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.

U.S. Seals Bailout Deal

The White House and congressional leaders agreed on a deal to authorize the biggest banking rescue in U.S. history.

The $700 billion program would effectively nationalize an array of mortgages and securities backed by them -- instruments whose deteriorating value has clogged the nation's financial system.

Lawmakers finished writing the bill late Sunday, after which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared it "frozen," meaning no changes would be made. The bill leaves many mechanics of the operation up to the Treasury. Among these are the crucial issues of how the U.S. government would decide which assets it will buy and how it would decide what to pay for them. The legislation leaves the Treasury 45 days to issue guidelines on those procedures. The bill awaits votes in Congress starting on Monday.

From big Wall Street houses to small community banks, executives have expressed an interest in signing up for the bailout. But some have said the extent of their involvement will depend on critical details.

The political fallout from the bailout could be substantial, given the enormous expenditure of taxpayer money. Some polls show wide opposition. But the legislation includes provisions designed to guard against ultimate losses for the government. And it calls on the Treasury, as an owner of mortgage securities, to "encourage the servicers of the underlying mortgages" to minimize foreclosures.

The deal came after tension-filled weekend negotiations, where the specter of a faltering economy collided with the politics of a presidential election to create one of the biggest congressional dramas of recent years. Saturday included a high-decibel exchange between Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and congressional Democrats, a ban on handheld email devices to forestall news leaks, and a battery of lobbying calls from the president and the presidential candidates.

Bailout Compromise Gets New Life

Courtesy - Wall Street Journel

Negotiations Resume, With Nod to Conservatives' Objections

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration and Congress closed in on a new compromise aimed at stabilizing U.S. financial markets, a move designed to assuage conservatives who one day earlier had staged a revolt against the controversial $700 billion project.

The potential compromise isn't yet final, and details could change. But as of Friday night it appears that the plan's central elements, as originally envisioned by the Treasury Department, remain intact.

Congressional leaders were planning for possible votes Sunday.

The renewed effort represents a remarkable turnaround from the fracas that engulfed Washington Thursday night. In a sign of the political tensions at play, an earlier compromise plan was thrown into disarray after a White House meeting of top leaders -- including the two presidential candidates -- descended into a shouting match.

Republican nominee Sen. John McCain had returned to Washington to attend bailout negotiations. But the interjection of the presidential campaign, and the resulting finger-pointing, upset the delicate balance that had been struck in negotiations between congressional Democrats and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

"I would hope the two presidentials would go to the debate tonight and leave us alone to get our work done here," said Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, sounding exhausted on the Senate floor Friday morning.

Under the Bush plan, the Treasury Department would be able to buy $700 billion of toxic investments currently burdening many financial institutions. The hope is that doing so would encourage investors to recapitalize the struggling banks, and get the nation's bond markets working again.

It would also, however, put taxpayers on the hook for potential losses if the investments bought by the government didn't later recover some of their value.

House Republicans, antsy about the power granted to the Treasury under that original plan, wanted to replace it with one based on an insurance model: Banks would pay premiums into a pool of money that would then be used to cover losses on the bad assets in question.

Treasury officials had earlier told lawmakers the concept was unworkable, people familiar with the matter said. Indeed, officials there briefly considered it, but concluded it wouldn't be as effective in clearing the rot from banks' balance sheets.

The compromise being hammered out Friday night would graft the insurance concept onto the original Treasury plan, most likely as an option. That would satisfy the administration, which could chose not to use it, as well as conservative lawmakers, who can claim to have influenced the legislation.

The White House has already agreed to other Democratic demands for the bailout, including greater oversight of the plan, and pay curbs for executives at some companies that benefit from the bailout.

The administration also agreed to a commitment to help struggling homeowners. And it agreed for the $700 billion to be released in installments; $250 billion would be made available immediately.

As Friday unfolded, Democrats signaled a willingness to consider including some version of the insurance proposal. "Adding insurance as an option...that's never been an issue," said Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a lead negotiator.

At a late-afternoon news conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded conciliatory, suggesting that Mr. Paulson should have "the latitude to accept any and all proposals," so long as they don't interfere with the core goals of the bailout plan.

The unexpected opposition from House Republicans on Thursday had thrown into chaos efforts to craft a rescue package for the financial markets. Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, after working with the Bush White House for several days on details, said they felt blindsided by the Republican move.

The face-off reflected years of tension between the Bush White House and House Republicans, and exposed the ideological differences within the Republican Party over the role of government in free markets.

President George W. Bush, who urged lawmakers to "rise to the occasion" Friday, has said his first instinct is to not intervene in the market. But he became convinced of the need after Mr. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the financial crisis could spread to Main Street from Wall Street and throw the country into a deep recession.

Many Senate Republicans, including Bob Bennett of Utah and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, have tried to be supportive of the White House's efforts to find common ground with Democrats. But conservatives who dominate the Republican Party's caucus in the House have been less amenable, particularly those disaffected with the Bush administration's sizable domestic spending and the realities of life as a minority party.

Rep. Tom Davis (R., Va.) said Republicans have felt like "bystanders" the past two years and wanted to be brought into the negotiations as full partners. Democrats "have got to come and meet us halfway," he said.

By midweek, it became clear that only a couple dozen of the 199 House Republicans were likely to support the plan in its existing form.

House Republicans say their alternative proposal would bring stability and new capital to the market. It would also remove regulatory barriers that they say block private investors from investing capital into ailing financial institutions.

"We were simply trying to come up with a constructive solution to break an impasse," said Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), who outlined the plan to Sen. McCain in a meeting Thursday.

The struggle over the bailout bill represents one of the most dramatic congressional showdowns of recent years. In 1990, the Democratic House voted down a major deficit-reduction package backed by the administration of the first President Bush. The package was later brought back to the floor and approved, but only after changes that tilted the measure to the left.

A few years later, the Republican-controlled Congress balked at the Clinton administration's plans to help rescue Mexico's economy, forcing the administration to use other measures to achieve its goals.

At a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner and other party leaders received an ovation for having resisted pressure to support the Bush-backed package during a White House meeting the previous day.

Global leaders seek Indian PM's expertise to salvage financial crisis

With the world gripped in financial crisis, the expertise of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a highly acclaimed economist, was much in demand as he met various leaders, including US President George Bush, in New York, where world leaders have gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.

Every leader the Prime Minister met sought his opinion on how to deal with the financial meltdown, Indian officials accompanying the Prime Minister have said.

The issue came up in a big way during his meeting with World Bank President Robert B Zoellick.

Singh, a World Bank economist-turned politician, is expected to speak on the subject in his presentation at the United Nations General Assembly.

Sensex shed 445pts; Realty, metal, banking stocks slide

The Sensex opened 65 points lower at 13,482 on weak cues from other Asian markets. Persistent weakness, thereafter, saw the index slip deeper into red as the day progressed.

Realty, metal and banking stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure today. The Sensex dropped to a low of 13,054, and finally settled with a loss of 445 points at 13,102.

The BSE Realty index slumped 6.3% (243 points) to 3,597. The Metal index shed 4.8% (475 points) at 9,502, and the Bankex dropped 4.3% (293 points) to 6,571.

The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,673 stocks traded, 2,170 declined, 444 advanced and the rest were unchanged today.

INDEX SHAKERS...

Ranbaxy slumped 8% to Rs 272.

Sterlite, ICICI Bank and Grasim tumbled around 6% each to Rs 447, Rs 561 and Rs 1,761, respectively.

Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra, BHEL and DLF plunged around 5% each to Rs 99, Rs 531, Rs 1,551 and Rs 370, respectively.

Tata Steel, Reliance Communications and Maruti shed nearly 5% each at Rs 461, Rs 348 and Rs 671, respectively.

HDFC Bank, SBI, Larsen & Toubro and Infosys dropped around 4% each to Rs 1,246, Rs 1,434, Rs 2,468 and Rs 1,448, respectively.

HDFC and ONGC slipped 3.5% each to Rs 2,089 and Rs 1,035, respectively.

Reliance Infrastrcuture, Reliance, NTPC and Tata Motors were down around 3% each to Rs 850, Rs 1,961, Rs 174 and Rs 373, respectively.

...AND THE MOVERS

ITC surged 2% to Rs 192, and Hindustan Unilever was up over 1% at Rs 253.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 478.70 crore followed by Reliance (Rs 373 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 170.40 crore), Jai Corp (Rs 167.55 crore) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs 144.55 crore).

IFCI led the volume chart with trades of around 96.75 lakh shares followed by Anant Raj Industries (87.80 lakh), Reliance Natural Resources (85.80 lakh), Sesa Goa (82 lakh) and Idea Cellular (65.80 lakh).

Kingfisher sacks 300 ex-Air Deccan employees

Three hundred employees of Air Deccan, now re-branded Kingfisher Red, are being laid off by Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines, just weeks after the completion of merger between the two Bangalore-based carriers. On Monday morning, the staff at Bangalore and some other offices was asked to accept the severance package and resign.

The process would continue for a day or two. Many of these employees have been with Air Deccan for nearly five years.

According to Kingfisher spokesman, the retrenched employees include 200 security personnel, 50 airport services staff and 50 from the engineering department. These employees were given a severance package equal to two months gross salary for every completed year of service (subject to a minimum of 3 months pay-out).

