Performance of blue chip stocks in 2012!

So, which is the blue chip gainer for the year 2012 in the Indian stock market? It is perceptibly Tata Motors. Deemed the best stocks of 2012, Tata Motors stocks exceeded market expectations in price rise. Thanks to hopes of its luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover of exhibiting a turnaround in its performance!

Amongst the worst of performers in blue chip Stocks 2012, is Infosys Ltd. Continual apprehensions about global demand for software services have led to the fall of these IT stocks. Among the various sectors, lenders performed the best followed by real estate and FMCG. The banking index of the BSE  Sensex went up by 57 percent. ICICI gained 60 plus percent while HDFC Bank rose more than 50 percent. Equal gainers in this category include L&T and Maruti at 60 percent plus and Sun Pharma at 50 percent plus.

The RBI, after a 50 basis points rate cut in April, may further cut the repo rate more firmly next year.

Repo rate hold by the RBI!

RBI’s holding of the repo rate is no big surprise as it was already reported that a rate cut was ‘highly improbable’ though India's main inflation gauge WPI rose 7.24 percent from a year earlier against the expectations of 7.6 percent. Of course, a rate cut of 8 percent is possible in January and leading international economists forecast a series of rate cuts in 2013 and this will definitely show gains in the BSE Banking Index. Thanks to possible easing of inflation in the next few months!

The RBI kept interest rates on hold though the government put pressure on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs. The bank assured of a rate cut in January and shifted focus towards enhancing a flagging Indian economy. BSE Banking Index at NSE went up with both the sensex and nifty trending at a moderate rate.

One of the reasons for the RBI holding the repo rate was the low GDP growth (below 6 percent) posted for the past three quarters.

The WPI Data and Possible After-Effects

Just the utterance of the topic ‘inflation’ will transport you to a world of apprehension in the context of economy. A high inflation rate has no wonder affected the Indian economy to a great extent for several months. The report is now somewhat otherwise.

Recently with India's main inflation gauge WPI (wholesale price index) rising 7.24 percent from a year earlier against the expectations of 7.6 percent, the Indian economy may be escaping a long period of price pressure. A rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is possible in the New Year month. The RBI’s policy meet on December 18 may not see a rate cut but an 8 percent cut is possible in January as per market experts.

It is in 10 months in November that the WPI cooled to its weediest pace. According to a leading economist, India’s inflation will drop below 6 percent next year. A chain of rate cuts is then possible.

Unpredictable Nifty's U-Turn!

With UPA winning the FDI vote in Lok Sabha, stock market experts and traders had predicted that Nifty should breach the 6000 level on Thursday December 6. However, Nifty took a U-Turn and opened 43 points low in the opening trade at 5857.

IT shares and profit booking were the main reasons hurting the Market; Infosys, TCS pulled market down after their shares fell 2.1% and 2% respectively. Shares of retail firms Pantaloon and Shopper's stop gained in the early trading session to fall later. Pantaloon had gained substantially after the Bill to allow FDI in retail was passed and it was the top traded stock in early trade.

Market stayed volatile through the day with Nifty hovering below 5870 mark. Experts had expected Nifty to scale up as the Govt's win indicates a boost to the reforms and market sentiment. Despite given political positivity, Nifty failed to scale up and once again proved that Nifty is Unpredictable and  a trader should take Market volatility in stride!

Moody’s outlook for the Indian banking system and BSE Banking Index!

Banks’ profits are likely under pressure over the next 12 to 18 months. Yes, the Indian banking system, as projected by the rating agency Moody’s, would remain in the negative owing to a challenging operating environment. The negative atmosphere follows from a blend of weak local currency, high inflation, high interest rates, and of course slow economic growth! It is the slowest growth in a decade that is being witnessed for the fiscal year that ends in March 2013. In the September quarter, the Indian economy grew by 5.3 percent.

