Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Market slips on weak Asian cues

The key benchmark indices snapped last two sessions' rally, opening
weak, on subdued Asian markets. Cautious outlook by IT firm Wipro
at the time of announcing Q2 results and sustained selling by
foreign funds weighed on the sentiments. Sensex was down 247.63
points or 2.32% and was near the day's low.

IT stocks were the major losers from the Sensex pack on Wipro's
cautious outlook. Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries fell more than
4% each, on weak global metal prices. The market breadth was weak

Asian stocks fell as poor US corporate results and falling
commodity prices fanned worries of a protracted global economic
slowdown. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, China, South
Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 0.96% to 5.28%.

At 10:18 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 247.63 points or
2.32% to 10,435.76. The Sensex fell 271.45 points at day's low of
10,411.94 in early trade. The index declined 199.63 points at the
day's high of 10,483.76 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 71.45 points or 2.21% to 3,163.45.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.22% at 3,543.32 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 0.54% at 4,173.75. Both the indices
outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 407 shares advanced as
compared to 802 that declined. 37 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 2.36% to Rs 1,363.90, ahead of
Q2 September 2008 result tomorrow, 23 October 2008.

Tata Steel (down 4.67% to Rs 265.05), Sterlite Industries (down
4.31% to Rs 282), Grasim Industries (down 3.39% to 1,172), Reliance
Communications (down 3.78% to Rs 248.45) were the losers from the
Sensex pack.

India's largest cigarette maker by sales ITC rose 1.01% and was the
lone gainer from the Sensex pack.

IT stocks slumped on overnight fall in American depository receipts
(ADRs) and on cautious outlook by IT major Wipro. Weak rupee which
augurs well for the sector did not stem the slide. The BSE IT index
fell 3.31% and was the biggest loser from the sectoal indices on
BSE.

India's fourth largest IT exporter by sales Wipro fell 3.85% after
it said the outlook is cautious in the near term given the extent
of strain on the global economy. Wipro ADR fell 2.87% on Tuesday,
21 October 2008, ahead of the results. Wipro reported 56.13% spurt
in net profit to Rs 852.50 crore on a 15.48% increase in total
income to Rs 5551.60 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q1 June 2008.

India's third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services
lost 1.34%. Its ADR skidded 1.63% overnight. The company raised its
earnings guidance in rupee terms at the time of announcing Q2
September 2008 results on Friday, 17 October 2008.

India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys fell 4.56%.
Infosys ADR lost 5.21% overnight. India's largest IT services
provider by sales Tata Consultancy Services lost 3.76%, ahead of Q2
results today.

Infosys, Satyam Computer Services, Tata Consultancy Service and
Wipro have a weightage of 55.06%, 16.01%, 10.45% and 7.09%,
respectively, in the BSE IT index.

The rupee fell on Wednesday, matching an all-time low hit earlier
this month. The partially convertible rupee was at 49.26/28 per
dollar, weaker than Tuesday's close of 49.04/06. A weak rupee
results in higher revenues for IT companies as they earn most of
their revenues in dollar terms.

India's largest aluminum maker by sales Hindalco Industries skidded
1.09% on reports it may sell a part of its Rs 2,081.34-crore stake
in group companies, including Grasim Industries, Idea Cellular and
Aditya Birla Nuvo, to raise funds to repay a part of the $3-billion
bridge loan it obtained to buy Novelis.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors
declined 1.96% on reports of missing its original Nano rollout
deadline of October-December 2008

Ashok Leyland fell 1.99% on 16.31% decline in net profit to Rs
67.24 crore on 6.9% rise in sales to Rs 1866.40 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Punjab Tractors surged 6.22% as net profit jumped 178.47% to Rs
27.29 crore on 48.85% rise in sales to Rs 307.98 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Reliance Power fell 1.5% on reports it has tied up with a
consortium of domestic banks led by IDBI Bank to secure the debt
portion for the second phase of a power project in Uttar Pradesh.
The consortium will lend around Rs 2000 crore out of the total
project cost of about Rs 2700 crore.

Pantaloon Retail India rose 1.08% on reports of exiting airport
retailing joint venture, Alpha Future Retail, with the UK-based
Alpha Airports Group Plc due to differences on some operational
issues.

J Kumar Infraprojects was flat at Rs 73,25 on reporting net profit
of Rs 6.21 crore on slaes of Rs 76.89 crore in the quarter ended
September 2008.

Power Finance Corporation gained 1.2% as net profit rose 16.69% to
Rs 329.33 crore on 29.12% rise in sales to Rs 1584.98 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Pre Market Report 22/10/2008

Weak Asian stocks may pull the market lower after last two days' rebound from an earlier steep fall caused by global recession worries. Cautious outlook by IT firm Wipro at the time of announcing Q2 results today and sustained selling by foreign funds may continue to weigh on the sentiments. But short covering following the stock market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India's warnings to foreign funds against overseas lending of shares and signs of a soft credit policy may cap the downside.

At the time of announcement of Q2 September 2008 results just a while back, Wipro said the global economic environment has deteriorated significantly over the past couple of months, and our outlook is cautious in the near term given the extent of strain on the global economy. Wipro's net profit rose 19% to Rs 978 crore on 36% growth in revenue to Rs 6507 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Asian stocks fell as poor US corporate results and falling commodity prices fanned worries of a protracted global economic slowdown. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 0.9% to 3%.

Overnight, US stocks fell on an array of disappointing corporate results from companies such as industrial machine maker Caterpillar Inc and the largest publicly traded copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.1%.

The market regulator Sebi, on Monday, 20 October 2008, said it has disapproved overseas lending and borrowing activity of foreign funds and the consequent selling pressure in the cash market in India. Sebi said this after data showed FIIs had lent equities worth Rs 348 crore to overseas entities for the purpose of short selling, during 10 October-14 October 2008.

Signs of a soft interest rate regime may support stocks as lower interest rates means lower borrowing costs for corporates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Monday, 20 October 2008, cut the repo rate, by 100 basis points to 8%, with immediate effect. The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI provides funds to banks against the collateral of government bonds for a day to three days.

Oil fell over $1 to around $71 a barrel on Wednesday, 22 October 2008, extending a 4% slide in the previous session, on mounting worries that output cuts by the oil cartel Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will not be enough to offset slackening energy demand in leading consumers.

The Sensex jumped 708.04 points or 7.09% in two trading sessions to 10,683.39 on Tuesday, 21 October 2008, from its close of 9,975.35 on 17 October 2008.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Post Market Report:21/10/2008

The central bank's rate cut, higher global markets and short
covering on the stock market regulator Securities & Exchange Board
of India (Sebi)'s warning to foreign funds against overseas lending
and borrowing of Indian securities, boosted the domestic bourses
today. But intraday volatility was high. The BSE Sensex rose 460.30
points or 4.5%, extending Monday's (20 October 2008) 2.48% gain.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries spurted. Tata Consultancy
Services rose more than 12.5%. Jaiprakash Associates spurted more
than 16% on good Q2 September 2008 results. Tata Consultancy
Services rose more than 13%, Tata Steel rose more than 10% and
Reliance Communications rose more than 11%. The market breadth was
strong.

European markets and some Asian markets rose as France said it will
invest $14 billion in banks and the US moved toward a second
stimulus package.

Sebi has disapproved of the overseas lending and borrowing activity
of FIIs and the consequent selling pressure in the cash market in
India. The Sebi warning to FIIs against overseas lending and
borrowing came after the data showed FIIs had lent equities worth
Rs 348 crore to overseas entities for the purpose of short selling,
during 10 October-14 October 2008.

Fall in interest rate boosts stocks as it results in lower
borrowing costs for corporates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on
Monday, 20 October 2008, cut the repo rate, by 100 basis points to
8%, with immediate effect. The repo rate is the rate at which the
RBI provides funds to banks against the collateral of government
bonds for a day to three days.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 460.30 points or 4.5% to 10,683.39.
The index surged 527.11 points at the day's high of 10,750.20 in
mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 27.14 points at day's low of
10,250.23 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 112.10 points or 3.59% to 3,234.90.

The Sensex has risen 708.04 points or 7.09% in two trading sessions
from its close of 9,975.35 on 17 October 2008. But the barometer
index is down 9,603.06 points or 47.33% in the calendar year 2008
so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2007. It is
10,523.38 points or 49.62% below its all-time high of 21,206.77
struck on 10 January 2008.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 3857 crore today as compared to a
turnover of Rs 3.697.57 crore on 20 October 2008.

Nifty October 2008 futures were at 3245, at a premium of 10.10
points as compared to spot closing of 3234.90. NSE's futures &
options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 49,845.05 crore, which was
lower than Rs 51,272.30 crore on Monday, 20 October 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.31% at 3587.24 and The BSE Small-Cap
index was up 2.03% at 4,196.28. Both the indices underperformed the
Sensex.

BSE Consumer Durables index (up 8.95% to 2,271.82), BSE Realty
index (up 8.32% to 2,632.93), BSE IT index (up 6.03% to 2,906.83),
BSE Capital Goods index (up 5.48% to 7,563.42), BSE Teck index (up
4.66% to 2,282.64) outperformed the Sensex.

BSE PSU index (up 1.04% to 5,268.67), BSE HealthCare index (up 1.33
% to 3,302.82), BSE Auto index (up 1.65% to 3,123.27), BSE Bankex
(up 2.57% to 5,842.23), BSE FMCG index (up 3.15% to 1,957.36), BSE
Metal index (up 3.64% to 6,101.76), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 3.86%
to 6,774.28), BSE Power index (up 4.36% to 1,751.40),
underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,613 shares advanced as
compared to 975 that declined. 63 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 5.73% to Rs 1,397, rose ahead
of Q2 results. The stock came off the session's high of Rs
1,424.60. The company is scheduled to announce its Q2 September
2008 result on 23 October 2008.

Tata Steel (up 10.2% to Rs 278.30), Reliance Communications (up
11.25% to Rs 258.20), Tata Power Company (up 9.6% to Rs 789.55),
Sterlite Industries (up 8.59% to Rs 294.70) were the major gainers
from the Sensex pack.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.1% to Rs 408.50) and Hindalco
Industries (down 1.68% to Rs 64.35) were the major losers from the
Sensex pack.

IT stocks gained on overnight spurt in American depository receipts
(ADRs) and amid steady rupee. The BSE IT index rose 6.03% and was
the third biggest gainer from the sectoal indices on BSE.

