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The markets opened on weak note on the budget day and plunged in deep red once the Finance Minister started presenting the budget. Sensex and Nifty, however witnessed significant recovery in the last one hour of trade on the back of good performance of FMCG, bank, pharma and auto stocks. Finally, Sensex and Nifty ended weak. Sensex ended down 245.76 points or 1.38% at 17578.72, and the Nifty closed down 61.60 points or 1.17% at 5223.50. On BSE, about 1221 shares advanced, 1750 shares declined, and 73 shares were unchanged. BSE midcap and smallcap ended down 0.41% each at 7680.39 and 9628.13 respectively. Auto stocks surged today and the BSE auto index ended with 1.2% gain on the back of deduction in the excise duty from 16% to 12%. Major gainers in this space were Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Ashok Leyland.

Costly petroleum products and some food items pushed inflation rate to nine-month high of 4.89 per cent for the week ended February 16, vindicating the cautious approach adopted by RBI in its quarterly monetary review.

The Budget brings a very bad news for short term investor. this budget propses to increase hort-term capital gains tax rate from the earlier 10% to 15% . While the Securities Transaction Tax rates has been kept unchanged, the FM has announced a levy of STT on option premiums. It has also been proposed to levy commodities transaction tax similar to STT.

Exemption Limit raised Category Current Proposed General 1,10,000 1,50,000 Women 1,45,000 1,80,000 Senior Citizen 1,95,000 2,25,000 Tax Slab Changed Slab Income Tx % 1,50,000 - 3,00,000 10% 3,00,000 - 5,00,000 20% Above 5,00,000 30%

Equities seen lower on weak global cues; Budget ey ed (The Economic Times 29th Feb 2008)Equities are seen range bound Friday as investors await Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s presentation of the Union Budget for cues that could lift sentiment. This year’s Budget being the last from the UPA government ahead of the general elections in 2009, is largely expected to be a populist one. “Once the finance minister speaks today, we will get a clearer idea of things to follow which will enable us to take a directional call on the market. But even if there are negative statements, having entered the March series quite light, losses will be limited," said DD Sharma, vice president - research, at AnandRathi Securities. "The finance minister should move toward further liberalization with regards to foreign direct investment and other regulatory reforms. But, this being the last Budget the UPA presents ahead of general elections, the FM is likely to lend financial support more to the far

Power stocks fail to take cues from the (The Hindu Business Line 29th Feb 2008)Market on Thursday did not take a cue from the Economic Survey’s observation that the country’s electricity generation was less than the target of 710 billion KW hours during 2007-08. “In absolute terms, total energy deficit during the period was pegged at 45,601 million units,” it said. Is it a challenge or an opportunity for the listed power stocks in the months ahead? “Obviously, this is an opportunity for the power companies and not unknown to the market. But it did not react to the generalities and was waiting for specific cues from the Budget tomorrow,” said Mr Sudip Bandopadhyay, CEO of Reliance Money. “But the fact that the Survey has taken note of it is heartening. The PPP model has been working well for some time now. Reliance Power, which has obtained largest mandate even as a newcomer, is an example of things that may follow. The interesting trend is that the private players are seriously looking

Survey advises retail investors to take informed decisions (The Hindu Business Line 29th Feb 2008)Painting an optimistic picture on expected expansion of activity in the capital market, the Economic Survey has said that the strong fundamentals of the economy combined with higher growth would help sustain the interest of domestic and foreign investors in the market. This forecast is despite the possible subdued global growth. While stressing the need for regulators to remain proactive and vigilant to obviate the occurrence of any irregularities in the conduct of business in the market, the Economic Survey 2007-08 has also advised individual investors to take “informed decisions and remain cautious.” The Survey has said that the individual investors would do well to resist from commonly observed “herd mentality” and “panic” in their buying and selling operations. It highlighted that investors’ awareness is equally important from the market stability angle as investment in equities could

Economy has moved decisively to higher growth (The Hindu Business Line 29th Feb 2008)Optimism on growth laced with caution on the inflation and external sector fronts. This, in essence, is the outlook conveyed in the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament ahead of the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, presenting his Union Budget for 2008-09 on Friday. “The economy has moved decisively to a higher growth phase,” the Finance Ministry’s annual report card on the Indian economy has declared. With the country’s gross domestic product (at constant market prices) growing at eight per cent plus for an unprecedented five years in a row — 8.4 per cent in 2003-04, 8.3 per cent in 2004-05, 9.2 per cent in 2005-06, 9.7 per cent in 2006-07 and a projected 8.7 per cent this fiscal — the average per capita income of its people has risen by 7.2 per cent per annum during this period. This is against 3.1 per cent over the 12 years from 1980-81 to 1991-02 and 3.7 per cent during the subsequent 11 years t

