BSE / NSE Brokerage Recommendations of Shares 13 July 2009

BSE / NSE Brokerage Recommendations of Shares 13 July 2009

Buy ICICI Bank with a target of Rs 670 and stop loss of Rs 615, says Nishant Jain of Tradeswift, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 631, up 0.45% on the BSE.

In F&O call, buy Cipla July futures with a target of 290 and stop loss of 258, says Rajesh Jain of SMC Global Securities on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 267, up 2.23% on the BSE.

The downside now looks limited in the market, says Gaurag Shah of Geojit BNP Paribas, on NDTV Profit. Start deploying cash in a staggered way, 10-15%, for good long term gains, he adds.

In F&O call, sell Balrampur Chini July futures with a target of 85 and stop loss of 105, says Rajesh Jain of SMC Global Securities on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 91, down 8.6% on the BSE.

It was a choppy day of trade as the market closed with weakness. But Sensex and Nifty recovered from the day's low led by IT and banking stocks. Sensex closed at 13407, down 96 points (provisional) and Nifty at 3976, down 27 points (provisional) from the previous close. CNX Midcap index was down 2.61% and BSE Smallcap index was down 3.19%. The market breadth was negative with advances at 241 against declines of 1003 on the NSE.

Hold Nifty short with a target of 3880 and stop loss of 3990, says Vijay Bhambwani, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz, as closing market strategy.

Buy Nifty call with a target of 140 and stop loss of 86, says Mitesh Thakkar, technical analyst, on CNBC TV18, as closing market strategy.

Buy Nifty call with a target of 150 and stop loss of 90, says Ashwani Gujral, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz, as closing market strategy.

Sell Mahindra and Mahindra with a target of Rs 600 and stop loss of Rs 690, says Nitin Murarka of SMC Global Securities Zee Business, as closing market strategy.

Sell Nifty July futures with a target of 3875 and stop loss of 3991, says Bonanza Portfolio, on Zee Business, as closing market strategy.

A gap down opening is not good for the market and there is weakness, says Sudarshan Sukhani, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. This is not the time to buy into the market, he feels. Wait for a consolidation and then enter as the market could fall lower, he adds.

The Asian markets closed with deep cuts while European markets are trading flat. Our market continues to trade weak. Sensex is trading at 13396, down 107 points and Nifty is at 3971, down 31 points from the previous close. CNX Midcap index is down 3.27% and BSE Smallcap index is down 3.75%. The market breadth is negative with advances at 170 against declines of 1063 on the NSE.

In F&O call, buy Nifty July futures with a target of 4020 and stop loss of 3950, says Salil Sharma of Kapoor & Sharma Company, on CNBC Awaaz. The medium and long-term trend is weak and market could see a bounceback in the near term, he says.

In F&O call, buy Nifty July futures with a target of 4075 and stop loss of 3925, says Prakash Gaba, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The market is overstretched and a small pullback is possible, he says.

In F&O call, sell Nifty July futures with a target of 3800-3600 and stop loss of 4200, says Hormuz Maloo of Geojit BNP Paribas on CNBC Awaaz. The medium term trend is weak and market is likely to be volatile in the short term, he says.

In F&O call, sell Nifty July futures with a target of 4225 and stop loss of 4030, says Rajesh Jain of SMC Global Securities on CNBC Awaaz. The market is in a downtrend, he says.

Sell Cairn India with a target of Rs 190 and stop loss of Rs 220, says Neera Jain of crnindia.com on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 214, up 0.89% on the BSE.

Angel Broking maintains a buy on Jain Irrigation with a target of Rs 747, reports Zee Business. The stock is currently trading at Rs 726, up 2.3% on the BSE.

Sell Essar Oil in any rally around Rs 140, says MB Singh, technical analyst, on Zee Business. The stock is currently trading at Rs 119, down 0.83% on the BSE.

Buy Tulip Telecom with a target of Rs 870 and stop loss of Rs 800, says Neera Jain of crnindia.com on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 840, up 4.32% on the BSE.

Sell Subex in any rally and it has support at Rs 62, says MB Singh, technical analyst, on Zee Business. The stock is currently trading at Rs 68, down 4.9% on the BSE.

Sterlite Technologies bags new order of Rs 372 crore from BSNL, says Dr Anand Agarwal, CEO of the company, on CNBC TV18. This order is to be executed within 12 months and with this order the company's order book stands at Rs 16500 crore, he adds. The stock is currently trading at Rs 162, down 4.7% on the BSE.

Buy Mahindra Satyam at Rs 50 for long term gains, says Prakash Gaba, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 73, down 1.8% on the BSE.

