गब्बर सिंह - एक महापुरूष का चित्रण

1. सादा जीवन, उच्च विचार: उसके जीने का ढंग बड़ा सरल था. पुराने और मैले कपड़े, बढ़ी हुई दाढ़ी, महीनों से जंग खाते दांत और पहाड़ों पर खानाबदोश जीवन. जैसे मध्यकालीन भारत का फकीर हो. जीवन में अपने लक्ष्य की ओर इतना समर्पित कि ऐशो-आराम और विलासिता के लिए एक पल की भी फुर्सत नहीं. और विचारों में उत्कृष्टता के क्या कहने! 'जो डर गया, सो मर गया' जैसे संवादों से उसने जीवन की क्षणभंगुरता पर प्रकाश डाला था.

२. दयालु प्रवृत्ति: ठाकुर ने उसे अपने हाथों से पकड़ा था. इसलिए उसने ठाकुर के सिर्फ हाथों को सज़ा दी. अगर वो चाहता तो गर्दन भी काट सकता था. पर उसके ममतापूर्ण और करुणामय ह्रदय ने उसे ऐसा करने से रोक दिया.


3. नृत्य-संगीत का शौकीन: 'महबूबा ओये महबूबा' गीत के समय उसके कलाकार ह्रदय का परिचय मिलता है. अन्य डाकुओं की तरह उसका ह्रदय शुष्क नहीं था. वह जीवन में नृत्य-संगीत एवंकला के महत्त्व को समझता था. बसन्ती को पकड़ने के बाद उसके मन का नृत्यप्रेमी फिर से जाग उठा था. उसने बसन्ती के अन्दर छुपी नर्तकी को एक पल में पहचान लिया था. गौरतलब यह कि कला के प्रति अपने प्रेम को अभिव्यक्त करने का वह कोई अवसर नहीं छोड़ता था.


4. अनुशासनप्रिय नायक: जब कालिया और उसके दोस्त अपने प्रोजेक्ट से नाकाम होकर लौटे तो उसने कतई ढीलाई नहीं बरती. अनुशासन के प्रति अपने अगाध समर्पण को दर्शाते हुए उसने उन्हें तुरंत सज़ा दी.

5. हास्य-रस का प्रेमी: उसमें गज़ब का सेन्स ऑफ ह्यूमर था. कालिया और उसके दो दोस्तों को मारने से पहले उसने उन तीनों को खूब हंसाया था. ताकि वो हंसते-हंसते दुनिया को अलविदा कह सकें. वह आधुनिक युग का 'लाफिंग बुद्धा' था.


6. नारी के प्रति सम्मान: बसन्ती जैसी सुन्दर नारी का अपहरण करने के बाद उसने उससे एक नृत्य का निवेदन किया. आज-कल का खलनायक होता तो शायद कुछ और करता.


7. भिक्षुक जीवन: उसने हिन्दू धर्म और महात्मा बुद्ध द्वारा दिखाए गए भिक्षुक जीवन के रास्ते को अपनाया था. रामपुर और अन्य गाँवों से उसे जो भी सूखा-कच्चा अनाज मिलता था, वो उसी से अपनी गुजर-बसर करता था. सोना, चांदी, बिरयानी या चिकन मलाई टिक्का की उसने कभी इच्छा ज़ाहिर नहीं की.


8. सामाजिक कार्य: डकैती के पेशे के अलावा वो छोटे बच्चों को सुलाने का भी काम करता था. सैकड़ों माताएं उसका नाम लेती थीं ताकि बच्चे बिना कलह किए सो जाएं. सरकार ने उसपर 50,000 रुपयों का इनाम घोषित कर रखा था. उस युग में 'कौन बनेगा करोड़पति' ना होने के बावजूद लोगों को रातों-रात अमीर बनाने का गब्बर का यह सच्चा प्रयास था.


9. महानायकों का निर्माता: अगर गब्बर नहीं होता तो जय और वीरू जैसे लुच्चे-लफंगे छोटी-मोटी चोरियां करते हुए सिधार जाते. पर यह गब्बर के व्यक्तित्व का प्रताप था कि उन लफंगों में क्षमता जागी.

