Monday, August 31, 2009

Market Outlook for 31st Aug 2009

 
INTRADAY calls for 31st Aug 2009
BE CAUTIOUS ON MARKET. HIGH VOLATILITY WITH PROFIT EXPECTED IN INTRA. SO, DON'T WAIT FOR YOUR TARGET ON BOTH BUY AND SELL, THEN AND THERE PROFIT BOOKING IS ADVISABLE, MOSTLY MARKET MAY TRY CLOSE FLAT/+VE, MAY BE RANGEBOUND FOR 40-50 POINTS ON BOTH SIDE
SHORT PNB-678 for 660-655- with sl 685
SHORT SBI-1781 for 1755-1749- with sl 1800
SHORT Dhampsug-91 for 87-85- with sl 93
SHORT APIL-519 for 502-500- with sl 525
BUY PRAJInd-101 arround 97-95 for 104-106+ with sl 93
BUY IFCI-55 arround 53-52 for 55-57-59+ with sl 49
 
MSCI to add Unitech, Mahindra Satyam to global standard indices from today

 Allied Digital board approves:
-QIP issue up to $50 m
-Stock split from Rs 10 to Rs 5
-Issue of 1 lakh shares on preferential basis to Bennett, Coleman & Co

stocks that are in news today:
Govt may divest 10% in SAIL through FPO (follow-on issue)
ONGC says in talks with Rajasthan govt for economic viability of setting up refinery
Maharashtra govt halts all development projects including Mantralaya project awarded to Indiabulls till elections
Govt looking to divest another 10% in NTPC – BS
Sterlite-Asarco final hearing today – BS
TCS says see revenue of $30-100 million in 3-5 years from BP deal
IRB Infrastructure selected for Talegaon Amravati road project worth Rs 800 crore
Sun Pharma files new application to restart HSR (Hart-Scott-Rodino) waiting period for Taro tender offer
Dish TV to raise Rs 1000 crore via FCCBs – BS
Delivery of crude to MRPL slated for October – BL
 
 Strong & Weak  futures 
This is list of 10 strong futures:
Aban Off shore, Ansal Infra, India Bulls Retail, Bhushan Steel, DCHL, Cesc Ltd, Orchid Chem, HCL Tech,Tata Motors & HDIL. 
And this is list of 10 Weak futures:
Sesa Goa Ltd, Federal Bank, Hind Petrol, Colpal, Bajaj Hind, Hind Uni Lvr, Power Grid, Dabur India, Ambuja Cement & Balrampur Chini.
 Nifty is in Up trend
 
 
NIFTY FUTURES (F & O): 
Below 4716 level, expect profit booking up to 4673-4675 zone and thereafter slide may continue up to 4631-4633 zone by non-stop.
Hurdle at 4748 level. Above this level, rally may continue up to 4750-4752 zone and thereafter
expect a jump up to 4764 level by non-stop.

Multiple resistance zones at 4791-4793 zone & 4805-4807 zone. Cross above these zones can take it up to 4847-4849 zone. Supply expected at around this zone and have caution.

On Negative Side, rebound expected at around 4617-4619 zone. Stop Loss at 4576-4578 zone.
 
Short-Term Investors:
 
Bearish Trend. 3 closes below 4623.80 level, it can tumble up to 4092.20 level by non-stop.
SL triggered. 3 closes above 4623.80 level, expect short covering up to 4889.60 level by non-stop.
 
BSE SENSEX:
Lower opening expected. Profit Booking should start. 

Short-Term Investors: 
Short-Term trend is Bearish and target at around 14235 level on down side.
Maintain a Stop Loss at 15973 level for your short positions too.
3 closes above 15973 level, expect short covering up to 16842 level by non-stop.
 
 
INVESTMENT BUY:
Buy ABG SHIPYARD (NSE Cash) 
Uptrend may continue.
Mild sell-off up to 217 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 226 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 232 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 211 level for your long positions too.
 
Buy OMAXE (NSE Cash) 
Uptrend may continue.

Mild sell-off up to 122 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 130 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 135 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 117 level for your long positions too.
 
Global Cues & Rupee 
 he Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,544.20. Down by 36.43 points.
The Broader S&P 500 closed at 1,028.93. Down by 2.05 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 2,028.77. Up by 1.04 points.
The partially convertible rupee INR=IN closed at 48.65/66 per dollar on Friday, stronger than Thursday's close of 48.91/92. 
 
FII trading activity on NSE and BSE in Capital Market Segment(In Rs. Crores)
Category Date Buy Value Sell Value Net Value
FII 28-Aug-2009 2128.65 1574.34 554.31
DII trading activity on NSE and BSE in Capital Market Segment(In Rs. Crores)
Category Date Buy Value Sell Value Net Value
DII 28-Aug-2009 1340.7 1335.24 5.46
 

 Interesting findings on web:
  The major indexes gave up early gains Friday to finish flat for the session and post a modest advance for the week.
With end-of-summer vacations in full swing, U.S. stocks markets face a sluggish week capped by a potential burst of activity when the government releases its August jobs report.
The Dow drops 36 points to 9,544, breaking an eight-day winning streak.
Trading was quiet, as it has been all week, as summer vacations kept many traders out of the market. With fewer participants, the market lost some of its recent momentum that had sent the major indexes up about 5 percent in less than two weeks.
Stocks managed to carve out their sixth weekly advance in seven weeks, but the gains were minimal.
Wall Street turned cautious this week as investors worried that the market's rally, now closing in on six months, may have run its course.
Investors are especially nervous as they head into September, historically the stock market's worst month. Last September, which saw the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the kickoff of the worst financial crisis in decades, is still fresh in investors' minds.
"Tuesday begins one of the most feared months of the calendar," said Lawrence Creatura, portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors.
The first week of September 2009 will bring a key report on manufacturing activity, which has been improving, as well as the Labor Department's tally of job losses in August — the month's most telling piece of economic data. Last month, news that employers cut fewer jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell sent stocks soaring.
Stocks gave up early gains to finish nearly flat in the week's final session after data on spending and income provided mixed signals on the economy's direction. The Commerce Department said Americans' personal expenditures increased a modest 0.2% last month, hitting Wall Street's estimate, but personal income was flat.
The major indexes liked the spending report, but a weak consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan scuttled the early advance. Stocks rose in the first hour of trading with the Nasdaq up more than 1% before falling into negative territory and churning to a muddled finish.
Investors balked Friday at extending Wall Street's recent rally, but stocks still managed to carve out their sixth weekly advance in seven weeks.
For the day, major indexes finished mixed after losses among healthcare stocks offset gains in technology companies.
Light volumes have made for choppy trading in recent days, with benchmark indexes flip-flopping throughout the course of the day. Activity has clustered on a few financial stocks, including Citigroup /quotes/comstock/13*!c/quotes/nls/c (C 5.23, +0.18, +3.56%) and Bank of America Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bac/quotes/nls/bac (BAC 17.98, +0.06, +0.33%)
That trend is likely to continue into the first week of September, despite a slate of key economic data, as more investors head to the beach.
"It's usually one of the slowest weeks of the year," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at New York institutional brokerage BTIG on Friday, as he prepared to leave the office for a family vacation at the New Jersey shore.
On Friday the Dow fell 36.43 points, or 0.4%, to 9,544.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.05 points, or 0.3%, to 1,028.93, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.04 points, or 0.1%, to 2,028.77.
For the week:
The Dow is up 38.24, or 0.4 percent.
The S&P is up 2.80, or 0.3 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 7.87, or 0.4 percent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 767.81, or 8.7 percent.
The S&P is up 125.68, or 13.9 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 451.74, or 28.6 percent.
With one trading day left in August, the Dow and the S&P 500 are up more than 4% for the month, putting each index on track to have its best August since 2000.
Most of the month's gains were made last week, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's upbeat assessment of the economy sent investors clamoring for stocks.
The market got an initial boost after Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips, raised the top end of its sales forecast for the current quarter from $8.8 billion to $9.2 billion. Shares of Intel climbed 4%.
The upbeat news comes after Dell posted sales and earnings that beat expectations just before the close yesterday. The group, which was supposed to report after the close, said net income fell 23% to $472m on sales down 22% to $12.76bn, which was better than the expected $12.59bn.
Shares in the world's number one appliance maker Whirlpool rose after it said it is to shut its Indiana factory, moving some production to Mexico.
Merck [MRK  32.32    -0.55  (-1.67%)   ] and McDonald's [MCD  56.07    -1.09  (-1.91%)   ] led the losers on the Dow, which fell after posting gains approaching 0.5 percent in the first minutes of trading. Boeing [BA  51.04    -0.78  (-1.51%)   ] gave back some gains as well, the day after the aerospace company surged on positive news about its Dreamliner aircraft.
Technology stocks had been the lone bright spot, helped by Dell [DELL  15.93    0.276  (+1.76%)   ]. In after-the-bell earnings Thursday, the computer maker reported a stronger than expected quarterly profit as well as signs that its business is stabilizing.
Marvell Technology [MRVL  15.36    0.73  (+4.99%)   ] also helped offset the damage, posting a revenue drop of nearly 25 percent but raising outlook.
Pharmaceutical stocks besides Merck also were faring poorly, with Bristol-Myers Squibb [BMY  22.12    -0.66  (-2.9%)   ] off more than 2 percent after Morgan Stanley cut the company to "equal weight."
Elsewhere, shares of Ford [F  7.73    0.06  (+0.78%)   ] gained after the automaker said it expected monthly sales to rise for the first time in two years.
Luxury retailer Tiffany [TIF  37.57    3.82  (+11.32%)   ] reported that its profit fell 30 percent, but that was better than analyst estimates. The earnings beat followed a familiar pattern for the second quarter—strong bottom-line profit yet weak top-line revenue—but the company's shares jumped.
Few earnings results were announced Friday but J. Crew gained 6% in regular trading after beating analyst estimates Thursday evening. Tiffany & Co. ( TIF - news - people ) finished up 11.3% after beating expectations Friday morning.
Online broker E-Trade Financial ( ETFC - news - people ) saw its shares rise Friday after convincing its creditors to trade their debt for ownership of the troubled company. On Tuesday E-Trade managed to swap $1.7 billion it owed bondholders for common stock in the firm. Shares gained 13.1% on Friday as traders rushed into the volatile issue sensing that the worst is over for the brokerage.
Bebe Stores ( BEBE - news - people ) lost ground after the clothing chain told Wall Street analysts Thursday evening it would likely break even or lose money in the current quarter. The firm also reported a loss for the previous quarter as sales fell. Shares gave up 2.5% in regular trading and moved lower after the bell.
Retailer J. Crew was rose after it posted better-than-expected quarterly results. 

