The Hindu Business Line : Rediff, Sify post sharp gains

Last week saw a new peak for both American and domestic bourses.The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average registered their respective new peaks of 1,555.1 and 13,932 on Friday; for the week, they gained 1.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively while the tech-focused Nasdaq added 1.5 per cent.

Thanks to strong FII fund flow, the Sensex and the S&P CNX Nifty also registered new peaks at 15,330.73 and 4,513.90, gaining 2.09 per cent and 2.72 per cent respectively for the week.

Despite strong show by the bourses, it was a mixed show by Indian ADRs.

HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank gained sharply, while Infosys and Wipro ended the week on a negative note.

However, Satyam Computer and Patni Computers finished the week on a positive note.

A surging rupee, higher salaries and visa fees have impacted Infosys’s annual revenue guidance for 2007-08, despite a rise in net profit in the first quarter.

On annualised basis, the year-on-year growth has been revised to 16-18 per cent from 22-24 per cent.

However, it reported strong net profit for the first quarter, which grew 35 per cent to Rs 1,079 crore from Rs 800 crore under Indian GAAP.

The earnings per share (EPS) was within the guidance range of Rs 18, posting 32 per cent growth.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank posted strong numbers in line with market expectation for the quarter ended June.

The bank clocked net profit of Rs 321.23 crore (Rs 239.3 crore) and total income of Rs 2,641.70 crore (Rs 1,795.21 crore).

Meanwhile, its $600-million ADR offering is under way, through which the bank plans to raise $1billion by selling shares to overseas investors and to its parent, HDFC.

The ADR issue has a 15 per cent greenshoe option that will take the size to $690 million. The issue will be priced on July 17.

However, the week’s star performers were Rediff.com, Sify and Sterlite Industries.

While Rediff.com gained 37 per cent for the week, Sify gained 18 per cent and Sterlite 10.8 per cent.

Most ADRs are hovering around the previous week’s premium levels.

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