All that glitters is Gold

Gold has proved its mettle by outperforming the both the stock indices and the commodity space through the financial sector crisis in 2008 and it is believed that it will continue to perform well through the economic downturn whose depth is still a matter of speculation only. Gold held its fort in 2008, gaining around 6% versus a loss of 62% for oil, 38% for Aluminum and 57% for Copper. In terms of its performance against the indices, Sensex lost about 50%, while Dow Jones lost 34% and S&P 500 lost 39%.
Going forward volatility is expected to continue and a price range of $ 650 to $ 1000 cannot be ruled out. Analysts have, however, capped the top around $ 1050 only with the average prices for the year to range from $720 to $925. However, the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) panel's estimates for 2009 are for a gold price high of $1,074, a low of $721 and an average of $881. Opinions thus indicate a volatility range of about $ 300 for 2009.

Key factors to watch out for

• Inflation & USD: Inflation expectations of bail out packages to be announced by the Obama Govt. in US, the EU’s plans to tackle their financial woes coupled with currency movements of US dollar are expected to influence the gold prices significantly
• Oil Prices: Obama’s anti-terror policy against the Islamic world which is a major supplier of oil to the world and his handling of the strong anti-Palestine sentiment of the Israel would be a determinant in escalating/diffusing the world political crisis and has an attendant impact on the gold prices, going forward.
• Capital Market Performance: If equity markets start recovering on positive developments of economic revival, fresh investment flows in gold may take a back seat and the “safe haven” effect may get diluted to that extent as risk appetite would increase.

Demand Supply Equation
The demand side pressures and physical supplies constraints may continue to support the gold prices in the initial period of 2009.
On the Demand Side
• HNIs and retail investors alike have continued to show investment appetite in gold bars in recent months as a safety against mounting economic worries which will sustain the gold prices in the near future. Besides demand from Institutional Investors through the ETF route is also expected to weigh on metal supplies.
On the Supply Side
• South Africa, a major producer, has already been relegated to the third place behind China and US in mine production during 2008 with the South African output dropping by 14%.
• Supply from the Central Banks of certain European nations, who have been regularly offloading gold, has come down by as much as 42% in 2008 and the trend is expected to continue in 2009 also which would restrict the supply even as mine production is coming down every year.

Future still looks bright
• Analysts expect Gold to continue to outperform the equity markets and other commodities in the first half of 2009 as Investors would be wary of any rally in the equity market backed by the support from the governments. In fact, profit booking by safety-seeking investors may put the brakes on any long range equity rally in the first half of 2009.
• According to Gold Fields Mineral Resources, an internationally reputed research agency on gold, gold is expected to gain 23% to achieve a high of $ 1000 once again in the first half of 2009.
• According to Global Forex trading, a reputed forex research agency, the US dollar should weaken in the first half of 2009 and recover in the second half. Gold gains as dollar falls.
• Considering an expected price of $1050 for the gold, and for a maximum exchange rate for USD/INR of Rs 50, the landed price of gold in India may touch Rs 17120.

Explanation of Tax Benefits

Premiums paid for Life insurance - Deduction under Section 80C

1. Category of assesses allowed deduction: Individual assessee and Hindu Undivided Family assessee.
2. Eligible Savings: Premiums paid or deposited by assessee to effect or to keep in force insurance on the life of following persons:
   • In case of individual assessee – Himself/Herself, spouse, children of such individual
   • In case of HUF assessee – any member
3. 20% limit: If the amount of premium paid in a financial year for a policy is in excess of 20% of the actual capital sum assured, then deduction will be allowed only for premiums upto 20% of the sum assured.
4. Limit on amount of deduction: Deduction will be restricted to investments upto Rs 100,000 in savings specified under Section 80C (including life insurance premiums). If any investments have been made under Section 80CCC and 80CCD, then the qualifying amount under Section 80C will stand reduced to that extent.

Premiums paid for Pension plans - Section 80CCC

1. Permitted Deduction: Section 80CCC allows for deduction of premiums paid under a pension plan. As per this Section, premiums paid upto Rs 10,000 (till FY 2005-06) & Rs. 1 Lakh (from FY 2006-07) by an individual is allowed as deduction from his total income.
2. Disallowance: This benefit will be reversed if the policy lapses / is cancelled.
3. Limit: It may be noted that from FY2005-06, the limit of deduction under Section 80CCC will be part of the overall limit prescribed under Section 80CCE.
4. Receipt under Policy: Amounts received on surrender (whole/part) of annuity plan, amounts received as Pension is taxed as income.