A week ago JetLite had announced plans to cut 800 employees from its 2,300 workforce.

PepsiCo announces $500 million investment in India

PepsiCo chairperson and chief executive Indra Nooyi has announced an investment of $500 million in India over the next three years to triple revenues by 2014.

The investment would be spread over manufacturing, market infrastructure, environment sustainability initiatives, research, new products and agriculture, Chennai-born Nooyi said.

'The new investment will contribute 50,000 new direct and indirect jobs to the Indian economy,' she said at a press conference here.

'India is among the top five market of PepsiCo and we remain extremely bullish on the country, she added

Nooyi is in India to chair the $39-billion food and beverages giant's two-day annual conclave from Monday.

Besides Nooyi, some of the top executives expected at the meeting include chief executive and vice chairman Michael D. White, senior vice president and general counsel Larry Thompson, and PepsiCo UK president Salman Amin.

PeosiCo, which entered India in 1989 mainly as a beverages company, has invested $700 million in the country so far. It has 43 bottling plants in India, of which the company owns 15, while the rest are operated by franchisees.

It also has three factories to manufacture the Frito-Lay range of potato chips, Cheetos extruded snacks, and traditional Indian snacks under the Kurkure and Lehar brands.

Rs 1 lakh cr club shrinks

As the market continues to bleed, major Indian companies have lost significantly on market capitalisations and the prominent losers from the benchmark index at the Bombay stock exchange are DLF, ICICI Bank and Reliance Communications. Indian companies have lost significant value in market capitalisations since January 10 when the market started to slip.

There has been a significant fall in the number of companies that command market capitalisation of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore. The number has reduced from 13 to five since January 10.

Out of the list of 30 companies listed in the benchmark index at Bombay Stock Exchange - Sensex, only four companies form a part of the elite club now, which earlier stood at 10. The list includes two companies operating in oil sector that have been doing well on the back of rising oil prices -Reliance Industries and ONGC. The two others are - NTPC and Bharti Airtel.

Out of the Sensex companies that held a market cap above the Rs one lakh crore, DLF has been the biggest loser with two thirds of its value lost. ICICI Bank is the second biggest loser with a fall in value of 57 per cent.

By comparison, its nearest rival in the private sector -HDFC Bank has lost only 15 per cent since then. The third biggest loser is Reliance Communications, which has lost almost 55 per cent of its value.

In comparison Bharti Airtel, its competitor in the same industry has lost only 21 per cent of its value.

Wkly Review: Sensex recovers sharp losses, ends week on a +ve note

In a roller-coaster ride during the week under review, some positive developments at the fag-end of the week helped the benchmark Sensex to rebound from early sharp losses, ending with a gain of over 41 points.

Steps taken by US policymakers and other top central banks globally to pump billions of dollars to revive the scary financial system and positive statements by the local government, assisted the Sensex to recover from a nine-week low of 12,558.14 points to close the week above the 14K-level.

Marketmen said morale-boosting signals from New Delhi after a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also boosted investor sentiment.

The PM's caution came during the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs meeting after Finance Minister P Chidambaram briefed about the financial crisis in US while stating the Indian economy was not affected by the developments.

Tracking global trends which rallied after regulators in the UK and US halted short-selling in financial stocks on late Thursday, boosted the badly battered investors' confidence which had touched rock bottom after the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers and distress sale of Merrill Lynch.

In the week to September 20, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer recovered its early losses sharply to end the week at 14,042.32 points, a mere rise of 41.51 points or 0.30 per cent over the previous weekend close.

Similarly, the 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also recouped by 16.80 points or 0.40 per cent to close the week at 4,245.25 points from the last weekend close.

RIL, ONGC, HDFC Bank, HDFC, SBI, Bharti Airtel, ACC, Tata Motors, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Powers were the major gainers from the Sensex pack, while Ranbaxy, DLF, Jaiprakash Associates, Grasim, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Reliance Com, REL Infra, Satyam Computer, Sterlite, Tata Steel and TCS suffered a sharp to moderate setback.

Reflecting a rally in some of the refinery and banking counters, the BSE-Oil&Gas index rose by 351.98 points or 3.86 per cent and the Bankex by 80.66 points or 1.15 per cent.

Although a battered realty segment attracted good buying support on Friday, it was the biggest loser from the sectoral indices. BSE-Realty index tumbled by 591.08 points or 12.59 per cent followed by the BSE-Metal by 847.83 points or 7.79 per cent and the BSE-CD by 264.21 points or 7.39 per cent.

Depicting a heavy sell-off in small-cap and mid-cap counters, BSE-Smallcap index plunged by 495.55 points or 7.38 per cent and the BSE-Midcap by 308.36 points or 5.57 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index declined by 58.60 points or 0.80 per cent to end the week at 7,285.77 points from 7,344.37 points.

The BSE-200 Index and the Dollex-200 were also quoted further lower at 1,695.81 and 611.44 at the weekend compared to last weekend's close of 1,1717.28 and 626.44 respectively.

On the NSE, the S&P CNX Defty eased by 21.50 points or 0.67 per cent to close the week at 3,189.80 from 3,211.30 last weekend and the CNX Nifty Junior also ended the week down by 251.25 points or 3.67 per cent to 6,591.55 points from previous weekend's close of 6,842.80 points.

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE Metal Index nosedived by 904.35 points or 7.67 per cent to 10,881.42, the BSE Realty Index by 285.54 points or 5.73 per cent to 4,693.72, the BSE CD Index by 211.00 points or 5.57 per cent to 3,575.28 and the BSE Oil&Gas Index by 536.24 points or 5.56 per cent to 9,116.44.

News...

- Wall St ends flat; Indian ADRs end mixed
- FIIs net sell Rs 777cr in F&O on Friday
- FII-TO-FII TRADES: Pantaloon traded at 26% premium
- Govt not to extend export freight assistance to sugar mills
- Industrial growth above expectation, chambers want rates cut
- Cheaper crude welcome; but no fuel price cut on cards: Deora
- Goldman Sachs expects RBI to up rates one more time
- Industrial production dips to 7.1% y-o-y
- HC asks CIC not to disclose text of agreement with Tatas
- Govt rules out regulating steel prices
- Petroleum Min mulling dual pricing policy for diesel
- Rupee loses 18 paise to touch new 23-month low

Market closings on Friday, September 12...

Sensex 14001 (-323)
Nifty 4228 (-62)
Rs-$ 45.72
Gold (Rs) 11347 (0)
Silver (Rs) 17962 (0)

Industry expands 7 per cent in July

India's industrial output grew at a faster rate of 7.1 per cent in July this year surpassing consensus estimate by a wide margin mainly on account of higher production of capital goods and consumer durables.

Sensex ends up 551pts; banking, realty stocks rally

Following yesterday's late pull-back, the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 110 points at 14,609. Agressive buying in the second half of the trading backed by a sharp fall in US crude oil prices saw the index rally past the 15,000-mark.

Banking, realty, energy and capital goods stocks were the major gainers today. The Sensex touched a high of 15,106, and finally ended with a gain of 551 points at 15,050.

The BSE Realty index soared 7.3% (367 points) to 5,367, and the Bankex zoomed 6% (425 points) to 7,447.

The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,733 stocks traded, 1,675 advanced, 986 declined and the rest were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

SBI and ICICI Bank zoomed over 7% each to Rs 1,521 and Rs 713, respectively. HDFC soared 4.7% to Rs 2,445, and HDFC Bank rallied 3.5% to Rs 1,341.

DLF and Jaiprakash Associates surged around 7% each to Rs 530 and Rs 174, respectively. Reliance Infrastructure gained 6% at Rs 1,042.

ONGC soared 7% to Rs 1,102. Maruti and Larsen & Toubro rallied over 4.5% each to Rs 664 and Rs 2,681, respectively.

TCS, ACC, Reliance Communications and Wipro surged 4% each to Rs 849, Rs 588, Rs 405 and Rs 451, respectively.

BHEL and Reliance moved up 3.5% each to Rs 1,785 and Rs 2,214, respectively.

Grasim, Infosys and Tata Power were up 3% each at Rs 2,002, Rs 1,775 and Rs 1,070, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKERS

Ranbaxy and Tata Motors slipped nearly 2% each to Rs 490 and Rs 430, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Resurgere Mines topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 928.50 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 292.40 crore), Reliance (Rs 218.35 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 209.25 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 198.40 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.06 crore shares followed Resurgere Mines (1.63 crore), IFCI (1.05 crore), IDFC (90.40 lakh) and Marksans (85.25 lakh).

Business news...

- L&T to raise $400 mn in foreign debt
- Food products keep Pepsi fizz going
- SpiceJet posts Q1 loss of Rs 129 cr
- Ranbaxy loses Lipitor patent case in Denmark
- Developers may prune hotel projects, sell assets
- Ratnagiri to triple power output
- Sunil Mittal, others back Tatas
- Govt wants GAIL, NTPC to infuse Rs 950 cr in Dabhol

Sensex rallies 516pts on August 29; financial, realty stocks lead...

Strong cues from global markets coupled with a dip in inflation, saw the Sensex open on August 29 with a positive gap of 231 points at 14,279.