S&P 500 – Risers
E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) $1.67 +15.17%
Tiffany And Co (TIF) $37.43 +10.90%
Qlogic Corp. (QLGC) $16.18 +9.77%
CIT Group Inc. (CIT) $1.68 +7.69%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $51.10 +6.81%
Jds Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $7.08 +6.10%
Adv Micro Devices (AMD) $4.46 +5.44%
Genworth Financial (GNW) $10.11 +5.27%
Micron Technology (MU) $7.56 +5.00%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $14.69 +4.88% 

S&P 500 - Fallers
Novell Inc. (NOVL) $4.49 -4.58%
Goodyear Tire Rubber (GT) $16.33 -3.96%
Lorillard Inc. (LO) $72.43 -3.03%
Cigna Corp. (CI) $29.67 -2.94%
Bristol-Myers Sqibb (BMY) $22.12 -2.90%
Supervalu Inc. (SVU) $14.49 -2.89%
Unitedhealth Group (UNH) $28.18 -2.63%
Motorola Inc. (MOT) $7.15 -2.59%
Leucadia Natl Corp. (LUK) $24.91 -2.54%
M B I A Inc. (MBI) $6.42 -2.43% 

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.25 +4.01%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $49.62 +0.85%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $12.50 +0.81%
American Express Inc. (AXP) $34.22 +0.77%
Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $18.02 +0.56%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $22.00 +0.55%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $27.69 +0.51%
Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $32.44 +0.34%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $53.19 +0.25% 

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $56.07 -1.91%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $32.32 -1.67%
Boeing Co. (BA) $51.04 -1.51%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $42.92 -1.22%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $70.12 -1.04%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $118.22 -1.01%
AT&T Inc. (T) $26.21 -0.79%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $49.06 -0.77%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $46.75 -0.70%
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.10 -0.63%
All major US indices continue to trade within their best 6-month rally since October, 1933, and are tracking to close up 2.5% or greater for the month.
On a month-over-month basis, both indexes are on track for their best monthly performance since July of this year.
In August, the Dow has traded in positive territory 64.5% of the time, gaining on average 1.25%.  The S&P has been on the black 59.3% of the time, gaining on average 0.84%.
The Nasdaq is on track for its best August performance since 2006, and its best monthly performance since July as well.
In August, the Nasdaq has been positive for the month 55.3% of the time, gaining on average 0.37%.
Since the March 9th lows, the S&P is up 52.09%, the Dow is up 45.78%, and the Nasdaq is up 59.92%
Index Impact:
Boeing (BA) had the most positive impact on the Dow, up over 11% for the week.
Month-to-date, Bank of America (BAC) is the top Dow performer by % gain, up almost 22%.
Year-to-date, American Express (AXP) continues to be the top Dow performer by % gain, up almost 85% .
21 Dow components are positive in 2009: AXP, IBM, INTC, JPM, CSCO, DD, BAC, MSFT, MMM, HPQ, HD, BA, DIS, UTX, AA, TRV, KO, MRK, KFT, CAT, JNJ .
IBM (IBM) had the most negative impact on the Dow, down almost 1.4% for the week .

Month-to-date, Procter & Gamble (PG) is the worst Dow performer by % loss, down over 4% .
Year-to-date, Procter & Gamble (PG) is the worst Dow performer by % loss, down almost 14% YTD .
Intel (INTC) had the most positive impact on the S&P & NASDAQ, up over 7% for the week .

Month-to-date, the top S&P performer by % gain is AIG (AIG) up over 282%
Year-to-date, the top S&P performer by % gain is XL Capital (XL) up almost 365%
MTD, the top NASDAQ 100 performer by % gain is Liberty Media (LINTA), up over 45%
YTD, the top NASDAQ 100 performer by % gain is Seagate (STX), up over 216%
Wells Fargo
(WFC) had the most negative impact on the S&P, down over 2% for the week
Month-to-date, MetroPCS (PCS) is the worst S&P performer by % loss, down almost 31%
Year-to-date, Marshall & Ilsley (MI) is the worst S&P performer by % loss, down almost 48%
Research in Motion (RIMM) had the most negative impact on the NASDAQ 100, down about 4.5% for the week
Month-to-date, the worst NASDAQ 100 performer by % loss is First Solar (FSLR) down almost 20%
Year-to-date, the worst NASDAQ 100 performer by % loss is Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPDI) down over 30%
Sector Impact:   Four out of ten S&P sectors were positive for the week led by Financials, up almost 1.2%. Utilities were the most negative sector, down about 0.73% for the week.
Financials were helped by AIG (AIG), up almost 53% for the week
Utilities were hurt by Dynegy (DYN), down almost 4% for the week
Month-to-date, nine out of ten sectors are positive led by Financials, up over 13%
Year-to-date, nine out of ten sectors are positive led by Tech, up almost 40%
Commodity Impact:  Nymex crude for October delivery settled at $72.74 per barrel on Friday, after trading as high as $75 on Tuesday, or its highest level since October 2008.
Gas Prices: The AAA current national average for regular gas is $2.613 per gallon down 28.61% from a year ago when the average was $3.660 per gallon
The highest recorded average price by AAA was on 7/17/2008, when the national average was $4.114 per gallon
Oil, Gold & Currencies:
Oil rose 25 cents to settle at $72.74 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil hit $75 during the week, a high for the year.
Gold prices rose.
The yen strengthened for a fifth day against the euro after the opposition Democratic Party of Japan swept to power in the nation's general elections yesterday, spurring optimism the new government may stimulate the economy.
Japan's currency gained versus all 16 major counterparts after public broadcaster NHK said the DPJ captured 308 of the 480 lower-house seats, prompting speculation foreign investors will put more money into the world's second-largest economy. The euro headed for its first two-month gain versus the dollar since March 2008 on prospects the 16-nation region's economy is emerging from recession.
"There are expectations that foreigners may flock to Japanese assets, given the DPJ's victory," said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign-exchange group in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, France's third-largest bank. "The yen is likely to appreciate."
The yen climbed to 132.57 per euro as of 10:51 a.m. in Tokyo from 133.85 in New York on Aug. 28, after earlier reaching 132.36, the highest level since Aug. 19. The Japanese currency advanced to 92.73 per dollar from 93.60, after touching 92.57, the strongest level since July 13.
The euro traded at $1.4294 from $1.4303 in New York on Aug. 28. The currency bought 87.99 British pence from 87.89 pence, after advancing to 88.39 pence on Aug. 27, the highest level since June 5.
DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama and his party have pledged to boost child-care spending, cut taxes and curtail the power of bureaucrats after they ended the rule of Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party.
'Stashed the Cash'
"What appeals to me on the Japan call is that these are the voters who have stashed the cash under the beds," Tom Murphy, managing partner in Sydney at Family Office Research & Management Ltd., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "If we get just some increase in investment from the elderly within the population into growth assets of some type, we could see quite a change."
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined to 10,497.19 from 10,534.14 on Aug. 28. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond declined to 1.295 percent from 1.31 percent.
The yen also strengthened on speculation Japanese exporters purchased the nation's currency.
"Exporters possibly bought the yen because of month-end demand," said Lee Wai Tuck, a currency strategist at Forecast Pte in Singapore.
Japanese companies forecast the yen would average 94.85 per dollar in the 12 months to March 2010, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey released July 1.
German Retail Sales
The euro traded near a 12-week high against the pound before a German report tomorrow that may show retail sales in Europe's largest economy rose for the first time in three months.
Sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, climbed 0.7 percent in July, after a 1.3 percent drop in June, a Bloomberg survey of economists showed before the Federal Statistics Office's report in Wiesbaden. An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 16-nation region increased to 80.6, the highest since October, from 76 in July, the European Commission in Brussels said on Aug. 28.
"Recent data have exceeded economists' predictions, suggesting the euro-zone economy is on a gradual recovery path," said Yoh Nihei, trading group manager at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co. in Tokyo. "The trend is for the euro to strengthen."
It may reach $1.4500 this week, he said.
The European Central Bank will keep its main refinancing rate at 1 percent at its Sept. 3 meeting, according to all 58 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Bonds:
Treasury bonds gained Friday on the lowest consumer sentiment reading in four months and fears of higher unemployment. The yield on the 10-year note sank .02% to 3.44%, making this the third straight week of gains. Shorter-term debt also rose.
What to expect:
The twilight week of summer could provide some new clues about the strength of the stock market's rally after Labor Day.
Ask any trader, and the conventional wisdom you hear will be to expect a quiet week, but watch out after Labor Day when Wall Street gets back to work. Still, there's a heavy calendar of important economic data this week that will show more detail about the strength of the economic recovery.
August's employment report Friday will be the big headline for markets. There are also other key reports, including the ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing surveys, minutes form the last Fed meeting, monthly auto sales and the Chicago Purchasing Managers report.
"In the next two weeks, things are going to change for stocks and bonds rather dramatically, and one of those has it wrong," said David Ader, head of Treasury strategy at CRT Capital. "It's the data we're going to get in the next couple of weeks—this second set of third quarter data that is going to start showing how things are going one way or the other."
There is little corporate earnings news to propel stocks, and the markets will focus instead on the stream of manufacturing, jobs and other data.
Jobs are one of the most important data points to watch. Although employment is a lagging indicator, the declines need to subside before the economy can recover. Weekly unemployment claims have stalled out recently in terms of showing improvement, signaling some analysts that the recovery could be slower than they expected.
"The claims level suggests losses of over 300,000," in non-farm payrolls, said Crescenzi. Consensus is that 230,000 jobs were lost in August.
ISM is also important this week. It is expected to rise above 50, signaling a growing economy for the first time in months.
In the coming week, Chicago purchasing managers data is reported Monday. ISM manufacturing is Tuesday, as are pending home sales, construction spending, auto sales, and the Fed's minutes. On Wednesday, ADP's employment report, productivity and costs and factory orders are reported. Weekly jobless claims and ISM non-manufacturing are released Thursday, and Friday is all about August's employment report.
Investors will also be watching the G-20 finance ministers as they gather Friday in London, ahead of the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh later in the month.
Asia:

Nikkei 225 10,497.19     -36.95 ( - 0.35%) (08.01 AM IST).
The Nikkei Stock Average fell into negative territory at one point Monday morning, mainly in reaction to the yen's appreciation to the 92-level against the dollar. 
A historic election win for Japan's opposition Democratic Party on Sunday is likely to buoy Tokyo shares on hopes for less policy deadlock, putting pressure on Japanese government bonds and the yen.
Japan's stock index rose to an 11-month intraday high after the previous night's historic election victory by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Xinhua news agency reported.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 196.78 points, or 1.87%, from Friday to 10,730.92 points, rising to its highest intraday level since Oct. 6.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 15.97 points, or 1.65%, to 985.28 points. The Second Section also advanced. 
Pigeon Corp. (7956) shares rose as much as 230 yen to hit a year-to-date high of 3,980 yen Monday morning, as investors bought in expectation of improved earnings.
The biggest factor behind the rise in Tokyo stocks Monday is the positive preliminary data on industrial production for July, released earlier the same day. 

HSI 19687.87 -410.75 -2.04% (08.15 AM IST).
Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index opening 271 points lower at 19,827.
The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index, which tracks the overall performance of 43 mainland Chinese state-owned enterprises on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, opened 197 points lower at 11,236.
SOHO China Ltd<0410> decreased 0.95% from the previous closing to HK$4.15. Sun Hung Kai Properties<0016> fell 1.82% and opened at HK$108.1.