Premiums paid for medical insurance - Section 80D

1. Category of assesses allowed deduction: Individual assessee and Hindu Undivided Family assessee.
2. Eligible premiums: Premiums paid by assessee by any mode other than cash out of his taxable income to effect or to keep in force an insurance on the health of following persons:
   • In case of individual assessee – Himself/Herself, spouse, dependant children and parents. The condition of dependency of parent has been removed from FY 2008-09. In other words, even if the parent is independent, the individual can pay the premia and claim the deduction.
   • In case of HUF assessee – any member of HUF
3. Deduction and upper limit: The qualifying amounts under Section 80D for self, spouse and dependent children is upto Rs. 15,000/- and additional deduction upto Rs. 15,000/- for the parents (from FY 2008-09 onwards). However, a higher amount of upto Rs 20,000/- is permitted if the person, for whose health insurance the premium was paid, was aged 65 years or more at any time during the financial year in which the premium was paid. Such amounts of premium paid would be allowed as deduction from the total income of the assessee.

Overall deduction limit - Section 80CCE

A new Section 80CCE has been inserted from FY2005-06. As per this section, the maximum amount of deduction that an assessee can claim under Sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD will be limited to Rs 100,000.

Benefits under insurance policy - Section 10(10D)

As per Section 10(10D) of Income tax Act, 1961, any sum received under a life insurance policy, including the sum allocated by way of bonus on such policy is exempt from tax.
However, this rule does not apply to following amounts:

• sum received under Section 80DD(3), or
• any sum received under a Keyman Insurance Policy, or
• any sum received other than as death benefit under an insurance policy which has been issued on or after April 1 2003 and if the premium paid in any of the years during the term of the policy is more than 20% of the sum assured.

Tax Rates for Individuals

The rates of income-tax for FY 2008-09

Total Income (Rs.)	Rate of Tax
	Senior Citizen	Women below 65 years	Others
Upto Rs 150,000/-	Nil	Nil	Nil
Above Rs 150,000/- to 180,000/-	Nil	Nil	10%
Above Rs 180,000/- to 225,000/-	Nil	10%	10%
Above Rs 225,000 to Rs 300,000	10%	10%	10%
Above Rs 300,000 to Rs 500,000	20%	20%	20%
Above Rs 500,000/-	30%	30%	30%

Surcharge on Income Tax:

In case where the Total Income exceeds Rs 10,00,000, there would be a surcharge @ 10%.Marginal relief is available to assessee whose income just exceeds Rs. 10,00,000.

Education Cess on Income Tax

Edcuation Cess @2% will be payable on the amount of income tax (including surcharge).

Secondary & Higher Education Cess on Income Tax

Additional Education Cess @1% will be payable on the amount of Income tax (Including surcharge).

‘Income’ amidst falling interest rates

Income funds can gain a substantial size of one’s portfolio for longer term in the current falling interest rate scenario but investment depends on the investor's risk appetite, investment horizon and other investment options.

At a time when most of the investment products have given negative returns, investors are left with fewer options to park their hard-earned money into. However, falling interest rates can be taken advantage of by investing in income funds, as these funds tend to perform well when the interest rates are falling.

What are Income funds?

Income funds are debt funds that generally invest in fixed income securities, such as bonds, corporate debentures, government securities and short-term instruments, such as commercial papers.

Along with stability of capital, such schemes emphasize on providing regular income, which comes from coupon payments. The instruments in which the fund invests generate fixed returns and as such the fund can provide income to investors.

Typically, these funds bet on interest rate fluctuations, their performance being in inverse proportion to the interest rates. Thus, when there is a drop in interest rates, the yield from such schemes increases and vice-versa. At present, with inflationary pressures cooling off, the interest rates are expected to move southwards. This can be a good opportunity for investors to earn returns by allocating a portion of their portfolio towards income funds.

Depending upon the interest rate movement anticipated, the fund manager can invest in bonds with different maturities which could range from anything between a year to fifteen years.

Advantages

Higher returns through flexible maturity

Owing to their flexible maturity profile, income funds gain an upper hand over conventional debt products, like bonds and fixed deposits. Whenever there are lesser chances of a rise in interest rates, fund managers prefer to extend the duration of the fund’s portfolio, which increases the return of the portfolio. As against this, fixed deposits do not have any such flexibility.

Tax gain

Income funds offer an additional benefit of tax advantage, making them a good alternative to fixed deposits. This is because interest earned on fixed deposits is not exempted from tax..

Charges for premature withdrawal

Most of the banks charge a fee for premature withdrawal of fixed deposits, which is not true in the case of income funds.

