US Stocks Rise As Tough Month Ends

US investors had such a frightful October that the arrival of Halloween is actually a relief. At least the whole ghoulish month is over.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has swung between gains and losses so far on Friday, trading 104 points higher in recent action, up 1.1%, at 9284.23 despite a round of weak economic data that reinforced many participants' perception that a persistent global slowdown is underway.

Sensex ends up 744pts; M&M zooms 23%

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 317 points at 9,362, on the back of on-going pull-back in the market. Intra-day profit taking saw the index pare gains during the day, the Sensex however ended on a firm note at 9,788 - up 744 points

With today's gain, the main index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, gained over 27% (2,091 points) from it's Monday low of 7,697. However, the index was down almost 24% (3,072 points) for the month, and down nearly 52% (10,499 points) so far this year.

The BSE Metal index surged over 10% to 5,368, and Oil & Gas index soared over 9% to 6,196.

The market breath was fairly positve - out of 2,575 stocks traded, 1,577 advanced, 915 declined and the rest were unchanged today.

MAJOR INDEX MOVERS...

Mahindra & Mahindra zoomed 23% to Rs 372.

HDFC soared 17.5% to Rs 1,765, and Jaiprakash Associates surged 16.5% to Rs 72.

ICICI Bank rallied 15.5% to Rs 399. Sterlite gained 14.5% at Rs 282.

Reliance and Reliance Communications moved up 13.8% each to Rs 1,371 and Rs 221, respectively.

Hindalco advanced over 13% to Rs 60. Tata Steel and Tata Power were up around 12% each at Rs 210 and Rs 690, respectively.

...OTHER INDEX MOVERS

Tata Motors surged over 9% to Rs 172. DLF and BHEL rallied 8.8% each to Rs 220 and Rs 1,282, respectively.

HDFC Bank gained over 8% at Rs 1,024. Satyam added 7.6% to Rs 305.

Hindustan Unilever advanced 6.6% to Rs 222. Reliance Infrastructure, Wipro and Infosys were up around 6% each to Rs 457, Rs 272 and Rs 1,382, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel gained 5.5% each at Rs 805 and Rs 649, respectively. NTPC was up nearly 5% at Rs 141.

...AND THE SHAKERS

Ranbaxy slipped 2% to Rs 169. TCS was down 1% at Rs 537.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 435.80 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 187 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 170.60 crore), SBI (Rs 148.40 crore and Reliance Communications (Rs 135.60 crore).

Suzlong led the volume chart with trades of around 1.69 crore shares followed by Hindalco (1.34 crore), Reliance Petroleum (1 crore), Unitech (85 lakh) and Core Projects (81.37 lakh).

Japan Stocks Rise; Nikkei Posts Biggest 3-Day Rally in 38 Years

Japan stocks soared today, sending the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to its sharpest three-day advance in at least 38 years, as a gain in commodity prices and a weaker yen boosted the profit prospects for resource companies and carmakers.

Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., trading companies that get more than half their profit from commodities, soared more than 12 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., which exports 80 percent of its production, jumped 25 percent, the most in at least three decades, after the yen weakened to 99.12 against the dollar. Mobile carrier Softbank Corp. surged by its limit of 13 percent after saying it will generate positive cash flow from this year.

The Nikkei 225 climbed 817.86, or 10 percent, to close at 9,029.76 in Tokyo, the fourth-biggest gain in its 59-year history. The broader Topix index rose 69.05, or 8.3 percent, to 899.37. The Nikkei had fallen 41 percent in the past six months, steeper than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's 33 percent slide and a 34 percent drop in Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index.

``Japan's market will likely rebound faster as it has slumped more than other major markets'' said Masaru Hamasaki, senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, which manages about $15 billion. If the yen stays at about 100 versus the dollar, ``it'll lead to a decline in material costs in a few months' time, benefiting manufacturers.''

The Nikkei 225 posted a three-day gain of 26 percent, the steepest since Nikkei Inc. took over the benchmark from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in July 1970. Even so, the measure is on track to record its worst month in that history, losing 19 percent. Six of the 10 biggest moves in the gauge in that period occurred this month, including a record 14 percent jump on Oct. 14.

World market rise...

