The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, February 19, 2006

How new offers drive the growth engine
THE forward PE of Indian stocks is only 15-16, says one mutual fund manager. At PE multiples of 17-18, the valuation is not that bad, says another. Yes, if the PE multiple were between 15 and 18, it would not be all ... More

Who pays for new fund expenses?
NEW fund offers raked in a whopping Rs 42,000 crore in 2005, becoming the key vehicles through which mutual funds soaked up investor money. Rising mop-ups under new fund offers have been accompanied by bigger ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Equity funds eye realty sector in a big way
To explore investments in residential, commercial projects
The real estate market in India is on a high growth curve, on the back of a booming economy, favourable demographics and liberalised FDI regime. More

Sahara launches Infrastructure Fund

Sahara Mutual Fund has launched Sahara Infrastructure Fund, a diversified equity fund that will invest in stocks of companies in the infrastructure sector. The fund can also invest up to 30 per cent in debt. The fund will offer fixed and ... More

STOCKS

Public ownership in listed cos — SEBI may use `number of shareholders' as criterion
Indications are that SEBI may finally settle for a minimum 25 per cent public shareholding norm in listed companies. More

STOCK MARKETS

Online trading clicks big with investors
MORE Indian investors are logging on to the Internet to put through their stock market trades. The number of investors registered for online stock trading has risen three-fold, to 13 lakh, over the past two years. Online trades now account for ... More

Momentum wanes in the Nifty
Preferred view: The anticipated rally towards the 3100-3150 failed to materialise. Contrary to expectations, a bearish trend prevailed during the week. The recent price action does not lend much confidence to maintain a bullish ... More

SBI sandwiched between critical levels
SBI (Rs 858): The stock was confined to a trading zone last week. The lack of sustained momentum in either direction has lent uncertainty to the near-term outlook for the stock. It enjoys strong support at Rs 848-853 band and faces ... More

Focus of the week
India Cements (Rs 132): The stock has moved to the target zone of Rs 145-150 that was mentioned in the edition dated January 29. After touching a high of Rs 146, the stock has been in a corrective phase in the recent weeks. The next ... More

Query corner
What is your view on Archies Greeting bought at Rs 199? — B. Ramachandran Archies Greeting (Rs 180): The near-term outlook does not appear positive. A drop to Rs 155-160 appears likely. It would advisable to reduce ... More

A phased exit will pay
We have been always been reading that one should exit at the right time and re-enter at lower levels. Can you please explain how to identify whether a particular stock has reached its peak or touched a bottom? — ... More

ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

`We will not be slicing and dicing the market with funds'
Mr Ajit Dayal, Director, Quantum AMC
FOR a little known debutante, Quantum Mutual Fund is certainly not treading the beaten path for its mutual fund business. There is no high profile ad campaign to accompany the launch. The fund hasn't even hired distributors;planning instead to ... More

RECOMMENDATION

Corporation Bank: Buy
AN investment in Corporation Bank (Rs 328) can be considered with a one-to-two year perspective. The stock is trading at a multiple of 1.4 times its book value per share. The stock is attractive considering that its profitability is higher ... More

HSBC Equity: Hold
ONE of the top performers in 2003 and 2004, HSBC Equity has not had a good year, even though the bull market has raged on. With returns of about 45 per cent over a one-year period, the fund has underperformed the Sensex, even as other funds ... More

SPOTLIGHT
Magnum Comma Fund: Hold
AFTER pausing in the initial months after its rollout, the Magnum Comma Fund's performance has made punctuated progress in the recent months. The fund now sports a 23 per cent absolute return since inception, and has kept pace with the category ... More

Karnataka Bank: Buy
INVESTMENTS in the stock of Karnataka Bank can be considered. The stock is attractively valued at a price-to-book ratio of 1.2 times. Performance of the bank in recent quarters has also been above the expectations ... More

K Sera Sera: Invest at cut-off
EXPOSURE can be considered in the seasoned equity offering of K Sera Sera, as there is scope for appreciation linked to fundamentals over a two/three-year period. The offer is at a price band of Rs 64-70; the stock ... More

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services: Invest at cut-off
THOSE with an appetite for risk can consider investing in the initial public offer of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services. The offer, even at the lower end of the price band, is stiffly priced. The valuation demanded More

Gitanjali Gems: Invest
THE initial public offering of Gitanjali Gems can be considered for investment at the cut-off price. The pricing at 21-24 times the annualised FY-06 earnings, at the upper and lower end of the price band ... More

Spentex: Reject
CITIGROUP Venture Capital (CVC), which has acquired a 30 per cent stake in Spentex Industries, is making an open offer to the latter's shareholders to increase its stake by an additional 20 per cent, in pursuit of SEBI's takeover regulations. ... More

B.L. Kashyap And Sons: Invest at cut-off
INVESTORS can consider subscribing to the public offer of B.L. Kashyap And Sons (Kashyap) with an investment perspective of one year. Robust order-book, boom in the domestic construction industry and improving margins ... More

Omax Autos: Buy
LONG-TERM investors may consider equity exposure in Omax Autos at the prevailing price of Rs 138. Though the performance in the latest quarter has not been all that encouraging, Omax Autos appears on track a healthy ... More

Nitco Tiles: Invest at cut-off
INVESTORS with a penchant for risk can subscribe to the initial public offer of Nitco Tiles. Substantial expansion of its ceramic floor tiles capacity, sharp increase in the company's sales of vitrified tiles and ... More

J. K. Cement: Avoid
EXPOSURE can be avoided in the seasoned equity offer of J. K. Cement, as it appears expensively priced on operating profits and earnings. The price range for the offer is Rs 145-155. A sizeable debt burden, low ... More

IPOS

IPOs: Rich on listing, lacklustre later
OVER the past 18 months, post-listing returns on initial public offers have been so good that it has conjured up an image of IPO trees, off which one can pick plenty of low-hanging fruit. The astronomical gains in ... More

Cos head to rating agencies for IPO grading
IPO grading had been permitted by SEBI to enable investors to have an independent opinion from credible entities on the fundamental business strengths of the company. More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES

Home Trade directors absolved of price rigging charges
THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has absolved seven directors of Home Trade Ltd on price rigging charges saying these directors had no role in the day-to-day affairs of the company and hence no case has been made out against ... More

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