Bullion metals rise again

 A weak dollar pushes up the precious metals

Precious metals ended higher today, Thursday, 08 May, 2008. The weak dollar was the main reason for this. Higher crude prices also added to the reason behind the rise. Prices rose as crude touched a fresh new high at $124.5/barrel. Silver prices also rose for the day. Dollar weakness typically benefits dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold and crude oil, because it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.

Comex Gold for June delivery rose $10.9 (1.2%) to close at $882.1 ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, prices had dropped by more than $6. Last week, gold prices lost $32 (3.6%) against previous week's close. On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce.

This year, gold prices have gained 5.5% for the till date against a 9.2% drop for the dollar against the euro. For April, prices closed lower by 6.3%. For first quarter prices gained 10.7%. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006. For February, it gained 6%. But in March, prices succumbed and fell by 5.5%.

Comex Silver futures for July delivery rose 17 cents (0.8%) to $16.87 an ounce. Silver has gained 13% in 2008 till date. For April, it closed lower by 5.5%. Silver gained 16% in Q1. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%. In February, it gained another 15%. For March, it ended lower by 13%. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years.

On the currency markets today, the dollar was modestly lower losing ground to the euro and the pound after both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both decided to hold policy steady. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet cited inflation risks in his statement, further bolstering the common currency. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 73.37.

In the energy market today, crude-oil futures touched a fresh record above $124.5 after traders continued to remain concerned regarding global oil supplies. Earlier in the day, crude prices fell, but it soon recovered and ended higher for the day.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, a lower dollar pushes up precious metal prices as their demand lessens as it becomes cheaper for traders holding other currencies.

At the MCX, gold prices for June delivery closed higher by Rs 204 (1.7%) at Rs 11,832 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 11,888 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 11,621 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for July delivery closed Rs 318 (1.4%) higher at Rs 22,860/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 22,453/kg and rose to a high of Rs 23,067/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude ends modestly higher

 Crude rises for fifth straight day

Crude-oil futures touched a fresh record once again above $124 today, 08 May, 2008, Thursday. Weaker dollar and tensions regarding overall global supplies were the main reasons to push crude prices higher today. Prices for crude oil have been hovering around $124 against a backdrop of disruptions to oil production in Nigeria.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $123.69/barrel (higher by $0.16/barrel or 0.1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price touched a high of $124.5 earlier during the day. In the past five sessions, crude prices have gone up by almost $11.2 (9.9%). For the year, crude is up by 26.8% till date.

On the currency markets today, the dollar was modestly lower losing ground to the euro and the pound after both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both decided to hold policy steady. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet cited inflation risks in his statement, further bolstering the common currency. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 73.37.

EIA reported yesterday that crude supplies rose 5.7 million barrels to 325.6 million for the week ended 2 May. Supplies of oil have now climbed a total of 11.9 million barrels over the past three weeks.

EIA also reported that motor gasoline supplies climbed 800,000 barrels to 211.9 million barrels last week and distillate stocks were down 100,000 barrels at 105.7 million barrels. The decline in distillate supplies last week came as refinery utilization fell to 85.0% of capacity from 85.4% a week earlier

June natural gas finished 7 cents lower at $11.26 per million British thermal units today. EIA reported today that natural-gas inventories rose by 65 billion cubic feet for the week ended 2 May. Total stocks now stand at 1.436 trillion cubic feet, down 284 billion cubic feet from the year-ago level and 11 billion cubic feet below the five-year average.

Against this backdrop, June reformulated gasoline closed up 2 cents at $3.14 a gallon while June heating oil rose 6 cents to end at $3.51 a gallon.

EIA reported earlier this week that global oil consumption will likely grow by 1.2 million barrels per day this year, but the consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum is expected to decline by around 190,000 barrels per day because of the economic slowdown and high petroleum prices. The EIA also expects regular gasoline prices to average $3.52 per gallon this year, up 71 cents from a year ago.

Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude's biggest yearly gain in five years.

At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 5,095/barrel, higher by Rs 7 (0.13%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for July delivery closed at Rs 467.3/mmbtu, higher by Rs 0.4/mmbtu (0.08%).

Reliance Power Futures at a premium

 Turnover in F&O segment declines

Nifty May 2008 futures were at 5093, at a premium of 11.30 points as compared to spot closing of 5081.70.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 28,943.79 crore, which was lower than Rs 33,563.90 crore on Wednesday, 7 May 2008.

Reliance Power (RPower) May 2008 futures were at premium at 422 compared to the spot closing of 420.45.

Idea Cellular May 2008 futures were near spot price at 106.60 compared to the spot closing of 106.40.

Satyam Computer Services May 2008 futures were at discount at 471.20 compared to the spot closing of 471.70.

In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty lost 53.80 points or 1.05% at 5081.70.

Crude Oil Steadies at Record Level; Depress Asian Market Advance

 Sydney, Shanghai advances while others traded lower

Asian shares traded mostly lower, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average losing ground on weakness in export stocks, while Australia's benchmark index shrugged off a weaker start to edge into positive territory by late morning although BHP Billiton retreated after drops in commodity prices.

The declines were in line with a weaker finish on Wall Street yesterday, after crude-oil prices surged above $123 a barrel, alarming investors worried about the impact upon consumers and the overall economy. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 206.48 points to end at 12,814.35. The S&P 500 fell 25.69 points to 1,392.57. The Nasdaq Composite fell 44.82 points to 2,438.49.

Crude oil prices advanced as much as 28 cents in after-hours Asian trading to a record $123.81 a barrel. The June contract recently was trading down, at $123.54 a barrel. The contract rose $1.69, or 1.4%, to settle at $123.53 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching $123.75.

The Nikkei closed the morning session 1.1% lower at 13,943.26. The Topix index fell 1.5% to 1,372.95 while South Korea's Kospi traded a little lower by 0.3% at 1,848.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 reversed a 0.9% slide in the morning session to end a trade 1% higher at 5,723.20. Meanwhile, Australia's unemployment rate rose to seasonally adjusted 4.2% in April from 4.1% in March. The number of employed rose 25,400.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said its seasonally adjusted workforce participation rate, or the proportion of working-age persons at work or actively seeking work, rose to 65.4% in April from 65.3% in March.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.6% at 25,449.79. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index, or mainland-incorporated shares listed in Hong Kong, eased 1.6% to 13,886.59.

The Shanghai Composite Index reversed an early deficit to climb 2.2% to 3,656.84. Taiwan's Weighted Price Index fell 0.7% to 8,866.62.

Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was down 0.2% to 2,376.93, Malaysia's KLSE Composite Index was down 0.5% to 1,280.35.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar was quoted a 104.35-yen, compared to 104.73 yen in late New York trading Tuesday.

European opened on a weaker note, with investors cautious ahead of interest rate decisions due later in the day.

National indexes were also weaker, with the U.K. FTSE 100 index down 0.5% to 6,232.80, the German DAX 30 index down 0.7% to 7,027.38 and the French CAC-40 index down 0.7% to 5,041.11.

Meanwhile, Germany's trade surplus was a touch below from the unrevised estimate of March, while the current account surplus beat forecasts showed Thursday.

According to the data from the Federal Statistics Office Germany's trade surplus totaled EUR16.7 billion in March, down from an unrevised EUR16.9 billion in February.

The current account surplus of Europe's largest economy rose to EUR17.2 billion in March, from an upwardly revised EUR16.1 billion in February. The preliminary reading for February showed a surplus of EUR15.4 billion.

Exports totaled EUR84.0 billion, a 0.2% rise on the year, while imports amounted to EUR67.3 billion, a 3.3% increase from March 2007.

Post Market Commentary - May 8 2008

The domestic market closed in deep red due to heavy selling pressures across the sectoral indices. The market tumbles since the initial bell by tracking the weak cues from the global market and kept on hovering in the negative territory throughout the trading session. Due to lack of investors interest in buying as crude oil price touched a record high of $123 per barrel on Wednesday, led the investors to take cautious approach to book their position UBS, Switzerland largest bank has announced 5,500 job cuts this year contributed to hit the market sentiment. From the sectoral front, the capital goods and banking stocks faced the heavy selling pressures across the counters and FMCG, technology, Oil & Gas, realty and IT stocks also adds to the fall. The market breadth was negative as 1590 stocks closed in red while 1104 stocks closed in green.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 258.66 points at 17,080.65 and NSE Nifty fell by 53.8 points to close at 5,081.70. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Cap closed lower by 48.14 points and 38.13 points at 7,153.43 and 8,689.04 respectively.

Losers from the BSE are ITC Ltd (5.24%), Satyam Computers (3.72%), Infosys Techonologies (3.44%), L & T (3.36%), ICICI Bank (3.00%), Reliance Energy (2.93%) and TCS (2.33%).

The Capital Goods index declined by 266.43 points to close at 13,375.19. Major losers are Jyoti Structures(4.71%), Kirlosker Br (4.24%), L & T (3.36%), KIR Oil ENG (2.51%), BEML Ltd (2.15%) and Cromton Greaves Ltd (1.79%).

The Bankex index fell by 261.43 points to close at 8755.48 as Kotak Bank (6.41%), BOB (5.651%), Axis bank (4.83%), Union bank (3.69%), ICICI Bank (3.00%), and Yes bank (2.99%) closed in negative territory.

