The Hindu Business Line : ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank witness steep fall

Volatile US markets ended last week in positive territory, led by energy companies, as crude oil climbed to a record high surpassing the $100-mark for the first time in its history.

The S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent last week, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent though the tech-focussed Nasdaq declined 0.8 per cent.

However, domestic markets slumped amidst thin volumes on fresh worries about the recession in the US.

The BSE Sensex declined 4.22 per cent while the NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty weakened by 3.62 per cent.

Despite a strong show by the US markets, only two ADRs — Infosys Technologies and Wipro — finished last week on a positive note. The weakening rupee seemed to have lifted the sentiment for these ADRs.

Infosys Technologies has announced the launch of Finacle, version 10, to reinforce its global leadership in banking transformation. The latest version is a highly sophisticated and advanced system that has been built with an investment of over 2,40,000 person days.

However, the two IT majors, Satyam Computers and Patni Computers, closed the week lower by 1.37 per cent and 1.61 per cent.

Satyam Computer Services has announced that it will sponsor the first Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit (MEAOS) 2008 as part of its plans to leverage the booming aviation industry in West Asia.

“The growth in the regional market is reflected by the massive requisition it has placed to worldwide manufacturers, which has totalled to 50 per cent of the world’s aircraft orders with a collective value of $50 billion in 2007,” the company informed the Exchanges.

Banking counters

This week, the worst performers were ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Bank counters in Indian bourses came under pressure after the latest data showed rise in inflation. Even HDFC Bank’s announcement that it was in agreement with Centurion Bank of Punjab to merge the latter with itself, failed to lift the HDFC Bank ADR. While ICICI Bank slumped 9.3 per cent, HDFC Bank fell 5.06 per cent.

Tata Motors ADR fell 4.32 per cent to $17.71 ($18.51).

Tata Communications, VSNL, and MTNL also fell sharply this week. While the latter fell by 3.8 per cent, the former declined by 2.9 per cent.

Dr Reddy’s Lab and Sterlite Industries slipped 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

More Stories on : Commentary | ADR Watch

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

Stories in this Section
3:5 bonus from Reliance Power; effective price will be Rs 269

RPower seeks enquiry into ‘price hammering’

Sensex, Nifty among world’s worst performers

Will budget be a non-event?

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank witness steep fall

Pfizer (Rs 632.90): Buy

Day Trading Guide

Legal, tax aspects of RPower bonus announcement

Dalal Street to see subdued trading ahead of Budget