Sell ITC in any rally as it will find it difficult to cross Rs 220, keep a stop loss of Rs 205, says MB Singh, technical analyst, on Zee Business. The stock is currently trading at Rs 212, up 0.88% on the BSE.

MF Global maintains a buy on Onmobile Global with a target of Rs 530 in one year, reports CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 442, up 3.9% on the BSE.

There is a massive waterfall decline in the market and there is more pain ahead, says Sudarshan Sukhani, technical analyst, on CNBC TV18. Nifty has strong support at 3800-3600 which could be used as a good buying opportunity for the long term, he feels.

Buy GMR Infrastructure around Rs 114, it has resistance at Rs 132 where there will be a trend reversal, says Hitendra Vasudeo, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 123, down 1.87% on the BSE.

Hold MindTree with resistance at Rs 500 and support at Rs 460, says Prakash Gaba, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 475, down 3.2% on the BSE.

Hold GAIL with resistance at Rs 320 and if that is crossed it could go to Rs 335-350 and it has support at Rs 295, says Salil Sharma, technical analyst, on Zee Business. The stock is currently trading at Rs 319, up 2.5% on the BSE.

Hold Prism Cements with target of Rs 42-47 and keep a stop loss of Rs 34, says Hitendra Vasudeo, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 35, down 7% on the BSE.

Karvy Stock Broking maintains a sell on HDFC Bank with a target of Rs 1100, reports CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 1375, down 0.80% on the BSE.

Citigroup maintains a buy on JSW Steel with a target of Rs 756 in one year, reports CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 486, down 5.8% on the BSE.

Kotak Securities maintains a buy on Lupin with a target of Rs 1075, reports CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 788, down 0.64% on the BSE.

Buy DLF with a target of Rs 328 in one week, says KR Choksey, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 268, down 3.5% on the BSE.

CLSA cuts RIL target to Rs 1680 from Rs 1925, reports NDTV Profit. MAT is likely to impact by Rs 85/share and RIL-RNRL impact of Rs 157/share. The stock is currently trading at Rs 1735, down 2.39% on the BSE.

Stay out of Gammon India and instead look at IVRCL Infrastructure in this space, says P Phani Shekhar of Angel Broking on CNBC TV18. Gammon India saw a huge fall today following the collapse of its DMRC flyover in Delhi yesterday and this is the second incident as in 2007 another flyover in Hyderabad had collapsed, reports the channel. Gammon India is currently trading at Rs 145, down 10.2% on the BSE.

The market is now seeing a correction after the March-June rally, says Mitesh Thakkar, tehnical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. Nifty has strong support at 3870 and the market could form a bottom here, he feels. But if that breaks, then pre-budget levels of 3700 cannot be ruled out, he says.

The Asian markets are looking bad. Poor global cues put pressure on our market that continues to trade weak. Sensex is trading at 13295, down 208 points and Nifty is at 3945, down 58 points from the previous close. CNX Midcap index is down 2.6% and BSE Smallcap index is down 3.05%. The market breadth is negative with advances at 129 against declines of 1018 on the NSE.

BoA-Merrill Lynch maintains a buy on ITC with a target of Rs 240 in one year, reports CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 209, down 0.52% on the BSE.

Buy Dabur India with a target of Rs 136 and stop loss of Rs 129, reports Bonanza, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 130, up 0.34% on the BSE.

Buy ITC and HUL on any dips as they could outperform going forward, says Sandeep Wagle of Angel Broking, on NDTV Profit.

Hold Infosys with a target of Rs 1800 and in weakness it has support at Rs 1500, says Prakash Gaba, technical analyst, on CNBC Awaaz. The stock is currently trading at Rs 1754, up 1.6% on the BSE.

BGR Energy has bagged orders worth Rs 1632 crore, reports NDTV Profit. The stock is currently trading at Rs 275, up 4.15% on the BSE.

India is likely to correct along with global markets, says Punita Kumar Sinha of Blackstone Group, on CNBC TV18. The market is likely to be range-bound in the near-term, she says. Don't expect market to retest March lows anytime soon, she says. India's fundamentals are better but market is in correction mode, she feels. FIIs were disappointed initially as they expected a big bang budget, she says. But India's long-term growth story is great, she adds.

Sell Siemens with a target of Rs 389, says Simi Bhaumik, technical analyst, on Zee Business. Keep a stop loss of Rs 419, she adds. The stock is currently trading at Rs 398, down 3.5% on the BSE.

Sell DLF with a target of Rs 264, says Simi Bhaumik, technical analyst, on Zee Business. Keep a stop loss of Rs 289, she adds.

