Realty, bank, auto drag as RBI hikes rates

MUMBAI: Rate sensitive sectors were witnessing a sell-off after the Reserve Bank of India hiked the repo and reverse repo rate by 50 basis points each. According to experts, these sectors are likely to remain under pressure in the near term.

"50 basis points hike by the RBI was a disappointment for the market. Reward for investors won't be very high in rate sensitive stocks and bearish on these stocks in the near term. The rate hike will hurt companies without pricing power," said Ramdeo Agarwal, co-founder and director, Motilal Oswal on ET Now.

He added that real danger for banks will be slow-down in credit growth. He gas advised to be selective in picking PSU banks pack.

Meanwhile, the rate sensitive sectors were dragging down the indices. BSE Auto Index was down 2.16 per cent, BSE Bankex fell 1.97 per cent and BSE Realty Index slipped 1.46 per cent.

M&M (-3.77%), Tata Motors (-2.87%), Bajaj Auto (-2.56%) and Maruti Suzuki (-2.28%) were the top losesrs from BSE Auto Index.

The worst hit in banking space were Canara Bank (-3.85%), Punjab National Bank (-3.57%), Axis Bank (-2.89%) and State Bank of India (-2.88%).

Realty space was also reeling under selling pressure. DB Realty (-2.50%), HDIL (-2.49%), Mahindra Lifespace (-1.99%) and Peninsula Land (-1.97%) were the major losers.

Wedding fever helps to restore royal brand, says survey

The forthcoming royal nuptials could usher in a new era of popularity for the royal family, according to research from JWT London.

Royal Wedding: a positive effect on the royal family's popularity

An overwhelming 80% of respondents said they believe the Royal Wedding will have a positive impact on how they view the royal family. Some 67% of consumers believe the country still needs a monarchy, and the same number agree they are "a wonderful institution that does a great job."
More tellingly, with the exception of the Queen alone, the younger royals are commanding greater respect from the public than their senior counterparts. William himself has a respect rating of 64%, with brother Harry not far behind on 59% and new addition Kate already at 49%. Princes Charles (42%), Andrew (28%) and Edward (24%) trail in their wake.

Half of the British public (47%) are now planning to show their support for William and Kate's big day – a potential audience of 30 million. However, despite the huge amount of coverage given to street parties, with online grocery giant Ocado selling out of Union Jack bunting, just 16% of consumers are planning an event with their neighbours.

Despite the popularity of Royal Wedding memorabilia, on Twitter just 16% of those surveyed would consider purchasing a souvenir, with respondents describing those who do purchase as "sad", but "typically British".
Of the 16%, the majority (51%) would buy classic collectables such as crystal, china, coins, stamps and dolls.
The survey was carried out among 500 people in the UK.

Reasons for celebrating the Royal Wedding
Why are you planning to celebrate the Royal Wedding ?	Total %
To mark an event in history	60%
To support our future monarch	39%
To be patriotic	36%
I'm a fan of the royals	35%
For my children, it will be something for them to remember	30%
I'm genuinely excited	15%
To bring the community together	13%
It's just an excuse to have a party	11%
Someone I know cares about the royals, I'm tagging along	5%

Respect for the Royals
How much do you respect these members (and future members) of the Royal Family ?	Total %
	(net)
The Queen	70%
Prince William	64%
Prince Harry	59%
Kate Middleton	49%
Prince Charles	42%
Prince Philip	40%
Prince Andrew	28%
Prince Edward	24%

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk

Sensex trades lower; SBI, HDFC Bank, L&T slip

Watch CNBC-TV18 live only on MYTV >>

ALSO READ

• See Key Market Stats - Top Gainers/ Losers, Most Actives, Highs/Lows
• See how Global Markets are trading
• Indian ADRs

