Monday, November 15, 2010

Sensex bounces back with 153-point gain; SBI rises the most

MUMBAI: Bombay stock market, which witnessed four per cent fall last week, today rebound with a 153 point gain in Sensex, driven by strong buying interest in financial scrips amid easing inflation.

After a see-saw session, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index, Sensex, ended 152.80 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 20,309.69.

It opened on a smart note but soon fell on profit- booking, but regained momentum as investors saw the October inflation decline — for the second consecutive month — to 8.58 per cent.

Similarly the National Stock Exchange wide-based Nifty too closed with a smart gain of 49.95 points at 6,121.6, after a choppy session.

"Last week's fall gave an opportunity to the investors to buy at lower levels, which led to a rebound on the Dalal Street," SMC Capitals Equity head Jagannathan Thunuguntla said.

Banking stock came to the market rescue and contributed the most in the recovery of the Sensex.

Maximum buying was seen in the country's largest lender, State Bank of India, which snapped last week's losses to end with a gain of 4.41 per cent at Rs 3,164.15. Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also surged by 2.84 per cent and 1.73 per cent respectively.

"Inflation data for the month of October was in line with the market expectations which primarily triggered the buying in the banking counters," Ashika Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.

Pharma giant Cipla saw a jump of 4.15 per and another drug firm Wockhardt soared by 11.3 per cent.

"The surge in the pharma counters is primarily on the anticipation of some deal activities in the sector," Thunuguntla added.

Besides, the IT bellwether Infosys Technologies which ended with a gain of 0.83 per cent, also gave strength to the market. Other software giants Wipro (1.87 per cent) and TCS (0.58 per cent) too ended the day in green.

However, Mahindra Satyam, which will report its June and September quarter numbers today, declined by 1.23 per cent.

Among the 30-Sensex scrips, 20 ended the day in green while rest finished in positive territory, with the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries playing a spoil sport with a loss of 0.74 per cent.

Anil Ambani led Reliance Infra shed 1.69 per cent, becoming the worst performer on the Sensex. Another ADAG firm Reliance Communications, which reported a 40 per cent dip in its second quarter net profit, also slipped by 1.12 per cent on BSE
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Sensex to make a smart comeback next week: Analysts

NEW DELHI: After more than 4% fall last week, Sensex is likely to bounce back and may regain 21,000 mark in the coming week on smart corporate earnings and strong India growth story, say analysts.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex plummeted by 848 points or 4.03% last week on the back of negative global cues, poor industrial growth numbers and the sell-off in the blue chips.

Market analysts feel that the weakness in the Dalal Steet is the over-reaction to the negative news from the Asian and European peers and describe the fall as a "buying opportunity" for the investors.

"Stock markets should see handsome value buying at lower levels. The negative news has been absorbed by the market and we are likely to again see the 21,000 mark in the next few trading sessions with buying across the board," CNI Research CMD Kishore P Ostwal said.

The market last week also faced tight liquidity due to the central transmission utility PowerGrid's follow-on public offer, which was subscribed 14.83 times, reflecting the positive market sentiment, said an expert.

In the coming days, investors will start getting back the refund of the money parked in the FPO, which will also improve liquidity in the secondary market.

"The macro-economic picture still remains strong, which will lead to a smart and steady recovery in the stock market. Last week's correction was expected as the market was in an overbought zone. We will definitely see a spurt in buying in the stocks," Unicon Financial Services CEO Gajendra Nagpal said.

Robust earnings reported by blue-chip companies including Tata Steel and Reliance Infra on Friday late evening, are also likely to boost the market sentiment, feel analysts.

Much to the market relief, Tata Steel posted a net profit of Rs 1,978.81 crore for the July-September quarter and Reliance Infrastructure also reported a growth of 10.95% in September quarter net profit at Rs 360.18 crore.

Economy to soon revert to 9 pc growth: FM


NEW DELHI: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday exuded confidence that the economy would soon revert to 9 per cent growth, witnessed in the pre-crisis period, even as industrial growth plunged to a 16 month-low of 4.4 per cent in September.

The finance minister said the challenge now is to find the means to cross the double-digit growth barrier in the coming year or two.

"In the short term, it is reasonable to expect that the economy will go back to the robust growth path of around 9 per cent average that it was on before the global crisis slowed (it) down in 2008," Mukherjee said at the India Economic Summit.

