Markets remain under pressure for the week

Mumbai, May 12: Having wrapped up the week with marginal gains, both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index were under pressure throughout the week, weighed by domestic and global events which ensured a high degree of volatility.

The Sensex and the Nifty wrapped up the week with marginal gains of 24.93 points at 13,796.16 and 9.85 points at 4,076.65 respectively.

The week started on a weak note, with the Sensex declining 55.02 points to 13,879.25 on Monday due to renewed selling, led by IT pivotals.

The weak trend continued a day later, as the Sensex lost further 113.79 points to 13,765.46, due to lack of buying support as investors watched from the sidelines ahead of major local and global events scheduled later in the week. Subdued Asian and European stocks were also of not much help.

The 30-shares Sensex settled 16.05 points higher on Wednesday at 13,781.51, as buying resumed for index pivotals. Strong global markets also helped the sentiment.

The barometer index lost 10.28 points, to 13,771.23, on Thursday as a late sell-off pulled the market in the red at closing bell.

The Sensex gained 24.93 points on Friday to settle at 13,796.16, amidst intense volatility. Global markets, results of Uttar Pradesh elections, inflation and industrial production figures, made it swing sharply.

Tata Steel was up 2.97 per cent to Rs 569.70. The steel major is seen reporting strong numbers when it unveils its FY 2007 (year ended March 31) results on May 17 on higher steel prices.

Ranbaxy Laboratories gained 2.30 per cent to Rs 390.75. The pharma major is planning to invest around Rs 60 crore to upgrade the recently acquired Be-Tabs Pharma units in South Africa.

IT major TCS slipped 1.70 per cent to Rs 1,252.70, on renewed selling. TCS, a leading global IT services, business solutions and outsourcing firm, announced its tie-up with Microsoft Corporation to deliver RFID (radio frequency identification) solutions to global companies. It launched an initiative to develop RFID solutions built on Microsoft BizTalk.

Auto major Bajaj Auto advanced 5.90 per cent to Rs 2,718.60, on its proposal to split the company into two.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) rose 0.58 per cent to Rs 1,590.25 on reports that the company is lining up a Rs 3,000-crore home solutions retail venture. Its retail arm, Reliance Retail, will roll out a chain of 100 stand-alone specialised home solution outlets, each spread over 40,000-60,000 square feet, over the next three years, analysts predicted.

Public sector banking major State Bank of India (SBI) edged higher by 1.81 per cent to Rs 1,149.20 on expectations of good Q4 March 2007 results. Cement major ACC declined 1.01 per cent to Rs 850.35. Swiss cement maker Holcim had acquired an additional 3 per cent stake in ACC, bringing its total stake to around 41 per cent.

Maruti Udyog (MUL) slipped 1.37 per cent to Rs 795.30. The Union government exited the country's largest car maker on Thursday, selling its residual stake for Rs 2,360 crore to a clutch of financial institutions led by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

The government offered 2.96 crore shares in the company, representing 10.27 per cent stake. Of this, LIC got all the 1.3 crore shares it had bid for at a price of Rs 800 per share. LIC now controls 12.5 per cent and has become the second-largest shareholder in the company.

In all, 32 financial institutions and mutual funds have been alloted shares. SBI emerged as the second most successful bidder with 83 lakh shares at Rs 775 each. Corporation Bank and Exim Bank submitted the highest bids at Rs 850 per share. Both were granted 5.88 lakh and 1.18 lakh shares respectively.

Among mutual funds, Reliance Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund got 20 lakh and 10 lakh shares respectively. SBI MF also got 49.76 lakh shares at Rs 775 per share and Punjab National Bank 12.29 lakh shares at Rs 815 per share.

Tech Mahindra lost 8.43 per cent to Rs 1,511. Tech Mahindra's consolidated net profit (excluding exceptional items) jumped 120 per cent in Q4 March 2007 at Rs 196.1 crore compared with Rs 89.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Revenue surged 108 per cent to Rs 874.5 crore compared with Rs 421.2 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The company incurred a one-time exceptional charge towards an upfront payment of Rs 524.9 crore to a customer and has reported a net loss of Rs 328.9 crore in Q4 March 2007.

On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve's decision kept interest rates steady. On that very day, the European Central Bank (ECB) held its rates steady at 3.75 per cent.

The Bank of England raised interest rates to a six-year high of 5.5 per cent on Thursday, as it voiced concern that diminishing spare capacity in the UK economy and greater pricing power skewed inflation risks to the upside. On the same day, the ECB kept its key lending rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent.

India's industrial production rose 12.9 per cent per annum in March this year, from a year earlier, higher than downwardly revised annual growth of 10.8 per cent in February, due to strong manufacturing output, government data revealed on Friday. Analysts had forecast annual industrial output growth of 10.40 per cent.

Full year 2006-07 industrial output jumped 11.3 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Manufacturing production, which represents more than 75 per cent of industrial output, surged 14.1 per cent per annum in March. Last year, the annual industrial output growth was 8.9 per cent, while the annual manufacturing growth was 10.10 per cent.

India's wholesale price index rose 5.66 per cent in the last 12 months to April 28, lower than the previous week's increase of 5.77 per cent per annum due to a decline in some food prices, according to a data released yesterday.

The figure was lower than a forecast of 5.73 per cent in an analysts poll.

India's largest real estate developer DLF had said on Monday that an initial public offering of 10.2 per cent of the company should take place in the next three months as it had received regulatory approval for the sale.

In 2006, the New Delhi-based DLF had dropped plans for what would have been India's biggest IPO due to a sharp market fall. At that time, the IPO was expected to raise up to USD 3.5 billion, analysts pointed out.

UNI