The IT index dropped by 118.84 points to close at 4294.46 as MPHASIS Ltd (3.96%), Satyam Computer (3.72%), Infosys Techonology (3.44%), TCS Ltd (2.33%), Tech Mahindra (2.11%), I-Flex (2.10%), Financial Tech (2.00%), and HCL Tech (1.82%) closed in negative.

The Oil & Gas index closed lower by 95.01 points at 11,628.45. Lossers are RIL Natural Res (3.69%), GAIL India (2.95%), IOC (2.04%) and Reliance Petroleum (1.50%).

The Realty index closed lower by 76.88 points at 8,130.70 Losers are Anant Raj (5.85%), Mahindra Life (5.58%), Pheonox (3.00%), Ansal Infrastructure (2.69%), Housing Development (2.16%), and Penland (1.51%).

NSE Bulk Deal Watch - May 8 2008

 Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
08-MAY-2008,ALOKTEXT,Alok Industries Limited,SONATA INVESTMENTS LIMITED,BUY,950000,68.30,-
08-MAY-2008,DISHMAN,DISHMAN PHARMA & CHEM LTD,GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS I LTD,BUY,416470,309.50,-
08-MAY-2008,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,BUY,81566,883.40,-
08-MAY-2008,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,B K SHAH CO KETAN BHAILAL SHAH,BUY,69879,868.97,-
08-MAY-2008,DISHMAN,DISHMAN PHARMA & CHEM LTD,SWISS FINANCE CORPORATION (MAURITIUS) LIMITED,SELL,643023,308.89,-
08-MAY-2008,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,SELL,78130,882.65,-
08-MAY-2008,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,B K SHAH CO KETAN BHAILAL SHAH,SELL,70864,870.08,-
08-MAY-2008,HINDOILEXP,Hind. Oil Exploration ,HARDY OIL AND GAS LIMITED,SELL,890498,150.78,-
08-MAY-2008,IBSEC,Indiabulls Securities Lim,MERRILL LYNCH CAPITAL MARKETS ESPANA S.A. SVB,SELL,1500000,115.97,-

BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 8 2008

Deal Date Scrip Code Scrip Name Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
8/5/2008 517356 ACI INFOCOM DIVYA GUPTA S 99085 5.55
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE YES INVESTMENTS B 285000 93.89
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VAGHJIBHAI GAGALDAS SHAH B 113000 95.55
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE DESHMUKH VIJAY SURESH B 76728 94.24
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HARISH KUMAR SROTRIYA B 74762 93.62
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 112247 94.69
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MEHUL V VORA B 100000 93.61
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE S.M.NISSAR B 1151483 92.93
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANGEETA KAKANI B 93419 95.36
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VAIBHAV DOSHI B 240918 91.77
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PATEL INVESTMENTS B 60385 93.04
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HARDIK HARSHADBHAI SHAH B 80861 95.56
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PRABHUDAS LILLADHER PVT. LTD. B 704662 92.86
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE ANILKUMAR MITTAL HUF B 120000 95.11
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PRUTHVI BROKERS AND SHARE HOLDINGS PVT LTD B 326608 96.97
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE N D NISSAR B 918905 92.22
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE LATIN MANHARLAL SEC PVT LTD B 1310703 93.25
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE FAISAL T P B 56000 93.34
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE CHANDRA MOHAN K B 70000 94.49
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SHASHVAT B 61011 90.79
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BHAVESH P PABARI B 59149 96.00
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE H.J.SECURITIES PVT.LTD. B 207060 92.64
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MANOJ NANDKISHOR TEKRIWAL B 200000 96.75
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SHAH SAMIR D B 100000 97.00
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE GOLDSTAR FINVEST PVT LTD B 149472 99.00
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BUNIYAD CHEMICAL LIMITED B 489665 97.90
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE ALPHA CHEMIC TRADE AGENCIES B 169357 92.87
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE P UMAMAHESHWARI B 206489 95.90
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANJAY POPATLAL JAIN HUF B 464173 92.90
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE NAVEEN TAPARIA B 131286 93.22
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BHUPENDRA SINGH CHOUHAN B 120997 96.64
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VIRENDRA KUMAR AGRAWAL B 100000 86.70
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE AMU SHARES AND SEC LTD B 90292 93.73
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE YATIN SATRA B 201165 92.72
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MUKESH SHAH B 340598 92.99
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MANISH CHATURVEDI B 87000 92.75
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE YES INVESTMENTS S 285000 92.40
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VAGHJIBHAI GAGALDAS SHAH S 155000 94.33
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE DESHMUKH VIJAY SURESH S 76728 93.93
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HARISH KUMAR SROTRIYA S 74762 93.85
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HARSHAD B PATEL S 53500 96.12
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 112247 94.70
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MEHUL V VORA S 100000 96.87
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE S.M.NISSAR S 1151483 93.04
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANGEETA KAKANI S 93419 95.55
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VAIBHAV DOSHI S 255918 91.48
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HEMANT MADHUSUDAN SHETH S 75000 95.49
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PATEL INVESTMENTS S 65385 91.51
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE HARDIK HARSHADBHAI SHAH S 80861 95.36
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PRABHUDAS LILLADHER PVT. LTD. S 704662 93.04
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE ANILKUMAR MITTAL HUF S 120000 97.54
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE PRUTHVI BROKERS AND SHARE HOLDINGS PVT LTD S 326608 93.91
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE N D NISSAR S 918905 92.35
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE LATIN MANHARLAL SEC PVT LTD S 1306703 93.32
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE FAISAL T P S 56000 93.76
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE CHANDRA MOHAN K S 70000 93.33
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SHASHVAT S 61011 94.15
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BHAVESH P PABARI S 59149 97.52
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE H.J.SECURITIES PVT.LTD. S 207060 92.89
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MANOJ NANDKISHOR TEKRIWAL S 200000 94.12
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SHAH SAMIR D S 100000 92.26
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE GOLDSTAR FINVEST PVT LTD S 149472 95.57
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BUNIYAD CHEMICAL LIMITED S 489665 93.41
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE ALPHA CHEMIC TRADE AGENCIES S 169357 95.03
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE P UMAMAHESHWARI S 206489 93.81
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANJAY POPATLAL JAIN HUF S 464173 92.91
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE NAVEEN TAPARIA S 131286 92.46
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE BHUPENDRA SINGH CHOUHAN S 120997 96.16
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE AMU SHARES AND SEC LTD S 90292 93.82
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE YATIN SATRA S 201165 92.62
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MUKESH SHAH S 340598 93.33
8/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE MANISH CHATURVEDI S 87000 94.17
8/5/2008 531223 ANJANI SYNTH ARVIND KALYANJI RAMBHIA B 84868 34.72
8/5/2008 531223 ANJANI SYNTH SAMIDHA MERCANTILES PVT LTD S 71000 34.75
8/5/2008 532870 ANKIT METAL MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS CO LTD B 737000 87.99
8/5/2008 532946 BANG MARUTI SECURITIES LTD S 95532 227.74
8/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES SPJ STOCK B 133140 156.93
8/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES SHIVALIK SECURITIES LTD S 101000 150.36
8/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES GALA FINANCE AND INVESTMENT S 49000 150.58
8/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES SPJ STOCK S 133140 158.13
8/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES IGSL TRADING ACCOUNT S 73096 160.30
8/5/2008 531682 CAT TECHNOL CHERRY COSMETICS PVT LTD B 300000 7.97
8/5/2008 531682 CAT TECHNOL EDELWEISS ESTATES PRIVATE LIMITED S 286479 7.97
8/5/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF EDELWEISS ESTATES PRIVATE LIMITED B 389300 6.62
8/5/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF NEWGEN INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD S 528038 6.37
8/5/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF EDELWEISS ESTATES PRIVATE LIMITED S 538981 6.56
8/5/2008 530077 FRESHTROP FR RAJIV ARORA B 89341 67.65
8/5/2008 530077 FRESHTROP FR RAJIV ARORA S 76298 69.17
8/5/2008 531439 GOLDSTON TEC BULL INVESTMENTS MADRAS PVT LTD B 131000 223.43
8/5/2008 531084 INDOCASTLE M JAGO INDIA ADVISORY PRIVATE LI B 97000 15.85
8/5/2008 531084 INDOCASTLE M SUNITA AGARWAL S 96073 15.85
8/5/2008 500214 ION EXCHANGE ASHISH KACHOLIA B 125000 221.61
8/5/2008 516078 JUMBO BAG LT RINA ASHISHBHAI SHAH B 70000 42.79
8/5/2008 516078 JUMBO BAG LT CHETAN V MEHTA HUF S 63045 44.67
8/5/2008 516078 JUMBO BAG LT SURESH V HEHTA HUF S 47000 43.67
8/5/2008 532283 KASHYAP TEC OM EDUCATION IT PVT LTD B 2396073 2.00
8/5/2008 532283 KASHYAP TEC OM EDUCATION IT PVT LTD S 2583073 2.01
8/5/2008 531602 KOFF BR PICT DEEPAL CORPORATION B 84973 17.39
8/5/2008 500271 MAX INDIA L. HSBC GLOBAL INVESTMENT FUNDS MAU LTD B 2935532 149.00
8/5/2008 500271 MAX INDIA L. CITIGROUP GLOBAL MKT MAURITIUS PVT LTD S 1533852 149.00
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO SHETTY MANISH NARAYANBHAI B 100200 99.87
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO GOPAL TRADERS B 100000 100.00
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO ANAND YOGESH SHARES AND CONSULTANCY PVT LTD B 144500 102.00
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO DIPAK R RATHOD B 177000 99.99
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO SHETTY MANISH NARAYANBHAI S 100200 101.87
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO DIPAK R RATHOD S 177000 102.00
8/5/2008 514300 PIONER EMBRO MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS CO LTD S 649580 100.00
8/5/2008 531219 POONAM PHARM SWARN GANGA TRADING PVT. LTD. B 50000 3.56
8/5/2008 531219 POONAM PHARM ANUSHREE TRADE LINK PVT LTD B 200000 3.45
8/5/2008 523425 SUNRAJ DIA E SUNNY SUNIL GANDHI B 645600 9.25
8/5/2008 523425 SUNRAJ DIA E SUNRAJ INV AND FIN PVT LTD S 645600 9.25
8/5/2008 532966 TITAGARH WAG OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD B 189414 803.73
8/5/2008 532966 TITAGARH WAG OPG SECURITIES PVT LTD S 189414 804.13
8/5/2008 590048 TYCHE PERIPH PRADEEP PASARI B 300000 89.38
8/5/2008 511147 WALL STREE F NATASHA CONSTRUCTION PVT. LTD. S 118100 39.75