European stocks rose early today amid signs central banks around the globe will act further to prop up market confidence and lower borrowing costs for both consumers and businesses.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was 0.9% higher at 215.59. In terms of national markets, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.45% to 4261.59, France's CAC-40 Index advanced 1.1% to 3439.80 and Germany's DAX Index rose 1.8% to 4896.74.

Asia closed with gains across the board. Asian investors cheered global efforts to deal with the credit crisis and slowing world economy, sending markets up sharply today in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul.

Dow Jones falls despite Fed rate cut

The US stock markets ended mixed on Wednesday after posting huge gains on Tuesday. The Fed's interest rate cut didn't help the Dow Jones, which declined 0.8% to 8991 points. Most of these losses, over 300 points, came in the last few minutes of trading.

The Nasdaq gained half a per cent to 1,651 points.

Indian ADRs were also mixed. Tata Communications gained 8.4% and Tata Motors was up 4.25%. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank declined 4.2% and 4% respectively. Dr Reddy's also lost 3.7%, while Infosys was down 0.9%.

News...

- Dow Jones falls despite Fed rate cut
- Inflation at 10.68%
- US Fed Reserve cuts 50 basis pts to 1%
- Chinese company to set up power production facility in India
- SBI to expand network in UP
- Champagne Indage Q2 net P up 9%t at Rs 5 crore
- FM reviews global fin crisis with key heads, experts
- No fuel price cut for now: Oil Ministry
- M&M consolidated Q2 net down 5%
- Indian oil firms to get oil bonds worth Rs 65,942 cr
- Telenor buys 61% stake in Unitech Wireless for Rs 6,120 cr
- US Fed eyes new rate cut to ease credit crisis

Sensex on roller-coster ride, settles 191 pts down

Weighed under selling pressure from funds, Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today went on a roller-coster ride yet again, falling over 1,000 points to breach the crucial 8,000 level in intra-day trading, but later recovered some losses on renewed buying. In a choppy trade, the 30-share index, which had lost over 1,000 points during the mid-session on major sell-off by funds, attracted some buying at the existing lower levels only to regain 812.17-point losses and closed at 8,509.56 level, 191.51 points down from the last week's close.

It touched the day's low of 7,697.39, a level last seen on October 2005. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped below 2,300 points before ending at 2524.20, still showing a loss of 59.50 points.

Marketmen said emergence of buying by domestic financial institutions and covering up of short positions by speculators at prevailing lower levels helped Sensex recover part of the lost ground. They said a steep fall in equities drove down the rupee against the dollar and gold also fell sharply, thus leaving no other option for investors but to return to the bourses.

A remarkable recovery was seen in the realty sector, which had suffered heavy losses during the day. The realty index bounced back to close higher by 74.01 points at 1,817.28 as stocks of Unitech, Indiabulls Realestate, Omax and Akruti City closed with handsome gains.

Fresh Tumult as Signs of Recession Go Global

There are no safe havens from the forces battering the global economy any longer.

In rich countries and poor countries alike, markets are plunging, companies are scrambling for credit and cutting their growth plans and consumers are keeping cash in their pockets. The U.S. and some governments in Europe and Asia are spending heavily to bring a halt to the problems in markets and Main Streets globally, but the attempts have not halted the damage.

Stock declines started in Asia and quickly spread as markets opened for trading around the world.

Fears of a prolonged recession pushed shares down across the world on Friday. The slide started in Asia, where the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average fell 9.6% to a five-year low of 7649.08, and markets in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Seoul registered similar declines. Europe followed next, where the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 4.7% to 198.80, dropping below 200 for the first time since mid 2003. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 312 points, or 3.6%, to finish at 8378.95, a 5 1/2-year low.

Disappointing economic statistics released Friday fed the sense of malaise. In Europe, a closely-watched survey of economic activity, the Markit Purchasing Managers' Index, fell to its lowest level in a decade in October. In the U.S., sales of previously occupied homes rose 1.4% from a year earlier in September, as bargain hunters started nibbling. But that news was eclipsed by the fact that there's still a huge glut of homes and credit remains tight. In Asia, currencies sank across the continent, deepening fears that companies would have a tougher time paying off debt that is in dollars and euros.

One big exception was Japan, where the yen jumped to a 13-year high, and was at 94.6 yen to the dollar late Friday in New York. But the gain stoked fear that the Japanese export machine will sputter further because its exports will be more expensive when measured in dollars.

