INDIAN STOCK MARKET END SESSION 16TH APRIL

The key benchmark indices edged lower in volatile trade as an imminent hike in key short-term interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at a policy review next week weighed on investor sentiment. Stocks fell for the fourth straight trading session. The market breadth was weak. In global cues, European stocks were volatile and US index futures were off lows. Asian stocks edged lower.

The BSE 30-share Sensex shed 48.08 points or 0.27%, off close to 75 points from the day's high and up close to 60 points from the day's low. From a recent high of 17,933.14 on 9 April 2010, the Sensex has lost 341.96 points or 1.9% in the last four trading sessions.

Intraday volatility was immense in today's trade. Stocks cut losses soon after an initial slide caused by weak Asian stocks. The market weakened shortly with the Sensex hitting a fresh intraday low in early trade. The market bounced back from lower level in morning trade. The market slipped into the red once again after briefly regaining positive zone in mid-morning trade when it hit a fresh intraday high. The market moved in a range in early afternoon trade.

Weak opening of European markets kept domestic bourses depressed in afternoon trade. Stocks extended losses later. A sudden rebound saw the Sensex briefly regaining positive zone in mid-afternoon trade as the barometer index hit a fresh intraday high. The market again slipped into the red.

NSE's volatility index, India VIX, rose almost 1% to 21.78. The index had surged 7.15% on Thursday, 15 April 2010. India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 calendar days. The index is calculated based on the S&P CNX Nifty options prices.

Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in volatile trade. Another index heavyweight ICICI Bank came off the day's high. Realty stocks fell on fears of interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next week. Auto, IT and telecom stocks also fell. Capital goods stocks were mixed. However, FMCG stocks gained on defensive buying as the Sensex fell for the fourth day in a row.

The fourth quarter earnings of India Inc are major near term trigger for the market. This is because the Q4 March 2010 results and management commentary on outlook could result in revision in earnings estimates of India Inc by analysts for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011).

Expectations of good fourth quarter result by India Inc and heavy foreign fund inflows boosted the domestic bourses in recent weeks with the key benchmark indices surging to their highest level in more than 25 months on 7 April 2010. The market witnessed a correction later.

The combined net profit of a total of 45 companies declined 15.7% to Rs 2402 crore on 29.1% rise in net sales to Rs 22033 crore in the quarter ended March 2010 over the quarter ended March 2009.

The Reserve Bank of India is seen raising key short term interest rates by 25 to 50 basis points at a policy review on Tuesday, 20 April 2010. The central bank is also expected to raise the cash reserve ratio to suck out excess liquidity from the banking system. Last month, the RBI raised the repo rate and the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points each.

The latest data showed the wholesale prices rose 9.9% in March 2010 from a year earlier and a tad higher than February's annual rate of 9.89%. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said price pressures would continue until June, when summer harvests and good rains should help cool prices.

Rising inflation remains a key cause for concern. A sharp surge in interest rates may adversely impact private investment demand as well as the proposed large scale investment in the infrastructure sector.

Meanwhile, double-digit annual growth in industrial output for the fifth straight month in February 2010 underlined the strength of the economic recovery. Data on Monday, 12 April 2010, showed the industrial output rose 15.1% in February from a year earlier, less than a rise of 16.7% in January.

Good rains this year after last year's drought will boost farm output and rural incomes. But another monsoon failure will add to inflationary pressure which in turn may hamper the current strong economic rebound. The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmlands are rain-fed and more than half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector.

Tokyo-based Research Institute for Global Change has predicted normal monsoon rains in India for the current year. Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in a media interview on Monday, 5 April 2010, that early signs indicate normal monsoon rains this year. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues a monsoon forecast, usually in the second half of April after considering weather observations in different parts of the world and extrapolating statistical data.

A weakening El Nino is a positive sign for the monsoon, Ajit Tyagi, director general at the India Meteorological Department, had said on 18 March 2010.

Losses for commodity-sector firms pulled the European stocks lower on Friday in volatile trade, as the dollar gained against major rivals. The key benchmark indices in UK and Germany were down by between 0.05% to 0.16%. France's CAC 40 rose 0.06%.

Asian stocks retreated from 22-month highs on Friday as fresh doubts about the US economic recovery and Greece's rescue package prompted profit taking. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan fell by between 0.32% to 1.52%. Property and banking stocks led the decline in China after Beijing tightened policies toward the residential property market on Thursday.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 10 points at the opening bell on Friday, 16 April 2010. US index futures pared early losses.

US stocks posted their sixth straight day of gains on Thursday as an encouraging profit forecast from United Parcel Service lifted transportation shares, though concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited the market's advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 21.46 points or 0.19% to 11,144.57. The Nasdaq rose 10.83 points or 0.43% to 2515.69 and the S&P 500 rose 1.02 points or 0.08% to 1211.67.

Global trade will face lingering protectionism for up to two years, as the job market reels from the global financial crisis, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Thursday

Back home, Sebi has tightened disclosure norms for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and sub-accounts with regard to the investment structure in India. The norms are applicable for new registrations from 7 April 2010. Existing FIIs and sub-accounts can provide the additional information by 30 September 2010.

These foreign investors will now have to disclose to the regulator whether they are a multi class vehicle (MCVs), segregated portfolio company (SPC) or a protected cell company (PCCs) and whether they maintain segregated or a common portfolio.

Meanwhile, a new rule released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has clarified that an individual foreign institutional investor (FII) will not be allowed to pick up more than 10% equity in an Indian company even if it is coming through the foreign direct investment route thus limiting their ability to acquire big stakes in companies.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if and to what extent the recent controversy with regard to unit linked insurance plans (Ulips) negatively impacts inflows into Ulips which are a major source of inflows into equities. Ulips are products similar to mutual funds with an added life cover. A large chunk of funds raised through Ulips are invested in equities.

The stock market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has reportedly moved the Supreme Court and some high courts to guard against any ex parte decision after insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA)'s decision to challenge Sebi's ban on unit-linked insurance products (Ulips). On 9 April 2010, Sebi had banned 14 life insurance companies from raising funds through Ulips without its approval.

IRDA, on the other hand, asked insurers to ignore the Sebi ban. On Tuesday, Sebi came out with a second order that exempted existing Ulips from the ban, but said its nod was must for issuing new Ulips issued after 9 April 2009.

According to IRDA, a total of 16.7 lakh Ulip policies, with a premium of Rs 44611 crore, were sold from 1 April 2009 to 28 February 2010. A total of 7.03 crore Ulip polices involving a total premium of Rs 90645 crore were in force in 2008-09.

The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 48.08 points or 0.27% to 17,591.18. The index fell 109.71 points at the day's low of 17,529.55 in early trade. The Sensex rose 24.73 points at the day's high of 17,663.99 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty fell 11 points or 0.21% to 5256.60.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 4087 crore, lower than Rs 4838.39 crore on Thursday, 15 April 2010.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 1705 shares declined as compared with 1178 that advanced. A total of 124 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was positive in early trade.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 22 fell while rest rose.

The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.27%, matching the fall in the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.19% and outperformed the Sensex.

Most sectoral indices on BSE declined. Consumer Durables index (up 1.89%), FMCG index (up 1.22%), Metal index (up 0.16%), Bankex (down 0.05%), Healthcare index (down 0.16%), outperformed the Sensex.

The Power index (down 0.71%), PSU index (down 0.62%), Capital Goods index (down 0.56%), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 0.55%), Auto index (down 0.51%), Teck index (down 0.48%), IT index (down 0.47%), Realty index (down 0.44%), underperformed the Sensex.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.64% to Rs 1083.30, extending Thursday's near 3% losses. Nonetheless, the stock came off the day's low of Rs 1067.05. RIL today said it will provide growth capital to logistics firm Deccan 360. The investment would be done through a wholly owned subsidiary. Deccan 360 is a cargo service headed by Captain Gopinath.

RIL on 9 April 2010 said the company will pay $1.7 billion to form a joint venture at one of the most promising natural gas deposit regions in the US with Atlas Energy, becoming the latest foreign company to invest in shale plays that are expected to be very lucrative. The firm will pick up a 40% stake in Atlas's operations in the booming Marcellus Shale, a gas project that spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York in the United States and which, according to some geologists, could hold enough natural gas to satisfy US demand for a decade.

Capital goods pivotals fell. India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) ended flat after seeing intraday volatility. The stock hit a high of Rs 1580.20 and a low of Rs 1560.25. The company, last week, received an order worth Rs 1,060 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to build an offshore oil platform.

India's top power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) lost 1.49%, with the scrip sliding for the second straight day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,585 on Monday, 12 April 2010.

Among other capital goods stocks, SKF India, BEML and Praj Industries fell by between 1.38% to 3.4%.

Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile operator by sales, fell 0.16%. The company added 30 lakh mobile subscribers in March 2010, and took its total subscribers to 12.76 crore. India's second largest mobile operator by sales Reliance Communications fell 0.91%.

FMCG stocks rose on expectation of good Q4 results. Dabur India, ITC, Godrej Consumer Products, Hindustan Unilever rose by between 0.53% to 4.86%

India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.56% on profit taking after hitting a record high of Rs 2,823.80 on Thursday 15 April 2010. The stock had surged in the past two trading sessions after the company issued a stronger revenue guidance in dollar terms for financial year ending March 2011 (FY 2011). The stock had jumped 3.69% on Tuesday, 13 April 2010, after the IT bellwether projected a 16% to 18% growth in revenue in dollar terms at between at between $5.57 billion to $5.67 billion for the current year.

