Foreign Fund Flows Lift India Stocks

Mayank Mehta
08 Sep, 2009
New York City

Stocks in India edged higher after foreign investors add to holdings and gold surged above $1,000 mark. Merger activities and steady announcements of corporate financing to fund business expansion have sustained investor momentum.

[R]6:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in India edged higher after foreign investors add to holdings and gold surged above $1,000 mark. Merger activities and steady announcements of corporate financing to fund business expansion has sustained investor momentum.[/R]

Stocks edged higher after gold traded above $1,000 an ounce and several companies issue bonus issues and plan to raise capital to expand businesses. International investors added 1,000 crore rupees of holding, first daily net flows above the mark.

The Sensex index in India increased 107.35 or 0.6% to 16,123.67 and CNX Nifty index rose 22.35 or 0.4% to 4,805.25. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 15 rose and 15 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,468 stocks declined, 1,372 advanced and 77 were unchanged.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee reiterated his stance that now is not the time to withdraw the stimulus but said that the government is monitoring the economy. Separately, the RBI Governor Subbaro said that the inflationary forces are likely to lift inflation earlier than expected and the current monetary stance should be altered.

The central government has asked ministries to cut non-plan expenditure by 10% and other expenditures by 5% as the government battles to control budget deficit.

Gainers & Losers

Amtek Auto Limited decreased 8.7% to Rs 181.75 after the company launched a foreign currency convertible bonds issue.

Aurobindo Pharma Limited decreased 0.3% to Rs 703.00.

Bharti Airtel Limited rose 0.2% to Rs 422.10 and the merger between MTN and Bharti is delayed on the name of the combined entity.

Cholamandalam DBS Finance Limited surged 10.0% to Rs 69.65 after the financial services unit of Larsen & Toubro Ltd is in talks to buy mutual fund operations.

Gateway Distriparks Ltd rose 6.7% to Rs 123.70 after the container, rail and cold chain logistics company said is planning to sell 25% stake in its rail freight unit to raise Rs 300 crore.

Gujarat NRE Coke Limited added 5.4% to Rs 59.55 after the manufacturer of low-ash metallurgical coke on the expectation of bonus issue to be declared at the board meeting on Sept 19.

HCL Infosystems Limited increased 2.2% to Rs 157.50 a system integration company said fourth quarter sales rose 0.5% to Rs.3,106.3 crore from Rs.3,090.3 crore a year ago. Net profit for the quarter fell 7.2% to Rs.60.4 crore or Rs.3.53 per diluted share compared to net profit of Rs.65.1 crore or Rs.3.78 per share a year ago.

Jaybharat Textiles and Real Estate Limited surged 10.0% to Rs 478.50 said after the company fixed September17, 2009 as the record date for a 1:2 bonus issue.

Jet Airways (India) Limited increased 1.1% to Rs 258.05 despite the pilots are expected to strike.

Nirma Limited the consumer goods and industrial products sector added 5.7% to Rs 185.50.

Reliance Communications Limited edged lower 1.7% to Rs 306.20 after company denied that it is in talks to buy telecom operations in Middle East.

State Bank of India increased 4.3% to 1,894.15 after the bank estimated at least 30% earnings rise in the second quarter.

Suven Life Sciences Ltd increased 4.9% to Rs 30.50 after the pharmaceuticals company said it received a milestone payment from the U.S. based Eli Lilly.

Tata Consultancy Services Limited increased 2.4% to Rs 563.55 after the company and Microsoft announced the launch of virtualization center of excellence in Chennai.

Tech Mahindra advanced 2% after it struck a multi-year deal of $400 million deal with Etisalat DB Telecom.

Uttam Galva Steels Ltd added 5.0% to Rs 131.30 after ArcelorMittal unit plans to acquire stake of 29%.

Videocon surged after it acquired 12% stake in Anadarko Indonesia Nanukan Company.

Wall Street Finance Limited increased 6.3% to Rs 61.90 said B K Modi controlled Spice Investment & Finance today acquired 51% stake in forex and money transfer firm. Spice paid Rs 55 a share.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 72.29 or 0.70% to 10,393.23, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 440.50 or 2.14% to 21,069.81 and CSI 300 index in China higher 66.76 or 2.15% to 3,170.97. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 69.40 or 1.56% to 4,523.80. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia closed higher 11.68 or 0.98% to 1,202.07.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 11.12 or 0.69% to close at 1,619.69. SET index in Thailand closed higher 9.16 or 1.34% to 691.73 and JSE Index in Indonesia increased 30.91 or 1.32% to 2,371.30. The Sensex index in India increased 107.35 or 0.67% to 16,123.67.