Moody's representative pointed that the negativity of the situation of the Indian banking system may further lead to a further worsening in asset quality, fall in profitability, and an increase in provisioning costs. Thanks to the decision by the government of injecting additional capital into the state banks within the next few weeks; but the injection would not exceed the Rs.150 billion mark.

Moody's rating did not show any major impact on the BSE Banking index. Infact, SBI shares were up by 2% in the morning session, trading near INR2239/- The capital infusion news by the Finance Minister has given a spur to the Banking Index. The government is likely to take decision on the capitual infusion this week, however it will be restricted to the 150 billion rupees mark as suggested in the fiscal budget 2013.

Metal Players of the India Stock Market!

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is an India-based steel making company that has five integrated steel plants and three alloy steel plants. Despite a 12 per cent increase in the quarterly profit, Steel India NSE has missed expectations with lower sales.

Steel Authority of India has reported a drop in the net sales to 106.63 billion rupees as compared to a year earlier. The low operating margins have been attributed to increase in the fuel costs, increase in other expenses, and higher wage expenses. In contrast to the estimated net profit of 7.3 billion rupees for the quarter ending September, SAIL has said that the net profit rose to 5.43 billion rupees.

Another player in the metals market is Sterlite Industries India Ltd, which is a non-ferrous and mining company that operates in three segments; Phosphoric acid, copper, and other business segment. India’s Sterlite NSE plans to raise 5 billion rupees by a bond issued at 9.40 percent. The Indian metal producer will issue 10-year bonds, available at Axis Bank, with an option to end after a period of 5 years.

ICICI Bank and IDFC on NSE performance statistics

Markets are favorable today for bank and realty stocks in the morning trade (22 November); thanks to reform hopes. The positive domestic opening of the indices of the Indian bourses is also triggered by improved Asian cues. With the winter session of the Parliament to begin today, investors are waiting for some optimistic news that would boost economic growth. Not all banking companies are in the uptrend. ICICI Bank on NSE saw its shares falling while IDFC on NSE was in an upbeat momentum. 

At 10:43 am, price of ICICI Bank NSE stocks was Rs. 1044, which was down 0.45 or .04 percent. Volume of shares traded was 453,209. While the previous close was at Rs. 1044.45, it opened at Rs. 1045.50. Difference noticed between bid and offer price of ICICI Bank NSE stocks was by .05 paise at Rs. 1043.95 for 10 and Rs. 1044 for 149 respectively.

IDFC NSE stock was priced at Rs. 102.25, which was up Re. 1.00 or +0.99 percent. Volume of shares traded was 545,007. The previous close saw its price closing at Rs. 101.25; it opened at Rs. 101.05. The difference noticed between bid and offer price of the stocks was by 0.05 paise.

Cairn India and Cipla on NSE

As the day advances, stock market results change too either in the positive or negative. The early morning trade saw both the sensex and nifty exhibiting a lackluster trend and by pre-noon caught the uptrend momentum. At 11.37 a.m., the sensex was up 86.67 points at 18,415.99 while the nifty was up 23.50 points at 5595.05. Cause of the uptrend is a blend of firming Asian markets and gains in stocks of IT, oil and gas, and metal sectors.

Though oil stocks gained on an average, Cairn India NSE could not catch the momentum. The company’s shares went down by 1.07 per cent at 11.41 am, i.e down Rs. 3.55 to be perched at Rs. 328.10. The previous close price of Cairn India NSE stocks was Rs. 331.65 and it opened at Rs. 332. A difference of 0.10 paise was noticed in the bid and offer price at Rs. 328.00 for 100 and 328.10 for 18 respectively.

The pharmaceutical sector showed mixed results with Cipla on NSE perched at Rs. 386.50 at 12:10 pm, up Rs. 6.65 or +1.75 percent. Volume of shares traded was 1,159,957. While the previous close was Rs. 379.85, it opened at Rs. 380. The difference between bid and offer price of Cipla NSE shares was 0.15 paise.

