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The Hindu Business Line Canara Bank (Rs 289.45): Buy We recommend buy in Canara Bank from a medium-term perspective. From the charts of the Canara Bank, we note that the stock has been on a stable up-trend since its listing in 2002. However, after recording an all-time high of Rs 421 in early ... More

FIIs make net sales of Rs 13,036 cr in Jan (Business Standard 1st Feb 2008) Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold record net holdings of Rs 13,036 crore ($3.23 billion) in January, according to Sebi data. This is the highest net sales by FIIs in single month ever since they entered the Indian markets. In August 2007, FIIs sold Rs 7,771 crore ($1.92 billion) worth of equity shares. However, dwarfing the figure compiled by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the FII outflow in January 2008 was a mindboggling Rs 29,477 crore, according to provisional data provided by BSE and NSE. The Sebi data includes FII buying in primary and secondary markets, while the data from the exchanges is based on trading in the secondary market only. With FIIs pulling out of money, the benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, have crashed. The BSE Sensex slumped 2,638.28 points this month, its largest ever fall in a month. The index has declined 13 per cent since December 31, 2007 (20,286.

Wockhardt Hospitals’ bids delayed by snag (The Hindu Business Line 1st Feb 2008)Wockhardt Hospitals’ IPO (Initial Public Offering) has become the first casualty of sorts in a volatile stock market. The hospital-major’s IPO that opened on Thursday did not register even a single bid on the first day, it appears, due to a technical glitch that followed its revised price band. On Wednesday evening, Wockhardt Hospitals had lowered its price band to Rs 225-260, from the earlier Rs 280-310. This late development needed to be incorporated into the “systemic configuration” at the stock exchanges and this is what led to the confusion on day one, a representative with lead-manager Kotak Mahindra Capital Company told Business Line. Bids made on Thursday were not reflected on the system because of the revision in the price band that required the system to be reconfigured. The bids would get reflected only after they are entered in the system, a process that was kept on hold on Thursday, he explaine

Equities likely to remain volatile (The Economic Times 1st Feb 2008)Equities are likely to remain choppy on Friday. While US market stocks gained after bond insurer MBIA announced that it expects to retain its credit ratings, Asian markets were trading mixed. The Dow surged 207.53 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 12,650.36 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advnced 40.86 points, or 1.74 per cent to settle at 2,389.86. Japanese stocks fell after earlier gains on Friday, after Sony Corp cut its earnings outlook, pulling down the stock over 6 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei Average was down 0.62 per cent at 13,507, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.23 per cent at 4,373. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.11 per cent at 23,716.37, Taiwan Weighted was up 1.78 per cent at 133.90 and South Korea’s Seoul Composite was up 0.25 per cent at 1,628.79. More Rally on Wall St, Dow up over 200pts (Business Standard 1st Feb 2008)Both the major Wall Street indices rallied on Thursday. While the Dow gained over 200 p

Correction in realty prices may hit banks (The Economic Times 1st Feb 2008)A sharp correction in property prices on account of the turmoil in global markets could impact the performance of Indian banks, according to the latest report by ratings firm Standard and Poor’s (S&P). S&P said that Asian equity markets are influenced by the performance of global markets. This has been amply demonstrated both during a boom or a slump, as it is transmitted instantaneously, the report said. The equity market volatility, in the past week, is perhaps a harbinger of the future. Since local property markets’ fortunes are linked to the performance of capital markets and economies, these linkages are important for banks. This is because the equity markets are a source of trading and fee-income streams. Hence, a reversal of the strong rally of the past few years has the potential to suppress Asian banks’ earnings. A significant decline in property prices would hurt the quality of Asian banks’ co

Industry sales, profit growth at 7-quarter low (Live mint.com 1st Feb 2008) A Mint analysis of 1,170 companies, for which numbers are available for the December quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2006 shows that profit growth has dropped to 14.49% Indian companies are witnessing a drastic slowdown in net sales and profit growth rates, both falling to their lowest levels in seven quarters on the back of a significant increase in interest costs. A Mint analysis of 1,170 companies, for which numbers are available for the December quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2006 shows that profit growth has dropped to 14.49% and net sales growth has fallen to 15.85% from 59.64% and 29.93%, respectively. The burden of interest cost on this set of firms grew by 47.91% for the December quarter from the year-ago period—its highest growth rate in the last eight quarters that Mint tracked. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Y.V. Reddy left key policy rates unchanged in the central bank’s q

Emaar MGF slashes IPO price band (Live mint.com 1st Feb 2008) The offer opens on Friday and Emaar MGF has slashed the price band to Rs540-630 a share, an 11.4% decline from its earlier price of Rs610-690 Unnerved by a volatile equity market, Emaar MGF Land Ltd, which was planning India’s second largest real estate share offering, has lowered the price band of the shares a week after it said it was confident of keeping its price band when it kicked off a nationwide road show. The offer opens on Friday and Emaar MGF has slashed the price band to Rs540-630 a share, an 11.4% decline from its earlier price of Rs610-690, at the lower end of the band. Emaar, which had planned to raise up to Rs7,080 crore from an initial public offering (IPO)—the second highest in the sector after the July effort of DLF Ltd, that raised more than Rs9,000 crore—will now rake in Rs6,457.5 crore at the top end of its new price range. Some analysts are still not convinced Emaar MGF’s lower offer will fly. A leadi

GDP growth to be 9% in FY08: FM (Business Standard 1st Feb 2008)Exuding confidence that economic growth will be close to 9% in 2007-08, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government will make rapid adjustments in policies depending upon evolving global economic developments."My goal is to continue to maintain the same level of growth... but the government reserves the right to make rapid adjustments depending upon evolving global economic situation," Chidambaram told reporters here after the GDP figures of 2006-07 were revised. The GDP growth has been revised to 9.6% in 2006-07 from the provisional estimate of 9.4%. The GDP growth for 2005-06 has also been revised to 9.4% from 9%. More

