Market Outlook for 19th Aug 2009

INTRADAY calls for 19th Aug 2009
BUY Cambridge-78 for a target 91 sl 75
BUY HIKAL-299 for a target 310-315 sl 295
BUY Mahindforg-71 for a target 81 sl 67

INVESTMENT
BUY NUMERIC-450 with sl 400

 

Strong & Weak  futures  
This is list of 10 strong futures: FSL, Bhushan Steel, GSPL, Mphasis, Rolta Ltd, Jindal Saw, Bharat Forge, Patni, Polaris Software & Cummins India.

And this is list of 10 Weak futures:

Union Bank Of India, Chambal Fert, Hero Honda, Divi'S Lab, RCom, Dabut India, Nagarjuna Fert, Ivrcl Infra, Indian Bank & Suzlon
Nifty is in downtrend
 

NIFTY FUTURES (F & O):  
Above 4456 level, rally may continue up to 4471 level and thereafter expect a jump up to 4505-4507 zone by non-stop.

Support at 4418 & 4445 levels. Below these levels, expect profit booking up to 4365-4367 zone and thereafter slide may continue up to 4314-4316 zone by non-stop.

Buy if touches 4298-4300 zone. Stop Loss at 4247-4249 zone.

On Positive Side, cross above 4522-4524 zone can take it up to 4572-4574 zone. If crosses & sustains this zone then uptrend may continue.
 
Short-Term Investors:  
Bearish Trend. 3 closes below 4623.80 level, it can tumble up to 4092.20 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.

 

INVESTMENT BUY:
Buy INDIAN OIL CORP (NSE Cash) 
Uptrend may continue.

Mild sell-off up to 583 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 599 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 608 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 574 level for your long positions too.
 
Buy HIND OIL EXPLORA (NSE Cash) 

Uptrend may continue.

Mild sell-off up to 250 level can be used to buy. If uptrend continues, then it may continue up to 259 level for time being. 

If crosses & sustains at above 263 level then uptrend may continue.

Keep a Stop Loss at 246 level for your long positions too.
 
Global Cues & Rupee 
 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,217.94. Up by 82.60 points.
The Broader S&P 500 closed at 989.67. Up by 9.94 points.

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 1,955.92. Up by 25.08 points.

The partially convertible rupee INR=IN ended at 48.78/79 per dollar on yesterday, above Monday's close of 48.955/965.
 
 Interesting findings on web: 
 Home Depot, Target top estimates; investors shake off renewed weakness in residential construction.

The Dow Jones average rose 82.60, or 0.9 percent, to 9,217.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 9.94, or 1 percent, to 989.67, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 25.08, or 1.3 percent, to 1,955.92.

The MSCI World Index added 1.1 percent at 4:05 p.m. in New York, with 20 of 23 developed markets advancing. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 1 percent to 989.67 as financial, commodity and technology companies led gains.

"This is a bull market, and it will continue to do OK," said Craig Hodges, a fund manager at Dallas-based Hodges Capital Management Inc., which oversees about $750 million. "There are necessary corrections you need in order for it to stay healthy. It's a tug of war."

Mohamed El-Erian, co-CEO of PIMCO, told Reuters television that he thinks stocks have hit a wall.

"I think what you are seeing is a massive tug of war going on," El-Erian said. "On the one hand, pushing stocks higher are powerful technicals, the fact that very low yields on the front end have pushed cash out of the money market segment and into the risk assets," he explained. "But on the other hand, the fundamentals are such that valuations are ahead of fundamentals."

An early lift came from Europe, where a highly anticipated report out of Germany — whose export-driven economy is the biggest on the Continent — showed a spike in investor confidence for August. But it was earnings reports from major retailers that steadied investors' nerves and led the market to recover about half of its losses from the Monday sell-off. Financial sector stocks like American Express helped nudge a broad base of stocks comfortably higher throughout the afternoon.

The Labor Department also said Tuesday that prices offered to the country's manufacturers in July declined more than expected, a report that deflected concerns that inflation might hamper an incipient recovery.

U.S. stocks were on the mend Tuesday after a steep sell-off Monday erased August gains for major equity indexes. A pair of better-than-expected earnings reports from national retail chains sparked the modest advance, and investors brushed off a hiccup in the latest reading on residential construction.