TCS and Tata Motors on NSE

Can you expect the stock market to be bullish everyday? Such a situation would never occur. Bearish and bullish trends are but humdrum affairs in any stock market. As of November 20 market statistics, the nifty moved up marginally by 0.15 points while the sensex ended losing 10 points. But amid the volatility, Tata Consultancy Services on NSE and Tata Motors on NSE exhibited a bullish trend with buyers driving the price of these shares higher.

Volume of shares of Tata Consultancy Services NSE traded was 628,020. At 17:00 hours, the price was at Rs. 1272.80. It rose by Rs 10.45 or +0.83 percent. Previously the price closed at Rs. 1262.35 and it opened at Rs. 1275. The bid price was Rs. 1272.80 for 11794 shares. The day’s low and high prices were Rs. 1256.05 and Rs. 1282.90 respectively. According to the 52 week price change dynamics, the lowest witnessed was Rs. 1041 and the highest Rs. 1439.80.

Price of share of Tata Motors NSE was Rs. 266.10, up Rs. 2 or +0.76 percent. Volume of shares traded was 6,864,096. While the previous close was Rs. 264.10, it opened at Rs. 268.05. The day’s low and high price tags were Rs. 261.70 and 270.35 respectively.

Bharti Airtel soaring high on the spectrum!

The stock price of Bharti Airtel rose almost 2.3% as brokerage firms recommend buy for India's number one telecom service provider. Bharti airtel stocks have gained in the choppy market where other stocks have majorly lackluster.
Bharti shares have so far in the month of November gained 15% and last week proved to it's best inning since september as it's shares surged 9.3% after the 2G Spectrum auction failed to get buyers at the anticipated costs. As on Monday 19th November, the stock has hit a low of INR302.5 and an intraday high of INR311.1

Bharti Airtel definitely seems to be wooing traders after agencies like Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs upgraded Bharti Airtel from 'underperform' to 'outperform' and from 'neutral' to 'buy' respectively. Both brokerage agencies opine that regulatory risk is reduced in case of Bharti Airtel and the potential of tariff hike is high with reduced competition on the domestic front as telecom operators are focusing on reducing losses.

Wipro’s Q2 Profit Rose to 24% Beating the Estimates

The profit for Wipro, ranked as India’s no. 3 software service provider, rose to 24 per cent at 16.11 billion rupees, which has exceeded the estimates by analysts. In view of the trend, the forecast for the company’s revenue would rise to 1.3-3.2 per cent for quarter ending December.

Wipro has added 53 new clients for the IT services during the second quarter of fiscal year. A year earlier, the Q2 revenue of the software tycoon rose to 17 per cent at 106.57 billion rupees.

Wipro Ltd has stated that all its non-IT services will be folded to a new firm focusing on outsourcing. This will include the company’s medical diagnostics and consumer care services as well. The step is taken in an effort to promote growth in view of competition from local and global rivals. In order to speed up the growth amongst peers, Wipro’s chairman Azim Premji also replaced company’s two co-CEOs.

Potential Gains indicated for RIL with Appointment of New Oil Minister

Veerappa Moily has replaced Jaipal Reddy, the ex oil minister as a part of the recent reshuffle of cabinet unveiled on Sunday. Mr. Moily promises to make an efficient effort to encourage foreign investment in addition to pushing Indian oil companies to assertively bid for foreign oil and gas to cover up the growing demands of energy.

Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, had clashes with ex oil minister over the issues related to gas production at its KG-D6 block in Andhra Pradesh. Reliance Industries Ltd. along with its partner Bharat Petroleum sought a hike in the prices of gas to cope with the rising expenditure to develop the block. Mr. Moily has promised to take quick and detailed decision though he has declined to address the matter specifically.

The shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. rose, with the appointment of new oil minister, to nearly 2 per cent in view of the potential improvement in the relationship between government and RIL.