Market slips on weak global indices

Weak international market trend weighed on domestic indices. The Sensex dropped 259 points during intra-day trades and nearly slipped below 17,081 on relentless selling pressure. Even as oil prices in the global markets preceded from their recent highs, investors across the globe tracked concerns of inflationary pressures in the US and hence dumped their respective indices. After resuming 126 points lower at 17,213, the Sensex languished in negative in the first half and plunged deep in red in noon trades to touch the day's low of 17,038 on selling in Bankex, IT and FMCG select heavyweights. The Sensex finally ended the session with losses of 259 points at 17,081, while the Nifty tumbled 54 points to close at 5,082.
,br> The market breadth was weak. Of the 2,746 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,593 stocks declined, 1,102 stocks advanced and 51 stocks ended unchanged. Other than BSE Metal index, rest of the sectoral indices lost ground. BSE Bankex index dropped 2.90% at 8,755, BSE IT index shed 2.69% at 4,294 and BSE FMCG index was down 2.60% at 2,445.
,br> Bankex stocks came under sharp hammering. KMFL shed 6.41% at Rs782.40, BoB fell 5.51% at Rs300.05, Axis Bank declined 4.83% at Rs863.35 and Bank of India was down nearly 4.38% at Rs324. Among the other Sensex losers, ITC dipped 5.24% at Rs215.05, Satyam Computer Services slipped 3.72% at Rs471.10, Infosys dropped 3.44% at Rs1,779.80, L&T slumped 3.36% at Rs2,886 and ICICI Bank shed 3% at Rs891.30. Tata Steel, however, rose 2.51% at Rs845.65, Bharti Airtel advanced 1.45% at Rs827.60 and ACC moved up 0.82% at Rs743.25.
,br> IT stocks witnessed selling pressure. Mphasis declined 3.96% at Rs219.65, TCS lost 2.33% at Rs943.70, Tech Mahindra shed 2.11% at Rs932.15 and I-Flex slipped by 2.10%% at Rs1,316.55.
,br> Over 7.71 crore Aishwarya Tele shares changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (1.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.14 crore shares), Kasyap (87.10 lakh shares) and RNRL (83.40 lakh shares).

Banking, IT shares lead 259 points Sensex fall

The market succumbed to selling pressure today as weak global equities and soaring crude oil prices worried investors. All the sectoral indices on BSE, barring the BSE Metal index, were in the red. Software and banking shares were worst hit in today's fall.

European markets, which opened after Indian markets, were trading lower. Key indices in UK, France and Germany were down by 0.36% to 0.52%.

Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were trading mostly in red today, 8 May 2008. Key indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were down by 0.32% to 1.13%. However, China's Shanghai Composite was up 2.17%.

US markets suffered sharp losses on Wednesday, 7 May 2008, on worries about inflation and higher interest rates as oil jumped to a record. Financials stocks took a beating on concerns that new disclosure requirements for investment banks will limit their profits. The Dow Jones industrial average slumped 206.48 points, or 1.59%, to 12,814.35. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 44.82 points, or 1.80%, to 2,438.49. The S&P 500 shed 26 points at 1,393.

Oil prices for June 2008 delivery fell 6 cents to $123.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, 8 May 2008, in Asia after jumping to a record of $123.93 a barrel yesterday, 7 May 2008.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 258.66 points or 1.49% at 17,080.65. The index lost 301.28 points at day's low of 17,038.03, hit in the early afternoon trade. Sensex lost 126.7 points at day's high of 17,212.61 hit in early trade.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty fell 53.8 points or 1.05% at 5081.70. Nifty May 2008 futures were at 5093, a premium of 11.3 points as compared to spot closing.

The market breadth was weak on BSE with 1102 shares advancing as compared to 1593 stocks that declined. 51 stocks remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.67% at 7,153.43 and the BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.44% at 8,689.04. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5904 crore as against Rs 6,622.02 crore on Wednesday, 7 May 2008. The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 28,943.79 crore, which was lower than Rs 33,563.9 crore on Wednesday, 7 May 2008.

India's biggest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 0.79% to Rs 2661.05.

India's biggest cigarette maker by revenue ITC slumped 5.24% to Rs 215.05.

The BSE IT index underperformed the Sensex, falling 2.69% to 4,294.46. Mphasis (down 3.96% at Rs 219.65), Satyam Computer (down 3.72% at Rs 471.10), TCS (up 2.33% at Rs 943.70), HCL Technologies (down 1.82% at Rs 288.05) and Wipro (down 0.40% at Rs 0.40% at Rs 497.15), slipped.

India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 3.44% at Rs 1,779.80.

The BSE Bankex index underperformed the Sensex, falling 2.90% to 8,755.48. Kotak Mahindra bank (down 6.41% at Rs 782.40), Bank of Baroda (down 5.51% at Rs 300.05), Axis Bank (down 4.83% at Rs 863.35), HDFC Bank (down 2.24% at Rs 1,508.40), and State Bank of India (down 2.17% at Rs 1,729.80), tumbled.

India's biggest private sector lender by assets ICICI Bank fell 3% to Rs 891.30.

The BSE Metal index outperformed the Sensex, gaining 0.19% to 15,843.27. Tata Steel (up 2.51% at Rs 845.65), Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren (up 1.89% at Rs 409.60), Bhushan Steel (up 0.93% at Rs 790), Sesa Goa (up 0.89% at Rs 4,028.20), and Hindalco Industries (up 0.17% at Rs 180.05), moved higher.

Among the side counter, Moser Baer (up 8.08% at Rs 191.30), United Phosphorus (up 5.19% at Rs 349.35), Aban Offshore (up 5.03% at Rs 3,811.10), Great Offshore (up 5.03% at Rs 708.65) and IFCI (up 3.57% at Rs 60.85), soared.

Stocks from the side counters that declined were, Sintex Industries (down 6% at Rs 435), Indiabulls Financial Services (down 5.98% at Rs 491), Reliance Industrial Infrastructure (down 5% at Rs 1,465.90), and Lanco Infratech (down 5% at Rs 506.15).

Tata Communications rose 3.07% to Rs 502.50 on reports the government is planning to divest its residual 26.12% stake in the company.

India's third largest listed cellular services provider by sales Idea Cellular rose 2.41% to Rs 106.40. The firm slashed its long-distance call rates and roaming charges.

Mid-day Multimedia, which publishes a tabloid, gained 2.10% to Rs 34. The firm reported net profit of Rs 0.23 crore in the Q4 March 2008 as compared to net loss of Rs 2.88 crore in Q4 March 2007. Sales declined 2.19% to Rs 27.24 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

Aishwarya Telecom clocked the highest turnover of Rs 722.21 crore on BSE. Reliance Power (Rs 250.45 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 171.71 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 160.78 crore) and Cairn India (Rs 155.39 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

Aishwarya Telecom reported the highest volume of 7.71 crore shares on BSE. IFCI (1.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.14 crore shares), Kashyap Technologies (87.10 lakh shares) and Reliance Natural Resources (83.40 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

Market may open higher

The market is likely to open higher today tracking positive global cues. With results already declared from majority of the frontline corporates, the result season has almost come to an end. The near term trend is likely to be dictated by global cues.

Aggregate results of 1446 companies showed 17.50% rise in net profit on 22.10% rise in net sales in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007, so far. There was 28.60% rise in net profit on 23.70% rise in net sales in the year ended March 2008 over year ended March 2007.

Asian markets were trading mixed today, 7 May 2008. Shanghai Composite (up 0.61% at 3,756.15), Japan's Nikkei (up 0.93% at 14,179.49), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 1.07% at 8,952.03), advanced. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 0.24% at 26,199.67), Straits Times (down 0.04% at 3,247.42) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 0.06% at 1,857.87) slipped.

US markets rose to a four month high yesterday, 6 May 2008 as Financial and energy shares sparked the positive moves on the US indices. US largest mortgage financing company Fannie Mae surged after its officials said they were cautiously optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis had passed even after posting a $2.5 billion quarterly loss. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.29 points, or 0.40%, to 13,020.83. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 19.19 points, or 0.78%, to 2,483.31. The S&P 500 advanced 11 points to 1,418.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 117.89 points or 0.67% at 17,373.01 while the broader based S&P CNX Nifty slipped 47.6 points or 0.92% at 5144.65, on 6 May 2008.