RCom Q3 net surges 48% on wider subscriber base (The Hindu Business Line 1st Feb 2008)An expanded subscriber base and strong growth in the wireless business segment have propelled the country’s second largest telecom carrier, Reliance Communications Ltd, to register a 48.6 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter ended December 2007. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 1,373 crore against Rs 924 crore reported in the same quarter a year ago. Net revenues were up 29.8 per cent to Rs 4,874 crore (Rs 3,755 crore). The company has bettered market estimates on the bottom-line growth. However, both the top-line growth and the standalone numbers of the company were lower than expected, said an analyst. More

Tata Steel earnings growth flat on higher interest cost (The Hindu Business Line 1st Feb 2008)Hit by higher interest cost and a marginal fall in production, Tata Steel posted a flat growth in net profit at Rs 1,069 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 compared with Rs 1,064 crore for the same period a year ago. The result does not include that of the Anglo-Dutch Corus Group, which Tata Steel bought for $12.9 billion last year. Consolidated results with Corus would be furnished at a later date, said a senior company official. Steel production for the quarter was down to 12,45,926 tonnes, against 12,89,822 tonnes logged during the year ago period. Sales for the quarter remained flat at 12,43,500 tonnes (12,34,404 tonnes). Interest cost soared over 597 per cent to Rs 363 crore from Rs 52 crore. More

Tata Motors Q3 net up 9% at Rs 655cr (Business Standard 1st Feb 2008)Tata Motors today reported a 8.75% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 654.79 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 when compared with Rs 602.07 crore in Q3FY07.According to a release issued to the BSE, the company's total income has increased to Rs 9,324.69 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 from Rs 8,189.66 crore in Q3FY07. The company, on a standalone basis, reported a 2.75% decline in net profit at Rs 499.05 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 as compared to Rs 513.17 crore in Q3FY07. More Higher borrowing costs dent Tata Motors net (The Hindu Business Line 1st Feb 2008)Tata Motors on Thursday reported a 2.8 per cent drop in its third quarter stand-alone net profit, as high borrowing costs curtailed demand for vehicles. Its profit during the quarter dipped to Rs 499 crore from Rs 513 crore in the year ago period. Other factors that pulled down the vehicle maker’s prof

Tata Chemicals to buy US soda ash maker for $1 bn (Live mint.com 1st Feb 2008) The acquisition will make Tata Chemicals the world’s second biggest soda ash makerwith 14% of capacity Tata Chemicals Ltd agreed to buy US-based General Chemical Industrial Products Inc. for $1 billion (Rs3,940 crore), extending India’s second largest business group’s record overseas acquisitions. Tata Chemicals will acquire the maker of soda ash from Harbinger Capital Partners, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Tata group chairperson Ratan Tata has acquired UK-based tea distributor Tetley and that country’s biggest steel maker, Corus Group Plc., as he uses his dominance of industries from autos to software to fund an overseas push. Tata is also the front-runner to acquire Ford Motor Co.’s luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands. “They may seem to be growing fast but then India is a growing story and if you have the financial muscle, why not?” Rohit Nagraj, an analyst with Angel Broking Ltd, said in

Despite US Federal Reserve's announcement yesterday to another cut rates by 50 basis bears tightened their grip on the market and the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell today by 109 points. The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 17,648.71 points, down 109.93 points. The broad-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange, too fell by 30.15 points to 5,137.45 from last close of 5,167.60. Power, realty, banking, capital goods and healthcare spaces traded weak through the day and ended deep in red. Power and realty index closed down with a cut of over 2%. Oil & gas, FMCG and auto stocks were firm today and drew good attention in the first half, despite selling pressure in late trade managed to close with modest gains. On BSE, about 1062 shares advanced, 1893 shares declined, and 48 shares remained unchanged. BSE midcap ended 0.8% down at 7766.62 and smallcap was down 0.22% at 10124.42. BSE auto index ended up 0.42% at 4832.4. Hindustan Motors, Escorts and Ashok Leyland were th

The Hindu Busienss Line Today's Pick: Cummins India (Rs 332.65) We recommend a buy in Cummins India at current market price from a medium-term perspective. As is evident from the charts of Cummins India, the stock formed a sloping head and shoulders price pattern spanning almost seven months between mid June ... More

Equities likely to remain volatile on Fed cut (The Economic Times 31th Jan 2008)The mood in the Indian stock market is likely to be volatile following a 50 bps cut in the interest rate by the US Federal Reserve and expiry of January futures. The US Federal Reserve has cut rates to 3 per cent and also hinted that rate cuts were possible in the near future. Dow Jones Industrial Average, which moved up over 100 points after the announcement, settled 37.47 points or 0.30 per cent lower at 12,442.83 and Nasdaq Composite closed 0.38 per cent or 9.06 points down to 2,349.00. Equities will also be taking cues from subdued Asian markets which remained mixed after Federal Reserve’s announcement couldn’t lift bearish sentiments. Japan’s Nikkei Average was 0.55 per cent higher at 13,417.98, China’s Shanghai Composite was 0.34 per cent up at 4,432.932 and South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.58 per cent at 1598.35. More

Asian markets mixed; Nikkei up 73pts (Business Standard 31th June 2008)Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend today.The Hang Seng has shed 91 points at 23,563. The Nikkei has gained 73 points to 13,418.The Shanghai Composite index has moved up 29 points at 4,447. More Wall St ends lower; ADRs drop (Business Standard 31th June 2008)The Wall Street ended in red despite a 50 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 37 points to 12,443. The Nasdaq was down nine points at 2,349.Indian ADRs also ended with a negative bias. More US Fed cuts interest rate by 50 bps (Business Standard 31th June 2008)The US Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 3% to prevent the US economy from sinking into a recession."Today's policy action, combined with those taken earlier, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity,'' the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC

Hindalco net profit falls to Rs543 cr in Q3 (Live mint.com 31th Jan 2008)India’s biggest aluminium producer, Hindalco Industries Ltd, said profit declined for the first time in two years because of lower metal prices and a fall in copper smelting fees. Net income dropped to Rs543 crore ($138 million) in the quarter ended 31 December from Rs644 crore a year ago. The median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a profit of Rs500 crore. Sales fell 3% to Rs4,530 crore, the company said on Wednesday. Hindalco and Alcoa Inc., the world’s third largest producer, suffered from a drop in average aluminium prices in the quarter. Indian smelters have also been hit by the 12% gain in the rupee against the dollar and lower smelting fees caused by a global shortage of mineral concentrates. Shares of Hindalco fell 2% to close at Rs176.1 each on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The stock has lost 18% of its value this year, more than the 12.5% decline in India’s benchmark Sen

Assets sale to promoter firm boosts DLF profit (Live mint.com 31th Jan 2008)DLF Ltd, India’s largest listed developer, on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs2,145 crore for the quarter ended December as more people bought its developments and it sold properties more profitably to its promoter entity, a business model it has adopted to good effect since last year. The company did not provide comparable figures for 2006 because it wasn’t listed at the time. DLF sold about Rs1,850 crore worth of properties to DLF Assets Ltd (DAL) this quarter, and booked the profits for the entire amount. However, it hasn’t received the full amount for this. Booking profits on such so-called receivables is allowed under the country’s accounting laws. DLF wouldn’t say what the actual receivables are for the quarter. It plans to list DAL assets in Singapore by June. “We will get the remaining money from DAL after their IPO (initial public offering)” said Ramesh Sanka, DLF’s chief financial officer. More

Bajaj profit slides on lower sales; company won’t chase volumes (Live mint.com 31th Jan 2008)India’s second largest seller of two-wheelers, Bajaj Auto Ltd, had a third quarter profit decline of 16.6% from the year-ago period as it sold fewer bikes because customers deferred purchases as borrowing-to-buy became expensive. The bike maker also incurred a one-time charge of Rs51 crore because it offered a voluntary retirement payout to workers at one of the units that wasn’t productive. The Pune-based company made a profit of only Rs273.8 crore in the three months ended 31 December, compared with Rs328.3 crore in the year-ago period. Sales at Bajaj Auto dropped 2.3%, to Rs2,633.3 crore, in the quarter—lower than Rs2,696 crore last year. The results were worse than a Mint poll of five analysts, who estimated net profit at Rs354.66 crore and revenues at Rs2,653.88 crore. More

Govt relaxes FDI limit in 6 sectors (Live mint.com 31th Jan 2008)In a bold move aimed at attracting foreign capital in its fast-expanding economy, the Union government has relaxed foreign ownership norms in six businesses including aviation, commodity exchanges and oil refining, braving opposition from Communist allies in a year of 10 state elections. The decision, taken at a Wednesday meeting of the Union cabinet, eases foreign investment norms in cargo and charter airlines, helicopter services, credit information companies, titanium mining, industrial parks and construction development projects, where foreign investors—both partners and financial—are permitted with equity caps ranging from 0% to 49%. “The move will help the respective sectors get not only the funds, but technological knowledge, which will further boost the growth in these sectors,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at the Institute of Economic Growth in the Capital.This fiscal year, the government has set a target

One-time gain of Rs 157 cr boosts Mahindra net 67% (The Hindu Business Line 31th Jan 2008)A one-time gain of Rs 157 crore has enabled Mahindra and Mahindra to report a 67 per cent increase in the third quarter net profit at Rs 405 crore against Rs 242 crore in the year-ago period. Excluding this exceptional income — arising out of the merger of subsidiaries — the profit increased only three per cent to Rs 249.5 crore. Total income rose 14 per cent to Rs 2,980 crore from Rs 2,617 crore. Despite higher sales, profit was lower mainly on account of higher expenses. Mr Uday Phadke, President Finance, Mahindra and Mahindra, said the company’s margins were under pressure on account of higher finance cost due to the recent large acquisitions, increased R&D expenses and a rise in staff cost. More

BoB net up 52% to Rs 501 cr (Business Standard 31th June 2008) Bank of Baroda has posted a 52.2 per cent growth in net profit for the third quarter ended December 2007 at Rs 501.5 crore on jump in income from sale of investments including equity, recoveries from written-off accounts, commissions and interest income. Total income during the quarter rose to Rs 3,620.18 crore from Rs 2,668.11 crore in the year-ago period. Interest income rose by 28.60 per cent to Rs 3002.19 crore. Interest expenditure was up by 40.6 per cent to Rs 2,004.72 crore. During the December quarter, the net interest income rose by 9.8 per cent to Rs 997.47 crore from Rs 908.21 crore. More Costly bulk deposits drag down OBC profit by 24% (Business Standard 31th June 2008) Hit by high cost deposits, Oriental Bank of Commerce’s (OBC) net profit dipped by 24 per cent to Rs 138 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared with Rs 182 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year. “The dip

Bharti Airtel net rises 42% to Rs 1,722 cr (The Hindu Business Line 31th Jan 2008)Notwithstanding the prolonged battle for spectrum, telecom service provider Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced a 42 per cent increase in its profits to Rs 1,722 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 compared to Rs 1,215 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year. The growth has been primarily driven by a huge surge in the company’s subscriber base, which increased 70 per cent to over 57 million during the third quarter. The increase in the user base enabled the company to improve its market share from 21.8 per cent in December 2006 to 23.6 per cent at the end of the third quarter in 2007. “In the current quarter, Bharti Airtel has further consolidated its leadership position in the wireless market. We believe that the current growth momentum will receive further boost with our focus on setting new benchmarks in the market by driving affordability and availability. With aggress