Although manufacturing growth has slowed down in the past couple of months, the Finance Minister said the sector has been performing strongly.

"Finally, the manufacturing sector has been showing buoyancy reminiscent of the pre-slowdown year, though some concerns on its growth momentum have emerged in the last month or two," Mukherjee said.

For the second consecutive month this fiscal, industry performed poorly in September. Its growth plummeted to 4.4 per cent September after 6.92 per cent in the previous month.

Manufacturing sector, comprising almost 80 per cent of Index of Industrial Production, grew at slower rate of 4.5 per cent in September, against 8.3 per cent a year ago.

Satyam fiasco affected business, says PwC chief


NEW DELHI: It is yet to clear its name from the Satyam scandal, but it's action time at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world's top professional services firm. Even as it faces multiple inquiries into the Satyam scam, the company is strengthening its audit and other business practices in India and plans to invest $100 million over the next three years and double its headcount from 6000 at present.

Dennis M Nally, chairman of PwC International, admits that the company's business operations were impacted after the Satyam fiasco - that resulted in the arrest of two of its top audit partners, apart from the numerous inquiries. However, he says that the company is moving swiftly to make amends through a series of changes, which includes a new leadership and a renewed focus on quality control and procedures. "The idea is raise our overall quality and we would do anything for this," Nally tells TOI in an interview at the World Economic Forum, he says PwC will expand in India in line with the rapid expansion of the country's economy and its rising status globally.

However, it is the Satyam scam and its after-effects that get the otherwise at-ease Nally in a cautionary mode. "Whenever a situation like this (corporate fraud) happens, there is an immediate tendency to point fingers," he says when asked whether the firm was made a scapegoat in a fraud that appears to be a pure handiwork of the company's promoter Ramalinga Raju. "There is a need to not over-react, and understand things in totality. Unfortunately, in today's 24X7 reporting world, it is unrealistic." Asked whether he supports the idea of action against auditing firms, something that is being considered by Indian regulators post the Satyam scam, Nally says he supports the move, but only in case of systemic failures.

Sahara set to buy London hotel for 470 million

LONDON: Sahara India Pariwar, the conglomerate run by Indian billionaire Subrata Roy, is all set to buy the landmark Grosvenor House hotel in central London, which was once home to the Duke of Westminster.

According to the Sunday Times, Royal Bank of Scotland, which took control of the property in 2001 when it paid 1.2 billion pounds for 12 Le Meridien hotels as part of a sale- and-leaseback deal, has agreed to sell Grosvenor House Hotel to Subrata Roy for a knock-down price. The five-star hotel will be sold for about 470 million pounds, the report said.

Sahara is believed to be taking advice from consultants DTZ and Blandford Goldsmith on the real estate deal. RBS had originally hoped to get as much as 700 million pounds from the sale, but lowered its target after two previous auctions failed. RBS has been trying to offload the site for three years. Grosvenor House was built in the 18th century and became the Duke's London home in 1806.

It was commandeered by the government during the First World War before being knocked down and rebuilt in 1927. Sahara, which has been in exclusive talks with the state -backed bank since mid-October, is understood to have already handed over a deposit for the property. If all goes smoothly, the deal is expected to be inked before Christmas. Both parties declined to comment on the deal
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SC to Vodafone: deposit 2,500 cr deposit, BG Rs 8,500 crore

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked Vodafone LLC to deposit Rs 2,500 crore and a bank guarantee of Rs 8500 crore in its ongoing case in which the UK based telecom giant has challenged capital gains tax of Rs 11,000 crore from its acquisition of Hutchison shares.

The bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia directed Vodafone to deposit Rs 2500 crore within three weeks and a bank guarantee of Rs 8500 crore within 8 weeks.

The bench, which also comprised justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, also held that if the case goes in favour of Vodafone then the govt will have to return the amount to the telecom giant along with interest.

The apex court would start its final hearing in this matter from Feb 5, 2011.

The apex court also directed the Director General of international taxation to file an undertaking before the court that the government would refund the amount along with the interest to Vodafone if the UK based telecom giant succeeds in the case
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Inflation dips to 8.58% in October

NEW DELHI: Inflation declined for the second consecutive month to 8.58% in October, with price pressure mostly confined to food items.

Inflation stood at 8.62% in September. The fall in inflation in October is significant, since the base was quite low a year ago at 1.48%.

