BSE Sensex hikes by 1 %

The BSE Sensex gained 1 percent on Friday to post its biggest gain in a week, bolstered by strong global markets, but lingering worries about surging inflation and interest rates are seen weighing on sentiment in the near term.

The market ended the week down 1.1 percent despite the day's gains as investors had dumped stocks earlier on disappointing earning reports from some index heavyweights and expectations of a further rise in interest rates in Asia's third-largest economy.

Larsen & Toubro was the biggest gainer in the main index, rising as much as 4.7 percent to 1,670 rupees on Friday, bolstered by brokerage upgrades a day after the company posted a 17 percent rise in quarterly profit.

The benchmark 30-share BSE index ended the day up 1.02 percent, or 184.69 points, at 18,326.09, after having risen as much as 1.6 percent during the day on value buying in beaten down stocks.

All but three of its components closed in the positive zone. The index has fallen about 11 percent this year, with

foreign funds turning net sellers of Indian shares worth $1.66 billion in this month to Wednesday.

"There are several headwinds to fight with, ranging from macro economic issues to pressure on corporate earnings due to rising interest rates," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Global Securities.

"The overall investor sentiment remains very fragile and the flow of money into the markets is not very inspiring on growing worries about the economic growth."

The Reserve Bank of India raised interest rates in early May for the ninth time since March 2010 by a sharper-than-expected

50 basis points, and said fighting inflation was its priority, even at the expense of some short-term growth.

The wholesale price index, the main gauge of prices in India, rose 8.66 percent annually in April and the prospect of higher energy prices will keep pressure on the RBI to raise interest rates in June and maintain a hawkish stance.

Shares in financials such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 1.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, on value buying at lower levels. The ICICI Bank stock had fallen 4 percent in the last four sessions.

Banking shares have been beaten down in recent sessions on fears that the series of rate hikes would hit demand for loans by corporate houses and retail borrowers, and put pressure on asset quality.

Larsen & Toubro's stock closed up 3.6 percent at 1,652.25 rupees, extending its gains of 5.9 percent in the previous

session, after the company posted a 17 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit and gave a strong outlook.

RBS raised its rating on L&T to "buy" from "hold" and raised the stock's price target, calling it the "best play on the road-based longer-term Indian capex story".

Goldman Sachs also raised its target on L&T to 2,006 rupees from 1,987 rupees.

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp fell 1.4 percent to 273.95 rupees after the company said that the additional subsidy burden imposed on it by the government would impact its earnings and share sale plans.

An industry source told Reuters that Indian upstream firms will compensate state-run fuel retailers for about 38.7 percent

of their revenue losses on subsidised sales for the fiscal year ended in March up from 33.33 percent earlier.

The broader 50-share NSE index ended up 1.07 percent at 5,486.35 points. In the broader market, gainers led losers in the ratio of 1.4:1 on total volume of over 509 million shares.

World stocks and oil prices rose on Friday as the dollar lost ground broadly, after weak U.S. economic data reinforced

the view that the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise interest rates.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* ITC Ltd, 31.7 percent owned by British American Tobacco, fell 1.3 percent to 186.55 rupees. India's top cigarette maker posted a 24.5 percent rise in its fourth quarter earnings but dealers said margin outlook was a concern.

* Drugmaker Wockhardt ended 5.6 percent higher at 356.75 rupees after it reported a net profit of 1.62 billion

rupees for the March quarter, reversing a loss from the year earlier.

* Crompton Greaves Ltd gained 4.1 percent to 248 rupees after the capital goods maker said it bought Sweden-based Emotron Group for an enterprise value of 57.8 million euros.

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME ON NSE

* Unitech Ltd on 27 million shares

* ITC on 26 million shares

* Ashok Leyland on 25 million shares

BSE reserves 54% mkt share, NSE hits back

Anil Agarwal's bulk purchase of 10.4% stake in Cairn India has renewed the battle of one upmanship between India's two premier bourses-Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia's oldest stock exchange, and National Stock Exchange (NSE), which, over the years, has cornered over 95% market share.