Aggressive buying in financial and realty stocks saw the index rally to higher levels as the day progressed. The upmove was so strong that the market also discounted the GDP numbers, which indicated a slowdown in economic growth to 7.9% in the June quarter.

The index rallied all the way to a high of 14,586, and finally ended on a firm note at 14,565 - up 516 points.

The BSE Bankex soared 6.3% to 7,010, and the Realty index surged over 5% to 4,995.

The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,742 stocks traded, 1,847 declined, 794 advanced and 101 were unchanged.

INDEX MOVERS...

SBI zoomed over 7% to Rs 1,404. ICICI Bank soared 6% to Rs 672. HDFC Bank rallied over 5% to Rs 1,277, and HDFC has gained 4.3% at Rs 2,344.

Reliance Infrastructure surged 6% to Rs 991. DLF and Tata Motors advanced around 5.5% each to Rs 493 and Rs 440, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates and Tata Steel rallied 5% each to Rs 164 and Rs 600, respectively.

BHEL moved up 4.8% to Rs 1,707, and Wipro added 4.4% to Rs 432.

Bharti Airtel soared over 4% to Rs 837. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power and Satyam advanced around 3.5% each to Rs 2,590, Rs 1,051 and Rs 420, respectively.

Maruti, Sterlite and Reliance were up over 3% each at Rs 650, Rs 627 and Rs 2,137, respectively.

Infosys, NTPC, ITC, Reliance Communications, TCS and ONGC also finished with smart gains.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Bharti Airtel topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 867.60 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 310 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 171.10 crore), Reliance (Rs 163.50 crore) and SBI (Rs 161.30 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 1.41 crore shares followed by Bharti Airtel (1.07 crore), Chambal Fertilisers (81 lakh), IFCI (78.20 lakh) and Ispat Industries (75.60 lakh).

News...

- Govt asks PFRDA to make pension scheme universal
- After five-year wait, govt finally approves Companies Bill
- Work at Singur plant halted, indefinitely
- L&T to raise $400 mn in foreign debt
- GDP falls to 7.9%
- Govt approves changes to airport tariff regulator Bill
- RBI optimistic on growth this fiscal
- Insurance companies invest more in government securities
- FM wants FIIs in currency futures
- UTI looking for strategic investors, says Chidambaram

Sensex ends up 43pts at 14,493

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 112 points at 14,338 on the back of weak cues from the global markets. Buying in technology stocks, however, stemmed the downmove.

The index touched a low of 14,286 and thereafter exhibited steady movement for most part of the trading day. Fresh buying in select auto and banking stocks in late noon trades helped the index recoup its losses and rebound into the positive zone.

The Sensex touched a high of 14,495, and finally ended (provisional) with a gain of 43 points at 14,493.

Sensex pares gains on profit-taking; HDFC advances 4%

The Sensex opened with a significant positive gap of 242 points at 14,643, and soon touched a high of 14,673 backed by smart gains in financial and realty stocks. Thereafter the index displayed firm trend in the first half of the trading day.

However, profit-taking towards the close saw the the index pare gains and touch a low of 14,416. The Sensex finally ended with a nominal gain of 49 points at 14,450.

The BSE Realty index surged 2% to 5,044, and the Bankex moved up 1.3% to 6,746. On the other hand, the Metal and Power indices slipped 1% each to 12,243 and 2,573, respectively.

The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,722 stocks traded, 1,347 advanced and 1,287 declined today.

INDEX MOVERS...

HDFC soared 3.6% to Rs 2,363. Mahindra & Mahindra surged 2.6% to Rs 564, and DLF gained 2.3% at Rs 495.

Tata Motors rallied 2% to Rs 434. Satyam and ICICI Bank moved up 1.8% each to Rs 393 and Rs 656, respectively.

Grasim moved up 1.5% to Rs 1,958. HDFC Bank was up over 1% at Rs 1,208.

...AND THE SHAKERS

Tata Power and Jaiprakash Associates dropped nearly 3% each to Rs 1,021 and Rs 160, respectively.

Ranbaxy shed 2% at Rs 512. BHEL and Tata Steel slipped around 1.5% each to Rs 1,689 and Rs 586, respectively.

Sterlite declined 1.3% to Rs 618. Maruti was down over 1% at Rs 624.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Vishal Info topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 196.90 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 146.70 crore), Reliance (Rs 119 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 114.70 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 90.10 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 1.20 crore shares followed by Vishal Info (62.60 lakh), Kashyap Technologies (59 lakh), Chambal Fertilisers (51.80 lakh) and Ispat Industries (50.80 lakh).

International Business News...

Dollar's Rise Could Damp Inflation

The dollar marched higher again, continuing a development that could ease inflationary pressures but also could slow an export boom. The dollar's rally is a sign of weakness in other economies and closely tied to recent declines in oil and other commodity prices.


Dubai's Anti-'Credit Crunch'

As oil-fueled economic growth in the Persian Gulf surges, banks are finding that they don't have enough cash to meet all the demand from businesses to expand their operations. The development could provide an important brake on how quickly the region can grow.


OPEC May Cut Output Next Month

OPEC could decide to roll over or cut crude oil production from existing levels when the group meets in early September in Vienna, Iran's OPEC governor said.


The Dividends From Far, Far Away

As aging baby-boomers in the U.S. look for ways to get income, a number of mutual funds and ETFs have been launched with a focus on dividend-paying foreign stocks. Of course, high-yielding foreign stocks bring their own risks.


Auction-Rate Blowback Continues

Wachovia will buy back billions of dollars in auction-rate securities it sold to retail clients, as part of an agreement with state and federal regulators. Cuomo said he is preparing to sue Merrill Lynch over the complex instruments.


Cablevision To Issue Quarterly Dividend

Cablevision said will pay its first quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share. The move comes a week after the company's board authorized a review to look at options including issuing dividends, buying back shares and spinning off assets.


Ford To Sell $500 Million In Shares

Ford will sell up to $500 million of its shares to buy back debt from its credit arm, seeking to shore up its finances.


For Amex, A High-Yield Debt Issue

American Express Credit became the latest financial to sell bonds with juicy premiums as investors continue to demand more and more attractive pricing terms on new deals. Treasurys ended in the best shape seen for weeks.


Pershing Taps Blackstone On Longs

Pershing Square hired Blackstone to help the hedge fund drive up the purchase price for Longs Drug Stores.


Reed Sale To Enter Critical Stage

The sale of Reed Elsevier's trade-magazine division will enter a crucial phase as early as Monday, as a second round of offers will be solicited. The auction is being closely watched for clues as to the health of the private-equity market.


China's Growth Likely To Keep Steady

A pickup in China's investment growth in July is likely to help offset the effect of weakening external demand and keep economic growth steady, one of the policy tasks Beijing recently set for itself.


Japanese Snap Up Rand, Turkish Lira

Japanese small investors' appetite for higher returns could be a boon for the high-yielding currencies of South Africa, Turkey and Brazil.


Amerigroup To Settle Medicaid Case

Amerigroup has agreed to pay $225 million to settle claims that it defrauded the Illinois Medicaid program, state and federal prosecutors have said.


CIT Group Stirs Trading Activity

Shares of CIT Group have been in a tailspin for a year, but options traders appeared to be betting on a mild rebound in the commercial finance company.


LBO Comes With Twists

Permira's purchase of NDS isn't the usual leveraged takeover. The $3.7 billion deal may enrich the big European private-equity firm if all goes well, but it projects a bleak image of the buyout industry's prospects.

Happy Independence Day...

India celebrates 61 years of Independence today. Cheers!

Sensex ends down 119pts; ICICI, HDFC Bank fall 3.7% each...

Mirroring weak trend in the global markets, the Sensex opened with a negative gap of 182 points at 15,030, and soon touched a low of 15,013. Fresh buying at lower levels helped the index recoup The index and rebound into the positive zone to a high of 15,273 - up 243 points from the day's low.

However, the index could not hold gains, and finally ended with a loss of 119 points at 15,093 today.

The BSE Bankex dropped 2.2% to 7,271, and the Reatly index slipped 1.3% to 5,611. On the other hand, the BSE IT and Healthcare indices moved up over 1% each to 3,814 and 4,280, respectively.

The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,749 stocks traded, 1,420 declined, 1,238 advanced and 91 were unchanged today.

The NSE Nifty was down 23 points at 4,529.

INDEX SHAKERS...

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank dropped 3.7% each to Rs 711 and Rs 1,217, respectively.

DLF shed 3.3% at Rs 549, and Reliance Infrastructure slipped 2.5% to Rs 1,068.

HDFC and Hindalco plunged 2% each to Rs 2,414 and Rs 140, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power and Reliance Communications declined nearly 2% each to Rs 2,796, Rs 1,019 and Rs 440, respectively.

Maruti, BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates were down 1% each at Rs 670, Rs 1,787 and Rs 187, respectively.

AND THE MOVERS...

Sterlite surged 2.7% to Rs 613.

Infosys and TCS advanced over 1% each to Rs 1,625 and Rs 828, respectively. Satyam was up nearly 1% at Rs 406.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS...