Chinese shares plunged early Monday on fears of weak bank lending in August and concerns of likely capital-raising issues that may sap market liquidity. The Shanghai Composite Index dove down 4.1% to 2,744.08 in early trading, with deep losses for shares across sectors. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. /quotes/comstock/28c!e:600019 (CN:600019 6.49, -0.40, -5.80%) lost 5.1% after reporting a 93% fall in first-half profits, while PetroChina Co. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:857 (HK:857 8.64, -0.16, -1.82%) /quotes/comstock/13*!ptr/quotes/nls/ptr (PTR 113.19, -1.61, -1.40%) saw its Shanghai-listed shares drop 4.2% after also reporting a decline in first-half earnings. The slump in Shanghai shares dragged on the Hong Kong market, where the Hang Seng Index fell 1.9% to 19,720.85 in early trading, falling below the psychologically-important 20,000-point level as all of its constitutents dipped into the red. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 2% to 11,200.52.

SSE Composite  2718.37   -4.97  (08.28 AM IST).
Chinese stocks opened lower on Monday morning, tracking losses from the previous closing last week.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, opened at 2,817.63 points, down 1.51% or 43.06 points from the previous closing.
The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange opened 1.33% or 152.62 points lower at 11,297.46 points.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index [AU;XJO  4477.5    -12.10  (-0.27%)   ] rose to their highest level in more than 10 months, as an upbeat trading update from Australia and New Zealand Banking boosted bank stocks.
ANZ shares jumped as much as 4.3 percent to A$21.35, their highest since June 2008, after the bank said its profit after tax in the first 10 months of the current financial year was tracking slightly above last year.
And Seoul's Kospi [KR;KSPI  1584.0    -23.9399  (-1.49%)   ] opened lower following a weak U.S. consumer report, with Hyundai Mobis tumbling after Hyundai Motor's share purchase, while Samsung Electronics rose on positive brokerage note. 

Canadian Solar to build 500-MW plant in Inner Mongolia.
BOC HK's net profit down 5.6% in H1.
Sinopec Shanghai returns to profit in H1.
JPMorgan cuts stake in Yanzhou Coal Mining to 4.93%.
UBS raises stake in PICC Property & Casualty to 4.97%.
New World Dev't reaps HK$3.8 bln from sales of new luxury homes.
Bank of East Asia considers mainland unit spinoff.
Macao's forex reserves hit US$17.63 bln in Jul.
Sinopec, Mitsubishi launch JV in Beijing.
GM and FAW set up truck JV in China.
China Merchants Bank's net profit down 37.62% in H1.
Weichai Power's net profit hits RMB 1.22 bln in H1.   
China Southern Airlines's first half net profit down 95.3%.  

Japan's July industrial output rise 1.9%
Japanese industrial production in July rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent from the previous month for the fifth straight month of gain, Kyodo News reported.
The index of output at mines and factories stood at 82.4 against the base of 100 for 2005, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report.
The headline reading compares with the average market forecast of a 1.6 percent growth in a Kyodo News survey.
The index of industrial shipments gained 2.3 percent to 83.6 while that of industrial inventories was down 0.2 percent to 95.1.
Japan Democrats Take Power, Challenges Loom
Japan's next leader Yukio Hatoyama, fresh from a historic election win, faced the task on Monday of forming a government to tackle challenges such as reviving the economy and steering a new course with close ally Washington.
Sunday's victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ends a half-century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and breaks a deadlock in parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.
But the untested Democrats, which will face an upper house election in less than a year, will have to move quickly to keep support among voters worried about a record jobless rate and a rapidly ageing society that is inflating social security costs.
"Everything begins now. Everything depends on how we can modestly create politics which considers the people," Hatoyama, the wealthy grandson of a former prime minister, told a news conference early on Monday.
Official figures have not yet been released, but media forecasts show the Democrats with about 307 seats in the 480-seat lower house, compared with only 119 for the LDP.
Hatoyama was expected to quickly set up a transition team to prepare to take power but said he would not name his cabinet until the new parliament voted him in as prime minister.
Financial markets are expected to welcome the end to a political deadlock that has stymied policies as Japan struggled with its worst recession since World War Two. The Democrats and its small allies won control of the upper house in 2007.
Analysts say the decade-old Democrats' spending plans might give a short-term lift to the economy, just now emerging from recession, but worry that its programs will boost a public debt already equal to about 170 percent of GDP.
The party has vowed not to raise the 5 percent sales tax for four years while it focuses on cutting wasteful spending.
"The problem is how much the Democrats can truly deliver in the first 100 days. If they can come up with a cabinet line-up swiftly, that will ease market concerns over their ability to govern," said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. 

The Democratic Party victory ended a three-way partnership between the LDP, big business and bureaucrats that turned Japan into an economic juggernaut after the country's defeat in World War Two. That strategy foundered when Japan's "bubble" economy burst in the late 1980s and growth has stagnated since.
Pressure on Democrats to Deliver
Support for the LDP, which has ruled for all but 10 months since its founding in 1955, has been on a downtrend for years, but charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi managed to lead the party to a huge election win in 2005 with promises of market-friendly reforms.
Those reforms came under fire even within the LDP for worsening social and income gaps and were further attacked after the global financial crisis tipped Japan into recession.
In an essay published this month in the New York Times, Hatoyama railed at what he called the "unrestrained market fundamentalism" of U.S.-led globalization but at his news conference sought to allay any concerns raised by those comments.
"We are not saying that the (free) market principles are all bad ... But the current economic situation is one where there need to be corrections in areas where reform went too far," Hatoyama said.
A series of scandals, policy flip-flops and a perceived inability to address deep-rooted problems such as creaking pension and health care systems eroded the LDP mandate.
Voters, having taken a gamble on change, will want to see proof quickly that the Democrats can do a better job.
"It's going to be crucial how they spend the first year in office, so in that sense they have to get focused very quickly to get things accomplished," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. "Otherwise, the goodwill may dissipate very quickly and they may face a hostile upper house within a year."
Hatoyama will want to have his cabinet up and running in time to attend a U.N. General Assembly meeting and a G20 leaders summit in Pittsburgh in September.
The Democrats want to forge a diplomatic stance more independent of the United States, raising fears about possible friction in the alliance. They have also vowed to improve ties with Asian neighbours, often frayed by bitter wartime memories.
"(Hatoyama) is basically articulating the idea that the U.S.-led Pax Americana era has come to an end," said Sheila Smith at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"My sense of the DPJ is that they have wanted a little distance between Tokyo and Washington."
Budgetary matters will claim much of the government's attention in its early days. Party leaders have said they might freeze or redirect some of the 14 trillion yen ($149.5 billion) in stimulus spending planned for the year to March 31, 2010.
They may have to craft an extra budget for the current fiscal year to cover an expected tax revenue shortfall, and Japanese media said the party wants to have an outline of the budget for 2010/2011 by sometime in October.

U.S. confident ties to Japan will flourish
The White House said on Sunday it was confident the strong relationship between the United States and Japan would continue under the new government in Tokyo. "We are confident that the strong U.S.-Japan Alliance and the close partnership between our two countries will continue to flourish under the leadership of the next government in Tokyo," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement. "President (Barack) Obama looks forward to working closely with the new Japanese prime minister on a broad range of global, regional and bilateral issues," he said. Japanese voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in an election on Sunday, ousting the ruling conservative party and handing the untested Democrats the job of breathing life into a struggling economy. The win by the Democratic Party of Japan ended a half-century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party and breaks a deadlock in parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats. 