As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 815.61 crore yesterday, 6 May 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 295.35 crore on that day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 262.79 crore in the futures & options segment on Tuesday, 6 May 2008. They were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 288.99 crore and bought index options worth Rs 242.96 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 280.88 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 64.11 crore.

US crude was steady at $121.79 a barrel, just off a record high at $122.73 in New York with prices doubling in the past year. Foreign brokerage house Goldman Sachs, which had predicted that oil would hit $100 a barrel now forecasts a potential spike to $200 a barrel.

US Market manages a turnaround

 Indices register good gains even after opening in the red post Fannie Mae's losses

In spite of making a slow start, US Market ended higher today, Tuesday, 06 May, 2008. It was mainly the financial and the energy sector that helped the market end in the green. Crude prices closing a little shy of $122/barrel and good results from the homebuilding sector helped market rally. Nine of the ten economic sectors ended in the green. Telecom was the sole loser.

The Dow was down by almost 85 points earlier in the day. At the end, going into close, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a gain of 51.2 points at 13,020.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 19.19 points at 2,483.31. S&P 500 finished higher by 10.7 points at 1,418.4.

Seventeen out of thirty Dow components ended in the green today. Alcoa was one of the main Dow winners while GM is one of the main Dow laggards.

In the morning, the indices were in the red after Fannie Mae fuelled the selling interest after reporting a larger than expected loss, cutting its dividend by 30% and announcing it is raising $6 billion in capital. The housing market turmoil continued to take its toll on Fannie Mae. Its shares opened more than 7% lower, but quickly rebounded to finish the day with an advance of 9%.

A warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke weighed on sentiment earlier in the session, after he said late Monday that increasing home foreclosures could further harm the economy.

In the post lunch hours, market turned around. There was not clear catalyst for the gains, but financials stocks witnessed the most buying interest. The tech sector was also having the most influential role on the turnaround. Microsoft and Yahoo! were leading the way.

Indian ADRs ended mixed today. Infosys and VSNL were the two top winners gaining 3.5% and 2.8% respectively.

Crude prices rose by almost $2 once again today. Price rose due to supply problems continuing at Nigeria. The weak dollar also pushed up the crude price today. It touched a new high of $122.9/barrel today during the after hours electronic trading. Dollar weakness tends to benefit dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold and crude oil, because it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $121.84/barrel (higher by $1.9/barrel or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the past three sessions, crude prices have gone up by almost $9.3 (8.3%). For the year, crude is up by 25.3% till date.

On the currency markets today, dollar continued to decline pushing crude prices further up. A weak dollar makes oil more attractive as an investment alternative. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 73.007, down from 73.190 in late Monday.

For tomorrow, there are a number of economic reports on the dock. The first quarter productivity report is due tomorrow morning. Higher productivity helps offset inflationary forces, making the report a focal point tomorrow. Also due tomorrow is the March pending home sales index from the National Association of followed by the weekly oil inventory report. Lastly, the consumer credit report for March is due in the afternoon

Pre Session Commentary - May 7 2008

The Indian Market is likely to have a positive opening as the cues from the global markets are in favor. On Tuesday, the Indian market closed in negative territory on the back of heavy selling pressures across the sectoral indices. Tracking the weak cues from the global market, he domestic market opened on the back foot and kept on hovering in the negative territory throughout the trading session. The investors did not showed their active participation in booking their further positions. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 117.89 points at 17,373.01 and NSE Nifty fell by 47.6 points to close at 5,144.65. We expect that the market may volatile bound during the trading session.

On Tuesday, the US market closed in green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed higher by 51.86 points at 13,020.83 along with S&P 500 closed up by 10.77 points at 1,418.26 and NASDAQ grew by 19.19 points to close at 2,483.31.

Indian ADRS closed mixed. In technology sector, Infosys grew by (3.25%) along with Wipro by (2.01%) and Satyam by (1.30%). In banking sector, ICICI bank and HDFC bank fell by (1.93%) and (0.48%) respetively. In telecommunication sector, Tata Comm advanced by (2.85%) while MTNL dropped by (3.21%). Sterlite industries grew by (4.63%).

Today the major stock markets in Asia are trading mixed. Japan's Nikkei is trading higher by 130.23 points at 14,179.49 along with Taiwan Weighted trading up by 94.66 points at 8,952.03 and Shanghai Composite trading at 3,756.15 up by 22.65 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is trading lower by 62.46 points at 26,199.67.

The FIIs on Tuesday stood as net seller in equity while the net buyer in debt. The gross equity purchased was Rs2,704.90 Crore and the gross debt purchased was Rs139.90 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs3,011.50Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs0.00 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was (Rs306.70 Crore) and net debt was Rs139.90 Crore.

Today, Nifty has support at 5,012 and resistance at 5,239 and BSE Sensex has support at 17,134 and resistance at 17,768.

Nifty May futures at premium

 Turnover in F&O segment slips

Nifty May 2008 futures were at 5174.50, at a premium of 29.85 points as compared to spot closing of 5144.65.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 32,856.62 crore, which was lower than Rs 32,972.85 crore on Monday, 5 May 2008.

Reliance Industries (RIL) May 2008 futures were at premium at 2652.25 compared to the spot closing of 2650.

Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) May 2008 futures were at premium at 121 compared to the spot closing of 119.55.

Reliance Petroleum (RPL) May 2008 futures were at premium at 202.45 compared to the spot closing of 200.10.

In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty lost 47.60 points or 0.92% at 5144.65.

US Market ends modestly lower

 Crude prices hitting $120 once again sends a negative vibe in the market

US Market ended today, Monday, 05 May, 2008 with modest losses. Crude prices closing a little shy of $120/barrel and Microsoft's drop of bid for Yahoo were perhaps the main reasons for the negative momentum in the market. Eight of the ten economic sectors retreated with energy and material sector being the sole winners.

The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a loss of 88.6 points at 12,969.4. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 12.8 points at 2,464. S&P 500 finished lower by 6.4 points at 1,407.4.

Twenty-six out of thirty Dow components ended in the red today. General Motors, AIG and Bank of America were the main Dow winners. Alcoa was one of the four Dow winners.

Microsoft decided last Friday to not pursue the takeover of Yahoo after its raised offer of $33 per share (up $2) was once again rejected by Yahoo. Microsoft shares closed lower by 2% today while Yahoo shares dropped by a huge 15%.

The Institute of Supply management (ISM) nonmanufacturing index rose to 52% from 49.6% in March. The increase was unexpected. It topped the consensus estimate of 49.1. Since the number is above 50 it reflects the services sector expanded in April, albeit at a slow pace.

Among some merger related news, shares of Sprint Nextel went up following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Deutsche Telekom is pondering an offer to acquire Sprint.

All Indian ADRs ended in the red today. VSNL and Patni Computers were the main laggards dropping 5% and 4.5% respectively.

Crude prices rose by more than $3 once again today. Price rose due to supply problems once again emerging at Nigeria. The weak dollar also pushed up the crude price today. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $119.97/barrel (higher by $3.65/barrel or 3.1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the past two sessions, crude prices have gone up by almost $7.

Nigeria's rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, attacked a Shell oil flow station in the south of the country last weekend. Shell is a unit of Royal Dutch Shell. In recent months, MEND has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

On the currency markets today, the U.S. dollar weakened even after a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that nonmanufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy expanded during April after three months of contraction. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.4% to 73.19.

On the New York Stock Exchange, more than 3.3 billion shares changed hands, and declining stocks topped those advancing about 9 to 7. On the Nasdaq, nearly 2.1 billion issues were traded, and declining stocks surpassed those on the rise by 5 to 4.

For tomorrow, there are no major economic reports scheduled for release. DR Horton and Fannie Mae are among a few companies scheduled to report prior to tomorrow's open.

Not feeling well!

A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.

After a strong April, the bulls are suddenly finding it tough to feel well and extend the rally this month. The flow of bad news from all fronts has moderated though crude and inflation continue to soar. The market's behaviour over the fast few days has been quite inexplicable. While on Friday, the key indices rallied despite inflation soaring to a 42-month high, this week they have struggled to advance beyond last week's closing levels. In fact, the Nifty on Tuesday slipped below the 200 Day Moving Average (DMA) after surpassing the key technical level only last week. We see the market continuing in a sideways fashion in the near term.

Neither the bulls and nor the bears will be able to hold sway over the market. In short, there will be alternative bouts of buying and selling. While local institutions and even the retail investors have been supportive, it is the FII inflows which are of some concern. Global markets too have been choppy. Commodity prices, especially that of crude oil have jumped quite sharply. So, inflation will remain a bugbear for the bulls for quite a while before it softens. A good monsoon will definitely help the bulls' cause. But that will take some time.

Today, the market may open higher following the overnight gains on Wall Street. But, the trend will turn choppy again as the day wears on.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs8.16bn (provisional) in the cash segment yesterday while the local institutions pumped in Rs2.95bn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net sellers of Rs2.63bn. On Monday, FIIs were net sellers of Rs3.07bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net buyers of Rs1.41bn on the same day.

Shares of Aishwarya Telecom Ltd. will get listed today. The IPO was subscribed 20 times.