Wockhardt cuts IPO price band to Rs 225-260 (The Hindu Business Line 31th Jan 2008)Wockhardt Hospitals has revised downwards the price band of its initial public offering of shares. The price band is now Rs 225 (at the lower end) and Rs 260 (at the upper end) per equity share, The earlier price band was Rs 280-Rs 310 per equity share, said a statement issued on behalf of the company. More

Praj Industries has announced its third quarter results. Praj Industries Q3 standalone net sales were up at Rs 180.22 crore from Rs 177.87 crore. Its standalone net profit was up at Rs 39.44 crore versus Rs 33.64 crore. Praj Industrie's Order Book atnds at Rs 900 crore (Rs 150 crore of American order is not included). The order book will delivered in 9-12 month. The company has also informed that Company's SEZ facility at Kandla has become operational. The company has also informed that the Board of Directors have decided to pay Interim Dividend of Rs. 1.98 per share (99%) for the financial year 2007-2008.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by over 300 points on Wednesday on fresh selling by funds and investors. The 30-share index, Sensex, which closed 60 points lower yesterday, lost another 333.30 points to 17,758.64 at close of toda y's trading session. Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange also dipped by 113.20 points to 5,167.60 as heavyweight stocks declined. On BSE about 839 hares advanced, 2115 shares declined, and 43 shares were unchanged. BSE midcap ended down 2.57% at 7814.80 and Smallcap was down 2.2% at 10148.95. BSE capital good index was down 2.07% at 16610.90. Major losers were Triveni Engineering, Lakshmi machine and Kirloskar Brother. BSE auto index was down 2.19% at 4816.07. Major losers were Escorts, Exide Industries, TVS Motors and Hind Motor. BSE Bankex was down 2.18% at 10877.70. Centurion bank, Kotak Mahindra bank and IOB were the top losers. BSE FMCG index was down 1.6% at 2170.51. Bata India, HUL and GSK were the top los

The Hindu Business Line Zee News (Rs 67.45): Buy We recommend a buy in Zee News at current market price from a short-term perspective. From the charts of the Zee News, we see that the stock has been on a steady long-term uptrend from January 2007 low of Rs 30. However, after marking an ... More

UTI AMC to sell 10-12% for $200 mn (The Economic Times 30th Jan 2008)UTI ASSET Management Company is roping in an international strategic investor for expanding its operations abroad. The investor, to be chosen from a slew of interested parties, will buy 10-12% equity in the country’s second largest mutual fund house for around $200 million. Half-a-dozen interested parties including Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Warburg Pincus, Singapore’s GIC and Japanese Shinsei Bank — are vying for the stake. Sources close to the development said the deal is expected to be finalised very soon. More KPMG to advise DVC on IPO plans (The Economic Times 30th Jan 2008)Damodar Valley Corporation has appointed KPMG to advise it on funding new projects through the initial public offer route. It has lined up investments of Rs 30,000 crore over the next few years. The proposal has been passed by the DVC board and the consultant was recently offered a letter of intent. They are scheduled to submit the repo

Wall St up on rate cut hope; ADRs mixed (Business Standard 30th June 2008) The Wall Street extended gains yesterday on hopes of rate cut in today's FOMC meet. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 97 points to 12,481. The Nasdaq added eight points to 2,358.Indian ADRs, however, ended on a mixed note. Patni Computers zoomed 5.4% to $14.40. Genpact soared 3.8% to $12.25, and Infosys advanced 1.3% to $40.21. More Asian markets flat in early trades (Business Standard 30th June 2008)Asian markets are mostly flat in early trades today.The Hang Seng is up eight points at 24,300. The Nikkei has moved up 16 points to 13,494.The Shanghai Composite index has gained 26 points at 4,484. More

Bank stocks will keep doing well (Live mint.com 30th Jan 2008)What comes through from the Reserve Bank of India’s third quarter review of monetary policy statement is that on one hand governor Y.V. Reddy is still very worried about inflationary pressures in the economy, on account of rising money supply and high food and fuel prices. On the other, he’s not particularly bothered about the slowdown in growth. The crux of the policy statement is this: “While the dangers of global recession are relatively subdued at the current juncture and consensus expectations seem to support a soft landing, the upside pressures on inflation have become more potent and real than before. Food and energy prices are set to impart a permanent upward shock to inflation globally and, in particular, in emerging market economies.” That’s the reason the apex bank has chosen perhaps to err on the side of caution, preferring to wait and watch. What does that mean for the markets? The immediate reaction was a sell-

Bank stocks take a beating (The Hindu Business Line 30th Jan 2008)Bank stocks took a beating on the bourses on Tuesday as the Reserve Bank of India’s Credit Policy belied the market expectation of a rate cut. The BSE-Bankex plunged 3.48 per cent after riding high on Monday on speculation of a possible interest rate cut. The BSE-Bankex had gone up by 1.24 per cent on Monday. NSE’s Bank Nifty too plunged 3.36 per cent on Tuesday. “Today’s was a temporary reaction to the Credit Policy in which the RBI has kept its key rates unchanged. A section of the market was expecting a rate cut by the RBI following the US Fed rate cut earlier,” said Mr Rajnish Rangari, Country Head, Investment Banking-CMG, Karvy Investor Services. The top losers of the day were HDFC Bank, which fell 3.36 per cent; SBI, which dipped 3.58 per cent; and ICICI Bank, which went down 4.19 per cent. However, the status quo on interest rates will not impact the performance of the banks in the long run, felt analysts. More R

Suzlon’s consolidated profit falls (Live mint.com 30th Jan 2008)India’s biggest maker of wind-turbine generators, Suzlon Energy Ltd, posted a lower third quarter (Q3) consolidated profit, mainly on high interest costs related to its acquisitions of Germany-based Repower Systems AG and Belgium’s Hansen Transmissions International NV. Suzlon earned Rs151.69 crore on a consolidated basis, compared with Rs174.39 crore in the corresponding period last year. Its consolidated incomestood at Rs3,242.29 crore, against Rs1,939.29 crore in the year-ago quarter, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The firm said its order book stood at Rs17,107.41 crore— Rs14,702.74 crore for exports and Rs2,404.67 for domestic sales—as on 25 January. More