Bond Market Eyeing 10% Jobless Rate Rejects Recovery
The bond market isn't buying all the optimism over the end of the global recession.
While the International Monetary Fund said last week the economic recovery will be faster than it forecast in July, investors pushed yields on government debt to the lowest level since April, according to the Merrill Lynch & Co. Global Sovereign Broad Market Plus Index. The gauge, which tracks $15.4 trillion of bonds worldwide, gained 0.73 percent this month, the most since 1.02 percent in March.
Debt investors can't see a recovery strong enough to spur central bank interest rates anytime soon, especially with the Obama administration forecasting that unemployment in the U.S. - - the world's largest economy -- will rise above 10 percent in the first quarter. After stripping out the effects of the U.S. government's "cash for clunkers" program to buy new cars, consumer spending was unchanged in July, according to Commerce Department data released on Aug. 28.
"The bond market does not believe we will see rapid robust rates of growth," said Jeffrey Caughron, an associate partner in Oklahoma City at The Baker Group Ltd., which advises community banks investing $20 billion. "The deleveraging of the consumer will act as a drag on growth, which will keep inflation to a minimum and interest rates relatively low."
'Bumpy Road'
Bond yields are lower now than when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in an Aug. 21 speech at the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that "prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good." European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said that while the economy is no longer in "freefall," it faces "a very bumpy road ahead."
Two-year Treasury note yields fell 7 basis points, or 0.07 percentage point, last week to 1.02 percent, and are down from this month's high of 1.36 percent on Aug. 7, according to BGCantor Market Data. The 1 percent security maturing on August 2011, sold by the government Aug. 25, ended the week at 99 31/32.
The two-year note yielded 1.01 percent as of 11:06 a.m. today in Tokyo.
The picture is the same in Europe. U.K. two-year gilt yields dropped to a record low of 0.828 percent on Aug. 27 before ending the week at 0.84 percent. German bund yields of similar maturity declined 12 basis points to 1.25 percent last week and fell from 1.61 percent on Aug. 10 even as government reports showed the economy exited the recession in the three months ended June 30.
Making Money
Yields on government bonds of all maturities average 2.27 percent, compared with this year's peak of 2.62 percent on June 8, according to the Merrill Lynch index. The drop helped return fixed-income investors to profit, earning 2.14 percent since the start of June after losing 1.54 percent in the first five months of the year.
Fixed-income strategists at London-based HSBC Holdings Plc said the drop in yields reflects a growing perception that central banks are unlikely to raise borrowing costs as soon as forecast just a month ago.
"Interest rates are likely to remain at record lows for quite a while," said Andre de Silva, the deputy global head of fixed-income strategy at HSBC, Europe's largest bank.
Rate Odds
Traders are pricing in less than a 50 percent chance of a U.S. rate increase before March, federal funds futures show. As recently as June, they saw 70 percent odds of a boost in the Fed's target rate for overnight loans between banks to at least 0.5 percent in November from the current target range of zero to 0.25 percent.
In Europe, traders are paring bets the ECB will raise its main refinancing rate from 1 percent this year. The implied rate on the Euribor futures contract expiring in December was 0.85 percent on Aug. 28, down from 1.22 percent at the start of June.
Bond investors are more pessimistic than stock investors, who have pushed the MSCI's World Stock Index to the highest level since October.
The index rallied 4.7 percent this month after the Washington-based IMF, which rescued countries from Iceland to Pakistan during the global crisis, said in July the world economy will expand 2.5 percent in 2010 following a 1.4 percent contraction this year. Since then, Japan, France and Germany returned to growth.
Recovery in Sight
"We do believe the recovery is in sight and is going to be perhaps a little better than we had at one time thought, but we expect a rather muted recovery," Caroline Atkinson, the IMF's external relations director, said to reporters in Washington on Aug. 27.
Reports last week in the U.S. and Europe showed home sales, durable goods orders and business sentiment rose more than forecast. The median estimate of 55 economists surveyed by Bloomberg is for growth in the U.S. of 2.3 percent next year.
"It's too pessimistic a view to look at all these factors and still think we won't have a reasonable recovery," said Michiel de Bruin, who helps manage $27 billion as head of European government debt in Amsterdam at F&C Asset Management Plc's Dutch unit. "Our view is that if unemployment rises at a slower pace than expected, that's already good news. Against this backdrop, government bonds will find it very hard to sustain a rally going forward."
Two-year Treasury yields are forecast to end the year at 1.32 percent, while 10-year yields may rise to 3.87 percent from 3.45 percent last week, according to the median estimate of more than 45 economists and strategists surveyed by Bloomberg.
An increase to those levels would still leave 10-year yields below their average of 5.63 percent during the past 20 years.
Relatively Low
Treasuries gained last week even as reports showed the housing market may have bottomed. Although the National Association of Realtors in Washington said Aug. 21 that sales of existing U.S. home jumped 7.2 percent in July to the highest level in two years, prices fell 15 percent from a year earlier.
"Evidence has been accumulating that housing has begun to put in a bottom," said Jay Mueller, a senior money manager who oversees about $3 billion of bonds at Wells Fargo Capital Management in Milwaukee. "Still, the news isn't that earth shaking. Going forward we are going to need to see a lot more fundamental justification on the economy getter better, and not just less bad information, if the move to riskier assets is to be sustainable."
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds, pensions and endowments sold $1.79 billion more shares of companies that rely on consumer spending this month than they've bought, the fastest pace in at least 14 years, based on data compiled by Boston-based State Street Corp., the custodian of $16.4 billion of assets.
The world's biggest financial institutions, which have taken $1.6 trillion in writedowns and losses since the start of 2007, are scooping up bonds at an accelerating pace.
Bank holdings of government securities and debt of mortgage companies Fannie Mae in Washington and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac increased to a record $1.37 trillion in the week ended Aug. 12, from $1.31 trillion on July 29, Fed data show. The 4.8 percent jump was the biggest for any two-week period since the start of the year.
The surge comes as the U.S. savings rate reached 6.9 percent in May, the highest level since 1993. It was as low as zero as recently as April 2008.
The bond market is signaling that the measures by policy makers may not be enough because unemployment is forecast to climb, capping consumer demand, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
'Not Convinced'
"It's not at all clear that the economy is out of the woods yet," said Mihir Worah, who invests the $14 billion Real Return Fund for Newport Beach, California Pacific Investment Management Co. "We still have to see convincing signs that the consumer can survive once the government stimulus is taken away, and we are not convinced of that."
The last time the U.S. unemployment rate was above 10 percent was in 1983, following the recession of 1981 and 1982. Cuts in the Fed's target rate from 20 percent at the start of that contraction to 8.5 percent, combined with deficit spending by the Reagan administration helped push the jobless rate down to 7 percent by the end of 1985.
At the start of this recession in December 2007, the Fed's target rate for overnight loans between banks was 5.25 percent, driving policy makers to alternative measures such as purchases of bonds after it cut borrowing costs to almost zero in December.
Wage Drop
Wages and salaries fell 4.7 percent in the 12 months through June, the biggest drop since records began in 1960, Commerce Department figures show. Purchases will probably climb at an average 1.6 percent quarterly rate through June 2010, compared with 2.8 percent during the six-year expansion that ended in December 2007, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists this month.
Threadneedle Asset Management Ltd. in London, was bearish on Treasuries until May.
"There's much optimism about the state of the economy in general," said Dave Chappell, a money manager at the company, which oversees $90 billion. "But when the stimulus programs, such as a credit tax break for first-time home buyers, run off, can the momentum continue? It probably can't. Treasuries, particularly long-dated ones, are unlikely to buckle with this improving view on the economy."
 
INVESTMENT VIEW
Gujarat Gas: A Plunge In Nautral Gas Price May Turn Into A Boon
 
 
Owned to the extent of 60 per cent by British Gas, this City Gas Distributor has been primarily dependent upon the PMT onshore gas fields in Gujarat for natural gas supplies.
 
But recent sanction of 0.5 mmscmd of gas from Reliance, and the continuing fall in NG prices across the World may allow the company to reap long term benefits by entering into these ultra low gas supply contracts with BG, Shell and Ras Gas which had earlier on being supplying spot cargoes ex-Hazira at delivered cost of $ 6 per MBTU's.
 
Lower input costs will mean higher users both industrial and retail coming forth to opt for Natural Gas as a primary fuel for rapid industrialisation in sectors as far apart as Retail, Power, Transportation and Fertilisers.
 
Natural gas prices fell to their lowest level in seven years Thursday after the government reported that increasing amounts of it are being placed into storage.
 
Natural gas, a key energy source for power plants around the country, has been building in storage caverns for most of the year as companies close offices and manufacturers switch off factories.
 
Natural gas tumbled more than 6 percent, or 18.5 cents to $2.725 per 1,000 cubic feet. The price dropped as low as $2.698 per 1,000 cubic feet earlier in the day, a price not seen since Aug. 7, 2002.
 
Crude, gasoline and heating oil futures fell as well, as hopes for an economic recovery dimmed on a rising number of bank failures and signs that China's economy was choking on a surplus of building materials.
 
Benchmark crude for October delivery gave up $1.07 to $70.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have been tumbling since they touched $75 a barrel on Tuesday.
 
"It's getting harder and harder to justify it at these prices," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said.
China, which is expected to lead major economies out of recession, said Wednesday that it will cut back on its investment in key manufacturing industries to cool off industries like building materials, steel and cement.
 
Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported growing levels of soured bank loans. The FDIC said U.S. banks lost $3.7 billion in second quarter, compared with profits of $4.7 billion last year.
 
Credit markets are still gummed up as banks big and small continue to struggle. As a result, consumers and businesses are spending less, and that includes spending energy.
Gasoline demand is falling, according to a government report released Wednesday.
 
Natural gas prices plunged early in the day when the Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas stocks added 54 billion cubic feet last week. The total supply now sits at 3.26 trillion cubic feet, more than 18 percent higher than the five-year average.
 
The amount in storage was starting to test the country's maximum capacity for natural gas. But EIA economist Jose Villar told The Associated Press that storage facilities have added about 100 billion cubic feet of extra space, giving suppliers more places to put it. The EIA will include details of the added capacity in a report to be published in the next few weeks, Villar said.

(Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.)
 
Index Outlook — Sensex at the crossroads


Sensex (15,922.4)

The Sensex continued running on the treadmill for the third consecutive month, huffing and puffing but not getting anywhere. August was particularly exasperating with the index moving tantalisingly close to the 16,000 mark on many days without making a serious effort to move above it.

Bulls can, however, derive satisfaction from the fact the week ended on a triumphant note with the Sensex once again crouched and ready to spring over the 16,000 threshold.

Comatose front-line stocks made traders shift their attention to mid and small-cap stocks. BSE Smallcap Index gained 8 per cent last week accompanied by some astonishing moves in lesser known stocks. However, BSE mid and small-cap indices have retraced less than half of the losses made in the previous decline while the Sensex is close to 61.8 per cent retracement which gives them more head-room.

FIIs turned net buyers once again last week. Expiry of the August series passed smoothly indicating the absence of nervous shorts in the market.

The Sensex has gained just 1.6 per cent in August so far. Monthly rate of change oscillator has reached levels last seen in April 2006 indicating that prices are getting overbought even from a long-term perspective. But these oscillators can remain in overbought zone for many months before a correction materialises. Weekly oscillators that were poised on the verge of entering the negative zone have recorded a small upward reversal.

The intermediate term up-move from the March lows continues to be in robust health. Simple trend following techniques give a positive outlook and extrapolating the move from 8,047 gives the minimum target of 17,886 for Sensex. However, we continue to advise caution because the zone between 16,000 and 17,000 is a potent minefield that can give investors a nasty surprise.

The up-move from 13,219 could be the fifth and final wave of the move from March lows in which case it can terminate at 16,104 or at 17,373. The other count that needs to be kept in purview is that of a terminal corrective that makes the index vacillate in a range between 13,000 and 16,000 before the entire up-move from March low ends. It also needs to be borne in mind that the Sensex is drawing close to the 16,180 mark that is the 61.8 per cent retracement of the down-move from 21,206 peak.

We remain ambivalent regarding the short-term movement in the Sensex. We had outlined three short-term trajectories for the index in our last column. The quandary has not been resolved yet. Sensex has moved close to 16,000.

A reversal from here can cause a decline to 14,700 or 14,244. But a break-out above 16,000 can cause the index to move on to 16,180, 16,312 and 16,459. Supports for the week are 15,500 and 15,200. Short-term investors can buy in declines as long as the first support holds.

Nifty (4,732.3)


Investors celebrated as the Nifty recorded a weekly close above the 4,700 mark. But as we have been reiterating, the index is in a range between 4,400 and 4,700 in the short-term. A reversal from these levels can cause a decline to 4,400 again. However, the short-term trend will turn negative only on a close below 4,230.

Interestingly, 61.8 per cent retracement of the down-move from 6,357 in the Nifty is at 4,898 that is a little farther than 16,000 at this point. That would be the medium-term target on a break-out. Short-term pattern is however positive and indicates a surge higher to 4,838 or 4,954.

Short-term supports are at 4,600 and 4,500. Traders can buy at declines as long as the index holds above the first support.

Global Cues

Global benchmark indices paused at higher levels last week while few recorded marginal gains. CBOE Volatility Index held steady between 22.5 and 26 indicating that investor sentiment continues to be cheerful and optimistic.

European indices led by the FTSE put up a strong show. DJ Euro STOXX has just neared its key medium-term resistance level at 2845. Rally beyond can result in another 10 per cent gain in this index.

Asian indices did not make any headway though some closed with marginal gains. What is worrisome is the renewed weakness in Shanghai Composite that failed to get past the resistance at 3,000 indicated last week. However a close below 2,800 should be seen before panic buttons are pressed.

The Dow managed to hold resolutely above 9,400 though the movement was extremely narrow. It closed the week with meagre 38 points gain. Momentum is sagging and a pull-back appears to be in the offing in near future. But if the index moves higher, next target would be 10,300.

Similar movement was witnessed in the S&P 500 too that moved sideways above the resistance at 1020 and closed with a doji in the weekly chart denoting indecision.

CRB Index that tracks commodity prices is moving in a band between 400 and 430 since the beginning of August. There can be one more spurt in this index to the next resistance level of 445.

