The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, September 18, 2005

Investment quiz
1. There are not many stocks that have commanded a five-figure price tag in the Indian market. Wipro and Infosys did so at the height of the bull market in information technology stocks in 1999-2000. Now there are only a couple of stocks ... More

OPEN OFFERS

SQL Star: Reject
SHAREHOLDERS may consider offloading their holdings in SQL Star International in the secondary market at the prevailing price of Rs 45. The open offer at Rs 41 may be rejected. The open offer to acquire a 20 per cent stake follows the ... More

Aptech: Reject
Shareholders of Aptech can reject the open offer being made at a price of Rs 61 per share. The current market price of Aptech at Rs 110 is significantly higher than the open offer price, reflecting the improving fundamentals in the computer ... More

Mather and Platt Pumps: Reject
Sharereholders of Mather and Platt Pumps could reject the open offer made by the WILO group of Germany, as the pricing is not attractive. The open offer is at a price of Rs 109.32 per share and covers 20 per cent of the equity. The stock, which ... More

Mather and Platt Fire Systems: Reject
Shareholders of Mather and Platt Fire Systems can reject the open offer made by the WILO group of Germany, as the pricing is unattractive. At about Rs 30, the stock trades at a substantial premium to the open offer price of Rs 14.69. The ... More

INSIGHT

Who's pumped up about the market, and who isn't
AS THE market continues to scale new peaks, expert views on current valuations and the direction in which the market is headed are becoming increasingly diverse. The divergence between prominent foreign ... More

The case for staying invested
DIVERSE as they are, the views of both foreign brokerages and domestic fund managers on the market are compelling. There is still, it seems, a case to be made for investing in Indian equities from a long-term perspective. To begin with, ... More

Risk, returns and disciplined investing
If earnings growth stays low over the next five years and the PE also declines, then annual returns would not be attractive. If the decline in PE were sharper, you may wish you had never invested in equities. More

Our trading biases have deep evolutionary roots
HORSES are tied by the heads, dogs and bears by the neck, monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs, says the Fool to King Lear, and adds, "When a man is over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden nether-stocks." I'm sure ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Principal PNB Dividend Yield Fund: Hold
WITH an absolute return of about 40 per cent, the Principal PNB Dividend Yield Fund has lagged its benchmark S&P CNX-500 as well as its peer Birla Dividend Yield Fund in the 11 months since its launch. The fund's tilt towards oil stocks appears . More

HDFC Capital Builder: Invest
AN investment can be considered in HDFC Capital Builder. The fund's portfolio sports a number of mid-cap stocks, which enhances its risk profile when compared to a typical diversified fund. Investors looking at increasing their exposure to ... More

FUND VIEW
Sustained interest among global investors likely
DOMESTIC markets scaled new heights during the year helped by a lot of positive news on the corporate and economic fronts. More important, FII flows continued at a robust pace, lending support to the bourses, as reflected in the fact that India ... More

PORTFOLIO MOVES
HSBC Mutual
THE market saw some volatility in August, but managed to reach new highs. Below-normal rainfall during the month did not dampen sentiments. Liquidity continued at same levels, as foreign institutional investors and domestic mutual funds remained ... More

Kotak-30: Invest
EXPOSURES may be considered in Kotak-30, as there is a greater consistency in performance now; the portfolio also appears well-positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities, and to weather any downward trend in ... More

Greater leeway for MFs in F&O market

Mutual funds have been given greater leeway to participate in the futures and options market. They will now be on par with the FIIs. So far they have been allowed to invest in such products for hedging and rebalancing of portfolios. Mutual ... More

FUND TALK
Learning centres on the Web
I want to make a start with mutual fund investing. I would like to learn more about mutual funds. Where can I get information on the A-Z of mutual fund investing? I also want to know how to assess mutual fund performance so that I can select ... More

STOCKS

Indiabulls Financial Services: Buy
The stock is trading at price-to-earnings multiple of 23 times its annualised earnings for FY 06, based on the numbers for the quarter ended June 2005. The valuation is attractive considering the growth prospects for financial services in ... More

Sonata Software: Hold
INVESTORS can consider retaining their exposures in the Sonata Software stock. As the stock has run up sharply in the past few months, it may be prudent to take fresh or additional exposures only at declines linked to ... More

Chemplast Sanmar: Buy
INVESTORS can consider taking fresh exposures in the Chemplast Sanmar stock, which trades at about 16 times its trailing 12-month earnings. Buoyed by a sharp drop in interest expenditure and a higher operating profit, ... More

Aditya Birla Nuvo: The new cash cow on the block
Indian Rayon: Buy
Indo-Guld: Hold
Birla Global: Hold
More

Hindalco: Buy
HAVING just completed the stock-split exercise and an imminent rights issue, the Hindalco Industries stock could deliver attractive returns in the medium term. Fresh exposure can be considered in the stock, which trades at a multiple of about ... More

