Auspicious beginning for Samvat 2061

Samvat 2061 had an auspicious beginning, though there were a few anxious moments in the two-hour Moorat trading session.

The Sensex spurted 31 points at the open and soon rose to an intra-day high of 6,002; but could not sustain above the 6,000-mark. Ensuing selling pressure saw the index slip into the red, but was pulled up at the end by a smattering of buying to close with a gain of 10 points at 5,964.

The Nifty ended with a gain of two points at 1,873. For the week, the Sensex finished with a 73-point gain while the Nify gained 21 points.

Like the previous week, Infosys was the major factor behind the Sensex's gain, contributing 14.96 points to the index. Other major contributors included HDFC Bank, which gained 7.97 per cent over its previous weekly close.

Following it were Reliance and Tata Steel which contributed 7.7 points and 7.68 points respectively to the index.

FMCG majors ITC and HLL also kept up the spirits.

It was a bad week for pharma majors Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's with the former losing 5.2 per cent week-on-week and erasing about 13.51 points from the Sensex. Banking majors ICICI Bank and SBI also shaved off 3.8 and 3.03 points respectively from the index.

Indices are expected to remain firm in the coming days on the back of benign oil prices, decent corporate results, strong macro-economic indicators and strong liquidity. The last bit was helped by sustained inflows from FIIs in the last few days. 

Stock to watch

ITC
Last week's close (Rs)	1,148.15
Prev. week's close (Rs)	1,127.78
Week's high (Rs)	1,153.00
Week's low (Rs)	1,121.53
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	36.42
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	60.34
Futures close November-2004 (Rs)	1,146.20
Futures close December-2004 (Rs)	1,150.00
Futures close January-2005 (Rs)	0
Number of up/down move	3/1

ITC was in focus last week on news of its foray into the personal-care products market. Though the stock ended just about 1.8 per cent higher than its previous weekly close, dealers reckon that the move would unlock further upsides in the coming week. Until recently, the Hindustan Lever and Procter & Gamble have been waging a war, slashing personal-care products. The size of the personal-care product market is about Rs 15,000 crore, with soaps and shampoos alone accounting for Rs 7,000 crore. In the last three years the segment is estimated to be growing at 8-9 per cent, which is considered to be among the highest in the Rs 45,000 crore FMCG market. 

Stock of the Week 

RANBAXY
Last week's close (Rs)	1,090.20
Prev. week's close (Rs)	1,151.43
Week's high (Rs)	1,144.80
Week's low (Rs)	1,053.50
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	106.98
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	97.83
Futures close November-2004 (Rs)	1,094.81
Futures close December-2004 (Rs)	1,102.00
Futures close January-2005 (Rs)	0
Number of up/down move	1/3

Number of up/down move 1/3 Markets have given a thumbs down to pharma major, Ranbaxy, following a slew of bad news that hit the company last week. At a time when markets remained upbeat for the festivities and Mahurat, Ranbaxy was the biggest loser in the index, registering a 5.3 per cent fall in its price. Last week, the company ended ties with a clinical research organisation and withdrew all its antiretroviral drugs (used for HIV treatment) as its data had discrepancies. The first harmful news spread when Germany's Schwarz Pharma discontinued the development of Ranbaxy's molecule for cancer. This has put into question the $42-million deal struck with the German company.

Mid-cap mover 
 

ABHISHEK INDUSTRIES
Last week's close (Rs)	33.45
Prev. week's close (Rs)	24.05
Week's high (Rs)	35.23
Week's low (Rs)	24.45
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	12.59
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	1.86
Futures close	NT
Number of up/down move	4/0

Textile major, Abhishek Industries had a bumper week with its shares closing a whopping 39.09 per cent higher than its previous weekly close. The scrip has been witnessing a fair bit of institutional activity and dealers say one institution has been particularly pushing up the scrip. The scrip was stuck at the 10 per cent upper limit on the BSE on Wednesday amid sustained buying, which saw more than six lakh shares change hands. Dealers say rumours of a takeover is adding to the buying interest at the counter. From a recent low of Rs 20.60 on November 3, the stock has gained a whopping 55.09 per cent so far.

Small-cap mover 

JAIPUR POLYSPIN
Last week's close (Rs)	24.26
Prev. week's close (Rs)	19.07
Week's high (Rs)	24.26
Week's low (Rs)	20.97
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	0.05
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	0.03
Futures close	NT
Number of up/down move	4/0

Japiur Polyspin moved up smartly at the bourses last week as its stock price registered a gain of 27.2 per cent. The stock also hit its upper circuit on the last trading day of the previous week as the news of Rajasthan Spinning deal crept in. The stock was in limelight after Rajasthan Spinning announced on Thursday that it would acquire a 59.6 per cent stake from Jaipur Polyspin's promoters at Rs 29. In addition, Rajasthan Spinning will also make an open offer for another 20 per cent.