On Tuesday, when Petronas sold its 14.94% in Cairn India for about Rs 9,400 crore, it gave a huge boost to BSE's total turnover, with the day's final count at Rs 12,832 crore. This was also higher than the Rs 10,827 crore clocked by NSE. Usually, NSE clocks about four times BSE's turnover. Cheered by the eight-year high turnover, BSE sent out a release claiming that it was the result of various initiatives the bourse had taken to increase turnover. "(BSE's) market share at end of trading today, April 19, 2011, was 54%," the release claimed. It also listed several other initiatives that might have contributed to this rise in turnover.

The fact, however, remains that if one takes out the Rs 9,400-crore Cairn deal, the bourse's total turnover would be Rs 3,432 crore, about 20% lower than its last one year's average daily figure. Not used to taking things lying down, NSE reacted sharply and pointed out it was a result of a one-off block deal, which gave higher volumes to BSE in the cash segment. It pointed out that if one considered the cash and derivatives market turnover together, with a turnover of Rs 1.44 lakh crore, NSE still enjoyed a market share of 91%.

Although since mid-1990s till about 2007 the two exchanges had fought hard to gain market share and dominance in the trading space, of late the rivalry was muted with NSE gaining near-monopoly in terms of turnover. It needs to be seen if the day's flare up will be a one-off incident or the renewal of the old competition.

Sensex declines by 223 points on profit-booking

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex declined by 222.51 points in opening trade on profit-booking and investors turning cautious even as Infosys' today reported 13.62 per cent jump in its fourth quarter earnings.

Infosys Technologies Q4 net profit rose to Rs 1,818 crore; while net profit for financial year 2010-11 rose by 9.71 per cent at Rs 6,823 crore.

The 30-share barometer, which opened 112 points lower, declined by 222.51 points, or 1.12 per cent to 19,474.35 in the first few minutes of trade today on profit booking in stocks led by IT, tech and refinery sectors.

In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index slid by 64.30 points, or 1.08 per cent to 5,847.20 points. Infosys, which opened at Rs 3304.9 was trading 7 per cent down at Rs 3075.95 a share.

Brokers said investors were cautious and also booking profit after a steep rise in share prices on Wednesday.

Sensex rises by 137 points

 

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 137 points in opening trade on the last day of the 2010-11 financial year on continued capital inflows from foreign funds and easing inflation concerns following a fall in oil prices. The 30-share index, which has rallied by nearly 1,446 points in the past seven straight sessions, gained another 137.42 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 19,427.60 points in opening trade, with interest-related, banking and realty stocks leading the rally.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 38.05 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 5,825.70 in opening trade. Brokers said overnight gains in the U.S. market and a firm trend on Asian bourses, coupled with a fall in oil prices that eased concerns of inflation and a hike in interest rates, mainly buoyed the trading sentiment here. Steady capital inflows by foreign funds and covering up of pending short positions by speculators on Thursday, the last session for current month settlement in the derivatives segment, also supported the uptrend, they said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up marginally by 0.07 per cent in early trade today. The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial average ended 0.58 per cent higher in the previous session.

Sensex raises over 130 points on capital inflows

 

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained 130.76 points in early trade today, maintaining its upward journey for the sixth consecutive day on sustained capital inflows as falling crude oil prices eased inflationary concerns.

The 30-share barometer, which gained over 1,100 points during the past five sessions, added 130.76 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 19,073.90 in the first five minutes of trade to regain the 19,000-level after two months. In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index moved up by 32 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 5,719.25.

Marketmen said foreign investors remained aggressive buyers in emerging markets, particularly India and China. They added that falling crude oil prices eased inflationary concerns. Crude oil prices declined for the fourth straight day by 47 cents to USD 103.48 per barrel today.

Piramal Healthcare deals charitable arm

 

Cash rich drugmaker Piramal Healthcare is launching a new charitable foundation and may grant up to 200 crore in the coming fiscal to support its philanthropic activities, making it one of the largest corporate social welfare donors in India. At 10 am, shares of Piramal Healthcare were trading down 0.95% at Rs 476.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange .

This new organisation will be separate from Piramal Foundation, the six-year-old charitable group which is privately funded by the Mumbai-based Piramal family. Piramal Foundation is involved in welfare projects worth 100 crore every year largely financed through the personal wealth of the Piramal Healthcare promoters. "It's more satisfying than business," Piramal Healthcare chairman Ajay Piramal told ET, recounting an instance where Piramal Foundation's health telecentre was able to dissuade a person from committing suicide.

