Markets end in red amid volatility; IT, bank stocks drag, RNRL drops again...

It was once again a day of consolidation on the bourses today where in the markets opened on bullish note taking strong cues from the global peers. The markets traded extremely volatile through the day and closed in red with significant cuts.

It was extremely bad for the IT stocks which got butchered on account of further strengthening of rupee and the banking and realty stocks also lost some ground. However, the oil & gas, metal and capital good stocks were in focus today. BSE Oil & gas index closed with over 2% gain and Reliance Industries led from the front.

The Sensex ended down 110.84 points or 0.57% at 19289.83, and the Nifty closed down 4.15 points or 0.07% at 5782.35. About 1180 shares advanced, 1781 shares declined, and 102 shares were unchanged on BSE. On NSE 401 stocks advanced today and 786 stocks declined.

Top Sensex gainers were Reliance, BHEL, SBI and M&M. Top Sensex losers were Infosys, HDFC Bank, Satyam and ICICI Bank.

BSE midcap ended at 7,985.96 down 29.34 points or 0.37%. BSE smallcap closed at 9,695.13 down 107.90 points or 1.10%.

BSE auto index ended at 5,295.39 up 18.15 points or 0.34%.

BSE bankex ended at 10,620.22 down 166.29 points or 1.54%.

BSE capital goods index closed at 19,738.36 up 41.07 points or 0.21%.

BSE FMCG index ended at 2,010.22 down 16.23 points or 0.80%.

BSE pharma index closed at 3,866.54 down 12.19 points or 0.31%.

BSE IT index ended at 4,343.42 down 197.27 points or 4.34%. Infosys, Tech mahindra and Mphasis were the top losers.

BSE metal index closed at 17,367.72 up 161.66 points or 0.94%.

BSE oil & gas index ended at 11,688.18 up 298.97 points or 2.63%.

BSE realty index closed at 10,291.09 down 109.99 points or 1.06%. Puravankara Project, Indiabulls Realestate, Sobha Developers were the top losers.

Turnover today:

BSE cash - Rs 6839.5 cr
NSE cash - Rs 18263.03 cr
NSE f&o - Rs 62678.11 cr
Total - Rs 87780.64 cr

How BSE indices closed on November 7...

Markets succumb to profit booking; end in deep red. RPL and RNRL amongst major losers...

It was extremely volatile day of trade wherein the markets opened on firm note and proceeded to trade strong in the early trade. But it could not maintain the momentum and succumbed to profit booking seen across the sectors led by capital goods, banking and metal stocks. All the key BSE indices ended in red except realty index which could manage to keep its head above water.

Sensex ended down 190.11 points or 0.97% at 19400.67, and the Nifty closed down 60.80 points or 1.04% at 5786.50. On BSE about 1283 shares advanced, 1694 shares declined, and 85 shares were unchanged. On NSE, the advance decline ratio was at 443:736.

How BSE indices closed on November 6...

Market ends in red: Midcap, smallcap outperform...

The markets ended in red on account of selling pressure in largecaps from bank, FMCG, IT and energy sector. Broader markets held out their gains and BSE midcap and smallcap outperformed the Sensex, which closed down 385 points (-1.93%). The midcap index was up 1% and smallcap index was up 1.4%.

Cues from Asia were not very encouraging as most of the Asia closed in the red. Hang Seng was down 1450 points or 5%, Shanghai was down 2.5%, Straits and Thailand were down nearly 2% each.

Sensex closed down 385.45 points or 1.93% at 19590.78, and the Nifty down 85.10 points or 1.43% at 5847.30.

About 1569 shares advanced, 1418 shares declined, and 75 shares remained unchanged.

Top gainers on the indices were Ranbaxy, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, SBI, NTPC, Tata Power, PNB and HPCL.

Noida Toll Bridge, Jaiprakash Hydro, RNRL, HMT are among the other gainers from broader markets.

Top losers on the indices were ONGC & ICICI Bank down over 4% each, HDFC Bank down 3%, Infosys and GlaxoSmithKline.

How BSE indices closed on November 5...

US Financials Suffer Once Again, But Indexes Scratch Out Gains...

Courtesy:






On Friday (November 2nd) US markets avoided a replay of the previous session's bloodletting despite another brutal day for financial stocks, which continued to slide amid growing fear that credit-market problems have yet to do their worst to the balance sheets of banks and brokerages.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.23 to 13595.10, but that wasn't enough to undo Thursday's damage, and the blue-chip benchmark ended down 1.5% for the week. The S&P 500-stock index added 1.21 points to 1509.65, but it finished off 1.7% on the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 15.55 to 2810.38, ending the week with a modest 0.2% gain.

Financials again logged heavy losses amid continued concern over the exposure of banks and Wall Street firms to troubled credit instruments, but closed off of session lows. Merrill Lynch closed down by 7.9% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company, attempting to slash its exposure to risky mortgage-backed securities, engaged in transactions with hedge funds that may have been designed to delay reckoning on losses. Merrill responded in a statement that it "had no reason to believe that any such inappropriate transactions occurred. Such transactions would clearly violate Merrill Lynch policy."

Other financials also felt the pinch. Bear Stearns fell 5.4%, Morgan Stanley lost 5.6%, Lehman Brothers declined 0.6% and Goldman Sachs lost 4.4%. J.P. Morgan, which had reported a relatively strong third quarter and appeared to handle the credit squeeze better than many of its peers, fell 2.6%.

"There's a high likelihood the fourth quarter will be a kitchen-sink quarter [for financials], with a lot of charges," said Phil Dow, of RBC Dain Rauscher, who noted that finding the extent of banks' subprime exposure takes time, and that a possible rescue of banks' ailing structured investment vehicles may fail.

Serious weakness in bank and broker shares has now stalked the markets for two sessions in a row. Analyst downgrades of Citigroup catalyzed heavy losses Thursday, when all three major stock indexes lost more than 2% of their value. Citi fell another 2% Friday, but the stock came off its lows on reports that Citi's board would hold an emergency meeting this weekend. It wasn't clear what the meeting's agenda is, but the subject of further writedowns could come up.

Though financials are ailing, some analysts argue that the economy as a whole is sound. "Factory orders were good, initial claim numbers were good, GDP was good," said Jim Paulsen, of Wells Capital Management. "The market isn't trading on economic fundamentals. Wall Street has a pessimism complex."

As has frequently been the case recently, tech stocks proved a notable pocket of strength. Amid the intraday swoon, the tech-heavy Nasdaq held up better than other benchmarks. Google and Intel both closed up 1.1%, and Hewlett-Packard added 1.8%. Research In Motion shares climbed 4%.

Markets appeared to receive an encouraging economic signal from a report that showed employers added 166,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in October, double the mean expectations of Wall Street economists. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.7%

Market ends higher outperforming Asian peers

It was rollercoster ride for the markets as they ended with hefty gain after opening with a sharp cut in red. Not only did the markets recover the losses but also made good gains. Sensex hit the 20,000 level again but ended marginally below that mark. Nifty which had slipped below 5700 levels clawed back in the final hour and ended above 5900 level. Short covering can also be attributed to the gains.

The cues from Asia and US were extremely weak, but the markets have shown resilience once again outperforming all Asian peers and ending near the day's high. Initially markets have taken cues from the fall in US on account of credit concerns. Hang Seng was down 1000 points or 3%

Among the leaders, SBI was up over 5%, Tata Power up over 4%, Reliance Energy is up over 3.5% and HDFC Bank up over 2%.

All the key BSE indices ended in green. BSE midcap and smallcap index have outperformed. This has given markets a positive breadth.

Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, SAIL were trading weak on the bourses.

On the macroeconomic front, inflation came in at 3.02% versus 3.07%, which is inline with the market estimates.

On a weekly basis markets ended with good gains, Sensex and Nifty put on nearly 4% with Bankex up 9.5% and metal index up 6%.

Sensex was up 251.88 points or 1.28% at 19976.23, and the Nifty up 65.95 points or 1.12% at 5932.40.

About 1546 shares have advanced, 1434 shares declined, and 81 shares are unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 8,021.80 up 0.7%.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 9,742.43 up 1%.

The BSE Bankex was up 3.5% at 11,241.53. SBI, BOB, HDFC Bank, Union Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Andhra Bank, Bank of India moved upwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 1% at 20,386.41. Punj Lloyd, Areva T&D, Kirloskar Oil, Bharat Bijlee, Triveni Engg closed higher.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,423.10 up 0.6%. Bharat Forge, MICO, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Exide Industrie, Apollo Tyres closed higher.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 17,693.66 up 0.6%. Jindal Steel, JindalStainless, Tata Steel, SAIL, Hind Zinc closed higher.

The BSE FMCG Index closed at 2,062.04 up 1.2%. Marico, Colgate, ITC, Bata India closed higher.

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 11,736.43 up 1.7%. Reliance Natura, Essar Oil, Reliance Petro, Petronet LNG ended higher.

The BSE IT Index was at 4,634.64 up 0.4%. Infosys, Financial Tech, TCS closed higher.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 20029.43 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 76145.01 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 8143.03 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 104317.47 crore.

How BSE indices closed on November 2...

Mkts off day's low; bank, auto, metal stocks still weak...

The markets have pulled back significantly from the early lows but are still under deep pressure. All the key BSE indices are in red but capital goods, realty and oil & gas stocks have seen good amount of buying in last half an hour of trade. BSE midcap and smallcap index have outperformed Sensex today.

At 10.30 am, the Sensex is down 135.39 points or 0.69% at 19588.96, and the Nifty down 36.15 points or 0.62% at 5830.30. About 1217 shares have advanced, 1759 shares declined, and 85 shares are unchanged.

Market breadth was negative with over 700 stocks on the downside and only 415 stocks on the advancing side. Rupee was quoting at 39.36 against a US dollar.

Top gainers on the Nifty are ITC at Rs 174 up 1.34%, NTPC at Rs 233.20 up 1.33% and Larsen & Toubro at Rs 4,479 up 1.24%.

Top losers on the Nifty are Bharti Airtel at Rs 894.70 down 4.83%, Maruti Suzuki at Rs 971.50 down 3.48% and Sterlite Inds at Rs 988.90 down 3.39%.

Most active shares on NSE are Reliance Petro at Rs 264.45 with 18,538,725 shares, Reliance Natural at Rs 132.80 with 20,872,079 shares and Reliance at Rs 2,626.25 with 675,910 shares.

BSE Capital good index has recovered significantly from the early weaknes and was down only 0.14%. In the cap good space, Triveni Eng, Punj Lloydand Bharat Bijlee were the top gainers.

Market ends in red amid volatility: Telecom, FMCG down...

The markets were seen consolidating at the higher levels and ended the day in red amid an extremely volatile session. The markets opened strong slipped in red, bounced back again but ended in red.

The markets opened today on a strong note and the Nifty breached the psychological level of 6,000 reacting to 25 bps cut by US Fed. But the markets failed to sustain at the higher levels. Sensex was 500 points down from the day's high and Nifty was down 150 points.

GSM operators in the telecom were the worst hit in today’s red on news of spectrum allocation to be made more stringent. Auto, FMCG and pharma stocks also dragged the markets.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices and and ended in red. This gave markets weak breadth.

Top losers on the indices were Relaince, HUL, ITC, Bharti Airtel, MTNL, VSNL Nalco, HCL Tech .

L&T, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Sterlite Ind, Reliance Petroleum, Infosys were among the top gainers on the indices.

How BSE indices closed on November 1...

Sensex ends up 54 points, Hind Unilever drops 5%...

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 43 points at 19,827, but slipped to a low of 19,735 in early deals. Selective buying saw the index move into positive zone soon, and rally to a high of 19,984 - up 249 points from the day's low.

The index, thereafter, exhibited a range-bound movement, and finally settled with a gain of 54 points at 19,838.

In the process, the index finished the month with a significant gain of 14.7% (2,547 points) - the best so far this year. In the last two months, the index gained a whopping 29.5% (4,519 points), and the index is up almost 44% (6,051 points) on a year-till-date basis.

While the Small-cap index rallied 1.6% to 9797, the Mid-cap index advanced over 1% to 8135.

The BSE Metal index surged 3.4% to 17,885. The Bankex, Oil & Gas and PSU indices advanced around 1% each to 10,655, 11,658 and 9628, respectively.

The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,817 stocks traded, 1,404 advanced, 1,344 declined and 69 were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

Reliance Energy soared over 4% to Rs 1,868. Ranbaxy surged 3% to Rs 427.

NTPC, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra rallied around 2% each to Rs 239, Rs 1,248, Rs 1,653 and Rs 755, respectively.

Hindalco moved up 1.6% to Rs 196, and ICICI Bank added 1.3% to Rs 1,257.

Dr.Reddy's and ACC were up around 1% each at Rs 622 and Rs 1,078, respectively.

...AND THE LOSERS

Hindustan Unilever plunged over 5% to Rs 208.

Larsen & Toubro slipped nearly 2% to Rs 4,245, and BHEL shed 1.5% at Rs 2,613.

Maruti, Cipla and Tata Motors declined over 1% each to Rs 1,074, Rs 179 and Rs 758, respectively.

TCS and Wipro were down 1% each at Rs 1,038 and Rs 505, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 648.50 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 560.30 crore), Jindal Steel (Rs 422.50 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs 352.20 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 338 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.82 crore shares followed by Tata Teleservices (2.80 crore), Reliance Petroleum (2.31 crore), Nagarjuna Fertilisers (1.21 crore) and Power Grid (1.18 crore).

Sensex ends down 194 points, Maruti drops 8%...

After opening with a positive gap of 125 points at 20,103, the Sensex touched an all-time intra-day high of 20,238 before slipping into negative zone in early trades. The index, thereafter, exhibited significant volatility and rebounded into positive zone after the Reserve Bank of India, in its second quarterly review of credit policy, left key rates untouched but hiked the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 7.5%.

A fresh round of selling in late noon trades saw the index tumble to a low of 19,695 - down 543 points from the peak. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 194 points at 19,784.

The BSE Auto index tumbled over 3% to 5480, and the Oil & Gas index slipped over 1% to 11,526. The BSE Bankex also slipped 1% to 10,550. The Realty index, however, surged 2.4% to 10,517.

The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,822 stocks traded 1,666 declined, 1,087 advanced and 69 were unchanged today.

INDEX LAGGARDS...

Maruti slumped 8.5% to Rs 1,088. Mahindra & Mahindra plunged 7% to Rs 741, and Tata Motors declined 5% to Rs 767.

SBI declined 2.6% to Rs 2,062. ICICI Bank was down nearly 1% at Rs 1,240, and HDFC Bank was also down 1% at Rs 1,618.

HDFC, Reliance, Grasim, Ranbaxy and TCS tumbled 2% each to Rs 2,756, Rs 2,771, Rs 3,730, Rs 415 and Rs 1,049, respectively.

Cipla shed 1.7% at Rs 181. ONGC and ITC dropped 1.5% each to Rs 1,220 and Rs 180, respectively.