Japan's deepening pessimism came just a few weeks after big firms started uncharacteristically bold overseas acquisitions. Last month, Nomura Holdings Inc. snapped up parts of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Asia and Europe. Nomura's ebullient chief executive Kenichi Watanabe said in an interview he was looking at other possible acquisitions. But even though the strong yen makes overseas assets cheaper, there is a chance that Japanese companies may hunker down, removing another potential rescue force for ailing companies elsewhere.

While markets have been tumbling for some time, Friday seemed to be a day when many people around the world became convinced the economy is in for a long recession. That sense was exacerbated by poor earnings results and news of deep layoffs. Central banks in Europe and the U.S. are hinting broadly at further interest-rate cuts, while government officials in the U.S., Europe and Asia also are plotting further action. But that wasn't enough to calm fears around the globe.

Wkly Review: Sensex at 3-yr low, sheds 13%

The stock markets almost hit their bottom, falling to nearly three-year low at the weekend as the recession worries continued to haunt investors across the world even as the salvage operation undertaken by various governments fell short of expectations

In the week to October 25, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share bellwether Sensex plunged by 1,274 points or 12.8 per cent to settle the week at 8,701, the level not seen since November 23, 2005, when it had closed at 8,638.

The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also tumbled by 490 points or 16 per cent to end the week at 2,584 from its last close.

The market saw a free fall as its global counterparts slipped on daily basis even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the present global financial markets crisis seems to be spreading across markets, institutions and countries, a day before announcing its mid-term review of monetary policy.

Contrary to expectations of further monetary measures, the apex bank kept all the key rates unchanged while lowering its growth projections to 7.5-8.0 per cent for this fiscal.

After infusing Rs one lakh crore in the banking system through a sharp 2.5 per cent CRR cut on October 11, the RBI slashed the short-term repo rate at which banks borrow from it to eight per cent on October 20.

The market regulator Sebi too took steps in the interest of capital market during the week. Sebi warned foreign funds against overseas lending and borrowing of Indian securities after the data showed that FIIs had lent equities worth Rs 348 crore to overseas entities for the purpose of short selling.

The central bank also eased norms on overseas borrowing for Indian companies to boost inflows and help corporates raise funds for projects.

Analysts said the market situation seems grim with all the global markets under pressure due to an imminent economic recession and spreading financial markets crisis beyond the banking sector.

British Chancellor Alistair Darling said that UK was nearing recession after official data revealed a 0.5 per cent decline in GDP for the July-September quarter. The data comes after IMF suggested that US economy would be in recession between second half of 2008 and first half of 2009.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 312 points or 3.6 per cent on Friday.

On the BSE, there was a single gainer in the Sensex pack with half of them showing one of the biggest losses at the weekend. The BSE Realty stocks were the worst hit during the week. As a result, the BSE Realty Index crumbled by 781.62 points or 31 per cent.

The Metal Index tumbled by 1,407.83 points or 24.27 per cent, the BSE Oil&Gas by 1,327.92 points or 20.5 per cent and the BSE Auto Index by 6618.64 points or 20 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index slumped by 721.90 points or 14 per cent to end the week at 4,458.94 from its last weekend's close.

On the NSE, the S&P CNX Defty nosedived by 388.10 points or 17.82 per cent to close the week at 1,790.35 from its last close of 2,178.45 and the CNX Nifty Junior also dipped to settle the week at 4,104.45, a net fall of 566.00 points or 12.12 per cent from its previous weekend's close.

News

- Sensex at 3-yr low, sheds 13% this week
- NASA may set up R&D centre in Pune
- Grasim cuts VSF production by 30%
- Gold bounces back by Rs 500 per ten grams
- Jet Airways net loss rises to Rs 384.5 cr
- Sun Pharma net up 135% at Rs 513 cr
- US govt to buy stake in insurance companies
- Corporation Bank Q2 net up 19% at Rs 192 cr
- Arvind net down 84% at Rs 2 cr
- Era Infra bags Rs 199 cr order from BHEL
- Union Bank of India net up 31% at Rs 361 cr
- India not in recessionary mode: Subbarao (RBI Governor)

Shares hit new low for 2008...