Share Market Voices 13 July 2009

Share Market Voices 13 July 2009

Cipla, Sun Pharma, Biocon, Aurobindo Pharma and Dr Reddy's Laboratories look good in the healthcare space. These stocks can be picked up in a staggered way at declines. One can also try Glenmark Pharma,Divis Laboratories, Ranbaxy and Lupin at sharp falls.

Axis Bank has posted a net profit of Rs 5620.40 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 as compared to Rs 3301.40 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The bank's total income increased from Rs 28912.40 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 to Rs 38641.30 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.

The stock is down with a small loss at Rs 735 now. An hour before the announcment of results, the stock had drifted down to around Rs 705.

Maytas Infrastructure has announced that the company is on fast track revival mode with the government appointed nominees reaching out to top management of leading banks and getting the CDR pacage approved. The company's liquidity crunch is likely to significantly ease and a faster execution of projects on hand is on the cards. The company has a healthy order book of Rs 7525 crores.

One can stay invested in IT majors Infosys, Wipro and TCS with a medium term view. Though some weakness is not ruled out in the near term, these stocks can give fairly solid returns over the next 9 - 12 months. Sharp dips can be used to increase exposure to these stocks.Long term investors can continue to hold the stock and look at increasing exposure at sharp declines.

With hopes of a rapid economic recovery fading once again, markets across the Asian region have taken a severe beating today.

On concerns over a possible fall in demand, oil prices have been declining over the past few days.

If the mood continues to remain bearish, then one can see the premier Indian indices losing another 8 - 10% from their current levels, if not more.

Omaxe Ltd has informed its subsidiary Pancham Realcon Pvt. Ltd has entered into an MOU with Allahabad Development Authority for development of Hi-Tech Township at Allahabad on the banks of River Ganga near to Sangam. The township, to come out at an estimated cost of around Rs 1,800 crores, is to be completed in phases over a period of 5 to 7 years. The estimated revenue from the project will be in the range of Rs 2200 crores.

Sterlite Industries (Rs 564) can rise to Rs 578 or further higher if it manages a breakout at Rs 568. On the downside, the stock has support at Rs 560 and weakness there can result in a fall to Rs 554 or even lower.

Punj Lloyd (Rs 173) can be picked up at declines for long term. The stock is likely to face strong resistance at Rs 215 -220 where one can book profits and exit. Long term investors can hold the stock with a stop loss at Rs 130.

Cipla (Rs 268) can be retained for decent gains over a medium term. The stock has support at Rs 245 and one can have a stop loss there for now.

Dabur India (cmp Rs 131) is near its 52-week high now. The stock can rise to Rs 138 - 140 if the current momentum at the counter sustains for a session or two. On the downside, the stock has support at Rs 110 -115. A breach there could result in a fall to Rs 93 or even lower.

Sterlite Technologies has won a contract valued Rs 372 crore from BSNL for enabling a Fiber-to-the-Home Network based on Gigabit Passive Optical Network technology. The company won this contract amid competiton from global players. The stock is currenly down by 4.75% at Rs 162.50.

BGR Energy has been awarded the Chandrapur Mega Project contract worth around Rs 1632 crore. The contract is for design, engineering, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of mechanical, electrical and civil & structural works for the main plant package of the coal-based Chandrpur Super Thermal Power Station Expansion Project. The stock is up 3.7% at Rs 275.

Trading got off to a highly negative start on the major Indian bourses this morning due to weak global cues. The Sensex is down by 185 points or 1.37% at 13,319, a few points off a low of 13,287.

Stocks to watch

Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals after it said it was close to finalising a European partner for an existing joint venture with Nuclear Power Corp of India.

IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd after it said its board would meet on July 15 to consider a stock split.

IDBI Bank after a top official said it expected April-June loans would have risen 15 percent and deposits by a fifth from a year earlier.

Hindustan Construction Co Ltd after it said IndusInd Bank had invested 500 million rupees in its unit Lavasa Corp Ltd in the form of convertible debentures.

Closing Bell 13 July 2009

Closing Bell 13 July 2009

Despite the buying activity during the final hour of trade, the markets still ended lower than Friday’s closing mark. The BSE-Sensex ended the day lower by around 100 points, while the NSE-Nifty closed lower by about 30 points. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices ended the day lower by about 2.8% and 3.4% respectively. Today, buying activity was witnessed in select IT and banking stocks. On the other hand, stocks from the metal, realty and power sectors led the pack of losers. At the time of writing, the overall decline to advance ratio stood at 3.4 to 1 on the BSE.

Most of the other Asian markets ended the day on a weak note today. The European indices are currently trading in the red as well. Rupee was trading at 49.2 against the US dollar at the time of writing.