Results Today: Batliboi, Blue Star Infotech, MRPL, Mid-Day, Praj Industries, Punjab Tractors, Shree Cement, Swaraj Engines and Union Bank.

Asian markets were largely up this morning, led by raw material producers and car makers after commodity prices advanced and Toyota said it will raise prices of some vehicles in North America.

BHP Billiton and Inpex Holdings, Japan's biggest oil explorer, led gains after crude futures reached a record. Toyota climbed to a two-month high. IHI Corp. rallied after the Nikkei newspaper said Japan's third-largest maker of heavy machinery may report its first profit in three years.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.6% to 153.20 as of 10:22 a.m. in Tokyo, extending a three-day, 2% advance. Commodity producers jumped 1.4%, the biggest increase among the index's 10 industry groups.

The Nikkei in Tokyo climbed 130 points or 0.9% to 14,179, following a two-day holiday. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 89 points or 0.3% at 26,172 while the Kospi in Seoul and the Straits Times in Singapore were at 1858 and 3249, respectively.

The Shanghai Composite in China lost 4 points at 3729 while the Taiex in Taiwan added 97 points or 1.1% to 8954. Australia's S&P/ASX 2oo in Sydney was up 5 points at 5706. Indexes gained elsewhere in Asia, except for New Zealand.

US stocks advanced on Tuesday as growing optimism over the state of the economy and the credit crunch countered record-high oil prices and big losses at financial firms. The rally sent S &P 500 Index to a four-month high.

Fannie Mae shares gained, helping financial stocks erase a 1.9% decline, on a regulatory decision that will enable the biggest mortgage-finance company to buy more home loans. AMD gained the most since January on speculation that the No.2 chipmaker may be split up.

The S &P 500 added 10.77 points, or 0.8%, to 1,418.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51.29 points, or 0.4%, to 13,020.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 19.19 points, or 0.8%, to 2,483.31.

Market breadth was positive. Two stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

After the close, Cisco Systems reported quarterly sales and earnings that topped forecasts, sending shares 2% higher in extended-hours trading.

No market-moving earnings reports are expected on Wednesday. Economic news on the agenda includes the March pending home sales index and the weekly oil inventories report.

US stocks fell in the morning trade as crude oil prices spiked to a record $122.35 a barrel and Fannie Mae and other financial firms reported big quarterly losses. But the market stabilised by midday, as investors looked beyond rising crude prices and opted to snap up technology and financial shares.

Wall Street has rebounded since mid-March, with stocks rising nearly 15% off the lows. Investors are hopeful that any recession will be mild and that the Federal Reserve's monetary actions are starting to work.

Yahoo added 5.5% as investors bet that the Microsoft deal might actually end up going through after all.

Fannie Mae reported a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss due to increasing mortgage defaults and ongoing problems in the credit markets. Fannie Mae also said that it's cutting its dividend and will raise $6bn in capital through a stock sale. Looking forward, the mortgage financier said it expects severe weakness in the housing market in 2008. However, the stock gained nearly 9%.

Before the trading started, Swiss bank UBS reported a steep quarterly loss amid the US subprime fallout, and said it was cutting about 7% of its workforce, or roughly 5,500 jobs. UBS also said it was selling $15bn in subprime and other mortgage-based debt from its portfolio to BlackRock. Shares lost 1.5%.

Target said it is selling almost half of its credit card receivables to JP Morgan Chase for about $3.6bn as a means of raising cash.

In other news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the spike in foreclosures are a result of falling home prices and require a big government and private-sector response.

US light crude oil for June delivery rose $1.87 to settle at $121.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a record settlement price. Earlier, oil hit a new record trading high of $122.73 a barrel.

A Goldman Sachs analyst said that oil prices could reach $150 to $200 within the next six months to two years due to supply shortages.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas slipped to $3.610 from $3.611 the previous day, according to AAA. It was the fifth day in a row of declines after gas prices hit records for 17 straight days.

COMEX gold for June delivery rose $3.60 to $877.70 an ounce. The dollar fell versus the euro and the yen. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.92% from 3.86% late on Monday.

Stocks in Europe lost ground. Financials dropped after UBS, Lloyds TSB and Swiss Re detailed credit-market losses, countering gains in the resource sector on the back of rising commodity prices.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.5% at 326.69, having gained around 12% since the middle of March. The index is still down around 11% for 2008. Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.5% to 7,017.10, while the French CAC-40 slipped 0.4% to 5,040.82. The UK's FTSE 100 finished flat at 6,215.20.

In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil ended flat at 70,195 while the IPC index in Mexico gained 0.85% to 31,223. The RTS index in Russia was up 0.6% to 2153 and the ISE National 30 index in Turkey dived 1.6% to 53,120

Market delicately poised

Indian bourses ended in red for second straight trading session tracking a fall in the Asian markets. The Asian stocks dropped for the first time in three days led by fall in financial companies.

Sentiments further dampened as European markets opened with negative bias after Swiss bank UBS AG announced that it posted a net loss of ~US$10.95bn in the first quarter of this year due largely to write-downs of US$19bn on U.S. real estate and related structured credit positions.

Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended 117 points lower to close at 17,373 and the Nifty index lost 47 points to close at 5,144.

Overall about 975 stocks advanced; 1,711 stocks declined while 67 stocks remained unchanged. Among the 50-Nifty 31 stocks ended in red and 19 stocks ended in green.

SBI was down 1.2% to Rs1756. According to the reports, the company has hiked the interest rates on FCNR (B) deposits in different currencies and on NRE (rupee) term deposit across varying maturities, with effect from May 1, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1783 and a low of Rs1735 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on BSE.

After being in the limelight on Monday, IVRCL Infra slightly lost ground and slipped by 2.8% to Rs454. The company bagged orders worth Rs4.7bn from the irrigation and CAD department of Government of Andhra Pradesh. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs471 and a low of Rs445 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.

Mahindra Lifespace gained by 1% to Rs568 after media reports stated that the company won 25acre residential project in Nagpur. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs587 and a low of Rs558 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.

UCO Bank further gained by 2% to Rs51 following reports that the bank has received government approval for capital restructuring. The essence of restructuring, UCO Bank would be to issue non-cumulative preference shares of Rs3.25bn by June and conversion of Rs3bn of Government equity into preference shares, according to report.

With conversion, the size of equity capital UCO Bank will get reduced to Rs5bn, comprising Rs3bn of Government holdings and Rs2bn of public holdings. Banks are awaiting Cabinet approval for the conversion, report added. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs54 and a low of Rs50 and recorded volumes of over 92,00,000 shares on BSE.

HPCL slipped by 4% to Rs254 as reports stated that 3,500 officers have decided to go on indefinite nation wide strike from today, they were protesting against alleged fiscal mismanagement and arbitrary to its joint venutre with LN Mittal.

Strike will affect the functioning of petrol pumps, aviation refuelling and refinery operations at Mumbai and Vizag. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs264 and a low of Rs252 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.

Pritish Nandy was frozen at 10% upper circuit to Rs59.40 after the company announced that they signed a three film deal with US-based Sony Pictures. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs59.40 and a low of Rs56 and recorded volumes of over 28,000 shares on BSE.

HCL Infosystems advanced by 1% to Rs201 after the company announced the acquisition of Natural Technologies Pvt Ltd (NTPL), a niche banking software product company.

With three decades of experience providing ICT and infrastructure solutions to the BFSI sector, the acquisition of niche products from NTPL will further consolidate HCL's leadership position in this sector. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs203 and a low of Rs200 and recorded volumes of over 5,000 shares on BSE.

Opto Circuits was down by 2.3% to Rs352. The wholly owned subsidiary of Opto Circuits Mediaid Inc. received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for key vital sign monitoring products. The Model 900 and Model 960 Vital Sign Monitors are the first Opto bed-side monitors to receive the crucial approval for marketing in the United States. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs365 and a low of Rs346 and recorded volumes of over 14,000 shares on BSE.

Unity Infra edged higher by 0.5% to Rs603 after the company announced that it secured two orders worth Rs2.23bn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs630 and a low of Rs580 and recorded volumes of over 43,000 shares on BSE.

L&T ended lower by 2.3% to Rs3061. The company on Tuesday secured orders worth Rs3.4bn from Power Grid for construction of transmission lines in Maharashtra. The company also plans to look for orders for constructing passenger cruise ships at its proposed facility at Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu, reports stated. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs3154 and a low of Rs3051 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on BSE.

