Index Trends & Stocks In Action For 20th February 2013.

After a range bound trading session in the first half the markets firmed up in last hour of trade to end with gains of about 1% on Tuesday. We have been mentioning in our previous views that we expect the markets to bounce back because, even if the Nifty has to go down further from here, a meaningful bounce back or a consolidation is needed to provide some respite to the extremely oversold momentum indicators. The Nifty ended the day with gains of 0.70% at 5940. Going ahead, it would be crucial to see how it behaves between 5950-5970 which will act as major hurdle for the Index. A decisive close above levels of 5970 can take the markets to higher levels of 6025-6060. Support for the Nifty would come around 5920 and 5880 levels.

According to media reports, Kolte-Patil Developers has acquired a 49% stake in its two subsidiaries – Oakwood’s Hospitality and Jasmine Hospitality for a total consideration of Rs 65.62 crore. These subsidiaries had Kolte Patil Developers (KPDL) holding a 51 per cent stake with the balance being held by a Foreign Investor. This move makes both the subsidiaries, to be wholly owned by KPDL. The KPDL stock could witness some action following this development today.

Tata Steel is planning to set up a 22 million pounds manufacturing facility at its Brinsworth site which will help and develop new green technologies and empower the cars of the future. The company intends to get into a joint venture for this purpose. The project will not only benefit small companies which have developed this technology but will also allow Tata Steel to provide expertise in speciality steels and manufacturing. The stock has been in a bearish mode after the lacklustre results for the December quarter. The news is likely to put in some life back into it today.

Two stocks from the Cement sector to be watched keenly include ACC and Ambuja Cement. These companies have received an approval from their investors for paying a “technology and Know-how” fee to the tune of one per cent of the net sales to Holcim Technology for two years starting from 2013. Both these stocks are likely to remain in focus for today following this development.

According to media reports, LIC has sold shares worth Rs 12600 crore in company’s which are primarily from financial, auto and Pharma sectors. It has also acquired shares worth about Rs 3877 crore in energy, metal, mining and software companies. Some major companies in which LIC has sold its shares are Axis Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bank, drug major SunPharma and auto firm Mahindra and Mahindra. On the other hand, it has bought shares of Reliance Power, Crain India, Infosys and ITC. The stock prices of all these companies need to be watched carefully as they are likely to remain in the limelight today.