The initial batch of Q4 March 2008 results have been good with the exception of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). ICICI Bank on Saturday, 26 April 2008, reported 39% growth in net profit to Rs 1149.84 crore on 22.3% growth in total income to Rs 10390.92 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.
The next two days may see the market remain in a wait and watch mode because of important events. RBI is set to unveil annual monetary policy review on Tuesday, 29 April 2008. Given that the high inflation, the central bank may hike key rates. The stock market has factored in a 25 basis points hike in short term rates by RBI.
Meanwhile, the two-day discussion on Finance Bill 2008-09 begins in Lok Sabha today. The Finance Bill will be passed in Lok Sabha tomorrow, 29 April 2008.
Meanwhile, good news for India is that as per the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable. USIBC, formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the US Government to advance US-India commercial ties, is hosted under the aegis of the US Chamber of Commerce. The US Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose on Friday, 25 April 2008, after signs that American Express Co was holding its own amid the economic slowdown, but Microsoft Corp's weak profit forecast pulled down the Nasdaq. American Express said its quarterly profit fell, but the results beat expectations and the company affirmed its full-year earnings forecast, lifting its shares 5.7% and helping to boost the Dow. Higher oil prices underpinned the market's rise by lifting shares of oil services companies nearly 2% after a cargo ship chartered by the US military fired warning shots at two small boats in the Gulf.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.91 points, or 0.33%, to end at 12,891.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 9.02 points, or 0.65%, to 1,397.84. But the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.99 points, or 0.25%, to 2,422.93.
Asian stocks were mostly in green today.
No comments:
Post a Comment