Indian Share Market
The first timer: For those who have not entered the market, a falling market is a wonderful opportunity to start investing in a portfolio of stocks as well as in mutual funds, and at a much cheaper price.
Says VK Sharma, head (private broking & wealth management), HDFC Securities, “For those, who have missed the boat, a correction is a great opportunity to get stocks at a lower value.”
However, financial planners are more cautious. They feel that first-time investors should look at equity diversified funds initially. This allows them to have a slice of the entire market.
If you are starting out, try out a mix. Say if you have Rs 1 lakh to invest, you can put Rs 50,000 in equity diversified fund.
Also, depending upon you regular income flow, start two-four systematic investment plans (SIP) of Rs 5,000 each, one could be an equity-linked saving scheme that will give you tax benefits under Section 80C. Use the rest to buy some blue chip stocks.
Another strategy could be moving money through systematic transfer plans (STPs). Said Anil Rego, chief executive officer, Right Horizons, a financial planning firm, “When markets are falling, buy in tranches at different index levels by way of STP. In case of a sharper fall, move higher amount of money and quickly.”
A good erudition occurrence is to simply write down for a fortnight every dollar spent and write next to it what it was for. You will soon find that there are a lot of needless expenses, often caused by desire buying, where you have spent money on items that you neither needed or really wanted, and could easily have gone without.
Fund houses in no hurry to stock up on RIL shares
Indian fund managers say they are in no hurry to load up on shares of India’s largest corporate Reliance Industries (RIL) although there is no longer an overhang of the gas dispute with the Supreme Court verdict on Friday being positive for the refining and petrochemical giant.
Almost all mutual funds have been underweight on the RIL stock for the past few months because of the uncertainty over the legal outcome of the battle for gas from the Krishna Godavari basin gas field. But some fund managers do concede that they may have to increase their exposure to the stock if it starts gaining because of strong capital flows into India.
“It is certainly a positive for the company, but the market had worked out the worst case scenario and how much the stock price would be impacted by a positive or negative verdict,” said the head-equities at a local fund house.
On Friday 08-May-2010, Reliance Industries shares touched a high of Rs 1,060, before retreating to Rs 1033.85 at close, up 2.3% over the previous close. Reliance Industries has the highest weightage in the 30-share BSE Sensex (close to 12%) as well as in the 50-share NSE Nifty (a little over 10%). Since most diversified equity schemes are benchmarked to either of the two indices, fund managers risk underperforming their benchmarks if RIL shares move up sharply. Yet, domestic fund managers chose to take that gamble, and have not been hit hard since the stock has been underperforming key indices for a while now.
Losing streak continues; Nifty below 5100
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 16,987.53, down 100.43 points or 0.59 per cent. The index touched an intraday low of 16,823 after opened at 17,080.47.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 5090.30, down 34.60 points or 0.68 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5037.75 from a high of 5124.90.
“After breaking 50-DMA the market is moving to 200-DMA. Nifty is likely to find support at 4960 level. At the moment we are moving in a narrow range between 5000 and 5100. We would advise traders to buy on dips rather than booking profits. Banks and auto look good while real estate and sugar stocks are looking weak,” said Dharmesh Desai, vice president, Asian Market Securities.
The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.50 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.08 per cent.
Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Capital Goods Index was down 1 per cent and BSE Metal Index fell 0.98 per cent. BSE Healthcare Index advanced 1.40 per cent and BSE PSU Index moved 0.64 per cent higher.
Suzlon Energy (5.39%), Cipla (3.22%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (3%), BPCL (2.73%) and Sun Pharma (2.28%) were the top Nifty gainers.
Jindal Steel (-4.16%), ABB (-4.03%), Ambuja Cement (-3.75%), Tata Motors (-2.62%) and Cairn India (-2.41%) were amongst the major index losers.
Suzlon Energy shot up after ET NOW reported that India’s largest wind turbine supplier may soon bag orders worth $3 billion from the UK. The company is likely to enter a pact with UK's Caparo Group, ET NOW reported citing sources.
Shares of Cipla surged after ET NOW broke source-based story that the pharmaceutical major is in talks with Pfizer for a strategic partnership.
Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1,440 losers against 1,356 gainers.
European markets bounced back to positive territory ahead of ECB meet. US stock futures also indicated a positive start. At 4:30 pm IST, Dow Jones stock futures was up 0.25 per cent, S&P 500 advanced 0.36 per cent and Nasdaq 100 declined 0.18 per cent.
Low Rate Interest Mortgage Refinance Loans
The lower your interest rate on your refinance mortgage, the more money you will save. But not all refinance loans are
created equal. To get the low interest rates, follow these
three tips when applying for you refinancing.
1. Refinance Your whole Mortgage
Refinancing your whole mortgage will help you to be eligible for the lowest rates. Having split mortgages or a home equity line of credit elevates your risk level and rates. However, if you have a really good rate on one mortgage, then you may not want to come together those mortgages. Take the time to demand quotes for both loan situations. Within minutes, you can get an reply from lenders and know which is your best option.
2. Don't Cash Out Your Equity
Cashing out part or all of your home's equity will also raise your refinance tariff. So keep that equity in place whiles you apply for refinancing. It acts much like a down payment did for your unique home loan. The bigger your equity, the better your rates. If you want to tap into your equity, consider applying for a break up loan after you refinance, like a home equity line of credit. That way you won't be paying a higher rate on your whole principal.
3. Lower Your Rate With Points
As among your first mortgage, you can lower your rates by buying points. This is a bit dangerous in that you have to keep your loan for seven years usually to recoup the cost. To make sure this is your best choice, match up to lending offers. Calculate the cost of points and your potential savings.
National Stock Exchange
Mumbai- May 2010: End-of-the-day data on BSE showed that FIIs were net sellers at Rs 938 crore but this was marginally offset by a Rs 378 crore net inflow by domestic funds. Investors on Dalal Street remained jittery as doubts persisted about the effectiveness of the Greek bailout and also fears that the sovereign debt crisis there could spread to other Eurozone countries.
On the NSE, the broadbased nifty declined 34 points or 0.7% to settle at 5,091 — below the crucial 5,100 level. The nifty too closed at a two-month low level. The indices recovered from their early losses after European markets recouped and came into the black.
Among the sensex stocks, Tata Motors was the top loser, down 2.5% at Rs 815. Other top losers included Reliance Communications which was down nearly 2% to Rs 194 and Bharti which lost 1.9% to close at Rs 292. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost nearly a per cent to end the day at Rs 1,011 as investors awaited the Supreme Court ruling on the RIL-RNRL gas dispute, which is expected on Friday.
Personal Finance - Basic Tips
Good personal finance management spends within their
income, plan for the future and solve financial problems as they
arise. Poor personal finance management pay more, do without and
fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you
can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your
finances by planning your personal finances.
Planning your personal finances doesn't always come naturally,
and even if you're just beginning to take your financial matters
seriously, then you likely need a few personal finance tips.
Assess your current financial situation. One of the most significant goals for most people are financial independence. Collect accurate information about your personal financial situation. Calculate your net worth which includes the real estate, saving and retirement accounts, and all other assets. This will help you decide how much money you can set aside for meeting future needs and goals.
A basic personal finance tip is to make a budget. A personal
finance budget is information made up of your income and
expenses and the more accurate this information is, the more
likely you are be able to meet your goals and realize your
dreams. A personal finance budget should be made for at most one
year at a time and include a list of your monthly expenses.
All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all
your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find
expenditures that recur every month and expenditures that happen
less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small
sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions
and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually
going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals.
AIG Making ‘Real Money’
American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche, who promised to rebuild the bailed-out insurer, told investors for the first time the firm made “real money” after a $1.45 billion profit.
Benmosche cited the first-quarter results as evidence the New York-based firm is stabilizing after housing-market losses forced it into a 2008 government rescue. Investment income surged on gains in private equity and hedge-fund holdings, and writedowns on securities narrowed to $309 million from about $3.7 billion a year earlier, AIG said yesterday.
“When you look at the pluses and minuses, they netted out to a quarter in which we made real money and we made real progress in positioning this company for the future,” Benmosche said in an audio statement on AIG’s website. “We are taking the right steps to ensure that we earn the confidence of the marketplace.”
Benmosche, 65, took charge in August of a company reeling from almost $100 billion in 2008 net losses and a government rescue that swelled to $182.3 billion. He told employees that month that he would rebuild AIG businesses before divesting them to repay taxpayers and then announced in March that he had struck deals to sell two non-U.S. life insurance divisions for about $51 billion.
AIG advanced $1.95, or 5.3 percent, to $38.70 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday, the second-biggest winner on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The firm has climbed 45 percent since Benmosche started on Aug. 10. Profit excluding some investments was $1.21 a share, beating the average 48-cent estimate of two analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. In the year- earlier period AIG had a net loss of $4.35 billion.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened with sharp losses on Sunday, but currency exchange rates climbed again quickly as the world eyed the effects of the European market drops.
The TA-25 was down by 2%, after the market opened with a 3% loss. The TA-100 dropped 2.1%, and the Banks-5 gained 1% after dropping 3% at the opening of the stock market. The Real Estate-15 was down just 3.4% after it dropped 5% at the beginning of the day.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said late Saturday that he could not predict how the Greek crisis would develop and added that "if a pan-European crisis breaks out, it could reach us."
US and Canada Stock Market
The confidence of the investors are shaken due to the high levels of European government dents, as a result the US stock markets had one of the worst plunges today. Dow Jones had its worst fall since 1987 and went down by more than 9% today, however the good news is it started to recover but it was not able to ride back as before, and when it closed it was still down by 3.21%. While S&P was down by 3.27% and Nasdaq was 3.44% down.
Tow of the primary reasons considered for the fall are the Greece’s debt problem and it being made worse by the computer driven trade. Nasdaq which is tech-based index will try to scrutinize the trades that were made between 2pm to 3pm. Other company who will analyse the fall are Procter and Gamble whose stock fell by 37% at one stage. Bond prices increased and dollar fell against yen by 6%. Even oil prices fell and crude oil lost $2.86 and settled at $77.11 per barrel in New York. According to the President of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California, Keith Springer, “It could be a long-term negative for stock market because it could mean the long-term high is in place. It’s very likely we’ve seen the highs for this cycle.”
Even Canadian stock market hit the low on Thursday due to the European debts and the Iower crude-oil prices slumped, resulting in pushing the main energy index down too. Thursday seemed to be one of the days when the entire North American stock market took a plunge due to the European debt. So it has become one of the greatest concerns that European leaders are not doing enough to stop the region’sdebt problem, within a year as a result the global stock market had one of the biggest three day drop.