Reliance Natural Resources topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 252.70 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 237.80 crore), Reliance (Rs 214.15 crore), Vishal Info (213.20 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 136.90 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.45 crore shares followed by Chambal Fertilisers (1.13 crore), Nagarjuna Fertilisers (1.10 crore), Ispat Industries (1 crore) and Vishal Info (93.20 lakh).

Abhinav Bindra bags first Olympic gold for India at Beijing - and first ever Indian invdividual gold medal...

Great news for India - actually "historic" news is the right phrase. Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has claimed the first ever individual gold for India after winning the men's 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics.

News at 11 am...

- Sensex below 15K; Tata Motors slips 4%
- FIIs net sell Rs 226cr in F&O on Thursday
- Asian markets mixed; Nikkei down 74pts
- Tech View: Markets lacking in follow-up buying
- F&O Outlook: Resistance at 4500-4550
- Wall St slips; ADRs end mixed
- FII-TO-FII: Union Bank traded at 7% premium
- Inflation at 12.01% for first time in 13 years
- Key US lawmaker pushes for conditional NSG waiver for India
- Impeachment motion against Musharraf on August 11
- RIL-RNRL case adjourned till August 12

Markets subdued; Sterlite gains 4%, BHEL drops 3%

The Sensex opened 42 points lower at 15,032, and soon touched a low of 14,993. The index, thereafter, rebounded into the positive zone and touched a high of 15,280 - up 287 points from the day's low - amid alternate bouts of buying and selling.

For the second consecutive day, the index eventually pared gains and settled with a marginally higher (44 points) at 15,117.

The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,785 stocks traded, 1,412 moved up, 1,280 declined and 93 were unchanged today.

The NSE Nifty moved up six points to end at 4,524.

INDEX MOVERS...

Sterlite soared 4.4% to Rs 614. Tata Motors surged over 4% to Rs 444.

HDFC rallied 3.4% to Rs 2,477, and HDFC Bank added 3% to Rs 1,254.

Grasim, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti gained 2.5% each at Rs 2,089, Rs 576 and Rs 669, respectively.

Satyam moved up 2.3% to Rs 417. DLF and NTPC advanced 1.8% each to Rs 555 and Rs 183, respectively.

Infosys, Reliance Infrastructure and Jaiprakash Associates were up over 1% each at Rs 1,721, Rs 1,024 and Rs 187, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKERS

BHEL dropped nearly 3% to Rs 1,775. Bharti Airtel shed 2.3% at Rs 850.

Reliance Communications and Ranbaxy slipped 1.7% each to Rs 439 and Rs 504, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever declined 1.5% to Rs 242. Wipro, Tata Power and Reliance were down over 1% each at Rs 449, Rs 1,050 and Rs 2,271, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 342.50 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 296 crore), Reliance (Rs 235.80 crore), SEL Manufacturing (Rs 228 crore) and ONGC (Rs 137.80 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.92 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (1.41 crore), Tata Teleservices (1.19 crore), Kashyap Technologies (88.30 lakh) and Chambal Fertilisers (86 lakh).

Sensex pares gains on profit-taking, ends up 113pts...

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 303 points to 15,264 on the back of positive cues from the global markets. Fresh buying, thereafter, saw the index rally to a high of 15,423 - up 462 points from the previous close.

The markets displayed strength for most part of the trading day. However, aggressive profit-taking in the last one-hour of trades saw the index pare gains and drop to a low of 15,036. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 113 points at 15,074.

The market breadth turned negative towards the close - out of 2,786 stocks traded, 1,446 declined, 1,265 advanced and the rest were unchanged today.

The NSE Nifty touched a high of 4,616 - up 113 points - in morning trades, but eventually finished with a marginal gain of 15 points at 4,518.

INDEX MOVERS...

Maruti zoomed over 6% to Rs 653. Tata Motors soared 4.3% to Rs 427.

Bharti Airtel and ACC surged 3.5% each to Rs 870 and Rs 638, respectively.

TCS and BHEL rallied over 3% each to Rs 858 and Rs 1,827, respectively.

HDFC Bank advanced 2.7% to Rs 1,217. Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever gained around 2.5% each at Rs 562, Rs 2,764 and Rs 246, respectively.

ICICI Bank and Satyam added 2% each to Rs 707 and Rs 407, respectively.

ONGC, Wipro and Infosys were up 1.3% each at Rs 1,016, Rs 453 and Rs 1,699, respectively.

...AND THE SHAKERS

Tata Steel plunged 4.5% to Rs 646. Tata Power and SBI tumbled around 3.5% each to Rs 1,061 and Rs 1,524, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure slipped over 3% to Rs 1,011, while HDFC shed 2.8% at Rs 2,396.

DLF dropped 1.5% to Rs 545. NTPC was down 1% at Rs 180.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Natural Resources topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 374 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 353 crore), Reliance (Rs 327 crore), Larsen & Toubro (Rs 289.50 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 206.35 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 3.60 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (1.42 crore), Kashyap Technologies (1.28 crore), IFCI (1.10 crore) and IDFC (87.80 lakh).

Today's News...

- Sensex ends down 79pts; TCS, Reliance drag
- Govt puts restrictions on PSU executives joining pvt firms
- JLR will be faster on its feet under Tata: CEO
- India gets new VVIP business jets armed with special suites
- Samsung eyes double-digit mkt share; to launch 4-5 models
- Yamaha to launch 150 cc FZ in October
- Sonia Gandhi sets controlling inflation as the principal task
- Higher economic risks for India, but ratings stable: Moody's
- Inflation may fall below 8%: Rangarajan
- India's sovereign ratings may turn negative: Moody's
- WTO Chief Lamy to visit India next week

Today's News

- Wall St ends down on Friday, August 1; ADRs move up
- SBT to raise PLR by 50 bps to 14%
- Century Plyboards net up 8.36% at Rs 30.84 crore
- Union Bank reduces interest rates on FCNR, NRE deposits
- Honda to export vehicles to Sri Lanka
- Lower attendance affects work at Tata Motors' plant in Singur
- UK defence firm BAE plans joint ventures in India
- Olive oil consumption likely to rise 9 times by 2012
- IAEA safeguards not recognition of India as nuke power: Russia
- PM asks Saarc to seek global response to oil price hike
- Jet's Dubai launch from August 23

Today's news...

- Sensex up 301 points: Jaiprakash Associates zooms 8.8%; RCom drops 12.7%
- HCL Technologies posts loss of Rs 13.5 crore
- Government releases new defence procurement policy
- Patent office witnesses surge in online applications
- India's oil import bill shoots up by 53.4% in June
- Videocon to launch DTH services by mid-September
- Tata Steel in no hurry to raise prices
- Interest rates to moderate in 6-12 months: Chidambaram
- Religare's PAT stands at Rs 3.67 crore for Q1
- Era Infra bags orders worth Rs 137.70 crore
- ArcelorMittal may bid for US coal mine Alpha Natural

Sensex ends up 301 points: Jaiprakash Associates zooms 8.8%; RCom drops 12.7%

The Sensex plunged 323 points in early trade today on heavy selling by funds in line with weak global markets.

Moderate rise in inflation rates, which rose to 11.98 per cent for the week ended July 19, mainly dampened the trading sentiments of the Sensex, which had gained 564 points in the previous two trading sessions.

The index moved in a range of 646 points between 14,032 (low) and 14,667 (high) before finally settling with a gain of 301 points at 14,657.

The Nifty ended with a gain of 81 points at 4414.

The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,732 stocks traded, 1,548 advanced, 1,110 declined and 74 were unchanged today.

THE MOVERS...

Jaiprakash Associates zoomed 8.8% to Rs 170. SBI surged 6.5% to Rs 1,507. HDFC advanced 5.2% at Rs 2,395.

Reliance Industries and Reliance Infra gained 4.9% each at Rs 2,395 and Rs 1,012, respectively. Tata Steel was up 4.5% at Rs 684. Wipro and BHEL advanced around 4.2% each at Rs 434 and Rs 1,750, respectively. Ranbaxy gained 4% at Rs 518. NTPC and Larsen & Toubro were up around 3.8% each at Rs 177 and Rs 2,696, respectively.

Infosys gained 3.3% at Rs 1,636. HDFC Bank and Satyam advanced 2.6% each at Rs 1,124 and Rs 390, respectively.

Bharti Airtel was up 2% at Rs 815. DLF, Grasim, ICICI Bank, TCS and ONGC were the other gainers.

...AND INDEX SHAKERS

Reliance Communications slumped 12.7% to Rs 436. Tata Power dropped 3.8% at Rs 1,116. Maruti tumbled 2.5% to Rs 560.

Hindustan Unilever lost 1.9% at Rs 235. ACC declined 1.3% to Rs 576.

Tata Motors was down 1.2% at Rs 398. Hindalco and ITC lost less than half per cent.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Reliance Communications topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 631.04 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 375.37 crore), Reliance Capital (347.75 crore), Reliance (Rs 297.09 crore) and Larsen and Toubro (186.81 crore)

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 3.78 crore shares followed by IFCI (2.28 crore shares), Ispat Industries (2.04 crore shares), Cybermate (2.02 crore shares) and Reliance Communications (1.44 crore shares)

US stocks tumble; ADRs in red

US stocks tumbled on Friday, July 11, as fears about the stability of the top two home financing providers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, combined with oil at a record above $147 to cloud the economic outlook.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 128 points at 11,100 and the Nasdaq was down 18 points to 2239.