Tax Implications

Debt funds, except liquid and money market funds, pay a Dividend Distribution Tax of 14.16 per cent (When income is distributed to Individuals and HUFs). In the long term, they have the benefit of Indexation, which gives the option of paying taxes – 20 per cent with indexation benefits and 10 per cent without indexation benefits (whichever is lower).

Risk factor

As compared to equity funds, these funds are less risky. However, these funds are subject to fluctuations in interest rates. Such risks are high over the short term; hence, investment in income funds should ideally be for a slightly longer duration – at least a year.

Another risk faced by income funds is the default or credit risk. It refers to the possibility that the issuer of the fixed income security may default, that is, the issuer may be unable to make timely payments of the principal and interest amounts due to some financial crisis arising at the time of payment. While there is no default risk on government securities, the same does not hold true for corporate debt, where there exists a possibility of default. Fund managers, thus, strive to allocate most of their corpus to high-rated debt, whose issuers have strong creditworthiness.

Conclusion

Over the long term, income funds tend to generate better returns than short-term funds. Investments in income funds should be done at the peak of the interest rate cycle. Systematic investment plans are a good way of capturing growth instead of committing an upfront principal. This can be a good alternative to fixed deposit as the product offers an additional benefit of tax advantage too.

Such schemes can be a part of the portfolio of retired individuals as well as young investors.

Understanding cyclical stocks and their high risk – high return strategy

The world of finance conjures many images, one being that of a Ferris wheel. Economic cycles too seem similar to a Ferris wheel – constantly rotating as your investments sometimes fly high during the good times, and crash to abysmally low levels during downturns.

What are these economic cycles in the first place? Let us look at this in more detail.

Synopsis:

• Cyclical stocks are great investment opportunities
• They call for a high risk – high return strategy
• They follow economic cycles, and can be selected basis some indicators
• Price to book ratio, insider buying, cash reserves, and industrial cycles should be considered

Understanding economic cycles

A Ferris wheel completes a revolution within minutes. By contrast, the economic cycle takes years to spin, with distinct phases that can be observed before it completes a full revolution.

These phases can be broadly categorised as:

i) Growth or Expansion: In this phase, the economy experiences a growth in production, a low interest rate regime and a growth in prices.

ii) Peak: After the expansion stage, the economy hits a peak of growth, with production surpassing real demand.

iii) Recession or Contraction: The peak leads to a crisis due to the inability of the economy to grow further. Therefore, there is a slowdown in production, and a high interest rate regime is evident.

iv) Trough: This is the lowest point of the recession in an economic cycle, and the period has the lowest economic activity.

v) Recovery: With prices having fallen to their lowest ever, markets recover because of attractive valuations. In the broader economy, the recovery happens due to low prices as well.

What are cyclical stocks?

When the economic cycle is in an upswing, certain industries and sectors perform well, such as shipping, leisure, infrastructure and automobiles. During this phase, the demand for goods and services such as cement and power is on the rise.However, when the economy starts to decline, countries tend to reduce spending on such industries. The stocks of companies that produce such products and services, which are impacted by business cycles, are known as cyclical stocks.

Investment in cyclical stocks

Does it make sense to invest in cyclical stocks?

At first glance, they might seem to be a risky proposition, but the higher risk also holds the potential to give a higher reward on your investment.

Cyclical stocks can prove be a good medium term investment as they tend to outperform stocks of companies that show consistent performance when the tide of the economic cycle begins to change towards growth. However, timing is crucial, and one of the greatest tools that can be used to pick a great cyclical stock is the Price to Book Ratio, calculated by using the following formula:

Price to Book ratio = Stock Price/Total Assets of the company-Intangible Assets and Liabilities.

When prices are lower than the book value, there are chances that the stock may rise to coincide with book value. These stocks typically perform well during an economic recovery.

Another good indicator of a cyclical stock is insider buying. If a company’s management is busy buying its own stock, it could be an indicator for good times ahead for the stock you are considering.

Companies with good cash reserves are also a good pick. If a company is not capable of surviving a recession, it will certainly not qualify as a good investment decision.

Conclusion: As investment opportunities, cyclical stocks can be an important part of your portfolio. They present great investment opportunities for investors, who have an appetite to handle the higher risk.

The main risk is that when the economy is doing well, these stocks rise quickly, but when a recession sets in, cyclical stocks can tumble just as fast.

Studying the balance sheet of companies is important when you are looking to invest in cyclical stocks. It is also important to know the industry and the industrial cycle of the companies you looking to invest in, since each industry has its own cycle.

Industry lobby retracts report on 25 % job cuts

New Delhi: After invoking considerable concern and anxiety among millions of working Indians, a leading industry lobby Friday retracted its earlier analysis that the country's corporate sector in seven major industries was proposing 25 percent job cuts over the next 10 days.
"Assocham withdraws its report of 25 percent job cuts, clarifying that it was not representative of the industrial segment in its totality," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
The statement came even as another apex chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) ruled out any immediate threat of large-scale layoffs in Indian industry.
Even Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had told reporters on the margins of a briefing on cabinet decisions here Friday that the government did not believe in the so-called analysis of Assocham.
"Growth at nine percent would signal rapid creation of jobs. But growth at lower rate does not imply destructive employment situation," the finance minister maintained. "It is for this reason that I disagree with the Assocham study."
In the widely reported analysis, the chamber said companies in seven sectors - steel, cement, real estate, information technology-enabled services, financial and brokerage services, construction and aviation - were looking at job cuts.
"Much more serious and alarming situation is emerging post-Diwali, under which corporate India is likely to announce lay off of nearly 25 percent workforce in next 10 days in seven key industrial segments," Assocham had said.
"I have been consistent over the last few months in saying Indian economy is facing some serious challenges as a result of many quarters of tight monetary policy and the more recent International banking crisis," Ficci president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
"However, we do not believe any immediate threats exist of the form that Assocham is alluding to. We should not panic," he said, adding several steps were needed to put the economy back on the growth track.
"A steady, calm and complete approach is what is required at this very critical stage of expansion of our economy - which, as you realise, is being driven primarily by private investments
."

Sensex breaches 13000; Nifty below 3900

Markets are trading sharply lower on the back of selling pressure in realty, banking, metal, power, capital goods and auto stocks. Reliance Comm, ICICI Bank, Reliance Ind, Cairn, Suzlon, Tata Steel and HDFC are draggers of indices. The Nifty breached 3,950 as well. Indian Rupee is trading at 43.38 a dollar. Weak European markets also added to negative sentiments.

At 2:17 pm, the Sensex was down 282 points at 13,179 and Nifty down 90 points at 3,950. Nifty July Futures was trading at 45 points discount.

Market breadth is negative; about 604 shares are advancing while 2286 shares declining. Nearly 242 shares are unchanged.

Reliance Comm, Hindalco, Reliance Infra, Unitech and Idea Cellular are top losers while Satyam, NTPC, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Comm and GAIL gainers.

Realty Index plunged 6%, Metal, Bankex, Power, Capital Goods, Auto, Midcap and Small cap fell 2-4%. Oil & Gas, FMCG and Healthcare slid over 1%.

European markets crashed after the news that UK average home prices decline 6.3% in June (YoY), which is biggest drop since 1992. Banking stocks hit the most. FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX crashed over 1%.

Markets @ 1 pm : Mkts plunge; Rel Comm, ICICI Bk, Rel Infra top losers

Markets slip further and trading at day's low. The BSE realty index plunged 4.85%. Heavy selling pressure is also seen in bank, power and capital good stocks. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices were down over 2% each. However, only IT index was trading in green as rupee depreciate further and hits low of 43.44/$ in today's trade.

At 1 pm, the Sensex is down 192.56 points or 1.43% at 13269.04, and the Nifty is down 66.60 points or 1.65% at 3973.95.

Market breadth is down; about 644 shares have advanced, 2248 shares declined, and 240 shares are unchanged.

Top losers on the bourses are Cairn India at Rs 250.40 down 8.85%, Suzlon Energy at Rs 197.40 down 8.59%, Reliance Comm at Rs 409.50 down 7.44%, ICICI Bank at Rs 598.55 down 5.02% and Reliance Infra at Rs 746 down 4.94%.

Most active shares on BSE are MVL, Reliance Industries and Rel Capital.

Mkts weak; Nifty struggles around 4000

The markets are witnessing selling pressure on the back of weakness in realty, auto, power, banking, metal and capital goods stocks. The Nifty is still struggling around 4000 mark. Market breadth is weak; about 749 shares are advancing while 2132 shares declining. Nearly 251 shares are unchanged.