While food inflation was at the elevated level of 14.13%, despite moderation from 15.71% in the previous month, inflation on manufactured items stood at a comfortable 4.75%. However, this was still higher than the 4.59% inflation on manufactured items witnessed in September.

Manufactured items have the highest weight of 64.9% in the wholesale price index, on the basis of which inflation is calculated.

Most food product prices either declined or showed moderate increases in October, but onion rates shot up by 24.07% during the month, as crops in parts of Maharashtra were damaged due to torrential rains.

In the wake of 16-month-low industrial growth at 4.4% in September, declining inflation may prompt the RBI to relax its monetary tightening drive.

Enthused by the figures, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said, "We hope it will come down to 6.5% by December-end and something close to 5.5% by March, 2011."

Friday, November 12, 2010

Rupee down 26 paise against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee weakened by 26 paise to Rs 44.57 against the US dollar in the early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today as the American currency firmed up against other international currencies. 

Besides, demand for dollars from importers and weak sentiment on the stock markets pushed down the rupee. 

The rupee remained stable at Rs 44.31/32 against the US dollar in the previous session despite steep fall in stock prices. 

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 113.34 points or 0.55 per cent to 20,475.75 in the opening trade today
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Sensex closes 432 points down on weak factory output data, global cues

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell 432 points on reports of sharp decline in industrial growth data for September and a weak global trend.

The Sensex, which had lost 343 points in the last two trading sessions, dropped 432.20 points to 20,156.89, paring last week's 4.9 per cent advance.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange lost 122.60 points to 6,071.65, as stocks in realty, metal and banking sector suffered the most.

The heaviest-weighted Reliance Industries dropped Rs 20.20 to Rs 1,061.85, and the second-heaviest Infosys Technologies by Rs 55.90 to Rs 2,999.25. The two carry nearly 23 per cent weightage on the benchmark.

Falling share prices in the last two sessions on profit- booking on a mixed bag of earnings by leading companies, received further jolt following reports the that industrial growth almost halved to 4.4 per cent in September, against 8.2 per cent in the year-ago period.

A weakening trend in the Asian region and lower opening in Europe this afternoon, amid increased investor worries about eurozone debt, contributed to the fall.

The global equities fell following report Group of 20 nations might not exempt Asian lenders from stricter capital requirements. Chinese shares fell as inflation fuelled speculation the country will raise rates.

In 30-BSE index components, 28 stocks fell while two gained. The fall was led by realty sector stocks as leading developer DLF Ltd slumped to a two-month low. The shares were cut to "under-perform" from "neutral" by Credit Suisse.

The realty sector index suffered heavy losses by 4.76 per cent to 3,498.73 as DLF fell by Rs 18.90 to Rs 327.55, and Indiabull Realestate by Rs 10.75 to Rs 195.25.

The consumer durable index was second worst performer, losing 3.53 per cent, at 6,971.66 followed by metal sector which was down 3.31 per cent to 17,014.26.

Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile-phone operator fell for a third day after reporting a decline in Q2 net profit. The share slumped by Rs 11.40 to RS 306.05, lowest close since July 30.

As the selling pressure spread over a wide-front, all sectoral indices, including smallcap and midcap recorded losses of up to 4.76 per cent
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Industrial output slips to 4.4 per cent in Sept

New Delhi, Nov 12 : The industrial output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed down to 4.4 per cent in September 2010 as against 8.2 per cent registered in the same month a year ago, according to official data released here today.

The IIP numbers for September are also lower than August, which were revised upward from 5.6 per cent to 6.9 per cent.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the consecutive fall in the IPP numbers for two months is a matter of concern.

''It is a matter of concern. We will have to examine the reasons behind this fall,'' Mr Mukherjee said.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 80 per cent of the IIP, has declined to 4.5 per cent in September as against 8.3 per cent registered in the same period a year ago.

The output in mining sector grew at 5.2 per cent in September 2010 as against 7.4 per cent in September 2009.

Electricity grew at 1.7 per cent against 7.5 per cent and consumer durables grew at 10.9 per cent against 21.9 per cent reported a year ago.

The cumulative growth during April-September 2010 over the corresponding period of 2009 in the mining, manufacturing and electricty sectors sectors have been 8.7 per cent, 11.0 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.

''In terms of industries, as many as fourteen out of the seventeen industry groups have shown positive growth during the month of September 2010 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year,'' the data showed.