Among other IT pivotals, India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro rose 0.23%. India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services fell 0.69% on profit taking after a two-day rise.

Realty stocks fell on fears of interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its monetary policy review meet scheduled on 20 April 2010. Most of the property sales are driven by borrowed funds. Ackruti City, Parsvnath Developers, Unitech, Anant Raj Industries, HDIL and DLF fell by between 1.41% to 2.44%.

Auto stocks fell on profit taking after recent strong gains triggered by expectations of strong Q4 results. Vehicle sales in India should grow 10-15% in the fiscal year to March 2011, an industry body said on Friday 9 April 2010. In 2009/10, a total of 1.23 crore vehicles were sold in the country, up 26.4% from the previous fiscal year, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed.

India's top small car maker by sales, Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.23%, extending recent losses. The company recently raised prices of its vehicles across different models due to higher input costs and expenses from the introduction of the new Bharat Stage IV emission norms.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell 1.51%. Mahindra & Mahindra said after trading hours that it is buying out Renault's stake in a joint venture that makes the Logan sedan. The Renault name and logo will continue to be used on the Logan till the end of calendar 2010, the company said in a statement.

India's leading bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors fell 1.62%. The stock had lost 5.29% on Tuesday when the scrip turned ex-dividend for a special dividend Rs 80 per share.

India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto fell 1.48%. Bajaj Auto today said it has raised its stake in KTM Power Sports AG, Europe's second largest motorcycle maker.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose 1.15%, with the stock gaining for the second straight day after company said on Thursday its global vehicle sales rose 39% to 101,712 units in March 2010 over March 2009.This includes sales of UK-based Jaguar and land Rover brands that rose 43% to 23,538 vehicles in March 2010 over March 2009

Most carmakers increased vehicle prices from 1 April 2010 after 13 cities across the country switched over to Bharat Stage IV emission norms. Earlier in February 2010, following the 2% increase in excise duty on all non-oil products to 10% in the Budget, auto players had hiked prices of vehicles by up to Rs 70,000.

Automobile firms are seen reporting strong Q4 results on a healthy volume growth. However, the sector is witnessing a headwind of rising input costs. Recently, Maruti Suzuki raised car prices due to a surge in input costs and shift to new emission norms from 1 April 2010. M&M, too, hiked utility vehicles prices recently.

Healthcare stocks fell on profit taking. Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Pfizer, fell by between 0.07% to 1.62%.

Metal stocks also fell on profit taking. Sterlite Industries, National Aluminum Company, Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Zinc fell by between 0.4% to 1.05%.

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 1.33%. The company said recently its sales for the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2010 rose 18% from a year ago to 6.17 million tonnes.

Banking stocks were mixed. India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India fell 0.36%, with the stock sliding for the second straight day. Chairman O.P. Bhatt said recently that the bank may raise its lending and deposit rates in a couple of months. The state-owned bank will wait for the Indian central bank's monetary policy action to take a final call on interest moves, Bhatt said.

Among other PSU banks, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, rose by between 0.59% to 1.17%.

India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank was flat. Its ADR rose 0.6% on Thursday.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 0.39% to Rs 921.65 . The stock came off the day's high of Rs 935.80. The stock had corrected 6.07% to Rs 918.10 on 15 April 2010 from Rs 977.45 on 9 April 2010.

India's largest mortgage finance firm by total income Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) fell 0.72%. The company said on Thursday it has launched a Dual Rate Product-2 (DRHL-2) in which home loan interest rates will be fixed rate at 8.25% annually up to 31 March 2011, 9% for the period between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, and the applicable floating rate for the balance term. The offer is for loan application made before 30 April 2010 and at least part-disbursement taken before 30 June 2010.

The Reserve Bank of India said late last week banks would determine their lending rates with reference to the base rate, effective 1 July 2010. To stabilise the system of base rate calculation, banks are allowed to change the benchmark and methodology anytime

Airline stocks fell on reports state run oil marketing companies have raised jet fuel price by 3.2% following rise in global crude prices. The hike is effective from midnight of 15 April 2010. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet fell by between 1.88% to 2.7%.

Goenka Diamond clocked the highest volume of 3.03 crore shares on BSE. Cals Refineries (1.17 crore shares), Birla Power Solutions (0.83 crore shares), BAG Films (0.81 crore shares) and Unitech (0.69 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Goenka Diamond clocked the highest turnover of Rs 387.84 crore on BSE. Orbit Corporation (Rs 152.94 crore), Solvay Pharma (Rs 122.25 crore), Tata Motors-DVR (Rs 99.75 crore) and ARSS Infra (Rs 96.87 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET END SESSION APRIL 12TH 2010

A spat between regulators on oversight of unit linked insurance products or Ulips weighed on the domestic bourses in what was a volatile trading session. Finance Minister Prananb Mukherjee was after market hours quoted as saying in the electronic media that the status quo on Ulips will continue. The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 80.14 points or 0.45%, off close to 140 points from the day's high and up close to 35 points from the day's low. Auto, capital goods and banking stocks led the fall. However, the market breadth was positive. India's largest IT exporter by sales Infosys edged higher ahead of its fourth quarter results on Tuesday, 13 April 2010.

The stock market was volatile. The market bounced back soon after opening with a downward gap. The market slipped into the red shortly. The market came off the lower level after hitting a fresh intraday low in morning trade. The intraday recovery gathered further steam later with the key indices turning positive in afternoon trade tracking gains in European stocks. But the market soon slipped into the red. The market hit a fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. It came off the lower level later.

NSE's volatility index India VIX surged after Friday's (9 April 2010) slide. The index rose 8.73% to 20.05. India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 calendar days. The index is calculated based on the S&P CNX Nifty options prices.

The battle between the two regulators -- insurance regulator the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irda) and stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India -- came out into the open late last week after Sebi barred 14 insurance firms from selling Ulips without its approval. The Sebi order was issued after trading hours on Friday, 9 April 2010. But the next day the Irda told the insurance firms to continue selling Ulips. The insurance regulator also assured Ulip investors that their investments are safe. Ulips are products similar to mutual funds with an added life cover. A large chunk of funds raised through Ulips are invested in equities.

In an order issued on Friday, 9 April 2010, Sebi wholetime member Prashant Saran said Ulips are akin to the characteristics of mutual funds which issue units to the investors and provide exit at net asset value of the underlying portfolio. Ulips launched/offered by these 14 entities are different from the traditional insurance products and they are a combination of insurance and investment, the Sebi order said.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday allowed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to use government bond holdings as well as foreign sovereign securities with AAA rating as collateral for stock market transactions, doing away with an earlier rule that only allowed cash to be used. However, cross-margining of government Securities placed as margins by FIIs for their transactions in the cash segment will not be allowed between the cash and the derivative segments of the market, RBI said.

On the macro front, the industrial output rose by lower than expected 15.1% February 2010 and also lower than 16.7% rise in January 2010. Production of capital goods rose 44.4%, while consumer durable goods output grew by an annual 29.9%.

Manufacturing production rose 16% in February from a year earlier, while mining output was up 12.2% and power generation rose 6.7%. A pick up in the economy has seen a rise in inflation with the headline number poised to breach 10% in March, above February's 9.89%. The government will officially announce the inflation data for the month of March on Wednesday, 14 April 2010.

Headline inflation, which was initially driven by high food prices, is now getting a push from other segments. Inflation in manufacturing accelerated to 7.4% in February from 6.5% in January, a sign that inflation is fast becoming a demand-driven problem.

The Reserve Bank of India, citing inflationary pressures and an improving economy, hiked key rates by 25 basis points last month and is expected to raise the rates again by at least the same amount at its policy review on 20 April 2010.

Meanwhile, the stock market remains closed on Wednesday, 14 April 2010, on account of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti.

Europe stocks slipped into the red on Monday, 12 April 2010, on profit taking after euro zone finance ministers approved an emergency aid mechanism for Greece. The key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were down by between 0.01% to 0.07%.

Euro zone finance ministers approved a giant 30-billion-euro ($40.12 billion) emergency aid mechanism for debt-plagued Greece on Sunday but stressed Greece had not requested the plan be activated yet. Together with at least 10 billion euros expected from the International Monetary Fund in the first year, it could add up to the biggest multilateral financial rescue ever attempted.

Most Asian stocks rose on Monday on news the European Union had agreed on Sunday to details of a rescue package if the Greek government needs one. The key benchmark indices in Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan rose by between 0.17% to 1.28%. But, the key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong and South Korea fell by between 0.32% to 0.82%.

The Bank of Korea raised its economic growth expectations Monday to a growth of 5.2% in 2010, compared to the central bank's anticipated 4.6% expansion tipped in December.

Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Monday, 12 April 2010. Futures gave up initial gains.

US stocks rose on Friday with the Dow surpassing 11,000 for the first time in a year-and-a-half after Chevron's upbeat outlook and wholesale inventories data reinforced bets on an improving economy. The Dow briefly surpassed the psychologically important 11,000 mark late in the session for the first time since September 2008, when Wall Street was reeling from the credit meltdown, though the index closed a shade below that milestone.

Data showed US wholesale inventories rose more than expected in February and sales at wholesalers reached their highest level in 16 months, brightening prospects for first-quarter economic and earnings growth. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 70.28 points, or 0.64%, to end at 10,997.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.93 points, or 0.67%, to 1,194.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 17.24 points, or 0.71%, to 2,454.05.

