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The Sensex opened 24 points higher at 13,717, but soon slipped into the negative zone. Persistent selling technology and realty stocks saw the index slide to a low of 13,431 - down 286 points from the day's high. However, some value buying at lower levels helped the index recover some of its losses towards the close. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 145 points at 13,547. The BSE IT and Realty indices shed 2% each at 3,348 and 3,840, respectively. The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,665 stocks traded, 1,687 declined and 901 advanced today. Wipro and Ranbaxy plunged nearly 5% each to Rs 353 and Rs 296, respectively. Hindalco slumped 4% to Rs 105. Grasim and TCS tumbled around 3.5% each to Rs 1,867 and Rs 690, respectively. DLF and ACC slipped nearly 3% each to Rs 389 and Rs 611, respectively. Bharti Airtel, Tata Power and ITC shed 2.5% each at Rs 791, Rs 999 and Rs 188, respectively. Sterlite dropped over 2% to Rs 477. BHEL, Satyam and SBI declined nearly 2% each

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (Bhel) has bagged a Rs 338 crore contract from Steel Authority of India Ltd for Turbo-blower packages for its Rourkela Steel Plant.   Steel Authority of India Limited has placed the order with Bhel for three Turbo-blower packages. Significantly, this is the highest-value single order for Compressors received by Bhel till date, the company said in a release.    The equipment will be supplied by Bhel’s manufacturing plants at Hyderabad and Bangalore in a tight schedule of 29 months.  As a result of increased customer focus and renewed efforts for sustained presence in varied industrial segments, Bhel’s Industry  Sector  recorded an all time high order inflow of Rs 7,860 crore in 2007-08, an increase of  20 per cent over the previous year.

The Board of Suzlon Energy will consider a rights issue of equity shares to raise Rs 1,800 crore. The Board meeting is scheduled to be held on September 27, 2008, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Engineering firm Simplex Infrastructure on Wednesday said it has bagged Rs 630-crore order in the Middle East. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange Simplex said it has bagged the order for construction of a twin-tower complex in Dubai, which would add to its overseas revenue. Earlier, the company had secured another order worth Rs 587 crore for building a residential tower in Dubai, the filing added. 

After opening with a positive gap of 61 points, the index touched a low of 13,627, and then began to move up. Metal, energy and banking stocks witnessed fresh buying which led the index to a high of 13,841 - up 270 points from the previous close.   The index retreated from higher levels in late noon deals and dipped to a low of 13,593 - down 248 points from the day's high. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 122 points at 13,692. The market breadth was positive - out of 2,679 stocks traded, 1,349 advanced, 1,241 declined and 89 were unchanged today. The NSE Nifty was up34 points at 4,161. Sterlite surged 8.8% to Rs 489. HDFC Bank and Tata Steel rallied  above 3.5% each to Rs 1,283 and Rs 487, respectively. Reliance Infrastructure and Satyam were up 2.7% each at Rs 888 and Rs 340, respectively. Grasim and BHEL advanced 2.5% each at Rs 1,937 and Rs 1,666, respectively. Reliance Industries was up 2.3% at Rs 2,056. Bharti Airtel gained 2.1% at Rs 811. Mahindra and Mahindra advanced

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 274 points at 13,721. The index tried to recover in morning trades but could only manage to touch a high of 13,978.    Unabated selling in banking, realty and technology stocks saw the index slide to a low of 13,543. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 425 points at 13,570. The BSE IT index plunged 5% to 3,455. The Realty index shed 4.7% at 3,903, and the Bankex dropped 4.2% to 6,804. The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,652 stocks traded, 1,823 declined, 760 advanced and the remaning were unchanged today. Ranbaxy slumped 11% to Rs 309. DLF tumbled over 6% to Rs 395. Satyam, TCS and Wipro plunged nearly 6% each to Rs 332, Rs 721 and Rs 390, respectively. HDFC, ICICI Bank and Jaiprakash Associates shed 5.5% each at Rs 2,198, Rs 600 and Rs 123, respectively. Infosys and Tata Motors dropped 5% each to Rs 1,543 and Rs 394, respectively. HDFC Bank and Tata Steel slipped 4.5% each to Rs 1,238 and Rs 471, respectively. SBI declined 4%

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 173 points at 14,215. The index touched a high of 14,221, and soon slipped into the negative zone. The index rebounded and thereafter exhitbited lacklustre movement for most of the trading day.   Selective profit-taking saw the index slip to a low of 13,917 - down 304 points from the day's high. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 47 points at 13,995. The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,666 stocks traded, 1,354 declined, 1,234 advanced and 78 were unchanged today. ACC and Tata Steel surged around 3% each to Rs 625 and Rs 494, respectively. ITC rallied over 2% to Rs 195, and Hindustan Unilever gained 1.7% at Rs 249. Bharti Airtel, Grasim and ICICI Bank advanced over 1% each to Rs 809, Rs 1,937 and Rs 634, respectively. Satyam plunged 4.7% to Rs 353. Jaiprakash Associates tumbled nearly 4% to Rs 130, and Maruti dropped over 3% to Rs 718. Ranbaxy, Hindalco and Larsen & Toubro shed around 2.7% each at Rs 347, Rs 110 and