Maruti net beats expectations in Q3 (Live mint.com 30th Jan 2008)The country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said net profit for the third quarter (Q3) ended December rose by a better-than-expected 24% from a year ago, as it sold more premium cars such as the SX4 sedan and the Swift compact car. Analysts expect growth next quarter to slow because the Reserve Bank of India left key interest rates unchanged, keeping car loans expensive. As a result, Maruti may have to spend more on rebates to ensure sales growth. Maruti’s Q3 net profit increased to Rs467.04 crore from Rs376.41crore a year ago. The increase was better than the Rs461.2 crore average estimated by five analysts polled before the results. Sales rose 27% to Rs4,654 crore in the quarter, as customers bought more of recently introduced models such as the SX4 sedan and the Zen Estilo. In the same period in the previous year, the revenue was Rs3,664.19 crore. More

Investors prefer existing MF schemes than NFOs (Business Standard 30th June 2008) Investors may prefer to invest in the existing schemes of mutual fund houses instead of putting money into new fund offerings, after the Indian markets went into a tailspin following weak global cues and a situation of tight liquidity in India, feel most distributors. Eleven new fund offerings are currently open including AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform Fund, HDFC Infrastructure Fund, Reliance Natural Resources Fund, ICICI Prudential Fusion, Lotus India Mid and Small Cap Fund and two from JM Mutual Fund’s stable, JM Core 11 fund and JM Tax Gain fund. Since several NFOs have opened as recently as last week, exact collection figures could not be obtained. Existing schemes have seen inflows rather than redemptions. “We have got fresh inflows in the last one week or so at least to the extent of our fortnightly average,” said a senior official from DSPML Mutual Fund. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benc

RBI nudges banks to cut rates (Business Standard 30th June 2008) Banks are expected to review their deposit and lending rates in April on prodding by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) even as the monetary policy on Tuesday kept key policy rates unchanged owing to continuing inflation concerns. In its quarterly review of monetary policy, RBI said banks have enough room to lower deposit and lending rates, given the fact that their net interest margins (NIMs) are “very high”, even by international standards, and that they are flush with liquidity amid slowing credit demand. Bankers took the cue and said there are sufficient indications in the policy that interest rates on both deposits and advances could be reviewed in the next quarter. “There could be a realignment of interest rates within the existing structure. The entire system would take a view,” said M B N Rao, chairman of Canara Bank, India’s third largest bank by assets. More Key rates unchanged; RBI focuses on inflation control (T

The markets opened with a happy note in line with its global peers. But news on Credit Policy by RBI ended the party. Finally Sensex ends with a modest loss but the Nifty managed to close in the green. Sensex ended down 60.84 points or 0.34% at 18091.94, and the Nifty closed up 6.70 points or 0.13% at 5280.80. On BSE, about 1460 shares advanced, 1473 shares declined, and 56 shares remained unchanged. BSE midcap ended up 0.43% at 8021.24 and BSE smallcap was up 0.72% at 10377.67. BSE auto index ended down 0.05% at 4923.74. Tube Investment, Bajaj Auto Hero Honda ended in red. BSE bankex was down 3.48% at 11120.42. Bank Of India, Canara Bank, IOB were were the top losers.

Higer Price Realisation boosts Steel Authorities 3rd Quater Profit Net income of SAIL rose to Rs 1,935 crore ($491 million) in the quarter ended December 31 from Rs 1,471 crore a year ago. Suzlon has shown an impressive 3rd Quarter Result Increased demand has helped Suzlon Energy Ltd to nealr double it's quarterly net profit. Suzlon's standalone net profit rose to Rs 338 crore ($85.8 million) compared to Rs 176 crore. Maruti Suzuki 3Q net up 24% Maruti Udyog Ltd on Tuesday reported a 24 per cent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by robust sales of its higher margin premium cars. Maruti's sales rose 17 per cent to 2,01,629 units in the October-December quarter, but the company warned its large capex programme and depreciation will hit profit margins.

RBI keeps key interest rates unchanged Contary to the popular expectation of a rate cut inline with the US Fed rate cut, RBI kept all key interest rates unchanged keeping in mind importance of keeping financial and price stability.Maintaining status quo in its stance, RBI, in its third quarter review of credit policy, also kept growth projection unchanged at 8.5 per cent and inflation close to 5 per cent in 2007-08. Bank and Auto stocks which went up yerterday amid speculation of a rate cut by RBI have reacted negatively and are down considerable. At 1.30 PM IST BANKEX is at 11048.93 down by 472.29 points and BSE Auto index is down by 50.66 points at 4875.48. RBI Policy Highlights Bank rate, repo rate, reverse repo rate unchanged Key policy rates unchanged Repo rate unchanged at 7.75% Revese repo rate unchanged at 6% CRR unchanged at 7.50%

IVRCL to bid for non-metro airports (Live mint.com 29th Jan 2008)Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects Ltd is looking to bid for airport development projects in small cities and towns, joining a growing list of firms wanting to tap the aviation boom in the country. The company has already made a beginning with a bid to develop the Amritsar airport. Confirming the news, E. Sudhir Reddy, chairman and managing director, IVRCL, said the company had “partnered with a Spanish airport development” firm for the purpose, but declined to name it. “We have submitted bids for the development of Amritsar International Airport in Punjab,” said Reddy adding, “we have partnered with a Spanish airports development company to bid for the Amritsar airport project.” IVRCL isn’t keen on being the developer for all such projects, Reddy said, adding, “we are not necessarily interested in owning airport assets. We are keen on bidding for the airport projects as building contracts. We will bid for

