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Rupee ends 4 paise lower against US dollar

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:18:00 +0530

Indian rupee settled lower against the greenback on Friday. Rupee was lower by 4 paise or 0.09% against US Dollar to Rs 49.49.

The Sensex lost 82.06 points or 0.46% at 17,748.69 with 24 components posting drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty went down by 30.75 points or 0.57% at 5,381.60 with 41 components posting drop.

In the spot market, the Dollar Index increased 0.59% to 79.08 (09:29 ET).

Euro - USD was trading at 1.31 down 0.78% while USD...

Daily MCX report: Comdex falls 0.43%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:16:00 +0530

MCX Comdex - The composite index of metals, energy and agro-commodities was down by 0.43% to 3,802.52, MCX Energy index was down by 0.92% to 3,268.12 and MCX Metal index was down by 0.60% to 4,981.50.

Bullion:

Gold April 12 contract was down by 0.67% to Rs 28,166 per 10 grams, GoldM March 12 contract was down by 0.67% to Rs 27,984 per 10 grams, Gold guinea February 12 contract was down by 0.61% to Rs 22,357 per 8 grams, Gold Petal April 12...

IIP figures - Assocham reaction

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0530

Industry body Assocham said the deep dip in industrial growth rate during December underline the need for stimulating investments by reviewing monetary policy stance taken so far by the Reserve Bank of India.

Unless immediate steps are taken, the GDP growth may even fall below 6.9% during 2011-12, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

``The latest IIP figures show deep slowdown in basic core sectors like mining and minerals as well,`` said secretary general D.S. Rawat. ``Amid global uncertainty, a...

FIIs net buy Rs 1.96 bn; DIIs net sell Rs 0.49 bn

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0530

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the equity segment worth Rs 1.96 billion on both BSE and NSE on February 10, as per provisional data available at NSE. They bought equities worth Rs 26.72 billion and sold equities worth Rs 24.76 billion.

While, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs include banks, DFIs, Insurance and MFs) were net sellers in the equity segment worth Rs 0.49 billion on both the BSE and the NSE on February 10, as per provisional data available at the NSE. They bought equities worth Rs...

Britannia Industries Q3 net rises 45%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:03:00 +0530

Britannia Industries has posted a rise of 44.80% in net profit of Rs. 540.70 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to Rs. 373.40 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Total Income has increased by 15.14% from Rs. 10.96 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs. 12.62 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

During the quarter, the operating profit...

Weekly commodity outlook from SMC Global

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:58:00 +0530

Following is the weekly commodity outlook from SMC Global:

Bullion:

Bullion counter can trade on volatile path as the uncertainty over Greece. On the domestic counter, the strength in local unit Rupee is capping the upside. Gold can trade in range of 27,500-28,800 in MCX while COMEX gold can trade in range of USD 1,680-1,780 in near term. The European Union sovereign debt crisis stabilized a bit more last week when reports stated that a debt- restructuring deal between the Greek government and the private...

Consumer affairs ministry against imposition of CTT in the Budget: Assocham

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:57:00 +0530

The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution is not in favour of commodities transaction tax as it will restrict the growth of futures market, secretary Rajiv Agarwal said today amid reports that the ministry of finance is contemplating such a move to garner more revenues.

The value of trade in commodity futures market may exceed Rs 17 lakh crore in 2011-12 from Rs 119.5 lakh crore in the previous year and Rs 660 billion in 2002-03, he said while inaugurating a conference organised by The Associated Chambers...

Pantaloon Retail Q2 earnings plunge 71.67%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:41:00 +0530

Pantaloon Retail, the country`s largest retailer has posted a substantial drop of 71.67% in net profit to Rs. 56.40 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to Rs. 199.10 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Total Income has increased by 8.07% from Rs. 10.28 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs. 11.11 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

During...

2 fundamental picks from SMC Global

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:40:00 +0530

Following stocks have been recommended as fundamental picks by SMC Global Research:

East India Hotels

Investment Rationale

> East India Hotels (EIH) came out with a rights issue of Rs 11.78 billion in February 2011. The exercise helped the company, which derives over 70% of its revenues from foreign tourists, to substantially lower its debt burden. As a result the interest cost of the company has come down significantly.

> EIH, which owns and operates Oberoi group...

SMC Global`s top 3 short-term technical picks

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:39:00 +0530

Broking firm SMC Global has selected DCHL, Dish TV and United Phosphorus technical picks from 1-2 months perspective. Following is the technical rationale on above mentioned stocks:

Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCHL)

The stock closed at Rs 49.05 on Feb. 9, 2012. It made a 52-week low at Rs 31.75 on Jan. 2, 2012 and 52-week high of Rs 89.90 on April 7, 2011. The 200 days Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of the stock on the weekly chart is currently at Rs 93.94.