The Sensex opened marginally (15 points) lower at 17,811 on mixed cues from the Asian markets. The index moved into positive zone and touched a high of 17,922 in early trades.The index could not hold gains and slipped back into negative territory. The index touched a low of 17,690 - down 232 points from the day's high - but rebounded into positive zone in late trades. The Sensex finally ended on a flat note (down two points) at 17,824.The NSE Nifty moved up 17 points to end at 5,285.The BSE market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,784 stocks traded, 1,444 declined, 1,276 advanced today. Hindalco gained 4% to Rs 204. Bajaj Auto moved up 3.6% to Rs 2,255.HDFC and Mahindra & Mahindra added over 3% each to close at Rs 2,775 and Rs 680, respectively.BHEL gained 2.7% at Rs 2,324. Wipro, Cipla and Satyam advanced over 2% each to Rs 450, Rs 206 and Rs 447, respectively.Ranbaxy moved up nearly 2% to Rs 445. Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were up around 1.5% each at Rs 824 and Rs 1,47

Tech view: Buying conviction utterly lacking (Business Standard 27th Feb 2008)The markets kicked off trading on an optimistic note, but the session ended in an insipid manner. The bulls clearly lacked buying conviction inspite of positive overseas cues and improved volumes.The market breadth was positive as the combined exchange figures were 2082:1832. The capitalisation of breadth was also positive as the commensurate figures were Rs 9463 crore:Rs 9349 crore.The indices closed at the lower end of the intraday range and that too with positive market breadth. The intraday range at 5220 / 5320 was overcome on the upside as the opening itself was firm.Technicians will note that the close was below the open, indicating a key reversal on the charts. Ahead of the budget, it indicates a sentiment of non-expectation. The intraday range in the coming session will be 5195 / 5360.Traded volumes must improve above the 5360 levels if the upmove is to be sustainable. The number of trades increased

Nagarjuna lining up JV to make auxiliary power equipment (The Economic Times 27th Feb 2008)In order to meet the growing demand for auxiliary equipment used in power plants, Hyderabad-based infrastructure company Nagarjuna Construction Co. Ltd (NCC) is planning to enter the segment with an overseas partner. Equipment other than boilers, turbines and generators used in power plants fall under the auxiliary equipment category. Such equipment, including coal-handling plants, cooling towers, chimneys, air compressors and ash-handling plants, are also called balance of plant (BoP) equipment. There has been a recent spurt in demand for BoP equipment, with the government aiming to add around 78,000MW of power capacity in the next five years at an investment of Rs5.75 trillion) to the country’s current installed capacity of 141,000MW. The core critical equipment for power projects are being supplied by players such as General Electric Co., Alstom and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, while there a

Think twice before investing in IPOs (The Economic Times 27th Feb 2008)Ten out of 16 initial public offerings (IPOs) that made their debut on the bourses this calendar year are quoting below their issue prices, a statistic that is likely to make investors think twice before rushing to put money into the next ‘hot IPO’. But merchant bankers are not to be dissuaded so easily. They feel the primary market is showing signs of a revival, only that investors have become a bit more finicky about the price they are willing to shell out. “People are coming back but at a price,” said an investment banker with a leading domestic brokerage. “Unlike the earlier trend of where any issue was oversubscribed, there is an element of caution today. In a highly volatile market, most investors prefer secondary market trade rather than primary market trade,” he added. Industry experts aver the new issuances and their performance on the bourses in the recent past also need to be judged against the backdrop

Wall St mixed on rate cut hint (The Economic Times 27th Feb 2008)US stocks ended mixed Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at more rate cuts to bolster a sagging economy and investors saw hopes for fresh capital for the troubled housing sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which wobbled in and out of positive territory for most of the day, closed up a modest 9.36 points (0.07 percent) at 12,694.28. The Nasdaq composite rose 8.79 points (0.37 percent) to 2,353.78 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.27 points (0.09 percent) to 1,380.02. Bernanke told Congress that weak US economic growth may prompt the central bank to cut short-term interest rates further if needed, citing "downside risks" to economic growth. Markets viewed the remarks as suggesting more rate cuts are on the way to rescue the economy. "Rate cuts are still on the agenda, and 'calibrating' policy is a matter of how much further the Fed will cut rates and w

The Hindu Busienss Line Power Grid Corp (Rs 108.40): Buy We recommend a buy in Power Grid Corporation of India from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the company that the stock has been on an intermediate-term downtrend from its 52-week high of Rs 167 marked on November 19, ... More