The industry group 'Leather and Leather and Fur Products' have shown the highest growth of 26.8 per cent, followed by 21.6 per cent in 'Transport Equipment and Parts' and 13.7 per cent in 'Rubber, Plastic, Petroleum and Coal Products'.

On the other hand, the industry group 'Other Manufacturing Industries' have shown a negative growth of 3.1 per cent followed by 2.6 per cent in 'Metal Products and Parts, except Machinery and Equipment'.

The growth rate in 'Basic goods' stood at 3.5 per cent in September 2010 over September 2009, 4.5 per cent in 'Capital goods' and 10.3 per cent in 'Intermediate goods'.

The 'Consumer durables' and 'Consumer non-durables' have recorded growth of 10.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively, with the overall growth in 'Consumer goods' being 5.2 per cent in September 2010 over September 2009, the data showed.

Manmohan Singh asks G-20 nations to avoid competitive devaluation of currency

Seoul, Nov 12 : The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Friday urged G-20 countries to avoid competitive devaluation of currencies at all costs and resist any resurgence in protectionism.

Addressing the plenary session of the fifth G-20 Summit in Seoul this morning, Dr. Singh said: "Advance deficit countries must follow policy of fiscal consolidation. This should be consistent with their individual circumstances to ensure debt sustainability over the medium term."

"While structural reforms are necessary everywhere, these should increase efficiency and competitiveness in deficit countries, while expanding internal demand in surplus countries. This rebalancing will take time, but it must begin," he added.

He said the exchange rate flexibility is an important instrument for achieving a sustainable current account position and the policies must reflect this consideration.

"Recycling surplus savings into investment in developing countries will not only address the immediate demand imbalance but it will also help to address developmental imbalances," he added.

Expressing confidence that G-20 will be able to translate the rich agenda before the summit into tangible outcome under the forthcoming presidency of France, he said: "The G-20 was an apt response to an adverse situation that the world faced."

Dr. Singh further complimented the South Korean presidency for the initiative it took to include development as an accepted item in the agenda of the G-20.

"The G-20 was born at the time of a crisis and as such it has been preoccupied with the short term agenda of crisis management and global rebalancing. However, one of the biggest imbalances facing us the development imbalance and putting development on the G-20 agenda fills an important gap," he added.

He said developing countries performed well in the years before the crisis and have also done well in subsequent years.

"However, we need to ensure that the global economic environment, including especially the environment for trade, and investment flows remains strongly supportive of development," Dr. Singh said.

Dr. Singh said the Seoul Development Consensus and the associated Multi- Year Action Plans, which are before the G-20 countries provide a comprehensive agenda with timelines, which should be pursued in all relevant fora in the months ahead.

"I am particularly happy to endorse the focus on facilitating investment in national and regional infrastructure projects and the call for establishing a High Level Panel to recommend measures to mobilise private, semi-public and public resources for infrastructure investment and to review MDB policy in this area," he said.

China steadily closing gap with India as top BPO destination

New Delhi, Nov 12 : China's outsourcing industry is steadily closing the gap with leader India, according to a research done by a Canada based firm.

ICT research and advisory firm Canada-based XMG Global said in its study that China is closing 2010 with 35.76 billion US dollars or 28.7 percent share of the global outsourcing industry, while India maintains its lead capturing 54.33 billion US dollars or 43.7 percent of the total.

Assessing the industry's achievement, China is gradually narrowing its revenue gap from India with a huge 30 percent growth compared with India''s 14 percent, Xinhua quoted XMG chief analyst Lauro Vives, as saying in a statement.

"India's weakening lead is due to the substantial efforts of China, the Philippines, and other offshoring destinations in building their capacity to attract significant amount of investment," Vives said.

The Philippines, which came third with 8.85 billion US dollars in total revenue or 7.1 percent share by end of 2010, is also doing well with 23 percent growth surpassing the 20 percent gain last year, he added.

"While India continues to remain the leader, the rest of the offshore countries are now beginning to mature," Vives said.

The analyst said the global outsourcing market is expected to end 2010 with estimated total revenue of 425 billion US dollars or 13.9 percent higher compared with last year.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Food inflation falls to 12.30%, declines for 4th week in row

NEW DELHI: Food inflation declined to 12.30 per cent for the week ended October 30, on improved supply of items, showing a downward movement for the fourth straight week.

It was 12.85 per cent in the previous week. While most food items like wheat, pulses and potatoes turned cheaper, onions became costlier as their prices rose about 10 per cent within a week.