Auto stocks ended the day on a weak note today led by Hero Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors. As per a leading business daily, two wheeler major Hero Honda is targeting a 25% YoY growth in sales volumes during the year. During FY09, the company sold about 3.6 m units. As such, the target it has set out for this year is nearly 4.5 m units. During the April-June quarter (1QFY10), the company sold almost 1.1 m units. This indirectly means that the company will need to maintain the trend in volumes in the remaining quarters. It may be noted that Hero Honda has set out this target at a time when the industry is expecting a growth of about 8% YoY during FY10 (as per company’s management). The company’s plan to achieve this target centers on new model launches. It plans to launch nine models, most of which will debut in the next six months.

Banking stocks ended the day on a firm note led by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. As per a leading business daily, Yes Bank plans to foray in to retail lending segment, by introducing education loans during the beginning of next fiscal year. As of FY09, the bank's retail lending segment comprises only 1.1% of its total advances. It may be noted that 90% plus of the bank’s advances are extended towards large and medium sized corporates. In order to introduce retail products, the bank plans to increase its branch network from 117 (at the end of FY09) to around 250 towards the end of FY10. However, it will also need to increase its current and saving account (CASA) deposit ratio, which stood at about 9% in FY09. This would help it sustain its net interest margins by entering in the highly competitive retail segment.

As per a leading business daily, sixty seven companies have passed board resolutions for raising money from QIPs. It may be noted that this is more than the number of QIPs in the last three years put together. In terms of money raised, more than Rs 600 bn is slated to be raised this year, as against Rs 370 bn in the last three. It is highly unlikely that institutional investors will blindly invest in every company that comes their way. Interestingly, the SEBI formula for pricing QIPs - average of high and low prices of the preceding 2 weeks – will also cause problems because of the recent volatility in stock markets.

Though still in the red, the markets shed some of their earlier losses during the previous two hours of trade on account of buying activity witnessed at lower levels. Stocks from the engineering, metal and power sectors are leading the pack of losers, while select stocks from the pharma, software and energy sectors are trading higher. The overall decline to advance ratio is poised at 4.5 to 1 on the BSE.

The BSE-Sensex and NSE-Nifty are trading weak, down by around 100 points and 45 points respectively. The BSE-Midcap and the BSE-Smallcap indices are also trading weak, down by around 3.1% and 3.5% respectively. The Rupee is trading at 49.17 to the Dollar.

Steel stocks are trading lower led by SAIL, JSW Steel and Tata Steel. As per a leading business daily, Steel production in India is likely to double from its current capacity of 65 m tonnes to 124 m tonnes annually by FY12. As per the steel ministry, the sector is witnessing massive expansion led by both private and public sector companies. In fact, SAIL, India’s largest steel company plans to double its capacity to around 26 m tonnes by FY12, wherein it is estimated to invest around Rs 700 bn. Private Steel producers like Tata Steel and JSW Steel have also lined up huge capacity addition plans. It may be noted that the Indian Steel sector nearly remained unaffected by the global meltdown and the steel consumption grew by around 1% in FY09. As a matter of fact the steel consumption in India is expected to grow by around 2% in 2009 as per the World Steel Association reports.

Media stocks are trading mixed. While TV18 and Zee Entertainment are trading higher, HT Media and NDTV are trading lower. As per a leading business daily, TAM India has revised the growth estimates for television advertising in 2009 to around 10% to 15%. It may be noted that television advertising accounted for around 40% of overall advertising revenues, and grew by 20% in 2008. However, due to the overall slowdown in the economy in the second half of FY09, the growth for the sector had been projected to single digits in 2009. But with the revival in the domestic economy in last few months, television advertising has shown signs of improvement. In fact, the growth between April and June 2009 has been around 50% as compared to the corresponding period last year. This was largely on account of political or social advertising and the IPL.

Persistent selling activity witnessed during the previous two hours of trade led the Indian markets to decline further in the red. Currently, selling activity is led by stocks from the realty, metal and engineering sectors, while select stocks from the pharma and software spaces are bucking the trend. The overall market breadth is negative, with losers outnumbering gainers in the ratio of 5.6 to 1 on the BSE.

The BSE-Sensex and NSE-Nifty are trading weak, down by around 260 points and 60 points respectively. The BSE-Midcap and the BSE-Smallcap indices are also trading weak, down by around 4.1% each. The Rupee is trading at 49.39 to the Dollar.

