The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, September 15, 2002

Hughes Tele.com — Accept
SHAREHOLDERS of Hughes Telecom may be better off tendering to the open offer being made by the acquirer — Tata Teleservices and their group companies — for the acquisition of a 20 per cent equity stake at an offer price of Rs 7.11 per ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Templeton MIP (Growth): Hold/Avoid fresh exposures
INVESTORS in the Templeton Monthly Income Plan (Growth Option) can stay with the Fund for now, despite its rather unimpressive performance. With equity exposures of around 12.9 per cent in its portfolio, the fund has not delivered the kind of ... More

`Growth at a reasonable price, our strategy' — Mr Prashant Jain, Chief Investment Officer, Zurich India.
ZURICH India Prudence is one of the better performing balanced funds in the country. In this context, Business Line spoke to Mr Prashant Jain, who manages Zurich Prudence, on the investment strategies followed by the fund. <>Excerpts ... More

US 64: Psyching investors?
TO THE rational bystander, the package put together by the government to induce investors to stay with the Unit Scheme 64 after May 2003 (and thus prevent a run) would seem to be an exercise in futility. But, in reality, the package shows a ... More

A spate of new offers
FOUR new schemes are now open for subscription. An income scheme each from the Unit Trust of India and Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund and two equity schemes from Birla Mutual are on offer. The latter includes a mid-cap fund, which appears to have ... More

Canpremium: Book profits
RISK-AVERSE investors in Canpremium, the balanced fund from Canbank Mutual Fund, can consider booking profits in the fund. It has capitalised on the sharp run-up in a few PSU stocks to generate positive returns of around 8 per cent in the first ... More

Franklin Balanced Funds: Contrasting approaches
Recommendation:
FIBF: Hold
FTIBF: Hold
More

Expense ratio cuts
SUNDARAM Mutual Fund has cut the expense ratio on Sundaram Select Debt, a fund that has been aimed at knowledgeable investors who want a greater say in managing their investment affairs. The expense ratio for a combined asset plan, which is ... More

Birla Index Fund: Unattractive
BIRLA Index Fund, a passive Index Fund tracking the S&P CNX Nifty is currently open for subscription. Though this appears to be a good time to enter the equity market, investors (especially those with no equity investments in mutual funds) may ... More

PSU

The USPs of PSUs
WHILE uncertainty over the disinvestment process has taken some of the sheen off PSU stocks, nearly all of them, barring MTNL, are still in positive territory, reckoned from January 2001, when this universe of stocks was, as a whole, languishing. ... More

STOCKS

MICO: Good long-term bet
THE sustained pick-up in automobile production in the current calendar year has translated into improved financial performance for quite a few companies including Motor Industries Company (MICO). Taking cognisance of the improved performance, the ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Ketan Parekh's money trail leads CBI to UK
THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has traced a part of funds allegedly siphoned off by the stockbroker, Mr Ketan Parekh, from India to certain investments in London. According to CBI sources, the stockbroker, with the help of ... More

Ketan behind bull run of tech stocks?
AT a time when PSU stocks are being discarded by the market, some of the top and second-rung technology stocks are back in demand. If market talks are anything to go by, there is heavy punting on these stocks from brokers close to the technology ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

In-the-money options — When should you exercise them?
AN American type of option is one where the option contract can be exercised at any time between the date of purchase and the expiration date. When you exercise an option, the result may be different depending on the type of settlement. In the ... More

Markets end the week on subdued note
EQUITIES ended the week on a weak note on the heels of signs that the Government's resolve on disinvestment has begun to weaken, and increased likelihood of political turmoil in West Asia. The BSE Sensitive index ended the week at 3,098.94 ... More

Option value vs option price
THE terms, "option value" and "option price", though interchangeably used in the newspapers and investment magazines, are different. Option price is the price at which the option trades in the market. If Satyam 240 calls trade at Rs 4, you can ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

FIIs go bearish
INVESTMENTS by foreign institutional investors in 2002 are set to be the lowest in the ten years that FIIs have been investing in the stock market. There is only one exception: 1998, when the FIIs were net sellers to the extent of $163.5 million. ... More

COMMENTARY

Nasdaq: Persistent weakness
AFTER firm start to the week, the American markets tended to wilt down on Wednesday and Thursday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index managed to stage some sort of recovery on Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended weak. For ... More

Positive outlook for M&M
THE market activity was rather lacklustre during the just concluded week. Both the Sensex and the Nifty have registered a net decline for the week. The magnitude of decline was much higher in the case of Sensex. <>Sensex (3098.94): ... More

Infosys may decline further
ITC (Rs 686.9): Though the scrip ruled firm during the week, the overall outlook continues to remain bearish. Only a close above Rs 730 would blunt the overall bearish outlook. However, the scrip could seek higher levels in the next few days. ... More

Tech stocks in focus
HEXAWARE Technologies: The tech company that got listed recently has been on an uptrend ever since it bagged a huge order. During the week, the stock jumped 33.33 per cent to trade at 99.80. The surge was accompanied by a sharp jump in volumes. ... More

PSU counters suffer steep fall
THE markets continued to reel on disinvestment blues as the BPCL - HPCL disinvestment were put on the backburner by the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment by three months late last week. That, alongwith the possible strike by the US on Iraq, ... More

RECOMMENDATION

Bata: Hold/Avoid fresh exposures
BATA may be one of the older companies to set foot in India, but a look at its financial performance reveals that it continues to carry a bite that hurts. A combination of depressed market conditions and its own internal problems took the ... More

No titans here
Recommendation:
Titan: Buy
Timex: Avoid More

Swaraj Mazda: Hold
SWARAJ Mazda (SML), part of the Punjab-based Swaraj Enterprises and the country's third largest manufacturer of light commercial vehicles (LCVs), could come into the limelight again. With an excellent first quarter performance to boot, the ... More

Dabur India: Buy
INVESTORS with a conservative risk profile can consider adding the Dabur India stock to their portfolio at its current price levels of Rs 47. With established brand equity in the market for herbal products and a well-diversified basket of brands ... More

SSI: Hold/Avoid fresh exposures
THE slowdown in the US has taken a heavy toll on SSI's financial performance for the year ended June 30, 2002 . The financial contours of both the education and software services have deteriorated . On a standalone basis, the company's revenues ... More

Floatglass India: Buy
THE recent pick-up in automobile production has improved the business environment for companies dependent on the auto industry. Floatglass India is one such company that has seen its earnings improve, owing to the recent recovery in the ... More

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Looking back
Sep. 8-Sep. 14
`UTI package sends positive signal to industry' — Mr A.P. Kurian, Chairman, Association of Mutual Funds of India

UTI-II sell-off by mid-2003 likely