Order wins may help BGR Energy in (The Hindu Business Line 27th Feb 2008)BGR Energy Systems’ qualification in the Balance of Plant (BOP) works for power projects in recent times is likely to aid its objective of moving to Engineering Procure Construct (EPC) contracts, a segment that would provide superior returns. BGR Energy Systems has won a BOP contract worth Rs 793 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation for a 500-MW coal-based project in Kothagudam. This order was at a bidding stage when the company came out with its initial public offering. Two unique strategies of BGR Energy in its BOP contracts — backward integration and direct bids to generation companies — provide it an edge over others in the business. BOP contracts not only involve providing services but also supplying materials. Of the products required to execute a BOP contract, BGR can manufacture up to 40-50 per cent in-house, given its backward integration. Such in-house production facilitates cost re

UP-based sugar stocks fall on court (The Hindu Business Line 27th Feb 2008)An interim order by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh pay growers Rs 115-123 a quintal led to a fall in shares of companies based in the Northern State. Shares of companies took a beating due to this. “Bajaj Hindustan Ltd was the worst hit due to the order. The company will now have to go through a lot of financial restatements now, which will lead to major losses for the company,” said an analyst with a brokerage. The fall in stock prices came even as sugar prices touched a 15-month high in the global market. Indian sugar is seen as holding the key to global market prices since higher exports from the country could have a cooling effect. Bajaj Hindustan slipped sharply by 8.56 per cent, touching an intra-day high of Rs 232.75 before closing the day at Rs 234.95. Other stocks affected include Andhra Sugars down 1.30 per cent; Dhampur Sugar Kashipur fell 2.28 per cent; Dwarikesh Su

The stock markets pared initial gains on Wednesday due to profit taking in key scrips such as ICICI Bank, REL, Reliance Communications, Infosys, Suzlon and Unitech. The Sensex still ended up 19.80 points to 17,825.99, with 19 of its components declined while 11 of its scrips gained. It touched an intraday high of 18,137.28 in the morning and came off that level in the midsession and touched a low of 17,770.65. The S&P CNX Nifty on the NSE closed down by 1.65 points to 5,268.40. Earlier in the day, the index touched a high of 5,368.15 on the back of buying by operators and investors. Report of a rising trend in the US and Asian stock markets fuelled the surge t o some extent. Markets went up in early trades mainly led by gains in L&T, BHEL, Siemens and Reliance Industries. Capital goods and Oil& gas segments gave the momentum to the markets early. PowerGrid shares climbed over 6 per cent to Rs 108 on the NSE after the stock exchange said that the stock would be included in t

Technical Analyst, Sudarshan Sukhani expressed his opinion about Power Grid on CNBC-TV18. He thinks that Power Grid is an investment opportunity at Rs 108. According to him apart from the fact that Power Grid is joining the Nifty , the technical charts also indicate that worst for Power Grid is probably over. So he thinks the stock can only go up from here.

Analysts' picks: M&M Finance, Idea Cellular, Tulip IT Services, Tata Motors (The Economic Times 26th Feb 2008) M&M Finance Research: Prabhudas Lilladher Rating: Outperformer CMP: Rs 310 Target: N/A Sobha Developers Research: Morgan Stanley Rating: Overweight CMP: Rs 811.85 Target: Rs 1,172 Idea Cellular Research: UBS Securities Rating: Accumulate CMP: Rs 112.20 Target: N/A Tulip IT Services Research: Networth Stock Broking Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 1,012 Target price: Rs 1,348 Tata Motors Research: Networth Stock Broking Rating: Neutral CMP: Rs 702.1 Target price: Rs 764 Gateway Distriparks Research: Merrill Lynch Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 116.85 Target price: Rs 175 Details

Tech view: Volumes hold the key (Business Standard 26th Feb 2008)The markets had a bullish session as the overseas cues kept the undertone optimistic, though not outrightly exuberant. The traded volumes were subdued and the market breadth was positive. The combined exchange figures were 2475:1435. The capitalisation of breadth was also positive as the commensurate figures were Rs 11551 crore:Rs 4120 crore.The indices have closed at the upper end of the intraday range and that too on positive market breadth. The poor volumes are partly because of the wait-and-watch approach ahead of a major news trigger (budget), as also the impending derivatives series expiry.The intraday range of 5100 / 5300 held as the Nifty retraced from 5281 itself. The intraday range in the coming session will be 5220 / 5320 due to the small base effect on Tuesday. Trading volumes must improve above the 5320 levels if the upmove is to be sustainable. More

The Hindu Busienss Line Bartronics India (Rs 223.90): Buy We recommend a buy in Bartronics India from short-term perspective. From the charts of Bartronics India we see that the stock has been consolidating in the range between Rs 200 and Rs 285 since mid September 2007. The stock had been on a ... More