As per a leading business daily, private oil retailers may receive a government subsidy for selling fuels in the domestic markets. So far, such subsidies were available only to PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs). In India, retail fuel prices are regulated by the government, due to which fuel is sold at a price lower than its input cost. The government then provides subsidies to these PSU oil marketers. However, the private players are left at a cost disadvantage to the PSU OMCs. This has led some private players to shut down their retail fuel outlets, when crude prices were at their peak. If it goes through, this development will help private oil marketers like Reliance Industries, Essar Oil and Shell to access government subsidy. However, this move will further increase the government’s deficit burden. Energy stocks are trading weak.

Power stocks are also trading weak led by Reliance Power and Tata Power, while NTPC is marginally lower. As per a leading business daily, NTPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a 4,000 MW of power plant in the state. As per the agreement, NTPC will supply around 50% of the power to the state in return for the land parcel and water. The plant will have five units of 800 MW each. The project will not be an Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP), but will be developed with super critical modern technology, which will be environment friendly. The project cost is estimated at around Rs 200 bn and is expected to be completed during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017). It may be noted that the projects will be developed in the coal-rich Raigarh district, which will help NTPC source sufficient amount of coal, which is the most critical requirement for any coal based power project.

In line with its Asian peers, the Indian markets too have opened the week’s proceedings on a negative note. The overall decline to advance ratio stood at 5:1 on the NSE. Except for select software and energy stocks, selling is being witnessed across sectors. Power, engineering and steel stocks are leading the pack of losers. As regards global markets, the US markets ended mixed, while the European markets ended lower on Friday. The Asian markets are also trading down currently.

The BSE Sensex is trading lower by around 160 points. The NSE Nifty is down 55 points. The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices are trading lower by 2% each. The rupee is trading at 48.91 to the dollar.

As per a leading business daily, Tata Motors is planning to extend the shutdown of Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) UK plants. It is also looking at staff layoffs in order to cope up with the slump in the world car market. JLR employs some 15,000 people in the UK. The UK carmaker had reported an annual loss of US$ 522 m last year. The company had taken measures, such as extending its Christmas break to two weeks, moving to a four-day week and laying off around 2,000 temporary staff earlier. The company is trying to convince the government to provide a loan guarantee that would unlock a £340 m advance from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB has agreed, but cannot dispense the cash until the government agrees to repay it if JLR goes under. Despite all these problems, Tata Motors is optimistic of JLR making profits in two years. Auto stocks are trading down.

The department of biotechnology (DBT) is planning to set up the National Biotechnology Regulatory Board to specify and regulate development of drugs and vaccines from natural sources such as humans, animals or micro-organism. Biologics are medicines and therapies developed from organic molecules derived from plants, proteins, tissues and cells. At present, both pharmaceutical products and biologics are regulated by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). The central drug quality regulator gives pre-clinical approvals for experimenting and developing both types of drugs. The new guidelines will apply only upto the pre-clinical stage and not on clinical trials. The global biotech drug market is estimated to be around US$ 65 bn. According to an industry estimate, the market for biotech drugs grew by 18% YoY in 2008. DBT now spends close to US$ 200 m annually to develop biotech resources in the country. Biotechnology is an emerging sector and according to domestic biotech companies such as Biocon, Wockhardt and Panacea Biotec, there is a need to have a proper regulatory mechanism in place. This would lead to greater focus in the biotech segment and would pave the way for Indian pharma companies focusing on biotechnology to launch more such drugs in the market given that biotech drugs provide a more accurate treatment than chemical drugs.

From liquidity crunch to liquidity glut

We have seen in the past few months just how swift financial and economic changes can be. A recent Mint report throws light on how one such change has taken place in the liquidity scenario in the country, wherein things have gone from a huge liquidity crunch to a flood of liquidity in the banking system. As per the report, the CEOs of most large banks in India are facing a lot of pressure on account of the fact that even though the government has injected big amounts of liquidity in the system, loans to the commercial sector have seen a big decline in 4QFY09. In effect, leaving banks grappling with the excess funds they are holding.

Banks have been facing a lot of pressure from the RBI as well as the government to cut loan rates. The policy rate has come down from 9% in September to 3.25% now. Another big source of liquidity has been the cut in CRR (cash reserve ratio), from a high of 9% in September 2000 to 5%, thus infusing an additional Rs 1.6 trillion into the system. But banks have been extremely reluctant to cut their lending rates so far, which now stand at about 11% to 12.25% (PLR or Prime Lending Rate). If this huge glut in liquidity were to continue and credit demand does not pick up anytime soon, you may soon see borrowing costs and deposit rates come down further going forward.

First speed-breaker to ambitious road plans

Just last week we spoke about how the minister for road transport and highways, Mr. Kamal Nath, has announced plans to spend almost Rs1,000 bn for construction of 12,000 km of highways in the current financial year. We also spoke of how this could give a big fillip to many sectors catering directly or indirectly to this sector. But whether these plans could be relied upon was the big question. Now, reports of the first impediment to these plans have already come in.

