Markets ends with strong gains on end of week

The markets ended the day on a strong note with buying seen in scrips across sectors. Capital goods, banking, IT, cement and sugar stocks were among the top gainers.

Sensex was up 145.94 points or 1.01% at 14650.51, and the Nifty up 36.30 points or 0.85% at 4318.3.

Reliance Energy (REL) surged 5.63% to Rs 613.25.REL’s wholly owned subsidiary Rosa Power Supply, on 26 June 2007 tied up long-term loans of around Rs 2,000 crore for the first stage of its 600 meg watt (MW) power project.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) jumped 3.27% to Rs 2022.50, after it received Rs 445 crore for its stake sale in BPO firm Intelenet to Blackstone, which has resulted in a total capital gain of Rs 381 crore on its BPO venture. The stock surged to an all time high of Rs 2039, in intra-day trade.

State-run banking major State Bank of India (SBI) vaulted 3.89% to Rs 1527.50, after striking an all time high of Rs 1531 in intra-day trade.Bhel (up 3.50% to Rs 1541) and L&T (up 1.49% to Rs 2186), advanced from the capital goods pack.Cement major ACC (up 3.58% to Rs 931.05), and Grasim (up 0.32% to Rs 2632) advanced.Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was up 0.46% to Rs 1700.

Markets extend gains

The market opened on a buoyant note on steady-to-firm Asian markets and on smooth rollover of positions from the June 2007 series to the July 2007 series in the derivatives segment.

At 12.15 pm IST, the Sensex is up 116.41 points at 14620.98, and the Nifty up 24.65 points at 4306.65.

Cement major ACC surged 3.30% to Rs 928.45, on 1.59 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. Ambuja Cements (up 0.58% to Rs 125.75), and Grasim (up 0.63% to Rs 2640) also edged higher.Infosys Technologies rose 1.25% to Rs 1950 on rumours that it is mulling a bid to buy Europe’s largest IT services giant, Capgemini.State-run banking major State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.68% to Rs 1495.

Aluminum and copper major Hindaco Industries lost 0.89% at Rs 167.50.

Markets settle higher

The markets settled with modest gains as buying continued throughout the day. The markets swung sharply for a while in late trading ahead of the expiry of derivatives contracts for June 2007 series.

Sensex was up 73.51 points or 0.51% at 14504.57, and the Nifty up 18.05 points or 0.42% at 4282.

Cement major ACC surged 9.06% to Rs 905, on 8.88 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. 3 out of top 4 gainers from the Sensex were cement pivotals. Ambuja Cements (up 7.43% to Rs 125.10), and Grasim (up 4.51% to Rs 2615.75) surged.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) jumped 5.44% to Rs 1966 after it received Rs 445 crore for its stake sale in BPO firm Intelenet to Blackstone, which has resulted in a total capital gain of Rs 381 crore on its BPO venture. At its 30th annual general meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday, 27 June 2007, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh said interest rates had peaked and he expected them to remain stable for some time.

Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories advanced 1.82% to Rs 349. Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc (RPI), its wholly-owned subsidiary, has launched Pravastatin Sodium 80 mili gram tablets in the US. Pravastatin is indicated for the primary prevention of coronary events as in hypercholesterolemic patients without clinically-evident coronary disease.

State-run banking major State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.64% to Rs 1471 on reports that it is planning to launch a private equity fund with a corpus of $1 billion (Rs 4,100 crore). ICICI Bank rose 0.55% to Rs 943.50.

Reliance Petroleum gained 2.29% to Rs 111.45, extending its recent rally. The scrip touched a high of Rs 112.70 today, 28 June 2007, which is a record high for the scrip.

Kesoram Industries jumped 8.10% to Rs 438 on media reports that chairman Basant Kumar Birla has decided to give the diversified firm to his grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla, who heads the Aditya Birla group.

State run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) lost 1.98% to Rs 903.IT major Infosys slipped 0.78% to Rs 1921.10.Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 0.44% to Rs 1,690.25.

Infosys Q1 results on Jul. 11

Infosys Technologies will announce the first quarter ending Jun. 30, 2007 results on Jul. 11, 2007.

A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on Jul. 11, 2007, to consider the audited, consolidated and unaudited financial results of the first quarter ending June 30, 2007.

