Sensex adds another 45pts, soars 12% this week

After opening 34 points higher at 10,037, the Sensex exhibited volatile movement in early trades this morning. The index rallied to a high of 10,127, and then touched a low of 9,913 - down 214 points from the day's high.

However, selective buying helped the index rebound into the positive zone. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 45 points at 10,048.

In the process, the index has gained 12% (1,081 points) this week, and is up a nearly 25% (2,001 points) from its recent low of 8,047 touched on March 6.

The BSE Metal index surged nearly 5% to 6,110. The Healthcare index gained 2.8% at 2,748, and the Bankex rallied 2.6% at 4,829. The IT index, however, slipped 1% to 2,338.

The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,658 stocks traded, 1,527 advanced, 1,018 declined and 113 were unchanged.

INDEX MOVERS...

Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Reliance Communications zoomed around 9% each to Rs 189, Rs 224 and Rs 184, respectively.

Hindalco soared over 5% to Rs 55. Jaiprakash Associates and Ranbaxy rallied over 4% each to Rs 90 and Rs 164, respectively.

DLF surged 3.7% to Rs 183. ACC and TCS gained 3.3% each at Rs 579 and Rs 575, respectively.

ICICI Bank, SBI and Larsen & Toubro moved up nearly 3% each to Rs 385, Rs 1,125 and Rs 680, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKERS

HDFC plunged nearly 4% to Rs 1,589.

Infosys dropped 2.5% to Rs 1,347. BHEL and Reliance were down over 1% each at Rs 1,551 and Rs 1,548, respectively.

OTHER PROMINENT GAINERS...

Aban Offshore zoomed 15% to Rs 421. JSW Steel, Reliance Natural Resources, Punj Lloyd, Sesa Goa, Federal Bank, Financial Technologies, Nagarjuna Constructions, G E Shippings and Neyveli Lignite surged 8-14% each.

...AND THE LOSERS

Rei Agro slumped 6% to Rs 41. Mundra Port, HDFC, Sterling Biotech, LIC Housing Finance, Crompton Greaves and Biocon declined 2-4% each.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 299.37 crore followed by Financial Technologies (Rs 281.19 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 197.59 crore), Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 188.64 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 176.99 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 3.49 crore shares followed by Unitech (1.54 crore), GVK Power (1.32 crore), IFCI (99.15 lakh) and Cals Refineries (89.14 lakh).

BULLS ROAR: Sensex surges 335pts

Sensex reclaims 10,000-mark amid heavy short-squeeze, up 24% in three weeks; L&T, BHEL, Sterlite and TCS surge 6%

The Sensex opened 72 points higher at 9,740 amid positive global cues. Steady buying at the capital goods counters helped the index move higher as the day progressed. Realty stocks, however, witnessed profit-taking.

Heavy short-squeeze towards the close, in select index heavyweights owing to the March derivatives expiry, saw the index zoom past the 10,000-mark, a level last seen on January 7, to a high of 10,061 - up 393 points from the previous close.

The Sensex eventually ended with a gain of 335 points at 10,003. In the process, the index has gained 11.5% (1,036 points) so far this week, and is up a whopping 24.3% (1,956 points) from its recent low of 8,047 touched on March 6.

Reliance has been the biggest contributor to the Sensex rally

The BSE Capital Goods index surged 5.4% to 6,425. The Power and Metal indexes rallied 4% each to 1,883 and 5,827, respectively. The Realty index, however, dropped 4.5% to 1,615 - mainly on account of Akruti City.

The NSE Nifty ended 98 points higher at 3,082.

INDEX MOVERS...

Tata Motors zoomed 8% to Rs 173.

Larsen & Toubro, Sterlite, TCS and BHEL soared around 6% each to Rs 661, Rs 368, Rs 557 and Rs 1,570, respectively.

Tata Power and ONGC surged 5.5% each to Rs 781 and Rs 805, respectively.

Maruti, Wipro, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Infrastructure rallied 5% each to Rs 771, Rs 255, Rs 205, Rs 620 and Rs 564, respectively.

Hindalco moved up 4.7% to Rs 52. ITC and SBI gained over 4% each at Rs 185 and Rs 1,094, respectively.

