Walls Street rallied Again

Source: Economic Times

Wall Street rallied once again on Thursday as investors bet that
companies hurt by the housing crisis will benefit from a
government plan to help financially stretched homeowners and from
another interest rate cut.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 170 points
after a nearly 200-point rise Wednesday. Wall Street has been
concerned about the housing slump's impact on consumers, and
started out a bit shaky Thursday when Target Corp. released
lackluster sales and a downbeat December outlook.

However, stocks eventually pushed higher; a weak consumer, though
bad for corporate profits, at least supports the argument for the
Fed Reserve to lower interest rates when it meets Tuesday. A rate
cut could help reinvigorate the slowing economy and loosen up the
tight credit markets.

Stocks got an additional boost when President George W. Bush
announced a plan allowing some homeowners facing foreclosure to
not only freeze their interest rates for up to five years, but
also refinance their mortgages. The plan was created by the
Treasury Department, mortgage lenders and banks, and could help
about 1.2 million homeowners, Bush said.

"That's providing a glimmer of hope," said Jim Herrick, director
of equity trading at Baird & Co. "But there's some skepticism. Is
this really going to be the panacea to the subprime market?
That's the $64,000 question." Even Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson said the plan was not a "silver bullet."

The Mortgage Bankers Association said foreclosures hit a record
high in the third quarter. The fallout from the crisis has
weighed on the financial services sector this year, with banks
and brokerages writing down some $80 billion worth of securities
tied to mortgages.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 174.93, or
1.30 percent, to 13,619.89. Broader stock indicators also
extended their gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 22.33,
or 1.50 percent, to 1,507.34, and the Nasdaq composite index rose
42.67, or 1.60 percent, to 2,709.30.

RCom. receives nod to start GSM services in 14 circles

The government allowed the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance
Communications (Q, N,C,F)* (RCom) to roll out services in 14
circles, reports agency sources.

The government made the necessary changes in the Unified Access
Services Licence (UASL) and gave a go-ahead to RCom for starting
services under the GSM technology platform in 14 telecom circles.

Reliance Telecom is already provides GSM services in eight
circles.

Shares of the company gained Rs 1.05, or 0.15%, to close at Rs
718.7. The total volume of shares traded was 814,887 at the BSE.
(Thursday)

Dish TV announces private placement to raise Rs2.5bn

Indivision would subscribe to 12,500,000 equity shares of Dish TV at a price of Rs 100 per equity

The Board of Dish TV India Limited, the pioneer and leader in Indian DTH space, has approved a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants to Indivision India Partners (IIP). Pursuant to this allotment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, Dish TV would raise equity funds of Rs1,250mn in the first tranche and another Rs1,250mn on conversion of the warrants.

The Board of Dish TV has approved a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants to Indivision. Indivision will subscribe to 12,500,000 equity shares of Re1 each at a price of Rs100 per equity share. In addition, Indivision will also subscribe to 9,615,385 warrants, convertible into 9,615,385 equity shares at a price of Rs130 per equity share, within a period of 18 months from the date of issue of warrants.

Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman Dish TV, said, “We are happy to announce the participation of Indivision India Partners in our effort to provide consumers with unparalleled quality of digital television services directly to their homes. We are confident that Dish TV would deliver long term value to all its stakeholders.”

Commenting on the recent initiatives of the Company, Mr. Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV said, “As the pioneer and leader of DTH in India, it as our responsibility to expand the category faster, through various awareness building and promotional initiatives and by giving customers a product proposition that is superior to other alternatives available in the market..”

Commenting on the recent marketing initiatives, Mr. Arun Kapoor, CEO, Dish TV said “To take our product message to market, we have signed on Mr. Shah Rukh Khan as our brand ambassador. Shah Rukh Khan embodies the personality and values of the dishtv brand. Values like entertainment, technology, innovation, vitality & family values. Since Shah Rukh Khan has popular appeal across all categories of Indians, this association is being supported by an all-new, high intensity advertising campaign across 4,300 cities and over 35,000 existing retail outlet base. The theme is that of coaxing consumers to “not be Santusht with their current state and Wish for More”. Hence the line “Wish Karo Dish Karo”.

