Markets in a Minute

Despite the trading week being curtailed, it had generous dollops of action. From earnings announcements to corporate jigs to the IPL mania, the week had it all. No wonder, the conversations at the studio remained as interesting as ever. Here's a sneak peek:

Prarthana: What a week! Markets were on a roller coaster ride throughout. While Reliance Industries disappointed on its fourth quarter performance, TCS consolidated its lead over Infosys.

Vedant: But we'll have to see if this sustains… I will reserve my comments till then. On Reliance, I was a bit disappointed that RIL did not reveal its plans for the financial sector. After all expectations were ripe after it formed a joint venture with DE Shaw group last month.

Prarthana: Hey, isn't it ironic that the CEOs of India's luxury-home sellers – Unitech and DB Realty – were sent to Tihar jail? Their shareholders did not seem to have taken kindly to their alleged involvement in the 2G scam. The stock prices simply nose dived.

Vedant: huh… stock prices must be the least of their worries at this point in time! That reminds me, State Bank of India has scrapped its teaser loans, effective May 1.

Prarthana: It was a well-timed product, the brainchild of the bank's former Chairman Mr O.P. Bhatt. But somehow they could never convince the RBI of its desirability.

Vedant: Markets however remained unfazed as hopes of a normal monsoon cheered it on. The Met Department has predicted normal monsoon rains for the country this year. This would help boost the prospects of the farm sector.

Prarthana: Don't forget the much-needed respite it would give our policymakers, struggling to check rising inflation! Their jobs however are pretty much cut of for them in the near term. The annual food inflation snapped its three-week easing trend, and rose to 8.74 per cent.

Vedant: Well, that does raise the odds for an aggressive rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India next month!

Prarthana: What do you make of the Singh brothers selling their majority stake in SRL to Fortis Healthcare? It was rather unexpected. After all, only in February had SRL filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI.

Vedant: Difficult to speculate… but the duo are good at deal making. They sold the stake at the same valuation at which Avigo PE had bought its 9.25 per cent stake in SRL some days back. This also sets the valuation benchmark for the IPO right!

Prarthana: Smart move… even Sesa Goa surprised us by acquiring a 10.4 per cent stake in Cairn India for Rs 6,620 crore in the open market from Petronas. Incidentally, this has improved the likely acceptance ratio in its open offer from around 53 per cent to around 73 per cent.

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