Railway Budget: Record outlays may benefit a host of cos (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)Armed with a cash surplus of Rs 25,000 crore, the Indian Railways has announced several initiatives towards easing infrastructure bottlenecks in the Railways. These moves may open up a host of business opportunities for many companies. Backed by the largest ever annual plan outlay of over Rs 37,500 crore, the Railways Minister’s growth initiatives appear promising.Rolling stock The Budget has laid down plans to procure an all-time high number of 20,000 wagons, 250 diesel and 220 electric locomotives for the coming year. This opens up sizeable potential revenues for wagon manufacturing companies such as Texmaco, BEML and Titagarh Wagons (the company has recently filed for an initial public offering with SEBI), which derive a significant portion of their revenues from the manufacture of wagons for the Railways. Besides revenue growth, these companies may also benefit by way of margin expansion

Satyam, Infosys in pursuit of large railway deals (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)Welcoming the Railway Budget presented today, IT services provider Satyam Computer said that it was in pursuit of at least four Rs 1,000 crore to Rs,2,000 crore technology outsourcing deals in the Indian Railways. Mr Ranjan Tayal, India-Head, Satyam Computer, said the company was in talks with the Indian Railways for such large IT outsourcing deals. They include asset management services, enterprise resource planning (ERP), RFID (radio frequency identification) and commercial portals. In a statement, he said the Railway Ministry was looking at information technology as a strategic tool where IT partners need to engage not just at the service but at the solution level. The scope of work now goes beyond just implementing IT frameworks. It involves also post-deployment services such as enterprise-wide roll-out and maintenance through call centres for internal and external touch points. Some of these d

Reliance Energy to decide buyback on March (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)Reliance Energy Ltd said on Tuesday that the company’s board would consider buyback of shares at a meeting to be held on March 5. A company official said that the company was having cash reserves of over Rs 10,000 crore and the stock was undervalued and, therefore, it was decided to take the ‘buyback’ route. It could invest between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore, he said. An analyst on condition of anonymity said that the reason for the company to opt for a buyback was ‘illogical and beyond comprehension’. Today the company is opting for a buyback, but in December 2007, the company had opted for Rs 8,000-crore equity capital infusion through a preferential offer. There is incongruity in these two actions, the analyst said. Reliance Energy Ltd, in a December 3 notice to the BSE, had said that company was opting for capital infusion so as to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects, which will

France Telecom finalises joint venture with Moser Baer (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)France Telecom-owned Orange Business Services has finalised a joint venture partnership with Indian storage devices manufacturer Moser Baer Ltd to foray into the long distance telephony segment. The company is awaiting clearance from the Department of Telecom for obtaining the licence. Orange Business Services has been offering enterprise communication solutions to large multinationals in India. However, it has now applied for a licence after the Government made it mandatory for companies to obtain a national long distance licence for offering IP-based services such as virtual private network. The company is not expected to foray into the retail long distance telephony segment. France Telecom is one of the largest telecom service providers in Europe. It had earlier exited from the Indian market after it sold out its stake in BPL Mobile. However, recently, it had acquired GTL’s IT unit in a bid

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 149 points at 17,800, but dropped to a low of 17,679 in mid-noon deals.Renewed buying in late noon deals saw the index surge to a high of 17,860 - up 209 points from the previous close. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 156 points at 17,806.The NSE Nifty gained 69 points at 5,270.The BSE market breadth was positive - out of 2,785 stocks traded, 1,650 advanced, 1,076 declined and 59 were unchanged today. Grasim zoomed 5% to Rs 3,043. Reliance Energy and BHEL soared over 4.5% each to Rs 1,697 and Rs 2,181, respectively. Infosys gained 3% to Rs 1,662. HDFC Bank moved up over 2% to Rs 1,455. Hindustan Unilever and Maruti advanced nearly 2% each to Rs 219 and Rs 813, respectively. ACC and ONGC gained around 1.5% each at Rs 831 and Rs 1,028, respectively. Wipro and Reliance were up around 1% each at Rs 444 and Rs 2,576, respectively. Bharti Airtel slipped over 1% to Rs 839. Ambuja Cements, HDFC and Tata Motors also declined.