ACC and Reliance Communications were down over 1% each to Rs 1,068 and Rs 767, respectively.

...AND THE MOVERS

Reliance Energy surged nearly 4% to Rs 1,789.

BHEL moved up 1.6% to Rs 2,655, and Larsen & Toubro added 1% to Rs 4,323.

MIXED CLOSE FOR AUTO, BANK STOCKS

Punjab Tractors dropped 3.7% to Rs 210, and Hero Honda slipped 2.6% to Rs 725. TVS Motors and Ashok Leyland, however, moved up nearly 2% each to Rs 58 and Rs 41, respectively.

BoI zoomed 18% to Rs 373. Union Bank gained 8% to Rs 174. BoB, Yes Bank and Karnataka Bank also finished with gains. PNB was down 5% at Rs 511. Kotak Bank, OBC and Andhra Bank also declined.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 828 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 755.60 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 459.80 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs 419.80 crore) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs 328.55 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 3.98 crore shares followed by Reliance Petroleum (3.26 crore), Tata Teleservices (3.26 crore), Power Grid (1.94 crore) and MRPL (1.67 crore).

October 30th: News Snapshot...

Sensex ends down 194 points, Maruti drops 8%


UB Holdings to raise Rs 1,300cr to retire debt


GTL Infra to invest $1.7 bn for tower rollout


Nestle India Q3 net up 40% at Rs 116cr


Credit Policy Impact: India Inc reaction mixed


Credit Policy Impact: Bankers see stable rates


Credit Policy: FM to banks - draw right message


Credit Policy: RBI 'alert' to global shocks


Credit Policy: Rates unchanged, CRR hiked


Credit Policy: GDP growth 8.5%, inflation 5%


Credit Policy: Forex mgmt big challenge

How BSE indices closed on October 30th...

Results...

IOC Q2 net profit at Rs 3,818 crores.

Apar Industries Q2 net profit at Rs 42 crores.

Fortis Healthcare Q2 net loss at Rs 26.7 crores.

Bartronics Q2 net profit up at Rs 4.16 crores.

Parsvnath Q2 net profit at Rs 102.7 crores.

RBI hikes CRR to 7.5%; other key rates unchanged...

Source: Moneycontrol.com

The RBI Governor, YV Reddy announced the credit policy in Mumbai today.

RBI has hiked the CRR by 50 bps to to 7.5% from 5%. However, the other key rates including the repo and reverse repo rates have remained unchanged.

The RBI's has raised the cash reserve ratio given the persistent rise in capital flows, but has otherwise left other policy rates unchanged. The central bank's main message is that the economy is in fine shape – agriculture is above trend, industry and services may slacken just a bit. So the GDP target remains at 8.5% and inflation at 5%

But the main threat is from global capital flows, which may only increase given easing by global central banks. Inflation, which has been successfully controlled so far, is also under threat from oil and food tightness. But the biggest threat is from capital flows, especially from unregulated private entities who invest in equities and real estate. These, with a lag, can increase aggregate demand and impact inflation.

The central bank's thrust therefore is to control and sterilise flows. Hence the hike in CRR.

Is it more hawkish? It is certainly more alarmist.

The bank rate remains unchanged at 6% while the RBI has kept its inflation target for FY08 at 5%. RBI’s GDP forecast too remains unchanged at 8.5%.

The RBI has said that the surplus liquidity needs priority attention. It needs to check bank credit risk from faulty derivative record, it added. Oil companies can hedge forex exposure up to 50% of inventory, it added.

The central bank said that money supply is expanding well above 17-17.5%. There is evidence of stability in real estate prices, it revealed. However, it informed that there are irregularities seen in banks' real-estate exposure.

The RBI has said that 10 banks have high exposure to real estate and stocks, adding that it will continue to manage liquidity through reins like CRR, MSS and LAF (liquidity adjustment facility). RBI said that credit growth is in line with 24-25% target. It confirmed that the credit policy stance has been more hawkish than July; the emphasis being on capital flows.

The Reserve Bank said that that authorised dealers have been allowed to run cross currency options. The total credit growth of 23.3% as on October12 stood at Rs 3.81 lakhs crore, it informed. Managing liquidity arising from forex flows posed a key challenge, it said. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has been up at 7.3% in August 2007 Vs 6.3% (YoY). The deposit growth is ahead of FY08 target of Rs 4.9 lakhs, the central bank informed.

Companies with forex need can write covered call and puts, the RBI said, adding that excess money supply needs 'intensified monitoring.' It has concerns on strong growth in lending to real estate. Asset prices remain at elevated levels, RBI feels. It finds that currency markets have seen a tentative return to stability.

The global economy is still strong and inflation environment is benign, the RBI has observed. The high oil prices are a concern and food and metal prices will feed inflation, the RBI senses.

October 29th: Index Movers...

Larsen & Toubro and HDFC zoomed 10% each to Rs 4,277 and Rs 2,821, respectively.

BHEL soared 7.5% to Rs 2,612. ONGC surged 7% to Rs 1,239.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rallied 5.5% each to Rs 1,249 and Rs 1,630, respectively.

Reliance gained 5% at Rs 2,828. Reliance Energy moved up 3% to Rs 1,722.

NTPC and Wipro advanced 2% each to Rs 233 and Rs 510, respectively.

Satyam, SBI and Reliance Communications were up around 1.5% each at Rs 483, Rs 2,118 and Rs 776, respectively.

October 29th: Value And Volume Toppers...

Reliance Petro topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 543 crore followed by Larsen & Toubro (Rs 469.50 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 448.50 crore), Reliance (Rs 314.50 crore) and Reliance Energy (Rs 249 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 4.20 crore shares followed by Tata Teleservices (3.55 crore), Reliance Petro (2.51 crore), Himachal Futuristic (1.32 crore) and Power Grid (1.15 crore).

October 29th: Sensex hits 20K, ends up 735pts...

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 378 points at 19,621, and then there was no looking back. Sustained buying across-the-board saw the index zoom past the 20,000-mark in late noon deals.

The index touched an all-time, intra-day, high of 20,025. The Sensex finally ended with a solid gain of 3.8% (735 points) - third biggest single-day gain - at a record 19,978. The index has gained 13.8% (2,418 points) in the last six trading sessions.

A strong rally in heavyweights like Reliance and L&T, along with gains in HDFC, BHEL, ONGC and ICICI Bank, helped the index cross the magical 20,000-mark today.

The index took only 10 trading sessions to gain 1,000 points after it crossed the 19,000-mark on October 15.

The market breadth was positive - out of 2,841 stocks traded, 1,581 advanced, 1,199 declined and 61 were unchanged today.

October 29th: News Snapshot...

# Sensex hits 20K, ends up 735pts (stock traders in a Mumbai dealing room celebrate in the accompanying picture)

# Mukesh Ambani is world's richest man

# FIIs net buyers of Rs 689cr in cash market

# Info Edge Q2 net up 326% at Rs 15cr

# Inflation down on base effects: RBI

# Ashok Leyland, Nissan form 3 JVs for LCV biz

# Hindujas to up investments in healthcare, power

# Tata Realty plans $750mn fund

How BSE indices closed on October 29th...

Countrywide, Microsoft Fuel US Stock Market Rally On October 26th...

Struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial's upbeat comments about the outlook and handsome earnings from software giant Microsoft were enough to ward off any US stock-market anxiety over record-high oil prices and a drooping dollar.

All three major US indexes gained 1% or more on Friday, October 26th. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134.78, or 1%, to 13806.70. The S&P 500 added 20.88, or 1.4%, to 1535.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 53.33, or 1.9%, to 2804.19.