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley got approval on Sunday to become bank holding companies regulated by the U.S. Federal Reserve, a move that ends the traditional investment banking model.The move, which will enable the firms to take deposits and buy retail banks more easily in the latest government step to restore calm to chaotic financial markets, puts the last two major U.S. investment banks squarely within the government safety net.Recently, bank holding companies have not had the difficulties that investment banks have had in securing funds. At the same time, Goldman and Morgan will now have capital requirements.

USA  government has proposed a historic $500 billion bailout of financial firms.    The Bush administration is asking Congress to let the government buy billions of dillar worth of  toxic mortgages in the largest financial bailout since the Great Depression.The plan would give the government broad power to buy the bad debt of any U.S. financial institution for the next two years. It would raise the statutory limit on the national debt from $10.6 trillion to $11.3 trillion to make room for the massive rescue. The proposal does not specify what the government would get in return from financial companies for the federal assistance.

The SEC took what it called "emergency action" Friday and temporarily banned investors from short-selling 799 financial companies.The temporary ban, aimed at helping restore falling stock prices that have shattered confidence in the financial markets, takes effect immediately.

The Bank of Japan said today it had injected two trillion yen ($19 billion) into money markets amid continuing concerns over turmoil in financial markets. The Japanese central bank has made emergency injections daily for the past four days. The latest brings the total to 10 trillion yen since Tuesday.         The world's central banks have pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into money markets to ensure the supply of funds does not dry up since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.         The world's top central banks also announced a huge operation to boost the volume of dollars available to strangled money markets as global financial turmoil ripped deeper into confidence. The US Federal Reserve agreed to inject $180 billion as part of a global total of $300 billion.          The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index opened higher today following an overnight rebound on Wall Street after the concerted action by the world's central banks an

he Sensex opened with a huge positive gap of 448 points at 13,764 on the back of positive cues from the US markets. After displaying range-bound trend in morning trades, the index firmed up and rallied to higher levels in the latter half of the trading day.    The buying, which was seen across-the-board, momentum was so strong that the index rallied past the 14,000-mark to a high of 14,097. The Sensex finally ended with a significant gain of 5.5% (727 points) at 14,042. In the process, the index also recovered its entire intra-week loss of 11.5% (1,443 points) when the index touched a low of 12,558 yesterday. Eventaully, the index has ended the week with a marginal gain of 41 points. The NSE Nifty soared over 5% (207 points) to 4,245. The BSE Realty index surged 7.5% (290 points) to 4,103. The IT index rallied 6.7% (229 points) to 3,667, and Oil & Gas index gained 5.5% (496 points) at 9,468. The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,700 stocks traded, 1,888 advanced, 740 de

The Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 550 points at 12,713,  owing to weak cues from the global markets, and soon slipped to a low of 12,558.    Buying emerged at lower levels as index took support around the July low of 12,500. Banking and oil & gas stocks led the recovery. As buying gained momentum, the index rebounded into the positive zone in tandem with other global markets. The Sensex touched a high of 13,347, and finally ended with a gain of 53 points at 13,316. The BSE Bankex rallied 2.7% (177 points) to 6,770, and the Oil & Gas index surged 2.3% (207 points) to 8,973. The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,690 stocks traded, 1,941 declined, 679 advanced and 70 were unchanged. Sterlite surged 3.5% to Rs 455. HDFC Bank, Reliance and NTPC rallied over 3% each to Rs 1,222, Rs 1,933 and Rs 174, respectively. ICICI Bank and Maruti gained 2.7% each at Rs 576 and Rs 718, respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Infrastructure added 2.5% each to Rs

The financial crisis entered a potentially dangerous new phase on Wednesday when many credit markets stopped working normally as investors around the world frantically moved their money into the safest investments, like Treasury bills. As a result, the cost of borrowing soared for many companies, while the stocks of Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that only a couple of weeks ago were considered relatively strong came under assault by waves of selling. Investors were so worried that they snapped up three-month Treasury bills with virtually no yield and they pushed gold to its biggest one-day gain in nearly 10 years. Stocks fell by nearly 5 percent in New York.