Freight traffic crosses target of 785 million tonnes; to touch 790 million tonnes. Railway Plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years. Posts profit of Rs 25,000 cr in 2007-08. 560 railway station platforms to be lengthened to take long trains. Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters. Doubling of lines to be given priority. Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains. Second-class Sleeper fares cut by 5%. AC-1 fare cut by 7%. AC-2 fare cut by 4%. AC-3 fare cut by 3%. Freight on petrol, diesel cut by 5% Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections. Smartcard-based ticketing system planned. Electrification of more routes in North India. Foot overbridge along high level platforms. Talks on with foreign cos for new wagon designs. High level platforms in 135 stations. Housekeeping in Shatabdis to be outsourced. Lifts and

Railways will invest Rs 7500 crore in infrastructure over7 years. Over 50 big terminals to be set up in Mumbai, Pune and Ghaziabad. Automated signaling system would be setup. There would be IT upgradting in Railsways. The companies likely to be benefited are - TCS, Wipro, Satyam were up on account of IT upgradation order. The budget will have online control of trains in 2 years. It plans to link trains via software communication by 2009. It plans to start ticket confirmation via mobile phones. The Budet is planning 'smart card' based ticket system. SMART CARDS will benefit Bartronics . The other measures to be positively impact stocks are automated signalling to benefit Kernex Micro . ETA display in long-run trains to benefit Mic Electronics . CCTV, metal detectors installation is expected to benefit Zicom . Anti-fire protection to benefit Nitin Fire Protection .

BHEL bags Rs 1,075-cr order for 350-mw power plant in Gujarat (The Economic Times 26th Feb 2008)Power equipment supplier Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd today said it has bagged a Rs 1,075- crore order for setting up a 350-mw power plant in Gujarat. Gujarat State Energy Generation Ltd has placed the engineering, procurement and construction order for the gas turbine-based combined cycle power plant to be installed at Hazira in Gujarat, BHEL said in a statement. The project is slated for completion in 27 months, the company said. Scope of work for the project includes supply and commissioning of a gas turbine generator set, one steam turbine generator set and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) along with associated auxiliaries. More

Reliance Energy Ltd said on Tuesday its board would meet on March 5 to consider a share buyback.

Top IT counters make recovery (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)IT stocks were up today on a relief rally. HCL Infosystems gained over 5 per cent. HCL Tech went up around 4 per cent. Wipro was up more than 4 per cent. Infosys moved up by 2.11 per cent. Satyam Computer gained 2.62 per cent. TCS and MphasiS finished marginally up. In the past one week, top IT counters made some recovery, but the strength still amiss. “The top companies are not under-owned and re-rating exercise yet not visible,” felt Mr Arun Kejriwal of KRIS. Mr Gul Teckchandani, an equity strategist, felt that with a relatively stable rupee against dollar now, and prospect of revenue growth of 30 per cent during the calendar year, the low debt IT blue chips are surely opportunities. Last year, the rupee had a sharp upward movement of 12.3 per cent against dollar. This year so far, it has been flattish. In the immediate term, a sudden and sharp appreciation in the rupee is also least apprehended in the currency mark

The Hindu Business Line Alstom Projects India (Rs 739.45): Buy We recommend a buy in Alstom Projects India from a short-term perspective. From the charts, we see that the stock met with a key resistance level at around Rs 1,085 in early January and began to decline. The stock’s downtrend continued up ... More

Benefits not clear at this (The Hindu Business Line 26th Feb 2008)The merger of Centurion Bank with HDFC Bank marks another step in the slow and steady consolidation that is happening in the banking space. Recent bank mergers in the country have usually been triggered because one of the institutions was in trouble. Whether it was Global Trust Bank earlier, or more recently United Western Bank or Sangli Bank, they had to be bailed out by stronger institutions. In all three cases, the regulator had to play mid-wife and see the deal through. Only in the case of IDBI Bank, which took over the ailing United Western Bank, was the motive immediately visible. It lacked distribution muscle. Whether Oriental Bank that took over Global Trust needed a presence in the south, or ICICI Bank that took over Sangli Bank, needed a rural portfolio (the official reasons given), remains a matter of debate. HDFC Bank’s senior management is on record that the deal would offer them scale and size. Why this was

The markets opened with decent gap up today but could not sustain the momentum and slipped in red in early trade on the back of some profit booking witnessed across the sectors led by banking , auto and metal. During second half of trade, the markets recovered amid volatility and ended with handsome gains. Good amount of short covering were also witnessed in the late trade today. Cues from the Asain and European markets were encouraging. It was good day for the Oil & gas, IT and pharma stocks which traded firm through the day. Broader markets underperformed the frontline counters once again and on the volume front, it was a modest day. Sensex ended up 301.50 points or 1.74% at 17650.57, and the Nifty closed up 89.95 points or 1.76% at 5200.70. About 1211 shares have advanced, 1737 shares declined, and 87 shares are unchanged. BSE midcap ended flat at 7594.41 and smallcap was down 0.72% at 9526.28.