The Hindu Business Line Arvind Mills (Rs 51.05): Buy We recommend a buy in Arvind Mills at current market price for a medium-term perspective. Arvind Mills has completely retraced its prior up move from a low of Rs 41 to a high of Rs 93 recorded between August and December 2007 in a short time period of three weeks. More

Wockhardt to raise Rs 800 cr via IPO (The Economic Times 29th Jan 2008)Multi-specialty hospital chain Wockhardt will raise Rs 800 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The money would be used to set up 17 new hospitals by 2010 and also repay debt. The company would tap the capital market with an issue of over 2.5 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each, representing 24% of its post-issue capital. It will offer the shares in a price band of Rs 280-310. The issue will open for subscription on January 31 and close on February 5. Post public issue, the promoters will have around 71% stake in the company. More

Rate cut hopes lift Wall St; ADRs mixed (Business Standard 29th Jan 2008)The Wall Street rallied yesterday on hopes of a rate cut this week. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 177 points to 12,384. The Nasdaq gained 24 points at 2,350.Indian ADRs ended on a mixed note. Patni Computers and Dr.Reddy's plunged nearly 4% each to $13.66 and $14.37, respectively. Sterlite and Satyam dropped over 1% each to $20.28 and $25.04, respectively. More Asian markets in green; Nikkei up 241pts (Business Standard 29th Jan 2008)Asian markets are in positive zone this morning.The Hang Seng has rallied 453 points to 24,506. The Nikkei has surged 241 points to 13,329.The Shanghai Composite index has gained 53 points at 4,473. More

Expert players in options faced huge losses in market meltdown (The Economic Times 29th Jan 2008)The recent market meltdown has extracted a heavy price of retail and high net worth investors who had been rashly dabbling in stock and index futures without much thought to risk. But they could draw some comfort from the fact that many of the ‘expert’ players in the options segment — the more sophisticated side of the derivatives market — have been guilty of a similar sin, and have ended up blowing a huge hole in their pockets. The proprietary trading desks at a few domestic leading brokerage houses, who specialise in the F&O (futures and options) segment, recklessly wrote out put contracts on the Nifty for strike prices between 5800 and 6200 just before the market began its slide during the mid of this month. These investors had quietly accumulated these options betting on a reversal of the bullish trend. Writing a put option for these prices means that the writer of the put option w

Inflation bigger threat than slowdown for RBI (Live mint.com 29th Jan 2008)The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) third quarter review of macroeconomic and monetary developments, released on Monday, a day ahead of the central bank’s quarterly review of monetary policy, did not rule out a global economic slowdown of a modest nature, but there was no indication that the bank would ease its policy to fight the impact of the slowdown in the country. Going by RBI’s review of economic and monetary developments, the chances of a rate cut, as widely expected by a section of the market, are slim. The review talks about “potential inflational pressures” arising from “commodity price rise, volatile oil markets and impact of likely stronger foreign exchange inflows” into the emerging market economies. But no one is sure as yet on the stance of RBI governor Y.V. Reddy as he has a habit of surprising the market. According to the macroeconomic review, the wholesale price index-based inflation in India ha

L&T beats expectations with 40% rise in net profit (Live mint.com 29th Jan 2008)India’s largest engineering and construction firm by market value, Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), on Monday reported a better-than-expected third quarter net profit that rose 40%, and raised its revenue forecast for the year as it secured more domestic and international orders. L&T posted a profit after tax of Rs481.79 crore for the October-December period, up from Rs343.90 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its net sales grew 55% to Rs6,382.68 crore from Rs4,115.69 crore last year. “We expect revenue to grow 35-40% for the full year,” L&T chief financial officer Y.M. Deosthalee said from Dubai, where the firm’s board met to finalize quarterly results. “Earlier, we were saying that our revenue would grow 30-35%,” he added. More L&T aims 20% revenue from power biz in 2 yrs (Business Standard 29th Jan 2008) India’s largest engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) aims

Banking stocks shine ahead of Credit Policy (The Hindu Businessline 29th Jan 2008)Banking sector stocks were flying high on the hope of a cut in credit rates in tomorrow’s credit policy review. The buzz in the market is that the central bank might cut a key interest rate by 25-50 bps. On the BSE, only the auto and bankex sector ended the day in the green. The BSE-Bankex outperformed the Benchmark index to end the day up 1.24 per cent more than its previous day’s close. Only four stocks declined in the sector and 14 stocks advanced. The country’s largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank, was among the top gainers of the day on the BSE today. It was up 1.15 per cent to close the day at Rs 1273.70. Other stocks that performed well today in the banking sector include Axis Bank, which surged ahead 3.66 per cent, Bank of India, which raced ahead 3.78 per cent, Canara Bank, which saw an increase in its prices by 5.11 per cent, and Yes Bank, which went up a whopping 5.05 per cent. “If the RBI c

L&T: right place, right time (Live mint.com 29th Jan 2008)Engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) has been reporting new order wins with unfailing regularity for several months now. During the quarter ended December, the company saw a 37% rise in its order inflow compared with the year-ago period, which is even better than the 26% rise during the September quarter. The order book at the end of the December quarter was Rs50,000 crore—more than two years’ revenues. The high revenue visibility, its ability to pick and choose its projects and its position at the cutting edge of the infrastructure boom have all helped L&T become a proxy for infrastructure growth in the country. That should help cushion the stock in the current downturn. L&T’s results for the December quarter confirm the optimism. The momentum has been maintained, with gross sales and service revenues up 54% over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Profit growth has

