 September 2005.

The price band on all trade to trade scrips has been made a uniform 5% and stock exchanges have fixed a price band of 20% for a few scrips which so far did not attract any daily filters.

On Wednesday, Sebi cracked down on price manipulation in two scrips, IFSL and Minal Engineering, by barring promoters and directors of these two companies from dealing in the capital market.

On Thursday, the regulator banned 11 Kolkata based brokers from trading, and it also suspended trading in 6 companies listed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) one of which is listed on BSE as well. The Sebi action was because the regulator found that these brokers created artificial volumes in these stocks.

FII inflow to dictate trend

The next major trigger for the market is the Q2 earnings season which will kickoff shortly with Infosys unveiling its numbers on 11 October 2005. Profit taking may emerge on the bourses if the corporate earnings fail to meet market expectations.

There are also some concerns that the valuations may be stretched. The S&P CNX Nifty index current trades at a PE multiple of a little over 16.

FII inflow holds the key. The liquidity with FIIs remains strong. FIIs have been shifting money in favour of emerging markets due to low yield in the United States and Europe.

The cumulative FII inflow in September 2005 reached Rs 4,513.40 crore (till 28 September), on the top of an inflow of Rs 5,051.20 crore in August 2005.

The FII inflow for calendar 2005 so far (till 28 September 2005) has reached $ 8.56 billion, which has surpassed an inflow of $ 8.51 billion recorded in the whole of 2,004.

Liquidity has been intense with local mutual funds as well. The cumulative inflow of local funds in equities in September 2005 reached Rs 2,752.27 crore (till 28 September). This follows the inflow of Rs 2,292 crore in August 2005.

Markets volatile: Trading tips for midcaps -Personal Finance, News Money,

Volatility is once again ruling the markets. Experts give their views on how to trade the midcap space in the current market scenario.

Markets are on a rollercoaster ride today. Experts give their views on how to trade the midcap space in the current market scenario.

Technical Analyst, Anil Manghnani, believes that if the midcap space does not perform in the next few sessions, then there could be some problem. He says, "The market's negative breadth for a continuous period of time where the index still keeps going higher, doesn’t send out good feelers. We need the midcap sector to definitely start performing soon."

According to Manghnani, quality midcap stocks have taken an unnecessary pounding over the last few days.

"Looking at the amount of money that has been raised by mutual funds in the last six months and new midcap mutual fund offerings, I am sure at some point of time these midcaps which were unnecessarily being hammered will find some takers or some good buying opportunities," he adds.

Manghnani believes that if the midcaps and small caps will not perform before the large caps take a breather, the scenario could worsen for them.

Manghnani says that he would not trade some of the high flying midcap stocks like Tata Tele, Centurion Bank and Indiabulls until there is a lot of news in them. According to him, the buzz in TTML was news based. He believes that the stock will settle down at Rs 29-30 levels.

Manghnani is bearish on Indiabulls. He says that on declines, India Infoline looks better at around Rs 130 compared to Indiabulls. "Indiabulls is looking weak on the charts and till it reaches Rs 160 level, I wouldn’t touch it," he adds.

News, Midcaps: Attractive expert stock picks -Personal Finance.

The CNX Midcap 100 Index closed down 13.65 points yesterday and it is down today as well. Experts pick stocks in the midcap sector that they are bullish on.

The midcap segment softened yesterday as its Index closed down 13.65 points or 0.36% at 3813.55, even though the Sensex and Nifty closed at all-time highs.

The midcap Index is not showing much strength today as well, at 10:01 am, the CNX Midcap 100 Index was down 10.60 points at 3802.95.

However, analysts spot attractive picks from this sector, they are bullish on ACC, Gujarat Ambuja, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Chambal Fertilisers, Century Textiles, SRF, VSNL, Jayshree Tea, Mcleod Russel and Goodricke Group.


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Indian Regulator Bars 11 From Trading

India's stock market regulators has barred 11 brokers of the Calcutta Stock Exchange from trading after finding that they manipulated the shares of several companies.

The 11 brokers were found to have "artificially" jacked up prices in shares of six companies, the Securities Exchange Board of India said in a statement released late Thursday.

They created huge trading volumes in the shares "through continuous self deals executed on the same terminal and cross deals among themselves," the statement said.

The companies whose stocks were manipulated included Prime Capital Market Ltd., Subh Laxmi Projects Ltd., Bankam Investments Ltd., S. T. Services Ltd., Amluckie Investment Co. Ltd., and Global Capital Market Ltd.

All of them are based in the eastern Indian city Calcutta. Global Capital Market is also listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The exchange board said that the rise in stock prices of these companies came despite poor or negative financial performance. The brokers' actions posed a serious risk to the stability of the settlement system in the stock markets and trap investors into holding on to fundamentally weak shares, it added.

The ban came a day after the regulator, for similar reasons, banned trading in stocks of two small companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Indian stocks have soared in the past four months, with the benchmark index of the nation's main Bombay Stock Exchange - Sensex - hitting an all-time high of 8,650 points on Thursday.

Many say India's booming economy has fueled the current rally, driving demand for Indian stocks from foreign investors. There have been fears, though, that some market players could be manipulating select share prices.

Sah Petroleums to issue bonus shares

Sah Petroleums Ltd on Friday said it will issue bonus shares in the ratio 3:5 to the shareholders of the company.