Indian ADRs ended on a negative note.


Dr Reddy's was up 1.9% and Sterlite Industries advanced marginally.


Infosys tumbled 13.3% and Satyam plunged 9.2%. ICICI Bank lost 7.4% and Genpact was down 4.9%. Patni Computer slipped 4.7%. Tata Communications shed 3.9% and HDFC Bank dropped 3.4%. MTNL was down 4.7%.


Wipro and Tata Motors were the other losers.

Snapshot

Sensex ends down 456pts; tech stocks slide.

Inflation rises to 11.89 %.

Industrial growth slows down to 3.8%.

Infosys net up...

IT giant Infosys today reported 21% increase in Q1 net at Rs 1,302 cr, and also raised its FY09 topline guidance to 28% from 20% growth projected earlier.

Sensex bounces back, ends up 703pts

Sensex Bounces Back: The main index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, soared over 700pts today after having shed 1,460pts in the last three days.

Sensex ends below 13K, down 500pts

The Sensex opened maginally (18 points) higher at 13,480. After gyrating between zones the index touched a high of 13,613, and thereafter slipped deeper into red as the day progressed.



Heavy all-round selling saw the index plunge below the 13,000-mark to a low of 12,904. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 558 points at 12,904.


The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,724 stocks traded, 2,268 declined and 409 advanced today.


The NSE Nifty dropped 144 points to end below the 4,000-mark at 3,897.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Communications slumped 10.5% each to Rs 688 and Rs 392, respectively.


Mahindra & Mahindra tumbled over 9% to Rs 430. Maruti and SBI plunged around 8% each to Rs 560 and Rs 1,007, respectively.


DLF shed 7% at Rs 361. HDFC and ICICI Bank dropped 6.5% each to Rs 1,800 and Rs 580, respectively.


Jaiprakash Associates slipped 6% to Rs 131. Hindalco declined 5.6% to Rs 132.


Grasim and Wipro were down 5% each at Rs 1,701 and Rs 413, respectively.


...SOLE GAINER


NTPC up 1% at Rs 153 was the sole gainer among the index stocks.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 421.50 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 337.70 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 239.25 crore), Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 137.75 crore) and Reliance Communications (Rs 115.40 crore).

Sensex fall again...by 342 points

The main index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, ended with a loss of 2.5% (342pts) today. The index has shed 33.6% (6,825pts) so far in this calendar year.

Snapshots...

DPLI to launch operations in Q3:

DLF Pramerica Life Insurance (DPLI) has received the final license from the IRDA. The company plans to commence life insurance business in the third-quarter of this year.

India's SBI sees $230 million treasury depreciation:

State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, has said that it would likely have to set aside at least 10 billion rupees ($232.8 million) to provide for depreciation in its treasury.

Japan, India enter bilateral swap agreement:

India and Japan on Monday concluded a bilateral arrangement for swapping of local currencies against the US dollar for up to $3 billion.

Rising oil, political uncertainty thrash sensex:

It was a sharp cut across the sectors on the Bombay Stock Exchange on the back of rising crude oil price, political uncertainty and institutional selling. Rate sensitive sectors like realty, banking and auto have been butchered very badly.

Sensex sheds 620 points (4%)...

The main index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, ended with a loss of 4% (620pts) today. The index has shed a whopping 21% (3,633pts) in the last six straight weeks.

Snapshots...

Sensex tanks 620pts on global, inflation worries

Aviation fuel prices likely to rise again

JK Paper net up 33% to Rs 15.8 cr

MSCB ties-up with Bajaj Allianz

MNRE announces incentive for wind energy projects

Acma condemns Nama draft text

Parsvnath secures order worth Rs 125 cr

Inflation now seen breaching 12 %

FIIs net sell Rs 703cr, DIIs net buy Rs 306cr

'No tax holiday on gas production'

Inflation at 11.42% for week ended June 14

India's key stock index drops 4.2 percent on oil price concerns

Indian shares dropped sharply Friday, June 27, amid jitters about soaring oil prices and a regional sell-off. In morning trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-stock Sensex fell 611 points, or 4.2 percent, to 13,810 points.

Analysts said the markets were reacting to weak global cues and persistent concerns that crude prices could rise well above US$150 a barrel this year. Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has said he believes oil prices could rise to between US$150 and US$170 a barrel this summer.

"Sentiment is bearish. There are fears that crude will touch US$180, this is a worry that cannot be stamped out easily," said Gul Tekchandani, a Mumbai-based investment adviser.

"Few can stomach this volatility, plus there are weak global cues with the U.S. economy also down." The central bank hiked rates earlier this week to rein in soaring inflation, which has risen to 13-year highs.

Worries about higher rates on car and home loans caused shares of automakers to slide. Among the big losers were Tata Motors Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which both fell more than 5 percent.

Leading banks such as HDFC Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. also fell about 5 percent in trading on Friday, June 27.

Sensex ends down 274pts; ICICI Bank slips 4%...

The Sensex opened 47 points higher at 15,744 despite the negative close in the US markets and touched a day's high of 15,790.


Unabated selling in realty, banking and IT stocks pushed the index into a negative zone. The index drifted to a low of 15,390 - down 400 points from day's high.


The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 274 points at 15,422.


The markets breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,731 stocks traded, 1,402 declined, 1,254 advanced and 75 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty ended with a loss of 71 points at 4,582.


THE SHAKERS...


ICICI Bank tumbled 4.2% to Rs 785. HDFC Bank plunged 3.4% to Rs 1,166. Tata Steel declined 3.2% to Rs 823.


Larsen & Toubro slipped 3.1% to Rs 2,750. Jaiprakash Associates dropped 2.9% to Rs 182. Reliance Infrastructure lost 2.8% at Rs 1,073.


DLF and Bharti Airtel declined 2.7% each to Rs 492 and Rs 811, respectively.


BHEL and SBI shed 2.6% each at Rs 1,499 and Rs 1,351, respectively.


Infosys was trading at Rs 1,866 - down 2.5%. Satyam lost 2.4% to Rs 472. TCS shed 2.3% to Rs 900.


Reliance and Wipro were down nearly 2% each at Rs 2,283 and Rs 485, respectively.


NTPC, Hindustan Unilever and Cipla were the other major losers.


...AND THE MOVERS


Ambuja Cements soared 4.8% to Rs 91. Ranbaxy surged 2.9% at Rs 598.


Grasim gained 2.4% to Rs 2,229. Maruti advanced 1.2% to Rs 765.


Hindalco and ACC added nearly 1% each at Rs 174 and Rs 643, respectively.


ITC was up 0.8% at Rs 204, while HDFC inched 0.7% to Rs 2,314.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Anu Labs led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 643.25 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 286.02 crore), Ranbaxy (Rs 245.66 crore), Reliance (Rs 211.08 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 163.07 crore).


Anu Labs, also, topped the volume chart with trades of around 1.49 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (1.40 crore), Chambal Fertilisers (1.30 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (1.28 crore) and IFCI (1.14 crore).

Friday, June 13: US stocks advance; Fears of US inflation ease; ADRs positive...

US stocks advanced on Friday, June 13. The Wall Street gains were driven by some reassuring news on the inflation front. A government report on the US Consumer Price Index showed that underlying price pressures were muted in May, easing fears of inflation and a near-term rise in interest rates.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 165 points at 12,307 and the Nasdaq gained 50 points to 2454.


Indian ADRs ended on a positive note. ICICI Bank gained 3.9%. MTNL was up 3.2%. Satyam and Wipro advanced 2%. Infosys gained 1.9% and Dr Reddy's was up 1.2%. Tata Communications, HDFC Bank and Genpact gained less than one per cent.


Sterlite Industries declined 1.5%. Tata Motors and Patni Computers were the other losers.

Friday, June 13: Sensex drops 60 points...

Friday, June 13: Sensex 15189.62 (- 60.58 | - 0.4%)

Blood Donor Day

Today (June 14) is Blood Donor Day.

On the occasion of Blood Donor Day I take the opportunity to once again place on record my heartfelt thanks to all those many wonderful people who donated blood and arranged for blood donors for my beloved wife Priti when she was hospitalised for five weeks with Septicemia earlier this year.

Your blood saved her life.

Sensex slips 506pts; JP Associates down 8.6%

The Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 456 points at 15,116 due to weak global cues.



Rising oil prices and inflation worries pushed the index into a negative zone to touch a day's low of 14,846 - down 726 points from its previous close.


Realty, IT, capital goods and oil & gas stocks suffered the most today. The index recovered partially and touched a day's high of 15,203.


The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 506 points at 15,066.


The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,693 stocks traded, 2,170 declined, 474 advanced and 49 were unchanged.


The NSE Nifty ended with a loss of 127 points at 4,501.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Jaiprakash Associates tumbled 8.6% to Rs 184. DLF plunged 7.4% at Rs 481. ONGC slipped over 7% to Rs 873.


HDFC declined 6% at Rs 2,207, while Reliance Infrastructure slipped 5.6% to Rs 1,038.


Wipro dipped 4.8% to Rs 480. TCS and Infosys shed around 4.5 each at Rs 915 and Rs 1,904, respectively.


HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were down 4.3% each at Rs 1,184 and Rs 517, respectively.


Ambuja Cements lost 4.1% at Rs 82. Satyam and Reliance declined 3.4% each at Rs 491 and Rs 2,163, respectively.


BHEL was down 3.3% at Rs 1,374, and SBI slipped 3.2% to Rs 1,293.


Larsen & Toubro and ITC lost nearly 3% to Rs 2,602 and Rs 207, respectively.


ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel were down 2.7% each at Rs 750 and Rs 781, respectively.


ACC, Maruti and NTPC were the other major losers.


...AND THE MOVERS


Ranbaxy gained 3.9% at Rs 526. Reliance Communications advanced 1.3% to Rs 554.


Hindalco was up 0.2% to Rs 176.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Reliance led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 372.06 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 252.55 crore), Cairn India (Rs 222.75 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 214.36 crore) and Reliance Capital (Rs 211.24 crore).


IFCI topped the volume chart with trades of around 1.93 crore shares followed by Reliance Petroleum (1.52 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (1.14 crore), Ispat Industries (1.05 crore) and Cairn India (74 lakh).

June 6th: US stocks decline; ADRs end on a weak note...

US stocks plunged on Friday June 6th, marking the Dow's worst day in 15 months, after the government said the May unemployment rate jumped the most in 22 years and oil prices shot to another record.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 394 points at 12,209 and the Nasdaq declined 75 points to 2,474.


Indian ADRs too ended on a weak note. HDFC Bank lost 7.4%. Satyam and Wipro declined 5.6%. Sterlite dipped 4.2% while ICICI Bank lost 4%. Dr Reddy's and Infosys lost 3.9% and Tata Motors lost 3.4%. MTNL lost 2.4% and Patni Computers declined 2.3%. Genpact was the only gainer up 2.3%.

June 6th: Sensex falls by 198 points...

Sensex 15572.18 (-198)...

Sensex slides 448pts; ONGC gains 5%

The Sensex opened 30 points higher at 15,993, and soon slipped into a negative zone in early trades after the government announced the hike in fuel prices.


The index touched a day's low of 15,442 - down 520 points from its previous close due to heavy selling in realty, metal, power and oil & gas stocks. All the sectoral indices were in red today.


The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 448 points at 15,515.


The market breadth was negative - out of 2,719 stocks traded, 1,967 declined, 676 advanced and 76 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty ended with a loss 130 points at 4,586.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Ambuja Cements plunged 5.5% to Rs 87, while Tata Steel tumbled 5.4% to Rs 816.


HDFC Bank slipped 5.2% to Rs 1,216. Maruti and BHEL dipped 5% each at Rs 746 and Rs 1,471, respectively.


Reliance Infrastructure and Tata Motors declined 4.9% each to Rs 1,070 and Rs 542, respectively.


DLF was down 4.7% at Rs 555, and Reliance dropped 4.1% to Rs 2,307.


Jaiprakash Associates, Mahindra & Mahindra and SBI were down around 4% each to Rs 198, Rs 568 and Rs 1,332, respectively.


Bharti Airtel slipped 3.8% to Rs 809. Hindalco and Larsen & Toubro lost around 3% each at Rs 179 and Rs 2,765, respectively.


Satyam slipped 2.8% to Rs 486. Infosys declined 2.7% to Rs 1,870.


HDFC and ACC shed 2.6% each at Rs 2,395 and Rs 633, respectively.


Reliance Communications was trading at Rs 540 - down 2.3%.


TCS, Ranbaxy and Hindustan Unilever were the other major losers.


...AND THE MOVERS


ONGC was the only gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 5.3% to Rs 887.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Anu's Laboratories led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 452.66 crore followed by Gokul Refoils (Rs 438 crore), ONGC (Rs 313.48 crore), Reliance (Rs 308.80 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 268.68 crore).


Gokul Refoils topped the volume chart with trades of around 2.11 crore shares followed by IFCI (1.78 crore), Anu's Laboratories (1.65 crore), Reliance Petroleum (1.57 crore) and Ispat Industries (1.39 crore).

Snapshot...June 3rd...

Sensex slips 100pts; Reliance Infra down 4%

PM's assurance of controlling prices 'hoax': BJP

Himalaya Drugs, Bangalore Agri University ink MoU

Dhandapani Finance to consider sale of business

Power target for June unlikely to be met: Jairam

Essar Oil to settle with half stake in KPRL

Nissan to produce next gen Micra from Chennai

RSP posts best ever performance for April-May

EIL Q4 net up 33% to Rs 56.68 cr

Goa will pursue dropping of SEZs: MP

Punj Lloyd acquires 74% stake in Technodyne

Mphasis MD Deepak Patel quits

Suzlon signs MoU with US Department of Energy

News: June 3rd...

Companies & Industry:
Maruti, Hyundai car sales spurt in anticipation of price rise
Carrefour cajoles Indian realtors in partner quest
Jet, Spice, Kingfisher to cut flights, routes to prune losses
Jindal Steel plans Rs 5k cr power plant in Orissa


Economy & Policy:
RBI proposes higher capital adequacy for NBFCs
Exports in April up 31.5%
India inks DTAA with Luxembourg
Banking, financial activities to come under service tax scanner


Banking & Finance:
Yes, Axis Bank securitise Rs 1k cr oil company loans
RBI aid for oil firms lifts Rupee
Merger of SBS with SBI soon
Burmans, Liberty Mutual tie up for non-life insurance JV

May 13th: Sensex sheds 108 points as oil stocks plummet...

The sharp fall in key oil company stocks, led by refinery major Reliance Industries (RIL), saw the domestic benchmark indices close the day on a low note. The RIL stock fell by 2.08 per cent to close at Rs 2,501.

Oil exploration heavyweights witnessed a correction as soaring crude prices took a pause after the recent rally. Strong rumours that the CPI (M) was withdrawing its support to the Congress-led UPA government too took its toll on the markets during the final hour of the trading session.

Later, however, the CPI (M) scotched the rumours by saying that the alliance was intact. The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell by 108 points or 0.64 per cent to close at 16,752.

The broader index CNX S&P Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was down 1.09 per cent or 55 points at 4,957. The BSE Oil & Gas index fell by 2.56 per cent.

"Markets are likely to witness some downside as inflation and rising crude prices are major concerns. The depreciating rupee too is adding fuel to the fire," said Anita Gandhi, head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Services Ltd.

Sensex recovers smartly to end 124pts up

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 96 points at 16,641. The index fell further in the next few minutes, but there was recovery by noon. However, these gains could not be sustained and the market fell again, losing 191 points from the previous close. However, a late recovery helped the Sensex end with a gain of 124 points to 16,861.



The index touched a low of 16,547 - down 190 points from the previous close. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 124 points at 16,861.


The breadth was negative. Out of 2,747 stocks traded today - 1,768 declined, 926 advanced and the rest were unchanged.


The NSE Nifty closed 30 points higher at 5,013.


INDEX MOVERS...


Ranbaxy was the big gainer; it was up 5.3% to Rs 494. Satyam gained 3.4% to Rs 490. ITC was up 2.5% to Rs 224, while HDFC and Reliance Communications gained 2% each to Rs 2,699 and Rs 550 respectively.


Reliance Energy gained 1.9% to Rs 1,357, Bhel was up 1.4% to Rs 1,748 and Wipro advanced 1.3% to Rs 508. Infosys, HDFC Bank, Ambuja Cements, Cipla, TCS and Reliance Industries gained over 1% each.


Other gainers included Hindalco, Maruti, ICICI Bank and NTPC.


...AND THE SHAKERS


Grasim was the big loser, down 3.6% to Rs 2,256. Jaiprakash Associates declined nearly 2% to Rs 246, while ACC was down 1.45% TO Rs 702.


DLF and Hindustan Unilever lost over 1.3% to Rs 622 and Rs 242 respectively. SBI, M&M, Bharti, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and L&T lost under 1% each.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Reliance Petroleum led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 316.97 crore followed by Cairn India (Rs 260.68 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 258.47 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 214.02 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 182.1 crore).


Reliance Petroleum also topped the volume chart with trades of around 1.79 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (1.75 crore), IFCI (1.34 crore), Cairn (89.5 lakh) and Essar Oil (63.77 lakh).

May 9th: Dow slips 121pts; ADRs mixed

Wall Street ended lower on Friday, May 9. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 121 points to 12,746. The Nasdaq was down six points to 2,446.


Indian ADRs ended on mixed note. Satyam surged 1.68% to $26, and Patni advanced 1.26% to $12.81. Wipro added nearly 1% to $12.99.


On the other hand, Sterlite plunged 2.53% to $20.40. HDFC Bank slumped 2.3% to $106.87. ICICI Bank, MTNL and Tata Motors slipped around 1.3% each at $42.48, $5 and $15.96, respectively. Genpact was down nearly 1% to $13.3.

May 9th: Sensex ends down 344pts; Reliance drops 5%

The Sensex opened 60 points lower at 17,021, and soon slipped below the 17,000-mark to 16,975. Selective buying in morning trades saw the index rebound into positive zone and touch a high of 17,126.


The index, however, slipped back into red owing to lack of buying support at higher levels. The selling gain momentum in late noon trades and the index tumbled to a low of 16,679 - down 447 points from the high.