RBI signals dip in growth; food prices may fuel inflation (The Hindu Businessline 29th Jan 2008)The Reserve Bank of India seems to be signalling a slight slowdown in the overall economic growth, while also warning of potential inflationary pressures in the period ahead, due to high international food prices. Credit offtake has shown a slight slowdown in the third quarter of the fiscal, while fund mobilisation through equity issuances has shown a big jump, said RBI’s Third Quarter Review of the Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments. Since pass-through of higher international oil prices to domestic prices remains incomplete, inflation has remained suppressed, noted the Review. Elevated international food prices also pose potential inflationary pressures in the period ahead. Credit growth has seen a slight moderation in the April-November 2007 quarter. More RBI may cut 25 bps in symbolic move (The Hindu Businessline 29th Jan 2008)The life of the central banker has never been more diffi

Sensex ended down 208.88 points or 1.14% at 18152.78, and the Nifty was down 109.25 points or 2.03% at 5274.10. On BSE, About 955 shares advanced, 1992 shares declined, and 42 shares remained unchanged. BSE midcap was down 0.43% at 7986.68 and Nifty was down 1.13% at 10303.51. BSE auto index was up 1.72% at 4926.14. Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Hind Motors were the top gainers. BSE bankex was up 1.24% at 11521.22. Canara Bank, Bank Of India and Axis Bank were some of the top gainers in the banking space.

Asian markets which after last weeks downfall, reacted positively by the end of the week to the Fed emergency rate cut and the news of U.S. stimulus package and almost recovered losses incurred last week, have plunged again on Monday. Asian markets again reacted in line with the US markets, which declined on Friday. On Friday Dow Jones industrials slid 1.38 percent and the technology-heavy NASDAQ composite index declined 1.47 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 3.97 percent to close at 13,087.91, erasing its jump on Friday. Concern that US recession would mean less demand for the product from this region has brought down all major indices ion this region. China's benchmark index plummeted 7.2 percent to its lowest point in six months. Hong Kong's market sank 4.3 percent while India's Sensex closed 1.14% percent down, after a late buying propped market from the days low. U.S. stock index futures also were down, suggesting that Wall Street was poised t

Bang Overseas , a provider of fashion fabrics and ready-to-wear requirements in apparel, textile and retail segment, is opened for subscription with an initial public offering (IPO) of 3,500,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a price to be decided through a 100% book-building process. The issue will constitute 25.81% of the post-issue paid-up capital of the company. The issue will close for subscription on January 31, 2008. The price band has been fixed between Rs 200 and Rs 207 per equity share. Read Details from Moneycontrol.com

Larsen & Toubro Ltd net profit Jumps L&T has posted a 40 % jump in profit after tax for the third quarter ended December 2007. L & T profit after tax stands at Rs 481.79 crore compared to Rs 343.90 crore reported during the same quarter in 2006. Total revenue for the quarter has increased to Rs 6,483.55 crore from Rs 4224.49 crore shown in the year-ago period. BHEL's Tiruchirapalli unit has secures orders worth Rs 15,000 crore BHEL's Tiruchirapalli unit has crossed an all-time record recently by finalising orders for supplying of power plant equipment worth more than Rs 15,000 crore, a top company official has said.

US slowdown: smaller IT firms more vulnerable than large peers (Live mint.com 28th Jan 2008) Even as India’s top 5 software service vendors such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys Technologies Ltd say they don’t see a slowdown in demand for their services from buyers in the US, it is becoming clear that smaller vendors could see orders slipping if information technology (IT) spending by such clients is tightened in the event of a recession in the world’s biggest economy. TCS, Infosys and their peers Wipro Ltd, Satyam Computer Services Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd have said the credit crisis in the financial sector in the US, the segment from where the bulk of revenues come for Indian software vendors, had not impacted their revenues in the latest quarter. The October-December earnings for the top 5 firms have been in line with analyst estimates and vendors maintained their operating margins through improved billing rates, higher offshore leverage, a shift towards fixed

Stocks to buy: Bharti Airtel, Indiabulls Fin Services, Bank of India, HDFC Bank (The Economic Times 28th Jan 2008)) Research By Stock CMP Target Recommendation Motilal Oswal Indiabulls Fin Services Rs. 779 NA Buy Morgan Stanley Bank of India Rs 395 Rs 525 Overweight Edelweiss HDFC Bank Rs 1,601 NA Buy More

Strategy to adopt when markets turn choppy (The Economic Times 28th Jan 2008)These have been turbulent times for small investors. With stock markets on a roller-coaster ride, while each fall led to panic across the board, every pullback raised expectations. But amidst the volatility and chaos, retail investors were left high and dry. There were opinions on almost everything, some said it’s time to buy, others suggested to hold on. Some even looked skywards for hope. But, as experts say, there’s logic in market movements. The art of investing and standing through tough times is equally important. Here’s a lowdown on what you should do when the markets turn choppy. More

Week Ahead: Long term trend under pressure (Business Standard 28th Jan 2008) A massive downtrend was triggered by around $4 billion worth of FII sales and margin calls. There was a marginal recovery in the last two sessions but the long-term bull market may have reversed. The Nifty hit a low of 4448 before pulling back to 5383 with a week-on-week loss of 5.81 per cent. The Sensex bottomed at 15332 before closing at 18361 for a weekly loss of 3.42 per cent. The Defty was down 5.81 per cent as the rupee reacted to massive outflows. The Bank Nifty was the only index that gained, if marginally. Breadth was poor and the volumes on the recovery were much lower than on the sell-off. The Nifty Junior was down 6.95 per cent. The mid-caps suffered most and lost 9.25 per cent. More Markets likely to remain choppy (The Economic Times 28th Jan 2008)Global news flow will play a key role in determining the direction of the equity market this week. Events, like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meet on

The Hindu Business Line GMR Infrastructure (Rs 194.40): Buy We recommend a buy in GMR Infrastructure at current market price from a medium term perspective. From the charts of GMR Infrastructure we note that it has been on medium-term downtrend from its all time high of Rs 268 marked on December 6, 2007. ... More

