EVENING UPDATES

• Reliance Money on Tuesday joined hands with Canada's Recognia, a leading provider of technical charts for stocks, that would allow its customers to know if previous patterns indicate a future rise or fall in share prices.


• Public sector oil firms on Tuesday raised aviation turbine fuel (jet fuel) prices by over 13 per cent in step with rise in international oil prices.


• Finance minister P. Chidambaram has approved a Bill which comes into effect on 01.04.2008 and it states that all Privately Held companies need to give a minimum salary increment of 15% to all employees every six months.


• Gold fell to a six-week low level below Rs 12,000 to Rs 11,830 per 10 grams on the bullion market on Tuesday on heavy selling by stockists influenced by a weakening trend in global markets.


• GAIL India has entered into a contract with the consortia of Reliance Industries, BG Group of UK and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (the co-ventures of the PMT fields in western offshore) for buying the entire quantity of 17.3 million metric standard cubic meter per day.


• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has submitted for approval, the draft terms of reference and composition of the proposed National Biofuel Development Board to foster use of clean fuel in the country.


• Commerce Secretary, GK Pillai says, steel prices should come down by 10-20%. He says the government wants steel producers to bring down prices on their own; otherwise the government will have to act on its own.

CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENT

Nissan Copper to increase borrowing limits (1-Apr, 17:40 Hrs IST)

SREI Infrastructure Finance allots equity shares (1-Apr, 17:37 Hrs IST)

Reliance Industries announces second gas discovery in deepwater exploration block (1-Apr, 17:23 Hrs IST)

Hazoor Multi Projects to convene board meeting (1-Apr, 17:10 Hrs IST)

Mediaone Global Entertainment to convene board meeting (1-Apr, 16:55 Hrs IST)

Mcleod Russel India's director resigns (1-Apr, 16:20 Hrs IST)

United Phosphorus allots equity shares (1-Apr, 16:17 Hrs IST)

SEL Manufacturing Company's director resigns (1-Apr, 15:48 Hrs IST)

GAIL signs short term-sheet with Gujarat State Petroleum (1-Apr, 15:30 Hrs IST)

Simplex Trading & Agencies' director resigns (1-Apr, 15:25 Hrs IST)

Shiv Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services allots warrants (1-Apr, 15:18 Hrs IST)

Heritage Foods India commissions six more retail stores (1-Apr, 15:05 Hrs IST)

DCM Shriram Industries allots equity shares (1-Apr, 15:02 Hrs IST)

Sudal Industries to convene board meeting (1-Apr, 15:00 Hrs IST)

Gruh Finance to announce financial results (1-Apr, 14:57 Hrs IST)

Cera Sanitaryware to convene board meeting (1-Apr, 14:54 Hrs IST)

Accentia Technologies acquires 51% stake in Oak Technologies Inc USA (1-Apr, 14:50 Hrs IST)

India March manufacturing growth at 8-mth low

Indian manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in eight months in March, slipping further from its peak in December as consumer demand softened due to high interest rates, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The ABN AMRO Bank purchasing managers' index (PMI) softened to a seasonally adjusted 57.5 in March, its lowest reading since July, from 59.5 in February and below December's 61.9, which was the highest reading since the survey began in April 2005.
A reading above 50 signals expansion while readings below 50 suggest contraction.
The index reflects government data, which has shown annual industrial output growth slowing in recent months from double-digit rates at the start of the fiscal year in April 2007.
The PMI, compiled by UK-based NTC research and sponsored by the Dutch bank, tracks changes in manufacturing business conditions by polling 500 companies each month on output, new orders, employment and prices.
Inflation, including higher prices for raw materials, lower export orders and a slump in consumer demand have depressed manufacturing output in recent months.
The output index fell to an eight-month low of 60.3 in March from 62.2 in February. The new orders index eased to an eight-month low of 64.0 in March from 68.4 in February.
The export index dropped to an eight-month low of 53.0 in March from 55.7 in February.
The input price index fell to 53.8 in March from 57.5 in February, and factory-gate prices fell to an eight-month low of 51.7 in March from 54.2 in February.
In contrast, government data on Friday showed wholesale price inflation soared to a 14-month high of 6.68 percent in the middle of March, well above the central bank's comfort zone of around 5 percent.
Most forecasters expect India's economic growth to have slowed in the fiscal year that ended on Monday from the year-earlier pace of 9.6 percent, which was the strongest growth in 18 years.
The central bank has kept its main lending rate unchanged at 7.75 percent for a year, having raised it five times between June 2006 and March 2007. It also raised the proportion of cash that banks have to keep in reserve with the central bank to keep monetary conditions tight.