The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 344 points at 16,737.


Losers beat gainers in 3:1 ratio, i.e for every advancing share there were three declining stocks - out of 2,784 stocks traded, 2,017 declined, and 706 advanced today.


The NSE Nifty closed points 99 lower at 4,983.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Jaiprakash Associates tumbled 6.6% to Rs 251. Reliance plunged over 5% to Rs 2,528.


Reliance Energy and ACC declined 4.5% each to Rs 1,332 and Rs 712, respectively.


HDFC Bank and Hindalco dropped 3.7% to Rs 1451 and Rs 174, respectively.


SBI, Cipla, HDFC and TCS slipped around 3% each to Rs 1,676, Rs 206, Rs 2,645 and 917, respectively.


DLF, BHEL and ICICI Bank shed 2% each at Rs 630, 1,725 and 874, respectively.


Larsen & Toubro, Ambuja Cements and Infosys declined 1.7% each to Rs 2,836, Rs 110 and Rs 1,751, respectively.


...AND THE MOVERS


Bharti Airtel gained 1.8% at Rs 842, and ITC advanced 1.5% to Rs 218.


Wipro was the other prominent gainer at Rs 501 - up 0.8%.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Aishwarya Telecom led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 502.00 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 291.21 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 283.57 crore), Reliance (Rs 268.66 crore) and IFCI (Rs 173 crore).


Aishwarya Telecom, also, topped the volume chart with trades of around 5.38 crore shares followed by IFCI (2.81 crore), Ispat Industries (1.57 crore), Reliance Petroleum (1.55 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (1.21 crore).

Sensex ends down 258pts; ITC sheds 5%

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 127 points at 17,212. Unabated selling pressure in the market, owing to weak global cues, saw the index drift deeper into red as the day progressed.


The index touched a low of 17, 038 - down 301 points from the previous close. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 258 points at 17,081.


Out of 2,746 stocks traded today - 1,592 declined, 1,104 advanced and the rest were unchanged.


The NSE Nifty closed 54 points lower at 5,082.


INDEX SHAKERS...


ITC plunged over 5% to Rs 215, and Satyam Computers slumped 3.7% to Rs 471.


Infosys and Larsen & Toubro tumbled nearly 3.5% each to Rs 1,780 and Rs 2,886, respectively.


ICICI Bank and Reliance Energy dropped 3% each to Rs 891 and Rs 1,394, respectively.


TCS, HDFC Bank, SBI and Jaiprakash Associates slipped over 2% each to Rs 944, Rs 1,508, Rs 1,730 and Rs 269, respectively.


Tata Motors and Cipla shed 1.5% each at Rs 669 and Rs 212, respectively.


BHEL, DLF and ONGC were down over 1% each.


...AND THE MOVERS


Tata Steel surged 2.5% to Rs 846. Bharti Airtel added 1.5% to Rs 828.


ACC, Ranbaxy and Mahindra & Mahindra were the other major gainers.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Aishwarya Telecom led the value chart with a turnover of Rs 722.20 crore followed by Reliance Power (Rs 250.34 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 171.69 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 160.78 crore) and Cairn India (Rs 155.38 crore).


Aishwarya Telecom, also, topped the volume chart with trades of around 7.71 crore shares followed by IFCI (1.42 crore), Ispat Industries (1.14 crore), Kashyap Technology (87.10 lakh) and Reliance Natural Resources (83.40 lakh).

Sensex down 34pts at 17,339; Bhel 4% lower

The Sensex opened 31 points higher at 17,404. Though it went a bit higher to 17,414, the higher levels could not be sustained. The index slipped into the negative zone, losing 143 points.


The Sensex recovered partially and finally ended with a loss of 34 points at 17,339.


The market breadth was decidedly negative - out of 2,764 stocks traded, 1,526 declined, 1,175 advanced and 63 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty shed 8 points to end at 5,135.50.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Bhel was the biggest Sensex loser, declining 4.12% to Rs 1,783.75.


Bharti Airtel declined 3.64% to Rs 815.80.


DLF and Larsen & Toubro tumbled around 2.5% and 2.4% to Rs 651 and Rs 2,986, respectively.


Ranbaxy slipped 1.8% at Rs 466. Satyam was down 1.5% to Rs 489, while Hindalco declined 1.15% to Rs 180. ICICI Bank was 1% lower at Rs 919 and Grasim was down 0.86% to Rs 2,337.


NTPC and Cipla were both down 0.65% each to Rs 195 and Rs 214.


...AND THE MOVERS


TCS was the biggest gainer in the index, up 3% at Rs 966. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.5% to Rs 674 and Infosys was up 1.25% to Rs 1,843.


Hindustan Unilever, Jaiprakash Associates, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, and Maruti gained over 1% each.


VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS


Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 240.15 crore followed by Idea Cellular (Rs 205.60 crore), Cairn (Rs 204.46 crore), Bharti (Rs 172.07 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 167.23 crore).


Idea Cellular led the volume chart with trades of around 2.04 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (1.02 crore), Cairn (0.74 crore), Reliance Petroleum (0.63 crore) and Essar Oil (0.35 crore).

Sensex ends down 118pts; Bharti, DLF slip 5%

The Sensex opened 49 points lower at 17,441. Some buying in opening trades saw the index spurt to a high of 17,502. The index, however, could not hold gains and soon slipped back into the negative zone.


Unabated selling in the market saw the index tumble to a low of 17,238 - down 264 points from the day's high. The Sensex recovered partially and finally ended with a loss of 118 points at 17,373.


The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,753 stocks traded, 1,711 declined, 975 advanced and 67 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty shed 48 points to end at 5,145.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Bharti Airtel and DLF slumped 5.3% each to Rs 847 and Rs 668, respectively.


Jaiprakash Associates and Reliance Energy tumbled around 5% each to Rs 272 and Rs 1,442, respectively.


BHEL has plunged 2.5% at Rs 1,860. Larsen & Toubro, Maruti and ACC slipped over 2% each to Rs 3,061, Rs 767 and Rs 741, respectively.


Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Communications dropped 2% each to Rs 664 and Rs 543, respectively.


SBI and NTPC declined 1.3% each to Rs 1,756 and Rs 196, respectively. Grasim was, also, down over 1% at Rs 2,357.


...AND THE MOVERS


Satyam and ITC surged 2% each to Rs 497 and Rs 225, respectively.


Infosys, Tata Steel and Wipro moved up 1.8% each to Rs 1,820, Rs 816 and Rs 498, respectively.


TCS gained 1.5% at Rs 938.


VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS


Titagarh Wagons topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 263.30 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 236.40 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 210.90 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 204.40 crore) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 174 crore).


Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 1.75 crore shares followed by IFCI (1.73 crore), Ispat Industries (1.51 crore), Tata Teleservices (1.19 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (1.02 crore).

Sensex ends down 109pts; HDFC, SBI slip

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 87 points at 17,687. Fresh buying in late morning deals saw the index move up to a high of 17,736 - up 136 points from the previous close.



The index, however, could not hold gains and slipped into the negative zone. The index dropped to a low of 17,457 - down 279 points from the day's high in late noon deals. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 109 points at 17,491.


The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,776 stocks traded, 1,634 advanced, 1,104 declined and 38 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty slipped 36 points and settled at 5,192.


INDEX SHAKERS...


Wipro, SBI and HDFC plunged nearly 2.5% each to Rs 490, Rs 1,779 and Rs 2,710, respectively.


DLF slipped over 2% to Rs 705. Mahindra & Mahindra and TCS shed 1.8% each at Rs 678 and Rs 924, respectively.


Ambuja Cements dropped 1.5% to Rs 111. Satyam, Hindalco and Reliance Communications declined 1.3% each to Rs 488, Rs 183 and Rs 554, respectively.


NTPC was down over 1% at Rs 199.


...AND THE MOVERS


Cipla gained nearly 1.5% at Rs 216.


Tata Steel, Grasim and ACC were the other gainers among the index stocks.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Titagarh Wagons topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 225 crore followed by HDFC (Rs 198.50 crore), Reliance (Rs 197.25 crore), Unitech (Rs 167 crore), Jaiprakash Associates (Rs 154.80 crore).


Tata Teleservices led the volume chart with trades of around 1.86 crore shares followed by Kashyap Technologies (1.47 crore), Ispat Industries (1.40 crore), IFCI (1.23 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (1.09 crore).

April 25th: Sensex ends up 405pts; Bharti, RCom shine

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 61 points at 16,782. Agressive buying in telecom and financial stocks helped the index cross the 17,000-mark today.



The Sensex rallied to a high of 17,151, and finally ended with a gain of 405 points at 17,126.


The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,763 stocks traded, 1,459 declined and 1,248 advanced today.


The NSE Nifty moved up 112 points to close at 5,112.


INDEX MOVERS...


Bharti Airtel zoomed 9.6% to Rs 925. Reliance Communications (RCom) soared 8.3% to Rs 577.


ICICI Bank surged 4.5% to Rs 916. HDFC and SBI rallied 4% each to Rs 2,694 and Rs 1,750, respectively. HDFC Bank advanced 3.5% to Rs 1,498.