Tilaknagar Industries: Invest
SHAREHOLDERS of Tilaknagar Industries may consider subscribing to its rights offer. The rights offer, in the ratio of 1:2, is being made at Rs 20, a discount of 74 per cent to the market price of Rs 77. The valuation for the offer attractive. ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Near-term outlook remains bullish
Preferred View: The market sentiment was distinctly bullish and the index managed to move past the 2500-point mark during the week. As observed in earlier weeks, the Nifty has moved into our target zone of the 2550-2600 range. ... More

Upside likely in SBI
SBI (Rs 900.7): The price movement was in alignment with the bullish view expressed last week. The stock ruled firm and also moved comfortably past the target zone of the Rs 885-890 range. After touching a high of Rs 909.5 on Wednesday, ... More

Focus of the week
VSNL (Rs 396.4): The stock is in a long-term uptrend. After being confined to a corrective phase over the past few weeks, the share price appears to have commenced the next leg of the upward move. A move to the Rs 445-450 range appears ... More

Query corner
What is your view on Syndicate Bank and Cummins India? Will it be advisable to take long positions in the futures market in these stocks? — Kanchan Garg Syndicate Bank (Rs 84.6): The recent uptrend is not over as yet. ... More

CARS

Small cars deserve a large heart
WHEN the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said at the annual general meeting of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM) on September 1 that the Government was considering revisiting the taxation ... More

WHEELS 'N DEALS
Optra Elite from GM
GM has launched Optra Elite, the luxury version of the Chevrolet Optra. A variable geometry intake system engine powers the vehicle. An all wheel independent suspension purports to enhance quality of the drive. With ... More

Toyota's alluring test drive
Toyota has switched gears in its promotional campaigns, with a free tour on purchase of the Corolla and a tour on test driving the Innova. As part of the campaign, prospective customers who test-drive the Innova between September 8 and ... More

State Bank of Travancore partners Maruti
State Bank of Travancore is offering finance on Maruti cars. Under the finance scheme, the minimum EMI for a lakh of rupees for a seven-year period is Rs 1,535. Interest rates vary between 7 and 7.5 per cent. SBT is offering to fund up to 95 per ... More

Assured gifts from Tata Motor Finance
Tata Motor Finance has come out with a finance scheme for the purchase of the Indica, the Indigo and the Marina. On every purchase of any of these cars through a scheme financed by Tata Motor Finance, customers would be entitled to a gift. The ... More

Market buzz
Skoda's expansion plans: With the Fabia and Superb Diesel lined up and Skoda looking at volume growth, the current capacity of its plant could stifle its plans. Taking these into account, Skoda is increasing its capacity. The current ... More

Watch your tyre pressure
Tyre pressure affects a number of parameters in the car, including fuel-efficiency, tyre life, highway safety, ride quality and the longevity of the car itself. More

TWO/THREE WHEELERS

Taking women on a ride
THE automobile industry is in a sudden rush to cater to the transportation needs of the fairer sex. Vying with one another, the current bunch of scooterette manufacturers and potential players are trying to roll out ... More

HSBC's offers on the Kinetic
HSBC has come out with a slew of offers on the Kinetic range of two-wheelers. HSBC's credit card holders can avail themselves of a discount of up to Rs 3,500 on the ex-showroom price of all Kinetic two-wheelers by opting for a finance scheme. ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Equity risk premium
THE S&P CNX Nifty returned 45 per cent since last September, much higher than the return on a one-year government bond. The return on equity is higher because of risk premium. What is this premium? Suppose the ... More

SEBI GUIDE
Securities lending scheme
The securities are put up for auction by the Exchange on account of non-delivery of securities by the selling trading member to ensure that the buying trading member receives the securities due to him. The non-delivery by the trading member could ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Options guide
Call option: A call option gives the buyer `the right but not the obligation' to buy the stock at a specified price on a future date. Put option: A put option gives the buyer `the right but not the obligation' to sell a stock ... More

INCOME TAX

A brother and sister tie-up on property
A PREMISES is owned jointly and in equal proportion by a brother and sister. This premises is let on lease to a bank. The rent that used to be paid by the bank until 1998-99 was Rs 9,900 per month to each co-owner. ... More

Tackling capital gains
I AM a government servant and also invest in shares. In the financial year 2004-05, my taxable salary income was Rs 1,30,000. I also have short-term capital gains worth of Rs 10,000 and long-term capital gains of Rs ... More

IPOS

Southern Online Bio Technologies: Avoid
INVESTORS can give this public-cum-rights offer from Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd the miss. The public offer is to fund the company's entry into the business of producing biofuel from plant seeds. This is an emerging business area but ... More

BOOKS

For every success story there are at least 10 failures
DALAL Street is a fascinating world created by Mammon, says N.J. Yasaswy in line one, chapter 1 of "Intelligent Stock Market Investing", from Vision (www. visionbooksindia. com). "An ordinary bull on an ordinary Indian street may look fairly ... More

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