Some restrictive bidding norms that the government has put in place threaten to put a big spoke in the wheel as they block investment of at least Rs 100 bn in roads and highways. One of these norms is that an application for a bid would be disqualified if an investor or its associates holds at least 5% in another company, which is applying for the same project. But many of the companies that intend to bid for road projects have common investors who hold more than 5% in them and this is holding them back. The time it takes for the government to resolve this issue and have a relook at these restrictive norms will determine how much of a delay takes place on this account.

Stock Market Report 13 July 2009

Indian Share Stock Markets BSE NSE Report 13 July 2009

Trading for the week began on a subdued note as the key benchmark indices extending last week's sharp losses on weak Asian stocks. Nevertheless, the market cut intraday losses. The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 103.90 points or 0.77%, up close to 180 points from the day's low. The S&P CNX Nifty fell below the psychological 4,000 mark.

Realty, auto and metal stocks fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries also edged lower. But IT stocks gained for the second straight day after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies on Friday, 10 July 2009 raised the lower end of its annual forecast in dollar terms. India's largest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue ONGC rose in choppy trade. The market breadth was extremely weak.

The market edged lower at the onset of the trading session on weak Asian stocks. The market extended losses in early afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed later. The market cut losses in second half of the trading session even as volatility remained high

European equities edged higher in volatile trade. Key benchmark indices in Germany, France and UK were up by between 0.4% to 0.57%.

Asian shares fell on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei down for a ninth straight day, as concerns about company earnings outlooks weighed, while oil languished near a six-week low as faith in a rapid economic recovery faded. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 1.07% to 3.53%.

Trading in US index futures indicated Dow could fall 9 points at the opening bell on Monday, 13 July 2009.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 edged lower on Friday, 10 July 2009. But the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index finished with a slight gain. The Dow Jones was down 36.65 points or 0.45% at 8146.52 and S&P down 3.55 points or 0.4% at 879.13. The Nasdaq closed up 3.48 points or 0.2% at 1756.03. It was fourth straight week of losses on Wall Street. For the week, the Dow Jones lost 1.6%, while the S&P skidded 1.9% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.3%.

Chevron Corp warned about second-quarter earnings, raising the specter of a weaker-than-expected second-half economic recovery and anemic corporate profits.

Closer home, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday, 11 July 2009 that the government may take more steps to make cheaper and adequate funds available to the private sector, while ensuring the government's record-high borrowing plan proceeds smoothly. Mukherjee said the country aims to return to the higher growth of past years, for which the government has outlined a spending plan of Rs 10 lakh crore for the year to March 2010, largely funded through debt.

Markets were spooked on the budget day, 6 July 2009 after the government announced a Rs, 4,51,000 crore borrowing plan for 2009/10. High government borrowing plan may affect already ballooning fiscal deficit.

The government plans reforms affecting subsidies, taxes and stake sales to cut its fiscal deficit in coming years. But Junior trade minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today said there is no proposal to change current policy on FDI in retail. There were speculations that FDI in retail could be raised in the Union budget. He also said there is no plan yet to ease export ban on non-basmati rice.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon appears to have picked up momentum in several parts of the country with as many as 21 sub-divisions receiving normal to excess rains except the northwestern region. The country as a whole has received near normal rainfall last week and 21 out of the 36 meteorological sub-divisions received normal to excess rains, the weather office said on Sunday, 12 July 2009. In the rest 15 sub-divisions, rainfall was either deficient or scanty, it said. Central and northeast India also received near normal rainfall. However, rainfall was deficient by 59% over northwestern parts of the country.

India, where 60% of farms depend on the monsoons, may be hit by a bad drought if annual monsoon rains remain weak with the window for planting crops closing by mid-July, a report from a US Agricultural Department (USDA) attache said recently.

The market has entered a crucial period of earnings. The market expectations are that in Q1 June 2009, the 30 stocks that comprise Mumbai's benchmark Sensex index could see an annual fall in sales of 4-8% and fall in profit at between 9-13%.

The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 103.90 points or 0.77% to 13,400.32. At the day's low of 13,219.99, Sensex fell 284.23 points in early afternoon trade. The Sensex fell 42.54 points at the day's high of 13,461.68 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 29.85 points or 0.75% to 3,974.05. Nifty July 2009 futures were at 3967, at discount of 7.05 points over the spot closing of 3974.05. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment plunged to Rs 50298.51 crore from Rs 57891.12 crore on Friday, 10 July 2009.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,085 crore, lower than Rs 4,598.24 crore on Friday, 10 July 2009.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 564 shares rose as compared with 2,003 that fell. A total of 55 shares remained unchanged.