India's third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services
rose 9.84%. Its ADR jumped 6.46%. The company raised its earnings
guidance in rupee terms at the time of announcing Q2 September 2008
results on Friday, 17 October 2008.

India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 3.9%.
Infosys ADR gained 7.94%. India's largest IT services provider by
sales Tata Consultancy Services jumped 12.86%. India's fourth
largest IT exporter by sales Wipro rose 5.61%. Wipro ADR rose
0.84%.

NIIT Technologies gained 8.42%, as net profit rose 20.10% to Rs
29.35 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q1 June 2008.

Zigma Software fell 2.44% on board meet on 27 October 2008, to
consider issue of bonus shares.

PSI Data Systems hit 20% upper circuit on board approving a
proposal received from promoter group to acquire the public
shareholding of the company from the market through open offer, and
to delist equity shares of the company from the Bombay Stock
Exchange.

The Indian rupee was little changed in thin trade on Tuesday as a
strike by central bank employees affected dealing.The partially
convertible rupee was at 48.9550/9700 per dollar, compared to its
previous close of 48.97/98 on Monday. A weak rupee results in
higher revenues for IT companies as they earn most of their
revenues in dollar terms.

Banking majors extended yesterday's (20 October 2008) gains on
hopes lower rates will boost lending. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and
State Bank of India rose between 0.31% to 4.86%.

The BSE's banking sector index Bankex rose 2.57%. ICICI Bank, State
Bank of India and HDFC Bank have a weightage of 24.21%, 22.44% and
20.55%, respectively, in the Bankex.

India's largest home loan lender by operating income HDFC rose
5.25%. LIC Housing Finance surged 7.83% as net profit rose 16.05%
to Rs 135.06 crore on 34.86% rise in total income to Rs 707.72
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Indiabulls Financial Services spurted 8.74% on reports of good loan
recovery in Q2 September 2008.

The BSE Consumer Durables index rose 8.95% and was the biggest
gainer from the sectoral indices on BSE. All the stocks rose from
the BSE Consumer Durables index on hopes lower interest rates will
spur demand. Gitanjali Gems, Rajesh Exports, Videocon Industries
rose by between 1.46% to 7.26%.

Titan Industries surged 17.39% as net profit surged 88.21% rise in
net profit to Rs 87.14 crore on 53.04% rise in sales to Rs 1088.76
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Most realty stocks rose today after yesterday's slide as cut in
lending rates will spur demand for residential properties. THE BSE
Realty index rose 8.32% and was the second major gainer from the
sectoral indices on BSE. Out of 14 real estate stocks from BSE
Realty index, 11 stocks rose rest declined. Realty majors, DLF,
Indiabulls Real Estate Unitech rose by between between to 5.01% to
27.65%.

DLF, India bulls Real Estate, Unitech have a weightage of 42.53%
22.09% and 11.03% respectively in the BSE Realty index.

Peninsula Land rose 9.2% on reports of exploring the option of
hiving off land assets to mitigate risks and address the ongoing
financial turmoil.

PSU OMC stocks fell despite crude oil falling for the first time
since last three days. BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation were
down by between 0.96% to 6.45%. State-run oil marketing firms
suffer revenue loss on domestic sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and
kerosene at a controlled price.

Crude oil for November 2008 delivery fell as much as $1.13, or 1.5
%, to $73.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today.

Shipping companies rose even as the Baltic Dry index, a measure of
shipping costs for commodities, fell for 10th consecutive trading
session in London on Monday, 20 October 2008. Great Eastern
Shipping Company, Mercator Lines and Shipping Corporation of India
rose by between 3.52% to 7.03%.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose
1.58% despite reports of rights issue getting a poor response.

India's largest motorbike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose
2.66% as net profit jumped 49.9% to Rs 306.30 crore on 36.15% rise
in total income to Rs 3255.93 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2
September 2007.

Jaiprakash Associates surged 16.25% as net profit jumped 96% to Rs
203.13 crore on 39.51% rise in total income to Rs 1286.63 crore in
Q2September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

India's largest electric equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy
Electricals rose 4.37% on bagging a Rs 641-crore contract for
setting up a 412 megawatt hydro-electric project in Himachal
Pradesh.

India's second largest steel maker by sales Steel Authority of
India fell 2.5% despite 18.19% rise in net profit to Rs 2009.60
crore on 33.7% rise in total income to Rs 12660.99 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Hindustan Zinc surged 3.47% even as net profit fell 17.88% to Rs
959.51 crore on 9.28% rise in total income to Rs 1971.18 crore in
Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Crompton Greaves surged 6.69% as net profit rose 24.73% to Rs 92.54
crore on 18.72% rise in total income to Rs 1096.44 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

United Spirits gained 3.92% as net profit rose 17.06% to Rs 93.89
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Marico spurted 7.32% as net profit rose 18.42% to Rs 45.12 crore in
Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Sadbhav Engineering declined 1.17% despite bagging an order worth
Rs 268.34 crore.

EID Parry India moved up 11.4% on proposal to consider buy back of
own shares.

ECE Industries soared 8.97% on proposal to raise funds by way of a
rights issue.

Idea Cellular tumbled 12.54% as net profit fell 31.80% to Rs 150.39
in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Sun TV Network surged 4.02% on proposal to consider buyback of own
shares.

GVK Power & Infrastructure clocked the highest volume of 1.68 crore
shares on BSE. Housing Development & Infrastructure (1.09 crore
shares), Reliance Petroleum (92.86 lakh shares), Indiabulls
Securities (87.84 lakh shares) and Reliance Natural Resources
(87.61 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Industries clocked the highest turnover of Rs 301.65 crore
on BSE. Reliance Capital (Rs 225.49 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 172.23
crore), State Bank of India (Rs 162.58 crore) and Housing
Development & Infrastructure (Rs 159.64 crore) were the other
turnover toppers in that order.

In Europe, key benchmark indices in France, UK were up by between
0.18% to 1.57%. While, key benchmark index in Germany fell 0.37%.

Asian stocks were mixed today, 21 October 2008. Key benchmark
indices in China, Japan, Taiwan and were up by between 0.22% to
3.34%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, South Korea, and Hong
Kong fell by between 0.1% to 0.95%.

Pre Market Report 21/10/2008

The market may extend gains Monday's (20 October 2008) gains on higher Asian markets and on short covering following the stock market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s warning to foreign funds that overseas lending and borrowing of Indian securities could result in stern measures. However, the gains may be capped as investors await key Q2 September 2008 results and management guidance on future outlook and on sustained selling by foreign funds.

Foreign funds have pulled out from India and other emerging markets to shore up resources to beat the global liquidity crunch. They sold shares worth a net Rs 47528.80 crore in 2008, till 20 October 2008.

As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 816.79 crore on Monday, 20 October 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 216.43 crore.

Rate cut by the central bank will provide support to stocks. The Sensex rose 2.48% on Monday boosted by the announcement. Fall in interest rate boosts stocks as it results in lower borrowing costs for corporates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Monday, cut the repo rate, by 100 basis points to 8%, with immediate effect. The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI provides funds to banks against the collateral of government bonds for a day to three days.

Asian stocks rose today, 21 October 2008, led by producers of consumer goods and commodities, on optimism the US and Japan will expand efforts to stimulate the economy. US stocks rallied on Monday after the Federal Reserve's chairman backed more government spending to help the economy and credit market conditions showed further signs of improvement.

Post Market Report:20/10/2008

Central bank's repo rate cut provided a much needed respite rally
to the investors which have seen a massive erosion in their wealth
in the past few days. The volatility was high and the market
breadth was weak, indicating a cautious undertone. The BSE Sensex
rose 247.74 points or 2.48%. Firm Asian and European markets
provided added support to domestic bourses.

Fall in interest rate boosts stocks as it results in lower
borrowing costs for corporates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
today, cut the repo rate, by 100 basis points to 8% with immediate
effect. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI provides funds to
banks against the collateral of government bonds for a day to three
days.

Banking stocks and IT stocks rose. Satyam Computer Services and
Wipro rose more than 8.5% each while Tata Consultancy Services rose
more than 9%.

Asian and European stocks were firm as investors took comfort in
global efforts to prop up the banking system, allowing for some
bargain hunting. Trading in US index futures suggested the Dow
would rise 141 points at the opening bell.

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 247.74 points or 2.48% to 10,223.09.
The index surged 562.70 points at the day's high of 10,538.05 in
afternoon trade soon after the announcement of the rate cut by the
RBI at about 12:45 IST. The Sensex rose 47.93 points at day's low
of 10,023.28 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 48.45 points or 1.58% to 3,122.80.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3,684 crore today as compared to a
turnover of Rs 4,134.51 crore on 17 October 2008.

From a recent high of 11,483.40 on 14 October 2008, Sensex had
tumbled 1508.05 points or 13.13% to 9975.35 on Friday, 17 October
2008. The barometer index is down 10,063.90 points or 49.6% in the
calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31
December 2007. It is 10,983.68 points or 51.79% below its all-time
high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

Nifty October 2008 futures were at 3141, at a premium of 18.20
points as compared to spot closing of 3122.80. NSE's futures &
options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 51,272.30 crore, which was
higher than Rs 43,767.13 crore on Friday, 17 October 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.09% at 3,506.35 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 1.32% at 4,112.82. Both the indices
underperformed the Sensex.

Only a few sectors outperfored the Sensex. BSE IT index (up 8.05%
to 2,741.46), BSE Teck index (up 5.45% to 2,181), BSE Bankex (up
2.69% to 5,695.72) outperformed the Sensex.

BSE Realty index (down 3.73% to 2,430.61), BSE Power index (down
1.99% to 1,678.22), BSE Capital Goods index (down 0.98% to
7,170.50), BSE Auto index (down 0.87% to 3,072.52), BSE PSU index
(down 0.4% to 5,241.63), BSE Consumer Durables index (was flat at
2,085.28), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.66% to 6,522.50), BSE Metal
index (up 1.48% to 5,887.36), BSE HealthCare index (up 1.6 % to
3,260.49), BSE FMCG index (up 2.08% to 1,897.58) underperformed the
Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On BSE, 920 shares advanced as
compared to 1643 that declined. 53 shares remained unchanged.

Battered Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector
company by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance
Industries, rose 1.23% to Rs 1,321.25. The stock came off the day's
high of Rs 1,379.90. From a recent high of Rs 1619.70 on 14 October
2008, the stock plunged 19.41% to Rs 1,438 on 17 October 2008 on
concerns of fall in refining margins.