`Buy` Tree House; target Rs 244: MSFL Research

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:11:00 +0530

Marwadi Shares & Finance (MSFL Research) has maintained `Buy` on Tree House Education & Accessories with a price target of Rs 244 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 224 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Tree House delivered strong set of Q3FY12 numbers with 21.7% q-o-q increase in revenue to Rs 213 million. EBITDA for the quarter grew at 3.3% to Rs 110 million and EBITDA margin came at 51.7% compared to 60.9% in...

`Buy` Tata Steel; target Rs 693: MSFL Research

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:54:00 +0530

Marwadi Shares & Finance (MSFL Research) has maintained `Buy` on Tata Steel with a price target of Rs 693 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 451 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Tata Steel reported decent set of numbers, with Indian operation numbers coming in line with expectation while European operation numbers came below than our expectation due to higher cost and inventory write-down.

Consol numbers...

IIP likely towards 2.5-3% over Jan-Mar period: Emkay

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:49:00 +0530

Overall sense emerging from the IIP data suggests that the underlying growth, excluding volatile components, is not more than 5% in Dec-11. Also given the sustained backdrop of higher cost of raw materials, slowing credit growth and stretched liquidity conditions, the IIP data will continue gravitate towards 2.5-3% over Jan-Mar period, opined Emkay Global Financial Services.

Growth remain narrow based:

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for Dec-11 grew by 1.8% y-o-y, marginally better than 1% expected by us but considerably lower than 3.4% expected by...

IIP growth performance is unlikely to improve substantially in Jan 12: ICRA

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:48:00 +0530

Electricity generation is expected to moderate in January 2012 relative to the 9.1% expansion in December 2011, given the adverse base effect, with a robust 10.5% growth in January 2011.

``Moreover, growth of consumer durables and non-durables is expected to ease in January 2012 given an adverse base effect. Provisional data released by GoI indicates that the volume of merchandise exports remained steady at around USD 25 billion in both December 2011 and January 2012, which may support industrial growth to an extent,`` ICRA said.

Himadri Chemicals swings to loss of Rs 125.1 mn in Q3

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:38:00 +0530

Himadri Chemicals & Industries, one of the few integrated specialty carbon corporation globally and the largest coal tar by products manufacturer in the country, has reported a loss of Rs 125.1 million for the quarter ended December 2011 compared with profit of Rs 294.6 million for the same quarter last year due to Rs 519.3 million of Forex losses, which primarily consists of mark-to-market losses on foreign currency exposure due to the devaluation of the rupee.

The company registered an increase in net sales by 64% to...

`Hold` ACC; target Rs 1,337: ICICIdirect

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:24:00 +0530

ICICIdirect has recommended `Hold` on ACC with a price target of Rs 1,337 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 1,389 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Cement volume up 6% YoY, Realization up 21% YoY:

Sales volumes increased 6% YoY (4% QoQ) to 5.9 MTPA in Q4CY11 on account of a demand pick-up coupled with stabilization of new capacities added by the company at Chanda, Maharashtra and Wadi,...

`Buy` Tulip Telecom; target Rs 141: ICICIdirect

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:24:00 +0530

ICICIdirect has maintained `Buy` on Tulip Telecom with a price target of Rs 141 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 115 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Highlights of the quarter:

The company continues to see high traction on the newly laid fibre optic cable business, with about 83% of the new orders received in Q3FY12 on fibre optics. The company also added various new clients in this...

Momentum will remain intact till 5,250 is not breached: GEPL Capital

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:04:00 +0530

``After a consistent rally of past eight weeks, Nifty Futures is consolidating between 5450 and 5300. Now, the important levels to watch are placed at 5320 and 5250. We expect Nifty Futures to stay above 5,250 and upward breakout is placed at 5,460,`` said broking firm GEPL Capital, while opining on the market outlook.

``Once, the breakout is materialized, Nifty Futures is likely to test 5510 levels and the positional target is near 5600 levels. On downward side, if 5250 is breached, then...

`Buy` Apollo Tyres; target Rs 86: ICICIdirect

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:02:00 +0530

ICICIdirect has maintained `Buy` on Apollo Tyres with a price target of Rs 86 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 76 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Highlights of the quarter:

ATL`s domestic volumes surged 24% YoY driven by demand pick-up in the truck/bus radial (TBR) tyres coupled with incremental volumes through ramp-up at the Chennai facility (operating at 275 TPD level...