HDFC advanced 3.5% to Rs 1,653. Grasim and Infosys were up 3% each at Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,381, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKER

Ranbaxy down 3% at Rs 158 was the only notable loser among the index stocks.

OTHER PROMINENT GAINERS...

Crompton Greaves zoomed 14% to Rs 121. Lanco Infrastructure, Sesa Goa, Aban Offshore, PTC India, Unitech, Yes Bank, Bank of India, IVRCL Infrastructure, Jet Airways, Mphasis and Hindustan Copper surged 7-12% each.

...AND THE LOSERS

Akruti City slumped 55% to Rs 819. Rei Agro, Spice Telecom, Jai Corp, Indiabulls Realestate, United Spirits, Piramal Healthcare and Indiabulls declined 3-6% each.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Akruti City topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 545.50 crore followed by Reliance (Rs 370.53 crore), Motherson Sumi (Rs 206.66 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 163.50 crore) and Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 135.80 crore).

Unitech led the volume chart with trades of around 3.71 crore shares followed by Motherson Sumi (3.43 crore), Cals Refineries (1.75 crore), GVK Power (1.10 crore) and IFCI (95.80 lakh).

Asian markets extend advance after Wall Street surges on bank plan; European stocks mixed

Asian stock markets extended their rally today after Wall Street surged on hopes a U.S. plan to rid banks of festering debts at the heart of the financial crisis will revive growth. European markets were mixed in early trade.

Financial firms jumped, Japanese exporters rose on the sliding yen, and South Korean stocks got a boost from plans for massive stimulus spending. The gains came after U.S. stock benchmarks jumped around 7 percent or more yesterday.

Investors worldwide appeared heartened by the Obama administration's move to clean up as much as $1 trillion in toxic securities and loans weighing down bank balance sheets -- a key part of the government's arsenal aimed at restoring consumer and company lending so crucial to economic activity.

A dose of better-than-expected news about the other big U.S. economic problem -- the housing slump -- added to the upbeat mood. Data showing a surprise increase in home sales fostered hopes the hard-hit housing industry might finally be stabilizing.

Asian markets have risen sharply recently, with Japan and Hong Kong's indexes each surging a stunning 20 percent over the last two weeks.

But analysts cautioned investor sentiment, while recovering in the short term, was still fragile. Doubts about the U.S. plans -- about how to price the assets and account for losses, among other issues -- could smother in the coming days what many believe is still an abridged rally in a longer bearish trend.

Sensex surges 5%; banking, energy and metals rally

The Sensex opened 73 points higher at 9,040 on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. The index rallied to higher levels as the day progressed on the back of aggressive buying in banking, energy and metal stocks.

The Sensex surged to a high of 9,455, and finally ended with a gain of over 5% (457 points) at 9,424.

The BSE Bankex soared 6.7% to 4,326. The Oil & Gas index flared up 6.4% to 6,775, and the Metal index surged 6.3% to 5,593.

The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,642 stocks traded, 1,629 advanced, 899 declined and the rest were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

Hindalco and Ranbaxy zoomed nearly 11% each to Rs 53 and Rs 161, respectively.

Tata Steel soared 10% to Rs 194. Reliance Infrastructure surged 9% to Rs 527.

HDFC rallied 8.5% to Rs 1,531. Reliance gained nearly 8% at Rs 1,443.

SBI and ICICI Bank advanced over 7% each to Rs 1,023 and Rs 346, respectively.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Communications, ONGC and Jaiprakash Associates moved up around 5.5% each to Rs 885, Rs 167, Rs 796 and Rs 84, respectively.

Sun Pharma rallied over 5% to Rs 1,090. Tata Power added 4.5% to Rs 697.

Sterlite and Bharti Airtel were up around 4% each at Rs 329 and Rs 591, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKER

DLF was the sole loser among the index stocks. The scrip ended with a loss of 3% at Rs 166.

OTHER PROMINENT GAINERS...

India Infoline and Reliance Capital zoomed over 16% each to Rs 60 and Rs 363, respectively. Bajaj Holdings soared over 14% to Rs 286.

Hindustan Copper, Bhushan Steel, Oriental Bank of Commerce, UltraTech Cement, Indian Bank, Axis Bank, Spice Telecom and Madras Cement rallied 9-12% each.

...AND OTHER LOSERS

Jain Irrigation slumpd 3.7% to Rs 325, and Koutons Retail shed 3.5% at Rs 388. GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Gujarat Petronet, Thermax, Jet Airways, Gujarat NRE Coke and EIH dropped 2-3% each.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Akruti City topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 581.60 crore followed by Reliance (Rs 249.65 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 178.10 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 154.15 crore), Educomp Solutions (Rs 133.10 crore).

Ballarpur Industires led the volume chart wih trades of around 1.79 crore shares followed by Suzlon (1.06 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (98.65 lakh), Satyam (78.90 lakh) and GVK Power (78.40 lakh).

Share pledge disclosures weigh on blue-chip stocks

Shares of a dozen blue-chip firms, including Reliance Capital and Zee Entertainment, are being hammered on the National Stock Exchange ever since their promoters disclosed their share pledge details.

An analysis of over a dozen stocks included in the 50-share benchmark index Nifty shows that shares of these firms remained in the negative territory till the last trading session after being hit following the promoters' disclosure of pledging shares with lenders.

Scrip of Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Capital declined over 7 per cent the day after the company disclosed that one of its promoters group firm AAA Enterprises had pledged over 4 per cent of its stake in the company.

On Friday last week, Reliance Cap was down 27 per cent at Rs 313.05 compared with the Rs 431 level on February 13 when the company disclosed the pledging.

Similarly, Zee Entertainment shares were trading down over 22 per cent on March 20 compared to February 10 when its promoters disclosed pledging of nearly 12 per cent of the company's stake with lenders.

According to marketmen share pledging by promoters is not a new thing and they have been doing it for many years to raise funds. In wake of the Satyam scandal, the market regulator Sebi made it mandatory for every listed company to come out with their disclosures.

"Although share pledging is not a new phenomenon, but disclosures by promoters may have given a negative trigger to blue chip stocks and the overall bearish trend is making it difficult for them to climb back to earlier levels," a leading analyst from a leading brokerage firm said.

Two Tata group firms Tata Steel and Tata Power, promoters of which have pledged as much as 13.53 per cent and 14.59 per cent, respectively are also trading in the red since the disclosure of pledged shares.

Friday, Tata Power ended at Rs 667.75, down 17 per cent from February 11 when its pledged shares details were disclosed. Shares of Tata Steel have plunged over 11 per cent.

Further, realty major Unitech's shares were down over 10 per cent, wind power major Suzlon Energy (down 19 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 9 per cent) and two other ADA group firms Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure are down 7 per cent and 9 per cent each.

However, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tata Communications and TCS have managed to rise after the initial negative response from investors and are now trading in the green compared to the day when their pledge shares details were disclosed.

On Friday, M&M shares settled up 13 per cent over its close of February 16 (the share pledge announcement date), while Tata Motors gained 16 per cent. Tata Comm and TCS were up 4.38 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively on the NSE.

According to data available on both the bourses, promoters of over 500 companies have pledged shares in the range of one per cent to nearly 86 per cent of their holdings in the respective companies with financial institutions and other lenders.

The companies have pledged their shares with public sector banks like the State Bank of India, IDBI, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank, PNB, besides the private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC among others.

Sensex up second week in a row on fund buying

The Sensex posted gains for the second week in a row on the back of steady inflows from foreign and domestic institutions. The index crossed the 9,000-mark, and ended with a gain of 2.4% (210 points) at 8,967.

The index has now gained 7.3% (641 points) in the last two trading weeks.

During the week under review, foreign and domestic institutions both cumulatively pumped in Rs 2,784.50 crore in the first four trading days of the week.

As per data available on the Sebi website, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought stocks worth Rs 941.40 crore in the period 16 March to 19 March. Similarly, mutual funds, who were the more aggressive buyers, bought shares worth Rs 1,843.10 crore during the same period.

Realty and metal stocks were the major gainers this week. The BSE Realty index despite the 4% loss on Friday ended with a solid gain of 10.5% (147 points) at 1,556. The Metal index surged 8.5% (408 points) at 5,260.

Among the index stocks - Jaiprakash Associates zoomed nearly 13% to Rs 71. DLF, Hindalco and Sterlite soared around 12% each to Rs 153, Rs 43 and Rs 283, respectively.

