Business & Economy
Markets mauled in
Friday frenzy
What is India News Service, Saturday,
16 April 2005, 1700 hrs IST
On a muggy Mumbai afternoon, a swarm of
skittish sellers turned stock markets into a slaughter house, shredding investor
confidence and leaving the sensex bleeding like it was on May 28 last year.
The index was
tottering below the key 6250-mark, at 6248.34 points, as it plunged 220 points.
Shareholder wealth on Dalal Street \97 market capitalisation as it is called \97
shrivelled by Rs 50,000 crore at Rs 16,62,779 crore.
A confluence of
factors whipped up the selling frenzy, the most apparent of which was Infosys
Technologies\92 forecast for the first three months of this financial year.
\93Markets do get
into a funk occasionally. It\92s more of a crisis of conviction rather than a
serious problem,\94 said Ramesh Damani, a prominent broker on Dalal Street.
Infosys\92s
conservatism about its immediate future was stoked by the now-familiar spectre
of hardening US rates and jitters over weakness in global metal prices.
\93There was
all-round selling in the market,\94 rued Ajit Sanghvi of MSS Securities, a
leading institutional brokerage. He felt rising US rates had prompted foreign
investors to wait before pumping in fresh money, the shortage of which could
have hastened the slide.
Amid the dire
collapse, however, was a band of optimists like J P Morgan, CLSA and Kotak
Securities. The three firms reaffirmed their faith in Infosys, despite the
whiplash it suffered at the hands of guidance-spooked investors. They saw the
stock at Rs 2400-2500 next year, even though it fell a 7.5 per cent to Rs 1945
today.
The start of trading
said it all: the BSE sensex opened 128.19 lower at 6339.75. Later, it plumbed an
intra-day low of 6232.37 before winding down to 6248.34 at close.
Some took
consolation in the fact that the slide was part of a global downtrend in which
Tokyo\92s Nikkei shed 192 points, Hong Kong\92s Hang Seng 133 points and the
London FTSE 34.60 points. Early trading in US offered little hope of a dramatic
change in market direction.
Sensex
plunges after IT shock: Poor
sentiment on the IT sector front caused the Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive
index to plunge 220 points wiping off several lakh crores of rupees in market
capitalisation.
Global meltdown, Infosys sink Sensex by 219 points:
Tottering under news of the meltdown in global indices, Indian bourses were
pushed off the edge by Infosys' bleak guidance for the next quarter.
Will
Infosys match 'Infynite' expectations?: The bloodbath of stocks more so of
technology on the Indian and American bourses alike has been due to the grim
view that the frontrunners of technology have posed in the coming quarter.
Infosys, was down 6.40 per cent at Rs 1,966 on the BSE , and crashed nearly 7% (Rs
146) to Rs 1,957 on Nasdaq.
Credit
exposure limit for urban co-ops tightened: The Reserve Bank of India has
tightened the credit exposure norms for urban co-operative banks. The single
borrower limit for UCBs has been reduced to 15 per cent from 20 per cent.
Mittals
open to diluting stake in Bharti Tele: In a bid to fund new projects, the
Mittals are open to diluting their stake in telecom company Bharti Tele-ventures
Ltd even as they remain single largest shareholder with full management
control.
Dr Reddy's loses case on generic drug trial, to appeal: "Despite
today's adverse ruling, our strategy remains unchanged and we continue to make
consistent progress towards building a sustainable generics business in the US,"
the company said.
Rich
nations to poor: Learn to live with high petro prices: The
world must adjust to persistently high energy prices, according to finance
chiefs from rich nations who met amid financial market unease stemming from the
high oil prices in 2005.
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Qatar
to up LNG quota to 20 mt: Qatar has agreed in-principle to hike the supply
of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the current five million tonnes to 20 mt
within the next ten years to India and both the countries were likely to sign an
agreement to this effect by May this year. "We have agreed in principle to
put in place a substantial agreement by May in which India could import 20 mt of
LNG from Qatar by 2015.
Data
exchanged on poaching by Airlines:
In what an industry official termed as a "significant first
step" towards plugging poaching, Indian carriers exchanged "all
data" on manpower strength, salaries, allowances, etc., pertaining to
pilots, engineers, maintenance and other critical departments.
Tata
Tea launches new brand: Aiming
to capture 10 per cent market size in the economy segment, Tata Tea on Friday
launched a new brand 'Tata Tea Agni'.
Business papers
Business Standard
Economic Times
Business Line
Financial Express
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