| The Sensex gained 26.67 points last week to close at 5196.99. The index gained mainly on the back of cement scrips and heavyweight stocks like Reliance.
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| Grasim (up 6.02 per cent at Rs 1039.90), with an index weightage of 2.61 per cent, contributed most to the Sensex's gains with 7.41 points.
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| ICICI Bank (up 2.16 per cent at Rs 272.55), with a weightage of 6.83 per cent, was a close second, contributing 7.19 points to the gains, while Reliance (up 1.01 per cent at Rs 493.85), which has the highest weightage in the Sensex at 13 per cent, added 6.50 points.
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| Old economy majors like Tata Steel, Gujarat Ambuja Cements and ACC were the other notable winners of the week.
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| However, more upsides at the bourses were checked by the losses suffered at the Infosys counter. The scrip, which has a weightage of 10.46 per cent in the Sensex, declined by 1.77 per cent to close at Rs 1526.30, thus shaving off 9.38 points from the index.
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| Metal stock Hindalco (down 4.46 per cent at Rs 1052), Maruti Udyog (down 5.86 per cent at Rs 399.70) and HDFC Bank (down 2.28 per cent at Rs 366.25) were the other notable declines of the week.
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While the revival of monsoons has brought cheer to the markets, factors like rising inflation and oil prices and the possibility of a hike in US interest rates are likely to keep the sentiment damp, say analysts.
| ACC | | Last week's close (Rs) | 257.4 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 239.63 | | Week's high (Rs) | 258.5 | | Week's low (Rs) | 240.4 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 117.03 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 62.68 | | Futures close August-2004 (Rs) | 259.1 | | Futures close September-2004 (Rs) | 259.65 | | Futures close October-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Number of up/down move | 4/1 |
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| ACC went up 7.41 per cent last week to close at Rs 257.40 on the back of a strong rally in cement scrips. ACC's dispatches for July stood at 12.79 lakh tonnes against 11.88 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, an increase of 7.65 per cent.
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| The company produced 13.23 lakh tonnes of cement in the month, a rise of 10 per cent compared with a production of 12.02 lakh tonnes. Cement dispatches and average prices have been higher in June and July compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
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Retail cement prices have been ruling 10-13 per cent higher compared with prices in the last two years. Demand has been buoyant in the northern and eastern markets in July, leading to a better pricing scenario.
| HERO HONDA | | Last week's close (Rs) | 452.13 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 429.05 | | Week's high (Rs) | 457.85 | | Week's low (Rs) | 426.28 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 64.06 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 61.21 | | Futures close August-2004 (Rs) | 453.45 | | Futures close September-2004 (Rs) | 454.50 | | Futures close October-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Number of up/down move | 3/2 |
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| Hero Honda saw its stock price rise 5.37 per cent over its previous weekly close. The company's encouraging June sales kept the scrip buoyant while news of a bonus issue on the cards added fuel to the buying.
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| The company later denied reports about the bonus issue. In June 2004, the company sold 2,00,922 bikes, crossing the 2-lakh mark yet again for the fifth time in the last nine months. Its sales grew 25 per cent over the year-ago period (1,60,889 units).
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For the quarter ending June 2004, the cumulative sales of the company were 6,09,123 units, an increase of 33 per cent. The company had sold 4,58,784 units during the corresponding period last year. Hero Honda's CD-Dawn continued its lead in the entry-level segment.
| HLL | | Last week's close (Rs) | 116.13 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 116.25 | | Week's high (Rs) | 125.25 | | Week's low (Rs) | 112.43 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr) | 45.29 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 68.80 | | Futures close August-2004 (Rs) | 114.45 | | Futures close September-2004 (Rs) | 114.90 | | Futures close October-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Number of up/down move | 2/3 |
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| HLL slipped to a seven-year low of Rs 112.43 last week but managed to end the week a tad lower than its previous weekly close.
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| A highlight of the week's trading was that the scrip vacillated between an intra-week high of Rs 125 and a low of Rs 112.43. The scrip was hit by a downgrade from one of the leading broking firms.
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| In its research report, the firm cited deteriorating fundamentals, stiff competitive pressures and increasing choices to invest in the Indian consumer space as key reasons for the stock to be downgraded.
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The report also said the dividend yield on the stock is not attractive. The scrip has been falling downhill throughout the week, barring brief reversals on Monday and Thursday.
| BAJAJ AUTO | | Last week's close (Rs) | 854.50 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 822.93 | | Week's high (Rs) | 865.00 | | Week's low (Rs) | 822.00 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 28.29 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 20.13 | | Futures close August-2004 (Rs) | 857.60 | | Futures close September-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Futures close October-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Number of up/down move | 3/2 |
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| Bajaj Auto was another gainer last week on news of buoyant June sales. The stock gained 3.84 per cent over its previous weekly close.
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| The company sold more than 1 lakh motorcycles in June. Total sales grew 32 per cent in July, much ahead of the industry growth rate of round 10 per cent.