Nifty futures likely to sustain the momentum

The Nifty futures sustained the momentum and closed above the 4,700-mark.The September futures closed at 4,737.8, gaining 4.4 per cent. . However, the premium narrowed down to just five points with respect to the Nifty spot, which closed at 4732.35 level.

The Nifty September futures saw sharp rollover of 76 per cent, which is the highest since February 2009. The overall market-wide rollover at 84 per cent is also higher than the three month average rollovers. With most of the individual stock futures trading in premium, the rollover seem to be on the long side.

Healthy rollovers were seen in the cement, fertilisers, sugar and textile sectors.

Among the stock futures, the action was mainly centred on the momentum players such as Unitech, IFCI, JP Associates, Aban Offshore and Suzlon.

Follow-up

We had advised traders to go long on the Nifty futures with a stop-loss at 4,365. This strategy ended with sharp gains, as the Nifty futures hit our first target.

Outlook

With the Nifty futures clearly and convincingly moving past the 4,630 resistance, it appears that the next major resistance is at 5,200 level, though in between 4,920-4,935 could act as another stumbling block.

On the other hand, Nifty futures can find support at 4,535-4,575 levels. A dip below this level could take the Nifty futures to 4,050 level while in between 4,200-4,210 could act as another minor support zone. With strong rollovers and aggressive put writing, it appears that the Nifty futures is all set to continue the bullish momentum.

Option monitor

Trading in option presents a mixed view. Among the options, 4,900 calls saw higher accumulation, indicating the emergence of call writers. This means, Nifty could find strong resistance around 4,900 level. However , put writers emerged at 4,500 and 4300 level. This points that these levels could act as a major support base for Nifty.

Even at the start of the new series itself, quite a few October month options were active; the 4,700-strikes of both put and call side and 5,000 calls were in the active zone. This also indicates the possible range for Nifty movement.

Volatility Index

The volatility index, which climbed above 80 intra-day, slipped sharply to end at 33.27 against the previous week close of 38.51 points. The drop in volatility index indicates the confidence of market players in the current rally.

Recommendation

We recommend the following strategies

1) Consider going long on Nifty futures with a stop-loss at 4,635The stop-loss can be adjusted suitably going forward, so as to protect the profits, should the Nifty open on strong note on Monday.

2) The other strategy is bull call spread. This can be initiated by buying Nifty 4,700 call and selling 5,000 call. They closed at 180 and 60 respectively. The maximum profit in this strategy is the difference between strike prices and net debit paid which is Rs 180 considering the closing prices of calls on Friday; the maximum loss could be net debit paid (i.e. Rs 120).

FII trend

The cumulative FII positions as percentage of the total gross market position on the derivative segment as on August 27 increased to 37.84 per cent (32.85 per cent).

They were mainly buyers all through the week. Their index futures holding decreased to Rs 10,988.19 crore (12,251.43 crore) and stock futures to Rs 19,426.09 crore (Rs 20,712.29 crore); their index options holding slipped to Rs 21,323.99 crore (Rs 24,510.88 crore).

Pivotals — Reliance (Rs 2,070.3)


Reliance Industries kept the market afloat with its seven per cent surge last week. But the stock has not yet moved beyond the trading range between Rs 1,900 and Rs 2,100 that is confining it over the last six weeks. Short-term trend in the stock is up and it can make an attempt to move higher to Rs 2,200 in this period. Close below Rs 1,860 is required to turn the short-term view negative.

We, however, stay circumspect about the medium-term prospects of the stock unless there is a close beyond Rs 2,200. Medium-term supports are at Rs 1,900 and then Rs 1,700.

State Bank of India (Rs 1,781.5)


SBI continued to meander sideways and closed the week on a flat note. The doji in the weekly candlestick chart amply demonstrates its indecisive state. Oscillators in the weekly chart are declining from the bullish zone and are poised on the brink of entering into negative territory. We stay ambivalent regarding the near-term prospect of SBI and expect a range-bound move between Rs 1,650 and Rs 1,900 in this period.

The medium-term view for the stock is positive and the range-bound move between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,900 appears to be a halt before it makes a dash towards its previous high. Close below Rs 1,500 is needed to negate this view.

Tata Steel (Rs 438.6)


Tata Steel declined to an intra-week low of Rs 415 on Friday but rebounded strongly from there to end above the short-term support at Rs 430. The short-term trend in the stock is positive and we maintain the targets of Rs 557 and Rs 600, on a break above Rs 500. Short-term investors can hold the stock as long as it holds above Rs 415. Subsequent supports are Rs 394 and Rs 375.

The medium-term trend in Tata Steel is positive since March. Close below Rs 375 is needed to mitigate the positive medium-term outlook for this stock.

Infosys (Rs 2,187.6)


Infosys too shone last week as the stock broke-out beyond the resistance at Rs 2,100 to head towards an intra-week peak of Rs 2,202. The eight per cent rally last week has taken daily oscillators to the overbought region. The stock could witness a mild decline that pulls it lower to Rs 2,100 or Rs 2,040. Short-term investors can hold the stock as long as it holds above the first support. If the rally continues without a pause, next target is its previous peak of Rs 2,248.

The medium-term view remains positive and a close below Rs 1,950 is needed to mitigate this view. Turbulence can however be expected as the stock nears its previous high and target beyond Rs 2,343.

ONGC (Rs 1,179.2)


ONGC moved in an extremely narrow range between Rs 1,160 and Rs 1,220 last week. As we have indicated earlier, the stock is currently consolidating in the range between Rs 970 and Rs 1,200. Short-term chart patterns are positive and a break-out above the upper end of the range can take the stock higher to the previous peak of Rs 1,356. Short-term investors should therefore hold the stock with a stop at Rs 1,140. Subsequent supports are at Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,070.

Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,421.9)


MSIL is pausing mid-way between its current trading range. A sideways move between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 is likely before the stock attempts to break-out higher. Investors can hold the stock with a stop at Rs 1,180. Subsequent supports are at Rs 1,100 and Rs 980. —
--
Arvind Parekh
+ 91 98432 32381

Friday, August 28, 2009

Market Outlook for 28th Aug 2009

INTRADAY calls for 28th Aug 2009
+ve script : Textile,PRAKASH, EIHotel,Arvind,IFCI,SBI
BUY BRFL-205 for 224+ with sl 200
BUY TITAN-1250 for 1270-1290+ with sl 1231
BUY Mundraport-584 for 600-605+ with sl 575
Expected Breakout
BUY PTC-95 above 98 for 105-110+ with sl 95
BUY IndBnk-134 above 137 for 151+ with sl 132
BUY GAIL-343 above 347 for 401+ with sl 340
Positional
BUY Bombaydye-381 for 505-530+ with sl 360
BUY Pantaloon-318 for 390+ with sl 300
Investment
BUY BRFL-205 with sl 165
BUY Aloktex-22 with sl 18
 
stocks that are in news today:
RNRL seeks oil ministry to become party to RIL-NTPC case: sources
Tata Steel says not to participate in Coal India IPO
RIL board meet on audited results postponed to September 2
Bharati Shipyard board meet on September 3 on issue of convertible warrants, shares
Thermax bags order worth Rs 255 crore
Valecha Engineering bags orders worth Rs 172 crore
Madhucon Projects board meet on September 3 on stock split from Rs 2 to Re 1
SRF buy back at maximum Rs 160/share opens on September 7
20 lakh Webel SL shares to hit market ((QIP issue))
Ex-dividend: Hero Honda @ Rs 20
 
Telecom Ministry Says:
-To auction 4 3G licenses; 1 reserved for PSUs
-3G auction reserve price at Rs 3,500 crore
-3G auction to be completed in 90 days
-Expect Rs 25,000 crore from 3G, WiMax auction
-BSNL, MTNL to match private sector winning bid in Delhi, Mumbai
-3 WiMax slots to be auctioned; reserve price at Rs 1,750 crore
 
NIFTY FUTURES LEVELS
RESISTANCE
4711
4716
4732
4739
4759
SUPPORT
4688
4682 
4660
4639
4632
4612
Buy SOBHA DEVELOPER; GITANJALI GEMS 
 
 
Strong & Weak  futures  
This is list of 10 strong futures:
Aban Off shore, Ansal Infra, DCHL, Purva, Bhushan Steel, Orchid Chem, India Bulls Retail, HCL Tech, FSL & Polaris Software. 
And this is list of 10 Weak futures:
Sesa Goa Ltd, Hind Uni Lvr, India Cements, Dabut India, Tata Steel, ACC Ltd, Colpal, Federal Bank, Hind Petrol & Canara bank.
 Nifty is in Up trend
NIFTY FUTURES (F & O):
Above 4709-4711 zone, rally may continue up to 4716 level and thereafter expect a jump up to 4730-4732 zone by non-stop.
Support at 4682 & 4688 levels. Below these levels, expect profit booking up to 4660-4662 zone and thereafter slide may continue up to 4639-4641 zone by non-stop.

Buy if touches 4632-4634 zone. Stop Loss at 4612-4614 zone.

On Positive Side, cross above 4737-4739 zone can take it up to 4757-4759 zone by non-stop. If crosses & sustains this zone then uptrend may continue.
 
Short-Term Investors:
Bearish Trend. 3 closes below 4628.40 level, it can tumble up to 4101.60 level by non-stop.
SL triggered. 3 closes above 4628.40 level, expect short covering up to 4891.80 level by non-stop.
 
BSE SENSEX:
Higher opening expected. Profit Booking should start. 
Short-Term Investors:
Short-Term trend is Bearish and target at around 14235 level on down side.
Maintain a Stop Loss at 15973 level for your short positions too.
 
POSITIONAL BUY 
Buy SOBHA DEVELOPERS (NSE Cash) 
Uptrend may continue.
Mild sell-off up to 239 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 252 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 264 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 227 level for your long positions too.
 
Buy GITANJALI GEMS (NSE Cash) 
Uptrend may continue.
Mild sell-off up to 120 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 131 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 136 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 115 level for your long positions too.
 
 
Global Cues & Rupee
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,580.63. Up by 37.11 points.
The Broader S&P 500 closed at 1,030.98. Up by 2.86 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 2,027.73. Up by 3.30 points.
The partially convertible rupee INR=IN ended at 48.91/92 per dollar on yesterday, stronger than its previous close of 48.93/94.
 