India's largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 2.15%
to Rs 261.70. Japan's Daiichi Sankyo has acquired 52.5% of Ranbaxy
Laboratories making the Indian firm a subsidiary, the two companies
said in a joint statement today. Daiichi Sankyo bought shares from
Ranbaxy's founders and through an open offer from other
shareholders. It also subscribed to shares and warrants worth $736
million, the statement said. Daiichi Sankyo had agreed in June 2008
to take over Ranbaxy in a deal worth up to $4.6 billion.

From the pack of 30 Sensex stocks, 20 rose. Bharti Airtel (up 4.62%
to Rs 708.05), ITC (up 4.07% to Rs 165) and Jaiprakash Associates
(up 1.42% to Rs 67.70) were among the top gainers from the Sensex
pack.

Grasim Industries (down 7.96% to Rs 1,190.50), Reliance
Communications (down 0.79% to Rs 232.10) and Tata Power Company
(down 3.72% to Rs 720.40) were the losers from the Sensex pack.

India's largest cement maker by sales ACC fell 6.13% to Rs 459.05
off day's high of Rs 513. Reliance Infrastructure fell 1.87% to Rs
481.55 off day's high of Rs 522.

Most lenders rose on hopes lower rates will boost lending. However,
the prices were choppy. HDFC Bank, India's second largest private
sector bank by net profit, which last week reported strong Q2
results, rose 5.94% to Rs 1,084.85. The stock came off the day's
high of Rs 1,113. The bank's net profit rose 43.2% to Rs 527.98
crore on 62.8% growth in total income to Rs 4,634.32 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007 on 16 October 2008.

ICICI Bank and State Bank of India rose between 1.43% to 4.95%.
India's largest home loan lender by operating revenue HDFC jumped
5.73%.

Canara Bank spurted 5.05%, as net profit jumped 31.84% to Rs 529.43
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Most realty stocks fell even as cut in lending rates will spur
demand for residential properties. From the 14 real estate stocks
in BSE Realty index, four rose, while the rest declined. Unitech
fell 5.66%. Indiabulls Real Estate rose 7.5%. India's largest real
estate player by market capitalization DLF declined 5.77% to Rs
274.50 off day's high of Rs 305. DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate and
Unitech have a weightage of 42.53% 22.09% and 11.03%, respectively,
in the BSE Realty index.

Rate sensitive auto stocks were mixed even as lower rates may spur
sales which are largely driven through finance. Mahindra &
Mahindra, and Hero Honda Motor fell by between 0.7% to 3.36%. Tata
Motors and Maruti Suzuki India rose by between 0.84% to 5.39%.

IT stocks gained on sharp spurt of American depository receipts
(ADR) last week and on fall in rupee. India's fourth largest IT
exporter by sales Wipro rose 8.95% to Rs 280.65 off day's high of
Rs 289. Wipro ADR jumped 25% to end at $8.3 on Friday 17 October
2008 over the previous week's close of $6.63.

India's third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services
rose 8.67% to Rs 289. Its ADR jumped 16% to end at $14.39 in the
week ended 17 October 2008. The company raised its earnings
guidance in rupee terms at the time of announcing Q2 September 2008
results on Friday, 17 October 2008.

India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 7.19% to
Rs 1297.80. Infosys ADR gained 8% to end at $25.96 in the week
ended 17 October 2008. India's largest IT services provider by
sales Tata Consultancy Services jumped 9.47%.

The rupee depreciated marginally 0.31% against the dollar to 48.83
as compared to that of the previous working day`s 48.68. A weak
rupee results in higher revenues for IT companies as they earn most
of their revenues in dollar terms

PSU OMC stocks rose despite rise in crude oil prices from the lower
levels. BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation rose between 0.4% to
1.7%. State-run oil marketing firms suffer revenue loss on domestic
sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at a controlled price.

US crude rose $2 to $71.85 a barrel, on Friday, 17 October 2008
spurred by a broader rise across financial markets and expectations
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could cut
output at an emergency meeting next week.

Cement stocks fell on weak results reported by Ultra Tech Cement
which lost 1.1%. The company's net profit fell 2.04% to Rs 368.15
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. India's largest
cement maker by sales ACC fell 6.13% to Rs 459.05, off the day's
high of Rs 513. Grasim Industries & Birla Corporation fell by
between 1.85% to 7.96%.

Shree Renuka Sugars tumbled 7.76%, after the company acquired a
majority stake in a sugar firm based in Karnataka.

Cadila Healthcare rose 0.67% on receiving US Food & Drug
Administration approval for a new drug.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise fell 2.04% following the decision to
consider sub-division of equity shares.

Raymond rose 0.21% after a block deal was struck in the counter at
Rs 109, at a premium of 13.95% over the previous day's closing
price.

United Phosphorus slumped 7.47% on reports of plans to buy stake in
an Israel agrochemicals based company for around $1.1 billion.

Godawari Power & Ispat fell 4% after the company decided to
consider buyback of equity shares.

Moser Baer India surged 2,25%, on reports the company plans invest
over $800 million in various businesses in the next 18 months.

Akruti City moved up 1.17%, as net profit spurted 195.34% to Rs
192.24 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Balaji Telefilms lost 11.15% after Hindi entertainment channel Star
issued a notice for the termination of a long running television
serial.

Petronet LNG rose 1.03% even as net profit fell 10.51% to Rs 103.36
crore on 0.6% decline in total income to Rs 1,672.69 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Indian Hotels Company fell 2.25% as net profit fell 4.84% to Rs
50.66 crore on 8.95% rise in total income to Rs 399.44 crore in Q2
September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Reliance Natural Resources clocked the highest volume of 1.17 crore
shares on BSE. Reliance Petroleum (94.12 lakh shares), Chambal
Fertilisers and Chemicals (82.39 lakh shares), Cals Refineries
(63.36 lakh shares) and Housing Development & Infrastructure (61.01
lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Capital clocked the highest turnover of Rs 290.34 crore on
BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 274.98 crore), State Bank of India (Rs
183.72 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 175.52 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs
137.28 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

European markets which opened after Indian market were firm. Key
benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up by between
0.92% to 1.64%.

Asian markets which opened before Indian market, rallied, with
valuations growing attractive, and after governments around the
world rushed out further steps to to stabilize the financial
markets and revive the banking industry, which has been badly
damaged by a crisis of confidence. Key benchmark indices in South
Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore were up by
between 1.93% to 4.78%.

Oil prices rose. US crude rose $2 to $71.85 a barrel, on Friday, 17
October 2008 spurred by a broader rise across financial markets and
expectations Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
could cut output at an emergency meeting next week.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Market recovers on gains in Asian stocks

Firm Asian stocks triggered recovery on the domestic bourses after
steep slide in the previous trading session. A bout of volatility
was witnessed in early trade. The BSE Sensex jumped over 300 points
at the day's high with IT stocks leading the rally. Wipro rose more
than 6%. Realty stocks jumped. But the market breadth was negative
indicating a cautious undertone.

Asian stock markets rallied with valuations growing more
attractive, and after governments around the world rushed out
further steps to to stabilize financial markets and resuscitate the
banking industry which has been badly damaged by a crisis of
confidence. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Japan and Singapore were up by between 0.98% to 4.34%.

At 10:22 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 314.91 points or 3.16%
to 10,290.96. The index surged 331.62 points at the day's high of
10,306.97 in early trade. The Sensex rose 63.93 points at day's low
of 10,039.28 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 85.55 points or 2.78% to 3,159.90.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.3% at 3,534.14 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 0.31% at 4,154.79. Both the indices
underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On BSE, 608 shares advanced as
compared to 727 that declined. 34 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 1.42% to Rs 1,324.20. From a
recent high of Rs 1619.70 on 14 October 2008, the stock plunged
19.41% to Rs 1,438 on 17 October 2008 on concerns of fall in
refining margins.

Reliance Communications (up 4.3% to Rs 244), ICICI Bank (up 4.45%
to Rs 409.15), HDFC Bank (up 3.79% to Rs 1,062.90) were among the
top gainers from the Sensex pack.

Grasim Industries (down 5.33% to Rs 1,225), State Bank of India
(down 0.77% to Rs 1,403) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.37% to Rs
434.95) were the top losers from the Sensex pack.

BSE Realty index rose 2.48%. Out of 14 real estate stocks from BSE
Realty index, 7 stocks rose while rest declined.

Realty majors, Indiabulls Real Estate, Unitech rose between 0.5% to
1.45%. India's largest real estate player by market capitalization
DLF fell 1.54%

DLF, India bulls Real Estate, Unitech have weightage of 42.53%
22.09% and 11.03% respectively in the BSE Realty index.

IT stocks gained even as rupee rose against the dollar. BSE IT
index rose 3.29% and was the major gainer from the sectoral indices
on BSE. India's third largest IT services provider by sales Satyam
Computer Services rose 4.96% after the company raised its earnings
guidance in rupee terms at the time of announcing Q2 September 2008
results on Friday, 17 October 2008. Tata Consultancy Services ,
Wipro and Infosys jumped between 2.86% to 6.5%.

The Indian rupee strengthened in early deals on Monday. The
partially convertible rupee was at 48.72/73 per dollar, stronger
than 48.88/89 per dollar on Friday 17 October 2008. A firm rupee
impacts IT companies as they earn most of their revenues in dollar
terms resulting higher revenues.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose
3.49% to Rs 241. The rights issue of Tata Motors, which has
received a lukewarm response due to slump in the stock price below
the rights issue price, closes today, 20 October 2008. The share
price of Tata Motors has been trading below the offer price of its
ordinary rights issue at Rs 340. The differential voting rights
component of the rights issue is priced at Rs 305.

Ultra Tech Cement fell 1.54% as net profit fell 11.65% to Rs 164.19
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The net sales
rose 19.57% to Rs 1,396.21 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2
September 2007.

Godawari Power & Ispat surged 7.28% after the company announced
that a board meeting will be held on 25 October 2008 to consider
buyback of equity shares.

Visa Steel rose 4.27% after the company said it has commissioned
commercial operations at a 1.5 lakh tonnes direct reduced iron
(DRI) plant and 25 megawatt power plant situated at Kalinganagar
industrial complex, in Jaipur, Orissa.

Vishal Retail gained 1.6% after the company said it has opened a
new retail outlet in Ghaziabad taking its total stores count 160
spread across an area of 27.63 lakh square feet across the country.

