Dawn of 15th April 09
INR opens 49.96 , stocks 7 sessions rise in a row 1st time in 1.5 years , 1trillion in cash , INFOSYS RESULT
US RETAILS disappoints , sends US shares down , Oil slips on demand forecast , CU recovers 40% in year , Goldman issues stocks.
SEE – SAW M&M & Lupin invest in Research , Appolo reduces budget Aditya Birla Group sees overhaul , Satyam to be RENAMED
Rupee
INR is expected to stay near 1-½ month highs on Wednesday, with investors watching the stock market for clues on foreign investor appetite. INR ended at 49.88/90 per $ on Monday, off an early high of 49.83, its strongest since Feb. 25, and above Thursday’s close of 50.00/02. The yen and the $ inched up on Wednesday as optimism about a global economy recovery ebbed after weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data,
Bonds
Yields could move higher on Wednesday ahead of 220 billion of supplies this week, but huge surplus cash with banks will limit the rise. Government will sell 100 billion of bills during the day. On Friday, it will auction 120 billion of bonds, part of its plan to raise 2.4 trillion in the first half of the financial year, the 10-year benchmark bond yield ended at 6.75 % on Monday, up from Thursday’s close of 6.70
Stocks
Indian shares are expected to take their cues on Wednesday from the earnings and outlook of IT-services bellwether Infosys which is scheduled to release results before the market opens. Forecast is that the March quarter net profit rose 25.4 % from a year earlier, but dropped 4.6 % from the December quarter. Asian markets were down on Wednesday, a day after a surprising drop in U.S. retail sales sent Wall Street stocks Lower. Nifty futures traded in Singapore were little changed, as investors remained cautious ahead of Infosys’ result.
Call
Rates were little moved, near the RBI’s main borrowing rate of 3.50 %, on Monday on excess liquidity in the banking system. Banks parked one trillion in Monday’s reverse repo auctions, reflecting ample liquidity conditions.
Global
DJIA 7,920.18 -137.63 Nikkei 8,768.35 -74.33 FTSE 3,988.99 +5.28 H Seng15,337.12 -243.04
US10Y 2.794 EUR 1.3248 Yen 98.67 Gold 887.50 Crude 49.42
Ø U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as a surprising drop in retail sales dented hopes that the recession was abating and financial shares slid on fears that a stock offering by Goldman Sachs could prompt others to follow suit.
Ø FTSE ended up 0.1 % on Tuesday, with gains by banks and miners just countering weakness in oils and defensives issues, while Wall Street fell after an unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales.
Ø Nikkei average shed 0.8 % on Wednesday, weighed down by exporters such as Canon Inc on a firmer yen and after a surprising drop in U.S. retail sales sent Wall Street stocks lower.
Ø $ and yen rallied on Tuesday after disappointing U.S. retail sales data and investor caution about corporate earnings boosted safe-haven flows into the two currencies. In mid-afternoon New York trade, the euro fell 0.6 % to
Ø Gold eased in quiet trade on Tuesday, but traders expected prices to rise in the near term due to oversold conditions in the bullion market.
Ø Copper backed away from a new six-month high on Tuesday after a surprising drop in U.S. retail sales led investors to cash in a rally that saw prices of the metal climb more than 40 % since March.
Ø Oil slipped under $50 a barrel on Tuesday on forecasts for softer 2009 global petroleum demand and for a weekly build in U.S. crude supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered its 2009 world oil demand forecast by 180,000 barrels per day to just over 84 million bpd.
India Front Page
Ø Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, which owns Pantaloon Retail will soon acquire a 60 % stake in creative boutique Dhar & Hoon. An agreement is likely to be signed next week.
Ø Satyam Computer Services will be renamed and have a new CEO. After the Company Law Board’s approval, the contract to be signed allows Tech Mahindra, which won the bid to buy the fraud-scarred firm, to rename it.
Ø Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group , has decided to re-shuffle the top management of various businesses in the group as several senior managers are set to retire by May.
Ø Lupin Ltd plans to revamp its drug research programme and foray into novel biotech and reverse engineering of biotech drugs.
Ø Religare Enterprises Ltd is talks with Bluecross Blueshield Association, the United Health Group Discovery Health and Philadelphia-based Cigna Corporation and Aetna for a possible JV to foray into health insurance.
Ø Apollo Tyres has cut its 30-billion-INR capacity expansion plan to a third as the ongoing economic turbulence has choked demand for its products.
Ø Mahindra and Mahindra’s farm equipment division, which makes tractors, is investing 1 billion INRs on product development this fiscal.