India cuts duties, bans rice exports to ease prices

India on Monday scrapped import duties on crude edible oils and banned exports of non-basmati rice amid a raft of measures to stem rising inflation, which hit a 14-month high in mid-March and has alarmed policymakers.
Surging prices of essentials such as wheat, sugar, edible oils and steel have drawn howls of protest from the government's communist allies as well as the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Many of the drivers -- rising demand in developing nations, severe weather, biofuel production, hot commodity markets -- are global, but for India's governing coalition the headaches are very much local with nearly a dozen states going to the polls this year and general elections due by May 2009.
After four hours of debate with ministerial colleagues, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said import duty on all edible oil in crude form would be slashed to zero percent with immediate effect.
Duty on maize imports was cut to zero from 15 percent, while a ban on exports of pulses was extended for 12 months. All exports of non-basmati rice had to stop, the minister said.
While the cabinet committee on prices deferred a decision on tackling steel and iron ore prices as the steel minister was overseas, the minister cautioned firms not to hike rates.
"There are some reports that steel producers are planning to raise prices. I would on behalf of the government advise them to observe restraint," Chidambaram told reporters.
Hours before the ministers met, Reserve Bank of India Governor Y.V. Reddy told reporters in Mumbai that he was ready to act against what he described as "unacceptably" high inflation if necessary, but any steps needed careful thought.

LIMITED OPTIONS
Indian bond yields rose to their highest in more than five months on Monday on expectations a surge in inflation will lead to a monetary policy response from the central bank.
Before the latest fiscal moves, commentators said monetary policy tools could also work to an extent but tackling food price inflation required a long-term strategy while the politics demanded a quick fix.
"I think they have not realised the enormity of food price inflation. It affects landless labourers, the urban poor and the middle class," said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan.
"For the Congress party, food price inflation could put a dampener on the farm loan waiver. It's a very serious issue."
The Congress party-led government made a $15 billion scheme to write off the debts of millions of small farmers the centrepiece of its budget presented late in February.
Chidambaram said on Friday the government was determined to take all measures including fiscal, monetary and supply side moves, to moderate inflation, and was ready to accept lower growth to trim prices.
Annual wholesale inflation -- the most widely watched measure -- jumped to 6.68 percent in mid March, largely driven by foods and manufactured product prices and economists expect it to remain high for a few months.

ALLIES PILE PRESSURE
The government's communist allies, who provide the government with a parliamentary majority from outside the coalition, on Sunday stepped up the pressure, setting an April 15 deadline for it to begin steps to bring down prices or face protests.
In recent weeks, the authorities had already cut import duty on palm oil, banned exports of edible oils, and scrapped tax refund schemes for exports of steel and cement.
Rice imports had been made cheaper through duty cuts and exports had already been severely curbed.
With polls looming and leftist allies on the attack while growth is already showing signs of moderating, analysts say the government is likely to continue to use fiscal steps ahead.
"From a political perspective, food inflation matters more than non-food inflation to voters and the government is likely to continue resorting to fiscal measures, including increased subsidies to check food inflation," Rajeev Malik, analyst at JPMorgan, wrote in a recent research report.
"A hike in policy rates cannot be completely ruled out but the central bank is likely to favour tightening liquidity conditions before considering the option to hike rates."
The central bank has kept its repo rate, through which it infuses funds into the banking system, at 7.75 percent for the past 12 months, its highest rate since November 2002.