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell to its lowest since June 2006 on Thursday as a global rout of equities raised worries of further foreign investor selling, before some bargain hunting helped the market regain some composure.

Leading private sector firm the Reliance Industries, which reports quarterly results after market hours, was down 3.9 percent at 1,264.70, having earlier fallen as much as 6.4 percent to its lowest since Dec. 2006.

The company is forecast to report a modest 2.2 percent rise in net profit on slimmer refining margins.

Asian stocks dropped to a four-year low for a second day today, with exporters especially hard hit, on growing fears that a severe global downturn would depress corporate earnings further.

Analysts said that they were expecting that the Indian stock would fall at the open as Japan's Nikkei stock index plunged to a new five-and-half year low amid fears of recession.

"Today's meltdown , we can see, again due to very weak global cues, it seems that the problem is too serious, whatever the governments are taking measures are not sufficient because they are not reflecting on the market," said Siddhart Kunawala, a stock analyst.

The 30-share BSE index opened down 4.8 percent and fell as far as 9,682.40, but by 10:59 a.m. had pared its losses to be down 2.07 percent 9,959.83. The market, however, closed near the day's lows - well under 9,800 levels.

The index is down by over half in 2008, with foreigners selling a net of 12.2 billion dollars in stocks so far this year, largely reversing 2007's record net buying of 17.4 billion dollars.

News

- Sensex ends up 460pts; Jaiprakash, TCS soar.
- Wockhardt's Sep qtr net down 44% to Rs 55cr.
- Telcos will have to pay for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz: Raja.
- India to source uranium from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Nigeria.
- Stock market news: DIIs net buyers of Rs 884cr in cash mkt today.
- Airlines to pay Rs 30,000 for abrupt flight cancellation.
- NIIT PAT up 41% at Rs 29.7 cr.
- World Bank appoints Pulock Chatterji as executive director.
- LIC Housing Finance Q2 net up 16% at Rs 135 cr.
- Global M&A volume reaches $3 trillion mark.
- Petroleum Minister Deora to meet Aviation Minister Patel, oil cos, airlines tomorrow to sort out fuel bills issue. "We don't want airlines to shut down operations," Deora has said.

Dow Ends Rocky Week in Black

Dow Jones Industrial Average past 12 months chart:

US stocks declined Friday but held on to solid gains for the week, as investors wondered how badly the economy is ailing, and when it is going to recover.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained volatile Friday, swinging in a 563-point range including big gains and losses. A late-day swoon left the blue-chip measure down 127.04 points at the closing bell, off 1.4%, at 8852.22. Caterpillar was the Dow's weakest component on Friday, off 7.2% following a round of downbeat housing data. The average's financial names all finished lower as well, hurt by lingering worries about the credit crunch. Citigroup was the weakest of that group, off 6.4%.

But for the week, the Dow rose 4.8%, its first such gain since the meltdown of Lehman Brothers Holdings set off a global financial crisis in mid-September. The gain was also the Dow's biggest weekly rise in percentage terms since March 2003.

Although the global economy's weakness remains deep-seated for now, the timing of a potential turnaround also remains a hot topic of debate on Wall Street, with some investors placing early bets on a rebound both in the U.S. and overseas.

"Based on what we're seeing, the second half of this year is shaping up to be really, really bad," said Deutsche Bank economist Joe LaVorgna. "But it could also be so bad that it wipes out any remaining imbalances. What you'll be left with is a lot of pent-up demand."

Pump prices have generally been on the decline lately, but other pressures remain for consumers whose buying activity represents more than two-thirds of the overall U.S. economy. Employment has fallen for nine straight months, the struggles of major financial institutions have made it more difficult to get credit, and lower home prices have cut into the wealth of many families.

On Friday, the Commerce Department reported that construction of new dwellings dropped 6.3% last month to the slowest pace since January 1991, when the U.S. was in the midst of an eight-month recession and going through another painful housing correction.

However, that recession was brief by historical standards, unlike the scenario worrying some investors and analysts who say the current slump could last several years. Mr. LaVorgna said he believes those fears are overblown, with a recovery possible perhaps in the second quarter of 2009.