The day's rally began abroad, where an upbeat reading on consumer confidence from Germany fueled an advance in European bourses. Those gains carried over to Wall Street, where stocks were still comfortably higher at midday.

Home Depot ( HD - news - people ) helped things along with second-quarter earnings that topped estimates, a day after rival Lowe's ( LOW - news - people ) disappointed investors with its own report card. Despite the challenges created by weak consumer spending and a battered housing market, Home Depot posted profits of 67 cents a share, down 7% from a year earlier, but better than the 59 cents analysts anticipated.

Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter noted that for the first time in recent memory Home Depot's U.S. same-store sales were better than Lowe's.

Shares of Home Depot gained $1.07, or 4.1%, to $27.18, even as the stabilization of the housing market appeared to hit a speed bump. The Commerce Department said construction of new homes and apartments was down 1% in July, driven largely by a 13% decline in multi-family dwellings.

Applications for new building permits, a forward-looking indicator of future construction, were down 1.8%.

Investors brushed off the data, and took a 0.9% drop in the producer price index in stride, to send stocks higher Tuesday.

Richard Ross, head of global technical strategy at New York brokerage firm Auerbach Grayson, said he views Monday's sharp pullback as a good sign, creating an entry point for long-term buyers, even if it takes a day or so for the market to consolidate its losses and turn higher. "I'm not expecting everyone to jump back in the pool today," Ross said, but he thinks the market has plenty of room to run if the S&P 500 can break through a key 1,014 resistance level after closing Monday at 980.

Target ( TGT - news - people ) joined Home Depot on the earnings calendar, reporting a better-than-expected second-quarter as improved gross margins helped overcome a 6.2% decline in same-store sales. Shares of the discount chain were up $2.99, or 7.3%, to $44.20.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM - news - people ) inked a deal with Chinese state-run energy firm PetroChina ( PTR - news - people ) to provide liquefied natural gas from its 25% stake in Australia's Gorgon offshore gas field. The 20-year agreement could be worth more than $41 billion. Shares of Exxon slipped 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $66.34 Tuesday. American depositary receipts of PetroChina were up $1.86, or 1.7%, to $109.31 in New York.

"In the morning, we walked in expecting the other shoe to drop," said Bart Barnett, head of equity trading at Morgan Keegan. "Once we saw that the price numbers were noninflationary, we shook it off and thought things are here to stay, in particular because, I think, we came through a pretty decent earnings period."

Despite the broad market rebound on Tuesday, caution was the watchword. Volume has fallen off during the past few sessions, and a lack of earnings and economic news in the coming weeks could keep the market range bound.

"There is going to be some trading opportunities in the next few weeks, but we've put in a short-term top at 1000 or 1010 on the S&P 500 and we need a short-term catalyst to get through it," said Russ Koesterich, head of investment strategy for Barclays Global Investors. "That just isn't going to happen in the next few weeks."

But better-than-expected earnings from major chains like Home Depot, Target and the TJX Companies soothed some fears for the retail sector.

TJX, owner of the discount retailers T. J. Maxx and Marshalls, reported profits of $261.6 million, a 27 percent increase over the year before. Total sales also increased by 4 percent in the second quarter as households sought bargains.

Still, Carol M. Meyrowitz, the chief executive, said on a conference call that "we have more opportunities in front of us than ever before."

Upmarket chain Saks reported that it carefully managed expenses kept costs low and helped it beat earnings estimates. Its shares gained 6.9 per cent to $5.72.

"Retailers have come a long way since this time last year in terms of cost-cutting, inventory management and store closures," wrote Ken Perkins, president of retail research firm Retail Metrics, in a report released Tuesday.

Perkins now projects that, industrywide, second-quarter earnings will fall 7.5 percent, better than the 19 percent drop he predicted in late March but marking a ninth consecutive quarter of falling profit.

Financial stocks led the way, however, helped in part by improving credit card losses.

Citigroup climbed 3.5 per cent to $4.14 and Bank of America gained 2.1 per cent to $16.90.

Goldman Sachs was upgraded to "buy" at Pali Research, which predicted continued strength in its fixed-income business, and the stock rose 2.1 per cent to $160.48.

American Express, meanwhile, was upgraded by KBW after credit losses improved last month. Its shares picked up 4.3 per cent to $31.69.

CIT Group was one of the strongest financial companies, up 2.9 per cent to $1.40 after the commercial lender announced a narrower loss than in the same quarter last year. On Monday the group announced that it had bought more time to fight off bankruptcy by completing a $1bn debt tender.

Trader Peter McCorry, of Keefe Bruyette & Woods in New York, said that bank stocks, which are still beaten down in historic terms, benefited on Tuesday from investors' appetite for bargains.

But he said many traders are also still on guard against a possible market correction that could put the S&P between 925 and 955.

"There's a sense that things might have been overdone," during Monday's selloff, said McCorry. "But right now, things are still quiet in terms of volume. People are trading on headlines and technicals."

David Chalupnik, head of equities trading at FAF Advisors in Minneapolis, said the recent strength of high-risk stocks in the financial sector and elsewhere with higher levels of debt on their balance sheets suggests that the market's summer run-up could yet resume.

"This is really the sort of pattern you usually see at the end of a recession," as investors' appetite for risk mends, said Chalupnik. "We're seeing it now both on up days and down days, when the low-quality stocks don't get beaten up as badly as everything else."

Chalupnik said his firm has added more recovery-sensitive names in its portfolio in recent months, including retailers like Home Depot, Target and TJX. Immediately following those companies' earnings reports, however, FAF was holding its positions steady on Tuesday, Chalupnik said.

American Axle , like many other US car parts makers, has suffered with the failures of GM and Chrysler.

But its stock leapt 117.6 per cent to $5.70 yesterday after GM agreed to pay the company up to $210m in payments and loans, and extend a waiver on credit terms.

There was weakness among health insurers, which bucked Monday's losing trend on signs that the Obama administration could abandon the public insurer element of its healthcare reforms.

Agilent Technologies swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss, but the maker of testing and measurement equipment's results topped Wall Street's expectations and it gave a more optimistic fiscal fourth-quarter forecast than analysts estimated. Agilent closed up 1.85, or 7.9%, at 25.41.

Health-care-services company Cardinal Health increased 85 cents, or 2.6%, to 34.21, as its fiscal fourth-quarter income dropped 14%, though earnings matched and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations. The company also raised its fiscal-year earnings view and gave a stronger-than-expected projection for revenue growth.

Perrigo (Nasdaq) tacked on 1.38, or 5.2%, to 27.88, after posting fiscal fourth-quarter earnings up 0.4%, helped by higher sales and strength in its prescription-drug business, prompting the maker of store-brand pharmaceutical and nutritional products to issue a fiscal 2010 earnings outlook above analysts' estimates.

Oppenheimer raised its stock-investment rating on glass maker Corning to "outperform" from "perform," saying anxieties about the company reaching Wall Street's earnings-per-share estimates are inflated. Corning closed up 72 cents, or 4.8%, at 15.88.

Slot-machine company International Game Technology rose 92 cents, or 5%, to 19.17, after J.P. Morgan raised its stock-investment rating on the company to "overweight" from "neutral," saying a recent pullback in the stock has presented a "good entry point in front of an anticipated pickup in domestic replacement orders and expansion opportunities."

General Motors ( GMGMQ.PK - news - people ) turned heads after the car company said it would make more vehicles in response to rising demand. GM will increase production by 35% this quarter and 20% in the fourth quarter while adding shifts at two plants and hiring back 1,350 workers.

Huron Consulting Group (HURN) rallied 37.6% in unusually active Nasdaq trading after the business consultant reported higher quarterly revenue and earnings that topped estimates.

After a sell-off on Monday, airline stocks rebounded Tuesday, with American Airlines parent AMR and United Airlines parent UAL leading the way. Recently, the NYSE Arca Airline Index rose 2.1% to 22.82 points. In the previous session, the benchmark index sank about 8%.

The Nasdaq outperformed other major indexes after RBC cited investment opportunities in smartphone makers and raised its price target on Apple [AAPL  164.0056    4.4156  (+2.77%)], Research In Motion [RIMM  73.97    3.25  (+4.6%)   ] and Palm [PALM  13.88    0.65  (+4.91%)]. All three stocks rose more than 2 percent, with RIMM and Palm closer to 5 percent.

After the close, Hewlett-Packard reported a 19 percent drop in third-quarter earnings but still beat forecasts.

Dow component Hewlett-Packard [HPQ  43.96    0.85  (+1.97%)   ] and chip maker Analog Devices [ADI  27.22    0.46  (+1.72%)   ] ahead of their earnings after the bell.

Financial stocks, retailers and materials companies, which led the market lower on Monday, all did well as buyers were tempted back into the market.

Wien said other parts of the world -- China for one -- are beginning to recover more quickly than the U.S. "It is a positive. The U.S. can't operate alone," he said.

More signs of cross border recovery came from companies Tuesday. Hewlett Packard said it sees double-digit revenue growth in China. Separately, Cargill told reporters that it sees signs of an economic recovery in some emerging market countries. The company said China has been a big importer of soybeans, but it also said Brazil is showing signs of strength. Cargill is a diversified company in the food and energy businesses and is involved in risk management. It also owns 64 percent of fertilizer company Mosaic.

Oil,Gold & Currencies:

Oil prices regained some ground by mid-Tuesday. After dropping more than 5 percent in two days, crude futures settled at just over $69 a barrel.

Crude oil rose for the first time in three days, surging the most this month, as the dollar dropped against the euro, bolstering the appeal of commodities.

"Oil is rising today because stocks are up and the dollar is a little weaker," said Stephen Schork, president of consultant Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania. "This market is getting smacked around a lot. It's following what's occurring elsewhere."

Crude oil for September delivery increased $2.44, or 3.7 percent, to settle at $69.19 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest gain since July 31. Oil has advanced 55 percent this year.

Gold for December delivery rose US$3.40 an ounce to $939.20 in New York.

The dollar fell against the euro for the first time in three days as the increase in German investor confidence added to evidence a global economic recovery is taking shape.

The pound increased from near a one-month low versus the dollar after a report showed the U.K. inflation rate was higher in July than economists forecast as the nation's recession eased. The dollar and yen declined against major counterparts including the South African rand as stocks and commodities advanced, reducing demand for relative safety.

"Economic growth looks better, and capital flows into commodity-sensitive currencies," said Warren Naphtal, who oversees $870 million in assets as the chief investment officer at P/E Investments in Weston, Massachusetts. "For the flight- to-quality trade to be taken to the next level, you really need very negative news."

Europe's currency increased 0.6 percent to 133.86 yen at 4:25 p.m. in New York, from 133.08 yesterday.

The euro appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.4127 after touching $1.4046 yesterday, the lowest level since July 30. The yen weakened 0.3 percent to 94.74 per dollar, from 94.50 yesterday, when it reached 94.21, the strongest level since July 29.

Bonds:

Government bonds continued to slide, however. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 11/32, to 100 31/32, The yield rose to 3.51 percent, from 3.47 percent late Monday.

The bond market fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 3.526 percent from 3.491 percent on Monday while that on the 30-year bond climbed to 4.365 percent from 4.348 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

What to expect:

WEDNESDAY: Weekly mortgage applications; weekly crude inventories; Earnings from Deere, Limited.

THURSDAY: Weekly jobless claims; leading indicators; Philly Fed survey; Earnings from Gamestop, Hormel, and Sears.

FRIDAY: Existing-home sales; Earnings from JM Smucker.

Investors Wednesday will focus on Hewlett Packard's better-than-expected earnings report and raised forecast, released Tuesday after the bell. The shares weakened, though, as Hewlett said its sequential revenue would be up about 8 percent in the fourth quarter, less than analysts' expected.

There is no U.S. economic data Wednesday, and there are just a few earnings including Deere, ahead of the bell, and Limited Brands, NetApp and Petsmart, after the close.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a joint news conference Wednesday at 10 am to announce new federal guidelines to help employers and businesses deal with the flu season.

Asia:

The major indexes in Asia started the Wednesday session with modest gains following a solid session in Wall Street led by retail results and an unexpected drop in groundbreaking on new homes.

Japan's Nikkei average dipped 0.2 percent in choppy trade on Wednesday, weighed down by investor caution after disappointing U.S. housing data, but blue-chip stocks such as Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and carmakers jumped after brokerage upgrades.

Tokyo stocks erased gains to end Wednesday morning lower in directionless trading, as investors took cues from the Shanghai market's fall amid a lack of key incentives, though tech and auto shares fared well.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co. (5423) shares traded higher Wednesday morning, climbing 43 yen from Tuesday at one point to 1,143 yen.