Considering that food inflation stood at a high of 12.59 per cent during the corresponding week of last year, even 12.30 per cent inflation is quite elevated.

Earlier this month, RBI raised its short-term rates to tame inflation saying prices of protein based food items are still high.

However, Prime Minister's advisory panel believes that food inflation could be tamed through improved production.

At a function, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan said, "Food inflation is caused by shortage of food and supply. In the mid-term we need to ensure that supply is increased through production to curb inflation.

Rupee remains stable against dollar



MUMBAI: In a lacklustre trading, the rupee on Thursday ended flat for the second straight day at 44.31/32 against the US currency despite firm dollar overseas and steep fall in local equities. 

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened better at 44.25/27 a dollar from its previous close of 44.30/31. 

It immediately touched a high of 44.24 on mild dollar selling by exporters and some banks amid sustained capital inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused a record USD 28.66 billion in 2010 till November 10. 

However, stronger dollar overseas and steep fall in local equities weighed on the rupee in later part of the day and it fell back to a low of 44.3450 before concluding at 44.31/32. 

The dollar index, consisting six major currencies, was up by 0.22 in afternoon in European market. 

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday ended sharply lower by 286.62 points or 1.37 per cent. 

Meanwhile, food inflation fell to 12.30 per cent for the week ended October 30, from 12.85 per cent in the previous week. 

Global crude oil was trading 25-month high above USD 88 a barrel in London today as crude inventories unexpectedly fell in the US, analysts said. 

The rupee premium for the forward dollar closed steady to easy on stray receivings by exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in April slipped to 136-137-1/2 from 137-139 paise on Wednesday while far-forward contracts maturing in October held steady at its overnight level of 241-243 paise. 

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 44.25 and the euro at Rs 60.96. 

In cross-currency trade, the domestic currency fell back against the pound sterling, the Japanese yen and the euro. 

The rupee reacted downwards to Rs 71.45/47 against the pound sterling from Wednesday's close of Rs 71.17/19 and also declined to Rs 60.81/83 per euro from Rs 61.04/06 previously. 

It too softened against the yen to Rs 53.92/94 per 100 yen from its last close of Rs 53.89/91.

Sensex closes 287 points down

MUMBAI: Stock market today recorded its biggest decline in about a month with a 287 point fall in the Sensex, on heavy selling in blue chips like RIL, Bharti Airtel and DLF and negative cues from South Korea and Europe.

Selling pressure intensified late afternoon trade as reports trickled in about fall on South Korean bourses due to a large-scale foreign fund selling, which is being attributed to failure of US President Barack Obama and his Korean counterpart to reach a free-trade accord.

Despite opening on a handsome note, the 30-share sensitive index corrected by 286.62 points or 1.37 per cent, to settle the day at 20,589.09. On October 15, the barometer had tumbled by 372 points.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's wide-based Nifty tanked by 81.45 points to finish at 6,194.25.

Analysts attributed the bearish sentiment to the lack of fresh buying in the market and the negative global cues.

"Tight liquidity in the market due to the continuous FPOs and IPOs coupled with the weak global cues are the major reasons for the market correction," Networth Stock Broking Head of Institutional Business Prakash Diwan said.

Continuing southward journey for the third straight session, shares of the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries plunged 1.85 per cent to close at Rs 1,082.05. The scrip has shed 2.69 per cent in three trading days.

Poor performance by the blue chips including DLF and Bharti Airtel also contributed to weakness on the Dalal Street.

Realty giant DLF emerged as the worst Sensex performer after posting a 5 per cent dip in its second quarter profit. The scrip fell 4.41 per cent and JP Associates too slid by 3.28 per cent, dragging the BSE-Realty index down by 120 points.

"Profit booking across the counters and the lack of some major trigger is drifting the broader market," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Research Head Alex Mathews said.

All 13 sectoral indices closed in the red with realty losing the most.

Similarly, telecom leader Bharti Airtel continued to fall after having reported dip in second quarter numbers yesterday. The scrip today shed 3.26 per cent to close at Rs 317.45.

Among the 30 Sensex scrips, 25 ended the day in red, while only five managed to finish on a positive note.

The losses in the market were primarily offset by the gains in Hindalco(2.65 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (1 per cent) and Tata Power (1.47 per cent). The aluminium producer Hindalco erased its yesterday's losses, becoming the best Sensex performer
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