The new fund will back separate works and we are already looking at some projects, he said. But the yet-to-be-named organisation will focus in the same area of work as Piramal Foundation - education, healthcare, developing leadership skills and Indian ethical values among youths. Piramal Foundation is currently involved in providing mid-day meals to about 50,000 children every day through a partnership with socio-religious organisation ISKCON in Maharashtra, trains headmasters and administrators of government schools, runs a two-year programme for young college graduates to work with poor, provide safe drinking water in villages besides providing free diagnostic programme through mobile vans.

Last December, Piramal Healthcare's board of directors approved contribution of 200 crore for welfare projects as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. "We have the approval to use it in a single financial year. The company can pump in more once the fund is utilised," Piramal said. This will make it one of the largest corporate donors in a single year. India's biggest donors shell out around 100-150 crore on average each year. Although Piramal Healthcare is a mid-sized firm in terms of revenues and profits, it is flush with cash after selling its domestic branded business for 17,000 crore to American drugmaker Abbott Laboratories last year.

Philanthropy has become a hot topic over the last one week after two of the world's richest men Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffet who have committed billions of their personal wealth to philanthropic work visited India and met several business leaders to urge them to share wealth with the society.

Indian Shares terminate at Two-Month High

 

Indian shares rose for the fourth straight session to end at a two-month high Friday as investors unwound short positions ahead of a derivatives expiry next week, while technology stocks led by Infosys Technologies gained on a bullish demand outlook. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index climbed 464.90 points, or 2.5%, to close at 18815.64 after moving between 18480.69 and 18858.30. The Sensex, which last finished above this level on Jan. 25, gained 5.2% this week.

On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty added 131.85 points, or 2.4%, to end at 5654.25. Trading volume on the BSE fell to 32.90 billion rupees ($736 million) from Thursday's 35.34 billion rupees. Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,727 to 1,199, while 114 stocks were unchanged.

"A lot of the short positions which were built during the earthquake in Japan were unwound today ahead of the expiry of March derivatives [next] Thursday," said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. Mr. Mathews, however, said he doesn't believe that the uptrend can be sustained in coming sessions and expects the Sensex to face stiff technical resistance around the 18,900 mark.

All 30 Sensex constituents ended higher Friday. Software companies led the gains as robust earnings from Oracle Corp. and Accenture PLC reinforced the view that global spending on technology is likely to pick up. Accenture also boosted its revenue outlook as it expects corporate spending to keep strengthening. The bullish forecast spurred buying in Indian technology companies.

Infosys jumped 5.2% to 3,162.00 rupees, Tata Consultancy Services rose 2.3% to 1,118.20 rupees and Wipro closed 3.7% higher at 455.85 rupees. Property developer DLF surged 6.2% to 248.60 rupees after touching a one-month high of 250.60 rupees on heavy bargain buying. Banking shares continued their good run on expectation that banks will repeat the previous quarter's strong earnings performance. ICICI Bank rose 3.6% to 1,090.85 rupees, taking the week's gains to 8.7%, while HDFC Bank climbed 3.2% to 2,261.80 rupees. Among other gainers, power producer NTPC rose 3.8% to 182.25 rupees while engineering company Larsen & Toubro added 3.2% to 1,598.30 rupees

Health stocks increase as 'misery' tax axed

 

Private healthcare firms' stocks, including Fortis Healthcare, today rose by over 3 per cent on BSE, buoyed by the government's decision to rollback 5 per cent service tax imposed on private hospitals with 25-bed or more capacity.

Cheering the decision, health care investors went on a buying spree, pushing the Fortis Healthcare by 2.23 per cent to Rs 151.30 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

During intra-day trading, the scrip had surged by 3.14 per cent to Rs 152.65 a share.

Lotus Eye Care Hospital, too, jumped by 3.13 per cent to Rs 11.55 a share, while Apollo Hospitals Enterprise went up by 0.52 per cent to Rs 487.05 a piece.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today announced withdrawal of the proposed 5 per cent service tax on diagnostic services as well as air-conditioned hospitals with 25-bed or more capacity.

