The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, August 24, 2003

Steel: From strength to strength
THE domestic steel industry's woes at the beginning of the millennium and the remedial measures that have since been taken have not been in vain. The cost rationalisation and the improved price realisations have helped ... More

Tonnes by the wire
The possibility of matching buyers and sellers in cyberspace has enabled timely deliveries and a dramatic reduction in marketing overheads. More

Branding irons
BRANDING and its related benefits are not common in the commodities business. That is the case even where the end-user is the man on the street. Brand recognition and recall is even more difficult to achieve if a ... More

Steeling the thunder
Tata Steel: Book profits partially
SAIL: Sell, buy on declines
Essar Steel: Sell More

INSIGHT

Bubbly market: Toast it, but sip lightly on profits
INVESTORS have every reason to cheer the run-up in stock prices to levels last seen about 30 months ago. The breadth of the rally, in terms of increase in the number of traded stocks and improved liquidity in ... More

Ten that stand out in the crowd
SAIL (Rs 40): A few months ago, SAIL would have been viewed as the most unlikely candidate to propel the market. The rally in steel prices had, no doubt, improved its fortunes. The stock had also recovered from its ... More

Stock prices: Sensing the right signals
Taking a view on the market based on Sensex levels, or even market cap-weighted valuation multiples, is fraught with risk. It would be better if investors took a view on individual stocks and acted accordingly. More

Riding the market bull
THOSE salivating at the inexorable rise in the Sensex would do well to remember these words of ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-tsu. It has been a 40 per cent ramp-up in the Sensex from the depths of 2,900 in ... More

Corporate governance — Private and public sector responses
Extracts from a speech that the US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner, Ms Cynthia A. Glassman, made recently. More

Nifty and Sensex — Differently driven
STOCKS in the oil sector (uptsream and downstream) have emerged as the key drivers of the narrow market indices such as the S&P CNX Nifty and BSE Sensitive Index. This is a far cry from the time the information ... More

Of short sale and proposed changes in it
SEBI's Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC) in its recent report has suggested a change in the definition of short sales. What is short sale and what is the implication of the proposed change in the ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Alliance Equity Fund: Sell
INVESTORS in the Alliance Equity Fund can cut exposures. The sharp run-up in stock prices provides a good opportunity to exit a fund that finds itself in the midst of quite a few significant uncertainties. The fund ... More

HSBC Equity Fund: Hold
INVESTORS in HSBC Equity Fund can retain their units as the fund's performance since launch in December 2002 has been impressive. Fresh investments can, however, be considered after evaluating the performance over a ... More

Birla Balance: Sell
WITH returns of 36 per cent over the past year, Birla Balance has moved up sharply in the performance rankings for balanced funds. But its long-term track record is unimpressive and pales in comparison with funds such ... More

HDFC Equity: Hold
ONE of the few equity funds with a robust long-term track record, HDFC Equity Fund (formerly Zurich Equity Fund) continued to deliver good performance over the last year. It is still a good investment option for those ... More

STOCKS

Hindalco: Hold
Hindalco is expected to stage a comeback of sorts in 2003-04 after an indifferent previous year. But risks relating to international price stability remain, says Krishnan Thiagarajan. More

Sundaram Finance: Buy
FRESH investments can be considered in the stock of Sundaram Finance. The stock now trades at a dividend yield of 4.2 per cent. Given that the dividend payout is only about 33 per cent and with profits growing, there ... More

Apollo Tyres: Buy
TAKING into account the strong fundamentals, the prominent presence in the truck and bus segment, and the recent efforts to gain a foothold in the original equipment market, long-term investors could contemplate equity ... More

GNFC: Buy (High Risk)
INVESTORS with a high-risk appetite may consider taking exposures in the GNFC stock. The recent moves towards a free marketing regime for urea and reviving demand for petrochemicals, suggests that there is scope for a ... More