Similar sentiments were evident in a column in Friday's New York Times by renowned investor Warren Buffett, who recommended buying U.S. stocks. The billionaire said that his entire personal fortune may soon be invested in the domestic market in anticipation of an economic recovery.

"If you wait for the robins, spring will be over," wrote Mr. Buffett. "Bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price."

Other stock measures slipped Friday but finished with weekly gains. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 940.55, up 4.6% on the week. The broad measure was hurt Friday by a 2.9% drop in its financial sector, although gains in basic materials and energy, up 2.7% and 2.2% respectively, kept the S&P's daily decline in check.

The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.4% for the day, ending at 1711.29, up 3.7% on the week. The small-stock Russell 2000 tumbled 1.9% to 526.43, up 0.8% on the week.

More instability is expected in the market in the weeks ahead. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, which uses options prices to measure investors' nervousness about upcoming stock-market swings, was up about 4%, ending at 70.33.

Options contracts on individual stocks and major indexes expired on Friday, which added wider-than-normal swings in the market. Traders must buy or sell shares to offset their expiring options bets.

The credit markets showed further signs of easing, although traders and analysts warned that conditions could remain stop-and-go awhile longer. The British Bankers Association quoted Libor -- a key interbank lending rate -- at 4.41875% for three-month loans of U.S. dollars, down from Thursday's fixing of 4.5025%. The one-month rate fell to 4.18125% from 4.2775%.

But those rates are still well above the levels seen before the failure of Lehman Brothers and before the Federal Reserve and its overseas colleagues carried out their coordinated rate cuts.

Senate Vote Gives Bailout Plan New Life

Passage Gets Boost From Tax Breaks; Back to the House

The Senate handily passed a controversial financial rescue package on Wednesday, giving the bill its first legislative victory but adding provisions that could complicate efforts to push the $700 billion plan through the House of Representatives.

The compromise bill represented a marriage of the rescue proposal with a host of measures designed to win the support of reluctant lawmakers. Additions include an increase in bank deposit insurance limits, a suggested change to accounting rules, and a $150.5 billion package of unrelated personal and corporate tax cuts.

The additions boosted support in the Senate, which voted 74 to 25 in favor, the latest twist in the proposal's roller-coaster ride this week. Opposition came from conservatives, populists and senators facing tight races where the rescue bill is drawing criticism.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he expected the House would pass the bill, a sentiment echoed by other senators. House leaders expressed cautious optimism they could secure passage, but couldn't be definitive.

President George W. Bush has called the plan vital to secure the proper functioning of financial markets. But lawmakers and the administration have spent more than a week wrangling over the proposal amid a backlash from voters. The disagreements culminated in the unexpected rejection by the House on Monday, in defiance of congressional leaders and the White House, triggering the stock market to sink.

Stunned by the market response, lawmakers regrouped and added new items to the bill to win votes. Senate leaders took up the bill, which had stronger support in that chamber, with the aim of putting pressure on the House. Presidential rivals Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama flew back to the Capitol to cast votes in favor.

The 10-year, $150.5 billion package of tax proposals includes a measure to ease the bite of the alternative minimum tax, as well as research-and-development tax credits coveted by high-tech companies and drug makers. Its addition is designed to secure the support of Republicans, who were overwhelmingly opposed in the House. But it could irk conservative House Democrats because the measure will add to the deficit.

The bill also reaffirms the Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to suspend so-called mark-to-market accounting, an issue that gained surprising traction among lawmakers looking for less costly alternatives to the Bush plan. The practice, adopted in the aftermath of the savings-and-loan collapse in the 1980s, pegs the value of assets to their current market price, rather than the price paid for them.

Banks have complained the strict application of mark-to-market rules have forced them to write down billions worth of mortgage-related securities for which there are no buyers, intensifying the squeeze in the credit markets.

The bill, which started out less than three pages long, now comprises more than 400 pages.

A senior House Democratic aide said he was "cautiously optimistic" but put the responsibility on Republicans to come up with more votes. A spokesman for Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the minority leader, said: "We believe we have a better chance of passing this bill than the one on Monday, but we'll have to wait and see." The House could vote Thursday or Friday.

The core of Mr. Bush's rescue plan survives in the Senate bill. The measure authorizes Treasury to borrow $700 billion to buy up tainted mortgages, securities and other financial instruments that have weakened the financial system and frozen credit markets.