Chevron may exit RPL

Global energy giant Chevron Corporation may exit Reliance Petroleum (RPL) by selling its 5% stake to Reliance Industries, reports Business Standard.

Recently, Reliance Industries undertook divestment of 4% stake in RPL for over Rs 40.23 billion. Reliance Industries' stake in RPL now stands at about 71%.

Chevron had bought 5% in RPL at Rs 60 a share during RPL`s public issue.
The US energy giant has the option to raise its stake to 29% either three months after the RPL project is commissioned or three years from the date the agreement was signed, whichever is later.

The agreement between the two was signed in April 2006.

RPL is setting up a refinery of 580,000 barrels per day at Jamnagar in Gujarat.

Chevron is not keen to increase its stake in RPL as the current valuations are high.

Shares of RPL declined Rs 5.45, or 2.6%, to close at Rs 204.05. The total volume of shares traded was 24,663,272 at the BSE. (Monday)

JSW Steel plans to increase Vijayanagar unit capacity

JSW Steel, maker of iron and steel products, plans to increase the Vijayanagar unit capacity to 10 million tons a year by 2010, reports Business Line.

The company will do this at an investment of Rs 240 billion, to be raised by internal accruals, debts and foreign investment of USD 325 million.

JSW Steel is exploring options to curtail the increasing cost of iron ore and coal.

The company posted a robust growth of 47.62% in net profit to Rs 5,112.30 million for the quarter ended September 2007 as compared with Rs 3,463.00 million for the corresponding quarter, last year.

Net sales for the quarter rose 13.64%, to Rs 24,940.90 million as against Rs 21,945.80 million in the corresponding quarter, last fiscal.

Shares of the company declined Rs 39.85, or 3.92%, to settle at Rs 976.6. The total volume of shares traded was 297,562 at the BSE. (Thursday)

Madras Cements earmarks Rs 1.05 bn investment

Madras Cements (MCL) plans to capture 7-8% of the market in West Bengal with its upcoming grinding mill at Kolaghat in Midnapore next year, reports Business Standard.

At present, installed capacity in the state is nearly 4 million ton per annum (mtpa), and the market size is pegged at 7mtpa.

The plant will have an initial capacity of 9.5 lakh ton per annum, and will be scaled up in the coming 3 years to 2mtpa.

The company plans an investment of Rs 1.05 billion in the first phase. Work will start by the end of this year and the scheduled commissioning date was August 2008.
The project was behind schedule by three months owing to prolonged monsoons.

Madras Cements, with a market share of more than 11.7% in southern states, intends to take up the current installed capacity of 5.99mtpa to 10.5mtpa by FY09.

Shares of the company declined Rs 142.3 , or 3.37% to trade at Rs 4082.6. The total volume of shares traded was 2,003 at the BSE.(1.02 pm ,Thursday ).

FIIs net sellers of Rs 2,012cr in cash market

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 2,012.06 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.

While FIIs made gross purchases of Rs 5,868.28 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 7,880.34 crore.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 285.06 crore today. While DIIs made gross purchases of Rs 1,811.98 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 1,526.92 crore.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,154.10 crore on Tuesday, October 16, according to data released by Sebi today. While FIIs made gross purchases of Rs 6,832.60 crore, gross sales totalled Rs 5,678.50 crore.

Mutual funds (MFs) were net sellers of Rs 300.30 crore on Tuesday. MFs made purchases of Rs 1,154.10 crore and sales of Rs 1,454.30 crore.

The Sebi has released its report on P-Notes

The Sebi has released its report on P-Notes. It has suggested
that FIIs should not renew or issue PNs with underlying as derivatives. It also
wants sub-accounts to not issue P-Notes.

The Sebi has asked for comments on its paper by 20th October 2007.

It has further suggested that the PNs issued against derivatives should wind up
in the next 18 months, adding that there should be an unwinding of PNs issued by
sub-accounts in 18 months. It has suggested an incremental rate of 5% for issue
of P-Notes for FIIs with less than 40% of assets in P-Notes and regarding issue
of P-Notes by FIIs with assets of more than 40% in P-Notes, on
redemption/cancellation.

The Sebi has informed that the value Of PNs is up from Rs 31,875 crore to Rs
3.53 lakh crore in 3 years. It has also informed that PNs based on derivatives,
account for 30% of total PNs, at Rs 1.17 lakh crore.

The Sebi panel has said that proposals on P-Notes will be implemented urgently.

The Finance Minister has said that this is an attempt to control leveraging
flexibility of P-Notes.

Sensex may scale 20,000 in 2-3 days: Analysts cross the 20,000-milestone in another reco

Market analysts have predicted the benchmark index Sensex will
cross the 20,000-milestone in another record breaking 1000-point
journey on the bourse, fuelled by liquidity in the market.

"For crossing the 20,000-mark, the journey of another 1000-points
would not matter much as the market is going ahead on a furious
pace and is unpredictable ...maybe it could take just 2-3 days,"
Asika Stock Brokers' Paras Bodhra said.

The benchmark index Sensex today scaled the 19,000-mark in a
record of four trading sessions on frantic buying in a number of
front-line stocks.

The 30-share index registered a whopping gain of 676 points to
touch an intra-day high of 19,095.75 before closing at Rs
19,058.67, up 639.63 points today.

"With the markets going forward so fast...20,000 can happen in
two days. But the pace is really worrisome and investors should
be really cautious," Arun Kejriwal of Kejriwal Research and
Information Services (KRIS) said.

Premium Investments' S P Tulsian believes the milestone
represents the strong appetite for Indian stocks and it is a
liquidity-led rally.

FIIs are going strong with their investments in the Indian
markets and 20,000 could be achieved by the month-end, he said.

Analysts have advised retail investors to remain cautious and
invest carefully to gain from the soaring markets.

Reliance Power IPO Analysis

Reliance Power Limited has recently filed its Draft Red Herring
Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI.

Reliance Power Limited IPO which would be one of the biggest IPO
in Indian stock markets which will issue 130 crore equity shares
of Rs 2 each at a price to be decided later.

The net issue to the public would be 114 crore equity shares
after the promotors contribution of 16 crore equity
shares.Reliance Power IPO will constitute 11.5% of the post issue
paid-up capital of the company and the net issue will constitute
10.1% of the post issue paid-up capital of the company.

UBS is valuing Reliance Power between Rs 71,800-92,100 crore and
says that Reliance Energy’s 50 per cent shareholding in Reliance
Power is worth Rs 35,900-46,100 crore. This translates into
another Rs 1,571-1,995 for every share of Reliance Energy.

Analysts also see big value in the Reliance Power IPO. UBS says
that the cost of capital for Reliance Power would be 20 per cent
less than NTPC. It also believes that the gas supply dispute will
be resolved and sees no single risk to fuel supply.

It also views that Reliance Power is positioned to win upcoming
UMPP projects. However, there are some risks associated with
Reliance Power future business.

UBS says that gas allocation and pricing needs to be monitored
closely and if rules prevent, carbon credit trades from gas-based
plants could affect revenues.

Analysts say share of private sector in power generation will
increase from current 13 per cent to 20 per cent by 2017 and
Reliance Power is all set to grab a big pie out of it as it has
also plans to generate power from nuclear energy.

IFCI net rises 4.29 times in Sep `07 Qtr

Leading lender to corporates, IFCI, disclosed a phenomenal jump
in the net profit for the quarter ended September 2007. During
the quarter, the company experienced a 4.29 times rise in profit
to Rs 4,972.90 million from Rs 1,158.30 million in the quarter
ended September 2006.

Net sales for the reporting quarter stood at Rs 5,916 million.

Total income rose 83% to Rs 5,956 million for the quarter ended
September 2007 from Rs 3,254.70 million for the same period last
year.

The basic and diluted EPS, after extraordinary items, stood at Rs
4.85 in the quarter ended September 2007

Half Yearly Result:

On half yearly basis, IFCI, has disclosed a phenomenal jump in
the net profit for the half year ended in September 2007. During
the period, the company experienced a 7.42 times rise in profits
to Rs 7,441.50 million from Rs 1,002.20 million in the half year
ended September 2006.

Operating income for the half year ended September 2007 rose
63.61% to Rs 9,415.50 million from Rs 5,754.50 million in the
half year ended September 2006.

Total income rose 85.83% to Rs 10,811.70 million for the half
year ended September 2007 from Rs 5,817.80 million for the same
period last year.

The diluted EPS after extraordinary items, stood at Rs 7.29 for
the half-year ended September 2007.

Highlight of the quarter:

IFCI initiated the process of inducting strategic investor, by
offloading its stake.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified that foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) can now purchase shares of IFCI
under portfolio investment scheme (PIS), through the secondary
market in India.

The Business:
IFCI, incorporated in 1948 by the Government of India, is engaged
in providing credit to all segments of the Indian industry. The
company is involved in the activities of project finance,
financial services, non-project specific assistance, and
corporate advisory services.

IFCI also provides equipment finance, equipment credit, and
equipment leasing, corporate loans, short-term loans and working
capital loans to meet the specific needs of corporate.

Shares of the company gained Rs 3.5, or 4.13%, to settle at Rs
88.15. The total volume of shares traded was 10,314,031 at the
BSE.(Monday)

Q2 Results Will Dominate The Show

Given that the market has witnessed a sharp and swift surge over the past few days, correction is inevitable after the sharp spurt. Q2 September 2007 results remain the key near term trigger for the market. The near term activity on the bourses is likely to be stock-specific based on Q2 result expectations.

Decent to strong Q2 results are expected from cement, steel, and telecom firms. Cement and steel firms are seen reporting strong Q2 numbers on the back of firm prices whereas robust subscription growth is expected to drive earnings of cellular services providers. IT firms are seen reporting good numbers on the back of volume growth and also because September 2007 quarter is seasonally the strongest of the four quarters for IT firms.

On the other hand, auto firms are seen reporting dismal numbers due to fall in volumes arising from higher interest rates.

FII inflow may remain strong due to ample global liquidity further enhanced by US Federal Reserve’s last month’s steep cut in the key benchmark interest viz. the fed funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%. A further cut in interest rate by Fed, if any, will only add to liquidity further which in turn ensure that FII inflow in India and emerging markets remain strong.

Emerging markets including India have witnessed strong FII inflows ever since the last month’s Fed cut, given the improved fundamentals of emerging markets.

Domestic liquidity remains strong. Insurance firms have been channelising money raised through unit-linked insurance plans (with a high weightage for equities) into the markets. A sharp correction, if any, may lead to bargain bunting by domestic mutual funds which are said to be sitting on a cash pile of about Rs 14000 crore.

The market's fears that a political impasse over a nuclear energy deal with the United States would lead to early elections, too, has eased with Congress President Sonia Gandhi stating on Friday, 12 October 2007, she doesn’t want early election. Gandhi said that the Left parties, which were opposing the deal, were not being unreasonable, and that the government was not looking for a confrontation with them because that was not the "coalition dharma."

Left front which is supporting the government from outside has been against operationalisation of the nuclear deal with the US, which had caused a rift between the government and the Left front. There had been fears that possibility of an early election could see the government announcing populist measures that would widen the fiscal deficit.

The near term trigger for the market is RBI’s Mid Term Review Of Annual Policy due on 30 October 2007. It remains to be seen whether the central bank does away with a hawkish stance in the policy. However, a near term rate cut by RBI looks unlikely given that consumer price base inflation and liquidity remain high.

India’s economy is expected to post decent to strong growth for a long period of time mainly due to favourable demographics.

IFCI suitors worried about stake stability

Potential buyers of a 26 per cent stake in the government-owned
Industrial Finance Corporation of India's, the country's oldest
financial institution, have raised concerns over the stability of
their shareholding and board representation.

Interested parties are concerned about the possibility of 24
domestic banks and six financial institutions converting to
equity Rs 1,480 crore worth of zero-coupon debentures to which
they subscribed in 2002-03.

They are also worried at IFCI's inability to accommodate more
than three or four representatives from the prospective strategic
investor on its 15-member board.

The IFCI board is expected to meet on Monday to discuss these
issues.

Representatives of two potential buyers told Business Standard
that once the debentures are converted, the strategic investor's
equity and, therefore, control will be reduced.

Sources at IFCI, however, said no time frame has been decided for
the conversion. "The conversion has to follow certain legal
procedures, including approval from the IFCI board. Nothing will
be done which could impact strategic investors' interests," they
added.

On the issue of board representation, one suitor said: "Four
seats on the board will not be in tune with the strategic
investor's equity holding of 26 per cent."

In addition, the suitors said, the idea of buying 26 per cent was
aimed at an eventual control of the company. Under the law, any
acquisition of more than a 15 per cent stake requires a mandatory
20 per cent open offer for retail shareholders.

The successful bidder will eventually emerge as the largest
shareholder in IFCI with nearly 46 per cent after an open offer.

"But the present structure of the IFCI board is averse to
offering the majority of the board seats to the successful
bidder. This will defeat the purpose of acquiring a majority
stake," he added.

The IFCI stock on Wednesday closed at Rs 83.80 on the Bombay
Stock Exchange, 3.29 per cent lower than Tuesday's close.

At this rate, the company's valuation of the company stands at Rs
5,352 crore. So an acquisition of 26 per cent is estimated at Rs
1,392 crore.

Sources close to IFCI said the effort to strike a balance between
the interest of the bidder as well as other stakeholders is on.
"We are hopeful of finding a solution," they said.

Appreciating rupee lures FIIs in droves

Palak Shah / Mumbai October 08, 2007

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are rushing in to get
registered in India. Those awaiting the registration are in no
mood to while away the time as they buy stocks through the
participatory note (PN) route on the back of better returns from
the appreciating rupee.

In the last one month, over 30 new FIIs registered with the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), taking the total
number of FIIs in India to 1,108. Some of the new entrants
include ADI Alternative Investments (one of France’s biggest fund
houses managing 7 billion euros worth assets), APAX Partners
Europe Managers (a UK-based firm managing $20 billion assets
worldwide) and BAADR Service Bank of Germany.

After the Fed rate cut on September 18, FIIs have pumped in about
$5 billion in the secondary market alone. It is believed that
US-based hedge funds are the major contributors in the fresh
inflows, according to senior executives of foreign brokerages.

“There seems to be no sign of the FII inflow drying up in the
near future. Even some of the mid-sized fund managers, who have
never tapped the Indian markets before, are planning to take
exposure into the equity markets through the participatory note
(PN) route,” said a senior executive of a hedge fund on condition
of anonymity.

PNs are offshore derivative instruments issued by FIIs to
unidentified overseas investors, who are not eligible to invest
directly in Indian stocks.

This calendar year has seen record foreign inflows of $14.4
billion into domestic stocks, beating $10.7 billion the FIIs
invested in 2005.

Market players point out that the sharply appreciating rupee is
one of the factors encouraging foreign players to park their
money in India.

On Thursday, the rupee touched a nine-year high of 39.25 against
the dollar. With the US economy struggling to come out of the
subprime turmoil and fears of recession, analysts reason that at
the moment only India, Hong Kong and China are emerging as a
safe-investment destinations for FIIs.

Sandip Sabharwal, the chief investment officer of JM Financial
Mutual Fund, said Indian markets still provided a lot of
opportunity for foreign clients and there was momentum in the
markets too.

Apart from the rupee appreciation, strong economic growth and the
fast growth of Indian companies were acting as a catalyst for the
huge foreign money flowing into India, he said.

Fund Action: Dabur India, CESC, Kaveri Seed

Dabur India
Merrill Lynch Capital Markets buys 1 cr shares at Rs 107/sh (1.16
% stake)

CESC
Fidelity Investment Mgmt HK buys 10 lakh shares at Rs 575/sh
(1.2% stake)
Reliance MF-Diverisified Power Sector Fund sells 10 lakh share
sat Rs 575/sh

Kaveri Seed
India Optima Fund buys 2 lakh shares at Rs 237.55/sh
International Opportunities Portfolio buys 1 lakh shares at Rs
237.55/sh
Credit Suisse (Singapore) sells 82 thousand shares at Rs 237.4/sh
ICICI International sells 1.85 lakh shares at Rs 217.7/sh
J M FIN MF sells 1.3 lakh shares at Rs 232.8/sh
Sundaram MF sells 1.5 lakh shares at Rs 244.9/sh

DCB
ABN Amro Bank sells 10 lakh shares at Rs 117/sh

Escorts India
Lotus Global sells 6 lakh shares at Rs 120.55/sh
Lotus Global sells 4.37 lakh shares at Rs 119/sh on 28th Sept
Merill Lynch Capital bought 6 lakh shares at Rs 108.14/sh on 18th
Sept
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Mauritius buys 5 lakh shares at Rs
107.8/sh on 10th Sept
Citigroup Global sold 4.25 lakh shares at Rs 104.8/sh on 5th Sept

Godawari Power
HDFC MF sells 1.27 lakh shares at Rs 268.1/sh

Nitco Tiles
HSBC Financial Services buys 5 lakh shares at Rs 230/sh (2.25%
stake)
HSBC Financial Services bought 1.64 lakh shares at Rs 223.99/sh
on Aug 1
Swiss Finance sold 1.65 lakh shares at Rs 224.03/sh on Aug 1

Parekh Aluminex
Merrill Lynch Capital Market buys 3.2 lakh shares at Rs 201/sh
(4.6% stake)

Pioneer Investcorp
UBS Sec buys 3.65 lakh shares at Rs 383.4/sh (3.5% stake)

Ahluwalia
Goldman Sachs bought 5 lakh shares at Rs 233.7/sh on 3rd Oct (4%
stake)

Sharyans Resources
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) sells 80 thousand shares at Rs 230.7/sh

Bihar Tubes
HSBC Financial Services buys 4.25 lakh shares at Rs 136.7/sh
Prism Impex sells 1 lakh shares at Rs 130/sh

Spanco Telesystems
Sundaram MF sells 5 lakh shares at Rs 195.8/sh

Sparsh BPO
DSP Merill Lynch Fund sells 83 thousand shares at Rs 160/sh

Power sector turns attractive for funds

Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, Tata Power, Reliance Energy,
NTPC, GVK Power Infrastructure etc have all joined the stock
market rally since the past couple of days, thus giving a cue to
the others in the sector to follow.

Upward rally

NTPC was at an all time high yesterday at Rs 228.90 and has
gained 16.76 per cent since a week, whereas Reliance Energy has
gained 32.28 per cent since a week and RNRL has gained 7.44 per
cent since a week and rallied with jet speed as it has gained
almost 90 per cent since a month.

The trigger point for the power sector towards the upward rally
has come in the form of upcoming IPOs, feel analysts.

Investors favourite

Uptil now it was the technology sector which was a favourite
amongst investors but now with the rupee appreciation the favour
has turned towards the power sector leading the funds to flow in
this sector, said Anita Gandhi, Head of Institutional Business,
Arihant Capital Markets.

The Reliance Energy IPO, which is expected to be one of the
biggest, and the PowerGrid IPO have brought in a positive
sentiment and outlook towards the power sector, the stocks of
which were underperforming for a long while, says an analyst with
a brokerage firm based in Mumbai.

PowerGrid listing

The PowerGrid is listing its shares on the bourses on Friday.

The IPO got subscribed 64 times and brought in subscriptions
worth Rs 1,90,000 crore and worth over Rs 1,20,000 crore in
overseas subscription. Power is a key sector for the growth of an
economy and as there is huge gap between demand and supply, the
growth prospects seem strong, said an analyst.

The Government has gone in for power sector improvement as
earlier they were not accepting many bids but now there seems to
be substantial volumes in this case, feels an analyst.

