Market Cues: 10 stocks to keep on your radar today

It was yet another choppy day of trade for Indian equities on Tuesday, as worries about poor monsoon and hawkish comments from the RBI spooked investors.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed lower for the fifth consecutive session, weighed down by capital goods, oil & gas, steel, auto and power stocks. The market opened the trade with more than 100 points gap up following positive Asian cues, but that could not sustain for long as traders opted to book profits in second half of trade.

The Sensex rose 2 points to close at 17,105 while the Nifty declined 4 points to 5,192. Broader markets witnessed greater losses, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down close to 1%.

Asian markets open flat this morning on weak cues from global markets.

Stocks in News

The 2G spectrum EGoM, headed by P Chidambaram, is scheduled to meet today to take up the issue of rollout obligations and spectrum pricing.

The Competition Appellate Tribunal will begin rehearing DLF's appeal against the CCI’s Rs 630 crore penalty order today. The COMPAT will also take up an application filed by DLF seeking clarity on the status of the cease and desist order that had been passed by Competition Commission of India last year

Tata Steel is another stock to watch in trade today. Ratan Tata yesterday warned that the steel producers European operations will remain under stress, but added that operations in India are expected to remain strong.

Petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy has promised expeditious clearance for four investment proposals of Reliance and has agreed to quicker approvals for two blocks in Cauvery basin.

A CNBC-TV18 poll sees Bajaj Auto post a weak set of numbers this quarter. Revenue is expected to see muted growth due to slowdown in domestic two-wheeler demand and a big slip in exports. Also, their margins are expected to dip further away from the 20% mark.

Also watch out for Bajaj Holdings, Infotech Enterprise, Ingersoll Rand, Kirloskar Brothers, Sanwaria Agro, Automotive Axles and Supreme Petro, all of which are to announce results today.

Jindal Steel and Power terminates a USD 2.1 billion mining and steel project in Bolivia.

GTL Infra may promoters infuse Rs 930 crores in a company arm for an allotted 44.6 crore convertible debentures.

VKS Projects IPO lists today at an issue price of Rs 55.

Reports say that Coal India may finalize its Rs1700 crore explosive contract on July 31.

The Economic Times reports that IT major Infosys has abandoned the acquisition of Belgian payment solutions, Clear2Pay.

Meanwhile, the DNA reports that TCS has received a multi-year contract from Scandinavian Airlines for an undisclosed amount.

Hindalco owned Novelis has pulled out of a joint venture with Alcoa Inc to recycle beverage cans, reports the DNA.

US Markets

US markets wiped out previous session's declines on the back of better-than-expected earnings reports and hopes that the central bank may still be open to further easing. Markets initially slipped after Bernanke’s testimony, which at first blush gave no clear indication of easing.

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke offered no new hints that the central bank is planning more easing. However, in his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke repeated his pledge that the Fed was prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery.

In earnings action, Goldman Sachs ended reported earnings which were way above estimates despite a substantial drop from last year. Also, beverage producer Coca-Cola posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit due to increased sales volume.

Industrial production rose 0.4% in June, following a 0.4% dip in May, and the consumer price index remained flat.

European markets

European markets ended lower on disappointment of no signs of further easing from the US Federal Reserve to support the fragile economic recovery. Italy witnessed the largest cuts of 1% due to warnings of default from Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Monti sent out a default warning yesterday, saying that he has grave concerns that the autonomous region of Sicily will be able to uphold its debt obligations and is demanding the governor resign by the end of this month. Sicily, which accounts for about 5.5% of Italy's GDP, has long been criticised for its wasteful public spending.

In Spain, borrowing costs fell overnight after Madrid saw solid demand of 3.5 billion debt auction. However, analysts warn that Madrid is still paying way too high yields, showing that its banking problems are still yet to be resolved. Another auction is scheduled for Thursday, so watch out for that.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to talk about the terms of Spain's 100 billion euro bank rescue package on Friday.

Currency Corner

The dollar had a volatile session due to lack of any clarity on further easing by Bernanke. The dollar index fell below the 83 level. Meanwhile, the euro moved above 1.23 to the dollar.

The Indian rupee ended marginally higher on Tuesday, appreciating to 55.11 to the dollar versus 55.31 on Monday.

Commodities

Nymex crude prices hovered near a seven-week high after a report showed that US stockpiles were falling. Ben Bernanke’s promise to act to boost growth if the labor market doesn't improve also boosted commodities.

Brent crude moved above USD 104 per barrel, and WTI settled at USD 89 per barrel. Precious metals, however, saw some weakness as gold prices slipped around 0.5%.

Anisha Mappat
anisha.mappat@network18online.com