Market Trends

• There goes the Sensex again
The decline in the Sensex since Budget day is due to a steep fall in the share prices of Zee, Satyam, Infosys and NIIT.

• Samvat 2056: When rosy forecasts went for a six!
Samvat 2056 year has ended on a weak note for the market, the Sensex having lost 21.5 per cent to close at 3652 points. This year saw the market reaching an all-time high level of 6150 points in February and then fell sharply from those levels.

• Split to gain
Split the stock and watch the action hot up. That seems to be the recurring theme in the stock markets this year.

• Historic FII sales on Thursday
There are two explanations doing the rounds -- either there is an error in SEBI's reporting or there has been warehousing.

• Fear and loathing in IPO land
The 'Outstanding litigations, defaults and material developments' section of an offer document is often littered with litigation that range from the hilarious, shocking to the loathsome.

• Makeover time at software companies
Indian software companies are in revamp mode as they seek future growth. The buzzwords are spin-offs, mergers, acquisitions, re-engineering and re-positioning.

• What the current market rally is all about
This month, the FIIs bought equities to the tune of Rs 44.29 billion and sold stocks worth Rs 28.57 billion, a healthy surplus of Rs 15.72 billion.

• RBI moves, FII sales pull Sensex down
For the last seven consecutive trading days, the bourses have been on a downslide. With today's 200-point plunge, the Sensex has sunk below the 4300-point level.

• Living on the edge
For the last seven consecutive trading days, the bourses have been on a downslide. With today's 200-point plunge, the Sensex has sunk below the 4300-point level.

• Hindustan Lever leads the way
With these four multinationals leading the way, one can expect many more MNCs to go in for a stock split. Many of these companies are quoting at high prices of over Rs 500. Liquidity in most of these stocks is poor as there is little floating stock.

• Market players feel Sensex has bottomed out
The market dropped to a low of 3831 points on May 25 and has recovered from there. This level has proved to be a good bottom for the market and it has stayed above this level, at least so far.

• Changes in indices, market swings and all that
India's stockmarkets are continuing to react to the changes in the Morgan Stanley Capital International's stock weightages that were announced yesterday. Prices of stocks that were yanked off the MSCI India Index are being hammered down. Those that made it to the list are receiving buyers' attention.

• Glamour stocks lose sheen
It is as if that these glamour stocks have lost their glamour and have now become untouchables in the market; at least the way they have been dropping everyday. Even excellent results could not stem the selling pressure in these stocks.

• Who will bell the cat?
Most funds and operators are waiting on the sidelines waiting for the market to stabilise. At this stage, the market is waiting for leadership. But it is a classic case of who will bell the cat first and whether it will happen next week.

• FIIs have been net buyers throughout this month
Despite the fact that the markets have been falling, purportedly because of FII offloading, foreign funds have actually been net buyers to the tune of Rs 20 billion.

• Stung by fall, retail investor keeps away
This is another classic case of history repeating itself: retail guys entering in a big way while the operators slowly exit the market, making their money.

• Crash!
Today the BSE Sensex dropped by 7.3 per cent (over 360 points) -- the second largest single day point drop in its history. Post-Harshad Mehta this is the second largest percentage drop in the history of the market.

• The year of the dark horse
The stock market, defying conventional logic, moved in its own mysterious way during fiscal 1999-2000. It threw up more than a few surprises as many of the less-fancied scrips ended the year giving the best return to investors.

• Corporate results may trigger next rally
The bourses continue to plummet, confusing operators by their erratic behaviour. However, there may still be hope round the corner with corporates about to declare year-end results.

• FII inflows log sharp jump
Foreign institutional investors seem bullish on India, and their rising influence and investments have set the tone for the Indian equity markets.

• Will Clinton's visit spark off a rally?
Most market players and fund managers feel that the market may turn buoyant, with a bull run in selective sectors or scrips, following the US President's visit.

• Bloodbath on Dalal Street
The meltdown has spared neither the old economy stocks nor the new economy ones. But there may still be hope as the market may see good times by Wednesday.

• Towards a clearer index
The new additions to the Sensex make it a much more representative sample of the market. These new entrants will also help curb volatility in the Sensex due to Infosys Technologies or HLL.

• Are we in a bull market?
The Sensex closed at 5302 points on March 10, 2000: that is, almost at the same level (5375) it was on January 3, 2000. If the index heavyweight Infosys Technologies had not salvaged the situation and were to remain at same the level it was at the beginning of the year, the Sensex would plummet by a whopping 400 points at 4900 levels!

• Is the P/E dead?
Isn't P/E a good enough criterion for stock-picking? Or has it lost its relevance in the market place? A look at the movement of the P/E ratios in this calendar year seems to indicate that P/Es are no longer as fashionable.

• Brave new world
The Y2K Budget has reinforced the stark polarisation that has taken place in the last six months on the stock market. At one end are ICE (infotech, communication and entertainment) stocks which continue to hit the roof and at the other, the rest of the market which receive a drubbing every day.

• The cat and mouse game
FIIs are the stars of this rally, having pumped in Rs 2400 crore ($ 0.55 billion) in the last 16 trading sessions. Compare this to last full year's investment of $1.56 billion, and you can see why the market is touching new highs. Equity inflows were much lower in January 2000 at Rs 151 crore ($ 34.8 million).

• Up, up and away
While the undertone is bullish, the consensus of the market players is that the markets will continue to remain highly volatile as outstanding positions are high. The market in the short-term can witness a correction which would be healthy for the sustenance of the long-term bull market.

• Let it roll
The regulator will have to ensure that proper financing facility like stock borrowing/lending or a carry forward mechanism is available to the investor for rolling settlement to succeed.

• Perils of badla financing
Badla is a complex system that contains many a pitfall for the uninitiated and the unwary. Investors need to be aware of the problems, especially when brokers on BSE and other regional stock exchanges are marketing vyaj badla schemes to their clients aggressively.

• All about Internet broking
From the open outcry system in the early nineties to the screen-based trading of the late nineties, the stock exchanges have witnessed a lot of changes. Now the investor has the option of directly controlling his trading future via Internet trading.

• Where to invest in 2000
The Sensex is on the edge and a correction is imminent. Small operators and retail investors have both been trapped earlier at higher levels; there is no reason to believe that this can't happen again. Hence investors should be cautious at higher levels. At the macro level, there could be a lot of money coming to the stock markets if the insurance sector is opened up. If domestic provident funds and pension funds are allowed to invest in the stock market, we should see a major rise in the Index. Internet broking will also be a reality this year; it will change the way we trade. Futures trading is round the corner too-index futures will take off this year.