Indian equity benchmark indices were trading volatile with negative bias. Selling pressure was seen in capital goods, realty and banking stocks while FMCG and pharma stocks witness some buying interest. Analyst believes that despite all the negatives like interest rate, inflation, margin pressure etc, the market doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to go below 5,700
Reliance, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Steel and BHEL were the positive contributors to the Sensex. However, Infosys, HDFC, L&T, HDFC Bank and SBI were negative contributors.
Selling pressure was seen across the globe. Most Asian indices were down. Excluding FTSE European markets were also trading lower in early trades.
At 12.58 hrs IST, the Sensex was down 42.62 points or 0.22% at 19249.40, and the Nifty was down 16.30 points or 0.28% at 5769.15.
About 1175 shares have advanced, 1526 shares declined, and 932 shares remain unchanged.
Top losers on the Sensex were Jindal Steel at Rs 661.35 down 2.36%, L&T at Rs 1,628.85 down 2%, HDFC Bank at Rs 2,298.75 down 1.71%, M&M at Rs 756.70 down 1.43% and HDFC at Rs 707.10 down 1.12%.
Cigarette major ITC was trading at Rs 193.35 up 0.94% from its previous close of Rs 191.55.
According to Krishna Kumar Karwa, MD, Emkay Global Financial Services, despite all the negatives like interest rate, inflation, margin pressure etc, the market doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to go below 5,700. That, according to him, is an indicator that inherently there is buoyancy in the system.
However, Top gainers on the Sensex were HUL at Rs 286.50 up 2.71%, Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,323.25 up 1.54%, BHEL at Rs 2,016.40 up 1.20%, Reliance Comm at Rs 100.80 up 0.95% and ITC at Rs 193.35 up 0.94%.
Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 286.50 up 2.71% from its previous close of Rs 278.95.
Top losers on the BSE Midcap were Shree Global, IRB Infra, STC India, HDIL and Sterlite Techno down 3-5%.
Top losers on the BSE Smallcap were Elgi Equipments, Kesoram, Kirloskar Bros, Petron Eng Cons and Honda Siel down 5-11%.

Rasna launches Fruitplus drink

New Delhi : Rasna has now come up with a novel stick pack of its existing product ‘Fruitplus’. Saina Nehwal, India's number one shuttler unveiled the new packaging in the capital today.

Saina shared her childhood moments of being in love with Rasna, a feeling she commented she still has. Unveiling the novel stick pack, India’s number one shuttler shared her belief in this new packaging brought in for the benefit of the consumers. Also accompanying Saina was Rasna’s Chairman and Managing Director Mr Piruz Khambatta.

 “Rasna is proud to be consistently present in the market and we have been committed to our consumers with the quality and nutritious value of our products. Benefit of these consumers only has yet again formed the basis of our growth. Rasna Fruitplus Singles intends to offer a convenient and hassle free experience. Children and adults can carry the sticks to their schools, playgrounds and workplaces respectively,” Rasna’s Chairman and Managing Director  Piruz Khambatta said.

Rasna Fruitplus Singles has also combined ‘choice’ with ‘convenience’. This product would be available in a mono-carton comprising of variedly flavoured stick packs – orange, lemon, mango, pineapple and mixed fruit. Unlike some other concentrates which take time to dissolve in water, Fruitplus Singles gets dissolved within 5 seconds and offers greater nutritional value of fruits.

Mr Khambatta further added, “As a market leader with 90% market share since many decades, Rasna is responsible to provide its customers what they want. Rasna Fruitplus in stick form priced at Rs.5/- is an example of how an Indian company can meet the ever growing aspirations of its customers by launching novel innovative healthy products in convenient formats.”

Rasna is marketing ‘Fruitplus Singles’ nationally and has also come up with a new television ad campaign for the same

Mother Dairy introduces ‘Paan’ and ‘Rose’ Kulfis

New Delhi: In its bid to further strengthen its offering in the category of Kulfi, Mother Dairy today announced the launch of two new flavors – 'Rose Kulfi' and 'Paan Kulfi'. The two new flavors will add variety to the already existing offering.

Speaking on the launch, Mother Dairy Spokesperson said, "Post the success of the Kesar and Pista Kulfi we are adding more flavors in our range of Kulfi offerings. Keeping in mind that Kulfi even today is the most preferred Indian dessert we are sure that our two new Paan and Rose Kulfi will be successful in tickling the taste buds of the consumers."

Paan – Meetha Paan is a favorite after meal flavor enjoyed today. Keeping the consumer preferences in mind, Mother Dairy launches the traditional Paan flavor in a Kulfi.

Rose – Rose is one of the most exotic flavors used in cooking for sensory pleasure. The same flavor, aroma has been converted into Kulfi by Mother Dairy with a special tint of rose in it.

"Paan Kulfi" and "Rose Kulfi" priced at Rs. 15/- for a 60ml kulfi stick bar will be available across retail outlets, Mother Dairy Booths, carts in Delhi/NCR, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Pune & Kolkata.

Sensex drops 0.8% in volatile session; RIL drags, ICICI gains

Unitech Ltd.

BSE

37.40

-07.54%

-03.05

Vol:8998255 shares traded

NSE

37.25

-07.91%

-03.20

Vol:62949980 shares traded

Prices|Financials|Company Info|Reports

RELATED ARTICLES

• Wall St gains strength, Nasdaq near its 10-yr high
• Gold hits new high at Rs 22,470, silver up by Rs 3,400
• Market could possibly underperform: Franklin Templeton Investments
• Nifty ends below 5800 on April series expiry day
• ICICI Bank Q4 net rises 44 pc, below forecast

 

MUMBAI: Indian markets dropped for the fourth day, shedding 0.8 percent in a choppy session on Thursday as monthly derivatives contracts expired, and as high inflation strengthened expectations of a tight monetary stance by the central bank.