Markets give up some early gains but cement shares rally

The market firmed up in opening trade tracking firm global markets. A bout of volatility was witnessed in early trade. But now the markets have given up some of its opening gains but still trading firm with significant gains. All the cement stocks are looking very strong today after Finance Minister's clarification on unfreezing of cement prices.

At 11.30 am IST, the Sensex is up 52.90 points at 14483.96, and the Nifty up 9.20 points or at 4273.15.

Cement stocks surged after Finance Minister said that there is no price freeze for cement companies and he will not interfere with cement pricing. Cement major ACC surged 4.63% to Rs 868.25 on 84,102 shares, and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.Ambuja Cements (up 3.91% to Rs 121), and Grasim (up 3.07% to Rs 2579.90), also edged higher.

Auto major Bajaj Auto was the top loser from the Sensex pack, down 1.51% to Rs 2097.Hindaco (down 1.41% to Rs 167.90), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.95% to Rs 188.95), and Reliance Energy (down 0.90% to Rs 573), were the other losers.

Meghmani Organics got listed on the bourses at Rs 33.25 on versus issue price of Rs 19.The market is expected to swing sharply today, 28 June 2007, as derivatives contracts for June 2007 series expire today.

Markets drift lower on weak global equities

The markets drifted lower today as selling pressure continued throughout the day. Markets may remain volatile tomorrow ahead of expiry of June 2007 derivatives contracts tomorrow, 28 June 2007. All the Asian and European markets, with the exception of China, slipped today, 27 June 2007.

The Nifty closed at 4,264 down 22 points, while the Sensex shut shop at 14,431 down 70 points.

IT stocks saw steady buying throughout the day.Satyam Computers spurted 2.76% to Rs 469. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. Other stocks from the IT pack -- Wipro (up 0.10% to Rs 509.15), TCS (up 0.80% to Rs 1131.40) and Infosys Technologies (up 0.65% to Rs 1935) -- also gained.

Housing finance major HDFC rose 0.80% to Rs 1,900.Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 0.38% to Rs 1,697.Reliance Communications (down 2.39% to Rs 513.20), Reliance Energy (down 2.02% to Rs 577.90) and NTPC (down 2.22% to Rs 150), were the other losers.

IT pivotals buck market fall

The markets saw high volatility in the opening session, swinging between positive and negative zones. Volatility is expected to remain till the expiry of June 2007 derivatives contracts on Thursday, 28 June 2007.

At 12.25 pm IST, the Sensex is down 31.68 points at 14469.40, and the Nifty down 12.95 points at 4272.75.

Top gainers on the Sensex are Satyam up 2%, Infosys up 0.80%, Ambuja Cement up 0.8% and NTPC at Rs 154.10 up 0.46%. On the NIfty Suzlon and Reliance Petro are among the top gainers.

Top losers on the Sensex are Hindalco down 1.6%, HDFC Bank 1.3%, ONGC down 1.3%, Tata Motors down 0.9% and Ranbaxy Labs down 0.8%.

In the midcap space the top gainers are Bajaj Auto Fin, Coromandel Fert, Blue Dart, Prism Cement, Balaji Telefilm, Ent Network Ind.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.32% to Rs 1709 on 84,188 shares. As per reports, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has referred the issue of pricing natural gas found off the east coast to a committee of secretaries. The move comes in the wake of differences the petroleum ministry has with the power and fertiliser ministries over the methodology adopted for arriving at the gas price.

Nelcast was hovering at Rs 222 on BSE, a premium of 1.37% over the IPO price of Rs 219 per share. The scrip opened at Rs 252.05. It had touched a high of Rs 284.70 and a low of Rs 216.20 so far during the day. The scrip opened at Rs 252.05.

Market end marginally in green

The markets ended marginally in green amid a rangebound session. Sensex ended flat but Nifty closed with modest gains eyeing the 4,300 mark. In terms of cues, Asia ended mixed with a negative bias and even Europe opened weak.

Sensex was up 13.36 points or 0.09% at 14501.08, and the Nifty up 26.30 points or 0.62% at 4285.7.

State run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gained 2.45% to Rs 939.10, on 2.96 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. It posted 13% fall in net profit to Rs 2681.64 crore in Q4 March 2007 compared to a net profit of 3085.89 crore in Q4 March 2006. Total income rose 16.35% to Rs 14575.92 crore in Q4 March 2007 (Rs 12528.23 crore). The results were announced during trading hours on Monday, 25 June 2007.

Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel rose 1.89% to Rs 849, on 2.46 lakh shares as buying continued after HSBC Holdings Plc., recently raised price target of India’s top wireless services company by 9%, and said that the company will continue to expand market share. The one-year target was raised to Rs 1110.

State run engineering major Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) gained 1.35% to Rs 1470.IT stocks which were trading firm till mid-afternoon session, pared gains. Satyam Computers rose 0.86% to Rs 457, while TCS (down 0.22% to Rs 1123), Infosys Technologies (down 0.50% to Rs 1926.10), and Wipro (down 1.18% to Rs 509) edged lower.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped 0.35% to Rs 1,700, on 5.56 lakh shares. It had struck a high of Rs 1719.40. As per reports, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has referred the issue of pricing natural gas found off the east coast to a committee of secretaries. The move comes in the wake of differences the petroleum ministry has with the power and fertiliser ministries over the methodology adopted for arriving at the gas price.

Cement stocks Ambuja Cements (down 0.68% to Rs 116.45) and ACC (down 1.27% to Rs 845.25), edged lower on profit booking.ICICI Bank continued to shed value since the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Monday, 25 June 2007, rejected ICICI Bank’s proposal to divest 24% stake in ICICI Financial Services in favour of foreign investors as a subsidiary could not take part in insurance business. It lost 0.70% to Rs 945.10.

IT pivotals boost markets

The market was trading with marginal gains in opening session. It swung sharply between positive and negative zone.

At 12.00 pm IST, the Sensex is up 44.57 points at 14532.29, and the Nifty up 18.85 points at 4278.25.

Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel rose 1.23% to Rs 843.50, and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.Grasim (up 0.99% to Rs 2485), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.50% to Rs 189.75), and Hero Honda Motors (up 0.26% to Rs 671.95), were the other gainers.

IT stocks gained on renewed buying. Satyam Computers (up 0.82% to Rs 458.50), TCS (up 0.62% to Rs 1132.50), Infosys Technologies (up 0.36% to Rs 1942.80), and Wipro (up 0.10% to Rs 516) edged higher.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.23% to Rs 1,709.90.State run oil exploration major ONGC slipped 0.68% to Rs 910.50, and was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

HDFC lost 0.62% to Rs 1892.50, on reports that it has cut floating rates for new home loans by 25 basis points as part of monsoon offer

ICICI Bank (down 0.66% to Rs 945.50), L&T (down 0.56% to Rs 2151), and HDFC Bank (down 0.50% to Rs 1094), were the other losers.

Markets close flat

Blame it on the gloomy weather or just the negative cues from the overseas, the markets were sluggish and finished the day with a whimper.Nifty closed at 4,259, up 7 points, while Sensex shut shop at 14,487, up 20 points.All the European indices opened lower, while a majority of Asian markets were trading weak.

Engineering & construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) surged 2.58% to Rs 2162.The stock rose after the company said today, 25 June 2007, its board would meet on 3 July 2007 to consider a special dividend.

State-run engineering major Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) gained 0.55% to Rs 1,448 after it won an order worth Rs 106 crore from Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL). The contract will be executed in 28 months.

Telecom stocks gained on fresh buying. Bharti Airtel rose 1.30% to Rs 833.50. As per reports, the Bharti group is forging ahead with its ambitions to be in the digital media space. It is likely to launch DTH services by December this year.Reliance Communications vaulted 2.15% to Rs 524.15.

State-run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gained 1.05% to Rs 918.20 even as it posted a 13% fall in net profit to Rs 2681.64 crore in Q4 March 2007 compared to a net profit of 3085.89 crore in Q4 March 2006. Total income rose 16.35% to Rs 14575.92 crore in Q4 March 2007 (Rs 12528.23 crore).

IT stocks declined on renewed selling. Satyam Computers (down 1.47% to Rs 455), TCS (down 1.32% to Rs 1125), Infosys Technologies (down 0.89% to Rs 1933.40), and Wipro (down 0.42% to Rs 515.05) were not spared either.

Markets trading flat

Intense volatitily accompanied the market's surge in the opening session.The markets are rangebound and continue to trade flat. Selective buying is seen in capital goods and energy stocks. However, IT, banking and auto stocks are trading weak on the indices.

At 12.40 am IST, the Sensex is up 6.18 points at 14473.54, and the Nifty up 2.30 points at 4254.35.