Apollo Hospitals fell 4.68% after the company said its board will
meet on 30 October 2008 to consider stock split.

Mukand was flat at Rs 34.85 even as the company said its industrial
machinery division saw order book growth of 76% in six months ended
September 2008 over the six months ended September 2007. According
to the company it is unlikely to be impacted by fluctuations in the
foreign exchange market as the company procure raw material
domestically and not through imports.

US stocks fell on Friday, 17 October 2008 on weakness in
manufacturing and financial stocks following bleak data on consumer
confidence and construction. The Dow Jones industrial average fell
127.04 points, or 1.41%, to 8,852.22, while the Standard & Poor's
500 Index dropped 5.88 points, or 0.62%, to 940.55. The Nasdaq
Composite Index slipped 6.42 points, or 0.37%, to 1,711.29.

Back home, bears ruled the roost on the bourses on Friday, 17
October 2008 on global recession worries, with the BSE Sensex
falling below the psychological 10,000 mark for the first time in
more than two years. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 606.14 points or
5.73% to 9,975.35 and the S&P CNX Nifty was down 194.95 points or
5.96% to 3,074.35, on that day.

Pre Market Report 20/10/2008

Key benchmark indices are likely to remain range-bound on mixed global cues. Asian markets were trading mixed today, 20 October 2008 while US markets ended lower on Friday, 17 October 2008. Volatility may remain high ahead of the derivatives expiry for October 2008 series.

Meanwhile, US crude rose $2 to $71.85 a barrel, on Friday, 17 October 2008 spurred by a broader rise across financial markets and expectations OPEC could cut output at an emergency meeting next week.

Asian markets were trading mixed today, 20 October 2008. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.73% or 14 points at 1,916.65, South Korea's Seoul Composite declined 0.92% or 10.91 points at 1,169.76, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell 0.45% or 21.60 points at 4,817.04. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.90% or 277.01 points at 14,831.22, Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.53% or 45.88 points at 8,739.70 and Singapore's Straits Times gained 1.17% or 21.89 points at 1,900.40.

US stocks fell on Friday, 17 October 2008 on weakness in manufacturing and financial stocks after bleak data on consumer confidence and construction. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 127.04 points, or 1.41%, to 8,852.22, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 5.88 points, or 0.62%, to 940.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 6.42 points, or 0.37%, to 1,711.29.

Back home, bears ruled the roost on the bourses on Friday, 17 October 2008 on global recession worries, with the BSE Sensex falling below the psychological 10,000 mark for the first time in more than two years. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 606.14 points or 5.73% to 9,975.35 and the S&P CNX Nifty was down 194.95 points or 5.96% to 3,074.35, on that day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers worth Rs 915.54 crore while mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 712.77 crore on Friday, 17 October 2008, according to provisional data on NSE.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

WorldSpace files for bankruptcy in US

Chennai, Oct. 18 Digital satellite radio broadcasting company, WorldSpace Inc, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court after failing to obtain new financing.
According to reports, the Maryland-based company has listed a debt of $2.1 billion and assets of $307.4 million as of June 30, 2008. WorldSpace has sought bankruptcy protection so as to be able to raise fresh funds to repay its debts.
WorldSpace is present in over 130 countries worldwide. It launched its India services in 2000 with over 35 free-to-air channels. In 2002, it converted a few of its channels to pay and went completely pay in 2004.
As at the end 2007, it had a customer base of over 1.6 lakh in India — over 93 per cent of its world-wide subscriber base.
It beams over 45 channels in India, most of which are branded ‘WorldSpace’ though a few are owned and operated by other players such as BBC, CNN, AIR and KL Radio.
The company stopped all promotional and marketing activities in India by mid-2007. It has also applied for licence to have terrestrial repeaters for better decoding of satellite signals and to develop mobile receivers to be used in automobiles.
From Day One, WorldSpace has been subsidising all its receivers in the Indian market. Initially, it sold receivers made in Japan (National, JVC and Hitachi) and later added a few brands from Korea and BPL in India before finally sourcing all the receivers from BPL. These receivers are retailed in India at prices between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500.
The current subscription rate is Rs 1,800 a year. WorldSpace has also been trying to rope in a local partner for a strategic alliance. Besides, licence permitting, it intends to introduce ‘mobile’ receivers — such as those that could be carried in cars. WorldSpace has been in talks with a few car makers for this.
The head of India operations could not be contacted. However, other sources, when asked about the fate of the 1.64 lakh Indian subscribers, said that it would take “a few more days for us to get some clarity about India operations”.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Sensex down 400 points

The key benchmark indices extended losses in mid-afternoon trade as
trading in US index futures suggested the Dow would fall 143 points
at the opening bell. The BSE Sensex tumbled more than 400 points or
3.88% at day's low. The market had witnessed bout of volatility
earlier in the day. An initial surge boosted by reports government
was considering several measures to raise domestic institutional
participation in the equities, proved short-lived.

Realty and power stocks nosedived. Index heavyweight Reliance
Industries (RIL) dipped more than 3.5%. Reliance Infrastructure,
Reliance Communications and Jaiprakash Assoociates fell more than
8.5% each. ICICI Bank fell close to 8%. However, BSE Mid-Cap and
Small-cap indices outperformed the Sensex.

The government has reportedly sought data from the Reserve Bank of
India to consider a proposal to enhance the investment limit for
bank exposure to equity markets. This will be part of several
measures to boost domestic institutional participation in the
markets at a time when foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are
exiting. At present, a bank can invest up to 20% of net worth in a
single company and up to 40% of net worth in a group.

The domestic markets have declined sharply in the past few days
despite Reserve Bank of India' several attempts to infuse liquidity
in at a time when global recession worries have marred investor
sentiment.

Asian markets were mostly lower as worries about a slowing global
economy kept investors on the sidelines.

At 14:22 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 410.65 points or
3.88% to 10,173.81. The index fell 414.98 points at the day's low
of 10,166.51 in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 205.44 points
at day's high of 10,786.93, at the onset of the trading session.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 132.05 points or 4.04% to 3,137.25.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.69% at 3,595.32 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 1.21% at 4,234.70. Both the indices
outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 905 shares advanced as
compared to 1,571 that declined. 64 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 3.67% to Rs 1,345 off day's
high of Rs 1,438. The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 16 October
2008, questioned the government about its locus standi in the legal
tussle between Reliance Industries and Reliance Natural Resources
over supply of gas from the former's Krishna Godavari basin to the
latter's proposed power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. This came
after the government sought to be a party to the case. The
government counsel will present his case on Friday, 17October 2008.

Reliance Infrastructure (down 8.58% to Rs 507.25), Reliance
Communications (down 8.85% to Rs 236.25), Jaiprakash Associates
(down 8.09% to Rs 68.75) were the major losers from the Sensex
pack.

Realty stocks slumped in mid-afternoon trade despite possibility of
home loan rate cuts by lenders due to fall in inflation and cut in
the cash reserve ratio cut by Reserve Bank of India three times in
last ten days. BSE Realty index fell 6.17% and was the major loser
from the sectoral indices on BSE. Realty majors, Indiabulls Real
Estate, DLF and Unitech fell between 6.73% to 9.72%. Housing
Development & Infrastructure, bucked the trend, surging 6.47%. Fall
in lending rates may spur demand for residential properties.

Power stocks dropped, with the BSE Power index falling 5.54%. It
was the second major loser from the sectoral indices. All the
stocks from the index were in red. NTPC, Reliance Infrastructure,
Tata Power Company Power Grid Corporation of India and Reliance
Power slip between 1.29% to 7.25%.

Metal stocks fell on falling metal prices on mounting fears a
global economic slowdown will hit demand. Hindalco Industries,
Sterlite Industries, Hindustan Zinc, National Aluminum Company),
Steel Authority of India fell between 1.22% to 9.08%.

India's largest steel maker by sales Tata Steel fell 3% after its
UK unit Corus decided to cut crude steel production by up to 20% or
1 million tonnes over the next three months due to slowing demand
caused by the global financial crises. There would be no material
change in production for its operations outside Europe, Tata Steel
said.

Major lenders slipped further in red despite India's second largest
private sector bank by net profit, HDFC Bank's robust Q2 results.
HDFC Bank fell 1.42% to Rs 1072.05 even as it reported 43.2% rise
in net profit to Rs 527.98 crore on 62.8% growth in total income to
Rs 4,634.32 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The
stock had fallen 4.15% yesterday, 16 October 2008, ahead of the
results which hit the market after trading hours.

Other banking majors extended fell. ICICI Bank and State Bank of
India fell between 4.2% to 7.92%.

India's largest home loan lender by sales HDFC fell 0.9% even as it
reported 32.5% growth in net profit to Rs 534 crore in Q2 September
2008 over Q2 September 2007. The results hit the market during
trading hours

India's third largest IT services provider by sales Satyam Computer
Services fell 1.3% to Rs 270.25, off day's high of Rs 185. The
stock had held firm for a better part of the trading sessions after
the company raised its earnings per share forecast in rupee terms
for year ending March 2009 at the time of announcing Q2 September
2008 results today.

European markets which opened after Indian markets were strong.
France's CAC 40, Germany's DAX and UK's FTSE 100 rose between 2.38%
to 3.85%.

Asian markets were mostly lower. South Korea's Seoul Composite,
Singapore's Straits Times, and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted, Hong
Kong's Hang Seng, fell between 1.52% to 2.73%. China's Shanghai
Composite index and Japan's Nikkei, rose between 1.08% to 2.78%.

US markets staged a comeback in a late-day rally in highly volatile
trade on Thursday, 16 October 2008, as investors snapped up
beaten-down shares a day after Wall Street's worst day since the
1987 crash. The Dow Industrials surged 401.35 points, or 4.68%, to
8,979.26. The S&P 500 index advanced 38.59 points, or 4.25%, to
946.43, and the Nasdaq composite index added 89.38 points, or
5.49%, to 1,717.71.

Post Market Report:16/10/2008

The key benchmark indices provisionally ended lower in choppy late
trading sessions. Sensex provisionally ended down 270.95 points or
2.51%. The market made a strong rebound from a sharp intraday fall
as European stocks cut initial steep losses. Banking stocks bounced
back on softening inflation.

Index stocks, Sterlite Industries, Reliance communications, HDFC,
Bharti Airtel, and Tata Steel recovered sharply from their lows.
European markets were down between 3.14% to 3.91%, after having
fallen as much as 5.6% earlier on global recession worries. Trading
in US index futures suggested the Dow would fall 14 points at the
opening bell.

