Stock market positive but be careful after......??
Telecom stocks may see action
Reliance Communications said on Monday, 28 April 2008 it would offer unlimited national long distance calls within its network for a fixed rental with immediate effect. Earlier yesterday, sector leader Bharti Airtel slashed long distance and roaming tariffs by 43% effective 30 April 2008.
Dwarikesh Sugar, Kernex Microsystems and Logix Microsystems will be placed in the Trade-to-Trade segment from 5 May 2008.
Indian Oil Corporation is planning to raise Rs 80,000 crore to reportedly fund a major acquisition in the exploration and production (E&P) sector.
Reliance Energy has changed its name to Reliance Infrastructure effective 28 April 2008.
Net profit of Hindustan Unilever declined 3.04% to Rs 380.95 crore on 19.14% rise in sales to Rs 3793.94 crore in Q1 March 2008 Q1 March 2007. The board of the company has approved to change the financial year to April-March; annual accounts this year will be for 15 months ended March.
Net profit of State Trading Corporation of India rose 125.04% to Rs 44.67 crore on 14.28% rise in sales to Rs 4255.98 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.
Titagarh Wagons reported net profit of Rs 60.57 crore in the year ended March 2008. Sales reported to Rs 559.64 crore in the year ended March 2008.
Net profit of Finolex Cables rose 13.14% to Rs 9.99 crore on 44.83% increase in sales to Rs 423.21 crore in Q4 March 2008 Q4 March 2007.
Net profit of Celestial Labs rose 222.78% to Rs 2.55 crore on 56.33% rise in sales to Rs 4.94 crore in Q4 March 2008 Q4 March 2007.
The outcome of the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s annual policy review at 12:00 IST will set direction for the bourses which have witnessed a solid rebound over the past few days on the back of good Q4 March 2008 results and on the back of firm global markets. Given the high inflation, the central bank may hike key rates.
It its latest report on macroeconomic and monetary developments in 2007/08 released on Monday, 28 April 2008, RBI has said that the global food prices were likely to remain firm as supply side pressures did not appear to be abating. The central bank said steps takes by the government to rein in prices should help curb inflation. It, however, said the inflation risks on account of oil prices remain incipient.
RBI has noted that freely priced fuel items such as naphtha had increased substantially since February 2007 alongside rising global oil prices, while prices of petrol and diesel, which are government-controlled, had partially adjusted. But prices of kerosene and cooking gas had not been raised by the government for several years.
RBI felt there were some demand-side pressures. Domestic iron and steel prices saw a sharp increase in line with recent hardening in international steel prices, it said, while cement price rises could be attributed largely to strong demand from construction domestically
A survey of professional forecasters by the central bank showed that the Indian economy is expected to grow 8.1% in the 2008/09 fiscal year that began this month. In 2007/08, the gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 8.7%.
A cause for concern is the fall in business confidence index. A survey of 392 companies by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), showed that concerns about an economic slowdown, inflation and rising costs hurt business confidence of Indian firms during October-December 2007 period. The FICCI business confidence index declined to a new five-year low of 55.3 points in the third quarter of 2007/08, from 61.2 in the previous quarter.
On the flip side, a pointer to the fact that the long term India growth story remains intact is the outcome of the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, according to which, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable.
The initial batch of Q4 March 2008 results have been good with the exception of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is slated to pass the Finance Bill 2008-09 today, 29 April 2008.
The two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting ends on Wednesday, 30 April 2008. The market expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2% and then signal that its rate-cutting cycle may be over for now in the face of mounting global energy and food inflation pressure.
As per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 38.33 crore on Monday, 28 April 2008. Domestic funds sold shares worth a net Rs 166.61 crore on Monday.
FIIs were net buyers of Rs 455.13 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 214.86 crore and bought index options worth Rs 137.14 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 24.42 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 78.72 crore
US stocks ended flat on Monday, 28 April 2008, as a $23 billion takeover of Wm Wrigley Jr Co, the world's largest chewing gum maker, by Mars Inc, the maker of M&Ms candy, helped offset downbeat comments by influential investor Warren Buffett about the economy. Buffett said US could be mired in a longer and deeper recession than most people think.
Asian stocks were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and China were up by between 1.36% to 1.39%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.6% to 0.7%. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.
Net profit of Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services rose 109.25% to Rs 19.23 crore on 118.42% rise in sales to Rs 137.19 crore in Q4 March 2008 over March 2007.
Aban Offshore, Cairn India, Grasim, IFCI, Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals, Nalco, Reliance Capital, Alstom Projects, Bang Overseas, Bartronics India, Bharati Shipyard, Bhushan Steel, Bosch Chassis, Castrol India, Ceat, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Maharashtra Seamless, Mirc Electronics, Nestle India, Raymond, SEAMEC, Bank Of Rajasthan, UTV Software, and Vishal Retail, among others will declare their March 2008 ended results today.