Global macro takes toll

Tue, 18 Oct Closing

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No efforts were made to claw back towards the dotted line during the closing hours of the trade and as a result, indices in the Indian stock market closed in the negative for the second time in a row during the week. While BSE-Sensex edged lower by around 280 points, decline on the NSE-Nifty came in at closed to 80 points.BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices were not spared either with both of them edging lower by around 1% each. Barring an exception or two, all the other stocks on the Sensex closed the day in the red.

Unlike yesterday where India was the sole loser in Asia, today's trading session saw most of the indices in the region witness a sharp selloff. The reason seemed two-fold. One was the continued concern over Europe where events took a turn for the worse as Germany, the Euro region's largest economy stifled expectations of a fast resolution to Europe's debt crisis . Secondly, a new concern in the form of China's economy growing at its slowest pace in two years also took center stage and further hurt sentiments. It is becoming increasingly clear that save for a quick Government action, global asset markets are once again appearing vulnerable to panic selling. However, this should represent good opportunity for patient investors for buying into the long term Indian growth story.

Amidst the thrashing received by IT stocks today, Mindtree Ltd was one of the stocks that stood out as it closed higher by nearly 3% today. The gains were a result of the company's strong performance during the quarter ended September 2011. Net profits zoomed by 132% YoY on the back of a 19% growth in topline. On a consolidated basis, profits were up 134% YoY. The company also recommended a special dividend of Re 1 per share along with an interim dividend of Rs 1.5 per share. This is the fourth consecutive quarter where the company has been able to put up a good show. The management has attributed the same to the company's ability to build traction in the market.

Petronet LNG has announced the financial results for 2QFY12. The company has reported a growth of 76% YoY in the topline. Of the 42 cargoes that the company regasified, 12 were on a spot basis. As per the management, the company aims to import 12 to 14 spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas in the 3QFY12.The operating profits for the quarter registered a growth of 65% YoY. The operating margins also improved to 8.4% (versus 5.9% last year). The bottomline of the company has almost doubled (up 98.5%YoY). The net profit margins for the company came at 4.85% for the quarter (4.29% last year). Despite the good set of numbers, the stock closed lower by nearly 2% today.