As per the provisional figures, the BSE 30-share Sensex lost 270.95
points or 2.51% to 10,538.17. The index declined 791.32 points at
the day's low of 10,017.80 hit in early afternoon trade, its lowest
level since 24 July 2006. The Sensex fell 22 points at day's high
of 11,787.20 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty ended down 83.10 points or 2.49% to 3,255.30 as
per the provisional figures. It hit a low of 3,099.90, its lowest
level since 26 July 2006.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4540 crore today as compared to a
turnover of Rs 3,581.21 crore on 15 October 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.77% at 3,654.81 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 2.54% at 4,282.08. Both the indices
outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 827 shares advanced as
compared to 1,734 that declined. 60 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 8.7% to Rs 1,387. The stock
came off from a 52-week low of Rs 1,327. The stock declined for the
second day in a row today on fears the company may report fall in
its gross refining margins in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September
2007 largely due to sluggish demand for petroleum products in key
Western markets. The stock had slumped 6.2% yesterday, 15 October
2008.

Reliance Communications (up 7.59% to Rs 253.70), Jaiprakash
Associates (up 5.91% to Rs 77), DLF (up 5.16% to Rs 315.70),
Sterlite Industries (up 1.32% to Rs 296) and Reliance
Infrastructure (up 0.95% to Rs 561) were the major gainers from the
Sensex pack.

Among the major losers from the Sensex pack were Hindalco
Industries (down 13.35% to Rs 68.80), Tata Motors (down 11.29% to
Rs 250.20), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 6.71% to Rs 451.50), Larsen &
Toubro (down 7.55% to Rs 825.75).

Softening of inflation triggered recovery in bank stocks from an
initial slump. India's largest private sector bank by net profit
ICICI Bank rose 0.19% to Rs 415 off the session's low of Rs 376.25.
ICICI Bank ADR slumped 14.19% in US on 15 October 2008.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank dipped
4.15% to Rs 1,087.35, off the day's low of Rs 1,041. HDFC Bank ADR
fell 13.21% in US on 15 October 2008. The bank will announce Q2
September 2008 result today, 16 October 2008. State Bank of India,
India's biggest commercial bank, was up 3.13% to Rs 1,543.90 off
day's low of Rs 1,420.55.

India's largest home loan lender by sales HDFC rose 6.27% to Rs
1,820, off the day's low of Rs 1,600.

IndusInd Bank surged 3.91%, as net profit jumped 50.67% to Rs 33.66
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Lower inflation may trigger cut in interest rate by the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) which may spur lending. Inflation based on the
whole price index rose 11.44% in year through 4 October 2008, lower
than previous week's 11.8% rise, data released by the government
today, 16 October 2008, showed.

Indai's largest steel maker by sales Tata Steel fell 1.28% bouncing
back from 52-week low after its UK unit signed pact for procuring
iron ore, a key raw material.

The market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
has tightened margins in the derivatives segment to ward defaults
and curb volatility. The exposure margin for gross open positions
in single stock futures and gross open positions in stock options
will now be higher of 10% or 1.5 times the standard deviation in
the notional value of the positions.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday, 15 October 2008, cut the
cash reserve ratio (CRR) by a 100 basis points to 6.5% The CRR cut
would release Rs 40000 crore into the banking system. The CRR cut
takes effect from the current two-weekly reporting period for
banks, which began on 11 October 2008.

With a view to ease the liquidity in the banking system, the
central bank has also allowed banks to borrow an additional 0.5% of
their net demand and time liabilities using their SLR (statutory
liquidity ratio) holdings as collateral under the LAF (liquidity
adjustment facility) to meet liquidity requirements of mutual
funds. SLR is the amount of deposits banks have to invest in
government debt. The RBI will also release the first installment of
Rs 25,000 crore under the agricultural debt waiver and debt relief
scheme to banks immediately, at the government's behest.

A warning of tough times ahead by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke sent Asian markets sharply lower, as investors brace for
looming recession. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong,
Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 3.25%
to 11.41%.

Shrugging off recent optimism about massive government efforts to
prop up the global financial system Wall Street , yesterday, 15
October 2008, suffered its worst one-day percentage decline since
the stock market crash of 1987.

Crude oil for November delivery fell as much as $1.58, or 2.1%, to
$72.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on 15 October
2008, the lowest since 30 August, 2007.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Pre Market Report 16/10/2008

Key benchmark indices are likely to open weak mirroring global peers which witnessed a huge sell-off on renewed worries over a prolonged global economic recession, thereby ignoring the Reserve Bank of India's 1% cash reserve requirement cut on late evening Wednesday, 15 October 2008 in a bid to boost liquidity. The SGX October 2008 Nifty futures were down 227.5 points.

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed its cash reserve requirement (CRR) for banks by 100 basis points to 6.5% with effect from 11 October 2008, whichwill release Rs 40,000 crore into the banking system to boost liquidity. CRR is the amount that banks park with the central bank. Among the other measures announced were the release of Rs 25000 crore to banks for a farm loan waiver scheme, doubling the cap on foreign investment in corporate debt to $6 billion from $3 billion as authorities sought to get money flowing through squeezed markets.

On 10 October 2008, RBI had cut CRR, by 150 basis points to 7.5% to infuse liquidity into the system. This included a 50 bps CRR cut on 6 October 2008.The cut injected liquidity to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore into the system.

Among frontline companies, HDFC Bank will declare their September quarterly results today, 16 October 2008.

US stocks plunged the most on Wednesday, 15 October 2008, since the crash of 1987 after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said economic activity weakened across the United States in September 2008 as businesses rethought capital investments, and consumers curtailed spending. Fed Chairman acknowledged the US economy faced a significant threat and global efforts to unlock credit markets would not prevent recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 733.08 or 7.9% to 8,577.91, its second-biggest point drop ever. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 150.68, or 8.5%, to 1,628.33 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 90.17 points, or 9%, to 907.84.

Asian markets declined sharply today, 16 October 2008 on global recession concerns. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 3.62% or 72.19 points at 1,922.47, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 5.77% or 923.24 points at 15,075.06, Japan's Nikkei plunged 9.55% or 911.91 points at 8,635.56, Singapore's Straits Times dropped 5.48% or112.78 points at 1,946.61, South Korea's Seoul Composite fell 6.81% or 91.26 points at 1,249.02 and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted lost 3.11% or 163.30 points at 5,082.96

Back home, the BSE 30-share Sensex ended 674.28 points or 5.87% lower at 10,809.12 and the S&P CNX Nifty ended down 180.25 points or 5.12% to 3,338.40 on Wednesday, 15 October 2008 on worries over liquidity conditions in the financial system and weak global markets.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers worth Rs 1030.79 crore while mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 669.96 crore on Wednesday, 15 October 2008, according to provisional data on NSE.

Post Market Report:15/10/2008

the financial system and weak
global markets pulled the domestic bourses sharply lower today. The
BSE Sensex which opened about 240 points lower on weak global cues
extended the losses and showed no sign of recovery to end 674.28
points or 5.87%. At the day's low Sensex was down 725 points.
Reliance Industries slumped. The Indian market vastly
underperformed Asian and European stocks which fell between 0.8% to
3.7%.

US, euro zone and Japanese economies are all widely expected to
slip into recessions, threatening growth in emerging markets.
Recession fears returned to centre stage today after trillions of
dollars pledged for bank bailouts from Europe to Asia helped allay
fears of an imminent financial meltdown. Trading in US index
futures suggested the Dow would fall 142 points at the opening
bell.

The Reserve Bank of India's extension of banks' special short-term
lending (repo) facility to mutual funds, which have been witnessing
redemption pressure, failed to avert the slide on the bourses.

Larsen & Toubro fell more than 11% after it announced its Q2
September 2008 results. Reliance Communications and Reliance
Infrastructure fell more than 12 % each. Jaiprakash Associates fell
14.47%. The market breadth was weak as selling was witnessed across
the board. Capital goods and Consumer durables stocks plummeted.

The BSE 30-share Sensex ended 674.28 points or 5.87% lower at
10,809.12. The index declined 723.07 points at the day's low of
10,760.33 hit in late trade. The Sensex fell 226.35 points at day's
high of 11,257.15, in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty ended down 180.25 points or 5.12% to 3,338.40.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3,372 crore today as compared to a
turnover of Rs 4,252.13 crore on 14 October 2008.

Nifty October 2008 futures were near spot price at 3339.10, as
compared to spot closing of 3338.40. NSE's futures & options (F&O)
segment turnover was Rs 43,996.07 crore, which was lower than Rs
47,278.06 crore on Tuesday, 14 October 2008.

The barometer index BSE Sensex is down 9,477.87 points or 46.71% in
the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31
December 2007. It is 10,397.67 points or 49.02% below its all-time
high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 4.41% at 3,720.48 and the BSE
Small-Cap index was down 4.82% at 4,393.45. Both the indices
outperformed the Sensex.

BSE Capital Goods index (down 8.88% to 8,088.01), BSE Consumer
Durables index (down 8.79% to 2,125.85), BSE Metal index (down
7.82% to 6,315.85), BSE Teck index (down 6.03% to 2,230.60), BSE
Power index (down 6.02% to 1,905.72) underperformed the Sensex.

BSE HealthCare index (down 2.24% to 3,328.35), BSE Bankex (down
3.25% to 5,841.60), BSE Auto index (down 3.48% to 3,309.46), BSE
PSU index (down 3.53% to 5,555.49), BSE FMCG index (down 3.65% to
1,870.08), BSE Realty index (down 4.61% to 2,675.48), BSE Oil & Gas
index (down 5.15% to 7,230.87) and BSE IT index (down 5.43% to
2,780.19), outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 499 shares advanced as
compared to 2,117 that declined. 39 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries was down 6.2% to Rs 1,519.25 on
fears the company may report fall in its gross refining margins in
Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007 largely due to sluggish
demand for petroleum products in key Western markets.

All the 30 Sensex constituents were in the red. Reliance
Communications (down 12.24% to Rs 235.80), Sterlite Industries
(down 10.11% to Rs 292.15), Jaiprakash Associates (down 14.47% to
Rs 72.70) and Tata Steel (down 10.35% to Rs 273.25) were the major
losers from the Sensex pack.