 Interesting findings on web:
  U.S. stocks on Thursday finished with modest gains in thin volume, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its winning streak into an 8th consecutive day, its longest such run since April 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (INDU 9,581, +37.41, +0.39%) added 37.11 points, or 0.4%, to 9,580.63. The S&P 500 Index /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,031, +2.86, +0.28%) gained 2.86 points, or 0.3%, to stand at 1,030.98, while the Nasdaq Composite /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,028, +3.30, +0.16%) added 3.3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,027.73.
About eight stocks rose for every seven that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.16 billion shares, up from 1.05 billion at the close on Wednesday.
In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 0.25, or 0.04 percent, to 583.77.
Dow makes it 8: Best win streak since April '07.
Wall Street closes at fresh 2009 highs, with blue chip average managing longest winning streak in nearly 2-1/2 years.
Sharp gains in financial and industrial stocks helped turn the market around, overwhelming losses in energy and utility companies.
Trading lacked enthusiasm, however, as it has over the past week, with many investors shying away from making greater commitments to stocks.
With many traders on vacation, volume has been extremely light, adding to the market's recent choppiness. The day's economic news, including a slightly smaller-than-expected dip in initial unemployment claims and a fairly benign reading on gross domestic product, did little to excite investors.
Analysts say the market has been running on its own momentum more than anything else, adding that a lot of the improving economic data has already been priced into stocks.
A lot of activity has also been driven by short-covering, analysts say, which tends to magnify the market's gains. Short-covering occurs when investors have to buy stock after having earlier sold borrowed shares in a bet they would fall.
Traders have been anticipating a pullback for weeks, but any dips in the market continue to be met with more buying.
"There is just too much cash sitting on the sidelines," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors.
There were still fears that a pullback, possibly coinciding with the end of the month, was developing.
"I'm taking a little risk off the table," Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS, told CNBC. "September is truly one of the toughest months on the calendar, so I think it's prudent to pull your horns in somewhat."
The mood seemed to be catching; fund managers pared their exposure to stocks and raised their bond holdings, a Reuters poll showed.
Stocks rose Thursday, with the Dow extending its winning streak to eight straight sessions in a thinly-traded advance fueled by bank shares and Boeing.
Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) reported weaker sales and earnings that beat expectations, in a profit report that was released minutes before the close of trading, ahead of schedule. Shares gained 6.5% in extended-hours trading.
"There's a floor in this market and it's probably at least 5% below the recent highs," said Tyler Vernon, chief investment officer at Biltmore Capital. "There's still so much cash on the sidelines that when we see a selloff, there are retail investors and institutional investors ready to jump back in."
Stocks have essentially risen for the last five months, with the S&P 500 ending Wednesday's session up 52% from the 12-year low it hit on March 9. But the pace of the run, coupled with light August trading volume, has left markets churning over the last two weeks.
Better-than-expected economic news -- and a healthy infusion of monetary and fiscal stimulus -- drove the rally. But the latest batch of economic reports have had less of an impact on investor sentiment.
Reports are due Friday on July personal income and spending from the Commerce Department and August consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.
Gross Domestic Product, the broadest measure of the health of the economy, declined at a 1.0% annual pace in the second quarter, unchanged from the initial reading last month. Economists thought GDP would be revised to show it slowed at a 1.5% annualized pace, according to Briefing.com estimates. In the first quarter, GDP declined at a 6.4% annualized rate.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week dipped to 570,000 from a revised 580,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought claims would fall to 565,000.
Meanwhile, energy stocks pulled off of their lows after crude prices reversed early losses. Like stocks, oil prices have been extremely volatile in recent weeks as investors try to determine whether current prices are warranted given still weak demand.
Dow components Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) both posted modest losses after sliding 2% through the early afternoon.
On the upside, shares of AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) rallied 27% after the company's CEO told Reuters that he doesn't support a fire sale of the insurer's assets. New CEO Robert Benmosche said in a year, people will say the bailed-out insurer is performing well. The stock has jumped 274% in August alone.
AIG shares have more than doubled in eight days.
Other financials rallying included Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500), Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) -- all of which have also received government help. The four have been responsible for much of the trading volume over the last few sessions.
Also in active trading, bond insurer AMBAC Financial (ABK) jumped 28%, while CIT Group (CIT, Fortune 500) gained 12%.
Analysts said the gains in AIG and other financial shares were likely magnified by a "short squeeze," in which short sellers scramble to cover their positions in the stocks.
"I think the banks are way overdone right now," said Terry Morris, senior equity manager at National Penn Investors Trust Co., contending that short-covering drove bank stocks higher on Thursday. "They're not twice the companies that they were a week ago."
Dow component Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) said it will have its long-in-the works 787 Dreamliner in the air by the end of the year and that it will make deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2010. The airplane manufacturer said it will take a non-cash charge of $2.5 billion, or $2.21 per share, in the third quarter.
Shares rallied 8.7%.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: Making the most gains overnight was Seagate Technology, adding 12.04% to $13.59. Dell and NetApp were the next best performers. Looking at the downside, NII Holdings was the worst performer, loosing 1.69% to $22.71, followed by Amgen and Research in Motion.
Toll Brothers (TOL) reported a quarterly loss of $2.93 per share, versus a loss of 18 cents a year ago. The luxury homebuilder was expected to report a loss of $1.79 per share, according to Briefing.com estimates. Toll Brothers also reported a drop in revenue that nonetheless managed to top estimates.
Its shares, along with those of competitor Hovnanian [HOV  5.12    0.12  (+2.4%)   ], turned positive after being lower through morning trading.
TiVo [TIVO  10.16    -0.34  (-3.24%)   ] shares dropped it reported a smaller-than-expected loss, with sales exceeding estimates. It's also filing lawsuits against both Verizon [VZ  31.05    -0.43  (-1.37%)   ] and AT&T [T  26.42    -0.09  (-0.34%)   ] over patents regarding its time-shifting DVR technology, sending shares of both companies lower.
Verizon was the leading drag on the Dow.
The number of financial institutions on the government's watch list surpassed 400 in the second quarter, the highest level in 15 years, the government said Thursday.
For the week:
The Dow is up 74.67, or 0.8 percent.
The S&P is up 4.85, or 0.5 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 6.83, or 0.3 percent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 804.24, or 9.2 percent.
The S&P is up 127.73, or 14.1 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 450.70, or 28.6 percent.
Oil, Gold & Currencies:
The price of oil turned higher, erasing morning lows. Oil hit 10-month highs earlier in the week. U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose $1.06 to settle at $72.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for December delivery rose $6 to settle at $951.80 an ounce.
In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and fell versus the Japanese yen.
The euro rose, headed for its first two-month gain against the dollar in 17 months, on optimism the 16-nation region is emerging from its recession, spurring demand for higher-yielding assets.
Europe's currency also strengthened for an eighth day against the pound, its longest winning streak since March 2005, before a European report that may show confidence in the economic outlook increased in August to the highest level in 10 months. The yen weakened against all 16 major counterparts after Japanese government reports showed the unemployment rate rose to an all-time high and consumer prices fell at a record pace in July, reducing the currency's allure as a refuge.
"The euro-zone economies look like they're starting to recover," said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan's largest currency broker. "The euro is easy to buy, given higher interest rates there than in the U.S. and Japan."
The euro rose to $1.4366 as of 11:13 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4341 in New York yesterday, when it reached $1.4406, the highest level since Aug. 7. The currency has advanced 0.9 percent this month. It climbed to 134.57 yen from 134.14 yen, and strengthened to 88.24 British pence from 88.07 pence.
The yen weakened to 93.66 per dollar from 93.52 yesterday. It declined to 64.34 versus New Zealand's dollar from 64.28 yesterday and from 64.40 last week.
Executive, Consumer Sentiment
Europe's single currency strengthened as an index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 16-nation region climbed to 78 in August, the highest since October, from 76 in July, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The European Commission will release the data today in Brussels.
European Central Bank board member Mario Draghi said on Aug. 26 that the global economy appears to be recovering from its first recession since World War II even though "strong uncertainties" remain.
The yen headed for a second-straight weekly loss versus the New Zealand dollar on speculation investors sold the Japanese currency to buy higher-yielding assets.
Japan's jobless rate rose to 5.7 percent in July, eclipsing the previous worst of 5.5 percent seen in April 2003, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. Consumer prices excluding fresh food declined 2.2 percent in July from a year earlier after dropping 1.7 percent in the previous month, the statistics bureau also said today.
"The markets seem to be perceiving the data as a negative for the safe-haven status of the currency," said Takashi Kudo, director of foreign-exchange sales in Tokyo at NTT SmartTrade Inc., a unit of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. "This is probably why the yen is being sold."
The benchmark interest rate is 0.1 percent in Japan, compared with 2.5 percent in New Zealand, attracting investors to the South Pacific nation's assets.
U.S. Confidence
The dollar was poised for a third weekly loss versus the Swiss franc before a U.S. report forecast to show a gauge of consumer confidence rose this month, sparking an increase in risk appetite.
A Bloomberg News survey of economists showed that the Reuters/University of Michigan gauge on Aug. 28 is projected to rise. The barometer of confidence among U.S. consumers probably rose to 64.0 in August from 63.2 in the previous month.
The dollar was at 1.0581 francs, down from 1.0594 francs yesterday, holding near the year-to-date low of 1.0531 touched on Aug. 27.
"The overall picture that the global economy is gradually improving remains intact," said Tomokazu Matsufuji, a dealer in Tokyo at SBI Liquidity Markets Co., a unit of financier SBI Holdings Inc. "The safe-haven currencies are likely to weaken against higher-yielding ones as risk sentiment is on the mend."
Adding to signs the recession is easing, the U.S. economy, the world's largest, contracted less than economists forecast as companies reduced inventories, spending started to climb and profits grew, a Commerce Department report said yesterday.
Gross domestic product shrank 1 percent in the three months ended in June, matching the initial estimate on July 31. The contraction was less than the 1.5 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 75 economists.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan may win more than 320 of the 480 seats at the election Aug. 30, the Asahi newspaper reported yesterday. Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament on July 21, triggering the general election.
"The DPJ lacks policies which can re-invigorate the corporate sector as it focuses on households," said Kazuto Uchida, chief economist in Tokyo at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., a unit of Japan's biggest banking group. "The limited prospect of an acceleration in growth expectations may prevent foreign investors from buying into Japanese assets."
Spending Policies
DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama and his party have pledged cash for child care and an abolition of highway tolls among their spending policies.
A convincing victory by the DPJ may turn out be positive for the yen in the short term, according to Koji Fukaya, a senior currency strategist at the Tokyo unit of Deutsche Bank AG, the world's largest currency trader.
"The DPJ won't block the Bank of Japan from hiking interest rates when the right time comes, and it will be reluctant to intervene currency markets," he said.
The Bank of Japan, which gained independence from the government in 1998, has kept its benchmark overnight lending rate at 0.1 percent since December. The rate has remained at 0.5 percent or lower since 1995.
Bonds:
Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.47% from 3.43% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Treasury sold $42 billion of 2-year notes Tuesday, $39 billion of five-year notes Wednesday. The sale of $28 billion of 7-year notes Thursday saw a weaker-than-expected demand, but it didn't seem to impact the bond market much.
What to expect:
Friday's data, consumer sentiment and personal income, will provide more clues about the U.S. consumer Friday. Consumer sentiment, reported at 9:55 am New York time, follows on a better than expected consumer confidence report earlier this week. Personal income is released at 8:30 am.
Asia:
Nikkei 225 10,530.62     +56.65 ( +0.54%) (08.06 AM IST).
The Nikkei share average rose 0.5 percent on Friday as exporters such as Kyocera Corp (6971.T) gained, with investors encouraged by a strong run-up on Wall Street, while Japan's Aug. 30 election and Chinese stock moves attracted attention.
Tokyo stocks rose Friday morning from the previous day's fall, buoyed by gains on Wall Street overnight, but the rebound was capped by a lack of other positive cues ahead of Sunday's House of Representatives election.
Casio Computer Co. (6952) shares rebounded sharply Friday morning, climbing as much as 10.5% to 936 yen, surpassing the previous year-to-date high set June 2.
All Nippon Airways Co. (9202) rose as much as 5 yen to hit 289 yen Friday morning, the day after Boeing Co. said it will supply its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner to the firm in October-December 2010.
HSI 20140.87 -101.88 -0.5% (08.14 AM IST).
Hong Kong shares wavered Friday, with Bank of China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:3988 (HK:3988 3.84, +0.03, +0.79%) rising after its first-half performance beat expectations, though the advance was capped by a fall in Shanghai shares. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.4% to 20,165.32 after opening higher, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.5% to 11,518.92. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.8% to 2,893.56, with refineries and airline stocks sharply lower. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., better known as Sinopec /quotes/comstock/13*!snp/quotes/nls/snp (SNP 89.80, -0.76, -0.84%) /quotes/comstock/22h!e:386 (HK:386 6.82, -0.19, -2.71%) , slumped 5.4% amid concerns about its earnings outlook, as Beijing hasn't allowed fuel price increases as some expected. Air China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/11i!airyy (AIRYY 12.08, +0.23, +1.94%) stock fell 5.2%, while China Southern Airlines /quotes/comstock/13*!znh/quotes/nls/znh (ZNH 16.64, -0.56, -3.26%) tumbled 4.1%. Baoshan Iron & Steel Ltd. /quotes/comstock/28c!e:600019 (CN:600019 7.01, -0.18, -2.51%) down 3.4% after the steelmaker's group agreed to buy a 15% stake in Australia's Aquila Resources /quotes/comstock/22x!e:aqa (AU:AQA 7.18, +0.63, +9.62%).
Hang Seng Index opens 166 points higher on Fri
Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index opening 166 points higher at 20,409.
The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index, which tracks the overall performance of 43 mainland Chinese state-owned enterprises on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, opened 100 points higher at 11,671.
China Mobile<0941><CHL> increased 1.28% from the previous closing to HK$79.25. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd<600050><0762><CHU> rose 3% and opened at HK$11.
SSE Composite  2867.62   -2.67. (08.17 AM IST).
Chinese stocks open 0.27% lower on Fri
Chinese stocks opened slightly lower on Friday morning, tracking losses from the previous closing.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, opened at 2,938.42 points, down 0.27% or 7.98 points from the previous closing.
The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange opened 0.15% or 17.71 points lower at 11,880.03 points. 
Seoul's Kospi  [KR;KSPI  1602.54    3.2101  (+0.2%)   ] shares rose on stronger-than-expected U.S. data and a positive finish on Wall Street, with techs such as Hynix lifted by Dell's better-than-expected quarterly results.
And Australia's S&P/ASX 200 [AU;XJO  4467.0    16.20  (+0.36%)   ] was higher with energy stocks such as Woodside Petroleum helping lead the gains after a rise in the price of crude oil.
Woodside rose 1.3 percent to A$49.43, Beach Petroleum gained 1.9 percent to A$0.805 and Santos gained 0.5 percent to A$15.62 after oil prices pulled out of a two-day slump.
Asian stocks rose, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its second weekly advance in three, as commodity prices and Dell Inc. profit beat analyst estimates.
Inpex Corp., Japan's largest oil explorer, gained 2 percent. Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of computer- memory chips, added 1.4 percent in Seoul. Casio Computer Co. surged 7.3 percent in Tokyo after the Yomiuri newspaper reported the company is merging its mobile phone business with NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. Japanese equities advanced before an Aug. 30 election that newspaper polls suggest will result in the ruling party being put out of office.
"Risk appetite has recovered from the depths that we had in March and people are looking at fundamentals," said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. "Confidence is there for the right reasons. Economies are stabilizing and things are starting to normalize."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4 percent to 113.47 as of 12:05 p.m. in Tokyo, taking its gain this week to 2.6 percent. The gauge has climbed 61 percent from a more than five- year low on March 9 on speculation government stimulus packages and lower borrowing costs will revive the global economy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.8 percent. The country holds parliamentary elections on Aug. 30, in which the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is expected to win by a landslide, newspaper polls show. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has governed Japan for all but 10 months since 1955.
Shanghai Composite
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index climbed 0.9 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent.
Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.2 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose one basis point to 3.46 percent, according to BGCantor Market Data.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent yesterday as crude oil futures rose for the first time in three days with a 1.5 percent climb. Separately, a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. economy shrank at a 1 percent annual rate from April to June, less than the 1.5 percent contraction estimated by economists.
Inpex gained 2 percent to 750,000 yen in Tokyo. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest oil producer, added 1.1 percent to A$49.32 in Sydney.
"Investors are putting their money in risk assets such as oil and stocks," said Kiichi Fujita, a strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Tokyo.
Dell Earnings
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, added 0.7 percent to A$37.90. Copper for September delivery in New York increased 1.7 percent in after-hours trading.
Samsung Electronics rose 1.4 percent to 778,000 won in Seoul. Dell, the world's second-largest maker of personal computers, reported sales and profit that beat estimates after cutting manufacturing costs and attracting buyers with low- priced notebooks.
Second-quarter net income at the Texas-based company declined 23 percent to $472 million, or 24 cents a share, as sales fell 22 percent to $12.8 billion in the period. Analysts had predicted a profit of 22 cents a share on average and sales of $12.6 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Dell suppliers in Taiwan gained. Quanta Computer Inc., the world's largest laptop maker, climbed 2.7 percent to NT$69.1. Compal Electronics Inc., the world's second-largest laptop maker, advanced 2 percent to NT$32.65.
Acer Inc., the world's third-largest computer maker, gained 2.8 percent to NT$72.8. HSBC Holdings Plc upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "underweight" and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its share-price estimate by 19 percent to NT$74.
Casio Computer Co., the maker of digital cameras and mobile phones, surged 7.3 percent to 909 yen in Tokyo. Casio, NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. are in talks to merge their mobile-phone businesses by April, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. The venture, of which NEC may own more than a half, would have more than 20 percent of Japan's mobile-phone market, the newspaper said.
NEC added 0.3 percent to 332 yen. Hitachi gained 1.2 percent to 326 yen. 