The Sensex opened 83 points higher at 13,601,but soon slipped in the red as investors pressed heavy sales in bank stocks after the Reserve Bank yesterday hiked interest rate on FCNR (B) and NR(E)RA deposits and expanded the liquidity adjustment facility scheme.   The index moved in a range of 493 points between 13,128 (low) and 13,621 (high) before finally settling with a loss of 256 points at 13,263. The market breadth was negative - out of 2712 stocks traded, 1740 declined, 886 advanced and 86 were unchanged today. The NSE Nifty dropped 66 points to settle at 4008. Sterlite slumped 8% to Rs 439. Ranbaxy plunged 6.6% to Rs 379. ICICI Bank lost 5.3% to Rs 560. ITC shed 5% at Rs 184. HDFC Bank tumbled 3.7% to Rs 1,184. SBI dropped 3.6% to Rs 1,528. DLF slipped 3.3% to Rs 408. Reliance and TCS  declined 2.8% each to Rs 1,873 and Rs 728, respectively. Tata Steel was down 2.6% to Rs 475. Jaiprakash Associates and  Reliance Communications lost 2.3% each to Rs 136 and Rs 358, respectively .

The Federal Reserve late yesterday agreed to provide $85 billion in emergency funds to insurance giant American International Group to prevent a bankruptcy that threatened to send tremors through the U.S. and global financial markets. In exchange, the Fed would gain rights to 79.9 percent of AIG's stock and have the power to veto dividend payments to shareholders. Two sources said the government would replace the chief executive. The rescue represents a turnaround for federal officials, who this weekend declined to provide taxpayer money to bail out investment bank Lehman Brothers, which then failed to find a buyer and was forced to file for bankruptcy. The Fed justified the action by saying a bankruptcy involving AIG would cause significant problems in the broader financial markets.

The rupee continued its downward march and fell by another 48 paise to 46.53 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday owing to melting Asian stock markets amid heavy demand for the greenback. At the forex market, the Indian currency had breached the psychologically 46-level against the greenback to 46.05/06 yesterday, for the first time in two years. The turnmoil in global financial market following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and takeo ver of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America also affected the rupee movement

Mirroring meltdown in global markets, the Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 445 points at 13,086, and soon touched a low of 13,052. The index, thereafter, steadied and exhibited rangebound movement till noon deals. Renewed buying interest in select heavyweights like SBI and Reliance helped the index recoup losses in the latter half of the trading day. Aggressive buying coupled with short-covering saw the index rebound into the positive zone at the fag end of the day. The Sensex touched a high of 13,556 - a gain of 504 points from the day's low - and finally settled with a marginal loss of 12 points at 13,519. The market breadth, however, was fairly negative - out of 2,711 stocks traded, 1,749 advanced and 890 declined today. SBI soared 6.5% to Rs 1,586. Sterlite surged 2.7% to Rs 478. Reliance rallied 2.4% to Rs 1,928. ITC, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors advanced over 2% each to Rs 194, Rs 1,230 and Rs 398, respectively. BHEL and Bharti Airtel were up over 1% each at Rs 1,647 an

Amid worries that the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch i nvestors sent the Dow Jones industrial average plunging more than 500 points, or 4.4 percent, for the biggest point loss since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks seven years ago. About $700 billion in shareholder value disappeared in a single day of trading. A concern hanging over the market is the fate of other financial companies, most notably the American International Group, one of the world’s largest insurers. After the Fed rebuffed a request by the company for a $40 billion temporary loan, federal and state officials worked on Monday to stabilize A.I.G., with the State of New York relaxing rules to allow the company to borrow as much as $20 billion in much-needed cash, while the New YorkFederal Reserve Bank was engaged in talks with JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs on a $75 billion loan for the insurer.

With prices of molasses and rectified spirit going through the roof, the proposed 10 per cent ethanol-blended petrol programme, supposed to be effective from next month, has been practically shelved. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had, last year on October 9, approved making 10 per cent doping of petrol “optional” from October 2007 and “mandatory” from October 2008 across the country, except in Jammu & Kashmir, the North-East and the Island Territories. TECHNICALITIES Subsequently, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had laid down the technical specifications for E-10, i.e. 10 per cent ethanol-blended petrol. The new product was incorporated in the BIS specification for Motor Gasoline (IS-2796). Currently, only five per cent blended petrol is dispensed through fuel outlets. But now, it seems that the programme will not take off on its scheduled date. RED TAPE The Petroleum Ministry is yet to even issue the formal notification making 10 per cent blending mandatory

The Indian rupee, after falling to a two-year low of 46 in early trade today gained its lost ground and was quoted at 45.85/86 against the greenback in late morning deals owing to weak dollar overseas and a sharp fall in local stocks. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local currency resumed stronger at 45.53/55 a dollar from its last close of 45.75/76 a dollar and later touched 45.46 level, buoyed by a sharp fall in dollar against basket currencies. The rupee, however, again tumbled to 45.85/86 a dollar in late morning deals. It had last touched this level on October 10, 2006 when it closed at 45.80/81 against dollar. The Indian rupee fell by 25 paise to 46 against the US dollar in early trade. Forex dealers said a plunge in Asian stocks and fairly good dollar buying from some banks weighed on the rupee sentiment in early trade. They said banks bought dollar when the rupee appreciated to 45.46 level immediately after resumption of trading.