Closer home, expectations of good fourth quarter result by India Inc and heavy foreign fund inflows boosted the domestic bourses in the past few weeks with the key benchmark indices surging to their highest level in more than 25 months on Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

The market is entering an important period of quarterly earnings, with IT bellwether Infosys kickstarting the reporting season on Tuesday, 13 April 2010. The Q4 March 2010 results and management commentary on outlook could result in revision in earnings estimates of India Inc by analysts for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011).

The forecast for the southwest monsoon for 2010 is the next major trigger for the market. Good rains this year after last year's drought will boost farm output and rural incomes. But another monsoon failure will add to inflationary pressure which in turn may hamper the current strong economic rebound. The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmlands are rain-fed and more than half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector.

Tokyo-based Research Institute for Global Change has predicted normal monsoon rains in India for the current year. Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in a media interview on Monday, 5 April 2010, that early signs indicate normal monsoon rains this year. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues a monsoon forecast, usually in the second half of April after considering weather observations in different parts of the world and extrapolating statistical data.

A weakening El Nino is a positive sign for the monsoon, Ajit Tyagi, director general at the India Meteorological Department, said on 18 March 2010. The cyclical heating of the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino will continue to fade, US forecasters said last month. The weather event, which occurs every four to seven years, brings more rain to South America and less precipitation to Asia.

But abnormally hot weather and lower than expected rains are reportedly raising the spectre of India facing another water shortage in the coming kharif season, reports suggest. Rains were 66% lower than normal in March.

The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 80.14 points or 0.45% to 17,853. The Sensex rose 62.11 points at the day's high of 17,995.25 in early trade. The index fell 116.95 points at the day's low of 17816.19 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty fell 22.05 points or 0.41% to 5339.70.

The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.1%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.31%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

The various sectoral indices on BSE were mixed. FMCG index (up 0.7%), Realty index (up 0.57%), IT index (up 0.19%), Consumer Durables index (up 0.13%), Metal index (down 0.24%), Oil & Gas index (down 0.33%), outperformed the Sensex. Healthcare index (down 0.52%), Power index (down 0.73%), PSU index (down 0.82%), Bankex (down 0.84%), Auto index (down 0.85%) and Capital Goods index (down 1.25%), underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1582 shares advanced as compared with 1305 that declined. A total of 83 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was much stronger earlier in the day.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 18 fell while the rest of them gained.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3989 crore, lower than Rs 4805.12 crore on Friday, 9 April 2010.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.15% to Rs 1124.30, extending Friday's 1.78% gains. RIL after trading hours on Friday said the company will pay $1.7 billion to form a joint venture at one of the most promising natural gas deposit regions in the US with Atlas Energy, becoming the latest foreign company to invest in shale plays that are expected to be very lucrative. The stock hit a high of Rs 1138.80 and a low of Rs 1122. The firm will pick up a 40% stake in Atlas's operations in the booming Marcellus Shale, a gas project that spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York in the United States and which, according to some geologists, could hold enough natural gas to satisfy US demand for a decade.

Meanwhile, RIL has reportedly made four new gas discoveries at Krishna-Godavari D6 block. The company has requested the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) for commercial approval, reports suggest.

India's largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 0.16% to Rs 2683.25 ahead of its fourth quarter result on Tuesday, 13 April 2010. The stock was volatile. It hit a high of Rs 2695.90 and a low of Rs 2652.35. The market buzz is that the company may announce a special dividend for the year ended March 2010 (FY 2010) when it unveils its Q4 March 2010 and FY 2010 results. Infosys has declared special dividend every alternate year over the few years i.e. in FY 2004, FY 2006 and FY 2008. The Infosys ADR rose 1.08% on Friday.

The key focus is on Infosys' guidance for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011). The company unveils its Q4 March 2010 and year-ended March 2010 (FY 2010) results on 13 April 2010. Market men expect a muted revenue and earnings guidance from the IT major after taking into account cross currency impact, planned employee addition, wage hike and higher taxes. The government hiked the minimum alternate tax (MAT) to 18% from 15% in the Union Budget 2010-2011.

Infosys is seen reporting about 1% to 2% growth in net profit in Q4 March 2010 over Q3 December 2009. The IT bellwether's revenue is seen rising 2% to 3% sequentially on the back of higher volume growth.

India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro fell 1.06%. Its ADR rose 1.07% on Friday. But, India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.64%.

Capital goods pivotals fell on profit taking after recent strong gains. India's top power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) fell 1.29%. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,570 on Friday, 9 April 2010. As per reports, Bhel and Karnataka State Electricity Board are likely to soon announce a Rs 9,000 crore joint venture project to set up a 1,600-megawatts power plant in the state.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 2.04%. The company, last week, received an order worth Rs 1,060 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to build an offshore oil platform.

Among other capital goods stocks, Siemens, ABB, Punj Lloyd, SKF India fell by between 0.04% to 2.1%.

Most auto stocks fell on profit taking after recent strong gains triggered by robust March 2010 sales figures. Vehicle sales in India should grow 10-15% in the fiscal year to March 2011, an industry body said on Friday 9 April 2010. In 2009/10, a total of 1.23 crore vehicles were sold in the country, up 26.4% from the previous fiscal year, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors fell 3.24% on reports company is planning to sell a part of its shareholding in Tata Cummins, a diesel engine joint venture company, as Tata Motors explores options to divest non-core assets to reduce debt. The stock had jumped 4.51% on Friday after the company reported that the Land Rover brand had its best-ever monthly sales in the British market last month. The Tata Motors ADR rose 3.2% on Friday.

The Tata Motors stock had lost 2.41% on Thursday on reports one of its ultra-cheap Nano cars caught fire on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, perhaps due to a technical snag in its rear portion.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell 2%. As per recent reports the company has raised prices of utility vehicles due to a rise in input and fuel costs, and expenses associated with migrating to new emission norms.

India's top small car maker by sales, Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.66%, extending Friday's losses. The company recently raised prices of its vehicles across different models due to higher input costs and expenses from the introduction of the new Bharat Stage IV emission norms.

But, India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto rose 0.35% in volatile trade. Bajaj Auto will distance itself from the parent brand Bajaj and focus on just four motorcycle brands - Boxer, Discover, Pulsar and KTM - as well as the rear-engine three-wheeler brand, phasing out the rest, managing director Rajiv Bajaj was quoted by the media as saying on Thursday.

India's leading bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose 1.47% extending Friday's 2.02% gains.

From this month, 13 cities across the country have switched over to Bharat Stage IV emission norms. Following this, many carmakers, have increased the vehicle prices. With newer technology required for upgradation, auto companies had said they would have to pass on the increased cost to customers. Earlier in February 2010, following the 2% increase in excise duty on all non-oil products to 10% in the Budget, auto players had hiked prices of vehicles by up to Rs 70,000.

Automobile firms are seen reporting strong Q4 results on a healthy volume growth. However, the sector is witnessing a headwind of rising input costs. Recently, Maruti Suzuki raised car prices due to a surge in input costs and shift to new emission norms from 1 April 2010. M&M, too, hiked utility vehicles prices recently.

Banking stocks fell on fears the central bank may raise interest rates in its policy review on 20 April 2010. India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India fell 0.69%. Chairman O.P. Bhatt said recently that the bank may raise its lending and deposit rates in a couple of months. The state-owned bank will wait for the Indian central bank's monetary policy action to take a final call on interest moves, Bhatt said.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank fell 1.27%, reversing early gains. Its ADR rose 2.16% on Friday. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank was flat. Its ADR rose 2.31% on Friday.

India's largest mortgage finance firm by total income Housing Development Finance Corporation fell 0.78%.

The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday banks would determine their lending rates with reference to the base rate, effective 1 July 2010. To stabilise the system of base rate calculation, banks are allowed to change the benchmark and methodology anytime during the initial six-month period up to end December, it said.

FMCG stocks rose on bargain hunting. Britannia Industries, Dabur India, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Tea rose by between 0.45% to 2.12%.

Some metal stocks rose after Rusal, the world's largest producer of aluminum, swung back from losses in 2008 to report a bigger-than-anticipated net profit of $821 million. The company also issued a bullish demand outlook for 2010.

Jindal Steel & Power, Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Zinc fell by between 0.24% to 0.9%.

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 0.82%. The company said recently its sales for the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2010 rose 18% from a year ago to 6.17 million tonnes.

Steel Authority of India (Sail) rose 0.62% on bargain hunting after recent sharp losses. The stock had tumbled late last week after the Union Cabinet approved a 20% stake sale in state-run firm in two tranches. The sale is expected to fetch the government Rs 8000 crore ($1.8 billion) in the first sale of 10%. The government currently holds 86% stake in Sail, India's top domestic maker of the alloy.

Meanwhile, copper futures traded on the London Metals Exchange reportedly climbed back above the psychologically important $8,000 a tonne level Monday, with aluminum, zinc, lead and nickel prices also posting strong gains. The optimism was fueled in part by data released over the weekend, which showed China posted a significantly wider-than-expected trade deficit of $7.24 billion in March, as imports soared more than 66% from the year-earlier period on improved demand and higher prices for commodities.

India's largest real estate company by sales DLF fell 0.12% after recent strong gains. The stock had gained in the past few days on reports the company has appointed an advisor to find buyers for Aman Resorts, a luxury hotel chain it had acquired in November 2007, for $400 million.