Corporate News

Reliance ADAG group plans to set up Rs100bn cement plant in MP. (Mint)

Vodafone to launch iPhone in India by September. (BS)

Reliance Industries shuts down all of its 1,432 petrol pumps. (Mint)

Ansal Properties terminates MoU with UAE-based Deeyar Development PSC. (Mint)

L&T and Grasim are set to settle their long standing dispute over cross holdings out of court. (BS)

Bharti Airtel may rope in SingTel for MTN buy. (BS)

Tata Steel targets Brazil iron ore assets of London Mining. (BS)

Nalco plans Rs140bn Greenfield aluminium smelter and captive power plant in Orissa. (BS)

Suzlon arm fined US$19,000 by US body for allegedly violating air pollution control norms. (BS)

Financial fraud may be the reason for departure of senior executives including CEOs at Fortis Healthworld. (Mint)

Big Bazaar reduces food prices by 20%. (BS)

Blackstone group mulls taking Gokaldas Exports private. (BS)

Tata Power plans entry in shipping business; lines up US$500mn investment. (BS)

Haldia Petro buys L&T's 51% stake in power JV. (BS)

Sobha Developers to invest Rs2bn in Bangalore. (BS)

High Court orders status quo on RIL and RNRL dispute. (BL)

IOC is eyeing additional oil assets overseas jointly with Oil India. (BL)

BASF is setting up engineering plastic plant in Thane. (BL)

IOB mulls property sale to shore up Tier-I capital. (BL)

Reliance Infrastructure buys back shares worth Rs3,430mn. (BL)

Union Bank of India plans to issue shares on right basis (FE)

Pritish Nandy Communication signs three films with Sony Pictures. (FE)

HDFC MF picks up 5% stake in Carborundum Universal. (FE)
BEST says that REL's power distribution license in Mumbai to be suspended. (FE)

Power Grid looking for consultancy business in Nigeria and Dubai; plans capex of Rs80.4bn in current fiscal year. (FE)

Infosys and SAP enter in to global service partner agreement. (ET)

Gati launches air-freight services in association with Air India. (ET)

Vodafone, RCom likely to stay out of MTN race. (ET)

Monnet Ispat's overseas subsidiary, Monnet Global, set to acquire mining rights for 250mn ton coal reserves in Indonesia from PT Anzarara. (ET)

Heidelberg to restructure Mysore Cement operations. (ET)

The high court sends notice to GVK-L&T consortium over Uttarkhand power project. (ET)

Geojit Finance to hive off commodity broking biz. (ET)

Economic News

RBI to lend US$5bn for infrastructure projects. (Mint)
Mumbai Metro may be the first private project to get JNNURM grant. (BS)

Cement firms assure price cuts if government grants excise duty abatement. (BS)

Centre urges states to cut jet fuel tax to 12.5%. (BS)

Nelp VII deadline extended to June 30, 2008. (BS)

National Highway builders to be affected by rising input costs. (BL)

State run petroleum marketing firm losses widens to Rs4.50bn per day on selling fuel below cost. (ET)

ECBs and FCCBs rose to about US$4.5bn in March 2008 as against to US$862.12mn in February. (FE)

State government agrees to reduce central sales tax from 3% to 2%. (FE)

State government not to increase the VAT rate on the intermediate good from 4% to 5%. (FE)

Stamp duty on debentures may go down to 0.0625% from the current 0.375%. (FE)

Duty on promissory notes likely to reach 0.0083%. (FE)

Finance Minister rules out further cut in custom duty on newsprint. (ET)

Government not considering any proposals to sell its stake in PSU banks. (ET)

Food crisis looming

The head of the Asian Development Bank on Monday called for an "immediate response" to soaring food prices which he said placed more than a billion Asians at risk of malnutrition.

ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda also warned that the food problem could cut into decades of economic gains in the Asia-Pacific region.

"These are troubling times for the world economy. On the heels of turmoil in the financial markets and economic slowdown in the US and elsewhere, soaring food prices are hitting the poor very hard," he said.

"This price surge has a stark human dimension and has greatly affected over a billion people in Asia and the Pacific alone. Their purchasing power has been eroded, placing them at a greater risk of hunger and malnutrition."

He said stocks of food grains were at the lowest levels for decades.

Reduced supplies and increased demand, along with the sharp depreciation of the US dollar and trade restrictions by some countries have combined to cause the price spike in recent months, Kuroda said.

"The focus must now be on the soaring prices and our immediate response," he said.

He called for "prudent macroeconomic management" along with targeted income support to protect food entitlements and livelihoods of the most vulnerable.

"The absence of such measures could seriously undermine the global fight against poverty and erode the gains of the past decades," he said.

"The ADB is prepared to respond with immediate financial assistance to relieve fiscal pressure on affected countries," Kuroda said.

Indian Telcos go global

Saturated urban markets, declining average revenue per user, tighter acquisition laws and the desire to achieve global scales is driving Indian telecom operators to foray into other emerging countries.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Tata Communications and State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd have already launched services in some of these new markets and are hungry for more.

"This is not a surprise development because as the Indian urban market gets saturated, these companies are looking at other emerging markets to sustain the growth. Africa, for instance, is one of the growing markets outside India. The other reason would be to get global scales, just like foreign multinational companies that are entering India. Indian telcos are also eyeing the advantages related to global scales," said Ms Arpita Pal Agrawal, Associate Director, InfoComm Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
High Revenue

While ARPU in India is just around the $5 level, this is much higher at around $11 in other emerging markets. By foraying into such territories, Indian companies are hoping to cash in on higher margins.

Analysts also point out that Indian mobile market has already reached the 300 million mark and another 200 million subscribers are expected, mostly from rural areas. This is enough to sustain the current growth rate for only about 3-4 years more after which operators may come under pressure.
M&A norms

The recent mergers and acquisition norms have also made it impossible for existing telecom companies like Bharti and Reliance Communication to grow organically. A deal with South Africa's MTN will give Bharti access to nearly 60 million subscribers across 21 countries.

For a company like MTNL, foreign markets offer an opportunity to go beyond Delhi and Mumbai. "MTNL has the licence to offer services in Delhi and Mumbai, which is already becoming a saturated market with more than 25 million subscribers and seven different operators. We need to look elsewhere to increase our revenues," says an MTNL executive. MTNL's profits have been dipping over the past few years and the company is, therefore, betting big on the foreign telecom forays.

For Tata Communications (formerly VSNL) too, expanding its presence to global markets has been part of a well thought-out strategy to reduce its dependence on domestic market where its share has been dwindling over the past few years due to competition. The company plans to invest $2 billion for global expansion over the next few years.
Operation costs

But Indian companies also have to deal with challenges related to higher cost of operations, different regulatory environments and competition from large global European and American majors who are also eyeing these emerging markets.

However, analysts don't see too much resistance. "Indian operators are aware of these issues better and they will make a bid or acquire a licence only if it makes any business case. In the past too, some of the Indian operators have bid for licences but they have not quoted huge sums even if that meant losing out," says Ms Agrawal.

One advantage that Indian operators have is that they have learnt the trick to make profits even as they offer the lowest tariffs in the world. Bharti's talks with South African major MTN, if successful, will take this strategy to a new level. Other companies are eyeing countries such as Kenya, Egypt, CIS and the Gulf region to expand their footprint.

via BL

Todays Pick - HCC

From a short-term perspective we recommend a buy in Hindustan Construction Company. It is evident from the charts that the stock had been on a medium-term sideways consolidation in the range of Rs 111 and Rs 140 (from mid March 2008 to early May 2008).

However, on May 5, the stock made an upward breakout of the sideways consolidation and also crossed over the 50-day moving average by jumping up almost 6 per cent. We note that the volume has been increasing for the past five trading sessions.

The daily momentum indicator is testing 60 level and it is on the verge of entering the bullish zone. The daily moving average convergence and divergence is likely to enter the positive territory.

Considering the stock's recent breakout, we are bullish on the stock for the short-term. We expect the stock to move up to our price target of Rs 163 in the forthcoming sessions.

Investor with short-term perspective can buy it while keeping the stop-loss at Rs 135 level.

via BL

Bullion metals continue to glitter

 Another all time high crude price pulls up precious metals further

A new all time high crude price once again pulled up bullion metals today, Tuesday, 06 May, 2008. With today, bullion metals went up for three straight days. On the other hand, dollar continued to weaken. Silver prices also rose for the day.

Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.

Comex Gold for June delivery rose $3.6 (0.4%) to close at $877.7 ounce on the New York Mercantile ExchangeLast week, gold prices lost $32 (3.6%) against previous week's close. On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce.

This year, gold prices have gained 5% for the till date against a 9.3% drop for the dollar against the euro. For April, prices closed lower by 6.3%. For first quarter prices gained 10.7%. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006. For February, it gained 6%. But in March, prices succumbed and fell by 5.5%.

Comex Silver futures for July delivery rose 3 cents (0.02%) to $16.86 an ounce. Silver has gained 13% in 2008 till date. For April, it closed lower by 5.5%. Silver gained 16% in Q1. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%. In February, it gained another 15%. For March, it ended lower by 13%. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years.

On the currency markets today, dollar continued to decline pushing crude prices further up. A weak dollar makes oil more attractive as an investment alternative. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 73.007, down from 73.190 in late Monday.

In the energy market today, crude prices ended near about $121.8/barrel due to supply disruptions at Nigeria. Prices closed higher by $1.9 (1.6%).

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, a lower dollar pushes up precious metal prices as their demand lessens as it becomes cheaper for traders holding other currencies.

At the MCX, gold prices for June delivery closed higher by Rs 136 (1.2%) at Rs 11,600 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 11,649 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 11,462 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for May delivery closed Rs 172 (0.8%) higher at Rs 22,592/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 22,478/kg and went to a high of Rs 22,792/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude rises for third straight day

 Prices add more than $9 in the last three sessions

Crude prices rose by almost $2 once again on Tuesday, 06 May, 2008. Price rose due to supply problems continuing at Nigeria. The weak dollar also pushed up the crude price today. It touched a new high of $122.9/barrel today during the after hours electronic trading. Dollar weakness tends to benefit dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold and crude oil, because it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $121.84/barrel (higher by $1.9/barrel or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the past three sessions, crude prices have gone up by almost $9.3 (8.3%). For the year, crude is up by 25.3% till date.