Top gainers on the Sensex are ONGC, BHEL, L&T.Top losers on the Sensex are Tata Motors, TCS and Maruti Udyog.Top gainers on the Nifty are Reliance Petro, M&M, Siemens.Top losers on the Nifty are BPCL, Tata Power and HCL Tech.

State-run oil exploration major ONGC advanced 1.47% to Rs 922.The company will declare its Q4 March 2007 and FY 2007 results today.Reliance Energy was up 1.41% to Rs 599.Engineering stocks Bhel (up 1.38% to Rs 1460) and L&T (up 1.16% to Rs 2132) rose on fresh buying.

NTPC advanced 0.52% to Rs 153.50, after a block deal of 5.28 lakh shares was struck in the counter on BSE at Rs 153.90 per share by 09:59 IST.ICICI Bank was up 0.11% to Rs 954.80, after declining to a low of Rs 940, in early trade. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.31% to Rs 1,709.

Market snaps three-day winning streak

The market edged lower today, 22 June 2007, after rallying consecutively in the previous three trading sessions. Global markets played spoilsport today.

The Sensex lost 31.88 points or 0.22% at 14,467.36.The S&P CNX Nifty settled with loss of 15.35 points, or 0.36%, to 4,252.05 today.

Reliance Energy (REL) galloped 6% to Rs 594.10 on 11.04 lakh shares.ICICI Bank saw high volatility today. It rose 0.14% to Rs 951.05.State Bank of India (SBI) advanced for the fourth straight session, gaining 0.73% to Rs 1456.Gujarat Ambuja Cements lost 2.72% to Rs 116.15.Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped 1.86% to Rs 1,701 on 8.55 lakh shares.

IT stocks were hit by fresh selling. The BSE IT index lost 28.76 points or 0.69% at 4,858.09. Satyam Computers (down 0.92% to Rs 462.50), TCS (down 0.41% to Rs 1139), Infosys (down 0.43% to Rs 1948), and Wipro (down 1.51% to Rs 515.95) declined. A rise in rupee impacts margins of IT companies.

Markets trading higher

The markets opened amid high volatility ,swinging between positive and negative zones.Volatility is expected to stay on over the next few days ahead of the expiry of the June 2007 derivatives contracts next Thursday, 28 June 2007.

At 12.10 pm the Sensex is up by 25 points at 14524.05 ,while Nifty is trading at 4268.75 up by barely 1.35 points.

Reliance Energy was the top gainer, up 4.39% to Rs 585.The company was one of the five qualified bidders to have submitted bids for the 4,000-mega watt Sasan ultra mega power project.The Lanco Infratech-Globeleq Singapore consortium had won the bid for the Sasan project after outbidding eight companies by quoting the lowest tariff of Rs 1.19 per unit. However, the project became controversial after Prince Stone Investments, the Mauritius-based holding company of Lanco, and Jindal Steel & Power together acquired Globeleq Singapore in February 2007.

NTPC gained 1.73% to Rs 152.70 boosted by the Bombay High Court’s decision, which came after market hours yesterday, 21 June 2007, that Reliance Industries (RIL) cannot sell the gas to be produced from one of its prime blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin to any third party other than Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resourses (RNRL) and NTPC.

State Bank of India (SBI) advanced for the fourth straight session, gaining 2.02% to Rs 1475.05.Aluminium and copper major Hindalco Industries advanced 1.71% to Rs 169.70. There is market speculation that promoters are hiking their stake from open market.Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 1% to Rs 1,715.85.Cement major Gujarat Ambuja Cement was down 1.13% to Rs 118.

Gains for markets

The market settled with modest gains as buying continued in index pivotals. It rose for the third straight trading session today.The Sensex rose 87.29 points or 0.61% at 14,499.24.The S&P CNX Nifty gained 18.75 points or 0.44% at 4,267.40.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 0.36% to Rs 1,726.90.Infosys (up 0.05% to Rs 1955), Wipro (down up 0.91% to Rs 526.50) edged higher, while TCS slipped 0.05% to Rs 1145.25.State-run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was down 0.51% to Rs 912.ICICI Bank was down 0.29% to Rs 945.10.Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 1.32% to Rs 356.50.

State-run engineering major Bharat Heavy Electrical (Bhel) spurted 3.86% to Rs 1,484.90.Bhel had bagged a Rs 139-crore contract from NTPC for supplying and commissioning of 27 transformers on 19 June 2007.

