BOMBAY, 8 August 2004 — Indian stocks were seen rangebound next week due to rising concerns over the impact of high global oil prices, inflation worries and the effect of patchy monsoons on the economy, dealers said Friday. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share-benchmark Sensex index closed Friday at 5,196.99 points, up 26.67 points from a week ago.
On Monday, the BSE closed at 5,202.53. Bajaj Auot was a major gainer after it announced that its sales of 2-wheelers in July was up by 32.4 percent. For the same month, Hero Honda reported a 44 percent jump in sales. Man Industries saw fresh buying after the company announced that it has bagged large export orders.
Nagarjuna Constructions was frozen at the 10 percent upper limit when for Q1, its net profit shot up by 93.70 percent.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 5,194.63. Increasing oil prices hurt market sentiments. India imports 70 percent of its crude requirements. Hindalco lost further, following flat quarterly results. On the other hand, Gujarat Ambuja Cements saw buying after the company said that its July sales rose 20 percent from a year ago to 1.14 million tons. HPCL bounced back after the company set book closure for dividend (Rs.10 per share for FY-04) between Aug. 25 and Sept. 9.
On Wednesday, the market closed at 5,169.07. Hindustan Lever lost ground after it reported a drop in its net profit and net sales. Reliance Industries, was a big gainer of the day.
On Thursday, the BSE closed at 5,255.84.
Monsoon is nearly 15 percent below normal so far this year, but the forecast for the rest of the season is good.
Shares of Texmaco rose after it bagged a Rs.260 million order from NTPC. Tata Motors was up on sustained buying interest. The company’s Q1 net profit more than doubled. It also announced plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
IDBI was trading firm. It will convert into a commercial bank on Oct. 1. Before the conversion, IDBI would transfer $1.94 billion of net non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans adjusted for provisions, to a special fund set up by the Indian government.
On Friday, the BSE closed at 5,196.99. Patel Engineering was in the limelight. With the company’s board set to consider a bonus issue on Aug. 16, investors made a beeline for the stock.
Gold was at Rs.6,000/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.10,800/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs. 46.37, pound sterling at Rs. 84.36, euro at Rs. 55.90, UAE dirham at Rs. 12.64, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs. 154.67, Bahraini dinar at Rs. 122.10, Saudi riyal at Rs. 12.37, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.75 and Omani riyal at Rs.118.97.