East Asia faces uncertainty, slower 2008: World Bank

East Asia faces challenging times in 2008 as falling exports and reduced business spending result in slower economic growth at a time when rising food prices push up inflation rates, the World Bank said. In its semi-annual report released on Tuesday, the World Bank predicted 7.3 percent growth for East Asia, excluding Japan. Developing Asia, which also excludes Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, would expand 8.6 percent, which will be its lowest growth rate since 2002, and down from 10.2 percent in 2007, the fastest pace since the early 1990s. Given the high level of uncertainty about the global outlook, spawned by the U.S. subprime mortgage financial turmoil, the World Bank said it was assuming a range of outcomes for the external environment in making these forecasts. It assumes the U.S. economy could grow anywhere between 0.5 and 1.4 percent this year, down from 2.2 percent in 2007. The Eurozone could see growth in a 1.3-1.7 percent range, compared with 2.7 percent in 2007. The World Bank predicts China's growth would dip below 10 percent in 2008 after five years of double-digit rates. "The near-term outlook for the region will depend to a large extent on the robustness of domestic demand in the face of slowing exports," the World Bank said. Exports to markets outside the United States and domestic demand had propped up Asia in the latter half of 2007, it said. Private consumer spending picked up and business spending was strong in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. While business investment spending could slow this year, it could prove more resilient than in the 2001 recession, due to higher levels of capacity utilisation and stronger corporate balance sheets, it said. Moreover, domestic banks appeared to have had minor exposure to the subprime mortgage crisis and credit flows remained healthy despite the volatility in equity and bond markets. "Current account surpluses and large foreign reserves should provide a buffer that will enable economies to accommodate volatility in international capital flows without forcing the kinds of sudden large adjustments in domestic demand that became inevitable during the 1997-98 financial crises," the bank said. It said that in 2007, net current account surpluses totaled close to 9 percent of regional GDP, while net capital inflows were worth an additional percentage point of regional GDP. Limited spillover The World Bank said Asia's export growth seemed to be either gradually easing, or even recovering in parts, unlike in 2001 when a U.S. downturn caused export momentum to plunge, and that supported the case for a soft landing for the region. While regional equity markets had succumbed to the risk aversion and financial turbulence in U.S. markets and offshore financing costs had increased, domestic credit terms remained unaffected, it said. Exports to the United States as a share of East Asia's purely extra-regional exports have fallen from 34 percent in 1999 to 29 percent in 2006, it said. "Nevertheless, past experience shows that underlying deterioration in bank asset quality can remain obscured during a period of fast growth such as East Asia has experienced in recent years," it warned. It also said the spillovers from the credit market turmoil onto the East Asian financial sector would need to be closely monitored and re-evaluated as the turmoil intensifies and spreads to an increasingly wider classes of assets. Inflation risks But the bigger challenge for Asia would be managing rising inflation in economies already showing signs of over-heating and excessively rapid credit growth, the World Bank said. Rising food and fuel prices have driven inflation to a 26-year high in Singapore, nearly 14-month high in India and highest in more than a decade in Hong Kong and China. The World Bank said Asia needed to continue its move towards more flexible exchange rates, so it can make better use of monetary policy to tackle inflationary pressures. But it also warned that food comprised a larger share of consumption in developing countries than in the developed world. In East Asia, that ranges between 31 and 50 percent, it said. "Other things being equal, the surge in food prices is therefore likely to increase poverty in the low and lower middle income countries of the region, although against that must be set the poverty reducing impact of continued robust economic growth."