Should you exit REPL before or after 3:5 bonus issue? (Source : CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol.com) Pre-bonus exit -If price touches Rs 450,retail investor profit at Rs 20/sh -For 15 shares, total profit made at Rs 300 Ex-bonus Exit a) For Rs 350 pre-bonus price, retail investor profit at Rs 61/sh -For 24 shares, total profit made at Rs 1,464 b) For Rs 300 pre-bonus price, retail investor profit at Rs 14/sh -For 24 shares, total profit made at Rs 336 c) For Rs 285 pre-bonus fair price should be the cut off to avoid losses On Sunday, the Reliance Power Board approved a bonus issue of 3:5 shares, which essentially means that the company will issue 3 shares for every 5 held. Chairman, Anil Ambani said that the bonus share issue is only for non-promoters. The company said that the number of retail shareholders have increased in the last 10 days. The bonus is said to reduce IPO cost to Rs 269 for retail investors, to protect dilution of REL stake in Reliance Power. REL will be compensated by makin

NTPC: Buy (The Hindu Business Line 25th Feb 2008)Investors seeking a defensive play in the run-up to the Budget can consider putting their money into the NTPC stock. The stock is now trading at more reasonable valuations compared to the peak of the market euphoria over power stocks barely a month ago. At the current market price of Rs 197, the stock trades at 20 times the projected earnings for 2007-08; down from over 26 at its height. While the pace of appreciation from current levels could be slower compared to the recent past, the downside appears minimal. There’s likely to be little in the Budget to affect the stock adversely; if anything, it could make things brighter for the company through a sharper focus on the power sector accompanied by higher allocations. NTPC plans to scale up its present capacity of around 27,000 MW to over 50,000 MW in the next five years. The company will also be commissioning by early-2009 its first hydro power plant at Kol Dam in Himachal Pradesh. Mor

The Hindu Business Line Pfizer (Rs 632.90): Buy We recommend a buy in Pfizer from a short-term perspective. From the chart, we see that it had been on a medium-term downtrend from December 2007 high of Rs 850 to mid-February low of Rs 587. However, the stock’s medium-term downtrend got ... More The Economic Times Stocks to pick: SBI, Infosys Technologies, Crompton Greaves, GLaxosmithkline State Bank of India Research: HSBC Rating: Underweight CMP: Rs 2,115 Infosys Technologies Research: Indiabulls Financials Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 1,580 Crompton Greaves Research: JM Financials Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 298 GLaxosmithkline Pharma Research: Motilal Oswal Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 953

HDFC Bank, Centurion boards okay merger (Business Standard 25th Feb 2008)The boards of directors of HDFC Bank and Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBoP) today separately gave their in-principle approvals for merger of the two banks. HDFC Bank is expected to pay Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 crore in shares for absorbing CBoP. Independent firms — Dalal & Shah and Ernst & Young — appointed by the two banks would work over the weekend to prepare their reports on the valuation of CBoP in time for boards of the two banks to consider when they meet again on Monday (February 25) to consider the swap ratio for the all-stock deal. The boards of both banks will meet on February 25 to consider the swap ratio and on February 28, to consider the draft scheme of amalgamation and any other matters as required. Consulting firm KPMG is the advisor to HDFC Bank and investment bank Ambit Corporate Finance to Centurion Bank. “ The swap ratio is expected to be around 1:25-30,” said a banking source. The merger wil

Tech View: Get set for post-Budget breakout Business Standard 25th Feb 2008) A lacklustre week ended with net losses across most sectors except for IT stocks, which saw a small recovery. The Nifty closed at 5,110.75, down 3.62 per cent while the Sensex was down 4.23 per cent at 17,349 points. The Defty was down 4.4 per cent and the Junior was down 3.71 per cent while the NSE Midcaps lost 1.69 per cent. Background signals were poor. Volumes were low and advances were outnumbered by declines. The BSE500 was down 3.3 per cent. FIIs were net buyers, domestic institutions were net sellers. Outlook: Next week is likely to see the continuation of range trading in the early stages with high intra-day volatility. Since the Nifty is on reasonable support, it is likely to move up a bit, hitting resistance at 5,350-5,400. The Budget next Friday could provoke a decisive breakout in either direction. Rationale: This has been a low-key settlement with very low volumes. The market has remained stuck i

3:5 bonus from Reliance Power; effective price will be Rs 269 (The Hindu Business Line 25th Feb 2008) The bonus issue will effectively reduce the Reliance Power’s share price by nearly 40 per cent to Rs 269 for retail investors (who paid Rs 430 a share) and by 37 per cent to Rs 281 for institutional investors. Reliance Power will offer three bonus shares to its investors for every five held in an effort to compensate for the fall of its share price after its high decibel, record-breaking initial public offering last month. The bonus shares will not be offered to the promoters – Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman of the company, and Reliance Energy (REL) – who hold 45 per cent stake each in Reliance Power. Mr Ambani is reducing his holding in the company to preserve REL’s shareholding at 45 per cent, to make good the notional loss that REL would suffer on account of the bonus issue. “I am contributing my personal shareholding of 2.6 per cent in Reliance Power to Reliance Energy,” he said, at a ne