The shareholders at the AGM have approved the issue of three bonus shares of Rs 5 each for every five shares held, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The AGM also gave its nod to increase the authorised share capital of the company from Rs 11 crore to Rs 16 crore for issuing bonus shares, it said.

News: Stocks Open Lower on Economic Data

U.S. stocks are trading lower Friday as investors keep an eye on a flurry of economic data including consumer spending and personal income.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 7 points, while the S&P 500 is off 0.50 point and the Nasdaq 100 is down 1 point.

On Thursday, a mid-session turnaround lifted the Dow industrials 79 points to 10,552, the Nasdaq Composite rose 25 points to 2,141 and the S&P 500 climbed 10.8 points at 1,227.

Heading into its final day, the Dow industrials have climbed 2.7 percent, the Nasdaq is up 4.1 percent and the S&P is up 3.1 percent during the third quarter.

Front-month crude recently was up 30 cents at $66.99 a barrel while the euro was stronger versus the dollar at $1.2046.

There's a host of economic data scheduled for release Friday, including personal income, consumer spending, consumer sentiment and the Chicago PMI survey.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 and DAX 30 were moderately higher, helped by gains in semiconductor companies after Micron Technology's results, while Japan's Nikkei 225 ended down 0.3 percent, or 42.9 points.

Liberty Global, the overseas cable operator of media magnate John Malone, said it's buying Cablecom, Switzerland's largest cable operator, for $2.19 billion in cash.

The Interpublic Group said that its first-half loss was $139.4 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a restated $182 million, or 44 cents a share, for the previous year. The company restated its results from 2000 through the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2004, after a review disclosed material weakness in internal controls. The restatement reduced earnings at Sept. 30 by $514 million and cut shareholders' equity by $550 million at the same point. Separately, the company said that it has successfully amended the terms of its $450 million, three-year credit facility with its bank syndicate.

Boeing Co.'s machinists union approved a new three-year contract Thursday, a move that ends their strike and restarts the world's largest aerospace company's jetliner production after almost a month of inactivity.

Sensex drops 112pts, Reliance down 3%-Online News

The Sensex has declined 112 points to 8,538.

Reliance has slipped 3% (Rs 24) to Rs 784. While ONGC is down Rs 26 at Rs 1,047, ITC is down Rs 3 at Rs 135. SBI has dropped Rs 20 to Rs 920.

Tata Motors has dropped over 3% (Rs 17) to Rs 519. Maruti and Hero Honda are also trading with losses.

Bulls strike the right chord despite stir, Sensex rises

The Left-led strike failed to adversely impact the bourses on Thursday as bulls, once again, grabbed the center-stage and pushed the indices northwards.

Pharma, tech and power constituents of the indices led the rally as the 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd gained 44.14 points or 0.51% to close at 8,650.17, after crossing the 8,700-mark for the first-time ever to touch an intra-day high of 8,722.17. The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also gained 0.51% or 13.15 points to close at 2,611.20. Although the indices registered gains, the market undertone remained weak.
On BSE, 2,166 stocks closed in the red while only 395 stocks gained ground. A total of 768 stocks hit the lower circuit on Thursday. The BSE Smallcap index lost nearly 112 points.

The combined turnover crossed the Rs 43,000-crore mark for the first time, touching a new high of Rs 43,066.32 crore on Thursday. The cash turnover on BSE and NSE was also higher at Rs 4,258.20 crore and Rs 9,519.39 crore, respectively.

Markets rallying: Sell these stocks now -Personal Finance, Money,

Markets are back to rallying again with the Sensex hitting the 8700 mark in late morning trades. Market experts are once again bullish about the markets and give their take on what to sell in the current market.

What to Sell:

Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking believes that two-wheeler auto stocks like Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda are a sell at this juncture. He also thinks that Maruti is fully priced at current levels.

Baliga thinks that investors can sell oil marketing stocks like HPCL and BPCL at this point. He says, "Each and every rally should be used to sell these stocks. I really don’t see much of a future for these stocks at least for another year or so."

Baliga adds that his firm is cutting positions in pharma stocks like Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Pfizer.

Sensex closes on record 8,650.17 - Business News

India's benchmark 30-share index today crossed past a new high of 8,700 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange before finally closing 44 points up on 8,650.17.

The 30-share Sensex hit an intra day high of 8,722.17, mainly driven by hectic shortcovering in key heavyweighted counters like RIL, Infosys Tech, L and T, SBI and Satyam Computer.

The Sensex fluctuated between the 8700 and the 8500 mark for most of the day.

Small cap stocks fell by 111 points even as hedge funds and operators covered their short positions in some index heavyweights.

The broad-based BSE-100 index firmed up further by 11.46 points to 4566.99 from previous close of 4555.53.

The BSE-200 index and the Dollex-200 were quoted modestly up at 1098.23 and 415.65 at close compared to previous close of 1096.32 and 414.08 respectively. The BSE-500 index edged up by 1.64 points to 3525.83 from yesterday's close of 3524.19 and the Dollex-30 ended higher at 1614.71 from 1602.89.

The total volume of business was substantially up at Rs 4258.20 crore from Rs 3706.65 crore yesterday. FCs software remained the most active scrip with the highest turnover of Rs 317.17 crore followed by Ril (Rs 230.48 crore), McDowell (Rs 184.87 crore) Rel Capital (Rs 153.05 crore) and Satyam Computer (Rs 148.94 crore).