Japan business sentiment hits 4-year low - tankan

Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers has sunk to a four-year low, a Bank of Japan survey showed on Tuesday, further evidence of a worsening economic outlook and reinforcing market speculation that the central bank may cut rates later in the year.
Worries about the global credit crunch, rising raw material costs, fragile share prices and a stronger yen contributed to weaker confidence, and the outlook for the coming quarter was even bleaker.
Eroding optimism also led to the weakest capital spending plans by large firms in six years. Economists warned that companies were underestimating the effect of a stronger yen, suggesting further profit and capital spending downgrades.
"The BOJ faces a difficult situation, with a growth slowdown coming at a time when consumer prices are rising," said Joseph Kraft, managing director at Japanese Capital Markets at Dresdner Kleinwort.
"It's highly likely the BOJ will keep interest rates on hold in coming months, but this tankan suggests the probability may rise for a rate cut before the year-end if data in coming months is weak and back up the deterioration in sentiment."
The BOJ's closely watched tankan quarterly corporate survey showed the headline index of big manufacturers' sentiment fell to plus 11 from plus 19 in the previous survey, and below the market's median forecast of plus 13.
That was the lowest since a reading of plus 7 in December 2003 and the eight-point drop was biggest in three years, but financial markets mostly took the survey in stride.
The yen fell slightly against the dollar after the tankan to trade around 99.80 yen Tokyo stock market's Nikkei average .N225 ignored the survey. It lost 18 percent in January-March, the worst worst quarterly performance since 2001. The outlook for June was plus 7, a sign that big manufacturers expect conditions to worsen. The index is the percentage of firms reporting a favourable business environment minus those reporting unfavourable conditions.

WEAKEST CAPEX PLANS IN 6 YEARS
The tankan, meaning short-term economic outlook, also showed big firms planned to cut capital spending, which has been a key engine for Japan's growth, by 1.6 percent in the business year that started on Tuesday.
That was the bleakest capital spending reading for a March tankan since 2002, although companies tend to be cautious on capital spending at the start of the business year and gradually revise up their plans as the year progresses.
Cabinet ministers stuck to the view that the world's second-largest economy is stalling, and remained cautious.
"I am very worried about declines in capital spending plans, particularly for big manufacturers," Economics Minister Hiroko Ota told a news conference.
"The key to the outlook for Japan's economy is how big and how long the U.S. economic slowdown would be," she said.
Japan's economy grew a surprisingly strong 0.9 percent in the last quarter of 2007, but economists expect growth to slow in 2008 amid fears that the U.S. economy -- Japan's No.2 trading partner after China -- is heading into recession.
Japan's annual inflation hit a decade-high 1.0 percent in February, but that was due to rising oil and food prices and not prompted by an improving economy, giving the central bank the dilemma of dealing with rising prices in a slowing economy.
No rate move is expected by most economists when the BOJ's policy board has its next meeting on April 8-9. Markets expect the central bank to leave interest rates at 0.5 percent for a while, though some see a rate cut on the horizon.
Investors are pricing in a 25 percent chance of a central bank rate cut by June and a 55 percent chance of a cut by the end of the year.
"When the index goes down for two straight quarters, about 80 percent of the time the economy risks tipping into a recession," said Yoshikiyo Shimamine, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
The yen has risen about 10 percent against the dollar so far this year. Big manufactures said in the tankan they see the dollar averaging 109.21 yen in fiscal 2008/09, down sharply from their previous outlooks but still putting the yen much weaker than it is trading at currently.
"This indicates ample possibilities for downward revisions in capital spending and earnings outlooks. I worry about the negative implications going forward," Shimamine said.
"But I don't expect a rate cut by the BOJ. They will likely maintain that the current rate level doesn't leave room for a cut and the economy is still generally growing."
Adding to concerns over the murky economic outlook, policy paralysis in parliament has left the central bank without a permanent governor and sparked speculation that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda could lose his job.