he Sensex opened with a significant negative gap of 335 points at 13,666 on the back of negative news flow from the overseas markets. The US subprime crisis brought Lehman Brothers on the verge of bankruptcy as it was unable to find a buyer, while Bank of America bought another ailing firm - Merrill Lynch.   The selling bias was so intense that the index collapsed to a low of 13,151 - down 850 points from the previous close. The index, however, recovered partially towrads the close on the back of selective buying in auto, banking and FMCG stocks. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 470 points  at 13,531. The BSE Realty index slumped 7.7% at 4,335. The IT index dropped 5.5% to 3,597, and the Metal index shed 4.5% at 10,391. The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,662 stocks traded, 2,263 declined, 359 advanced and 40 were unchanged today. Reliance Infrastructure slumped 9.7% to Rs 839, and Satyam plunged 9.5% to Rs 368. Ranbaxy and DLF tumbled 7.5% each to Rs 419 and Rs

Bank of America struck a $50 billion deal yesterday to buy Merrill Lynch, a merger that will unite the nation's largest consumer bank with one of its most celebrated investment banking firms, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.Both boards approved the deal and it was being reviewed by lawyers late last night, the sources said. Bank of America will pay about $29 for each share of Merrill Lynch stock, which closed at $17.05 on Friday. 

 Lehman Brothers planned early this morning to file for bankruptcy, becoming the largest financial firm to fail in the global credit crisis, after federal officials refused to help other companies buy the venerable investment bank by putting up taxpayer money as a guarantee.

State-run National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) planned to float its IPO around Diwali in October to raise Rs 1,680 crore from stock markets to meet financial requirements of ongoing expansion work.   The company would issue 168 crore shares in the capital market at the rate of Rs 10 at face value per equity comprising 10 per cent fresh shares and five per cent shares to be divested by the government, NHPC Chief Managing Director S K Garg told a select group of reporters here today.      Garg, who was here to review hydro-electric power plants, both functional and under-construction in Sikkim, said that the price band of the NHPC DS shares would be decided soon.      He said that the company has already appointed its merchant bankers including Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI Capital to deal with various aspects of the IPO.      The capital, being generated from the public issue, would be utilised for the ongoing expansion work and completion of 10 under-construction hydel projects wi

At the close on Friday, the Sensex was down by 323.48 points at 14,00.81. The Nifty was down by 61.85 points at 4,228.45. After initial recovery of about 109 points, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex plunged on selling by foreign funds after rupee continued its slide against the US dollar. The 30-share index, which rose by 108.91 points in early trade, slipped into the negative zone with a fall of 274.15 points at 14,050.14 after most of the sectoral indices were sharply down. The Sensex had lost over 620 points in the past three sessions. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's index Nifty also fell by 60.65 points to 4,229.65 on heavy selling by funds in blue-chip stocks led by refinery and banking segments. Stock brokers said continued slide in Indian rupee which depreciated by another 18 paisa at 45.71 against the US currency mainly dampened the trading sentiments, triggering major sell-off by foreign funds in heavy-weight stocks. Infosys slumped 6% to Rs 1,644. Satya

The annual Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rose 12.10 per cent during the week ended August 30, below the previous week’s annual rise of 12.34 per cent, Government data showed on Thursday. The annual inflation rate was 3.72 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year. During the latest reported week, the official WPI for All Commodities rose ended at 240.8 points, up from 240.3 points for the previous week. On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles group rose by 0.3 per cent to 249.2 points as the index for the Food Articles group rose by 0.2 per cent due to higher prices of bajra (3 per cent), urad and arhar (2 per cent each) and jowar and fruits and vegetables (1 per cent each). However, the prices of maize and condiments and spices (1 per cent each) declined.

Industrial growth recovered to 7.1 per cent in July from the dismal performance in previous two months of the current fiscal, even though it moderated compared with 8.3 per cent recorded a year ago. The improved data may give some breather to the Government and RBI, struggling hard to check the double-digit inflation through tightening monetary policy, which hampers the growth process. While the manufacturing, which contributes about 80 per cent to IIP, grew by 7.5 per cent in July, compared with 8.8 per cent a year ago, electricity generation was up by 4.5 per cent, against 7.5 per cent. Mining output growth, however, was quite higher at 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent a year ago. The growth in industrial production, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was low at 3.8 per cent in May and 5.4 per cent in June. In April, however, industrial growth stood at 7 per cent, more or less same as in July. As such, industrial growth turned out to be 5.7 per cent in the first fou

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department are actively helping Lehman Brothers put itself up for sale, and officials are hoping a deal will be in place this weekend before the Asian markets open on Monday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The government is looking for an agreement that would not involve public money. One scenario that is emerging includes multiple suitors acquiring different pieces of the venerable investment bank, which has suffered staggering losses from its bets on real estate and mortgages.