Rohm Co. (6963) shares rose for the first time in four trading days Wednesday morning, briefly climbing 1.6% from Tuesday to 6,300 yen.

Korea's Kospi [KR;KSPI  1555.6    5.36  (+0.35%)   ] was also up, with solid gains in auto issues and banks including Shinhan Financial lending support.

And Australia's S&P/ASX 200 [AU;XJO  4403.2    21.60  (+0.49%)   ] climbed, led by investment bank Macquarie and Qantas after the airline cheered investors with a promising outlook.

Japanese equities turned broadly lower and Hong Kong shares fell, with financial and airline stocks weighing on the markets Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Average was down 0.2% at the midday break, while the Topix 1000 was marginally lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was off 0.2% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises was down 0.4%. Financial shares were mostly down, with Japan's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group /quotes/comstock/!8306 (JP:8306 593.00, +2.00, +0.34%) losing 1%, and Hong Kong-listed Bank of China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:3988 (HK:3988 3.72, -0.03, -0.80%) 0.8% lower. Airlines also lost ground, with Japan Airlines Corp. /quotes/comstock/!9205 (JP:9205 168.00, +3.00, +1.82%) falling 1.2%, and Air China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:753 (HK:753 4.40, -0.08, -1.79%) declining 2%. However, some markets saw gains, as the Shanghai Composite was up a fraction after its previous tumble and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 up 0.8%.

HSI 20275.74 -30.53 -0.15% (08.45 AM IST).

Hong Kong stocks fluctuated as Soho China gained after saying it will enter the Shanghai market, while Maanshan Iron & Steel declined after reporting a half-year loss for the second consecutive period.

Soho China, the biggest developer in Beijing's central business district, rose 2.3 percent. Maanshan Iron, the second-biggest Hong Kong-listed Chinese steelmaker, slid 1.1 percent.

Sinotrans Shipping, the dry-bulk arm of China's third-largest shipping group, declined 1.3 percent after UBS AG recommended investors sell the stock.

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, a provider of mobile and fixed-line phone services, jumped 5.5 percent after Goldman Sachs Group raised its share-price forecast for the stock.

The Hang Seng Index added 2.58 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 20,308.85 as of 10.28am, after climbing as much as 0.2 percent and dropping as much as 0.7 percent.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks so-called H shares of Chinese companies, rose 0.1 percent to 11,456.03.

Hong Kong stocks retreated on Wednesday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index opening 111 points lower at 20,195.

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 87 points lower at 11,360.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd<0001> decreased 0.93% from the previous closing to HK$95.6. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd<0013> rose 0.89% and opened at HK$56.5.

Chinese stocks open 0.18% higher on Wed

Chinese stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday morning, tracking gains from the previous closing.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, opened at 2,916.09 points, up 0.18% or 5.21 points from the previous closing.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange opened 0.38% or 44.7 points higher at 11,818 points.

BYD, SAIC sign lithium-ion supply deal

BYD Co Ltd<1211>, China's largest rechargeable battery maker and a well-known automobile producer, recently signed an agreement with one of China's top three auto groups to provide lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles, sources reported.

Sources said that BYD's sales manager Wang Jianjun confirmed that BYD did reach an agreement with a major auto maker in China but declined to disclose the name of the partner.

Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Volkswagen and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, is believed to be BYD's domestic partner.

In July, SAIC said it plans to invest more than RMB 12 billion in the next three or five years to develop hybrid vehicles and related auto parts. The auto maker also signed an agreement with the Shanghai municipal government to jointly develop the new-energy vehicle industry.

SAIC is planning to launch a new product, the Roewe 750 hybrid sedan, that could cut fuel costs by 20% as compared to the existing model. Its Roewe 550 mid-class sedan, another plug-in hybrid model, will be unveiled and commercialized in 2012. The model can improve fuel-efficiency by 50%.

BYD's iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries can be recharged more than 2,000 times, which allows the batteries to last for over 600,000 km.

In May, BYD and Volkswagen AG formed a partnership to jointly develop hybrid and electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries.

PetroChina, Exxon Mobil ink US$41-bln gas deal

PetroChina Co Ltd<601857><0857><PTR>, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, on Aug. 18 signed a 20-year US$41-billion contract with Exxon Mobil Corp to purchase 2.25 million tons of liquid natural gas per year from the Gorgon field off the coast of Australia, sources reported.