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 219 points at 17,516 on weak cues from the overseas markets. The index displayed range-bound (17,400-17,500) movement for the major part of the trading session today. A fresh round of selling towards the close saw the index slip to a low of 17,295 - down 440 points from the previous close.The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 386 points (2.2%) at 17,349.The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were down 1% each at 7,594 (down 74 points) and 9,595 (down 98 points), respectively.The NSE Nifty dropped 81 points (1.6%) to close at 5,111.The BSE market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,795 stocks traded, 1,766 declined, 961 advanced and 68 were unchanged today. Bajaj Auto tumbled nearly 5% to Rs 2,296. HDFC Bank and Satyam dropped over 4% each to Rs 1,475 and Rs 439, respectively. ICICI Bank declined nearly 4% to Rs 1,099. Infosys and SBI were down 3% each at Rs 1,580 and Rs 2,115, respectively. Reliance and HDFC also slipped nearly 3% each to R

The telecom industry added 8.74 million new users in January taking the total subscriber base to 281.62 million, according to figures released by Trai. About 8.77 million wireless users were added during the month as against 8.17 million in December. The wireline segment saw a decline of 30,000 users. The total number of wireless users in the country has now reached 242.4 million. The wireline subscriber base has declined slightly to 39.22 million in January from 39.25 million in the previous month. Teledensity reached 24.63% at the end of January as against 23.89% in December 2007.

Sakthi Sugars Ltd's European subsidiary, Orlandofin BV, has acquired a Swedish Company 'Arvika Gjuteri AB'. It has facilities to produce 28,000 MTs per annum of castings for buses, trucks, and heavy off-road vehicles, and a machine shop.

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has entered into an agreement with Jaiprakash Associates to form a joint venture company, which would set up a 2.1 million tonnes cement plant in Bokaro with an estimated investment of Rs 405 crore. The joint venture company - Bokaro Jaypee Cement Ltd - would have an initial, authorised paid-up capital of Rs 50 crore raised through debt-equity in the ratio of 70:30, SAIL said in a statement. Equity participation in the new company by Jaiprakash Associates and SAIL would be in the ratio 76:24. The proposed cement plant would come up in over two years and it will use the slag generated by SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant's blast furnaces. SAIL is also contemplating a similar initiative for utilisation of slag generated at its Rourkela Steel Plant, for which it is scouting a joint-venture partner. The public sector steel manufacturer has decided to diversify in cement production in a phase d manner.

IPO of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) got subscribed by over 14 times of the issue size, as per the data available with the NSE at 1400 hrs. The IPO received bids for 219.65 crore equity shares, against 15.61 crore shares on offer. The issue, expected to raise Rs 1,640 crore, closes for subscription on Friday. The company's maiden public offer got subscribed 4.13 times of the issue size till yesterday, with most of the bids pouring in from institutional investors. REC has fixed the price band for the issue at Rs 90-105.

Inflation rate grew by 4.35 per cent for the week ended February 9 as compared to 4.07 per cent for the previous week mainly due to rise in prices of food articles and manufactured products.

Gujarat NRE Coke scrip buzzing: Hype or substance?( Source : CNBC-TV18 22, Moneycontrol.com 21st Feb 2008) Gujarat NRE Coke has broken its 52-week high yesterday. So, how are the industry fundamentals and trading pattern stacking up for the stock? Around the same time last year, Gujarat NRE Coke was trading at around the Rs 30 mark. In the latter half of 2007, it crossed the Rs 100 mark. Yesterday, it crossed the Rs 150 mark. The first leg of the run-up from Rs 30 to almost Rs 100 was because of the P/E valuation of its assets. The current run-up from Rs 100-150 is because of P/E valuations of its contract orders. Most orders are taken on spot prices, which are pretty high at around USD 450 per tonne, whereas the contract prices are around the range USD 200-250. So, investors are expecting that by March, contracts will be made depending on spot prices, which should give a fillip to the company’s bottomline. That is the reason why the stock is making such a run. The financial performanc