Market ends on a new high: L&T, SBI, BHEL surge...

The markets opened the new series on an absolutely robust note as the bulls took the markets to new highs. Sebi's decision on P Notes seems to have gone well with the markets.

Sensex saw thumping gains of nearly 500 points and the broader markets also notched up significantly.

Cues from Asia were encouraging with most of the Asia ending in green. Strength came in from all quarters and the breadth is looking very smart.

Heavy buying was seen in capital goods, metals, oil & gas and realty stocks. All the key BSE indices ended in green. Market breadth was positive and the volume was also impressive. On the macroeconomic front, inflation came in at 3.07% same as the previous week.

L&T's bockbuster numbers took the stock up over 12%. Its net profit up 73% at Rs 348 crore.

SBI was up over 5%, followed by BHEL and M&M up over 3%. Reliance, Hindalco, GAIL, HDFC, Reliance Energy, Sterlite Ind, Siemens and ACC were among the other gainers.

Sensex ended up 472.28 points or 2.52% at 19243.17, and the Nifty up 133.35 points or 2.39% at 5702.30.

About 1853 shares advanced, 1128 shares declined, and 76 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 7,920.66 up 2%.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 9,550.95 up 2%.

The BSE Bankex was up 3.5% at 10,273.53. SBI, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Andhra Bank, Bank of India moved upwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 7% at 18,540.15. Lakshmi Machine, Gammon India, L&T, BEML, Crompton Greave closed higher.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,616.97 up 2%. Ashok Leyland, Tube Investment, Bharat Forge, TVS Motor, Amtek Auto closed higher.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 16,744.56 up 2%. Jindal Steel, NALCO, SAIL, Sterlite Ind closed higher.

The BSE FMCG Index closed flat at 2,128.74. Nestle, GlaxoSmith Con, Dabur India, Tata Tea, P&G closed higher.

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 11,103.46 up 3%. Reliance Petro, Reliance, ONG, Essar Oil, GAIL ended higher.

The BSE IT Index was at 4,635.58 up 1.2%. Satyam, HCL Tech, I-Flex Solution, TCS closed higher.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 19942.05 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 73836.74 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 8985.63 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 135762.78 crore.

How BSE indices closed on October 26th...

Deccan Chronicle Holdings gains on buyback proposal

Deccan Chronicle Holdings moved up 1.13% to Rs 206 at 13:35 IST after its board approved a buyback of shares at a maximum price of Rs 250 per share.

The scrip closed the day at Rs. 204.

On BSE, 7.16 lakh shares of the scrip were traded. The stock had an average daily volume of 2.12 lakh shares on BSE in past one quarter.

The scrip had touched a high of Rs 220 and a low of Rs 203 during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 252.85 on 6 September 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 118.80 on 31 October 2006.

The scrip had underperformed the market in the one month to 25 October 2007, falling 0.78% as against the Sensex's 10.93% gain. It had also underperformed the market in the past three months, sliding 11.65% against the Sensex's 23.21% rise.

The mid-cap newspaper publisher has an equity capital of Rs 48.98 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

At the current price of Rs 204, the scrip trades at a PE multiple of 15.21, based on Q2 September 2007 annualised EPS of Rs 13.54.

The board also agreed for private placement of up to 24% in subsidiary Sieger Solutions with a floor enterprise value of Rs 1500 crore and ceiling of Rs 1800 crore.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings’ net profit rose 28.4% to Rs 82.60 crore on 25.8% rise in sales to Rs 187.77 crore in Q2 September 2007 over Q2 September 2006.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings's principle activity is to publish newspapers. The company's English daily is circulated in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh

FIIs net sellers of Rs 625 crore in cash market today...

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 625.34 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.

While FIIs made gross purchases of Rs 6,922.59 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 7,547.93 crore.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 788.37 crore today. While DIIs made gross purchases of Rs 2,372.68 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 1,584.31 crore.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,861 crore on Wednesday, October 24, according to data released by Sebi today. While FIIs made gross purchases of Rs 6,358.50 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 4,497.40 crore.

Mutual funds (MFs) were net buyers of Rs 339.30 crore on Wednesday. MFs made purchases of Rs 1,039.20 crore and sales of Rs 699.90 crore.

SEBI board meeting ends with announcement of new P Notes policy...

Mr. M Damodaran, Chairman, Sebi, while announcing the decision on the new policy on P-notes, said that this was not a board meeting to decide on a single issue.

Speaking to mediapersons after the Sebi board meet today, he said the stock exchanges would be mandated to constitute a committee chaired by a non-executive member of a concerned exchange to focus on surveillance. This, he feels, would make the market a safer place for investors.

The meet also saw new policy announcements like clearing of Sebi's proposal to have an SME exchange.

But the most awaited decision on P-notes was that the board has decided that FIIs and sub-accounts shall not issue P-Notes as underlying as derivatives.

"All current position to be wound up within 18 months. Further issue of PNs by sub-accounts will be discontinued with immediate effect," Damodaran said.

Highlights of M Damodaran's announcements at the Sebi Press Conference:

# Sebi board cleared proposal to have a separate exchange for SME Segment
# Date of calculation of AUC will be Sept 30
# Sub accounts not to be allowed to issue PNs
# PNs can't be issued with ODIs as underlying
# FIIs shall not issue P-notes as underlying as derivatives has been approved
# Current position to be wound up within 18 months
# Board has decided further issuance of P-notes by sub accounts of FIIs to be discontinued with immediate effect
# Sub accounts issuing P-notes have applied for registration of FIIs: Sebi
# Until a final decision is taken on their being FIIs, sub accounts can continue as normal
# Both proprietary and corporate sub-accounts will be allowed to do business till final decision is announced.

Mkt ends in green: Tata Steel, Nalco top gainers...

The markets ended in green on the triple witching day showing some smooth and healthy rollovers. It was a choppy start but the indices gradually moved ahead to end at higher levels. Cues from Asia were posiitive with most of the markets Asia ending in green. Metal stocks were the star performers of the day with Tata Steel, Hindalco, Nalco being among the top gainers.

Also ahead, there was SEBI's decision on participatory notes. Capital goods, metals and oil & gas stocks were attracting attention. IT, FMCG and auto stocks were subdued today.

Midcap index ended inline with the frontline indices and was up over 1.3% and the smallcap index was up 1.4%.

Sensex was up 257.98 points or 1.39% at 18770.89, and the Nifty up 72.80 points or 1.32% at 5568.95.

About 1729 shares advanced, 1247 shares declined, and 80 shares were unchanged.

BSE metal index was up over 4%, followed by auto, capital goods, oil & gas and bankex.

FMCG, IT and pharma indices traded weak in the negative terrain.

Top gainers on the indices were Tata Steel, Nalco, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco, Reliance Energy, VSNL, BHEL, SAIL and SBI.

Top losers on the indices were Cipla, HCL Tech, Dr Reddys Labs, ONGC and HDFC Bank.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 7,750.93 up 1.3%.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 9,367.08 up 1.4%.

The BSE Bankex was up 3% at 9,924.11. Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, PNB, Kotak Mahindra, Canara Bank moved upwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 1.2% at 17,314.13. Areva T&D, Bharat Bijlee, Triveni Eng, Bharat Elec, Punj Lloyd closed higher.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,503.58 up 2%. Tube Investment, Amtek Auto, MRF, Bharat Forge, Apollo Tyres, Punj Tractors closed higher.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 16,424.52 up 4%. Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Sterlite Ind, NALCO, Sesa Goa closed higher.

The BSE FMCG Index closed flat at 2,134.75. Godrej Consumer, HUL, Marico, GlaxoSmith Con, Britannia closed higher.

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 10,800.82 up 0.6%. Petronet LNG, BPCL, Reliance Petro, Reliance, GAIL ended higher.

The BSE IT Index was flat at 4,582.54. Satyam, Wipro, HCL Tech closed higher.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 23411.47 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 103930.17 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 8421.14 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 135762.78 crore

Sensex ends flat, Rel Energy zooms 8%...

After the record-breaking 879 points rally yesterday, the Sensex opened with a huge positive gap of 235 points at 18,728 and touched a high of 18,832 in early deals.

The index, however, could not hold the gains, slipped into negative zone in early noon deals and dropped to a low of 18,317 - down 515 points from the day's high.

The index displayed volatile moves for the remaning part of the trading session, and finally ended on a flat note at 18,513 - up 20 points.

The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices moved up over 1% each to 7651 and 9242, respectively.

The market breadth was positive - out of 2,785 stocks traded, 1,556 advanced, 1,176 declined and 53 were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

Reliance Energy zoomed 8.5% to Rs 1,654. SBI soared over 5% to Rs 1,908.

Tata Steel, Hindalco, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro rallied over 2% each to Rs 915, Rs 189, Rs 1,507 and Rs 3,403, respectively.

NTPC and Cipla surged 1.8% each to Rs 221 and Rs 197, respectively.

Maruti advanced 1.4% to Rs 1,119, and ACC added 1.2% to Rs 1,078.

...AND THE LAGGARDS

ONGC plunged over 3% to Rs 1,108. Tata Motors dropped 2.7% to Rs 775.

Infosys and Bharti Airtel dropped 2% each to Rs 1,845 and Rs 986, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto shed 1.8% each to Rs 760 and Rs 2,480, respectively.

TCS slipped 1.5% to Rs 1,048. Grasim, Wipro, Reliance Communications and HDFC were down 1% each to Rs 3,652, Rs 486, Rs 748 and Rs 2,542, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Energy topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 595 crore followed by Reliance Petro (Rs 369 crore), Reliance (Rs 287.35 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 284.70 crore) and Power Grid (Rs 225.50 crore).

Himachal Futuristic led the volume chart with trades of around 2.75 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (2.15 crore), Reliance Petro (1.98 crore), Power Grid (1.61 crore) and Tata Teleservices (1.39 crore).

How BSE indices closed on October 24th...

Biggest Gain: Sensex ends up 879pts...

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 296 points at 17,910 on the back of firm cues from the global markets, and the positive bias of overseas investors after Sebi chief addressed them yesterday on the issue of participatory notes.

Unabated buying saw the index log more gains as the day progressed. The index touched a high of 18,542 - up 928 points from the previous close.

The Sensex finally ended with a significant gain of 5% (879 points) at 18,493. In the process, the index registered its biggest-ever single day gain in history.

The market breadth was positive - out of 2,798 stocks traded, 2,089 advanced, 658 declined and 51 were unchanged today.

BIG MOVERS...

BHEL zoomed 11.5% to Rs 2,294. Reliance Energy soared over 11% to Rs 1,523.

NTPC surged nearly 9% to Rs 217. Bharti Airtel rallied 8.4% to Rs 1,005.

Reliance gained nearly 8% at Rs 2,601. Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank advanced 7.5% each to Rs 3,331 and Rs 1,474, respectively.

Cipla and Tata Steel were up around 7% each to Rs 193 and Rs 895, respectively. SBI added nearly 6% to Rs 1,813.

Grasim moved up 5.4% to Rs 3,697. Reliance Communications rallied nearly 5% to Rs 755.

Maruti and ACC gained 4.6% at Rs 1,103 and Rs 1,065, respectively.

ITC, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever and Hindalco were up around 4% each at Rs 185, Rs 1,144, Rs 215 and Rs 185, respectively.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Unitech topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 447 crore followed by Reliance Energy (Rs 396.40 crore), United Breweries (Rs 367 crore), Reliance (Rs 297.50 crore) and Reliance Capital (Rs 235.60 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 1.81 crore shares followed by Power Grid (1.63 crore), Unitech (1.39 crore), Tata Tele (1.26 crore) and IKF Technologies (1.17 crore).

Sensex ends up over 878 points (4.99% gain); biggest single day point gain!

Results snapshot...

GSK Consumer Q3 net profit at Rs 50.5 cr.

Coromandel Fert Q2 net profit at Rs 66 cr.

Zee Ent standalone Q2 net profit up.

Subex Azure Q2 net loss at Rs 34.8 cr.

Indiabulls Fin Svcs Q2 net profit at Rs 173.2 cr

Indiabulls Financial Services has come out with second quarter numbers. It has posted consolidated net profit of Rs 173.2 crore for the quarter ended September 2007 as against Rs 95.1 crore in same period of last year and Rs 166.4 crore in previous quarter.

Consolidated net sales stood at Rs 492.9 crore for Q2FY08 versus Rs 269.8 crore in corresponding quarter of last year and Rs 442.7 crore in previous quarter.

Suzlon Q2 net profit up at Rs 398 cr; plans stock split

Suzlon Energy has announced its Q2 FY08 results. The company in Q2 has posted net profit of Rs 398 crore versus Rs 20.03 crore in the previous quarter.

During the corresponding quarters, its consolidated revenues were at Rs 3641 crore versus Rs 1944.6 crore on QoQ basis.

The company has announced plans of stock split from Face Value of Rs 10 to Rs 2.

Godrej Consumer Q2 net profit up at Rs 37 cr; declares interim dividend

Godrej Consumer Products has announced its Q2 FY08 results. The company in Q2 has reported consolidated net profit of Rs 37 crore versus Rs 31 crore in the same quarter previous year.

During the corresponding quarters, its net sales were up at Rs 274 crore versus Rs 231.8 crore, YoY.

Godrej Consumer Products has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on October 23, 2007, has declared a second interim dividend @ Rs 0.75/- per share (75% on the shares of the face value of Re 1/- each) for the financial year 2007-08.

US Stocks End Higher

Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44.95, or 0.3%, to 13566.97. The S&P 500 increased 5.70, or 0.4%, to 1506.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 28.77, or 1.1%, to 2753.93.

The Nasdaq jumped more than 1% yesterday, pulling the rest of the market higher, despite lingering worries about the economy and corporate profits.

All day, the major indexes swung from positive to negative territory, although the Nasdaq performed better on the whole than the Dow or S&P 500.

After opening sharply lower, all three major indexes hit their stride in the early afternoon and advanced. That turnaround may have been partially attributable to a speech by Fed governor Randall Kroszner, said Charles Rotblut, of Zacks Investment Research. Mr. Kroszner said the Fed would "act as needed" to support the functioning of markets and foster growth, suggesting a rate cut at its next policy meeting on Oct. 30-31. The rally later lost steam, save for the Nasdaq -- but then turned around again before the market close.

Apple earnings, reported yesterday after the closing bell, would probably set the tone for trading in the sector today.

The computer maker reported a 67% jump in net income and strong sales of its new iPhone and iPod players. Its shares rose $9.63, or 5.5%, to $183.99 in after-hours trade. Texas Instruments, on the other hand, saw its shares fall $1.27, or 3.7%, to $33. Revenue rose 7% from the previous quarter, but fell 3% from the same period a year ago. Third-quarter net income rose 11%.

Markets going forward...

After a long rally in the recent past, the markets were smashed last Wednesday and the Sensex locked at the 10 per cent lower circuit due to ambiguity on participatory notes. It recovered later that day after clarifications on the issue.

However, the same could not be sustained in the subsequent days as uncertainty prevailed in the market. Sensex closed the week at 17,559.98 with a loss of 860 points or 4.66 per cent.

What to expect this week

With uncertainty this week on F&O expiry, Sebi’s decision on participatory notes and the Congress-Left meeting on nuclear deal, investors are advised to be cautious.

Experts suggest that they use this volatile period to pick up fundamentally sound scrips or have a stock-specific approach. The rising oil prices may continue to have a negative impact on sectors such as auto and oil marketing companies, whereas it may be positive for offshore and sugar companies.

October 22nd: Sensex ends 54 points higher on revival...

The stock market benchmark Sensex rose 54 points after a three-day fall last week as investors bought shares of banking and engineering companies.

The Sensex, which lost nearly 1,500 points from its record high of over 19,000-point level in three straight sessions, gained 54.01 points at 17,613.99 points.

In choppy trade, the key index rose to the day's high of 17,704.83 and a low of 17,171.45 points. Earlier in the day, the Sensex fell 389 points when markets opened but later recovered to post moderate gains.

Banking index gained 2.17 per cent at 9,029.09, followed by capital goods index with 0.90 per cent at 15,568.76.

However, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 31.30 points at 5,184 points. The index had crossed 5,700 points level on October 16. The Nifty touched the day's high of 5,247.40 and a low of 5,070.90 points.

Stockwatch...

ACC: Slump in sales.

Kavveri: Buyout push.

KSL jumps 10% on share allotment.

RCom up on GSM licence approval.

TCS spurts on bagging order.

Demand boost for Balrampur Chini.

Strong buying spurs GMDC.

Nicholas soars on hive-off news.

P-Note scare: Sebi speaks to FIIs

Speaking to FIIs from the Sebi headquarters in Mumbai this evening, M Damodaran, Chairman, Sebi said the watchdog will seek to expedite the process of registration. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merill Lynch and Kotak are among the FIIs who attended the meet.

How BSE indices closed on October 22nd...

Indian investors lose $102 billion in 3 days

The investors' loss from concerns over possible curbs to control foreign capital into India on Friday rose past 100 billion dollars (over Rs four trillion) as the market continued its freefall for third day in a row.

The total investor wealth, measured in terms of the value of all the listed shares, dropped to Rs 54,65,000 crore at the end of Friday's trading, from over Rs 58,71,000 crore on October 16 before the market regulator SEBI proposed measures to curb capital flow through offshore derivative instruments such as participatory notes.

P-Notes are instruments issued by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to the investors, such as hedge funds, who wish to remain unanimous and seek easier entry or exit opportunities. The FIIs then invest the capital deployed by the PN-holders in their own name.

Of the total loss of over Rs 4,06,000 crore (about 102 billion dollars) in the past three days, the 30 biggest blue chip companies, belonging to the Sensex, suffered nearly half the amount of Rs 1,96,800 crore (about 50 billion dollars).

The Sensex has plunged by close to 1,500 points since October 16.

Besides, the country's five richest persons -- Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, KP Singh, Sunil Mittal and Azim Premji -- have together lost over Rs 64,000 crore from the value of their shareholdings owned in capacity as promoters of their group companies, despite Premji actually seeing a surge of over Rs 1,600 crore in his net worth.

Crucial UPA-Left meeting on N deal tomorrow...

A crucial meeting of the UPA-Left Committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal will be held tomorrow with the outside allies of the government demanding a clear statement that the deal is off.


The meeting, to be chaired by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, may be the last of a series of meetings already conducted on the Left parties' apprehensions over the deal as it comes after last week's statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the deal may not be the end of life.


Singh, though, has not publicly opened up on the deal.


CPI (M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the Left parties were expecting the government's final stand on the nuclear deal to be announced at the meeting.


"We do not know what exactly the UPA will tell us. But what we expect is that they should clearly say that the deal is off or that it has been put on hold. Only then the controversy will end," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told PTI.


Striking an ominous note, he said that if the government was not a single-issue government, "then they should not make it the sole issue for deciding the fate of the government." The Congress, leading the coalition, is however singing a different tune maintaining that the deal was still "alive" and was not on life-support systems.


The Prime Minister has said that there are "some difficulties. We are working in a coalition. We have to find a way out and I have not given up hope."

Recent corporate news...

Wipro braves rupee woes, profitability inches up
Wipro Ltd announces that its net profit for the second quarter rose to Rs 824 crore, a growth of 18 per cent year-on-year.

TCS in $1.2 bn outsourcing contract
The software major bags the outsourcing contract from The Nielsen Company, a US-based information and media company in a 10-year deal.

Reliance Industries posts robust profit
Reliance Industries Ltd announces net profit of Rs 38.37 billion for the quarter ending on Sep 30 against last year's Rs 32.64 billion for the same period.

L&T bags orders worth Rs 452 crore
The company secures Rs 226-cr order from NTPC, while the other three contracts were bagged from Public Health and Municipal Engineering Department.

Mittal, French oil major sign pact with HPCL
Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal and French oil major Total are setting up a $6 bn refinery-cum petrochemical complex at Vishakhapatnam.

Patni bags $200 million outsourcing contract
The Mumbai-based firm bags the outsourcing deal with a UK-based mobile phone retailer, which would involve managing IT systems for it.

Govt to issue bonds worth Rs 23,457cr to oil PSUs
The government on Thursday decided not to increase petrol and diesel prices, and issue oil bonds worth Rs 23,457 crore to partly compensate public sector oil companies.

Infosys net up 18% in second quarter
Infosys posted net profit after tax of Rs 1,074 crore on standalone basis for the quarter ended September 30.

No alarm, dust will settle, say market players

Courtesy: "The Hindustan Times"

Sustained fears of a ban on Participatory Notes (PNs) issued by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on behalf of largely anonymous overseas investors badgered the BSE Sensex for a third day in a row on Friday. Sensex fell 2.5 per cent, to 17,560 points.

A key question hung in the air: Will efforts to register and moderate the customers who act through PNs lead to a flight of foreign capital from India? The government is mainly worried by a flood of dollars hurting exports.

Experts say global funds look at everything in an economy, including interest rates, structural reforms, size of market, corporate behaviour etc. As long as these are fine, inflows are safe.

“The impact of regulatory decision on PNs could impact the market for a while — a month or so. That is the gestation the market may take to settle down after the norms come into being. However, it may not cause long-term reversal in inflows,” said Devendra Nevgi of Quantum Mutual Fund.

“There may be some volatility in the short term. But the issue needs to be settled once and for all,” said TP Raman, managing director, Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

Dismal Anniversary for the US stock markets

Stocks Mark 20 Years Since the '87 Crash With Plunge Fueled by Credit, Profit Fears...

Courtesy "The Wall Street Journel"

The credit-market crisis came zooming back into investors' consciousness on the 20th anniversary of the Black Monday stock-market crash, sending shares plummeting amid uninspiring earnings reports and high oil prices.

The major indexes all ended down more than 2.5%, closing with their biggest weekly declines since the week ended July 27th. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 366.94 to 13522.02. The S&P 500-stock index lost 39.45 to 1500.63, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 74.15 to 2725.16.

"Nobody wants to own stocks. Everybody [sold] into the weekend," said Ryan Detrick, chief technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The overall concern for the financial markets and credit markets has taken over… People realized that these third-quarter earnings haven't been what we wanted."

Earnings from financial companies have been particularly disappointing, and there was more grim news from that segment Friday as Wachovia said its third-quarter net income dropped 10% amid a quadrupling in provisions for soured loans and $1.3 billion in losses and write-downs. Wachovia shares fell 3.6%.

Wachovia reported its results in the wake of similar announcements this week from the likes of Bank of America, Citigroup and Washington Mutual. The fact that so many financial institutions have suffered similar problems signaled that the sector may have a long way to go before it recovers from the credit squeeze. The Amex Broker/Dealer Index slumped 3.7%.

"There's a sense that the full impact of the subprime-mortgage crisis has yet to be revealed," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at Trusco Capital Management.

But the pain spread beyond Wall Street and the banks, as blue-chip industrial companies reporting earnings also fared poorly. Honeywell International's quarterly profit climbed 14% amid strong sales growth in its key businesses, but shares fell 3.6%. 3M dropped 7.6% after posting a 7.4% climb in quarterly net and boosting its 2007 earnings view. And Caterpillar's quarterly net jumped 21% despite continued U.S. weakness, as the company cut its 2007 earnings outlook and issued tepid guidance for 2008. Its shares declined 6%.

"Some of the [blue chips] beat expectations on the surface, but the guidance wasn't as good as people were hoping for," Mr. Detrick said. All 30 Dow components ended the session lower.

Some companies "are seeing slowdowns in their business," added Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons. "It's giving people the feeling that we could see some sort of recession." And Jim Herrick, head trader at Robert W. Baird, said that positive earnings surprises had already been priced into the market, and were now coming out.

Losses in stocks accelerated into the afternoon. Friday was an options-expiration day, which can often see more volatility and exaggerated market moves.

Among companies that reported earnings, AMD beat revenue targets but also posted a bigger-than-expected loss of $396 million, or 71 cents a share, due to a $120 million charge related to its acquisition of ATI Technologies. AMD shares fell 5.2%.

One of the few companies reporting earnings that saw its shares climb was the Web search giant Google, which reported a 46% rise in third-quarter earnings after Thursday's close. Revenue jumped 57%. Google shares added 0.8%

Market related news...

No more curbs on capital inflows: FM.

Sebi leaves room for higher PN exposure.

270 FIIs in queue for registration.

Sebi asks for data on deals.

PN-heavy scrips see major selloff.

RBI`s opposition to P-Notes works, finally.

Long-term flow hinges on quick nod, say FIIs.

GTL Infra gets $275 mn PE funding.

How BSE indices closed today...

Markets continue downtrend: Sensex ends down 400 pts...

The markets have continued the downtrend as selling pressure in the market continues. Among the top losers were power stocks like Reliance Energy and Tata Power which have seen a dream run. Capital goods, metal and real estate stocks were among the laggards. BHEL, Maruti, Sterlite and Bharti saw deep cut.

On the macroeconomic front, inflation came in at a 5 year low after 2002 at 3.07%.

Cues from Asia were not very encouraging as most of the Asian indices were in red.

Midcaps like Reliance Capital, Mercator line and GMR Infrastructure are among the top losers. All the key BSE indices were in red , however IT index ended flat and select telecom stocks were trading in green. Top gainers on the Nifty are VSNL up 4%, MTNL up 1% and Infosys up 1%.

In the capital goods space Jyoti Structure, Kirloskar Oil, Areva T&D are down over 8%. Alstom, ABB, Punj Loyd BHEL are down over 6% each.

It has been avery dramatic and volatile week for the markets. Sensex swung 1950 points and Nifty swung around 635 points. The frontline indices were down 4%

Sensex is down 438.41 points or 2.44% at 17559.98, and the Nifty down 135.70 points or 2.54% at 5215.30.

About 700 shares have advanced, 2301 shares declined, and 50 shares are unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 7,238.58 down 2.5%.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 8,800.32 down 3%.

The BSE Bankex was down 2% at 8,837.55. Union Bank, SBI, IOB, ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, Karnataka Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Bank of India moved downwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was down 4% at 15,429.29. Punj Lloyd, AIA Engineering, Areva T&D, ABB, BHEL closed lower.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,296.93 down 2%. Maruti, Escorts, MRF, Cummins, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto closed lower.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 14,480.00 down 4%. Sesa Goa, Jindal Steel, Sterlite Ind, Hindalco, Hind Zinc closed lower.

The BSE FMCG Index closed at 2,100.38 down 2%. ITC, United Spirits, Tata Tea, United Brewerie, Colgate, HUL closed lower

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 10,242.45 down 3%. RNRL, BPCL, Reliance, Reliance Petro ended in red.

The BSE IT Index was flat at 4,685.91. TCS up 2.5%, HCL Tech up 1.5%, Satyam, Infy up over 1%.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 21430.69 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 83102.28 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 9665.17 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 114198.14 crore.

US markets/business news...

Bear Stearns is being investigated by Massachusetts regulators over whether the firm improperly traded with two in-house hedge funds that collapsed.

Google's profit rose 46% on strength in its core search advertising and ad-brokering businesses. Hiring accelerated.

Citigroup secured funding through year end for the $80 billion in SIVs it manages, a move that helps it avoid selling assets at distressed prices.

Pfizer's decision to pull its insulin inhaler Exubera rids the company of an albatross, but suggests the steep risks its CEO faces in trying to steer the drug maker into biotech.

More people are managing to keep up with payments on mortgages made in recent months, a study found, reflecting more-conservative lending policies.

The Dow industrials fell 3.58 to 13888.96 as the dollar hit a record low against the euro and crude oil climbed to nearly $90 a barrel.

Bank of America's 32% profit drop cast doubt on its efforts to build an investment-banking powerhouse on Wall Street atop its coast-to-coast consumer bank.

Market related news...

P-notes highest in HDFC, ICICI Bank.

Simplify norms, FIIs urge Sebi.

Turnover on bourses soars.

Govt not in favour of banning P-notes: FM.

F&O exposure of PNs to be squared off in 18 months.

BJP demands probe into market crash.

Investors should be prepared to invest long term: Mark Mobius.

Stockwatch...

Strong buying spurs GMDC.

Nicholas soars on hive-off news.

Tata Power sparks on mega plant bid.

Axis Bank rides on Q2 results.

Shipping Corp sails on robust volumes.

Sasken up on Q2 performance.

Buyback announcement lifts Mastek.

GMDC soars on fixing stock split date.

Markets slide: Sensex ends below 18,000 mark

It seems the pain regarding Participatory Notes is not yet over as the Sensex saw its biggest single day points loss. The markets opened in green and touched new highs. But reversed its gains as a big wave of institutional selling took the markets below some important psychological marks. It got worse by the second and the markets closed with some huge losses.Nifty Futures saw a whopping 50 points discount towards close.

Nifty saw 500 points swing during the day closing near the day's low and Nifty Junior was down 5%

Bank, realty, metal stocks are the worst hit. Bankex is down over 7% and realty index is down 6%

ACC is down over 13% post its Q3 numbers, its results were below street estimates

ACC, ICICI Bank, Bharti, Suzlon, SBI, were among the major losers on the indices.

TCS was up 3%, it has bagged $1.2 billion order 10-year deal from Nielsen Co. It will provide IT & operations support worldwide to the company.

Sensex was down 717.43 points or 3.83% at 17998.39, and the Nifty down 208.30 points or 3.75% at 5351.00.

About 1183 shares have advanced, 1798 shares declined, and 68 shares are unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 7,426.24 down 2.3%.

The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 9,078.75 down 1.3%.