Markets trading firm

The market opened firm today, 21 June 2007, as buying continued in index pivotals for the third straight day.At 10.41 am IST, the Sensex is up 80.81 points or 0.56% at 14492.76, and the Nifty up 13.10 points or 0.31% at 4261.75.The market may stay volatile over the next few days ahead of expiry of June 2007 derivatives contracts next Thursday, 28 June 2007.

The follow on public offer (FPO) of ICICI Bank was subscribed 3.15 times on Wednesday, 20 June 2007. The issue closes on Friday, 22 June 2007.Housing finance major HDFC was up 1.83% to Rs 1,843.40.Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 1.72% to Rs 357.90

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.40% to Rs 1,739 on 80,439 shares. As per reports, global oil giants including Shell, Exxon and Chevron are eying a stake in Reliance Industries’ overseas oil & gas assets. RIL recently hived off these assets into a separate company, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC.

State Bank of India (SBI), extending its rally for the third straight day, was up 1% to Rs 1,438.85. SBI is set to raise $225 million from the overseas market this year by issuing perpetual bonds. The overseas issue opened on Monday, 18 June 2007, and the bank is expected to price the bonds this week. It plans to raise a total of Rs 15,000 crore this year in the form of equity (tier-I) and debt (tier-II).

Tata Motors was up 0.63% to Rs 691.25 after the vehicle maker said that it would raise Rs 1,836 crore in the international markets. The company made the announcement after market hours on Wednesday, 20 June 2007. The funds would be utilised to meet capital and product development expenses in projects involving the growth of both its commercial vehicle and passenger car business units apart from other unspecified corporate purposes.

Cigarette major ITC lost 0.70% to Rs 154.ICICI Bank was down 0.40% to Rs 944.
State-run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was down 0.35% to Rs 915. As per reports, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has sharply cut the estimates of ONGC's gas discovery in a block in Krishna-Godavari basin. This may come has a setback to ONGC which was betting heavily on discovery in this particular block for its future growth.

Sensex garners 116 points

The market was on a winning streak for the second straight day today, as buying momentum continued in index pivotals. It was firm in the first half of the day, but witnessed volatile movement in the second half, as some profit booking emerged at higher level.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 116.44 points to 14,411.94, as per provisional closing.

Cement major Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 4.73% to Rs 118.35,and it was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.ICICI Bank pared gains after striking a high of Rs 961.90.

State Bank of India (SBI) surged 4.06% to Rs 1428, advanced for the second straight day. SBI is set to raise $225 million from the overseas market this year by issuing perpetual bonds. The overseas issue opened on Monday, 18 June 2007, and the bank is expected to price the bonds this week. It plans to raise a total of Rs 15,000 crore this year in the form of equity (tier-I) and debt (tier-II).

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.28% to Rs 1732, on 5.50 lakh shares. As per reports, global oil giants including Shell, Exxon and Chevron are eyeing a stake in Reliance Industries’ overseas oil & gas assets. RIL recently hived off these assets into a separate company, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC.

State run engineering major Bhel gained 2.11% to Rs 1435.IT pivotals were trading on mixed note. TCS (down 1.17% to Rs 1147), Infosys (down 0.15% to Rs 1953.90), declined while Wipro (up 0.51% to Rs 524) and Satyam Computers (up 0.54% to Rs 471), advanced.

Markets trading higher

The market opened firm today, 20 June 2007, as buying continued in index pivotals. Firm global markets also aided the initial rally, taking the BSE 30-share Sensex past the 14,400 mark. The market shrugged off the Securities & Exchange Board of India's warning to 15 brokers and some market participants with regard to manipulation in the futures & options segment.

At 11:21 IST, the Sensex was up 129 points to 14,425.38 while Nifty is trading at 4248.35 up by 35 points.

The follow on public offer (FPO) of ICICI Bank was subscribed 2.74 times on the first day of the FPO on Tuesday, 19 June 2007.

Cement major Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 1.95% to Rs 115.20,and was the top gainer among the Sensex pack.ICICI Bank extended gains following strong response to its FPO. It rose 1.67% to Rs 960.15.State-run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) lost 0.55% to Rs 910.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.43% to Rs 1734.50, on 93,981 shares. As per reports, global oil giants including Shell, Exxon and Chevron are eying a stake in Reliance Industries’ overseas oil & gas assets. RIL recently hived off these assets into a separate company, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC.