Weekly Update

The rally in the world stock markets is likely to continue. Overall trend of all markets is up and any correction should be used to buy stocks. It is expected that recovery in the Indian and global economy and buying by foreign funds may support the market which have witnessed a strong rally since mid-March 2009. However, the uncertainty surrounding general elections and anxiety over the banks' stress test results in the US may cap gains. Moreover, nagging concerns over the swine flu outbreak and its impact on the tentative global recovery will keep the bulls in check. Precious metals like Gold & Silver are showing some weakness whereas Base Metals are showing strength, which shows that the rally in stock markets is supported by Base Metals also. Nifty has support between 3300-3200 levels and Sensex between 11000-10500 levels.

Automobiles
·Car and two-wheeler sales saw the fifth straight month of growth in April, buttressing evidence that the recovery was no flash in the pan and providing increasingly rare good news for a sector reeling under the threat of global bankruptcies.
·Jaguar Land Rover, which has been bought over by Tata Motors, will begin selling their range of premium saloon cars and sports utility vehicles in the Indian market later this year. From the Jaguar portfolio, the Tatas will bring the Jaguar XF and XKR, while Land Rover will sell its Discovery and Range Rover models in India.
Banking
·The country's second-largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank has slashed benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 11 per cent, a move that will benefit millions home, consumer and corporate loan borrowers. The bank has cut interest rate on personal loan by 50 basis points and floating home loan would become cheaper by 25 basis points.
Oil & Gas
·India's most valuable company Reliance Industries (RIL) may neither start any greenfield initiative nor raise new funds in the current financial year, as the oil-to-retail conglomerate looks to consolidate its diverse portfolio of businesses and improve operational efficiency.
·ONGC Videsh (OVL) and its partners, Indian Oil Corp and Oil India, are likely to invest about $4 billion to start production from a massive gas field they discovered in offshore Iran, in the next 3-4 years.
Power
·Reliance Power, an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company, may not get its full quota of coal for Chitrangi power project in Madhya Pradesh from its own captive mines attached with Sasan power project. The government is considering limit diversion of captive coal from Sasan to
Chitrangi only to the extent of power being offered for sale through competitive bidding.
·The country's largest real estate developer DLF will hive off wind power business, one of its non-core businesses, to a wholly-owned subsidiary. The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on April 30, 2009, inter alia, has approved to transfer the company's wind power business, as a going concern on slump basis, to a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Capital Goods
·ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, won substation orders worth around Rs.425 crore from Powergrid, India's national transmission utility, to boost capacity and help improve grid reliability.
Metals
·Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) is in advanced talks with New South Wales-based mining firm Hudson Resources to form a joint venture for exploration and mining of coking coal in Australia. The JV is expected to absorb investments of $100 million, once mining commences in the proposed coal block.
·JSW Energy is close to acquiring a sub-Saharan African thermal coal mine, which has reserves of more than 200 million tonnes, to minimise dependence on other overseas companies.
Telecom
·Bharti Airtel has entered into a joint venture with Franco-American telecom gear maker Alcatel-Lucent to manage its landline and broadband business, expanding its tested strategy of outsourcing technology functions to focus more on marketing and sales. Company will be the minority partner in the 26:74 joint venture, and will invest Rs.2,500 crore into the new entity over five years.