Macquarie sets up trust JV in Shanghai.
Angel Yeast to issue RMB 300 mln in financing bills.
Midea Electric's net profit up 18.63% in H1.
Powertech to buy Spansion's plant in Suzhou.
JPMorgan raises stake in Yanzhou Coal Mining to 5.04%.
China industrial output to rise 11.5% in Q3: MIIT.
T. Rowe Price cuts stake in Wumart Stores to 10.97%.
Panzhihua Iron & Steel to issue RMB 1 bln in notes.
SAIC Motor reports 26% decline in net profit for H1.
NetDragon Websoft's net profit plunges 42.4% in H1.
Sportswear firm Li Ning reports 41.6% surge in net profit for H1.
Guangzhou's industrial exports up 2.3% in Jul.
BOE to invest RMB 28 bln in 8G TFT-LCD production line.   
 
Half-year net profit of BOC (HK) down 5.6%
Bank of China (Hong Kong) said Thursday its half-year profit fell by 5.6 percent from a year earlier, dragged lower by falling interest income amid the deepening economic downturn.
The bank's net profit for the six months ending June 30 amounted to 6.69 billion Hong Kong dollars, down from 7.09 billion Hong Kong dollars in the same period last year.
However, the bank said it represented a major improvement against the net loss of 3.75 billion Hong Kong dollars in the second half of 2008, which can be attributed to the increase in operating income as well as the decrease in impairment charges on securities investments.
Net interest income decreased by 11 percent to 8.93 billion Hong Kong dollars as net interest margin narrowed by 27 basis points to 1.76 percent. But the net fees and commission income grew by 1.7 percent year-on-year to 2.95 billion Hong Kong dollars driven by the rebound of the local stock market in the first half of this year.
The bank's vice chairman and chief executive He Guangbei said the performance in the first half of this year reflected the progress the bank had made in regaining its growth momentum. As the turbulence and its knocks-on effects began to subside, the bank would pursue a prudent yet flexible development strategy in an environment of change and challenge.
He also said BOC (HK) would actively expand the RMB-related banking business as the sole Clearing Bank for Renminbi business in Hong Kong. 