On the currency markets today, dollar continued to decline pushing crude prices further up. A weak dollar makes oil more attractive as an investment alternative. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 73.007, down from 73.190 in late Monday.

Nigeria's rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, attacked a Shell oil flow station in the south of the country last weekend. Shell is a unit of Royal Dutch Shell. In recent months, MEND has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

June natural gas fell 3 cents to $11.15 per million British thermal units.

Against this backdrop, June reformulated gasoline was up 5 cents at $3.11 a gallon and June heating oil fell rose 4 cents to $3.35 a gallon.

EIA reported today that global oil consumption will likely grow by 1.2 million barrels per day this year, but the consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum is expected to decline by around 190,000 barrels per day because of the economic slowdown and high petroleum prices. The EIA also expects regular gasoline prices to average $3.52 per gallon this year, up 71 cents from a year ago.

Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude's biggest yearly gain in five years.

At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 4,999/barrel, higher by Rs 120 (2.5%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for July delivery closed at Rs 464.5/mmbtu, higher by Rs 6.6/mmbtu (1.5%).

Post Market Commentary - May 6 2008

The Indian market closed in negative territory on the back of heavy selling pressures across the sectoral indices. Tracking the weak cues from the global market, he domestic market opened on the back foot and kept on hovering in the negative territory throughout the trading session. He investors did not showed their active participation in booking their further positions. The market breadth was weak as 1722 stocks closed in red while 965 stocks closed in green.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 117.89 points at 17,373.01 and NSE Nifty fell by 47.6 points to close at 5,144.65. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Cap closed lower by 68.95 points and 96.11 points at 7,230.31 and 8,749.24 respectively.

Losers from the BSE are Unitech (7.21%) along with Reliance Capital (6.85%), Glenmark Pharma (6.53%), HDIL (6.15%), Godrej inds (5.66%), Omaxe (5.48%) and Bharti Airtel (5.29%).

The Realty index declined by 404.36 points to close at 8,337.03. Major losers are Unitech (7.21%), Omaxe (5.48%), DLF (5.26%), Ansal Infra (4.58%), Penland (4.22%), Parsvnath (3.79%), Sobha Dev (3.22%) and Purvankara (1.48%).

The Capital Goods index dropped by 255.48 points to close at 13,954.55. Losers are Elecon Eng (4.60%), Praj inds (4.52%), Havell's India (3.53%), Punj Lloyd (2.83%), AIA Engineer (2.41%), Lakshmi Machines (2.40%) and L&T (2.30%).

The Bankex index fell by 41.91 points to close at 9,088.70 as BOI (2.47%), Yes bank (2.46%), Karnataka bank (2.31%), Andhra bank (2.07%), Allahabad bank (2.04%), Fedetal bank (1.71%), SBI (1.29%) and Canara bank (1.14%).

The Metal index closed with marginal gains of 28.81 points at 15,915.81 as Sterlite inds (5.01%), Maharash Sea (4.57%), Hind Zinc (2.3%), Tata Steel (1.73%) and Nalco (1.64%) closed in green.

The Oil & Gas index closed lower by 54.67 points at 11,644.51 as HPCL (3.95%), IOCL (1.97%), BPCL (1.68%), Essar Oil (1.55%), RNRL (1.52%), Gail India (1.14%) and Reliance Inds (0.42%).

From the IT space, NIIT Ltd (4.80%), Tech Mahindra (2.49%), Satyam (1.96%), Infosys (1.84%), Wipro (1.70%), TCS (1.44%) and Mphasis (0.59%).

Todays Pick - Union Bank of India

We recommend a buy in Union Bank of India from a short-term perspective. From the charts of Union Bank of India, we see that the stock was on a medium-term down trend from Rs 230 to Rs 130 (between early January and mid March 2008).

However, the stock is in a steady up-move since this trough. During this up move, the stock penetrated the 21 and 50-day moving averages and it has been forming higher peaks and higher bottoms. The daily momentum indicator is on the verge of entering the bullish region. Besides the daily moving average convergence and divergence has entered the positive zone indicating bullishness.

Our short-term outlook for the stock is bullish. We anticipate the stock's medium-term uptrend to continue to our price target of Rs 191 in the upcoming sessions. Investor with short-term perspective can buy the stock, while keeping the stop-loss at Rs 159 level.

Bulls run out of gas.

The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun.

The bulls have been basking in the sunshine in recent times but as we have been reminding you, the concerns still remain. While inflation remains high, US oil futures crossed the $120 per barrel in New York for the first time on Monday amid supply concerns in Nigeria.

After a higher opening yesterday, the key indices lost ground in the afternoon to end marginally lower. The sell-off was restricted to the large caps. The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices bucked the negative trend, rising by 0.3% and 0.85%, respectively. The breadth was positive mainly due to strength outside the Sensex and the Nifty. Volume of shares traded was also up from Friday, though the turnover was down.

The recent rally saw the Nifty bounce back above the 200 day moving average (DMA). Whether the Nifty stays above the 200 DMA level remains to be seen in the face of weak global cues.

We expect the market to open in the red owing to some softening across the globe. Thereafter things will be rangebound and sideways due to lack of triggers. Investors may cash out at every as there are still several concerns, like the health of the US economy, high commodity prices, rising local inflation, and moderation in economic growth as well as earnings expansion. One should adopt a stock centric approach and refrain from aggressive purchases.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs2.37bn (provisional) in the cash segment yesterday while the local institutions pumped in Rs4.57bn. In the F&O segment, they were net buyers of Rs897mn. On Friday, foreign funds were net buyers of Rs7.2bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs762mn on the same day.

Asahi India, DCB, Eveready Industries and Torrent Pharma will declare their results today.

Asian stocks declined for the first time in three days, led by financial companies, after Kookmin Bank and St. George Bank reported lower profit amid turmoil in credit markets. Kookmin and Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's two largest banks, retreated after reporting lower net income.

St. George Bank, Australia's fifth-largest, dropped after posting its first profit decline in six years on higher bad debts. BHP Billiton advanced after crude oil prices surpassed a record $120 a barrel and copper futures gained.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index lost 0.1% to 498.38 as of 9:29 a.m. in Hong Kong, halting a two-day, 2% rally. Financial shares fell 0.8%, the biggest decline among the regional benchmark's 10 industry groups.

Japan's markets are closed for a holiday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.7%. Benchmarks also retreated in China, New Zealand and Singapore.

US stocks slumped as oil prices touched a record $120 a barrel, Microsoft abandoned its Yahoo bid and analysts speculated that Bank of America could renegotiate or drop its proposed deal to buy Countrywide Financial.

Macy's led chain stores to their biggest decline in five weeks after crude jumped above $120 a barrel. Yahoo slid 15% as analysts advised selling the shares. Lower-than-forecast earnings at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sent 22 of 24 insurance companies in the S &P 500 Index lower.

The S&P 500 dropped for the first time in three days, losing 6.41 points, or 0.5%, to 1,407.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 88.66 points, or 0.7%, to 12,969.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 12.87 points, or 0.5%, to 2,464.12.

Market breadth was negative. Four stocks retreated for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

After a strong April and start to May, Wall Street was hit with the possible dissolution of several big proposed mergers, raising worries about the health of Corporate America amid the economic slowdown.

Microsoft said on Saturday that it was abandoning its sweetened deal for Yahoo and would not pursue a hostile takeover. The talks fell apart over the weekend after Yahoo rejected Microsoft's higher offer.

Wall Street also worried about the outlook for Bank of America's proposed $4 billion bid for Countrywide Financial after two brokerage firms hinted that the deal could either fall through or may get done at a lower price. BofA shares fell 2% and Countrywide shares lost over 10%.

Investors also reacted to record oil prices above $120 a barrel and a retreat in the dollar after the greenback had showed some strength last week.

Stocks briefly rose following the morning release of the April ISM services sector index, which rose to 52 from 49.6 versus forecasts for a drop to 49.1. A reading over 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

US light crude oil for June delivery jumped $3.65 to set a settlement record of $119.97 per barrel in New York. Oil - which was up on renewed supply concerns - touched an intraday record of $120.30 a barrel earlier, the first time it has surpassed the $120 mark.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas slipped to $3.611 from the previous day's price of $3.614, according to AAA. Last week, gas prices hit a record of $3.623, after hitting all-time highs for 17 straight days.

COMEX gold for June delivery rose $16.10 to $874.10 an ounce. The dollar fell versus the euro after rising against it over the past week. The greenback also slipped versus the yen. Treasury prices dipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.86% from 3.85% late on Friday.

Markets may consolidate

Firm global cues coupled with buying momentum in the early trades lifted the markets to start off on a positive note. However, after trading in green for major part of the day, Sensex pared most of its gains in the last hour of the trading session led by selling pressure in the Auto, IT and the Telecom stocks.

On the other hand, bucking the negative trend were the Small-Cap, Mid-Cap and select Realty stocks. Both the Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap indices added half a percent each. Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended 109 points lower to close at 17,490 and the Nifty index lost 35 points to close at 5,192.

Overall about 1,634 stocks advanced; 1,104 stocks declined while 38 stocks remained unchanged. Among the 50-Nifty 39 stocks ended in red and 11 stocks ended in green.

Among the BSE Sectoral indices, BSE Consumer Durable index (down 2.2%), BSE IT index (down 1%) and BSE Teck index (down 1%). The BSE Mid-Cap index was the leading gainer (up 0.85%), others like BSE Realty and Pharma indices added nearly half a percent each.