`Hold` Ambuja Cement; target Rs 162: ICICIdirect

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:02:00 +0530

ICICIdirect has assigned `Hold` on Ambuja Cement with a price target of Rs 162 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 178 in its report dated Feb. 10, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Cement volume up 5% YoY, renationalisation up 24% YoY:

Sales volumes increased 5% YoY (12% QoQ) to 5.3 MTPA in Q4CY11 on account of a pick-up in demand during the quarter from the construction activities post monsoon. Realization improved 24% YoY (15% QoQ)...

RCom consolidated Q3 profit plunges 54%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:58:00 +0530

Reliance Communications has posted consolidated net profit of Rs 2.41 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to Rs 5.25 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, representing decrease of 54.10%. Net consolidated income has decreased from Rs 48.65 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs 48.24 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, representing decrease of 0.84%.

On the standalone basis, the company has posted net profit after adjustement of share of minority interest and associates...

Nifty posts weekly gain of 1%; CD, Metal, Realty lead

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:50:00 +0530

...

Fitch affirms PNB at `BBB-`/Stable

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:48:00 +0530

Credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings has affirmed India-based Punjab National Bank`s (PNB) Long-Term (LT) Foreign-Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at `BBB-` and National LT rating at `AAA(ind)`. The Outlook on both the LTFC IDR and National LT rating is Stable Fitch has further published a National Short-term Rating of `Fitch A1+(ind)`. A full rating breakdown is provided below.

The ratings factor in PNB`s position as India`s second-largest government bank and third-largest bank which, in the agency`s view, lends itself to a high probability...

`Accumulate` M&M; target Rs 748: PL

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:48:00 +0530

Prabhudas Lilladher (PL) has maintained `Accumulate` on Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) with a price target of Rs 748 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 690 in its report dated Feb. 07, 2012. The broking house gave the following rationale:

Revenues stem a surprise; PAT below estimates:

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported 14.0% QoQ growth in its top-line at Rs 83.9 billion (PLe: Rs 79 billion). Tractor volumes grew by 14.6% QoQ, whereas the automotive segment volumes grew...

JSW Steel Q3 profit plunges 67.45%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:44:00 +0530

JSW Steel has posted a net profit of Rs 920.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to net profit of Rs 2,827.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, representing decrease of 67.45%.

Total income has increased from Rs 60.02 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs 84.24 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, representing an increase of 40.35%.

During the quarter, the operating profit margin decreased 32 bps to...

Instanex FII Index down 0.74%; IDFC top loser

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:36:00 +0530

The Instanex FII Index was down 0.74% at 377.28 and the Instanex DII 15 portfolio was down 0.54%. Nifty was down 0.57% and Sensex was down 0.46%.

The other Instanex Owner Indexes were also up- the Instanex Retail 15 portfolio was down 0.56%, the Instanex Top 15 portfolio was down 0.35% and the Instanex Promoter 15 portfolio was down 0.26%.

Asian markets were down as well - Jakarta Composite was down 1.67%, Hang Seng was down 1.08% and KOSPI was down 1.04%.

Of the...

Pipavav Defence Q3 profit surges 5.36 times

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:34:00 +0530

Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company has posted a net profit of Rs 139.77 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to net profit of Rs 26.03 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, representing an increase of 5.36 times.

Total income has increased from Rs 2.76 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs 4.66 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, representing an increase of 68.84%.

During the quarter, the operating...

Bank credit down 0.1%, deposits fall 0.5%

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:23:00 +0530

Bank credit of scheduled commercial banks has decreased by 0.1% (Rs 31.5 billion) to stand at Rs 43,513.3 billion as on Jan. 27, 2012 compared with Rs 43,544.8 billion as on Jan. 13, 2012.

On year-on-year basis, it grew 16.4% or Rs 6,136.5 billion to Rs 43,513.3 billion as on Jan. 27, 2012.

Food credit fell Rs 33.1 billion over the fortnight to Rs 830.9 billion, while non-food credit climbed Rs 1.6 billion over the fortnight to Rs 42,682.4 billion as on Jan. 27, 2012.

India`s forex reserves fall by USD 177 mn

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:19:00 +0530

India`s forex reserves fell by USD 177 million on week-on-week basis to stand at USD 293.75 billion as on Feb. 3, 2012.

However, in the rupee term, forex reserves fell by Rs 288.6 billion over the week to stand at Rs 14,401.4 billion as on Feb. 3, 2012.

On year-on-year basis, forex reserves fell by USD 5.66 billion to USD 293.75 billion as on Feb. 3, 2012.

Meanwhile, in the rupee term, forex reserves increased by Rs 729.3 billion...

MMTC swings to loss in Q3

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:18:00 +0530

MMTC has posted a net loss of Rs 913.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as compared to net profit of Rs 14.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Total income has increased from Rs 187.40 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to Rs 189.22 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, representing an increase of 0.97%.

During the quarter, the operating profit margin decreased 61 bps to 0.39%...