Bank of China Plans to Slow Lending in Second Half
Bank of China Ltd., the nation's third-largest by assets, plans to slow credit growth in the second half of the year and improve loan quality after posting an unexpected profit gain in the second quarter.
Net income climbed 10 percent to 22.6 billion yuan ($3.3 billion), based on earnings figures the Beijing-based company reported yesterday. That exceeded the 19.51 billion yuan average estimate of five analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Bank of China joined its three biggest publicly traded rivals in reporting better-than-estimated profits after state- owned lenders advanced a record amount of new loans in the first half to revive economic growth. Plans to rein in loan growth may relieve investors concerned that asset bubbles will form and bad loans will rise. Bank of China advanced more new credit than any other Chinese lender in the first half.
"BOC took full advantage of the loose monetary policy in the mainland to expand its market share," Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch & Co. analysts led by Winnie Wu wrote in a note today. "BOC could offer one of the best earnings growth stories in 2009 and 2010."
Shares in the company rose 1.6 percent to HK$3.87 at 10:06 a.m. in Hong Kong. The stock has gained 82 percent this year, outperforming China Construction Bank Corp., Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of Communications Ltd.
Credit Growth Slows
Lending in the second half will be "much smaller," with new credit in July and August dropping from the monthly averages of the first half, President Li Lihui told reporters yesterday.
Bank of China was the last of the country's four biggest publicly traded lenders to report earnings.
The profit growth "confirms our belief that the worst is over for Chinese banks," said Lu Xiaojiu, an analyst in Beijing at BOCOM International Ltd. who expects the lenders to post a 12 percent rise in full-year profit.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in March set a new loan growth target of 5 trillion yuan in 2009 for the banking industry to revive economic growth that dropped to 6.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost a decade. New loans, which reached a record 7.73 trillion yuan as of July 31, may top 11 trillion yuan by the end of the year, BNP Paribas SA estimates.
Construction Bank this week warned of asset bubbles in capital markets after posting a 4.9 percent drop in net income in the first six months. ICBC, the world's biggest bank by market value, last week said its profit in the period rose 2.9 percent on record lending.
Equities Rally
China's regulators are changing tack after gross domestic product expanded 7.9 percent in the second quarter and the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rallied 25 percent.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission last month required the nation's lenders to raise reserves to 150 percent of non- performing loans by the end of this year, and on July 27 told banks to ensure loans intended for investment in fixed assets go to projects that support the real economy. Three days later, it announced plans to tighten rules on working capital loans.
The regulator also sent draft rule changes to banks on Aug. 19 requiring them to deduct all existing holdings of subordinated and hybrid debt from supplementary capital, people familiar with the matter said last week. As a result, banks may need to rein in lending to meet capital requirements.
Bank of China is considering plans to replenish capital and maintain the capital adequacy ratio at an "appropriate" level, Li said yesterday.
Net Interest Income
The lender posted an 8.3 percent drop in first-half net interest income, or the difference between revenue from lending and payments to depositors, as the profitability of loans worsened. Income from fee-based services, such as trade finance and distribution of insurance policies, gained 2.6 percent to 22.98 billion yuan.
Bank of China set aside 7 billion yuan to cover potential loan defaults in the first half, an increase of 7.8 percent from a year earlier. Its impaired-loan ratio narrowed to 1.83 percent from 2.29 percent three months earlier.
Impairment losses on Bank of China's subprime-related investments and other securities holdings stood at $4.67 billion as of June 30, down from $4.84 billion three months earlier. The loss remains more than that suffered by all the other Chinese banks combined.
The bank still held $2.2 billion of subprime-mortgage investments, $1.05 billion of securities backed by so-called Alt-A home loans and $3.2 billion of other "non-agency" mortgage investments as of June 30.
China Telecom first-half net income falls 29% to $1.3 billion
China Telecom Corp., the nation's largest fixed-line operator, said Thursday its net income for the first half fell 29% from a year earlier because of significant costs for its new its 3G network and for marketing, as well as the loss of 9 million fixed-line subscribers.
Meltdown 101: Is Dow 10,000 important?
It's time to look in the closet for that crumpled Dow 10,000 cap.
The first time the Dow Jones industrial average entered five-figure territory, corporate bigwigs tossed hats that said "Dow 10,000" to cheering traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
That was a decade ago. Traders could soon see 10,000 again soon, but any celebrating would be more a show of relief than an expression of brimming confidence.
The Dow stands about 500 points shy of the 10,000 mark, putting the milepost on investors' radar for the second time in a year. In October, the Dow tumbled below that mark as traders saw an already weak economy come to a jerking halt.
Now, the stock market is in the sixth month of what investors hope will be a lasting recovery on Wall Street and in the economy. So 10,000 is, once again, in sight. But what would hitting that mark mean this time, if anything?
Analysts say it's mostly a psychological barrier, but it could draw more attention to the enormous run in stocks since March. It could also fan skepticism about a market that some analysts say has gained too much, too quickly.
Here are some questions and answers about what it would mean for the Dow to hit 10,000.
Q: When did the Dow first close above that level?
A: After several tries, the Dow finished above 10,000 on March 29, 1999, in the midst of a powerful market rally that would end with the dot-com collapse at the start of this decade.
Q: What would Dow 10,000 mean this time?
A: Some analysts say it holds little significance given how far the market remains from its peak almost two years ago. But many contend that seeing Wall Street's best-known thermometer roll back to five digits could inject traders with confidence.
"It's a like a century rather than 99 years. There's not that big of a difference but there's a big difference psychologically," said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets in Chicago.
Q: What would it mean for the market's recovery?
A: The Dow is down 32.6 percent from its peak of 14,165 in October 2007. At 10,000 it would still be down 29.4 percent. Other indicators that traders tend to pay more attention to, like the Standard & Poor's 500 index, are also down by similar amounts.
Q: Should a climb past 10,000 make investors more confident?
A: Analysts are divided. But it would certainly feel better than when the Dow skidded 370 points on Oct. 6, 2008, to close below 10,000 for the first time in four years. By March, the Dow had tumbled to a 12-year low of 6,547. That was a drop of 53.8 percent from its high.
Some analysts say, though, that reaching 10,000 would make them nervous that the market was overheated.
"I'd rather almost hit the March lows again before it hit 10,000 because I do think we have run ahead of ourselves," Cook said.
Q: What would be needed to push the Dow above 10,000?
A: Investors will need to see more signs of an improving economy, because the stock market tends to bounce back as the economy is getting ready to recover from a recession. Investors need reassurance that they've been right to buy into the market.
Recent economic readings on housing, employment and the economy's output have signaled that the longest recession since World War II, which began in December 2007, could be ending.
"It's good news that the market has reached 9,500, but it's particularly good news that it's confirmed by most of the important economic numbers that we're looking at," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors in Albany, N.Y.
"It's not fanciful or whimsical or sheer speculation," he said, adding that some doubters have missed the rally. "The market is right; strategists, economists and individual investors have been wrong."
Q: Should average investors prepare in some way for the Dow at 10,000? Should they even care?
A: Long-term investors shouldn't react to day-to-day moves in the market, but it could be a good time to prune portfolios. Most financial advisers say it's wise to pull money from the strongest performers and funnel some of it to other investments. That helps guard against letting one part of a portfolio carry too much weight.
Q: What if the Dow doesn't hurdle 10,000?
A: If weeks and months go by and the index hasn't cruised past that number, some investors will see that as a signal that the rally is over. But keep in mind that stocks paused in June before surging again in July. Some analysts say a time-out is what stocks need after the Dow surged 45.8 percent since March — the kind of gain that might take investors five years to amass in less volatile periods.
Q: If the Dow does reach 10,000, how soon might we see another notable number?
A: Cook contends that a number like 10,500 could come within days because short-sellers — investors who try to make money by predicting that stocks will fall — could get spooked by the Dow's ascent. As worried short-sellers buy stock to cover their bets, the market could get a boost.
Q: What could blow the market out of the water?
A: It's impossible to say what could upend the rally, but analysts caution that any big disruption in the economy's recovery — like new waves of foreclosures or jumps in unemployment rolls — could send stocks tumbling.
Japan Logs Record CPI Drop and Jobless Rate
Japanese core consumer prices fell a record 2.2 percent in July from a year earlier, with weak demand playing a growing role in pushing the world's No. 2 economy deeper into deflation.
And Japan's jobless rate rose to a record high 5.7 percent in July
While last year's spike in energy costs continued to weigh on on-year comparisons in prices, an index stripping out both energy and food prices showed deflationary pressure was broadening.
The core-core inflation index, similar to the core index used in other developed countries, fell 0.9 percent in July from the same month a year ago after declining 0.7 percent in June.
The drop in the core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh fruit, vegetable and seafood prices but includes those of oil products, matched a market forecast and was bigger than a 1.7 percent drop in June.
It was the third straight month of record falls in the index, and the biggest drop under calculation methods dating back to 1970. July also marked the fifth straight month of annual falls, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications data showed on Friday.
Core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, fell a record 1.9 percent in August from a year earlier, more than a market forecast of a 1.8 percent decline.
Japan's economy returned to growth in the second quarter, pulling out of its longest recession since World War Two, but analysts warn of a rocky road ahead as the nascent recovery was based on short-term stimulus efforts around the world.
Jobless Rate Hits Record
Job availability in Japan sank to a record low, reinforcing views that it will take time for the job market to recover despite a pick-up in corporate activity.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent from 5.4 percent in June and was above a median market forecast of 5.5 percent.
The jobs-to-applicants ratio slid to 0.42 from 0.43 the month before, meaning only about four jobs were available for every 10 applicants. It was the lowest reading since the data began in 1963 and fell short of a median market forecast of 0.43.
The number of new job offers fell 23.4 percent in July from the same month last year but was flat from June, when new job offers rose on month for the first time in six months.
China's planning agency warns of rising inflation risk
China's economic planning agency said Thursday inflationary expectations are on the rise even as prices show few signs of moving higher, highlighting growing concerns among official agencies about the dangerous side effects from rapid credit growth, according to a report.
The National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement that regulators should closely monitor prices and seek to prevent shortages in the week-long national holiday beginning Oct. 1.
"Overall inflation expectations have increased, affected by recent price rises, high credit growth, and the stock market and property rebound," Dow Jones Newswires cited the National Development and Reform Commission as saying a statement.
The agency added that broad-based inflation was unlikely in the near term.
China's Baosteel to Buy 15% of Australia's Aquila
Baosteel Group, China's biggest steel mill, has agreed to invest US$240 million for a 15 percent stake in Australian coal and iron ore miner Aquila Resources, underscoring China's huge appetite for Australian assets.
Fed Officials: Must Not Ignore Stimulus 'Exit Strategy'
The U.S. Federal Reserve should be careful not to over-stimulate the economy and stay focused on an exit from its aggressive monetary expansion as growth resumes, two senior Fed officials said on Thursday.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the central bank would need to think about scaling back its economic support in the months ahead, while Richmond Fed chief Jeffrey Lacker said it should weigh whether to carry through with all of its current stimulus plans.
"As we head to 2010, the Fed will shift its focus to implementing an exit strategy in order to avoid any potential inflation threats to the economy,'' Bullard said in prepared remarks.
"Monetary policy is still very accommodative and the (Fed) intends to keep the fed funds target near zero for an extended period,'' he said, according to a summary of his presentation on the economic outlook at the College of Business at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Bullard emphasized that the exit ought to mean allowing the Fed balance sheet to shrink, perhaps by selling assets that it purchased this year to counter the worst recession since the Great Depression, rather than speedy rate hikes.
Lacker, speaking earlier at an event in Danville, Virginia, suggested the Fed should consider now whether its planned purchases of mortgage securities might give the economy more of a boost than it needs.
"I will be evaluating carefully whether we need or want the additional stimulus that purchasing the full amount authorized under our agency mortgage-backed securities purchase program would provide,'' said Lacker, who is a voting member of the central bank's policy-setting committee this year.
The Fed plans to buy up to $1.45 trillion of agency mortgage debt by Dec. 31, 2009, as well as $300 billion of longer-dated U.S. government bonds by the end of October.
The purchases were designed to prevent a contraction in the U.S. monetary base as growth slumped. Policy-makers thought this could inflict a Japan-style deflation, or period of widespread falling prices, which would have made the U.S. recession much worse. As a result they Both officials, who are generally viewed as sitting on the more hawkish, or anti-inflationary, wing of the Fed's policy-setting committee, said that the economy was showing signs of healing.
"Recent data suggest the economy is stabilizing, and there should be positive economic growth in the second half of 2009,'' said Bullard.
Their comments were somewhat at odds with remarks on Wednesday by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart, who said there should be no hasty move toward raising rates and who urged policy-makers to show patience before withdrawing monetary policy stimulus, to ensure the recovery take holds. 

Toyota Will Shut California Plant in First Closure
Toyota Motor Corp. will shut an assembly plant for the first time in its 72-year history after the failure of a joint venture with General Motors Corp. 
 
INVESTMENT VIEW
TCS: The Big Keep Getting Bigger

 
 Tata Consultancy Services, a unit of India's Tata Group conglomerate, said Thursday it was selected as a strategic information technology vendor for BP PLC, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies. Terms were not disclosed.
 
The deal is part of a year-old effort by BP to lower costs by consolidating its information technology vendors for application development and maintenance. Tata will work on refining, manufacturing and corporate IT maintenance.

(Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.)


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Arvind Parekh
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