UCO Bank rallied by over 13% to Rs50 after the company announced that its Q4 net profit at Rs859.9mn (up 178%) and Q4 Int. Income at Rs17.8bn (up 22.7%). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs51 and a low of Rs44 and recorded volumes of over 65,00,000 shares on BSE.

JSW Steel slipped by 2% to Rs898. The company announced its Q4 net profit at Rs4.61bn (up 11.6%) and net sales at Rs41.9bn (up 67.66%). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs931 and a low of Rs883 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.

Century Textile was down by over 3.5% to Rs842. The company announced its FY08 net profit at Rs2.79bn (up 2.1%) and FY08 revenue at Rs35.1bn (up 9.3%). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs879 and a low of Rs826 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on BSE.

L&T edged lower by 0.2% to Rs3133. The company announced that it secured Rs3.44bn transmission line orders from Power Grid. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs3262 and a low of Rs3112 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on BSE.

Bharti Airtel ended at Rs893 losing half a percent. India's largest mobile-phone operator may bid for South Africa-based MTN Group Ltd, reports said. There were also reports stating that Bharti Airtel formed a joint venture with IFFCO to offer customized mobile services to farmers. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs909 and a low of Rs896 and recorded volumes of over 5,00,000 shares on BSE.

TTML advanced by 5% to Rs37 after reports stated that the company plans to invest around Rs1.65bn in Gujarat on expansion. The company plans major expansion in the rural areas of the state.

To improve the network, the company will also be using the investment to set up more number of base stations in Gujarat. Currently it has 700 base stations in Gujarat and by the end of the financial year, the company intends to take the number to 1,000-odd," report added. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs38 and a low of Rs35 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,00,000 shares on BSE.

IVRCL Infrastructure advanced by over 4% to Rs467 after the company announced that it secured order worth Rs4.69bn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs493 and a low of Rs448 and recorded volumes of over 5,00,000 shares on BSE.

A leading infrastructure project development company C&C Constructions gained by over 2% to Rs224 as the company was awarded Rs3.44bn project for the rehabilitation and construction of the Gardez Khost Road in Afghanistan. This will be the company's single largest order received in Afghanistan. The Company had previously bagged an EPC contract worth Rs5.74bn from JP Associates for the construction of a road from Zirakpur to Parwanoo in north India. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs234 and a low of Rs209 and recorded volumes of over 55,000 shares on BSE.

Ram Informatics was frozen at 20% upper circuit to Rs17.90 after the company announced that it received an order from Chief Electoral Officer, Government of Andhra Pradesh for Election Photo Identity Cards for the district of Srikakulam. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs17.90 and a low of Rs16 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.

ACC edged higher by 0.5% to Rs757. The company announced its April cement sales at 1.73mn tons (down 0.57%). However, its April cement output rose 1.1% to 1.79mn ton. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs769 and a low of Rs749 and recorded volumes of over 91,000 shares on BSE.

Corporate News

Bharti Airtel is in talks to acquire South Africa's MTN. (ET)
State Bank of India has hiked the interest rates on FCNR (B) deposits in different currencies and on NRE (rupee) term deposit across varying maturities, with effect from May 1, 2008. (BL)
The Supreme Court has directed Reliance Industries to pay Rs500mn within two weeks to BPCL for the price difference in naphtha supplied by BPCL to RIL plant in Raigad. (DNA)
Nineteen companies, including Welspun India, Bombay Dyeing and Alok Industries, have expressed interest to form joint ventures to run government-owned National Textiles Corporation's (NTC) 12 mills. (BS)
Patel Engineering has bagged the US$280mn Taum Sauck Upper Reservoir Dam reconstruction project in USA. (ET)
Leela Hotels has acquired seven acres of land near the Taj Mahal for building a five star deluxe hotel with 300 rooms. (ET)
M&M to set up a tractor plant in Tamil Nadu to make 50,000 tractors a year. (Mint)
L&T plans to look for orders for constructing passenger cruise ships at its proposed facility at Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu. (Mint)
Sesa Goa has stepped up efforts to expand and add iron ore prospecting and mining leases as also increase third party mining opportunities. (BL)
To overcome the rise in raw material cost, JSW Steel has been scouting for more mine ores even as many of them will go on stream by end of 2009. (BL)
VF Corp looking to buy out 40% stake held by Arvind Mills in Indian JV VF-Arvind brands. (ET)
Ranbaxy is set to fight a prolonged battle with the Government and NPPA for fixing price of one of its key antibiotic brands. (ET)
Perlecan Pharma, the integrated drug development company set up by Dr. Reddy's has dropped second more new drug plan. (DNA)
Punj Lloyd is looking to divest its stake in its telecom and broadband business, Spectranet. (Mint)
ADAG is planning to apply for modernization project of Prague airport, for which bids are shortly to be invited. (BS)
Sterling Urban Developments, a joint venture floated by HDFC Property Fund and Bangalore-based Sterling Developers will take up development of 150 acres in Whitefield at a cost of Rs40bn. (BS)
Union Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank have increased interest rates on short-term deposits to raise resources and manage asset-liability mismatch. (BS)
Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering conglomerate, is looking to set up a manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh to manufacture steam turbines and generators needed for the power sector. (BL)
Coal India is looking to partner with private sector companies such as Reliance Power to acquire coal blocks overseas. (Mint)
UCO Bank has received Government approval for capital restructuring. (BL)
Kesoram Industries has lined up Rs8.4bn expansion programme at its Uttarakhand tyre complex. (BS)
UTV Software Communications will invest Rs8bn in its businesses in FY09. (DNA)
American formal wear giant Hartmarx is inking a deal with Arvind Mills for tapping India's premium-to-luxury segment. (ET)
Finolex Industries plans to sell off its SEZ land in Pune for Rs4bn. (DNA)
Secondary steel makers including Bhushan Steel and Uttam Galva, have decided to cut the prices of cold-rolled coils and galvanized sheets by ~Rs500/ton. (ET)
HPCL officers to go on indefinite nationwide strike starting May 6, 2008. (ET)
Reliance Infra, an ADAG company, is set to begin work on the country's first greenfield central business district. (BL)
HCL Infosystems has acquired Jaipur-based niche banking software product firm, Natural Technologies for Rs83.9mn. (ET)
NDTV Imagine is entering movie production business and its first project is likely to go on floor in two to three months. (BL)
BNP Paribas and Geojit Financial Services have worked out a plan to overcome the regulatory hurdle that has come in the way of the French banking group picking up the majority stake in the Kerala-based broking firm. (BL)
Murugappa group intends to spend Rs13bn on capacity expansions in 2008-09. (BL)
The Hinduja's are planning investments of ~US$50bn in the next five years in India and abroad. (DNA)
Nirmal Lifestyle is in talks with PE funds to raise US$800mn. (ET)
Aircel plans to raise US$1.6bn debt and to come out with an IPO in a year. (ET)
Genpact, a pioneer in the actuarial process outsourcing (APO) business, which has been largely dependent on the US and UK has tapped five insurance clients in Australia. (FE)
Maxis Communications, Malaysia plans to invest US$4-5bn by 2009-10 to expand its network in India. (DNA)
Generic Electric is planning to manufacture windmills and gas turbines in India. (ET)
Bangalore-based Manipal Health Systems has plans to build a 200-bed to 250-bed hospital in Mysore. (BS)
Shell is closing down temporarily 15 of its retail outlets in south India from May 7, 2008. (BS)
Nissan Motor will soon launch its premium SUV Murano in India. (ET)

Bullions glitter on crude rise

 All time high crude price pulls up precious metals

A new all time high crude price pulled up bullion metals today, Monday, 05 May, 2008. With today, bullion metals went up for two straight days. On the other hand, dollar also weakened despite a strong non-manufacturing Institute if Supply Management's report. Silver prices also rose for the day.

Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.

Comex Gold for June delivery rose $16.1 (1.9%) to close at $874.1 ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intra day trading, prices touched a high of $874.8. Last week, gold prices lost $32 (3.6%) against previous week's close. On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce.

This year, gold prices have gained 4.5% for the till date against a 9% drop for the dollar against the euro. For April, prices closed lower by 6.3%. For first quarter prices gained 10.7%. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006. For February, it gained 6%. But in March, prices succumbed and fell by 5.5%.

Comex Silver futures for July delivery rose 36 cents (2%) to $16.83 an ounce. Silver has gained 13% in 2008 till date. For April, it closed lower by 5.5%. Silver gained 16% in Q1. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%. In February, it gained another 15%. For March, it ended lower by 13%. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years.

On the currency markets today, the U.S. dollar weakened even after a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that nonmanufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy expanded during April after three months of contraction. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.4% to 73.19.

The ISM nonmanufacturing index rose to 52.0% from 49.6% in March. The increase was unexpected.

In the energy market today, crude prices ended near about $120/barrel due to supply disruptions at Nigeria.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, a lower dollar pushes up precious metal prices as their demand lessens as it becomes cheaper for traders holding other currencies.

At the MCX, gold prices for June delivery closed higher by Rs 157 (1.4%) at Rs 11,464 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 11,473 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 11,320 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for May delivery closed Rs 303 (1.4%) higher at Rs 22,2029/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 22,210/kg and went to a high of Rs 22,501/Kg during the day's trading.