At close on Thursday, the Sensex was down by 338.32 points at 14,324.29. The Nifty was 109.95 points at 4,290.35. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex continued its losing streak for the third straight session and fell by 192 points in early trade on heavy selling by foreign funds and retail investors, triggered by weak global cues and depreciating rupee. The 30-share index, which had lost over 280 points in the past two sessions, tumbled by 191.75 points to 14,470.86 after heavy-weight stocks led by oil and gas and capital goods sectors suffered sharp losses. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's index Nifty moved down by 66.25 points to 4,334.00.  Major losers, which dragged the Sensex down were Reliance Industries, ONGC, Reliance Infra, RCom, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, BHEL, Larsen and Toubro, Grasim Industries and Tata Power.

Domestic car sales continued to go downhill for the second consecutive month in almost three years with August sales declining by 4.36 per cent, although motorcycles cruised with 15.9 per cent growth.      According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales in August stood at 94,584 units as against 98,893 units in the same month last year.      The dip in sales is mainly on account of Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors registering negative growths, despite Hyundai Motor India Ltd-- the other member of the big three of Indian automart--clocking impressive numbers.      MSI had decline of 10.07 per cent in August at 46,811 units as against 52,055 units in the same month last year. Tata Motors had also a dip of 10.10 per cent at 12,216 units as compared to 13,588 units in the same month August last year.      HMIL on the other hand, riding on the back of its new hatchback i10, managed an impressive growth of 34.08 per

The rupee continued its slide on Thursday too and virtually hit a 23-month low of 45.45 during early trade largely due to strengthening dollar overseas amid increased pressure on the domestic currency. The US dollar jumped to a one-year high against the single european currency in overseas markets. In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local currency resumed sharply lower at 45.35/36 a dollar from its previous close of 4 5.11/12 a dollar and later hit a low of 45.45 before being quoted at 45.39/40 a dollar in late morning deals.

hares of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Thursday slipped below the Rs 2,000 level on the bourses on heavy selling by foreign funds and retail investors, triggered by weak global cues. RIL opened on a weak note today and then lost further ground and touched an intra-day low of Rs 1,995 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a dip of Rs 88.55 from its previous closing price. Similar trend was witnessed on the National Stock Exchange as well, where the company fell to an intra-day low of Rs 1,993, a fall of 4.46 per cent over its previous close. “The fall in Reliance Industries is largely due to two reasons the weak global market and crude oil prices,” domestic brokerage firm SMC Global Vice President, Mr Rajesh Jain said. “Firstly, world markets are in a bearish mood, which is affecting the domestic market as well. With the fall in domestic bourses, investors are looking for profit taking option. The recent fall in oil prices, which is hovering around $102 per barrel, als o had a bearing on

Six key infrastructure industries saw growth decline to 4.3 per cent in July from 7.2 per cent a year ago, but the numbers were better compared with the month- ago performance of 3.4 per cent. Crude oil was the worst performer in the grouping, with a negative growth of three per cent in July this year against a positive trend in the comparable month of last fiscal. Growth in finished steel was a poor 1.9 per cent during the month under review against 10.8 per cent the previous year, while petroleum refinery products posted a sterling growth of 11.8 per cent. For the April-July period of the current fiscal, the core infrastructure industries grew by 3.7 per cent against 6.6 per cent in the same period last year. The core grouping of infrastructure industries carry a weightage of 26.68 per cent on the Index of Industrial Production and could in turn impact economic growth, which has already been projected to slow down to 7.7 per cent this fiscal by the Prime Mini ster's Economic Advi

The Indian rupee today breached the crucial 45-level against the US currency for the first time after November 2006 following sustained appreciation in dollar against major currencies in overseas markets. In quiet trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market this morning, the local currency resumed cheaper by nine paise at 44.92/94 a dollar from its last close of 44.83/84 a dollar and later drifted to 45.02/03 a dollar in late morning deals. Forex dealers said the rupee crossed the psychological level for the first time since November 2006 largely due to stronger dollar overseas amid some dollar demand from oil refiners. Consistent capital outflows in the current calendar year also had adverse impact on the rupee sentiment, they added.