Coal India ascents to a record high in Mumbai

 

Coal India Ltd., reportedly rose to a record in Mumbai and the company’s profit would rise 12% in the year ending March even as output declines. Coal India gained as much as 7% to Rs. 371.40 and was at Rs. 357.85 early today. That’s the highest level since the stock started trading on Nov. 4.

According to reports, the profit may rise to Rs. 110bn rupees ($2.45 billion) after an increase in coal prices and savings from a reduction in staff. Production may decline to 430mn metric tons, a drop of 1mn tons from a year earlier.

Dipesh Dipu, director energy and resources at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. was quoted as saying  “The company has improved profitability through its pricing. These will certainly improve the margins. These improvements in margins may have been reflected in the market value of Coal India stocks.”

Coal India’s production would have been higher by 18mn tons this financial year if environmental restrictions aimed at curbing pollution hadn’t halted mining in some areas. Effective 2011, Coal India has revised the prices of coal 30% upward on average, while for higher grades of coal, this has been steep at nearly 200 percent to align the prices to import parity levels, added Dipesh Dipu.

The increase in coal prices, effective Feb. 27, will boost revenue by about Rs. 6.5bn in the year ending March 31 and about Rs. 62bn in the next financial year, Kolkata-
based Coal India was quoted it to the BSE.

Rupee hike 11 paise against U.S. dollar

 

The Indian rupee strengthened by 11 paise to Rs. 45.02 per dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on Monday, supported by a higher opening in the stock market and dollar weakness against other currencies.

The rupee had appreciated by 5 paise to close at Rs. 45.13/14 per dollar in the previous session on Friday on the back of dollar-selling by exporters.

Forex dealers said dollar weakness against the euro and a higher opening in the stock market kept the rupee sentiment firm as well.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex was up by 128.92 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 18,007.73 in opening trade Monday.

Fame India gains profit of 20 pc, stock hits upper limit on BSE

 

Shares of multiplex chain operator Fame India today shot up by nearly 20 per cent, hitting its upper limit on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) driven by massive buying by the investors.

Bucking the overall weakness in the broader market, the stock of Fame India zoomed by 19.92 per cent, touching its upper circuit of Rs 57.80 on the BSE.

Similarly, the scrip surged by 20.06 per cent to Rs 57.75 on the National Stock Exchange.

On the volume front, over 8 lakh shares of the company were traded on the two bourses.

Market experts attributed no specific reason for the rally behind the stock.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex closed the day with a loss of 208.82 points at 18,149.87.

Reliance Communications shares hikes more than 3 pc

Shares in Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications rose more than 3 percent in early trade on Thursday, after Citigroup upgraded the stock to "buy" from "sell", saying a "good" asset was available at a discount.

The brokerage estimated the company's replacement cost at 120 rupees per share. "The stock is currently trading below this making it an attractive acquisition candidate, in our view," Citigroup said in a note.

At 9:24 a.m. (0354 GMT), Reliance Communications shares were up 2.6 percent while the main stock index was down 0.2 percent. The stock rose as much as 3.1 percent earlie

Reliance Infra profits nearly 6 pc in early trade

Shares of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure today jumped nearly six per cent in the early trade on BSE amid smart buying in the broader market. Reliance Infrastructure scrip opened the day on a firm note and gained up to 5.73 per cent to Rs 648.80 a share on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Similarly, the counter witnessed a surge of 5.79 per cent at Rs 649.40 a share on the National Stock Exchange.
Market experts did not attribute any specific reason for the rally in the counter and said that the upward move was in line with the firm broad market sentiment.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting at 18,360.44 level at 1113 hours, up 192.80 points from its previous close.

Raising stake in Tata Coffee to 12.90%

Tata Coffee today said one of its shareholders, Sharad Kantilal Shah, and his associates have increased their stake by 1.2 per cent to 12.90 per cent in the company by buying shares from the open market.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange , the company said Shah -- who is acting consultant to firms Tripti Sharad Shah and Astral Securities Private -- has bought 2,24,548 shares aggregating to 1.20 per cent in Tata Coffee.

The company said Shah and his associates were earlier holding a 11.70 per cent participating interest in the Tata Group firm.

Shares of Tata Coffee were trading at Rs 924.10 in the afternoon, up 1.92 per cent from the previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange..