The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, May 04, 2003

Tata Life Sciences and Technology: Pare exposures
INVESTORS in Tata Life Sciences & Technology Fund can consider paring exposures. The fund has done better than most other sector-specific schemes. But its portfolio resembles that of a diversified fund. This is due to the rather liberal ... More

MF asset information: AMFI must make them comparable
THE asset base of the mutual fund industry at the end of March 2003 has been placed at about Rs 79,500 crore by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI). The comparable asset base in March 2002 was at about Rs 1,00,500 crore, indicating ... More

Peer comparison beats benchmarks
A CURSORY look at the performance of balanced funds and income funds will tell you that almost all of them have outperformed their respective benchmarks. However, the benchmarks do not seem to be proving useful. Sample this. Alliance 95 ... More

Birla Equity Plan: Pare exposures
INVESTORS can use the spike in the net asset value (NAV) of Birla Equity Plan over the past seven months to pare exposures. Though the fund has outperformed the majority of its peers over the past six months, it has trailed quite a few ... More

HDFC Tax Plan 2000: Hold/Avoid fresh exposures
INVESTORS in the HDFC Tax Plan 2000 can stay invested. The fund has performed well since launch, and has turned in returns of 13.1 per cent since January 2001. During the same period the market has been down about 12 per cent. The fund has ... More

STOCKS

80 lakh benami shares of Harshad to soon hit market
THE Custodian of deceased stockbroker Harshad Mehta's assets is likely to soon sell off lakhs of benami shares held by him. The block of shares contains several blue-chips such as Reliance Industries, Tata Tea, Apollo Tyres and Bombay Dyeing. ... More

Pick a winner stock contest
THE Today's Writing Products scrip has posted the highest gain of 128.57 per cent among the entries received for April 2003. The share price of the company has moved up from Rs 11.55 to Rs 26.4 during this period. Totally 14 winning entries ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Positive outlook for ITC, Infy
NIFTY (938.3): As anticipated, the index ruled firm and also managed to move past the first resistance level at 934. The near-term outlook for the Nifty continues to remain positive. A move towards the 955-960 range appears to be on the ... More

Bullish trend in HDFC Bank
THE stock market sentiment remained firm during the just concluded week. Initially, the old-economy heavy weights provided stability to the benchmark indices while the technology sector donned this role on Friday. Sensex (2966.6): In ... More

Cipla sheds 10 pc on disappointing results
Cipla (Rs 632): The stock price of Pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla fell by 9.9 per cent this week on the back of disappointing quarterly results. For the quarter ended March 2003 the company posted a net profit of Rs 46.7 crore as ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Futures in backwardation
THE trading in the F&O segment was lacklustre the whole week, with volumes dropping every day. Total turnover was down by 42 per cent on Friday as compared with the previous week. Nifty futures: The Nifty spot closed the week higher by ... More

Capturing dividend using options
OPTIONS can be used for multiple purposes. One common usage is for capturing directional movements. Depending on the investor's expectations of the movement of the underlying stock, positions are taken in the options market. Another usage of ... More

DO THE DERIVATIVES
Puts: Protected downside
X, a farmer, is worried that the price of tomatoes, which are now in the 300 - 320 range, will fall in the near future. Therefore, he calls a vegetable dealer and strikes a deal with him to sell the tomatoes at Rs 250 per box, in case he does ... More

Options guide

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS

SEBI must borrow the SEC stick
TEN investment-banking firms in the US have been forced to cough up $1.4 billion by way of disgorgement of profits (taking away undue gains), as penalties and for funding independent research and investor education. These relate mainly to the ... More

RECOMMENDATION

Alfa Laval: Buy
INVESTORS can consider fresh exposures in Alfa Laval at Rs 233. At the current market price, the stock is trading at 8.5 times its trailing 12-month earning per share. The stock appears attractive at this price considering the good order book ... More

Grasim: Buy
INVESTORS can cement their stake in the Grasim stock, especially by taking advantage of any declines. Fundamentally, the company is on a solid footing. Generating loads of profits — sustainable earnings are up 40 per cent — and cash ... More

MICO: Book profit and re-enter at lower levels
AIDED by sharp growth in earnings, the MICO share price has moved by about 27 per cent since our earlier buy recommendation (Business Line, January 3, 2003). Existing holders can use further rise in the share price to book profits in ... More

Ashok Leyland: Hold
ASHOK Leyland's(ALL) performance in 2002-03 clearly reflects the resurgence in the commercial vehicles industry. While the top-line revved up 17 per cent to Rs 3,074 crore, the post-tax earnings accelerated 30 per cent to Rs 120 crore despite a ... More

Cipla: Hold
SHAREHOLDERS in Cipla can continue to retain their holdings. But no fresh exposure need be considered at this juncture. The stock trades at a price of Rs 631, which is 15.2 times its earnings per share for year-ended March 2003. VAT issues: ... More

Sundram Fasteners: Book profit
BUOYED by improved performance, the share price of the company has appreciated by about 30 per cent since the earlier buy recommendation (Stock Focus Column, edition dated June 16, 2002). Taking into account the sharp rise in share price in the ... More

IPOS

Maruti's public offer process begins — Draft red herring prospectus filed with SEBI
MARUTI Udyog Ltd. has filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). A red herring prospectus is filed before the opening of bids for public offers through the book-building route. The pricing of ... More

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