The Hindu Business Line : Mixed week for Indian counters

Markets, across the globe, reacted positively to the Fed's comment (after raising US interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent for the 17th time in a row) of further increase in the rate would depend on economic condition. The S&P 500 gained 2.1 per cent - the biggest weekly increase since the period ended January 6; the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.5 per cent to 11,150.22 and the Nasdaq rose 2.4 per cent to 2172.09.

Back home, the BSE Sensex surged 1.89 per cent and the NSE's Nifty 2.8 per cent.

However, it was a mixed week for the Indian ADRs; the star performers were VSNL and HDFC Bank, both gaining in excess of seven per cent. VSNL, which announced a 72-per cent drop in for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, said it expects sales to increase 12 per cent this year as revenue from Internet access and selling services overseas increases.

Infosys was also in the limelight as the ADR gained 6.45 per cent while Wipro flared up 5.6 per cent. However, Satyam Computer and Patni Computers closed the week marginally lower.

The other loser, among the ADRs, was MTNL.

However, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd finished firm at $27.7 against the previous week close of $27.53 after it announced that it reached an agreement with Merck to sell an unbranded version of the drug.

Even though HDFC Bank surged sharply, it was rather a sedate week for the other banking counter ICICI Bank. The latter ended the week at $23.65 ($23.49), a gain of 0.68 per cent.

More Stories on : Commentary | ADR Watch

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Diversified funds provide 40% return in a year

A fellowship in a cry of players

Into the exotic land of derivatives

Pure commodity funds may not be so easy to introduce

Mixed week for Indian counters

Sensex may top 11K mark