Mirroring negative cues from the overseas markets, the Sensex opened with a negative gap of 183 points at 14,718. The index tried to recover but could only manage to touch a high of 14,866. A fresh round of selling, mainly in metal stocks, in the second half of day saw the index slide to a low of 14,610. The Sensex finally ended with a significant loss of 238 points at 14,663. The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,730 stocks traded, 1,722 declined, 931 advanced and the rest were unchanged. The BSE Metal index slumped 5.5% (647 points) to 11,154. Sterlite led the fall folowing the company's restrcuturing plan yesterday, The stock plummeted nearly 12% to Rs 508. Tata Steel plunged over 5% to Rs 535. Jindal Steel, Gujarat NRE Coke, JSW Steel, SAIL, Hindustan Zinc, NMDC and Sesa Goa shed 4-8% each.  Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure dropped nearly 3.5% each to Rs 1,049 and Rs 1,035, respectively. Bharti Airtel tumbled 3% to Rs 812. Reliance shed 2.8% at Rs 2,084. HDFC

Outbidding Alstom India in international competitive bidding, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (Bhel) has won a Rs 2,200 crore contract for setting up a Combined Cycle Power Plant in Tripura on turnkey basis.The contract involves supply and commissioning of two fuel-efficient advanced-class frame 9FA gas turbines. The power plant to be installed at Pallatana in Udaipur district of Tripura, has been placed on Bhel by ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd (OTPCL), a joint venture of ONGC, IL&FS and the Government of Tripura.On commissioning, the project is expected to transform the power scenario of the entire North-Eastern region of the country and act as a catalyst for rapid economic development in the region.

Mirroring weakness in other Asian markets, the Sensex opened with a negative gap of 93 points at 14,852, and slip to a low of 14,715. Fresh buying at lower levels helped the index recover as the day progressed. The index, in mid-noon, trades rebounded into the positive zone and touched a high of 14,998 - up 283 points from the day's low. The index, however, could not hold gains and slipped back into red. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 44 points at 14,901. The market breadth was negative - out of 2,711 stocks traded, 1,446 declined and 1,193 advanced today. Sterlite slumped 7.5% to Rs 576 while the parent company today announced its restructuring plans. Tata Motors plunged 3.7% to Rs 420. BHEL shed 2.5% at Rs 1,747. SBI dropped 2% to Rs 1,561. Ranbaxy and DLF declined 1.7% each to Rs 456 and Rs 504, respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Power slipped around 1.5% each to Rs 582 and Rs 1,087, respectively. ICICI Bank, ITC and NTPC were down 1% each at Rs 713, Rs 195

Punj Lloyd on Tuesday said it has bagged a contract worth Singapore$54 million (about Rs 167 crore) from a Singapore-based joint venture firm. The company's Singapore subsidiary, Punj Lloyd Pte, has received the contract to carry out select utilities mechanical works in Jurong Island in that country, Punj Lloyd said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The contract has been awarded by Singapore's FWP Joint Venture, a joint venture firm between Foster Wheeler Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Worley Parsons Pte Ltd, the filing added.

Adani Power Ltd – an Adani Enterprises company - has received SEBI approval for the proposed Rs 5,630-crore IPO. While company officials as well as the issue managers are tightlipped about it, sources close to the development told  Business Line  that the company’s IPO proposal received the go-ahead on September 5. The approval is valid for 90 days. A formal announcement in this regard is expected once APL submits the issue schedules to SEBI in the next couple of days. Sources, however, say that the company is aiming to open the issue preferably in mid-November. The timing may be advanced depending on the market conditions. In the draft red herring submitted to SEBI on May 1 this year, APL said that the IPO would part-finance the company’s proposed six coal-based thermal power projects in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan totalling 9900 MW at an estimated investment of Rs 43,139 crore. APL proposed to issue a total of 29.69 crore shares of Rs 10 each accounting for 14.35 per cent of t

The markets gave a thumbs-up to India's joining the elite nuclear club with the benchmark Sensex notching up a gain of over 460 points but fell short of the psychological 15,000 level by a whisker. The BSE barometer, which had lost over 415 in the previous trading session, 0n Monday moved up by 461.14 points at 14,944.97. The 30-share rose to the intra-day high of 15,107.01 points on strong buying support. Similarly, wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 130 points at 4,482.30. It touched the day's high of 4,558.00 and a low of 4,358.30 points. Marketmen said investor sentiment got a big boost after India secured a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for trade in atomic energy. They said US government's takeover of mortgage majors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boosted the hopes that global economy can weather the sub-prime crisis. On BSE, banking stocks came out as the biggest gainer of the day with their sectoral index rising by a han