Reliance Communications, ONGC, Tata Steel, Ranbaxy, ICICI Bank, Reliance, NTPC and Reliance Infrastructure rallied 4-8% each.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro slumped almost 5% to Rs 615. ACC shed 3.5% at Rs 562, and Grasim dropped 2% to Rs 1,493.

Yesterday was Priti and my nineteenth wedding anniversary...

Signs of Stability Drive Up US Stocks

The US stock markets rose on Friday to cap there best week since November, as scattered bits of good news from shopping malls to metals markets gave some reason to believe that the economy may be getting closer to a bottom.

Consumers are still cutting back, but not as steeply as they were, data showed last week. Many retailers have reduced inventories on their shelves to the point that any pickup in demand will force them to restock. Prices for copper and scrap steel are rising, a hint that manufacturers are buying again. Oil prices are up 23% in the past four weeks, a sign demand may be firming. Shipping rates, sensitive to goods moving across the oceans, turned up even as governments reported declining world trade for January.

Most visibly, the stock market is up -- at least for now.

After falling to its lowest level in 12 years last Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday gained 53.92 points to close at 7223.98, clinching a 597.04-point, four-day rally. The Dow finished up 9.01% for the week, though it remains 49% below its October 2007 peak. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indices also had their best weeks since the end of November.

Word this week from Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. that their underlying businesses were profitable in the first months of the year -- along with the latest government reading on retail sales for February -- gave the market a "little assurance that, yes, there is a real economy out there and it has a chance of doing better," said Todd Clark, director of trading at Nollenberger Capital Markets.

Still, most economists say the U.S. economy will shrink at a very steep 5% annual rate or so in the current quarter, which ends March 31, and that it will continue to contract at a more modest pace in the second quarter.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week that even if financial markets stabilize, he doesn't expect the recession to end until later this year. At several moments during the recession that began in December 2007, the worst appeared to be past -- and then the economy worsened.

While the US stock market is happier, debt markets aren't, though they're in better shape than they were late last year. The spread between U.S. Treasury yields and the yield on high-quality corporate bonds, measured by the Merrill Lynch High Grade Index, stands at a still-high 6 percentage points, though down from 6.50 as recently as mid December. A high spread is a sign that investors are demanding more money from borrowers to compensate them for heightened risk. The bond market is saying "economically you're in for a rough ride," said Greg Peters, head of fixed income research at Morgan Stanley.

President Barack Obama, speaking with reporters at the White House on Friday, said he was "confident" the country would get through the crisis, but warned that the U.S. won't enjoy a return to the euphoric times of earlier this decade. Days of overheated housing markets and maxed-out credit cards are over, he said. "We are laying a foundation for what I'm calling a 'post-bubble economic growth' that won't repeat the risks that led to the current crisis," he said.

Bank, realty stocks lead Sensex rally

Mirroring positive cues from the global markets the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 137 points at 8,481. The index thereafter gained from strength-to-strength as the day progressed backed by aggressive buying in realty, metal and banking stocks.

The Sensex surged to a high of 8,793, and finally ended with a gain of 413 points at 8,757.

The BSE Realty index surged 7.6% to 1,409, and the Metal index soared over 6% to 4,853. The Bankex rallied nearly 6% to 3,974, and the IT index gained 5.6% at 2,190.

The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,551 stocks traded, 1,583 advanced, 855 declined and 113 were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

DLF zoomed 11.5% to Rs 153. Tata Motors soared nearly 11% to Rs 162.

Tata Power and ICICI Bank surged around 9% each to Rs 663 and Rs 309, respectively.

Hindalco and Sterlite rallied 8% each to Rs 43 and Rs 283, respectively.

HDFC moved up 4.5% to Rs 1,380. Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro advanced nearly 7% each to Rs 167 and Rs 615, respectively.

Reliance and TCS gained over 6.5% each at Rs 1,282 and Rs 507, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Communications, Grasim and Wipro were up around 6% each at Rs 71, Rs 147, Rs 1,493 and Rs 225, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKER

NTPC dropped 2% to Rs 170.

OTHER PROMINENT GAINERS...