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| The company's new offering, CT-100, sold 57,000 units in the month and completed a cumulative sales of over 1.21 lakh units within 90 days of its launch.
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| The company says the model has outstripped supply and there is a back-order of two to four weeks in most cities.
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| Bajaj Auto is ramping up production of the model to 80,000 units per month by October 2004. Dealers say the stock also witnessed buying due to expectations of a pick-up in rural demand following a revival in monsoons.
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Stock to watch
| ESSEL PROPACK | | Last week's close (Rs) | 194.50 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 190.20 | | Week's high (Rs) | 204.85 | | Week's low (Rs) | 183.83 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 0.80 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 0.29 | | Futures close |
NT | | Number of up/down move | 2/3 |
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| Zee group company Essel Propack is expected to be in focus as it has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Arista Tubes, a leading manufacturer of plastic tubes in the UK.
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| The stock, which was trading in lacklustre manner in the early half of last week, jumped over 9 per cent on Friday in intra-day trades.
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| However, the scrip came off its highs to close with a 4.3 per cent gain and witnessed volumes of more than 50,000 shares on the BSE. The scrip was also active on the NSE where its volumes crossed 1.06 lakh shares. Dealers say the acquisition of Arista is good for Essel Propack.
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| Arista manufactures seamless plastic tubes mainly for cosmetics, personal care, toiletries and the pharma sector.
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RECAP: BIRLA CORP
The scrip advanced 2.30 per cent last week to close at Rs 97.65.
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Stock of the week
| GUJARAT AMBUJA CEMENTS | | Last week's close (Rs) | 303.22 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 278.14 | | Week's high (Rs) | 305.15 | | Week's low (Rs) | 278.63 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 49.74 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 40.20 | | Futures close August-2004 (Rs) | 302.35 | | Futures close September-2004 (Rs) | 299.00 | | Futures close October-2004 (Rs) | 0.00 | | Number of up/down move | 4/1 |
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| Gujarat Ambuja Cements was among the top gainers last week as strong demand and firm prices led to upsides in cement counters. Cement prices and dispatches have been significantly higher in June and July compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
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| According to analysts, while a late monsoon kept the offtake consistent, a healthy demand in the northern and eastern markets has maintained the pricing level.
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| Renewed demand from Middle-East countries, which has resulted in an increase of $10 per tonne in export prices to $38 per tonne, is likely to add to export earnings of domestic cement makers.
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| Gujarat Ambuja has registered a 19.80 per cent jump in its dispatches at 11.43 lakh tonnes in July 2004 against 9.54 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
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RECAP: SAIL
The stock went up by 2.38 per cent before closing at Rs 40.80.
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Mid-cap mover
| INDO RAMA SYNTHETICS | | Last week's close (Rs) | 65.85 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 59.40 | | Week's high (Rs) | 67.60 | | Week's low (Rs) | 59.75 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 7.70 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 3.05 | | Futures close |
NT | | Number of up/down move | 4/1 |
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| Indo Rama Synthetics advanced 10.85 per cent last week to close at Rs 65.85. The polyester maker plans to set up a Rs 900-crore project to double its capacity.
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| It also plans to hike its capacity for polyester staple fibre (PSF) and partially-oriented yarn from 800 tonne per day (tpd) to 1,600 tpd at its Butibori unit near Nagpur.
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| The company has entered into an alliance with Zimmer AG, a German construction and engineering firm, for this.
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| Indo Rama currently produces 300,000 tonnes per year of polyester, which will be increased to 600,000 tonnes per annum by 205. It reported an 87 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 6.70 crore and a 17 per cent rise in sales to Rs 558.20 crore in the first quarter of 2004-05.
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RECAP: NAGARJUNA CONSTRUCTION
The stock price surged 18.88 per cent before settling at Rs 190.15.
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Small-cap mover
| KOLAR BIOTECH | | Last week's close (Rs) | 1.48 | | Prev. week's close (Rs) | 1.02 | | Week's high (Rs) | 1.48 | | Week's low (Rs) | 0.97 | | Last week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 0.86 | | Prev. week's ave. daily turnover(Rs cr) | 0.05 | | Futures close |
NT | | Number of up/down move | 3/2 |
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| Kolar Biotech witnessed a huge spurt in volumes last week. There was big activity at the counter ahead of the company's announcement to issue two bonus shares against each share.
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| According to sources, operators with prior knowledge of the announcement may have been active at the counter. The company also announced its June-quarter results.
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| While net profit more than doubled to Rs 13.28 crore compared with Rs 6.60 crore in the corresponding period in FY04, net sales went up to Rs 42.02 crore from 25.37 crore.
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| The company recently bagged an order worth Rs 10 crore from a UK-based company. It has also decided to invest Rs 7.50 crore on research-based activities in biotech this year.
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RECAP: VIMTA LABS
The pharma scrip moved up 6.84 per cent to close at Rs 456.10. |
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