Promising scenario

Sensex nears 18K-mark with 518 pts gain; Nifty crosses 5,200

India's stock market came very close to conquering the 18,000-point milestone but receded on profit booking, only to close the day with a gain of 518 points - its third biggest point-wise rise.

Although the market breadth was weak, buying in select heavyweight counters helped the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex to complete one of the best 11-session gaining streaks of the year.

The surge prompted Finance Minister P Chidambaram to advise caution to retail investors, although he welcomed the interest shown by FIIs.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained at the centre stage of the current rally and pumped in nearly USD 4 billion since September 19 and over USD 12 billion in the current year so far.

The BSE barometer opened firm at 17,467.41 as against Monday's close of 17,328.62. But it later gyrated in a wide range of 17,953.07, an all-time intra-day peak and 17,288.41 before ending at a new high of 17,847.04, a steep rise of 518.42 points or 2.99 per cent.

Similarly, the broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also logged a new intra-trade peak of 5,261.35 before concluding at 5,210.80, a net gain of 141.85 points over the previous close of 5,068.95.

The gain of about 200-300 points each day in just four sessions and the sudden surge to the new peak indicates a bubble formation in the market, Mutual Fund Tracking firm Value Research Online CEO Dhirendra Kumar cautioned.

"The sudden dips and scaling of new peaks scares the investors and the nervousness is bound to affect the market sentiments any day," he added.

Today's rally was led by realty counters while IT shares also attracted good buying support.

Binani Industries looking to place 10% equity in Binani Zinc thru FIs: Sources

Binani Industries looking to place 10% equity in Binani Zinc, said Sources. For this, Binani Industries are in talk with Financial Institutions.

Binani Industries management said that they are working on raising money via Binani Zinc.

Fin Min: No evidence of manipulation in stock mkts and movement orderly; SEBI has not informed the govt on any mkt manipulation

The Finance ministry has no evidence of manipulation in stock market and SEBI has not informed the government on any market manipulation, reports the NW 18, quoting an aide. Finance Ministry says stock market movement are in order.

Earlier today, the ET had reported that the capital market regulator SEBI is keeping tabs on the activity of several players in both primary and secondary market following leads that some of the market manipulators may be operating through front outfits.

The dizzying rise in stock prices over the past few weeks has only fuelled suspicion that some of the old hands who were indicted for their violations in the securities markets may be back at their game.

Sources told ET that one of the central security agencies has alerted the finance ministry on the matter. It has also furnished a list of names of such operators who it feels are active through firms in which they are not directly connected.

Manish Marwah, Nirmal Kotecha and even Ketan Parekh are included in the list. The agency suspects that these operators were active in IPOs of Indowind Energy, Alpa Labs and Puravankara Projects, besides a few other issues. Both Marwah and Kotecha were indicted by SEBI for the manipulation in shares of real estate firm Atlanta.

It’s learnt that SEBI is also tracking the surge in the prices of stocks like IFCI and a few index heavyweights which have contributed to the recent bull run.

Government officials said that the country’s intelligence agencies have been on an overdrive naming several players with suspect credentials or who have a track record of manipulating stocks as being active now.

However, it’s been hard for the regulator as well as the security agencies to establish a direct link between cases of stock price manipulation and some of these operators.

In the past, there have been cases where such agencies have suspected that entities blacklisted by the regulator are playing the market, not just in stocks but also in commodity futures.

However, there have been times when they were off-target. Given the nature of surrogate ownership, financial layering and benami transactions, any investigation of this nature is painstaking and a strain on the regulatory resources.

Sensex retains record growth momentum for ninth session

The benchmark Sensex on Friday rose by 140.54 points to reach a new closing high of 17,291.10, continuing its record setting spree for the ninth straight session, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The BSE 30-share index reached its new intra-day peak of 17,361.47 and touched the day's low of 17,152.31 points.

Tracking the firm trend, the wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty moved up by 20.80 points to 5,021.35, after touching the day's high of 5,055.80 and a low of 4,996.45 points.