Sintex zoomed 21% to Rs 87. Educomp Solutions, Aban Offshore, GMR Infrastructure and Everest rallied 10-13% each. Jet Airways, Sun TV, JSW Steel, India Infoline, Reliance Capital, Akruti City, Tata Communications, Axis Bank, Tata Tele and Uniteh Phosphorous were the other major gainers.

...AND LOSERS

HPCL plunged nearly 4% to Rs 245, and Godrej Consumer shed 3.5% at Rs 120. BPCL, Tech Mahindra, ABB, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer, Spice Telecom, Container Corporation, Hero Honda and Gail India declined 1-3% each.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

ICICI Bank topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 253.54 crore followed by Akruti City (Rs 192.75 crore), Reliance (Rs 180.70 crore), Educomp Solutions (Rs 168.85 crore) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 122.28 crore).

Satyam led the volume chart with trades of around 2.38 crore shares followed by Cals Refineries (87 lakh), ICICI Bank (82.90 lakh), Unitech (73.85 lakh) and Suzlon (67.45 lakh).

Asia closes with gains; Emerging markets end positive; Europe opens weak...

Although Indian stock exchanges were closed today, other Asian markets posted gains following the overnight US rally. Japan rose 5% and Hong Kong closed 2% up. Emerging markets like Russia amd Brazil, too, posted positive gains. Europe, however, opened weak, on the back of reports from former financial powerhouse UBS that it could post record losses...

US Markets up on positive Citigroup report

Stocks flew high in the US yesterday on news that Citigroup reported it was profitable for the first two months of 2009.

The Russell 2000 went up by 5%. The Dow closed up over 5% and the S&P 500 was up 6%. The Nasdaq closed 7% up.

Also helping stocks make large moves yesterday was news that Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he expects the restoration of a rule that makes it harder to bet that a share's price will fall. Investors were encouraged by Frank's comments.

Financial stocks were in rally mode in the US yesterday following statements made by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday that the United States has taken more economic action in recent weeks than most countries have in years to ease strife.

Wishing you a very happy Holi...

Best wishes on the occasion of the Festival of Colours. Have a great day!

Sensex down by 6.36% in the week

The Indian stock markets displayed a distinctly weak trend during the week just ended as the benchmark Sensex plunged by 6.36 per cent to register its over 3-year weekly closing low, on a host of negative factors.

Key rate cuts by the apex bank on Wednesday followed by fall in the rate of inflation failed to draw attention of the bulls as fall in exports, sustained selling by foreign funds, worsening global economy and falling the rupee value weighed on the local bourses, brokers said.

Concerns over the outcome of the forthcoming elections and sluggish global markets also put pressure on stocks.

For the week ended March 7, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer gyrated in a range of 8,762.88 and 8,047.17 before concluding the week at 8,325.82, the level not seen since the first week of November 2005, a steep fall of 565.79 points over the last weekend's close.

The broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also fell back by a whopping 143.50 points, or 5.19 per cent, to end the week at 2,620.15 from 2,763.65 last weekend.

The market resumed the week lower following a fourth straight monthly decline in the country's export. India's exports declined by 15.59 per cent in January over the year-ago period, showing a fall for a fourth straight month as the global slowdown continued to affect demand for Indian goods.

'4.4 mn jobs lost, long way before economy revives'

As the latest statistics revealed that an astounding 4.4 million people lost jobs in the US since December 2007, the White House has warned that there is a long way to go before the economy gets moving.

"Obviously, this is one more piece of evidence to demonstrate how deep of a recession we're in," White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said.

"As the President (Barack Obama) has often said that it's going to get worse before it gets better. We've now lost two million jobs in just the last three months," he said.

Obama, during a meeting in Ohio, had said that 651,000 jobs were lost throughout US in February alone, which brings the total number of jobs lost in the recession to 4.4 million, more than half of which have been in the last three months.

He was in the city of Columbus addressing a graduation ceremony of police officers, who would have been fired if he had not come out with his economic stimulus plan.

"These are cops that weren't going to be hired, that are now, because of stimulus money that the city is getting, able to -- instead of laying off the Police Academy force before they get their badges, put them on the street and keep the community safe," Gibbs told reporters travelling with the President on Air Force One.

"But there's no doubt that we have a long way to go to get this economy moving again, and the jobs numbers are one more reminder of that," he said.

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