India's largest engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro
declined 11.01% on profit taking after it announced Q2 results. The
company's net profit rose 32.25% to Rs 460.26 crore on 41.98% to Rs
7,842.26 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The
firm announced the result today during the market hours.

Bharat Heavy Electricals and Suzlon Energy fell between 6.28% to
7.56%.

Consumer durables stocks tumbled on fears the credit crunch and the
stock market crash might hit sales this festive season. Titan
Industries, Videocon Industries and Gitanjali Gems fell between
5.4% to 14.05%.

India's top mobile operator by market share Bharti Airtel was down
5.95%. The company today said it had tied up with Infosys
Technologies, India's second largest IT services provider by sales
Infosys, to deliver its direct-to-home (DTH) television service.
Infosys plunged 5.72%. As part of the agreement, Infosys will
provide technology products that will help Bharti to offer digital
and interactive applications on its DTH TV service.

Reliance Infrastructure was down 12.11%. Reliance Infrastructure
reportedly plans to raise Rs 2500 crore as loan this fiscal and is
in talks with banks including IDBI, Axis Bank and IIFCL for raising
the funds.

India's largest realty player by market capitalization DLF fell
3.38% to Rs 300.15. The company said on Tuesday, 14 October 2008,
its share buyback for about Rs 1100 crore will open on Friday, 17
October 2008, after complying with regulatory requirements. The
buyback of up to 2.2 crore shares at a maximum of Rs 600 each was
set to open today, but was rescheduled following clarifications
sought by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Sanwaria Agro Oils rose 5.41%, as net profit jumped 56.02% to Rs
22.07 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Hindustan Construction Company plunged 11.7%, even after the
company said that Bank of India has invested Rs 150 crore in its
subsidiary Lavasa Corporation, in the form of convertible
debentures.

Moser Baer India plunged 15.34%, even as the company said on
Wednesday, 15 October 2008, it has set up a state-of-the-art
digital video processing facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Koffee Break Pictures rose 2.7%, after the company said on Tuesday,
14 October 2008, its board will meet on 16 October 2008 to consider
a 10-for-1 stock split.

New Delhi Television tumbled 17.34% after net loss rose to Rs 13.04
crore in Q2 September 2008, from Rs 3.95 crore in Q2 September
2007.

Honeywell Automation India surged 5.36% after the company reported
58.20% spurt in net profit to Rs 28.95 crore on 4.89% rise in net
sales to Rs 238.21 crore in Q3 September 2008 over Q3 September
2007.

Gemini Communication fell 1.88%, after the company said on Tuesday,
14 October 2008, its board will meet on 22 October 2008 to consider
buyback of equity shares.

JSW Steel plunged 11.22% on reports the company may cut product
prices by end-October 2008 in line with a fall in metal prices
globally.

Britannia Industries fell 3.08% on reports the Nusli Wadia Group
will acquire the foreign joint venture firm Groupe Danone's entire
stake in the company with a committed $200 million funding from
ICICI Bank.

GMR Infrastructure declined 5.91%, after the company said on
Tuesday, 14 October 2008, it has acquired 50% stake in InterGen
N.V, a global power generation company, for $954 million.

Chettinad Cement Corporation gained 2.11%, after the company said
its board will meet on 16 October 2008 to consider issue of equity
shares on rights basis.

ICI India galloped 7.68%, after the company said on Wednesday, 15
October 2008, its board will meet on 23 October 2008 to consider
buyback of equity shares at a price not exceeding Rs 575 a share.

Omaxe slipped 7.67% after credit rating firm Fitch downgraded the
company's long-term debt rating also revised the outlook to
negative from stable.

Core Projects & Infrastructure clocked the highest volume of 1.05
crore shares on BSE. Reliance Natural Resources (92.39 lakh
shares), Cals Refineries (76.22 lakh shares), IFCI (58.2 lakh
shares) and JAiprakash Associates (44.87 lakh shares) were the
other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Capital clocked the highest turnover of Rs 230.68 crore on
BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 217.84 crore), Larsen & Toubro (Rs
205.60 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 147.92 crore) and State Bank of India
(Rs 143.43 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

European markets which opened after Indian market were trading
lower. France's CAC 40, Germany's DAX and UK's FTSE 100 were down
by between 2.17% to 3.27%.

Asian markets were trading lower today, 15 October 2008 on concern
the massive bank rescue of global would come at a huge economic
cost and do little to repair the damage already done by a 14-month
credit crunch. China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng,
Japan's Nikkei, Singapore's Straits Times, South Korea's Seoul
Composite and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell between 0.86% to 3.72%.

The partially convertible rupee was at 48.40 per dollar today 15
October 2008, compared with Tuesday's close of 48.04/06.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Market opens lower on weak global cues

Weak global markets pulled the domestic bourses lower at the onset
of the trading session. Down 344.07 points, the BSE Sensex was at
the day's low. IT and metal stocks plunged in the early trade. Tata
Steel and Sterlite Industries fell more than 7% each. The market
breadth was weak as selling was witnessed across the board.

Asian stocks declined as concern earnings will deteriorate
overshadowed a $2 trillion global bank rescue.

At 10:20 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 344.07 points or 3%
to 11,139.33. The index declined 358.29 points at the day's low of
11,125.11 at the onset of the trading session. The Sensex fell
226.35 points at day's high of 11,257.15, in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 92.55 points or 2.63% to 3,426.10.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 2.38% at 3,799.50 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was down 1.83% at 4,531.50. Both the indices
outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 345 shares advanced as
compared to 968 that declined. 28 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries was down 2.56% to Rs 1,577.20.
Reliance Industries has reportedly tied up with three foreign firms
for its plans to set up an integrated coal mining, a coal-to-liquid
plant, and a 1,000 megawatt power plant and fly-ash utilisation
unit.

27 stocks from the Sensex pack of 30 stocks were in red. Reliance
Communications (down 6.22% to Rs 252), Jaiprakash Associates (down
4.47% to Rs 81.20) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 3.81% to Rs
1,431) were among major losers from the Sensex pack.

Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 1.07% t o Rs 283.55), HDFC Bank (up 0.02%
to Rs 1,139) and Tata Motors (up 0.33% to Rs 299.25) were the
gainers from the Sensex pack.

Metal stocks plunged in early trade with BSE Metasl index falling
4.13% and was the major loser from the sectoral indices on BSE.
Hindalco Industries, Sterlite Industries, Hindustan Zinc, National
Aluminum Company, Steel Authority of India and Tata Steel fell
between 1.45% to 5.53%.

As per reports, Q2 September 2008 might not bring much cheer, as
anticipated previously, to the metal companies. Correction in metal
prices, a slowdown in global economy and higher input cost would
adversely impact second quarter results for metal producers in
India. Unlike previous quarters, this time, both ferrous and
non-ferrous metal companies would be hit, the report said.

IT stocks fell with BSE IT index falling 4.29% and was the second
major loser from the sectoral indices on BSE. Satyam Computer
Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro fell between
2.74% to 4.5%.

India's largest engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro
fell 3/49% ahead of Q2 September 2008 result to be announced today.

Reliance Infrastructure fell 2.85%. Reliance Infrastructure
reportedly plans to raise Rs 2500 crore as loan this fiscal and is
in talks with banks including IDBI, Axis Bank and IIFCL for raising
the funds.

India's largest realty player by market capitalization DLF fell
2.35% to Rs 303.30. The company said on Tuesday, 14 October 2008
its share buyback for about Rs 1100 crore will open on Friday, 17
October 2008 after complying with regulatory requirements. The
buyback of up to 2.2 crore shares at a maximum of Rs 600 each was
set to open today, but was rescheduled following clarifications
sought by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Jet Airways fell 1.52% while Kingfisher Airlines declined 3.25%.
The alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines could
reportedly result in a combined annual savings of Rs 800 crore and
a lay-off of 1,500 employees, or 5% of their combined workforce.

Meanwhile, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are reportedly open
to include state-owned Air India in their recently formed
operational alliance. The alliance would have a 72% market share if
Air India were to join, the reports added.

Britannia Industries fell 2%. Nusli Wadia Group is reportedly set
to acquire Groupe Danone's stake in Britannia Industries with a
committed $200 million funding from ICICI Bank.

Gemini Communication rose 4.94% after company said on Tuesday, 14
October 2008 its board will meet on 22 October 2008 to consider a
share buyback.

Hindustan Construction Company fell 2.28% to Rs 51.35. The company
said on Tuesday, 14 October 2008 that Bank of India has invested Rs
150 crore in its subsidiary Lavasa Corporation, in the form of
convertible debentures. This transaction would reconfirm the equity
valuation of Lavasa at Rs 10000 crore, it said in a statement.

Jubilant Organosys declined 1.61%. The company reported net loss of
Rs 24.39 crore in Q2 September 2008 as against net profit of Rs
111.72 crore in Q2 September 2007. Sales rose 37.72% to Rs 679
crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

New Delhi Television (NDTV) fell 4.43% to Rs 149.95. The company
reported a net loss of Rs 13.04 crore in Q2 September 2008 as
against net loss of Rs 3.95 crore in Q2 September 2007. Sales rose
9.06% to Rs 73.91 crore Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Finance Minister P
Chidambaram and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri
Subbarao late Tuesday, 14 October 2008 to discuss the economic
crisis. Without divulging details of the meeting, Chidambaram said
that India economy was stable. A meeting of high-level bankers and
experts group led by Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan is scheduled
today, 15 October 2008.

Among frontline companies, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies
will declare their September quarterly results today, 15 October
2008.

The US government on Tuesday, 14 October 2008 said it will inject
$250 billion into the nation's banking system, with about half of
it going to nine major institutions. In return, the government will
receive equity stakes in the participating institutions. The
proposed cash injection is part of a $700 billion rescue plan,
which was approved by the US Congress earlier this month.

The beneficiaries of this effort include Citigroup, Goldman Sachs,
Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Morgan
Stanley, State Street, and the Bank of New York Mellon. This move
follows pledges of more than $1.3 trillion by the governments of
Britain, Germany, France, and other European countries in an effort
to bolster their banks.

Asian markets were trading lower today, 15 October 2008 on concern
the rescue would come at a huge economic cost and do little to
repair the damage already done by a 14-month credit crunch. China's
Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei,
Singapore's Straits Times, South Korea's Seoul Composite and
Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell between 1.6% to 2.92%.

Pre Market Report 15/10/2008

Key benchmark indices are likely to see lower start today, 15 October 2008 tracking weak global cues as worries about the slowdown in the global economy resurfaced.

Among frontline companies, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies will declare their September quarterly results today, 15 October 2008.

Asian markets were trading lower today, 15 October 2008 on concern the rescue would come at a huge economic cost and do little to repair the damage already done by a 14-month credit crunch. China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.29% or 26.03 points at 1,991.31, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 2.41% or 405.05 points at 16,427.83, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.44% or 136.35 points at 9,311.22, Singapore's Straits Times tumbled 2.12% or 45.11 points at 2,083.20, South Korea's Seoul Composite declined 2.52% or 34.5 points at 1,333.19 and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted slipped 1.58% or 83.48 points at 5,208.08.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday, 14 October 2008 as the enthusiasm about the government's plan to buy stakes in the nation's largest financial institutions died down and worries about earnings crept in. The Dow Jones slipped 76.62 points, or 0.82%, to 9,310.99. The S&P 500 index was down 5.34 points, or 0.53%, to 998.01 and the Nasdaq plunged 65.24 points, or 3.54%, to 1,779.01.

The U.S. saw its budget deficit balloon to a record for the 2008 fiscal year. As per the Treasury Department, the shortfall for the year ending September 2008 hit $455 billion. The deficit represented 3.2% of America's gross domestic product, up from last year's 1.2%. The largest-ever percentage of deficit to GDP occurred in 2004, when it hit 3.6%.

Back home, the key benchmark indices logged decent gains boosted by the Reserve Bank of India's announcement to infuse more liquidity coupled with strong global markets. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 174.31 points or 1.54% to 11,483.40 and the S&P CNX Nifty rose 27.95 points or 0.8% to 3,518.65, on that day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net equity buyers worth Rs 898.25 crore while mutual funds sold shares worth Rs 252.37 crore on Tuesday, 14 October 2008, according to provisional data on NSE. FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,747.68 crore in the futures & options segment on that day.

U.S crude fell 53 cents to $78.10 a barrel, while London Brent crude slipped 23 cents to $74.30 today, 15 October 2008 on fears as a global recession just about outweighed optimism for an economic recovery spurred by bank rescue schemes.

Asian Markets in Negative

Nikkei 225 9,348.47 -99.10 -1.05%

Hang Seng 16,401.26 -431.62 -2.56%

Straits Times 2,087.49 -40.82 -1.92%

Intel 3Q profit narrowly beats estimates, but 4Q outlook cloudy

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Intel Corp.'s third-quarter profit rose 12 percent, edging past Wall Street's estimates, but the chip maker cautioned that the pall the financial crisis has cast over the technology sector makes it hard to predict its results for the current period.


The company reported after the market closed Tuesday that its profit for the three months ended Sept. 27 was $2.01 billion, or 35 cents per share. That compares with the $1.79 billion, or 30 cents per share, from the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 34 cents per share in profit.

Sales were $10.22 billion, just a 1 percent increase over last year, but Intel said the figure was a record for the third quarter. Analysts expected $10.26 billion.

The Santa Clara-based company, the world's No. 1 maker of PC microprocessors, said that it still expects healthy and relatively unchanged profit margins for the October-December quarter. Sales for that period could fall below the range of estimates offered by Wall Street analysts, however.

Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, said because of the economic turbulence, Intel plans to update investors in early December, ahead of the formal fourth-quarter report, about the company's finances.

"We have a high degree of uncertainty around demand in the fourth quarter, but our execution is good," he said in an interview.

Because Intel's processors are used in around 80 percent of the world's PCs and servers built with PC chips, its financial results are seen as a valuable gauge of the health of the broader technology sector.

A big reason Intel is able to wring out more profits despite only incrementally higher sales is because it's getting cheaper for the company to make each of its chips. Technological advances allow the company to squeeze more transistors onto the same slice of silicon while lowering the expense of making those chips.

Intel's most advanced chips are currently built with parts whose average width is only 45 nanometers, or 45 billionths of a meter.

Those advances help Intel increase its profit margins even in tough times. The company's gross profit margin -- the amount of money it makes on each dollar of revenue once manufacturing costs are stripped out -- rose 3.5 percentage points from 55.4 percent in the second quarter to 58.9 percent in the third quarter.

Intel attributes the increase to lower manufacturing costs and higher revenues.

Sales of mobile microprocessors jumped 20 percent over last year to $3.39 billion, while sales of microprocessors for desktop computers and corporate servers fell 1 percent to $4.07 billion.

While Intel is thriving, however, its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., is planning to spin off its chip-making factories in a cost-cutting move. AMD announced last week that it plans to partner with the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi in the joint venture. The move is an acknowledgment that AMD can't compete alone against Intel in the very expensive chore of semiconductor manufacturing.

AMD reports its third-quarter results on Thursday. Analysts are expecting a loss of 40 cents per share on $1.48 billion in sales.

One area of concern about Intel, however, is that it's plunging into the budding market for small computers called "netbooks" and "nettops" that are used primarily for surfing the Internet.

Sales of the chips that go into those machines are booming, hitting $200 million in the third quarter. But the chips themselves are cheaper and carry lower profit margins, which threatens Intel's overall profitability.

Excluding those chips, the average selling price for Intel's microprocessors was flat during the third quarter.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini warned in a statement that it's "hard to know" what impact the financial crisis will have on demand for Intel's chips in the fourth quarter. Still, Otellini said he expects Intel to "outpace peer companies" during the period because of its sales momentum and strong products and balance sheet.

Intel predicted a gross profit margin of 59 percent of revenues, plus or minus a couple of percentage points in the fourth quarter.

Sales, however, could come in below the range of estimates offered by Wall Street analysts. Intel expects sales of between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion. Analysts were expecting sales in the range of $10.4 billion and $11.3 billion.

Intel shares, which lost $1.06, 6.2 percent, to close at $15.93 during the regular session, regained some of the lost ground in after-hours trading, adding 71 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $16.64.

Intel forecast of steady 4Q profits in uncertain economy helps buoy stock

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Intel Corp. has provided some insight into the state of global PC demand, telling Wall Street that while technology spending may be slumping, the chip maker fully expects its profits to hold steady.

The Santa Clara-based company, the world's largest maker of PC microprocessors, said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit rose 12 percent, beating analysts' estimates by a penny per share.

The increase was driven in large part by technological advances that lower Intel's cost of making each chip, which helps the company wring out more profits even in tough economic times.

Sales, in fact, rose just 1 percent, helped by a 20 percent jump in revenues from laptop microprocessors, but were held down overall by lower sales of desktop and server microprocessors. Intel missed the consensus revenue estimate by about $40 million.

Wall Street was already expecting that Intel's third-quarter results would be in line with analyst forecasts, since a spending freeze by many corporate information technology departments didn't fully emerge until late in the quarter, when the financial crisis worsened dramatically.

As the first major tech company to report earnings for the July-September period, investors were looking to Intel for signs about the health of the overall sector heading into the holiday season and 2009.

Intel's processors are used in around 80 percent of the world's PCs and servers built with PCs, so swings in demand for those chips are valuable indicators about order volumes for the rest of the PC industry.

Intel cautioned that economic turbulence makes it hard to reliably predict fourth-quarter results. But the company still forecast healthy and relatively unchanged profit margins.

That was seen as a sign things might not get as bad as some market-watchers fear.

Intel shares climbed 65 cents, 4.1 percent, to $16.58 in after-hours trading. They had closed down $1.06, 6.2 percent, at $15.93 during the regular session before Intel reported its results.

Intel's net income for the three months ended Sept. 27 was $2.01 billion, or 35 cents per share. That compares with $1.79 billion, or 30 cents per share, from the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 34 cents per share in profit.

Sales were $10.22 billion, just a 1 percent increase over last year, but Intel said the figure was a record for the third quarter. Analysts expected $10.26 billion.

Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, said because of the economic uncertainty, Intel plans to update investors in early December, ahead of the formal fourth-quarter report, about the company's finances.

"We have a high degree of uncertainty around demand in the fourth quarter, but our execution is good," he said in an interview.

Lower manufacturing costs helped Intel increase its gross profit margin by 3.5 percentage points from 55.4 percent of revenues in the second quarter to 58.9 percent of revenues in the third. Gross margin measures how much money a company makes on each dollar of revenue once manufacturing costs are stripped out.

While Intel is thriving, its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., is planning to spin off its chip-making factories to cut costs. AMD announced last week that it's partnering with the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi in the joint venture.

The deal is an acknowledgment that AMD can't compete alone against Intel in the very expensive chore of semiconductor manufacturing.

AMD reports its third-quarter results on Thursday. Analysts are expecting a loss of 40 cents per share on $1.48 billion in sales.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini warned that it's "hard to know" what impact the financial crisis will have on demand for Intel's chips in the fourth quarter. Still, Otellini said he expects Intel to "outpace peer companies" during the period because of its sales momentum and strong products and balance sheet.

Intel predicted a gross profit margin of 59 percent of revenues, plus or minus a couple of percentage points in the fourth quarter.

Sales, however, could come in below the range of estimates offered by Wall Street analysts. Intel expects sales of between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion. Analysts were expecting sales in the range of $10.4 billion and $11.3 billion.

Government's $250 billion move into banking won't lead to quick economic recovery

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With any luck, the government's quarter-trillion dollar cash infusion in banks will get them lending again, but the radical move won't quickly turn around the tottering economy.
The pain will almost certainly drag on as vanishing jobs, shrinking paychecks and nest eggs, and slumping home values continue to force millions of Americans to pull back.


Sales at the nation's retailers are expected to drop in September even as they get a break from record-high energy prices. Uncertainty about the economy -- and their own financial fortunes -- probably will force consumers and businesses alike to hunker down further, spelling more problems for the already troubled economy.

Anxiety about the economy is the No. 1 concern of voters. With the presidential election just weeks away, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain are working furiously to convince people that each is the best choice to steer the economy through these perilous times.

In addition to September retail sales numbers, other economic data out Wednesday is expected to show that even though the recent retreat in energy prices calmed inflation at the wholesale level bit, costs are still high and are squeezing businesses.

Many economists believe the country is on the edge of -- or already in -- its first recession since 2001.

If the government's new plan works -- it will merely cushion the blow. Democrats on Capitol Hill are pushing for another round of stimulus that could cost as much as $150 billion, an effort to provide additional relief and lift the country out of the doldrums.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will provide an up-to-date assessment of the country's economic and financial challenges in a speech in New York on Wednesday.