The BSE Bankex was down 6% at 9,034.68. SBI, IOB, ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, Union Bank, Bank of India, Yes Bank moved downwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was down 4% at 16,140.49. Suzlon Energy, Areva T&D, BHEL, Triveni Engg, Carborundum, Crompton Greave, BEML closed lower.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,393.48 down 2%. Escorts, MRF, Cummins, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto closed lower.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 15,029.82 down 4%. JSW Steel, Mah Seamless, Tata Steel, SAIL, Shree Precoated, Jindal Steel, Mah Seamless, Hindalco, JindalStainless closed lower.

The BSE FMCG Index closed at 2,085.20 down 1%. United Spirits, Bata India, Nestle, Colgate, HUL closed lower.

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 10,562.90 down 4%. Reliance, GAIL, ONGC, HPCL, IOC, Essar Oil ended in red.

The BSE IT Index closed flat at 4,676.27. TCS , Wipro Satyam, Infosys ended in green.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 26010.87 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 110563.83 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 11663.21 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 148237.91 crore.

How BSE indices closed today...

Morning snapshot...

Markets stable; IT, banking stocks under pressure.

Supreme Infra debuts with 74% premium.

PNs not a trifle issue to brush off: ICICI Securities

Mkts to stay weak till PN dust clears: Kotak Mahindra.

Wishing you a very happy Durga Puja...

Sensex recovers 1,500pts; ends down 300pts...

The Sensex recorded both the biggest-ever intra-day drop - a staggering 1,744 points - as well as the second-biggest bounceback in hits history, on the same day (today).

The events were separated by an hour's halt in trading, or a circuit-breaker, which gets triggered automatically when indices fall by over 10%. This was only the third time since the mechanism was created that exchange authorities halted trading.

The proposed clampdown on participatory notes (PNs) by Sebi had its desired impact on the markets - the Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 5.3% (1,014 points) at 18,038.

The index soon plunged to a low of 17,308 - down 9.2% (1,744 points) - following which trading was suspended for one hour - only the 3rd instance in the last three years.

The first trading halt happened on May 17, 2004 when the index crashed 16.6% (a swing of 842 points) in intra-day deals following the change in government. The second instance was on May 22, 2004 when the Sensex hit the lower circuit, and the intra-day swing was 1,316 points on account of a meltdown in global metal stocks.

The statement by Finance Minister P Chidambaram that there is no proposal to ban PNs, and overseas investors are welcome to invest in India via the FII route helped the index recover after the 1-hour trading halt.

Sebi, in a clarification, reiterated that there is no proposal to ban PNs, and FIIs can write/renew PNs with a timelimit of 18 months, which also boosted sentiment.

The Sensex recovered sharply from the day's low (17,308 points) and touched an intra-day high of 18,841 points - up 1,533 points (8.9%) from the day's low.

The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 336 points (1.8%) at 18,716.

The market breadth was fairly negative - out of 2,724 stocks traded, 1,755 declined, 923 advanced and 46 were unchanged today.

INDEX LAGGARDS...

Reliance Energy slumped 7.5% to Rs 1,762. ACC and SBI plunged 5% each to Rs 1,203 and Rs 1,829, respectively.

BHEL and NTPC tumbled over 4.5% each to Rs 2,283 and Rs 221, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, HDFC and ONGC slipped around 4% each to Rs 780, Rs 869, Rs 2,470 and Rs 1,130, respectively.

ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and HDFC Bank dropped 3% each to Rs 1,121, Rs 1,076, Rs 737 and Rs 1,460, respectively.

Cipla, Ambuja Cements and Dr.Reddy's shed around 2.5% each to Rs 179, Rs 149 and Rs 606, respectively.

Ranbaxy, Grasim, Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Unilever were down around 2% each to Rs 420, Rs 3,675, Rs 2,489 and Rs 208, respectively.

...AND THE MOVERS

TCS surged 2.5% to Rs 1,095. Satyam advanced 1.6% to Rs 457, and Infosys added 1% to Rs 1,890.

Reliance moved up over 1.5% to Rs 2,690.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 988.50 crore followed by Reliance Energy (Rs 794.30 crore), Power Grid (Rs 607.50 crore), Tata Power (Rs 401.20 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 398.80 crore).

Power Grid led the volume chart with trades of around 4.77 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (3.68 crore), Reliance Petroleum (2.27 crore), Tata Teleservices (2.21 crore) and IFCI (1.22 crore).

Mid-morning snapshots...

Mkts recover from day's low; Tech stocks turn green

PNs can invest in India but as FIIs: FM

Restricting PN flows bad for India: JP Morgan

P-Notes, right for medium term: Uday Kotak

Use PN sell-off to buy: Notz Stuck

2nd down circuit unlikely today: Prime Sec

Damani optimistic on Dabur

Remain invested in Balmer Lawrie: Damani

Buy Punj Lloyd on dips: Sukhani

Market ends flat amid volatility: Power stocks rally

The markets ended flat after a highly volatile session. The sensex and nifty both slipped into the red but buying at lower levels pushed up the markets again. On every fall the buying crept in again sustaining the markets at higher levels. The sensex recovered over 250 points from the day's low and closed flat.

Power stocks were the star performers of the day. Tata Power was up over 20%, followed by Power Grid, Neyville Lignite, Reliance Energy and NTPC.

Selling pressure was seen in IT, auto, oil and gas stocks. Cues from the global markets were not very encouraging today.

IDBI posted its Q2 numbers - which were down 2.5%; its standalone NII was at Rs 144.7 crore versus Rs 134.9 crore.

Most of the BSE key indices ended in red except bankex, consumer durable and realty index.

Top gainers on the indices were ICICI Bank, Reliance Energy and Siemens.

Top losers on the indices were Infosys, HUL, M&M, Sun Pharma, Zee Ent and Nalco.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap outperformed the Sensex. BSE Midcap was up nearly 1% and Smallcap was up 0.5%.

Sensex ended the day down 6.81 points or 0.04% at 19051.86, and the Nifty was down 2.35 points or 0.04% at 5668.05.

About 1350 shares advanced, 1627 shares declined, and 70 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Bankex was up 3% at 9,974.13. SBI, IOB, ICICI Bank, Andhra Bank, Karnataka Bank, Kotak Mahindra, SBI, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Bank of India moved upwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was flat at 17,113.94. Thermax, SKF India, Bharat Elec, AIA Engineering, Astra Microwave, L&T closed lower.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,598.78 down 0.3%. Hind Motors,Ashok Leyland, Exide Industries, Mah and Mah, Bajaj Auto closed lower.

The BSE Metal Index closed flat at 16,156.67. Sterlite Ind, Jindal Stainless, SAIL, JSW Steel closed lower.

The BSE FMCG Index closed at 2,135.93 down 1%. HUL, Dabur India, United Breweries, ITC, Nestle closed lower

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 10,994.52 down 0.5%. Essar Oil, BPCL, ONGC, HPCL ended in red.

The BSE IT Index was down 1.8% at 4,629.09. Patni Computer,I-Flex Solution, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra
closed higher

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 23289.02 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 90751.74 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 9766.82 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 123807.58 crore.

How BSE indices closed today...

See Sensex at 25K levels by 2007 end: Societe Generale

Christope Lalo of Societe Generale, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, said that Societe Generale sees the Sensex at 25,000 levels by the end of 2007 and 30,000 by Q1CY08. He added that the Asian demand is still strong even on a US slowdown in the months to come. According to Lalo, the Asian bull market will continue based on strong consumer demand and earnings.

He said that he was still bullish on the markets and that there is still a lot of money available for investment in EMs (Emerging Markets).

Lalo said they were waiting to see the ripple effect of the US slowdown on Asia which according to him are unlikely to be felt before 6-9 months. He added that they do now want to forecast beyond June 08. He said that a US slowdown was likely due to mortgage problems.