Tata Investment: Book profits partially
SHAREHOLDERS of Tata Investment Corporation can consider booking profits partially. Tata Investment Corporation is an investment company, which invests about 80 per cent of its net worth in equities. Investors have to ... More

Godavari Fert: Opportunity knocks
SHAREHOLDERS in Godavari Fertilisers can use the sharp uptrend in the stock price in the run-up to the open offer by Coromandel Fertilisers, to book profits on the major portion of their holdings in the stock. The open offer price of Rs.124 ... More

HDFC: Book profits partially
THE stock of HDFC has run up sharply in the last few months. The stock is now trading at a multiple of nearly 16 times its earnings for the 12-month period ended June 2003. The valuation commanded by HDFC is one of the highest in the banking ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Query Corner
I am holding NIIT (bought at Rs.147.25) and Canara Bank (at Rs.114.25). Shall I hold them or take loss especially in NIIT? — K. S. Puri NIIT (Rs 122.1): There appears to be little downside risk in this stock. A close ... More

Positive trend in HLL, ITC
ITC (Rs 808.3): The stock managed to move towards the price target of Rs 810-820 that was mentioned last week. The outlook for ITC continues to remain bullish. The stock appears to be headed towards the Rs 850-860 range. Existing holders ... More

Nifty: Outlook remains bullish
Preferred view: The overall outlook for the Nifty continues to remain bullish and there is no evidence to indicate the onset of a short-term reversal. Ideally, the index is expected to move to the 1450-1500 range. However, it is ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

INSURANCE CORNER

ICICI Pru's SecurePlus
ICICI Prudential recently launched SecurePlus, a plan that provides policyholders with the benefits of both protection and savings. Premium payments made by the policyholder are invested in a portfolio that is ... More

STOCK MARKETS

FMCG counters in focus
FMCG: Though not a sector that has been the cynosure of market attention in recent times, the prospect of a good monsoon and the positive impact it is likely to have on rural demand, perked up stocks of various hues. Notable gainers were ... More

iGate Global gains 27 pc
Sakthi Sugar (Rs 30): The stock surged by 46.5 per cent — the highest gainer amongst a swathe of sugar industry stocks such as Balrampur Chini, Dhampur Sugar and Bajaj Hindustan which have posted gains during the week. iGate ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Volatile market, tread with caution
MARKETS were in the upswing for most of the week. The benchmark index S&P CNX Nifty gained 63.4 points to close the week at 1311.15 points. Open interest has jumped for all the August contracts. There are four trading days for the August ... More

USING FUTURES/OPTIONS
Payment of margins
THE initial margin is payable upfront by clearing members. Initial margins can be paid by members in the form of Cash, Bank Guarantee, Fixed Deposit Receipts and approved securities. Non-fulfilment of either the whole or part of the margin ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

CORPORATE BONDS

ICICI Safety Bonds August 2003 — Still an attractive bet
ICICI has hit the streets with its `Safety Bonds' offer much earlier this year than it did in 2002-03. However, there is nothing much in it to cheer for investors. The coupon rate on the Tax Saving Bonds is lower than ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

Canbank Factors: Factor in for a year
THE fixed deposit programme of Canbank Factors, a subsidiary of Canara Bank, is open for investment. Considering the strong parentage and the growing business volumes, an investment up to one year can be considered. An ... More

INCOME TAX

A primer on TDS
HOW is the quantum of tax to be deducted on salary determined? Reply Tax is to be deducted on salary (Section 192) by an employer only at the time of payment of salary. The deduction is to be at the rates of ... More

Taxation of employee benefits and balance transfer
MY ORGANISATION has issued shares to its employees. Under this scheme, eligible employees are offered shares at a discounted price, that is below the market prices and also free of cost. Kindly explain the tax treatment ... More

Leave travel assistance or allowance
OUR organisation was providing to the employees leave travel allowance. It has recently changed this to leave travel assistance. So long as the employees were being provided leave travel allowance, the employees were ... More

CARTOON