(The Hindu Business Line) Investments with a long-term perspective can be considered in the stock of PSL, which is the country’s largest manufacturer of high grade helical pipes. At the current market price of Rs 308, the stock trades at about nine times its estimated FY09 per share earnings, assuming full equity dilution. This leaves considerable headroom for further appreciation in the stock’s price given PSL’s expanding order book, capacity additions and promising demand prospects. Better realisations and margins from recently bagged orders and the likely contribution from its overseas units in the UAE and the US in the coming quarters also suggest strong earnings prospects. PSL’s regional distribution presence and large installed capacity has helped it meet its customers’ need for compressed delivery schedules, giving it an edge over its competitors. Over the last three years, it has enjoyed sales and earnings growth of about 16 per cent and 37 per cent respectively,

(The Hindu Business Line) Investors can consider buying the SAIL India stock, now trading at a price-earnings multiple of about 8.2 times its 2007-08 earnings. The valuation is at a discount compared to Tata Steel (9.4 times) and global steel majors. SAIL’s ongoing capacity expansion programme, backward integration to source iron ore and its wide product mix and distribution reach, amid a good long-term demand environment for steel, favour investment in the stock. SAIL has five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur, Bokaro, Rourkela and Burnpur and special steel plants as well. SAIL’s production capacity of 14 million tonnes (MT) is slated to increase to 26 MT by 2010-11, due to ongoing greenfield and brownfield expansion projects. The expansion plan is expected to address technology obsolescence, achieve energy savings and enrich the product-mix, while addressing the expected global deficit in steel. The programmes entail an investment of Rs 54,000 crore (factoring in recent cos

In a sweeping intervention, USA government is going to put  troubled housing finance companies  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, under government control , after concluding the companies don't have enough capital to continue to play their crucial role funding home mortgages. Under the plan, engineered by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., the government would place the two companies under "conservatorship," a legal status akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Their boards and chief executives would be fired and a government agency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would appoint new chief executives. The moves by the Bush administration hold the prospect of becoming the biggest government-funded bailout of private industry in American history. They would put the federal government in control of institutions that finance or guarantee about half of all the mortgages in the country.

The U.S. economy shed 84,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent, a worse than expected showing for a weakened labor market. It is the highest unemployment rate since mid-2003. U.S. jobs and institutions have now eliminated roughly 600,000 jobs this year. The number of unemployed stood at 9.4 million nationwide, and has grown 2.2 million over the past year.

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Mirroring negative cues from the global markes, the Sensex opened with a significant negative gap of 330 points at 14,569.  Selling was seen across-the-board with big losses in realty, technology, financial and metal stocks. The Sensex dropped to a low of 14,439 in intra-day deals, and finally ended with a loss of 415 points at 14,484. The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,728 stocks traded, 1,626 declined, 1,011 advanced and the rest were unchanged today. Ranbaxy slumped nearly 9% to Rs 450. HDFC plunged 5.8% to Rs 2,281. DLF tumbled 5.5% to Rs 494, and Jaiprakash Associates dropped over 5% to Rs 168. Wipro slipped nearly 5% to Rs 426. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Infosys declined 4.3% each to Rs 1,247, Rs 687 and Rs 1,713, respectively. Sterlite and Satyam shed around 4% each at Rs 588 and Rs 416, respectively. Tata Steel and Reliance slipped around 3.5% each to Rs 561 and Rs 2,079, respectively. Grasim was down over 3% at Rs 1,956. Bharti Airtel shed 2.7% at Rs 804. Hindalc

(The Hindu Business Line) Tata Power on Thursday announced it would acquire a 11.4 per cent stake in Geodynamics Ltd, an Australian company specialising in geothermal energy, for Rs 165 crore. Geothermal energy is the natural heat emanating from within the earth. When rain water comes into contact with heat it produces steam, which is used for producing power. The company would acquire 29.4 million shares of Geodynamics. After allotment it would be equivalent to 10 per cent of the increased share capital, according to a Tata Power press release. The shares will be acquired by Tata Power at an issue price of Australia $1.50 or about Rs 56.25. As a part of the investment, Tata Power will also get a directorship on the board of Geodynamics. Both companies have also agreed to review the potential of geothermal prospects outside Australia. This alliance also helps Tata Power in securing a foothold in the growing renewable energy market in Australia, the release said. Geodynamics has a marke

The annual Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rose 12.34 per cent during the week ended August 23, marginally below the previous week’s annual rise of 12.40 per cent due to lower prices of mainly food products, government data showed. During the latest reported week, the WPI rose marginally to 240.3 points from 240.2 points for the previous week. The annual rate of inflation was recorded at 3.94 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago. On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles group index declined by 0.4 per cent as the index for the Food Articles group declined by 0.8 per cent due to lower prices of fish-marine (13 per cent), fruits and vegetables (2 per cent) and jowar, arhar and urad (1 per cent each The index for Non-Food Articles’ group rose by 0.4 per cent due to higher prices of raw silk (14 per cent), raw cotton (3 per cent) and copra (1 per cent). However, the prices of castor seed and raw rubber (1 per cent each) declined. The annual rate of inflation, calcu