Among other realty stocks, Indiabulls Real Estate, Phoenix Mills, Sobha Developers fell by between 0.21% to 3.05%.

Shares of IntraSoft Technologies settled at Rs 159.35 on BSE, at a premium of 9.9% over the initial public offer price of Rs 145. The stock debuted at Rs 140, a 3.40% discount over the initial public offer (IPO) price.

Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 1.85 crore shares on BSE. Intrasoft Technologies (1.68 crore shares), TCS Software (1.29 crore shares), Rana Sugars (0.87 crore shares) and Birla Power Solutions (0.8 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Intrasoft Technologies clocked the highest turnover of Rs 267.71 crore on BSE. ARSS Infra (Rs 83.78 crore), Sesa Goa (Rs 72.91 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 67.06 crore) and Jubilant Food Organosys (Rs 65.26 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET END SESSION 9TH APRIL

The key benchmark indices recouped most of the previous day's losses as world stocks rose on strong US retail sales data. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 218.74 points or 1.23%, up close to 220 points from the day's low and off close to 40 points from the day's high. The Sensex had lost 1.42% on Thursday, 8 April 2010, on weak global cues.

Auto, capital goods, banking and consumer durables stocks led today's rebound. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) also edged higher. The market breadth was strong. All the sectoral indices on BSE were in green.

NSE's volatility index India VIX dropped sharply after Thursday's steep rise. The index declined 7.43% to 18.44. The lower level at which the index is currently trading indicates investors' desire to take risk. India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 calendar days. The index is calculated based on the S&P CNX Nifty options prices. The volatility index had jumped 15.01% to 19.92 on Thursday, 8 April 2010.

The market surged in early trade on firm Asian stocks. It came off the higher level in later. The market spurted to a fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The market once again trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. The market surged to a fresh intraday high in afternoon trade as European markets climbed at the onset of the trading session. A bout of volatility was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade as the market rebounded from lower level after earlier paring gains.

Funds investing in emerging-market stocks attracted the highest inflows in six months in the week ended 7 April 2010, garnering $3.27 billion, according to EPFR Global. All four big fund groups in this category took in fresh cash, with Asia ex-Japan funds helped by gains to China equity funds which had their best week since late January 2010. China equity funds drew $190 million.

Expectations of good fourth quarter result by India Inc and heavy foreign fund inflows boosted the bourses in the past few weeks with the key benchmark indices surging to their highest level in more than 25 months on Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

The market is entering an important period of quarterly earnings, with IT bellwether Infosys kickstarting the reporting season on Tuesday, 13 April 2010. The Q4 March 2010 results and management commentary on outlook could result in revision in earnings estimates of India Inc by analysts for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011).

European stocks rose on Friday, with positive session in the US market overnight offering support despite continuing concerns about Greece. Key indices in UK, France and Germany rose by 0.79% to 1.08%.

Data released on Friday in Europe showed a mixed picture for the prospect of economic recovery among individual countries. Rising exports helped boost Germany's trade surplus more than expected in February, adding to signs Europe's largest economy is on the path to recovery. Industrial output in France, however, was unchanged in February after rising in January, underlining the challenges still facing the euro zone's second largest economy.

Meanwhile, British factory gate inflation rose in March at its fastest pace in 16 months. The figures may make concerning reading for the Bank of England which has forecast that consumer price inflation will fall back below target later this year. Bank of England on Thursday kept the bank rate unchanged at 0.5%. Meanwhile, a strong rebound in Britain's industrial output and house price data on Thursday boosted hopes that the economic recovery remained on track during the first three months of 2010.

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday left its main refinance rate unchanged at 1%. Jean-Claude Trichet, President, European Central Bank, said the euro zone's recovery remains on track. He stated that growth is likely to be uneven due to special factors. But he was quick to add that price stability is to be maintained in the medium-term. The European Central Bank extended a helping hand to Greece on Thursday by prolonging easier rules on debt eligible as security against cheap central bank cash.

Most Asian stocks edged up on Friday, led by overnight gains on Wall Street as strong US retail sales data boosted confidence in recovery in the world's biggest economy. Chinese stocks rose on renewed optimism Beijing may be getting closer to allowing the yuan to appreciate against the US dollar. The key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore rose by between 0.3% to 1.56%. But, the key benchmark indices in South Korea and Indonesia fell by between 0.2% to 0.54%.

In economic news in Asia, Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said on Friday that he explained the government's fiscal policy in a meeting with the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) governor and deputy governor. Kan, after the meeting with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and BOJ Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi, said the government wanted to keep communicating with the central bank to end deflation and ensure an economic recovery. Meanwhile, South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at a record low at 2% on Friday

Investors will be eyeing preliminary first quarter gross domestic product data for Asian countries next week.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 24 points at the opening bell on Friday, 9 April 2010.

US stocks snapped a two-day losing streak on Thursday after retailers delivered their best sales numbers in a decade, reinvigorating confidence in recovery in the world's biggest economy. Major retail chains reported a record 9.1% jump in March same-store sales -- beating the forecast for a 6.3% gain. Stocks had a weak start after a disappointing report on initial jobless claims, which rose against an expectation of a marginal drop. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 29.55 points, or 0.27% to 10,927.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.99 points, or 0.34% to 1,186.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.65 points, or 0.23% to 2,436.81.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday the central bank's decisive response to the financial crisis prevented another Great Depression.

Closer home, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said inflationary pressures on India's economy will ease in a couple of months.

Food prices accelerated for the second straight week in late-March, strengthening expectations of a hike in key policy rates when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reviews its policy on 20 April 2010. The food price index rose 17.70% in the 12 months to 27 March 2010, higher than an annual rise of 16.35% in the previous week, data showed on Thursday. The fuel price index rose an annual 12.71%, a tad below the previous week's reading of 12.75%, while the primary articles index was up 14.50% year-on-year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly raised rates in March by 25 basis points as headline inflation continued to remain above its perceived comfort zone of 5% for the fourth straight month.

The chief statistician Pronab Sen on Wednesday said the RBI would have to further tighten monetary policy if prices continue to rise. He has said inflation could cross 10% in March, higher than Febuary's reading of 9.89% and then ease. The government will officially announce the inflation data for the month of March on 14 April 2010.

The world's second fastest growing economy, is expected to grow 8.5% in the current fiscal year that began 1 April 2010, and accelerate to 9% in the next. The speedy recovery of Asia's third-largest economy has raised concerns of a possible surge in capital inflows.

The forecast for the southwest monsoon for 2010 is the next major trigger for the market. Good rains this year after last year's drought will boost farm output and rural incomes. But another monsoon failure will add to inflationary pressure which in turn may hamper the current strong economic rebound. The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmlands are rain-fed and more than half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector.

Tokyo-based Research Institute for Global Change has predicted normal monsoon rains in India for the current year. Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in a media interview on Monday, 5 April 2010, that early signs indicate normal monsoon rains this year. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues a monsoon forecast, usually in the second half of April after considering weather observations in different parts of the world and extrapolating statistical data.

A weakening El Nino is a positive sign for the monsoon, Ajit Tyagi, director general at the India Meteorological Department, said on 18 March 2010. The cyclical heating of the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino will continue to fade, US forecasters said last month. The weather event, which occurs every four to seven years, brings more rain to South America and less precipitation to Asia.

But abnormally hot weather and lower than expected rains are reportedly raising the spectre of India facing another water shortage in the coming kharif season, reports suggest. Rains have been 66% lower than normal in March. Temperature has been 4 to 7 degrees above normal, making it the hottest March in almost a decade report said.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 218.74 points or 1.23% to 17,933.14. The Sensex rose 257.07 points at the day's high of 17,971.47 in mid-afternoon trade. The index opened almost unchanged at 17,715.16, which was also the day's low so far.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 57.30 points or 1.08% to 5361.75.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.91% and underperformed the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.27% aand outperformed the Sensex.

All the sectoral indices on BSE rose. The banking sector index Bankex (up 1.41%), Capital Goods index (up 1.41%), Auto index (up 1.27%), outperformed the Sensex.

BSE Healthcare index (up 0.05%), IT index (up 0.21%), PSU index (up 0.27%), Realty index (up 0.28%), FMCG index (up 0.46%), Metal index (up 0.65%), Power index (up 1.06%), BSE Consumer Durables index (up 1.07%), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.21%) underperformed the Sensex.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 4300 crore, lower than Rs 4809.18 crore on Thursday, 8 April 2010.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1900 shares advanced as compared with 998 that declined. A total of 103 shares remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 22 rose while the rest of them fell.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.78% on expectations of strong Q4 March 2010 results. The stock today recovered from Thursday's 2.19% slide. The company has reportedly made four new gas discoveries at Krishna-Godavari D6 block. The company has requested the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) for commercial approval, reports suggest.

RIL is producing 63-64 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas from the D6 block off India's east coast, executive director P.M.S. Prasad said on Tuesday. The company is producing 21,000 barrels per day of oil from the block, he added.

Capital goods pivotals rose on renewed buying. India's top power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 2.79%. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,570 in intraday trade today. As per recent reports the company plans to re-enter wind turbine manufacturing space in the next three months.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 1.09%, after falling for the last two days. The company on Monday said it has received an order worth Rs 1,060 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to build an offshore oil platform.

Among other capital goods stocks, SKF India, Punj Lloyd, ABB, BEML, Siemens, Praj Industries rose by between 0.33% to 2.6%.

Consumer durables stocks rose on hopes of rise in consumption on increased disposable income after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked the personal income tax slabs in the union budget 2010-11. Gitanjali Gems, Videocon Industries, Titan Industries, Blue Star, Rajesh Exports rose by between 0.01% to 3.43%.

Auto stocks rose on robust March 2010 sales figures. Vehicle sales in India should grow 10-15% in the fiscal year to March 2011, an industry body said on Friday. In 2009/10, 1.23 crore vehicles were sold in the country, up 26.4% from the previous fiscal year, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose 4.51% as company reported that the Land Rover brand had in March reported its best-ever monthly sales in the British market. Land Rover on Thursday reported sales of 11,300 units in March, up 67% over the same month last year. The stock was the top gainer form the Sensex pack.

The Tata Motors stocks had lost 2.41% on Thursday on reports one of its ultra-cheap Nano cars caught fire on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, perhaps due to a technical snag in its rear portion.

India's leading bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose 2.02%.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra rose 0.59%. As per recent reports the company has raised prices of utility vehicles due to a rise in input and fuel costs, and expenses associated with migrating to new emission norms.

But, India's top small car maker by sales, Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.14%. The company said on Monday it has raised the price of its vehicles across different models due to higher input costs and expenses from the introduction of the new Bharat Stage IV emission norms.

India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto fell 0.34%. Bajaj Auto will distance itself from the parent brand Bajaj and focus on just four motorcycle brands - Boxer, Discover, Pulsar and KTM - as well as the rear-engine three-wheeler brand, phasing out the rest, managing director Rajiv Bajaj was quoted by the media as saying on Thursday.

From this month, 13 cities across the country have switched over to Bharat Stage IV emission norms. Following this, many carmakers, have increased the vehicle prices. With newer technology required for upgradation, auto companies had said they would have to pass on the increased cost to customers. In February, following the 2% increase in excise duty on all non-oil products to 10% in the Budget, auto players had hiked prices of vehicles by up to Rs 70,000.

Automobile firms are seen reporting strong Q4 results on a healthy volume growth. However, the sector is witnessing a headwind of rising input costs. Recently, Maruti Suzuki raised car prices due to a surge in input costs and shift to new emission norms from 1 April 2010. M&M, too, hiked utility vehicles prices recently.

India's largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 0.79% on market talks it may announce a special dividend for the year ended March 2010 (FY 2010) when it unveils its Q4 March 2010 and FY 2010 results early next week. Infosys has declared special dividend every alternate year over the few years i.e. in FY 2004, FY 2006 and FY 2008. Infosys ADR rose 0.75% on Thursday.

The key focus is on Infosys' guidance for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011). The company unveils its Q4 March 2010 and year-ended March 2010 (FY 2010) results on 13 April 2010. Market men expect a muted revenue and earnings guidance from the IT major after taking into account cross currency impact, planned employee addition, wage hike and higher taxes. The government hiked the minimum alternate tax (MAT) to 18% from 15% in the Union Budget 2010-2011.

Infosys is seen reporting about 1% to 2% growth in net profit in Q4 March 2010 over Q3 December 2009. The IT bellwether's revenue is seen rising 2% to 3% sequentially on the back of higher volume growth.

Banking stocks rose on a jump in credit growth. India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India rose 0.59% after falling for the past three days. Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Tuesday the bank may raise its lending and deposit rates in a couple of months. The state-owned bank will wait for the Indian central bank's monetary policy action to take a final call on interest moves, Bhatt said.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 1.76% after falling in the last two sessions. Its ADR fell 1.06% on Thursday. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 2.56% after declining 1.7% on Thursday. Its ADR was flat on Thursday.

India's largest mortgage finance firm by total income Housing Development Finance Corporation rose 4.41% after declining for last two days.

As per the latest fortnightly report released by the RBI, banks disbursed an additional Rs 1,15,548 crore in the 15 days up to 26 March 2010, almost 25% of the Rs 4,64,849 crore disbursed in the entire financial year. Thus, fourth quarter of FY 2010 accounted for 47% of the total loans disbursed during the entire FY 2010. The unusually high disbursals pushed the year on-year growth in credit to 16.7% at the end of the financial year. Banks typically step up disbursals in the last weeks of a quarter, even more so towards the end of the year, to meet targets. However, disbursals in the fortnight up to 26 March 2010 are high even by year-end standards, surpassing the Rs 79,500 crore disbursed in the last fortnight of FY 2009.

Metal stocks rose on strong domestic demand. Sterlite Industries, National Aluminum Company, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, Jindal Saw and Hindustan Zinc rose by between 0.32% to 2.28%.

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 0.8%. The company said on Tuesday its sales for the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2010 rose 18% from a year ago to 6.17 million tonnes.

Steel Authority of India (Sail) fell 0.95%, extending Thursday's 7.18% decline after the cabinet approved a 20% stake sale in state-run firm in two tranches. The sale is expected to fetch the government Rs 8000 crore ($1.8 billion) in the first sale of 10%, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. The government currently holds 86% stake in Sail, India's top domestic maker of the alloy.

FMCG stocks also rose on bargain hunting. ITC, Tata Tea, Dabur India rose by between 0.35% to 3.92%.

India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro fell 0.82%. Its ADR fell 0.3% on Thursday. India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services fell 0.76% reversing early gains.

Telecom stocks were mixed as auctions for 3G and broadband wireless airwaves got underway today, 9 April 2010. Bidding for broadband spectrum will begin two days after the completion of 3G spectrum auction. The auction process reportedly will be a long-drawn affair, stretching for as long as 45 days.

India's largest listed cellular services provider by users Bharti Airtel fell 1.52%. Idea Cellular fell 1.1%. But, India's second listed largest cellular services provider by users Reliance Communications rose 1.97%.

3G allows mobile phone users to surf the Internet, video conference and download music, video and other content at a much faster pace than the current second-generation or 2G service.

India's largest real estate company by sales DLF gained 0.21%. The stock extended four-day gains on recent reports the company has appointed an advisor to find buyers for Aman Resorts, a luxury hotel chain it had acquired in November 2007, for $400 million.

Among other realty stocks, Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, Phoenix Mills, Omaxe rose by between 0.32% to 5.04%.

END SESSION OF INDIAN STOCK MARKET 8TH APRIL

The key benchmark indices slumped as weak global stocks and worries about the economic health of Greece triggered profit taking after recent sharp surge in share prices. A spike in food price inflation also rekindled fears of a hike in key policy rates when the Reserve Bank of India reviews its monetary policy on 20 April 2010. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market turned weak in contrast to a strong breadth earlier in the day. The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 255.62 points or 1.42%.

Metal stocks fell as metal prices declined on the London Metal Exchange. Steel Authority of India fell more than 7% after the cabinet approved a 20% stake sale in state-run firm in two tranches. Rate sensitive auto and banking stocks also fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slumped more than 2%. Capital goods stocks also declined.

NSE's volatility index, India VIX, jumped 15.01% to settle at the day's high of 19.92. India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 calendar days. The index is calculated based on the S&P CNX Nifty options prices.

The market extended early losses to hit fresh intraday lows in morning trade tracking weak Asian stocks. It weakened once again after paring losses in mid-morning trade. The market tumbled to a fresh intraday low in afternoon trade after the inflation data was released in early afternoon trade. The market extended losses in mid-afternoon trade. The market hit a fresh intraday low in late trade.

Expectations of good fourth quarter result by India Inc and heavy foreign fund inflows boosted the bourses in the past few weeks with the key benchmark indices surging to their highest level in more than 25 months on Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

Stock-specific action may rule the roost on the bourses in the near term based on expectations of Q4 March 2010 results. IT bellwether Infosys kickstarts the reporting season on 13 April 2010.

On the macro front, the food price index rose 17.70% in the year to 27 March 2010, government data showed on Thursday. The rise in the food price index was higher than an annual rise of 16.35% in the previous week. The fuel price index rose 12.71%, a tad below the previous week's reading of 12.75%. The primary articles index rose 14.5%.

European shares slipped ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Key indices in UK, France and Germany were down by 1.08% to 1.62%.

Greece's fiscal health continued to weigh on sentiment as the country's financing costs continue to soar, raising fears of a default. The European Central Bank will flesh out on Thursday a revamp of its lending rules to help ease the financial squeeze on Greece, while keeping euro zone interest rates at a record low of 1%. The focus will remain squarely on what President Jean-Claude Trichet has to say on the subject after the bank's monthly monetary policy meeting meeting.

The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5% for the 13th month running on Thursday and made no increase to its 200 billion pounds asset-buying scheme to boost the economy.

Asian stocks fell for the first time in six days on Thursday after Japanese machinery orders unexpectedly dropped and US consumer credit slumped more than economists' forecast. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan fell by between 0.28% to 1.65%. South Korea's Seoul Composite rose 0.42%.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 30 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 8 April 2010.

US stocks slipped on Wednesday after a senior Federal Reserve member said policy makers should start raising rates to 1% soon and on Greek debt concerns. In economic data, mortgage applications ticked up just 0.2% last week as a spike in mortgage rates clipped demand for refinancing. Another report showed consumer borrowing fell by $11.5 billion in February, much weaker than the $500 million gain expected. The Dow Jones fell 72.47 points or 0.86% to 10,897.52. The Nasdaq declined 5.65 points or 0.23% to 2431.16 and the S&P 500 fell 6.99 points or 0.59% to 1182.45.

Two top US Federal Reserve officials warned about the risks to the economy from asset bubbles on Wednesday, and one suggested raising interest rates to halt risky behavior that could trigger another bust. Still, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a relatively downbeat view of the economy during a speech in Dallas, suggesting he was in no rush to tighten monetary policy. Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Fed, reiterated his concern that the Fed's ultra-low interest rate policies could have unintended consequences.

US government will encourage China, India, Brazil and other fast-growing markets to buy more American goods as part of its bid to double exports in five years, Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sanchez said on Wednesday.

Closer home, chief statistician Pranab Sen on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India will have to further tighten monetary policy on 20 April 2010 if prices continue to rise, as expected, from 9.89% headline inflation in February. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will review its monetary policy on 20 April 2010. Sen, however, declined to specify what policy actions were required, saying it was for the central bank to decide.

The four-month spell of wholesale price inflation above the RBI's perceived comfort zone of 5% prompted the central bank in March to unexpectedly hike its key lending rates by 25 basis points. The Reserve Bank of India last month warned of inflationary pressures from higher capacity utilisation and rising commodity and energy costs.

Sen said WPI inflation in March was likely to be higher than February's 9.89%, partly due to a low base effect. Headline inflation could start easing from April when the base effect starts wearing off, he added, noting that food price inflation has already started moderating. The inflation for the month of March 2010 will be announced by the government on 12 April 2010.

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, last month, revised the outlook on India to stable from negative due to improved government finances.

The forecast for the southwest monsoon for 2010 is the next major trigger for the market. Good rains this year after last year's drought will boost farm output and rural incomes. But another monsoon failure will add to inflationary pressure which in turn may hamper the current strong economic rebound. The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmlands are rain-fed and more than half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector.

Tokyo-based Research Institute for Global Change has predicted normal monsoon rains in India for the current year. Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in a media interview on Monday, 5 April 2010, that early signs indicate normal monsoon rains this year. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues a monsoon forecast, usually in the second half of April after considering weather observations in different parts of the world and extrapolating statistical data.

A weakening El Nino is a positive sign for the monsoon, Ajit Tyagi, director general at the India Meteorological Department, said on 18 March 2010. The cyclical heating of the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino will continue to fade, US forecasters said last month. The weather event, which occurs every four to seven years, brings more rain to South America and less precipitation to Asia.

But abnormally hot weather and lower than expected rains are reportedly raising the spectre of India facing another water shortage in the coming kharif season, reports suggest. Rains have been 66% lower than normal in March. Temperature has been 4 to 7 degrees above normal, making it the hottest March in almost a decade report said.

Meanwhile, Indian companies continue to raise funds for expansion, future growth and in some cases to lower debt. Market men expect Indian companies to raise large sums of money this year from equity issuance which includes initial public offerings, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, qualified institutional placements etc. Indian firms have so far raised about $10.5 billion from equity, equity related instruments in calendar 2010 so far. This includes divestment by the government. The government has targeted raising Rs 40,000 crore from divestment in state-run firms in the financial year ending March 2011.

Trends indicate that more Indian companies will be upgraded than downgraded in fiscal year 2010/11, the local unit of a global rating agency said on Wednesday. In a reversal of a three-year trend, the rating agency's upgrades outnumbered downgrades in the second half of 2009/10. However, a global credit event on sovereign debt, impact of inflationary expectations on interest rates, and exchange rate volatility were outlined as the key the risks that could affect credit quality.

While the Greek debt crisis is still sending shivers through the global economy, India's central bank looks set to raise interest rates for the second time in as many months on 20 April 2010, and the speedy recovery of Asia's third-largest economy has raised concerns of a possible surge in capital inflows.

The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 255.62 points or 1.42% to 17,714.40. The Sensex lost 290.68 points at the day's low of 17,679.34 in late trade. The index fell 9.11 points at the day's high of 17960.91 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty declined 70.20 points or 1.31% to 5,304.45.

The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.4% and the BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.38%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

Most sectoral indices on BSE declined. BSE Oil & Gas index (down 1.88%), Metal index (down 1.87%), and banking sector index Bankex (down 1.65%), underperformed the Sensex. BSE Consumer Durables index (up 2.25%), Realty index (up 0.55%), IT index (up 0.34%), FMCG index (down 0.54%), Power index (down 0.76%), Healthcare index (down 0.78%), Capital Goods index (down 1.06%), Auto index (down 1.35%), and PSU index (down 1.41%), outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned weak in contrast to a strong breadth earlier in the day. On BSE, 1188 shares advanced as compared with 1688 that declined. A total of 81 shares remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 26 fell while the rest of them advanced.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 4784 crore, lower than Rs 5891.13 crore on Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 2.19% on profit taking after recent strong gains. Reliance Industries' promoter entities have acquired shares worth Rs 113.57 crore through off-market transactions, the company said on Wednesday. Five promoters, however, have sold shares of the company worth Rs 78.03 crore through off-market transactions, the filing said.

RIL is producing 63-64 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas from the D6 block off India's east coast, executive director P.M.S. Prasad said on Tuesday. The company is producing 21,000 barrels per day of oil from the block, he added.

Capital goods pivotals fell on profit taking. India's top power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) fell 1.63%. The stock had risen to a 52-week high of Rs 2,559.50 in intra-day trade on Wednesday, 7 April 2010. As per recent reports the company plans to re-enter wind turbine manufacturing space in the next three months.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 1.19%, with the stock declining for the second straight day. The company on Monday said it has received an order worth Rs 1,060 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to build an offshore oil platform.

Among other capital goods stocks, Punj Lloyd, ABB, BEML, Siemens, Praj Industries fell by between 0.33% to 1.18%.

Auto stocks fell on profit taking after the recent upmove that was triggered by robust March 2010 sales figures. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors fell 2.41% as one of its ultra-cheap Nano cars caught fire on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, perhaps due to a technical snag in its rear portion.

India's top small car maker by sales, Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.23%. The company said on Monday it has raised the price of its vehicles across different models due to higher input costs and expenses from the introduction of the new Bharat Stage IV emission norms.

India's leading bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors fell 1.54%. India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto fell 0.23% reversing early gains. Bajaj Auto will distance itself from the parent brand Bajaj and focus on just four motorcycle brands - Boxer, Discover, Pulsar and KTM - as well as the rear-engine three-wheeler brand, phasing out the rest, managing director Rajiv Bajaj was quoted by the media as saying on Thursday.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell 0.91% reversing early gains on reports the company has raised prices of utility vehicles due to a rise in input and fuel costs, and expenses associated with migrating to new emission norms.

From this month, 13 cities across the country have switched over to Bharat Stage IV emission norms. Following this, many carmakers, have increased the vehicle prices. With newer technology required for upgradation, auto companies had said they would have to pass on the increased cost to customers. In February, following the 2% increase in excise duty on all non-oil products to 10% in the Budget, auto players had hiked prices of vehicles by up to Rs 70,000.

Metal stocks declined after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, fell 0.61% on 7 April 2010. NMDC, Sterlite Industries, National Aluminum Company, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, Sesa Goa and Hindustan Zinc fell by between 0.45% to 4.29%.

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel fell 1.86%. The company said on Tuesday its sales for the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2010 rose 18% from a year ago to 6.17 million tonnes.

Steel Authority of India (Sail) fell 7.18% after the cabinet approved a 20% stake sale in state-run firm in two tranches. The sale is expected to fetch the government Rs 8000 crore ($1.8 billion) in the first sale of 10%, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. The government currently holds 86% stake in Sail, India's top domestic maker of the alloy.

Banking and housing finance shares edged lower on fears of an impending hike in key policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India at its monetary policy review meet scheduled to be held on 20 April 2010. India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India fell 0.86% extending losses for the third straight day. Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Tuesday the bank may raise its lending and deposit rates in a couple of months. The state-owned bank will wait for the Indian central bank's monetary policy action to take a final call on interest moves, Bhatt said.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank fell 2.65% extending Wednesday's 1.13% loses. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank fell 1.7%.

India's largest mortgage finance firm by total income Housing Development Finance Corporation fell 2.86%, with the stock declining for the second straight day.

As per the latest fortnightly report released by the RBI, banks disbursed an additional Rs 1,15,548 crore in the 15 days up to 26 March 2010, almost 25% of the Rs 4,64,849 crore disbursed in the entire financial year. Thus, fourth quarter of FY 2010 accounted for 47% of the total loans disbursed during the entire FY 2010. The unusually high disbursals pushed the year on-year growth in credit to 16.7% at the end of the financial year. Banks typically step updisbursals in the last weeks of a quarter, even more so towards the end of the year, to meet targets. However, disbursals in the fortnight up to 26 March 2010 are high even by year-end standards, surpassing the Rs 79,500 crore disbursed in the last fortnight of FY 2009.

Telecom pivotals fell ahead of the auction to provide super fast third generation (3G) service in the country's booming cellular market. The government is hoping to reap around $8 billion from the sale of 3G airwaves on 9 April 2010. India's largest listed cellular services provider by users Bharti Airtel fell 2.4%.

India's second listed largest cellular services provider by users Reliance Communications fell 1.32%.

3G allows mobile phone users to surf the Internet, video conference and download music, video and other content at a much faster pace than the current second-generation or 2G service.

Oil exploration firms fell, after the crude prices declined almost $1 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, 7 April 2010. India's biggest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) declined 1.97%. Cairn India lost 2.29%. But, India's second biggest oil and gas exploration firm by revenue, Oil India, rose 0.14%. Fall in crude oil prices would result in lower realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms. Light, sweet crude oil declined 96 cents or 1.11%, to $85.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, after the US government data showed a bigger-than-expected increase in crude inventories.

India's largest real estate company by sales DLF gained 0.48%. The stock extended three-day gains on recent reports the company has appointed an advisor to find buyers for Aman Resorts, a luxury hotel chain it had acquired in November 2007, for $400 million.

Among other realty stocks, Indiabulls Real Estate, Phoenix Mills, Omaxe rose by between 0.64% to 6.44%.

IT stocks rose on bargain hunting after recent losses triggered by a firm rupee. A firm rupee adversely affects operating profit margins of IT firms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.

India's largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 0.52%. The key focus is Infosys' guidance for the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011). The company unveils its Q4 March 2010 and year-ended March 2010 (FY 2010) results on 13 April 2010. Market men expect a muted revenue and earnings guidance from the IT major after taking into account cross currency impact, planned employee addition, wage hike and higher taxes. The government hiked the minimum alternate tax (MAT) to 18% from 15% in the Union Budget 2010-2011.

Infosys is seen reporting about 1% to 2% growth in net profit in Q4 March 2010 over Q3 December 2009. The IT bellwether's revenue is seen rising 2% to 3% sequentially on the back of higher volume growth.

India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro rose 0.06%. India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services was flat.

FMCG stocks also declined on profit taking. Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Tea, Nestle India fell by between 0.4% to 1.44%.

Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 1.03 crore shares on BSE. Birla Power Solutions (0.93 crore shares), IFCI (0.88 crore shares), Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (0.85 crore shares) and Pipavav Shipyard (0.75 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Persistent Systems clocked the highest turnover of Rs 241.26 crore on BSE. Jubilant Food Organosys (155 crore), ARSS Infra (126.17 crore), Steel Authority of India (Rs 96.65 crore) and Jai Corp (Rs 7.84 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET END SESSION 7TH APRIL

The key benchmark indices registered small gains in what was a highly volatile trading session. The market attained its highest closing level in more than 25 months. The barometer index BSE Sensex fell below the psychological 18,000 level after racing above that level in early afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 28.65 points or 0.16%, up close to 95 points from the day's low and off close to 75 points from the day's high

Volatility was immense. The Sensex surged past the psychosocial 18,000 mark at the onset of the trading session on firm Asian stocks. It soon fell below that level. The market moved in a narrow range in mid-morning trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed in early afternoon trade as the market came off the higher level soon after hitting a fresh 25-month high. The market slipped into the red in afternoon trade. It regained positive zone later. The market once again slipped into the red in mid-afternoon trade. Fresh selling pulled the market to the day's low in late trade. The market staged a rebound from lower level later with the Sensex regaining positive zone.

NSE's volatility index, India VIX, rose 0.7% to 17.32. The lower level at which the index is currently trading indicates investors' desire to take risk. India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 calendar days. The index is calculated based on the S&P CNX Nifty options prices.

The market breadth though positive was not as strong as it was earlier in the day. Index heavyweight Reliance industries (RIL) cut early gains. Banking and housing finance firms declined on fears of interest rate hike in the forthcoming Reserve bank of India's review of monetary policy on 20 April 2010. Bharat Heavy Electricals struck a 52-week high of Rs 2559.50 in intra-day trade today, 7 April 2010. Telecom pivotals gained on fresh buying ahead of the auction to provide super fast third generation (3G) service which begins on 9 April 2010. But, FMCG shares declined on profit taking. IT stocks recovered from the day's lows.

Stock-specific action may rule the roost in the near term based on expectations of Q4 March 2010 results. IT bellwether Infosys kickstarts the reporting season on 13 April 2010.

Trends indicate that more Indian companies will be upgraded than downgraded in fiscal year 2010/11, the local unit of a global rating agency said on Wednesday. In a reversal of a three-year trend, the rating agency's upgrades outnumbered downgrades in the second half of 2009/10. However, a global credit event on sovereign debt, impact of inflationary expectations on interest rates, and exchange rate volatility were outlined as the key the risks that could affect credit quality.

While the Greek debt crisis is still sending shivers through the global economy, India's central bank looks set to raise interest rates for the second time in as many months on 20 April 2010, and the speedy recovery of Asia's third-largest economy has raised concerns of a possible surge in capital inflows.

Meanwhile, chief statistician Pronab Sen said on Wednesday that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will have to further tighten monetary policy on 20 April 2010 if prices continue to rise, as expected, from 9.89% headline inflation in February 2010. He also said the wholesale price index inflation rate in March 2010 is likely to be higher than in the previous month, partly due to base effect.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today said that the country will add only 61,000 megawatts of power generation capacity in the five-year period to March 2012, lower than the target of 78,000 megawatts.

Business activity among Indian services companies grew at a slower pace in March 2010, moving away from 17-month highs touched in February, due to a slowdown in new work and employment and rising costs, a survey showed. The HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of 400 Indian firms, fell to 58.1 in March 2010 from 60.9 in February 2010, which was its highest since September 2008.

Meanwhile, Indian companies continue to raise funds for expansion, future growth and in some cases to lower debt. Market men expect Indian companies to raise large sums of money this year from equity issuance which includes initial public offerings, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, qualified institutional placements etc. Indian firms have so far raised about $10.5 billion from equity, equity related instruments in calendar 2010 so far. The government has targeted raising Rs 40,000 crore from divestment in the financial year ending March 2011.

European stocks slipped in the red on Wednesday, following strong gains made over the past two sessions, as investors awaited euro zone GDP data for more insight on the region's economic health. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK fell by between 0.1% to 0.32%.

Private-sector activity across the 16-nation euro zone expanded at the fastest rate since August 2007, according to the final Markit composite purchasing managers index for the region released Wednesday. The index rose to 55.9 from 53.7 in February, topping a preliminary estimate of a rise to 55.5. A reading of more than 50 indicates an expansion, while a figure of less than 50 signals contraction.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors bet the Federal Reserve will keep the benchmark US interest rate at a record low. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore rose by between 0.03% to 1.82%. However, China's Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.33%.

The Bank of Japan's policy board decided Wednesday to keep its policy interest rates unchanged and took no further action to fight deflation, as financial markets have stayed relatively calm and there appear some positive signals for the economy. The bank's policy board voted unanimously at the end of a two-day meeting to leave the unsecured overnight call loan rate unchanged at 0.1%, the level it has been since December 2008. The BOJ said in a statement that it will aim to maintain an extremely accommodative financial environment in the conduct of monetary policy.

The World Bank on Wednesday sharply raised its forecast for economic growth in East Asia to reflect reviving global demand, sustained fiscal and monetary stimulus in the region and a rapid rebound in consumer spending. The developing economies of East Asia will grow by 8.7% in 2010, the bank said in a semi-annual economic update. In November, it had projected 7.8% growth. Stripping out China, growth will spurt to 5.5% in 2010 from 1.3% in 2009, the Washington-based lender said. The World Bank said China's economy may expand 9.5% this year from 8.7% in 2009.

Australia's central bank underlined its determination to reduce monetary stimulus on Tuesday when it lifted its benchmark interest rate from 4 to 4.25%, its fifth such rise since October 2009. In an upbeat assessment of the country's outlook, the Reserve Bank of Australia indicated growth this year would be around a trend of 3.25 to 3.5% and inflation during the same period would be close to its 2 to 3% target range.

In US market action, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose modestly on Tuesday as the banking sector got a lift from positive analysts' comments, while minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting eased concern over rising interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 3.56 points, or 0.03%, to 10,969.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2 points, or 0.17%, to 1,189.44 and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 7.28 points, or 0.30%, to 2,436.81

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that governments must work to bring more people into the banking system as part of efforts to improve the balance of economic growth. Geithner met a group of Indian financial entrepreneurs and local representatives of major US banks at the University of Mumbai to discuss new technologies and business models to deliver banking services to new populations.

Geithner is on an India tour for economic partnership talks with Indian officials. He said on Tuesday that the United States and India must work together on rebalancing global growth and revamping a battered financial system. Geithner lauded India's handling of its economy through the financial crisis, saying it was emerging stronger and faster than most large economies, adding that prospects for both the United States and Indian economies were encouraging in the face of global recovery.

Emerging market equity funds ended March 2010 with their seventh consecutive week of inflows, bringing net inflows to nearly $7.6 billion in the first quarter. All four of the major fund groups took in modest amounts of fresh money, ranging from a net $6 million for Latin America Equity Funds to $222 million for EMEA Equity Funds. China equity funds, however, recorded inflows for only the third week so far this year as some investors continue to be put off by rich valuations, growing exchange rate and trade frictions with the United States and uncertainty about just how far authorities will go to prevent a property bubble.

The world economy could grow 4.1% this year, 0.2 points more than previously forecast, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in the latest draft of its World Economic Outlook. The US economy is now expected to grow 3% this year, instead of the 2.7% forecast in the IMF's January report. The IMF is due to publish its next World Economic Outlook on 21 April 2010.

According to the draft, euro zone growth this year is now forecast to be 0.8%, down 0.1 points from January's estimate. In 2011, the figure is seen at 1.5%, also down 0.1 points from a previous estimate, the report said.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 19 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

Closer home, market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has made it mandatory for companies to list shares within 12 days after the closure of a public issue. On Tuesday, the regulator said that this would be applicable to public issues opening on or after 1 May 2010. With this, the number of days between the closing of a public issue and its listing has been reduced by 10 days, from the existing 22 days.

On the macro front, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) executive director Deepak Mohanty said on Tuesday that the recent surge in inflation has raised concern on whether the supply-driven increase could spill over to the generalised inflation process. Mohanty added that prolonged high inflation even if originating from supply side would give rise to increase inflation expectations and cause general prices to rise. Poorly anchored in inflation expectations makes long-term financial planning more complex with potential adverse effects on investment and growth, Mohanty said

Meanwhile, commercial banks will maintain a status quo on interest rates till such time the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reviews its monetary policy 20 April 2010, an umbrella organisation of the banks said Monday. In a bid to tame the price rise by sucking excess money out of the system, the RBI hiked two major policy rates by 25 basis points each on 19 March2010 in a move that the industry said could impact growth. The repo rate was revised to 5% and the reverse repo rate to 3.5%, marking an end to the easy money policy regime.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is reportedly planning to raise $2.7 billion by listing 10% of Coal India, the world's largest coal producer. The company plan to offer 63.1 crore shares to investors by the end of July or early August at the latest, reports citing the company's chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya indicated.

The government has taken the first concrete step towards the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Since the introduction of the tax would require amendment to the Constitution, the government has sought the Supreme Court's opinion on the amendments proposed. This will ensure these amendments are not challenged in the court later. This has been done through a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said the economy would soon return to the 9% growth trajectory, helped by various measures announced in the Union Budget 2010-11. He said the economy would post 8.25-8.75% growth in the current fiscal after recording 7.2% growth in 2009-10, which is impressive by global standards.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently said that the economy would get back to 9% growth by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan period, and do even better after that. After clocking 9% plus growth for three straight years till 2007-08, the country's GDP grew by a relatively modest rate of 6.7% in 2008-09 on account of the international financial crisis.

India's manufacturing growth slowed down in March 2010, dropping from a 20-month-record in February 2010, as mounting cost pressures took a toll on expansion in output, a survey released on Thursday showed. The HSBC Markit Purchasing Managers' Index , based on a survey of 500 companies, fell to 57.8 in March 2010 from 58.5 in February 2010, which was the strongest since June 2008. A reading above 50 means activity is expanding. The new orders index fell to 62.7 in March from 64 in February

Industrial output in February is expected to have grown 16% year-on-year, Industry Secretary said on Wednesday. The output in January grew an annual 16.7%.

Foreign direct investment rose 15.4% to $1.72 billion in February 2010 over February 2009, government said Wednesday.

Exports in February grew 34.8% on year to $16.09 billion, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said last week. Exports are expected to grow 15-20% in the year that starts on 1 April 2010, Sharma said. Imports, too, maintained momentum growing by 66% to $25 billion underscoring the strong revival in the domestic economy.

Top banking executives on Monday told the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that credit growth will be over 20% in the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011) and that they don't expect interest rates to go up soon. They don't feel there is any upward pressure on interest rates. Some bank chiefs met RBI Governor D. Subbarao ahead of the annual monetary policy scheduled for 20 April 2010 to discuss on issues including outlook on credit, deposit growth, lending rates, economic growth and inflation.

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, last month, revised the outlook on India to stable from negative due to improved government finances.

The forecast for the southwest monsoon for 2010 is the next major trigger for the market. Good rains this year after last year's drought will boost farm output and rural incomes. But another monsoon failure will add to inflationary pressure which in turn may hamper the current strong economic rebound. The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmlands are rain-fed and more than half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector.

Tokyo-based Research Institute for Global Change has predicted normal monsoon rains in India for the current year. Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in a media interview on Monday, 5 April 2010, that early signs indicate normal monsoon rains this year. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues a monsoon forecast, usually in the second half of April after considering weather observations in different parts of the world and extrapolating statistical data.

A weakening El Nino is a positive sign for the monsoon, Ajit Tyagi, director general at the India Meteorological Department, said on 18 March 2010. The cyclical heating of the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino will continue to fade, US forecasters said last month. The weather event, which occurs every four to seven years, brings more rain to South America and less precipitation to Asia.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 28.65 points or 0.16% to 17,970.02, its highest closing level since 19 February 2008. The index rose 106.49 points at the day's high of 18,047.86 in early afternoon trade. The Sensex lost 63.06 points at the day's low of 17,878.31 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty gained 8.65 points or 0.16% to 5,374.65, its highest since 5 February 2008. Nifty hit a high of 5,399.65.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 5863 crore, higher than Rs 5653.09 crore on Tuesday, 7 March 2010.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.52% and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.7%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Auto index (up 1.1%), the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.76%). the BSE Realty index (up 0.7%), the BSE Power index (up 0.64%), the BSE PSU index (up 0.42%), the BSE FMCG index (up 0.39%), the BSE Teck index (up 0.24%), outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Bankex (down 0.4%), the BSE Metal index (down 0.13%), the BSE Consumer Durables index (down 0.11%), the BSE IT index (down 0.07%), the BSE Capital Goods index (down 0.01%), the BSE HealthCare index (up 0.09%), underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1666 shares advanced as compared with 1219 that declined. A total of 88 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was much stronger in afternoon trade.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest of them slipped.

Cement stocks rose on strong shipment figures in the month of March. India's largest cement maker by sales ACC jumped 2.41% on reports the company is planning to ramp up its annual production capacity to 30 million tonnes by the end of this financial year through brownfield projects.

Among other cement stocks, Ambuja Cements, India Cements and Ultratech Cement rose by between 0.12% to 2.27%.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors gained 2.42%. The company reported a 38% jump in sales in March 2010 from a year earlier.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.7% to Rs 1,129. The stock rose in volatile trade after moving in a band of Rs 1123.05 to Rs 1171. RIL is producing 63-64 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas from the D6 block off India's east coast, executive director P.M.S. Prasad said on Tuesday. The company is producing 21,000 barrels per day of oil from the block, he added.

Telecom pivotals gained ahead of the auction which begins on 9 April 2010 to provide super fast third generation (3G) service in the country's booming cellular market. The government is hoping to reap around $8 billion from the sale of 3G airwaves. India's largest listed cellular services provider by users Bharti Airtel rose 1.41%.

India's second listed largest cellular services provider by users Reliance Communications gained 0.31%.

3G allows mobile phone users to surf the Internet, video conference and download music, video and other content at a much faster pace than the current second-generation or 2G service.

India's largest real estate company by sales DLF gained 1.2%. The stock extended two-day gains on recent reports the company has appointed an advisor to find buyers for Aman Resorts, a luxury hotel chain it had acquired in November 2007, for $400 million.

Among other realty stocks, Phoenix Mills, Akruti City and Ansal Properties rose by between 1.37% to 4.23%.

Capital goods pivotals saw divergent trend. India's top power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 0.27% to Rs 2535.50, extending recent gains on reports the company plans to re-enter wind turbine manufacturing space in the next three months. The stock rose to a 52-week high of Rs 2559.50 in intra-day trade today, 7 April 2010.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 0.58% on profit booking. The company on Monday said it has received an order worth Rs 1,060 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to build an offshore oil platform.

FMCG stocks declined on profit taking. India's largest FMCG company by sales Hindustan Unilever dropped 2.07%. Among other FMCG stocks, Nestle India, Marico and United Breweries fell by between 0.15% to 2.02%.

Banking and housing finance shares edged lower on fears of an impending hike in key policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India at its monetary policy review meet scheduled to be held on 20 April 2010.

India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India fell 0.55% extending Tuesday's losses. Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Tuesday the bank may raise its lending and deposit rates in a couple of months. The state-owned bank will wait for the Indian central bank's monetary policy action to take a final call on interest moves, Bhatt said.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank fell 1.13%. But, India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 0.11%.

India's largest mortgage finance firm by total income Housing Development Finance Corporation fell 0.67%.

IT stocks staged a comeback in late trade after sliding in early trade on the back of a firm rupee. A firm rupee adversely affects operating profit margin of IT firms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. The rupee edged lower after hitting a 19-month high against the dollar.

India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro rose 0.08% to Rs 715.60, off day's low of Rs 708. India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.48% to Rs 798.55, recovering from day's low of Rs 780

India's second largest software services exporter by sales Infosys slipped 0.21% to Rs 2644.05 after sliding to day's low of Rs 2560.40

India's largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel fell 0.19%. The company said on Tuesday its sales for the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2010 rose 18% from a year ago to 6.17 million tonnes.

India's top power utility firm NTPC rose 0.86% on reports the company plans to add 4,000-4,500 mega watt generation capacity in the fiscal year to March 2011. For the current financial year, the company plans capital expenditure of Rs 28000 - 29000 crore, 70% of which will be met through debt.

India's largest private sector power utility firm by sales Reliance Infrastructure rose 1.92%. The company said on Monday it commissioned a 600 megawatt unit at the Rajiv Gandhi Khedar Thermal Power Plant at Hisar in Haryana.

Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 4.27 crore shares on BSE.Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (1.43 crore shares), Birla Power Solutions (1.32 crore shares), NHPC (1.27 crore shares) and Bellarpur Industries (1.23 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

ARSS Infra clocked the highest turnover of Rs 355.71 crore on BSE. Jubilant Food Organosys (Rs 343.94 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 248.39 crore), Persistent Systems (Rs 102.06 crore) and Reliance Industries (Rs 94.58 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.