Air fares set to rocket as oilcos hike ATF prices by 12-14%

Air travellers will have to shell out more for their tickets, as airlines gear up to hike the fuel surcharge once again. The move follows one of the steepest increases in aviation fuel prices that comes into effect tonight. Oil companies have increased the price of aviation turbine fuel by 12-14% in various cities. Though domestic airlines had not yet decided on the quantum of increase, the fuel surcharge is likely to go up from Rs 1,650 per ticket now to about Rs 2,000, senior airline sources said. In a new development, some airlines like SpiceJet have decided not to pass on the increase uniformly to all passengers. The increase in surcharge for passengers travelling short distances, mostly on ATRs and other smaller aircraft will be between Rs 100 and Rs 150 while the medium and long-haul passengers will pay out Rs 350 to Rs 400 more. Passenger lobby groups have been asking for differential fuel surcharges depending on the distance travelled, for some time now. Airlines have been forced to accede to this, because higher fares have started killing passenger demand, particularly on shorter sectors where train fares are comparable. Growth in passenger demand has come down substantially in the first three months of this year.
Speaking to ET, the SpiceJet CEO Siddhanta Sharma said high air fares could stunt passenger growth, specially among the price-sensitive leisure segment. Fuel surcharge combined with congestion charge now amounts to Rs 1,800 per ticket. The impact is felt most by short haul passengers who could end up paying a surcharge higher than the basic fare. Domestic airlines last increased fuel surcharge in December, after which oil prices had started softening. Though oil companies reduced ATF prices in January and February there was no relief for passengers as airlines did not cut the surcharge. However, oil prices have increased significantly in the past one month, with the Indian crude oil basket breaching the $100/bbl mark. The increase in prices is maximum at India’s busiest airport in Mumbai, where airlines also face high sales tax. The new price for ATF at Mumbai is Rs 55,192 per KL. The minister for civil aviation Praful Patel says has been asking state governments to cut sales tax on aviation fuel. Airlines too have been lobbying for a cut in taxes, as aviation fuel in India now costs about 70% more than in Singapore or Dubai. From the point of view of the oil companies, ATF is one of the few products that they make profits on, since prices are passed on every month to the airlines. They lose money on the bulk of other petroleum products like petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG.

MARKET PREDICTION

GLOBAL MARKETS ARE IN GREEN ITS A JUST RELIEF RALLY ON APRIL FOOL DAY.
MARKET IS FORMING LOWER TOP AND LOWER BOTTOM.
LEVEL FOR NIFTY IS 4600-4680-4730-4800-4910.

TOTAL MARKET ROLLOVER WAS 71% TOTAL OI IS 42K CR AND IT IS CRAWL UPTO 49K CR TILL 31.3.08.
PUTCALL RATIO IS 1.19.

POSITIVE SECTOR FOR THE DAY IF MARKET SUSTAIN ABOVE 4800 IS FMCG BECAUSE OF OI .
IF MARKET DOES NOT SUSTAIN 4750 GO SHORT IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICE.
SEBI GAVE TWO BOUNCER YESTERDAY ONE MINIMUM NETWORTH OF RS 5 L FOR TRADING IN F&O & ADVISORY WOULD BE BANNED .

Brokers shall not executive transactions for own account in securities ahead of making recommendations to their clients in such securities.

HAVE A NICE TRADING DAY.......