Despite 550 points rally on Tuesday, the Sensex opened with a negative gap of 154 points at 14,896 owing to weakness in global markets. The index soon tumbled to a low of 14,766 on selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks led by banking and realty sectors. The index tried to recover in the noon deals and touched a high of 14,994 points. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 150 points at 14,899. The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,685 stocks traded, 1,332 advanced, 1259 declined and 94 were unchanged today. The NSE Nifty dropped 57 points to settle at 4,448. Sterlite slumped 3.7% to Rs 613. ONGC tumbled 3% to Rs 1,068. HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries declined 2.8% each at Rs 1,303 and Rs 2,152 respectively. ITC lost 2.6% to Rs 189. Hindustan Unilever dipped 2.5% to Rs 240. Reliance Infrastructure slipped 2.3% to Rs 1,017. Reliance Communications declined 1.9% to Rs 397. DLF and NTPC were down 1.3% at Rs 522 and Rs 174, respectively. Tata Steel and Bhel lost around

Following yesterday's late pull-back, the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 110 points at 14,609. Agressive buying in the second half of the trading backed by a sharp fall in US crude oil prices saw the index rally past the 15,000-mark. Banking, realty, energy and capital goods stocks were the major gainers today. The Sensex touched a high of 15,106, and finally ended with a gain of 551 points at 15,050. The BSE Realty index soared 7.3% (367 points) to 5,367, and the Bankex zoomed 6% (425 points) to 7,447. The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,733 stocks traded, 1,675 advanced, 986 declined and the rest were unchanged today. SBI and ICICI Bank zoomed over 7% each to Rs 1,521 and Rs 713, respectively. HDFC soared 4.7% to Rs 2,445, and HDFC Bank rallied 3.5% to Rs 1,341. DLF and Jaiprakash Associates surged around 7% each to Rs 530 and Rs 174, respectively. Reliance Infrastructure gained 6% at Rs 1,042. ONGC soared 7% to Rs 1,102. Maruti and Larsen & Toubro rallied

Mirroring weak trend in the global markets, the Sensex opened with a negative gap of 152 points at 14,413. After attempting a pull back the index slipped deeper into red to a low of 14,281 - down 284 points from the previous close. The index, however, recovered most of its losses towards the close on the back of fresh buying in select banking and FMCG stocks. The Sensex touched a high of 14,547, and finally ended with a marginal loss of 66 points at 14,499. The market breadth turned marginally positve towards the close - out of 2,680 stocks traded, 1,331 advanced, 1,252 declined and 97 were unchanged today. Ranbaxy plunged 3.6% to Rs 500. Tata Steel, Maruti and Bharti Airtel shed 2.5% each at Rs 584, Rs 634 and Rs 816, respectively. Reliance Communications dropped 1.7% to Rs 389. Infosys and Hindustan Unilever slipped almost 1.5% each to Rs 1,723 and Rs 242, respectively. Tata Power, NTPC and Larsen & Toubro slipped over 1% each to Rs 1,039, Rs 173 and Rs 2,562, resp

(The Hindu Business Line) Investments by way of SIP (systematic investment plan) with a long-term horizon may be considered in Reliance Growth Fund, considering its track record in delivering consistent returns. The fund has comfortably beaten its benchmark — the BSE 100 — on one, three and five-year annual returns. Reliance Growth has performed extremely well during market upswings, but does not tend to contain downsides better than the benchmark during bearish market phases, especially if the downtrend is prolonged. The fund may be a good diversifying strategy for investors with an appetite for risk. But this may not be suitable for the core portfolio of the investor, given the inherent fluctuation of returns from this fund. A SIP with a three-fiveyear horizon may, however, help ride out volatility. Lump-sum investment may require market timing, which may not be easy. Performance : Reliance Growth has been among the top quartile of diversified funds by returns over sever

(The Hindu Business Line)Investors with a 2-3-year perspective can consider adding the stock of Larsen & Toubro to their portfolio. The company’s proven execution skills, quality clientele, well-entrenched presence in a wide range of businesses and ability to borrow/raise funds at very competitive rates are factors that are likely to ensure a less tumultuous journey for the business during a slowdown, such as the present one. It is for the above reasons that the stock deserves a premium to other engineering sector peers as well as to the broad markets. At the current market price, L&T trades at 18 times its expected per share earnings (consolidated) for FY10 on a consolidated basis. L&T’s 70 per cent growth in profits for the quarter ended June 2008 and a massive order book of about Rs 58,000 crore (twice its consolidated sales for FY08) belied fears of earnings taking a hit due to the slowdown in domestic infrastructure and capex spending. L&T has immense