Low beta stocks won't let you down (The Economic Times 28th Jan 2008)When the going gets tough, the tough get going... The old adage appears more than inspiring, given the current situation in the stock market. By any measure, times are really tough for equity investors. After the free fall last Tuesday, the benchmark indices lost within a week what it took them three months to gain. Most of the stocks saw their fabulous returns wane, perhaps much faster than the popularity of Britney Spears! While investors are jittery over the one week mayhem in the market, ETIG believes that it's time the tough guys took centre stage. By tough, we mean the stocks that tend to render a rock-solid behaviour in a volatile market. These are the stocks that traditionally have lower beta. Beta indicates the sensitivity of a stock's returns to the changes in the benchmark index. More

'New US lending laws may bring business for BPOs' (The Economic Times 28th Jan 2008)The new lending laws being worked out in the US after the subprime lending crisis could bring more business to Indian BPOs. According to a latest report by Cisco senior vice-president (IT services-India & SAARC) Ajay Goel, the new regulations for loans in the US may lead to more transaction work to India. He reckons that these new laws will be fairly stringent. It may prompt US banks to increase their outsourcing work to Indian BPOs to lower costs. This will be a huge opportunity for Indian BPOs and IT companies which already have some of America’s top banks as clients. The report also suggests that the IT spends in the Indian market are rising, offering strong opportunities for various service providers. “The appreciation of rupee against dollar indicates a strong economy and can actually have a positive impact on businesses that area ready to adapt to changes,’’ says Goel. “The US subprim

Global carbon fund keen to finance CFL project plans here (The Hindu Business Line 28th Jan 2008)Climate Change Capital (CCC), which manages the world’s largest private sector carbon fund, is keen on funding the Clean Development Mechanism-based energy efficiency lighting projects being planned by the Centre, and being implemented across States such as Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. The funding by the UK-based CCC is expected to be in lieu of receiving and encashing carbon credits generated from these projects. This could come as a shot in the arm for the ambitious project, which seeks to increase penetration of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) among households across the country as an energy conservation measure. “As the investment manager of the largest private sector carbon fund in the world, we are looking at many greenhouse gas reduction projects across the globe, including India… India is an important country for CCC and we are building out our team. We hope that energy efficient l

The stock markets rose around 6.73 per cent on Friday, riding a rally in global markets, with ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro Ltd and Reliance Industries leading the gains. The 30-share BSE index gained 1139.92 points to finish at 18361.66. The 50-issue NSE index gained 349.90 points to 5,383.35.

The wholesale price index (WPI) rose 3.83 per cent in the 12 months to January 12, marginally higher than the previous week's rise of 3.79 per cent, the Government data showed on Friday.

US President and House leaders have agreed on a deal on Thursday for a $150 billion fiscal stimulus package, including rebates for most tax filers of up to $600 for individuals, $1,200 for couples and, for families, an additional $300 a child reports New York Times. During intense negotiations both side agreed on numerous compromises to secure the deal. The House is expected to approve the package and it is expected that by Feb 15 it would be sent to the President for signature. The paper further reports that full rebates of up to $600 or $1,200 would be paid to individuals earning up to $75,000 adjusted gross income or couples filing jointly and earning up to $150,000. Above that, rebates would be reduced by 5 percent for each $1,000 in income. On the business side, a package, which would cost $42.3 billionin 2008 would be used for giving 50% bonus deduction on new equipment that would normally be depreciated over many years. This measure is expected to encourage spending. To help the

Technical Analyst, Hitendra Vasudeo told CNBC-TV18 that one can buy Neyveli Lignite on correction for long term. He thinks resistant point for the stock would be around Rs 157-178 and Rs 201. But he is not very sure about sustanability of the stock at the higher levels. So in his opinion, the short term strategy should be to maintain a stoploss at Rs 125 and book profit at the higher levels.Although he thinks the stock may take some time to cross the pull back levels, so investor with long investment horizon should try to buy at corrections. Rajesh Agarwal of CD Equisearch thinks positively about Neyveli Lignite and thinks one should stay invested in it. While speaking to CNBC-TV18 he expresses his optimism about power sector in general and Neyveli Lignite in specific. Given the power generation capcity and the lignite mines the copmapy possess, he thinks the company has a bright future. With the current correction he thinks now one can hold the stock to get a 30-40% return wit

Anu Jain, technical advisor expressed her opinion about HDFC Bank on CNBC Awaaz. According to her resistance for the stock would come at Rs 1,700. She thinks at Rs 1,500 one should consider entering the stock. It is currently trading at 1639.95 on the BSE up by about 9%.

Ashu Kakkar, technical analyst, on NDTV Profit says that Yes Bank has supports at Rs 205 and Rs 195, where fresh investments can be made. According to him the stock would face resistances at Rs 238 and Rs 250. In his view the stock has short term target of Rs 275-280 . It is currently trading at Rs 225. While expressing his opinion about Welspun Gujarat, Kakkar thinks that the stock has target of Rs 520 . He thinks the support would come at t Rs 420 and Rs 388 level. His recommendation is to hold the stock to remain invested. Currently the stock is trading at Rs 487.25, up 8.51% on the BSE

Low margin to keep F&O mkt volatile (The Economic Times 25th Jan 2008) What are margins in the equity derivatives segment? Margins are the funds that must be deposited with a clearing exchange, through a broker, for an investor to trade (or keep an open position alive) in the futures and options (F&O) segment. There are two types of margins: initial margin and mark-to-market (MTM) margin. Initial margin is the first payment that’s required to be paid out to open a futures contract. This margin is relevant to investors involved in the futures segment and options writers (sellers). Simply put, margin is the price of one lot size of futures contracts or for option writing. The initial margin, which is a percentage of the contract value, is specified by the exchange daily, subject to a minimum amount. For instance, if Infosys trades at Rs 1,000, one lot size of its futures contract is 200 units and initial margin is 20%, then the an investor has to pay Rs 40,000 (20% of 1,000 x 20