Reliance Energy gained 4% at Rs 1,359. Wipro moved up 3.7% to Rs 466, and Tata Steel added 3.5% to Rs 803.


ONGC advanced over 2% to Rs 1,055. Reliance and ITC gained 1.7% each at Rs 2,625 and Rs 213, respectively.


Satyam, NTPC and Larsen & Toubro were up over 1% each at Rs 445, Rs 193 and Rs 2,971, respectively.


BHEL and Mahindra & Mahindra were also up 1% each at Rs 1,867 and Rs 636, respectively.


...AND THE SHAKERS


ACC dropped nearly 2% to Rs 783. Maruti and DLF were down around 1% each to Rs 737 and Rs 668, respectively.


VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS


Reliance Natural Resources topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 354.40 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 225.30 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 210.25 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 209.20 crore) and Reliance (Rs 207.65 crore).


Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around Rs 2.95 crore shares followed by IFCI (1.56 crore), Ispat Industries (1.42 crore), Nagarjuna Fertlisers (1.40 crore) and Tata Teleservices (1.19 crore).

Sensex up 23pts; HUL up 3%, ACC down 5.5%

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 67 points at 16,796. After advacing to a high of 16,844, the index slipped into the red to 16,668 - down 176 points from the day's high.


The Sensex was trading in the red in afternoon trades and finally ended at 16,721 points, 23 points higher.


The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,785 stocks traded, 1,266 advanced, 1,464 declined and 55 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty settled with a loss of 23 points at 4,999.


INDEX SHAKERS...


ACC was the biggest loser on the Sensex, down 5.5% to Rs 798. Reliance Communication and Reliance Energy were down 2.89% and 2.73%.


NTPC and Tata Steel declined 2.68% and 2.65% respectively.


Maruti was down 2% after its Q4 results. Cipla, DLF, ITC and ONGC all declined over 1% each.


...AND THE MOVERS


Hindustan Unilever was the biggest gainer, up 3.12% to Rs 249.35. The IT pack was also in demand. Infosys gained 2.86%, Satyam was up 2.06% and Wipro rose 1.46%.


ICICI Bank, L&T, Jaiprakash Associates and Bhel gained over 1%.


Reliance Industries gained 0.14%, while Tata Motors was up 0.54%.


TCS remained unchanged.


MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS


Reliance Petroleum topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 200.9 crore followed by Reliance Industries (Rs 179.6 crore), Essar Oil (Rs 172.2 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 133 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 126.96 crore).


IFCI led the volume chart with trades of around 1.84 crore shares followed by Indiabulls Securities (1.1 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (1.08 crore), Reliance Petroleum (1.02 crore) and Essar Oil (0.6 crore).

Sensex ends up 45pts; TCS slumps 11%

The Sensex opened 52 points lower at 16,687, and soon slipped to a low of 16,598. Fresh buying in capital goods stocks helped the index rebound into the positive zone.


The index touched a high of 16,854 - up 256 points from the day's low. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 45 points at 16,784.


The market breadth was positive - out of 2,758 stocks traded, 1,569 advanced, 1,127 declined and 62 were unchanged today.


The NSE Nifty moved up 12 points to close at 5,049.


INDEX MOVERS...


BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates soared 5.5% each to Rs 1,872 and Rs 246, respectively.


HDFC surged 3.7% to Rs 2,577, and DLF rallied 3.5% to Rs 674.


HDFC Bank advanced 3% to Rs 1,488, and Larsen & Toubro added 2.6% to Rs 2,921.


ACC, ONGC and Cipla gained 2.3% each at Rs 819, Rs 1,054 and Rs 231, respectively.


ICICI Bank and ITC moved up over 2% each to Rs 882 and Rs 213, respectively.


Tata Motors gained 1.4% at Rs 631. Ambuja Cements was up over 1% at Rs 115.


...AND THE LAGGARDS


TCS slumped 10.6% to Rs 887. Wipro and Satyam plunged 5% each to Rs 431 and Rs 436, respectively. Infosys shed 2.8% at Rs 1,599.


Ranbaxy slipped 2.4% to Rs 487. Grasim, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra dropped over 1.5% each to Rs 2,600, Rs 754 and Rs 629, respectively.


Reliance and Reliance Communications were down over 1% each to Rs 2,607 and Rs 553, respectively.


VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS


Orchid Chemicals topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 355.30 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 314 crore), Reliance (Rs 220.70 crore), debutant Kiri Dyes (Rs 212.70 crore) and IFCI (Rs 193.50 crore).


IFCI led the volume chart with trades of around 3.45 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (3.30 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (2.72 crore), Tata Teleservices (1.44 crore) and Orchid Chemicals (1.40 crore).

Sensex ends up 258pts; Tata Steel soars 9%, JP Associates surges 7%...

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 130 points at 16,611. The index moved in a narrow range of 169 points - low of 16,611, and a high of 16,779.

The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 258 points at 16,739.

The market breadth was extremely positive - out of 2,772 stocks traded, 2,050 advanced, 674 declined and the rest were unchanged today.

The NSE Nifty gained 79 points to close at 5,037.

INDEX MOVERS...

Tata Steel soared 8.6% to Rs 777. Jaiprakash Associates surged 7.3% to Rs 233.

Reliance Communications rallied 5.5% to Rs 559. Ranbaxy and Bharti Airtel moved up nearly 4% each to Rs 499 and Rs 854, respectively.

HDFC Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank advanced 3.5% each to Rs 1,445, Rs 1,741 and Rs 864, respectively.

Hindalco and Grasim gained 3% each at Rs 192 and Rs 2,644, respectively.

NTPC and Larsen & Toubro added 2.5% each to Rs 194 and Rs 2,845, respectively.

Cipla gained 1.7% at Rs 226. Hindustan Unilever and ONGC were up 1.5% each at Rs 236 and Rs 1,031, respectively.

...AND THE LAGGARDS

Satyam slipped over 2% to Rs 459. Infosys and Wipro declined over 1% each to Rs 1,645 and Rs 454, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Debutant Titagarh Wagons topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 367 crore followed by Orchid Chemicals (Rs 289.50 crore), Reliance (Rs 172.80 crore), Essar Oil (Rs 134 crore) and Reliance Capital (Rs 128.35 crore).

Ispat Industries led the volume chart with trades of around 1.85 crore shares followed by Sita Shree Foods (1.33 crore), Orchid Chemicals (1.14 crore), Centurion Bank of Punjab (1.10 crore) and Tata Teleservices (1.08 crore).

MAJOR INDEXES CLOSING SNAPSHOT - April 18th...

MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

MAJOR INDEXES CLOSING SNAPSHOT
____________________________________

Major US Indexes 4:53 p.m. EDT 04/18/08
Chg % Chg Last
....................................

DJ Industrials*
228.87 1.81 12849.36

DJ Transportation Average*
113.11 2.27 5100.08

DJ Utility Average*
1.82 0.35 515.95

Nasdaq Composite*
61.14 2.61 2402.97

Nasdaq 100*
59.40 3.23 1900.28

S&P 500*
24.77 1.81 1390.33

S&P 400 Mid-Cap*
12.60 1.53 834.70

S&P 600 Small-Cap*
6.58 1.76 380.25

DJ Wilshire 5000*
240.25 1.74 14017.30

NYSE Composite*
136.43 1.49 9310.24

NYSE Financial*
121.77 1.61 7687.46

Russell 2000*
13.07 1.85 721.07

Amex Composite*
23.52 1.00 2365.77

KBW Bank*
1.14 1.42 81.63

PHLX Gold/Silver*
-3.73 -1.94 188.51

PHLX Housing Sector*
1.39 0.96 146.06

PHLX Oil Service*
13.21 4.20 327.97

PHLX Semiconductor*
9.05 2.46 377.33

* at close


Major World Indexes 4:51 p.m. EDT 04/18/08
Chg % Chg Last
....................................

DJ World Index
2.77 0.98 285.85

DJ World exUS
1.04 0.40 258.50

DJ Stoxx 50*
81.85 2.63 3198.43

UK: FTSE 100*
76.10 1.27 6056.50

Germany: DAX*
161.27 2.41 6843.08

DJ Asia-Pacific
-1.61 -1.08 147.72

Japan: Nikkei Average*
78.15 0.58 13476.45

Hong Kong: Hang Seng*
-61.18 -0.25 24197.78

DJ Americas Index
5.78 1.62 361.78

* at close

Sensex may head down to 14k in April: Edelweiss

Abhijit Chakraborthy of Edelweiss feels that broadly Q4 numbers will be disappointing. He expects the Sensex to touch 14,000 levels in April. According to Chakraborthy, hedge funds are on the sideline due to redemption pressures. Some hedge funds have seen a 25-40% fall in NAVs in the recent downfall, he said.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Chakraborthy said he expects a guidance of 18-20%, in rupee terms, for Infosys. He is bullish on telecom stocks like Bharti, RComm, which he says will report robust numbers. However, is also sees the possibility of a correction in power stocks. Chakraborthy added that no slowdown in expected in capital and engineering goods and in the infra space.

The Edelweiss view is that broadly the directional correction which was required in the market is largely over. However, in the short-term, the market is not going to see any significant short-term recovery. It’s going to sort of consolidate and react to the short-term news events panning both, domestic as well as international markets.