The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, June 01, 2003

January-March 2003 quarter — Banks on a roll, roller-coaster for rest
TO GET a feel of who is dominating the earnings season, take a casual look at the advertisements splashed in newspapers. Yes, it is the public sector banks, with private sector banks close behind,that are making ... More

The ten that stole the show
IT IS not often that large-cap companies walk away with the honours in the earnings season. Before 2002-03, the slow-down in industrial growth and sluggish commodity prices hampered the performance of such ... More

Take another look at bank deposits
THE inflows into bank term deposits continue to be surprisingly large despite the fall in interest rates. Yields of all instruments are plunging sharply and the worst hit are bank term deposits. Yet, bank ... More

L&T: What is in the pipeline
SHAREHOLDERS of Larsen & Toubro would have to brace themselves for significant strategic possibilities with the open offer by Grasim set to close this week. What are the possibilities that lie ahead for L&T and ... More

Tech stocks and mean reversion
TECHNOLOGY companies have fallen out of favour in the stock market. Some attribute this to a phenomenon called mean reversion. What is mean reversion? It refers to a phenomenon where the stock falls in value ... More

The perils of theme-based investing
STOCKS in the banking sector have been basking in the limelight. Over the past six months, this sector has resonated as a "theme" in the minds of professional and small investors alike. And the stock prices ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Templeton Growth, Franklin Growth: Value scores over growth
Recommendation:
Franklin: Pare exposures
Templeton: Invest More

Income funds see large inflows
MUTUAL funds have had sizeable net inflows in April 2003. Sales at Rs 41,905 crore and redemption at Rs 32,932 crore have ensured net inflows of Rs 8,973 crore. About 88 per cent of the inflows have moved ... More

Zurich Capital Builder: Sell
INVESTORS in the Zurich India Capital Builder Fund can contemplate paring exposures. The portfolio comprises stocks that have witnessed sharp spurts in the last month and a half. The cash position of about 13 ... More

UTI Master Equity Plan Unit Scheme: Hold/Avoid fresh exposures
INVESTORS in UTI Master Equity Plan Unit Scheme can continue to hold. After the merger of MEP-93, MEP-94, Mep-95, MEP-96 and MEP-97, the fund has now morphed into a fund that is heavily invested in large-cap ... More

IL&FS Growth and Value: Hold
AFTER an unimpressive start, the IL&FS Growth and Value Fund registered a sharp improvement in performance over the past year. Investors can stay with the fund. However, this is still too short a time-frame to ... More

STOCKS

Tata Engineering: Buy
IT IS a turnaround that has been achieved in textbook fashion. From a loss of Rs 500 crore in 2000-01 to a pre-tax profit of a similar amount in 2002-03, Tata Engineering's bottomline has swung Rs 1,000 crore in ... More

Tata Steel: Hold
SHAREHOLDERS of Tata Steel can continue to hold on to the stock at the current levels. At about Rs 155, the stock trades at a price to earnings multiple of 5.6 times. With steel prices stabilising at the current ... More

Bank of Baroda: Pare exposures
SHAREHOLDERS of Bank of Baroda can consider reducing their exposure to the stock in the course of the next few weeks. The stock price now trades at levels that require consistent growth in dividends over the ... More

Exide Industries: Book profits
AIDED by increased automobile production and the pick-up in activity in the telecom sector, storage battery major Exide Industries has come up with a sharp improvement in performance in the recent quarters. ... More

RCF: Hold
DIVESTMENT hopes have once again led to a sharp spike in the stock price of the once-neglected fertiliser major, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers. The stock doubled from Rs 15 to Rs 30 in a month. Last week, ... More

Indian Rayon: Fabric of success
The stock, which trades at a price-earnings multiple of 5.6 times its FY03 earnings, holds the potential for appreciation in the medium-term as growth prospects appear encouraging. The company's viscose filament yarn (VFY) division, which ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Bullish outlook for Sensex
Preferred view: The break above 3100 has blunted the earlier bearish outlook. The near-term outlook for the index has now turned bullish. The downward sloping trend line connecting the earlier high of 3758 and 3417 is the final hurdle that ... More

Upside potential in ITC
ITC (Rs 694.15): Contrary to expectations, the scrip managed to stay firm. The overall outlook for ITC continues to remain positive with a move to the Rs 745-750 range being a distinct possibility. A move past Rs 705 would have positive ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

SBI Life-Scholar
SBI Life-Scholar is a child endowment plan that matures when your child turns 21. It takes care of your child's educational needs in the event of death. How it works? The ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE

Health insurance policies: Just what the doctor ordered
ACCESS to better healthcare has increased the average lifespan in India. But let us not forget that medical facilities come at a price. And as the field of medicine evolves further in its attempt to combat and ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Thermax zooms on increased net
Punjab National Bank (Rs 179): The stock price of PNB zoomed this week by 19.3 per cent. This has to be seen on the back of announcement made by the Ministry of Finance, that it does not have any plans to charge a premium on the equity ... More

Bank stock in focus
Banks delight: Bank stocks have been the favourite for quite some time. At present, talk about banks returning their capital to the government is driving these stocks up. Private banks such as Federal Bank and Karnataka Bank too sustained ... More

Query Corner
I am interested to know about Bharat Electronics. How does it look on charts? — R.B. Saboo Bharat Electronics (Rs 286.15): The overall outlook for the stock appears bullish. It could touch the Rs 320-325 range in the near ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Combination deltas
LAST fortnight, we saw how to estimate the value of delta using a thumb rule. To recapitulate, deltas measure the sensitivity of an option position with respect to the underlying. Normally, delta values will range between +1 and - 1. A long ... More

Sterlite Opticals out, i-flex in
THERE was a flurry of activity in the derivatives segment of the National Stock Exchange with May contracts expiring on Thursday and August contracts introduced for trading. Contracts on Sterlite Opticals were removed and contracts on I-flex were ... More

DO THE DERIVATIVES
Bearish outlook?...
Play it safe
BY `buying a put' or `writing a call' you can cash in on a bearish view in a stock. The difference between the two strategies is the payoff's and the right's/obligation's. In the case of buying a put, you stand in an `unlimited profits, ... More

Options guide

FIXED DEPOSITS

Can Fin Homes: Built to last
CAN FIN Homes fixed deposit scheme is open for fresh investment. Being a housing finance company, it is eligible for a tax break under Section 80L of the IT Act. However, the interest rates are lower than ... More

INTERVIEW

`Sonata will function as a separate division' — Mr Bijou Kurien, VP (watch division), Titan Industries
The watch industry is witnessing hectic action in the mid-price segment. Titan Industries, the leading watch manufacturer has a presence across segments through its brands Titan and Sonata. Business Line caught up with Mr Bijou Kurien, ... More

INCOME TAX

Tax effect of dealing in flats
I OWN a flat in New Mumbai. My employer has transferred me from Mumbai to Chennai and I, therefore, let out the said flat. My tenant has informed me that he is vacating the premises from August 31, 2003. ... More

Deduction for royalty on books
The Finance Act 2003 with effect from the assessment year 2004-05 allows a deduction in respect of royalty or copyright fees for authoring books to the extent of Rs 3,00,000 if the same is by way of a lump sum payment. If the payment is not by ... More

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Demat account — The facility to freeze
A DEPOSITORY account holder (beneficiary account) may freeze securities lying in the account for as long the holder wantsto. By freezing, the account holder can prevent unexpected debits or credits, or both, ... More

INVESTMENTS

The Santro Xing song
NAMING a new product is tricky business for car manufacturers. The name must ring a bell, have great recall, be peppy, stately or sophisticated depending on the car's market positioning and must be out of ... More

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