The Hindu Business Line : Indian counters finish on firm note

LED by Microsoft, which announced better-than-expected sales, and Motorola Inc, which expressed optimistic forecast, the US markets closed last week in positive territory. The tech-focused Nasdaq jumped 2.7 per cent for the week to 2,049.77 while the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 1,140.60 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.2 per cent to 10,472.84.

According to Bloomberg data, it was first weekly advance in last three weeks for the Nasdaq.

The decision of California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the biggest US pension fund, to invest in Indian markets among the other emerging markets, fuelled rally in the domestic market. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 1.09 per cent last week and the NSE's Nifty 1.30 per cent.

Most of the Indian ADR counters finished on a strong note; the Bank of New York Indian ADR Index outperformed all the other indices by gaining 2.9 per cent to 480.01 (466.38).

Among the major gainers were Infosys, Wipro, Sify and Rediff.com.

However, Satyam Computer finished weak at $20.97 against the previous week's close of $21.56. The company announced a total income of Rs 725.70 core and a net profit of Rs 140.84 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2004. The net profit was up 21.64 per cent compared with the same period last year. However, it failed to enthuse market participants and the counter ended the week on negative note.

However, its subsidiary, Sify, finished on a firm note at $8.48 ($7.44) after the company reported higher sales revenue at $19.10 million, 36 per cent higher than the same quarter last year. Sify registered a cash profit of $2.75 million ($0.32 million).

Rediff.com, which is scheduled to announce its financial numbers on April 29, also gained at $13.03 ($12.24).

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank finished on a firm note at $31.19 ($30.85) and $17.25 ($16.10) respectively. However, the gain by ICICI Bank at the BSE was sharper, as the RBI allowed foreign institutional investors to buy as much as 74 per cent in the bank. Currently, FII holding in the company is below 72 per cent. The stock finished at Rs 319.15 (Rs 287.30).

As a result, the premium for the bank's ADR dipped to 18.9 per cent from 22.9 per cent the previous weekend.

HDFC Bank announced an impressive financial performance; net profit jumped 31.4 per cent to Rs 154.72 crore (Rs 116.62 crore) for the quarter ended March 31, 2004.

MTNL closed higher at $8.63 ($8.27). The company announced (on Saturday) a 67 per cent rise in net profits at Rs 307 crore (Rs 183.6 crore) for the quarter ended March 31, 2004.

Despite announcing that it began sales of dutasteride, a drug to treat enlarged prostrate glands, Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell to $21.81 ($22.01).

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