Equities seen lower on weak global cues (The Economic Times 22th Feb 2008)Weak global cues are likely to weigh down Indian equities on Friday. US stocks tumbled on Thursday, driven lower by recession fears and a sharp pullback in crude oil prices that hurt shares of energy companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.15 per cent, Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 1.29 per cent and Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.17 per cent. Oil prices slipped 1.5 per cent to $98.23 a barrel after the Energy Department said crude inventories climbed by 4.2 million barrels to the highest since November. Equities across Asia plummeted on US recession concerns pulling Japan's Nikkei down 1.93 per cent, Hang Seng down 2.03 per cent and Straits Times down 1.02 per cent. The Indian rupee may ease on Friday as losses in US and Asian stock markets are likely to heighten concerns that foreigners will withdraw funds, removing a key support for the currency. On Wednesday, Bombay Stock Exchang

RCom buys Ugandan co, to invest $500 (The Hindu Business Line 22th Feb 2008)Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications on Thursday announced the acquisition of Uganda based Anupam Global Soft (U) Ltd, marking its foray into the international mobile market. Anupam holds the Public Infrastructure Provider Licence (PIPL) and Public Service Provider Licence (PSPL) issued by Uganda Communications Commission. The acquisition is being made through a subsidiary of Reliance Communications. The company said in a statement that under the existing licenses, it planned to offer mobile, fixed line, Internet, national and international long distance services, in addition to WiMax and Wifi services in Uganda. The company has received spectrum allocation and plans to launch its mobile services by end of 2008. Although it did not indicate the price at which the acquisition was made, Reliance Communications said it was targeting to invest up to $500 million (Rs 2000 crore) in establishing a high q

Auto components industry reels under steel price (The Hindu Business Line 22th Feb 2008)Although all the industries that consume steel will be affected in varying degrees by the recent round of hikes in prices of steel, the auto components sector is likely to be among the worst hit. This is because the sector is being hit on multiple fronts at the same time. Its margins on exports are under pressure due to the rising rupee (though, the let up in the appreciation seen in the last few days might be of some help). Two major segments of the automotive industry are in a bear hug — commercial vehicles and two wheelers. There is a growing threat of competition from China. And now, the increase in cost of steel. The increase in costs will wipe out the auto components industry, fears Mr Vidyashankar Krishnan, President, Indian Forgings Association and Managing Director, M M Forgings Ltd. He disagrees that the hike in steel prices is necessitated by increase in input costs for the steel industry

Centurion Bank scrip surges on merger buzz (The Hindu Business Line 22th Feb 2008)The share price of Centurion Bank of Punjab on Wednesday shot up 14 per cent on the BSE, spurred on by rumours of a possible merger with HDFC Bank. The traded volumes as also the volume that came up for delivery were substantially higher than the average for the current month. The stock of Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBoP) opened the day at Rs 51.50 on the BSE, touched a high of Rs 58.40 and low of Rs 50.10, finally closing the day at Rs 57.05. As many as 1.5 crore shares changed hands as compared to the average volume of 20.82 lakh shares on the BSE, while the deliverable quantity was around 16.77 per cent of the total traded quantity. On the NSE, the volumes crossed over two crore, with a little more than a fifth (23 per cent) of it coming up for delivery at close. More

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 207 points at 17,825 on positive global cues, and moved up to a high of 17,912 in early deals.The index could not hold gains on selling pressure in financial stocks, and slipped into negative zone. The index dropped to a low of 17,482 - down 430 points from the day's high - in noon deals.Fresh buying towards the end saw the Sensex rebound into positive zone and close with a gain of 117 points (0.7%) at 17,735.The BSE Mid-cap index gained 80 points (1%) at 7,669, and the Small-cap index moved up 62 points (0.6%) to 9,693.The NSE Nifty ended 37 points higher at 5,192.The BSE market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,783 stocks traded, 1,462 advanced, 1,248 declined and 73 were unchanged today.

The Hindu Business Line ABG Shipyard (Rs 756.45): Buy We recommend a buy in ABG Shipyard from a short-term perspective. From the charts of ABG Shipyard, we see that the stock had formed a double top pattern spanning almost two months between November 2007 and January 2008 with baseline at Rs 870. On ... More

Equities seen higher on positive global cues (The Economic Times 21th Feb 2108)Equities are likely to see an upside backed by positive cues from global shores. Expectations of further US interest rate cuts overshadowed worries about inflation even as oil hit a record high above $101 a barrel, propelling markets higher across the world. US stocks rose on Wednesday as a strong profit outlook from Hewlett-Packard Co lifted technology shares and the Federal Reserve signaled its intention to keep cutting rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 0.73 percent, Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.83 per cent and Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.91 per cent. Asian stocks rose as a weaker yen boosted Japanese exporters driving Nikkei up 2.12 per cent. Hang Seng climbed 1.24 per cent and Straits Times advanced 1.05 per cent. Back home, indices declined Wednesday to their lowest close in a week as persistent worries about the global economy eroded confidence. More Wall St rallies