Big banks started falling in line Tuesday behind the rejiggered bailout plan that will have the government forking over as much as $250 billion in exchange for partial ownership -- putting the world's bastion of capitalism and free markets squarely in the banking business.

Some early signs were hopeful for the latest in a flurry of radical efforts to save the nation's financial system: Credit was a bit easier to come by. And stocks were down but not alarmingly so after Monday's stratospheric leap.

The new plan, President Bush declared, is "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."

It's all about cash and confidence and persuading banks to lend money more freely again. Those are all critical ingredients to getting financial markets to function more normally and reviving the economy.

The big question: Will it work?

There was a mix of hope and skepticism on that front. Unprecedented steps recently taken -- including hefty interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks in a coordinated assault just last week -- have failed to break through the credit clog and the panicky mind-set gripping investors on Wall Street and around the globe.

The Dow Jones industrials declined 77 points on Tuesday after piling up their biggest point gain in history on Monday on news of Europe's rescue plan and in anticipation of the United States' new measures.

Initially the U.S. government will pour $125 billion into nine major banks with the hope that they will use the money to rebuild their reserves and to increase lending to consumers and businesses. Another $125 billion will be made available this year to other banks -- if they need it -- for cash infusions.

In return, the government will get ownership stakes in the financial institutions. Banks, meanwhile, will have to accept limitations on executives' compensation.

"Government owning a stake in any private U.S. company is objectionable to most Americans -- me included," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in announcing the initiative. "Yet the alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable."

Whether the $250 billion will be sufficient to encourage banks to lend again is hard to tell, said Anil Kashyap, professor of economics and finance at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. The Treasury Department arrived at the $250 billion figure after consulting with banking regulators.

"This plan will work if we wind up with everybody pretty well capitalized," Kashyap said. "But if it doesn't reach that point, we'll be back in soup down the road."

The government is counting on banks not to just clutch onto the cash, which aggravated the credit crisis to begin with.

"The needs of our economy require that our financial institutions not take this new capital to hoard it, but to deploy it," Paulson said.

Treasury switched gears, deciding to first use a chunk of the $700 billion from the recently enacted financial bailout package to pay for taking partial ownership stakes in banks, rather than using the money to buy rotten debts from financial institutions. The government said it still intends to buy the bad mortgages and other toxic assets, another move aimed at getting credit flowing again.

Besides the $250 billion this year on the stock purchases, Bush said Tuesday that an additional $100 billion would be needed in connection with covering bad assets. That would leave $350 billion of the $700 billion program, presumably to be spent by the next president.

Economists as well as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill had urged Treasury to first move forward on the capital injection plan, arguing that was a more effective way to battle the financial crisis.

The first bank to take advantage of the program was Bank of New York Mellon which announced it would sell $3 billion in preferred shares to the Treasury. Other banks initially participating include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Corp., including the soon-to-acquired Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and State Street Corp.

The government's cash infusions are attractive to banks because they are having trouble getting money from elsewhere. Skittish investors have cut them off, moving their money into safer Treasury securities. Financial institutions are hoarding whatever cash they have rather than lending it to each other or customers.

Two other initiatives also were unveiled to stem the credit crisis: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. launched an insurance fund to temporarily guarantee new issues of bank debt -- fully protecting the money even if the institution fails.

And, the FDIC will start providing unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bearing accounts, which are mainly used by businesses to cover payrolls and other expenses. Frequently these accounts exceed the current $250,000 insurance limit, so the expanded insurance should discourage nervous companies from pulling their money out. Both of these efforts would be financed by fees charged to participating financial institutions -- not money from the bailout package.

Even if the new plan works, economists caution that it could take years before locked up lending returns to normal.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Post Market Report:14/10/2008

The Key benchmark indices lost most of the earlier strong gains in
late trade after the chief Election Commissioner (EC) announced
dates for assembly elections in five states today afternoon. Though
the BSE Sensex provisionally rose 78.26 points, it lost nearly 500
points from the day's high. Reliance Communications fell more than
5%. Hindalco Industries and ONGC were the other major losers from
the Sensex pack.

The fall on the bourses from higher level materialised soon after a
sharp surge. The Reserve Bank of India's announcement before start
of trading to infuse more liquidity and strong global markets had
boosted the Sensex more than 550 points early afternoon

Mid-cap and small-cap indices also pared gains after an initial
spurt. The market breadth was strong.

India's central bank today said it would allow Indian commercial
banks to accept as collateral certificate of deposits (CDs) held by
mutual funds for the next 15 days. The move followed the earlier
announcement of a 14-day repo auction to enable banks to meet the
liquidity requirements of mutual funds, which had met with
redemption pressures.

As per the provisional figures, the BSE 30-share Sensex rose 78.26
points or 0.69% to 11,410.49 which was also the day's low. The
Sensex surged 561.13 points at day's high of 11,870.22, in early
afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 7.70 points or 0.22% to 3,498.40 as per the
provisional figures.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,237 crore today as compare to a
turnover of Rs 3,966.25 crore on 13 October 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.46% at 3,886.68 and The BSE
Small-Cap index was up 2.27% at 4,616.73. Both the indices
outperformed Sensex

The market breadth was strong. On BSE, 1,645 shares advanced as
compared to 974 that declined. 62 shares remained unchanged.

Jaiprakash Associates (up 5.94% to Rs 85.60), Tata Power Company
(up 5.04% to Rs 830) and Reliance Infrastructure (up 5.29% to Rs
633.50) were major gainers from the sensex pack.

Hindalco Industries (down 4.11% to Rs 85.10), HDFC Bank (down 3.47%
to Rs 1,138.45) and NTPC (down 2.7% to Rs 174.45) were major losers
from the Sensex pack.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries was up 3.14% to Rs 1,619.70 off
day's high of Rs 1,668.

IT stocks rose. India's largest IT exporter by sales Tata
Consultancy Services rose 2.84%. The Ministry of External Affairs
on 13 October 2008 awarded Passport Seva Project valued over Rs
1000 crore, to the company.

India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 5.87% to
Rs 1,397.05. Infosys ADR galloped 23.42% to $29.51 on 13 October
2008. On Friday, 10 October 2008, the company revised downwards its
earnings and revenue guidance in dollar terms at the time of
announcing Q1 June 2008 results.

Wipro jumped more than 3% after its ADR advanced 39.67% on 13
October 2008 overnight. Satyam Computer Services rose 7.38%. ICSA
(India) surged close to 42%.

India's second largest bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 5.18% to
Rs 458.25 off day's high of Rs 447.10. ICICI Bank's ADR jumped
29.96% to $18 overnight. The stock had spurted 16.75% on 13 October
2008 after the bank's chief executive K.V. Kamath said deposits
with the bank are safe, and that the bank had a cushion to take
domestic and overseas shocks. His statements came amid concerns
about ICICI Bank's exposure to the global financial crisis, which
has send the stock crashing on the bourses. The stock had fallen
19.7% on Friday, 10 October 2008, recording a sharpest single day
fall.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell
2.55% to Rs 507.25. Mahindra Systech, the auto component arm of
Mahindra & Mahindra, is reportedly looking to more than double its
revenues by diversifying its clientele to power plants, railways,
defence, aerospace and oil refineries. This comes as dipping
automobile sales in the US, Europe and many of the emerging markets
are forcing auto component companies to explore options to de-risk
their businesses.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen &
Toubro moved up 1.15% to Rs 1,003.65, ahead of its Q2 September
2008 results on Wednesday, 15 October 2008.

India's largest oil exploration firm by revenue ONGC lost 3.81% to
Rs 880.70 after Goldman Sachs Group reduced its rating on stock
citing concerns about lower oil price forecasts and poor production
growth. The stock came off from session's high of Rs 950.

India's second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance
Communications fell 4.83% to Rs 268.70 off day's high of Rs 303.
The company added 1.76 million mobile subscribers in September
2008, taking its total mobile user base to more than 56 million,
the company said in a statement on Monday, 13 October 2008.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors fell
0.12% to Rs 298.90 after commpany said its UK subsidiary, Tata
Motors European Technical Centre Plc., has bought 50.3% of
Norwegian electric vehicle firm Miljoe Grenland/Innovasjon for Rs
9.40 crore ($2 million).

Kingfisher Airlines rose 0.97% while Jet Airways fell 5.58%. Both
the stocks came sharply off from an initial surge after the two
carriers on Monday, 13 October 2008, decided to team up to share
some facilities to reduce costs as the country's airline industry
heads for its worst loss on record. The two airlines will jointly
manage fuel expenses, share some pilots and allow cross-selling of
tickets in each other's network, the Mumbai-based carriers said in
a statement yesterday.

Cadila Healthcare slipped 0.58% to Rs 284.20, even as the company
said on Tuesday, 14 October 2008, it has received approval from
World Heath Organization for Lyssavae N, a new drug which is used
for the treatment of rabies.

Bank of India rose 5.83% on reports it has raised Rs 500 crore
through a private placement of bonds with state-run insurer, Life
Insurance Corp of India.

India's central bank said it would conduct a special 14-day repo
auction, at which it infuses liquidity into the banking system, for
Rs 20000 crore ($4.2 billion) on Tuesday, 14 October 2008. The
auction was announced to enable banks to meet the liquidity
requirements of mutual funds, the central bank said.

EC today said Chattisgarh will go to vote in two phases on 14
November 2008 and 20 November 2008. The other four states - Madhya
Pradesh, Mizoram, Delhi and Rajasthan - will have a single-phase
election. While Madhya Pradesh will vote on 25 November 2008,
Mizoram and Delhi will vote on 29 November 2008. Rajasthan will go
to polls on 4 December 2008. The counting of votes in all states on
will take place 8 December 2008.

Asian stocks surged after governments around the world readied
plans to take stakes in banks to keep the global financial system
from collapsing. Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China's
Shanghai Composite, Singapore's Straits Times, South Korea's Seoul
Composite, and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted jumped 3.49% to 14.15%.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.25%.

Trading in US index futures suggested the Dow would rise 42 points
at the opening bell.

European markets were firm. France's CAC 40, Germany's DAX and UK's
FTSE 100 rose between 3.21% to 5.17%.

Crude oil for November delivery rose as much as $2.26 to $83.45 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The rupee climbed in opening deals today. The partially convertible
rupee was at 47.80 per dollar, 0.94 % above Monday's close of
48.25/27.