Reliance Industries extended losses a day after an oil ministry source said the energy giant could face a penalty for falling short of targeted gas production at its D6 block off the east coast.

The stock, which weighs the most on key indexes, slipped 1.4 percent, taking losses for the year to date to 8.2 percent.

The 30-share BSE index fell 0.81 percent, or 156.67 points, to 19,292.02 points, with 25 components closing in the red. It had started higher.

"I would not read too much into today's fall. It is the typical situation on an expiry day," said Gajendra Nagpal, CEO of Unicon Financial.

"It is all wait and watch before the (Reserve Bank of India's) policy next week. I don't think RBI will hike rates by more than 25 basis points as they would not want to stifle growth," he said.

The RBI is seen raising rates by a quarter percentage point at the policy on Tuesday and analysts now expect it to raise rates by a total of 75 basis points for the rest of 2011, the latest Reuters poll found on Tuesday.

Foreign funds have poured in $3.3 billion into Indian equities since the start of March, driving the main index 8.2 percent higher, but they were net sellers for the first two sessions of this week and offloaded $319 million of stocks.

Dealers shrugged off the selling, saying an easy U.S. monetary policy will continue to drive money to riskier assets.

"...there is some respite after the Fed meeting, as we now know that the tap (of money) is on," said Shankar Char, vice-president and head of sales trading at ICICI Securities, referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold short-term interest rates near zero.

Char expected market to continue to be choppy until the central bank's policy.

The 50-share NSE index declined 0.8 percent to 5,785.45. Losers more than doubled the gainers in the broader market, on a volume of 823 million shares on the NSE, higher than the 90-day average daily volume of 646 million shares.

Top lender State Bank of India and private lender HDFC Bank dropped 1.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

ICICI Bank bucked the trend and rose nearly 1 percent after the top private-sector lender posted a 44-percent jump in quarterly net profit on strong demand for loans and a rise in fee income in India's fast growing economy.

Unitech and DB Realty slumped 7.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, on investor worries about the ongoing telecoms licencing graft case.

On Wednesday, India's Directorate of Enforcement filed a status report in the Supreme Court stating that properties worth 20 billion rupees of two of the three companies charged in the case "will be attached within two months".

The report did not name the companies, but an official with the agency confirmed to Reuters that the companies were Swan Telecom, which is now called Etisalat DB, and Unitech Wireless, which have been charged in the case along with a unit of Reliance Communications.

Realty stocks will rebound in two years: Macquarie

RELATED ARTICLES

• Market could possibly underperform: Franklin Templeton Investments
• Sensex drops 0.8% in volatile session; RIL drags
• ICICI Bank Q4 net rises 44 pc, below forecast
• Future IPO fails to get institutional buyers
• China determined to end the reign of US dollar

MUMBAI: India's real estate stocks have attractive valuations after plunging 83% from their peak and are likely to rebound within two years, according to Macquarie Group.

India's real estate industry is grappling with rising borrowing costs, shrinking access to credit and a decline in demand as record prices make homes unaffordable. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 14-stock Realty Index has dropped from its peak in January 2008, while the benchmark Sensitive Index surged to a record last November.

"This is one of the most bombed out, neglected and despised spaces in Asia," Mark Matthews, a Singapore-based strategist at Macquarie Group , Australia's biggest investment bank, said in a phone interview. "It's in a distressed environment like this that one can find value."

India's property index is trading at 1.4 times book value, less than half of the benchmark measure's 3.4 multiple, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country's developers are expected to face "large-scale distress" amid rising borrowing costs and shrinking access to credit that may force them into fire sales of assets, Knight Frank said.

Indian developers will have to repay Rs 1.8 trillion ($40.4 billion) of debt to state-run banks, private-equity funds and other lenders over the next two to three years, Amit Goenka, national director of capital transactions at the Indian unit of Londonbased Knight Frank, said on April 21.

Shares of developers that survive will surge several fold over the next few years from where they are, Matthews said. He's focusing on companies with low debt, high free cash flow, and a good product, he said. The Realty Index is up 20% from this year's low on February 24. It fell 0.3% on Tuesday.

Prestige Estates Projects is the brokerage's top pick in the industry. The Bangalore-based developer, which is in a retail property venture with Singapore's CapitaMalls Asia, has a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3, Matthews said.

India's property industry is going through a similar phase as Thailand almost two decades ago, when the industry was hit by oversupply Matthews said.