India Markets Tuesday Wrap-Up: Couldn't Keep Up With Asian Peers

Constant selling ensured that the markets ended the day on a negative note. While select stocks from the consumer durables space witnessed gains, stocks from the energy and realty sectors led the pack of losers. As regards global markets, while the Asian indices closed in the positive, the European indices are trading in the red currently.

The BSE Sensex closed almost 250 points lower while the NSE Nifty closed lower by 70 points. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed in the red, lower by 1% each. The rupee was trading at 50.11 to the dollar.

Mirroring their global peers, the Indian bourses opened the day's proceedings on a firm note. Thereafter they witnessed steady selling activity in the ensuing hours of trade. This led to the markets paring all its early morning gains to finally end the day in the red. The overall market breadth remained negative with the losers outnumbering gainers in a ratio of 1.5 to 1 on the BSE. While Zee Entertainment (up 4%) and SAIL (up 2%) were the key gainers, HCL Tech (down 9%) and Suzlon (down 9%) were key losers.

HT Media has collaborated with Velti Plc, (listed on the London Stock Exchange) a global provider of mobile advertising solutions. They will form a new venture for providing mobile marketing services to other brands, ad agencies and network operators. Firefly e-Ventures Ltd, HT Media’s digital subsidiary, will have a 65% stake in this venture. This venture will help HT Media to enter into mobile marketing, along with providing solutions to other media houses as well. The patented mobile based marketing services will also help the company build on its multi-channel advertising platform across print, radio, internet and mobile. The venture will use Velti’s mobile marketing platform to deliver mobile marketing and advertising services throughout India.

It may be noted that India is one of the world’s fastest growing mobile market in terms of number of new subscribers added each month. This is in line with HT Media’s strategy to become a complete solution provider. The stock of HT Media ended higher by 6%, while its peer Jagran Prakashan ended flat.

As per a leading business daily, despite the fall in international oil prices, ONGC’s subsidiary ONGC Videsh (OVL) has decided not to revise its 12.5 pounds a share buyout of Imperial Energy Corp Plc. The acquisition has priced Imperial’s in-place 2P (proven and probable) oil and gas reserves at US$ 2.5 to US$ 3 per barrel. Imperial explores for oil in Siberia (Russia) and had 920 m barrels of 2P reserves as on December 2007. The acquisition will cost OVL US$ 2.1 bn.

It may be noted that crude oil prices were trading between US$ 115 to US$ 120 a barrel when OVL made the bid for Imperial in August. It is now around US$ 50 per barrel. The management of OVL expects the recent correction in crude prices to be temporary and expects the prices to revert to higher levels and hence they have not revised their bid. ONGC ended the day higher by 1% while RIL ended lower by 6%.

Comments

[Natalie Le:]

Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange was closed on Thursday after the attacks, which killed 101 people and brought the security forces into two luxury hotels in south Mumbai.

Aaron Lee Smith, MD of Superfund Financial mentions a rally coming soon but downside risks are there and eventually stocks are a dangerous place to be in.

www.youtube.com/watch?...

2008 Dec 03 03:07 AM