BOMBAY, 24 October 2004 — On Monday the BSE closed at 5,679.83, down 6.9 points. Balaji Telefilms, was up though it posted a lower net profit of Rs 112.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, (Q2) as compared to Rs.142.3 million in the previous quarter. Indian Petrochemicals Corporation has posted a net profit of Rs.1.38 billion for Q2 as compared to Rs.540 million last quarter.
Reliance Industries, ended higher on selective buying interest on hopes of strong quarterly results on the back of a firm trend in petrochemical prices and high refining margins. The company will announce quarterly results tomorrow.
On Tuesday the BSE Sensex ended at 5,738.11. Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Maruti Udyog ended higher.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 5,673.02. Satyam Computer was down after its Q2 performance was much below market expectations. Bajaj Auto, India’s second-biggest motorcycle maker, reported an 11.4 percent drop in quarterly profit and the stock lost ground. Reliance Industries, was down. The company and its Canadian partner Niko Resources will invest over $2 billion in bringing to production their gigantic gas field in the Bay of Bengal and laying pipelines to transport the fuel. Gujarat Ambuja moved against the trend and rose sharply after its quarterly profits jumped 500 percent.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 5,641.06. The breadth of the market was negative with 1,131 losers and 985 gainers. The markets were closed on Friday. HDFC Bank was down as its Q2 performance was much in line with the market expectations.
Gold was at Rs. 6,410/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs. 11,700/- per kg.
US dollar was at Rs.45.77, pound sterling at Rs.82.93, euro at Rs. 56.02, UAE dirham at Rs.12.51, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.153.13, Bahraini dinar at Rs.120.89, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.25, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.62 and Omani riyal at Rs. 119.04.