Post Market Commentary - Feb 19 2008

Bajaj Auto, the country’s second largest bike manufacturer surged 5.96% to Rs 2331 on 1.22 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. The stock was in the red till afternoon trade. Its low for the day is at Rs 2185. Bajaj Auto today said the Bombay High Court has sanctioned a scheme of arrangement between the company, Bajaj Holdings & Investment and Bajaj Finserv and their respective shareholders and creditors.

India’s second largest cement manufacturer in terms of sales, ACC gained 4.82% to Rs 792.50, off sharply from day’s low of Rs 752.25.

Other cement shares, Ambuja Cement (up 0.83% to Rs 116), UltraTech Cement Company (up 0.20% to Rs 892), India Cement (up 1.36% to Rs 209.10) and Grasim (up 2.62% to Rs 2860), also logged gains

India’s largest private sector engineering company in terms of outstanding order book position, Larsen & Toubro rose 1.03% to Rs 3546.50. The company said on Monday, 18 February 2008, it has bagged an order worth Rs 1250 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation.

India’s largest public sector engineering company in terms of net profit, Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 0.26% to Rs 2222. The company said during trading hours on Monday, 18 February 2008, it had bagged an order worth Rs 650 crore from General Electricity Company, Libya for setting up a 300 megatwatt gas turbine based power plant

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped from day’s high of Rs 2616.80. It settled 0.78% lower to Rs 2532. 5.07 lakh shares changed hands. As per reports, the company is in advanced talks with the New York-based Vornado Realty Trust, one of the world’s top five real estate asset managers, to float a $1-billion plus fund.

ITC (down 2.29% to Rs 204.80) and DLF (down 2.77% to Rs 836), edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Pharma shares gained on fresh buying. Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 3.95% to Rs 412), Cipla (up 1.70% to Rs 187.95), and Lupin (up 3.63% to Rs 537.55), rose.

Banking shares posted marginal gains. HDFC Bank (up 0.54% to Rs 1565.35), State Bank of India (up 0.45% to Rs 2265), and ICICI Bank (up 0.41% to Rs 1213), rose

IT pivotals were mixed. Infosys Technologies (up 1.28% to Rs 1573), and TCS (up 3.23% to Rs 879.50), rose. Wipro (down 0.49% to Rs 412.50) and Satyam Computers (down 0.96% to Rs 421.90), declined

Mid-cap software shares outperformed their large-cap peers. NIIT Technologies (up 6.67% to Rs 128), Rolta India (up 3.33% to Rs 296.10), and KPIT Cummins Infosystems (up 4.88% to Rs 86), surged.

Shares of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) slipped. Reliance Energy, the country’s largest private sector utility company in terms of sales, slipped 4.71% to Rs 1617. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

Other losers from ADAG group were, Reliance Communications (down 2.03% to Rs 600.25), Reliance Natural Resources (down 2.39% to Rs 139.60), and Adlabs Films (down 3.63% to Rs 910), slipped.

Reliance Power was down 0.46% to Rs 411.75 on volumes of 62.50 lakh shares. The stock had surged 7.53% to Rs 413.65 on Monday, 18 February 2008, after the company said on Sunday, 17 February 2008, its board will meet on Sunday, 24 February 2008, to consider issue of bonus shares.The bonus shares will be issued to non-promoter shareholders to compensate the losses suffered by them when the company was listed last week. The stock has been consistently trading at a discount to IPO price of Rs 450, since its listing on 11 February 2008.

India’s largest oil exploration company in terms of market capitalisation Oil & Natural Gas Corporation slipped 0.75% to Rs 1013.10 after hitting a high of Rs 1054 in early trade. As per reports, the company has been registered with Iraqi authorities for tenders to develop the world's third-largest oil reserves.

India’s largest real estate developer in terms of market capitalisation DLF lost 2.77% to Rs 836. As per reports, the company has entered into a joint venutre with Italian designer Giorgio Armani in the retailing sector.

OnMobile Global settled at Rs 521.90 on BSE, a premium of 18.6% over IPO price of Rs 440. The stock debuted at Rs 440, at the same price at which the IPO was priced. The stock hit a low of Rs 421 and high of Rs 579.90. On BSE, 1.97 crore shares changed hands in the counter.

OnMobile Global topped the turnover chart on BSE with a turnover of Rs 1042.25 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 298 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 265.30 crore), Reliance Power (Rs 259.80 crore) and Reliance Energy (Rs 181.75 crore) in that order.

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with 2.08 crore shares followed by OnMobile Global (1.97 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.61 crore shares), Reliance Petroleum (1.02 crore shares) and Nagarjuna Fertilisers (87 lakh shares), in that order.

Among the side counters, Shoppers Stop (up 17.90% to Rs 467), Astra Microwave (up 17.90% to Rs 95.65), and Disa India (up 10.61% to Rs 2020), surged.

Cords Cable (down 7.80% to Rs 140.70), Jaiprakash Associates (down 7% to Rs 264.25), and Dish TV (down 5.99% to Rs 66.70), slipped

Fertiliser stocks rose after the government announced the issue of 7.95% Fertilizer Companies’ Government of India Special Bonds 2026 at par worth Rs 3,610 crore in the second and final tranche.

Tata Chemicals (up 4.85% to Rs 305), Nagarjuna Chemicals & Fertilisers (up 0.57% to Rs 53.05), National Fertilisers (up 5% to Rs 67.10), and Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals (up 3.10% to Rs 247) edged higher. The first tranche came in December 2007 for bonds worth Rs 3,890 crore.

NIIT slipped 2.33% to Rs 111.05. The company said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the provincial government of Wuxi, China to set up IT training centers and offer training programmes.

Financial Technologies India was down 0.46% to Rs 2182. The company said its unit Multi Commodity Exchange of India has filed draft red herring prospectus to raise Rs 500 crore via an initial public offering. Financial Technologies India currently holds about 32% in MCX.

Polaris Software Lab rose 6.75% to Rs 90.90. The company announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with City Networks. City Networks is a leader in the development and implementation of software and services for the treasury, securities and derivatives markets.

3i Infotech surged 6.57% to Rs 125.70 after the company said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Yucheng Technologies, China to set up a 51:49 joint venture.

United Phosphorus slipped 2.45% to Rs 322.90. The company said on Monday, 18 February 2008, it has acquired Colombian marketing firm Evofarms group. Evofarms has several product registrations in Colombia and has a distribution network covering over 100 customers.

Everest Kanto Cylinder fell 0.43% to Rs 299.15. The company said its board has granted in-principle approval for acquiring the assets of a US-based manufacturing firm for $70 million