From the 30 shares Sensex pack, 19 fell and the rest rose.

From a recent closing high of 15,466.81 on 10 July 2009, the BSE Sensex has lost 2,066.49 points or 13.36%. Despite the recent fall, the barometer index is up 3,753.01 points or 38.9% in calendar year 2009, as on 10 July 2009. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex has risen 5,239.92 points or 64.21% as on 9 July 2009.

Coming back to today's trade, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 2.61% and the BSE Small-Cap index was down 3.21%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The BSE IT index (up 1.76%), the BSE TECk index (up 0.15%), the BSE Bankex (down 0.13%), the BSE FMCG index (down 0.72%), the BSE Healthcare index (down 0.73%), outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Consumer Durables index (down 5.68%), the BSE Metal index (down 3.77%), the BSE Realty index (down 3.77%), the BSE Auto index (down 2.57%), the BSE Power index (down 2.39%), the BSE Capital Goods index (down 2.39%), the BSE PSU index (down 1.55%), the BSE Oil & Gas index (down 1.08%), underperformed the Sensex.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 1.72% to Rs 1,747.85, extending last week's losses after the Supreme Court declined to stay the Bombay High Court's verdict in a dispute over the sale of natural gas by Reliance Industries (RIL) to Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL). But, the came off the day's low of Rs 1,718.30.

The Supreme Court, last week, didn't grant RIL' plea to stay the order of the Bombay High Court until the resolution of the case and issued notices to the companies and the Centre. Both companies have to reply to appeals filed by each other by 20 July 2009, when the matter is scheduled to be heard. The government must also respond by then, the court said.

RIL had moved the Supreme court, challenging the Bombay High Court judgment asking it to supply gas to the former at a price that is 44% lower than fixed by the government. In its appeal filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday 4 July 2009, Reliance Industries contended that the high court had erred in deciding the three terms - quantity, tenure and price of gas supply to power plants of Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) affiliates.

Meanwhile, as per media reports, the government is open to allowing private-sector refiners such as RIL and Essar Oil to access subsidy on domestic fuel sales.

Shares of oil exploration firms rose even as crude hovered near an eight-week low on speculation the global recession will sap demand for fuel and increase stockpiles. Cairn India rose 2.33%. India's largest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue ONGC rose 0.58% after changing direction a number of times.

Crude oil for August delivery was at $59.83 a barrel, down 6 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Fall in crude oil prices would result in lower realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.

PSU OMCs fell after oil minister Murli Deora on Thursday, 9 July 2009 said that the government will roll back the Rs 4 a litre hike in petrol prices and the Rs 2 a litre increase in diesel rates if international crude oil prices stabilize between $50 and 60 a barrel. HPCL, BPCL and Indian Oil Corporation fell by between 0.93% to 3.01%. At the beginning of this month, the Government had raised petrol and diesel prices citing spike in international crude oil prices to $70 a barrel.

The recent sharp slide in crude oil prices augurs well for PSU OMCs. Lower crude oil prices will reduce under-recoveries at the state-run oil firms on domestic sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at a controlled price.

But contrary to market expectations, the Union Budget 2009-2010 did not include a roadmap for decontrol of fuel prices in the country even as the finance minister said an expert panel will be set up to look into the matter of fuel pricing.

IT stocks extended gains on better-than-expected Q1 June 2009 results from India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys on Friday, 10 July 2009. Infosys rose 2.4%, extending gains for the second day in a row, after the company raised the lower end of its annual forecast in dollar terms at the time of announcing Q1 June 2009 results before trading hours on Friday. The management comments that global information technology spending may recover in 2010 on a possible revival of the global economy, also boosted the counter. The stock had risen nearly 3% on Friday.

Infosys' consolidated net profit as Indian GAAP declined 5.3% to Rs 1527 crore on a 2.89% fall in revenue to Rs 5472 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q4 March 2009. The results were better-than-market expectations. Its American depository receipt (ADR) rose 4.23% on Friday, 10 July 2009.

Other IT stocks rose for the second straight day after better-than-expected Q1 June 2009 results from Infosys. India's largest IT exporter by sales TCS rose 0.95%. India's third largest IT exporter by sales Wipro rose 1.3% as its American depository receipt (ADR) rose 1.68% on Friday.

A weak rupee also aided the rally in IT stocks. The rupee was at 49.09 against the dollar today, 13 July 2009, compared to Friday's close of $49.01/49.02, on dollar buying by banks. A weak rupee boosts revenues of IT firms in rupee terms as IT companies earn a lion's share of revenue from exports.