- BY MR. SAM

State Bank completes acquisition of GTF

Country's largest lender State Bank of India on Monday said it has completed the acquisition of leading factoring firm Global Trade Finance (GTF). SBI had sealed the deal in January-end by picking up a 91 per cent stake in GTF for about Rs 525 crore. The bank acquired the stake from three promoters of GTF -- Export-Import Bank of India (40 per cent), International Finance Corporation (12.5 per cent) and Fim Bank Malta (38.5 per cent) while the remaining nine per cent is being held by Bank of Maharashtra. Global Trade is one of the country's biggest players with a marketshare of close to 40 per cent. SBI is already present in the factoring business through its company, SBI Factors and Commercial Services, in which it is the majority stakeholder. With this acquisition, SBI's marketshare increases substantially. "This acquisition is a part of SBI's overall strategy to be able to offer a full bouquet of services to its very large and diverse client base," SBI said in a release issued today. While SBI Factors, the first factoring company in the country, has been mainly focusing on domestic factoring, Global Trade has been extending export factoring services to its customers and is the largest export factor in the country. Following the acquisition, "State Bank expects both companies to complement each other and help SBI to consolidate its leadership in both SME business and export financing, where State Bank has traditionally had a strong presence," the release stated. The public sector lender said its strong domestic and international presence combined with its high brand equity were "expected to benefit the newly-acquired company."

NEWS UPDATES

• The Steel Authority of India is scouting for fluxes mines to meet the requirement of the company, which is slated to produce 26 million tons of hot metal by 2010-11.
• The board of directors of IL&FS Investment Managers, at its meeting held on Apr. 01, 2008, approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1 equity share for every 2 shares held.
• Investors mostly got a raw deal from the stock Markets, with as many as 1,000 Companies, including top five IT firms Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Satyam and HCL Tech, collectively losing over Rs 2,50,000 crore in market value in 2007-08.
• Essel Propack buys US medical devices firm.
• The Reserve Bank is likely to tighten money supply in its annual credit policy on April 29 to rein in inflation, but the move may not push interest rates up because of huge liquidity in the banking system.
• Reliance Petroleum (RPL) will raise USD 500 million and has roped in a consortium of six international banks for the same.
• Aptech has disclosed a phenomenal jump in net profits for the year ended in December 2007. During the quarter, the company swung to the profits of Rs 24.60 million from net loss of Rs 66.60 million in the year ended December 2006.
• Swiss bank UBS AG says it expects to post first quarter net losses of $12 billion and to seek $15 billion in new capital.Switzerland's largest bank also said in a statement Tuesday that it sees losses and writedowns of approximately $19 billion on U.S. real estate and related credit positions. Its chairman Marcel Ospel will step down, to be succeeded by Peter Kurer.
• Global Internet firm AOL's call centre facility in Bangalore has been acquired by Aegis BPO Services - an Essar group company. The value of the deal has not been disclosed by the companies. Industry sources, however, peg it around $30 million (Rs 120 crore).
• BSE to launch Sensex futures on US bourse: Report
• India ranks 44th in most-preferred retail locations list: Report
• Tata Motors to invest Rs 6K cr in Pune, M&M readies Rs 1,500 cr for Chakan
• Ferrari may drive into India in 2010
• Barclays to set up private bank in India

China CLSA Purchasing Managers' Index Rises to 54.4

China's manufacturing activity expanded at the quickest pace in five months as output and domestic orders increased, according to a survey by CLSA Asia- Pacific Markets.
The Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.4 in March from 52.8 in February, CLSA said today in an e-mailed statement. A separate report, published jointly by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics, also showed a higher reading.
Rising domestic consumption may help the world's fastest- growing major economy weather a slowdown in exports as the global economy cools. Retail sales increased at the quickest pace in at least nine years in January and February.
``Chinese manufacturing is revealed to be growing rapidly, mainly due to the strength of orders from the domestic economy,'' said Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA in Singapore.
The worst snowstorms in half a century disrupted activity in January and February.
The CLSA index is based on replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives at more than 400 industrial companies. The survey tracks changes in output, new orders, employment, prices, inventories and delivery times. The data is seasonally adjusted.
``It was the insight into inflationary pressures that was most valuable,'' said Fishwick. ``And worryingly, input, output and export price indices all hit record highs in March.''
China's inflation surged to an 11-year high of 8.7 percent in February.
The output index rose to 55.6 in March from 53.2 in February, while the index of new orders climbed to 57.8 from 55.1. The index of export orders fell to 50.9 from 51.9.
A reading above 50 indicates an expansion and a reading below 50 a contraction.