The deal with Exxon is PetroChina's third contract for importing LNG from Australia since 2007, and is Australia's biggest trade deal in history, said Martin Ferguson, Australia's Minister of Energy and Resources.

In 2007, PetroChina teamed up with Woodside Petroleum to purchase LNG worth US$37 billion from the Browse Basin, which is located off the northwest coast of Australia.

At present, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Plc each hold a 25% stake in the Gorgon field, and Chevron Corp holds the remaining 50%. Prior to the deal with Exxon Mobil, PetroChina inked a deal with Royal Dutch Shell to purchase LNG from the Gorgon field, which has potential gas reserves exceeding 40 trillion cubic feet. 
 
POSITIONAL BUY
Gitanjali Gems: Will The Herd Chase The Bling? Why Not!

Diamond cos may sparkle again

 
Domestic market is shoring up the recession-hit Indian diamond industry. For the first time, diamond jewellery sales in India will touch Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal. This is a big shift for the troubled industry as India has traditionally been a gold jewellery market. 

The estimates for the fiscal are significant as last year the sales were in the Rs 18,000-20,000 crore range. The 20% growth in the business is being attributed to the growing popularity of diamonds along with the increasing acceptability of the precious stone among investors. 

"Demand for diamond jewellery is increasing slowly in India. With gold prices increasing, people are moving towards diamond jewellery and this year, we expect diamond jewellery sales to touch Rs 25,000 crore here," Mehul Choksi, CMD of Gitanjali Gems and chairman of Ficci's gems and jewellery committee, told ET. Diwali festival sales contribute more than 20% to the total diamond jewellery sales, Mr Choksi said, adding, this festival, the diamond jewellery demand will be 50% higher compared with last year. 

The changing consumer preference towards diamond jewellery may be attributed to the rising gold prices. Gold is hovering around Rs 15,000 per 10 gm, a reason enough for buyers to go for light weight gold jewellery, studded with diamonds. 

India's total jewellery business is around Rs 1.50 lakh crore. Gold prices are at their peak and consumers are purchasing diamond-studded gold jewellery in which the proportion of gold is minimised, Mr Choksi said. 

The Indian diamond industry faced troubled times after September 2008, when demand from the US and Europe touched its bottom. The industry has since been promoting Indian diamonds in China and the Middle East, apart from the domestic market. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) will start a campaign in 16 cities to promote diamond jewellery sales. 

"Around 25,000 buyers visited 1,500 stalls in India's biggest jewellery show, India International Jewellery Show, recently, out of which 22,000 buyers were from the domestic market. The sector is unorganised and it is difficult to give exact figures. However, we expect good sales of diamond jewellery in the country this year," Sanjay Kothari, convenor (promotion, marketing and business development) of GJEPC, said. According to sources, the show got good response and business stood at more than Rs 15,000 crore. 

While overall diamond jewellery business will register a growth of 20%, branded players in the segment will register a growth rate of 40-50%, Mr Choksi said. Consumer awareness about diamond certification is increasing and it is helping branded players to gain more business. "Demand for diamond and colour stone-studded gold jewellery is not increasing just in metros, but also in medium and semi-urban areas. 

Higher middle class is also moving to diamond jewellery for marriages and other occasions," said Pravin Nanavati, MD of She Jewels, which is totally focused in the domestic market.

(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.)
 
FII DATA

FII trading activity on NSE and BSE in Capital Market Segment(In Rs. Crores)
Category	Date	Buy Value	Sell Value	Net Value
FII	18-Aug-2009	1658.39	2380.23	-721.84

 

DII trading activity on NSE and BSE in Capital Market Segment(In Rs. Crores)
Category	Date	Buy Value	Sell Value	Net Value
DII	18-Aug-2009	1327.46	860.02	467.44

 

SPOT LEVELS TODAY

	4458.90	( 1.62 %)	71.00
		1	2	3
Resistance		4509.35	4559.80	4628.15
Support		4390.55	4322.20	4271.75

	15035.26		( 1.69 %)	250.34
			1	2	3
Resistance			15199.76	15364.26	15594.01
Support			14805.51	14575.76	14411.26

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Arvind Parekh
+ 91 98432 32381