Realty stocks fell after the Finance Minister made no major announcement to boost the debt ridden sector reeling under slump in demand for new homes in the Budget last week. DLF, Unitech, Housing Development & Infrastructure, Indiabulls Real Estate, Omaxe, Akruti City fell by between 1.02% to 5.27%.

Auto stocks fell on fears a poor monsoon may hit rural sales. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Hero Honda Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra fell by between 2.54% to 3.48%.

India's monsoon rains, which run between June to September, are critical to farm prospects, which account for a sixth of economic output. Up to 70% of Indians are dependent on farm incomes, and about 60% of India's farms depend on rains. Auto firms derive substantial revenue from rural and semi-urban India. According to industry estimates, about 40% of the sales of two-wheelers are in semi-urban and rural areas.

Metal stocks fell as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchnage fell 1.31% on Friday, 10 July 2009. Steel Authority of India, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, National Aluminum Company, Hindustan Zinc fell by between 2.86% to 8.34%.

But India's largest copper maker by sales Sterlite Industries rose 1.48% on reports its wholly-owned subsidiary Sterlite Energy may come out with a public offering in next 3-4 months to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore to part finance its expansion plans.

India's largest cellular services provider by market share Bharti Airtel fell 2.06% even after it added 28.2 lakh subscribers in June 2009.

Bank stocks rose on bargain hunting after recent steep slide triggered from disappointment in the Budget. Contrary to market expectations, the government did not announce financial sector reforms in the Budget. Market expectations on financial sector reforms were high. The government's annual economic survey released ahead of the Budget had called for a phased increase in the foreign direct investment limit in banks. Voting rights in banks should be aligned with equity holdings, the Survey had said.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 0.45% even as its ADR fell 0.95% on Friday.

India's biggest bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.16% after Chairman O P Bhatt said the bank's net interest margin may be over 2.5% in the year ending March 2010. He said interest rates in India may go up by 25 to 100 basis points in six months if liquidity in the system is not managed well.

Axis Bank rose 2.27% after its net profit rose 70.24% to Rs 562.04 crore on 33.64% rise in total income to Rs 3864.13 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

But India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank fell 0.84% as its American depository receipt (ADR) fell 1.32% on Friday, 10 July 2009. Caution prevailed in the stock ahead of the announcement of Q1 June 2009 results on Tuesday, 14 July 2009.

India's biggest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income Housing Development Finance Corporation rose 0.38%.

FMCG stocks fell on profit taking after the recent gains triggered by the government's thrust on the agriculture sector in Union Budget 2009-2010. FMCG firms derives a substantial revenue from rural sector. Marico, United Spirits, Nestle India, Tata Tea, Nestle India, Hindutan Unilever, fell by between 0.02% to 4.4%.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the Union Budget for 2009-10, said the government will ensure that agriculture grows by at least 4% per year.

The government has announced additional interest rate subvention of 1% to farmers who pay short-term farm loans on schedule. The government has also decided to extend agriculture debt waiver by six months and to provide additional Rs 1000 crore over interim budget for irrigation.

Capital goods stocks fell on profit taking after recent gains triggered by a thrust on infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2009-2010. BEML, Crompton Greaves, Punj Lloyd, Siemens, Larsen & Toubro, Praj Industries, Bharat Heavy Electricals fell by between 0.35% to 6.83%. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 6 July 2009, provided a thrust on various infrastructure projects in the Budget which may benefit capital goods firms in the form of increased orders. The government announced more spending for urban, water and road projects. The allocation to National Highway development program allocation was increased 23% to Rs 15948 crore.

Construction shares fell on profit taking despite a thrust on infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2009-2010. Punj Lloyd, Era Infra Engineering, IVRCL Infrastructure & Projects and Hindustan Construction Company, fell by between 1.26% to 4.87%.

Nagarjuna Construction Company fell 3.5% after the company said it dropped a proposal to issue share warrants to private equity firm Blackstone as the proposal did not receive regulatory approval.

Cement stocks fell on profit taking after a sharp surge recently triggered by the Budget's thrust on the infrastructure sector. ACC, ,Ambuja Cements, Ultratech Cements, fell by between 0.75% to .18%.

Unitech clocked the highest volume of 2.46 crore shares on BSE. Suzlon Energy (1.56 crore shares), Cals Refineries (1.01 crore shares), Reliance Natural Resources (.95 crore shares) and Mahindra Satyam (0.87 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Educomp Solutions clocked the highest turnover of Rs 233.07 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 192.17 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 177.69 crore), Unitech (Rs 160.43 crore) and Reliance Capital (Rs 152.71 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.