At 12:05 pm, the Sensex was down 88 points at 13,372 and Nifty down 40 points at 3,999. Nifty July Futures was trading at 43 points discount.

Top losers are Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Comm, Tata Motors, Cairn India and Suzlon Energy while Satyam, Wipro, Grasim, HCL Tech and Tata Comm gainers.

Indian Rupee has hit low of 43.39 per dollar, which means dollar is more expensive for India now. April-May trade deficit stood at USD 20.64 billion; oil imports shot up by 48.5% at $16.49 billion.

May trade deficit was at $10.8 billion as against USD 7.1 billion (YoY), imports up by 27.1% at $24.5 billion and exports up by 12.9% at $13.8 billion.

BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices fell over 2%. Amongst midcap stocks, shapura Mine, Phoenix Mills, Prakash Ind, Honeywell Autom, UCO Bank, GE Shipping, Shree Precoated, Educomp Sol and GVK Power plunged over 7%.

In the small cap space, Vipul, Hatsun Agro, Arihant Found, Borosil Glass, Kemrock Indus, Sahara One, Force Motors, Prime Focus, Diamond Cables and Nitco Tiles crashed over 7%.

BGR Energy bagged EPC order for 600 MW power project from Tamil Nadu worth Rs 3,100 crore. The stock went up marginally.

BILT hiked prices of coated paper by Rs 1,500 per tonne and uncoated by Rs 800/t.

Markets @ 11:18 am : Mkts volatile; Satyam, Grasim, Reliance Ind top gainers

Markets are trading with some volatility. Buying support seen from technology, oil, select metal and banking stocks while selling continues in realty, auto, some power and pharma stocks. The Nifty is back above 4050 after breaching 4000 mark in early trade on the back of buying in select largecap stocks.

At 11:18 am, the Sensex was up 82 points at 13,543 and Nifty up 10 points at 4,049. Nifty July Futures discount shrunk to 38 points as some short covering seen. Midcap and small cap indices fell over 1%.

Market breadth is negative; about 875 shares are advancing while 2008 shares declining. Nearly 249 shares are unchanged.

Satyam, Reliance Ind, Grasim and Hindalco are top gainers while Tata Motors, Reliance Comm, DLF, Zee Enter, ABB and Suzlon Energy losers.

MVL, Reliance Cap, Reliance Petro and Reliance Ind are most active counters on the bourses.

Realty Index fell -3.4%, Auto -1.13%, Power -0.76%, Healthcare -0.60% and FMCG -0.4% while IT gained 1.55% and Oil & Gas 0.74%.

On the primary market front, Sejal Architectural Glass went up 9.22% at Rs 125.60 as against issue price of Rs 115.

Markets @ 10:38 am : Mkts volatile; Nifty holds above 4000, Realty down 4%

The markets are witnessing some volatility as selling seen in realty, power, select capital goods, metal, auto and pharma stocks. However, IT stocks are trading with some buying interest. The Nifty has breached its psychological level of 4000 in early trade, which is for the first time since May 11, 2007. It has been corrected 37% from its all-time high of 6,357.1 on January 8, 2008.

At 10:38 am, the Sensex was up 48 points at 13,510 while Nifty down 1.7 points at 4,038. The Nifty July Futures was trading at 40 points discount.

Turnover traded by the markets so far, stood at Rs 8281 crore. This includes Rs 720 crore from BSE cash segment, Rs 1602 crore from NSE Cash and Rs 5935 crore from NSE F&O segment.

Dragger of indices are Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Reliance Comm, DLF and HDFC Bank while movers - Satyam, Reliance Ind, Tata Steel, Hindalco and ONGC

Market breadth is weak; about 699 shares are advancing while 2178 shares declining. Nearly 255 shares are unchanged.

Top losers are DLF, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Comm, ABB, Suzlon Energy and Unitech while Satyam, Hindalco, Wipro, Tata Comm and Reliance Industries gainers.

Realty Index fell 4.7% due to huge selling in Indiabulls Real, HDIL, Orbit Corporation, Omaxe, Akruti City, Sobha Developer, Parsvnath, DLF and Unitech.

Power stocks like Torrent Power, Lanco Infratech, Suzlon Energy, Reliance Power, GMR Infra, Tata Power and Power Grid Corp also darkened. Index slid by 1%.

However, technology stocks like Satyam, HCL Tech, I-Flex Solution, Financial Tech and Wipro are gaining buying interest. Index was up marginally.

Markets @ 9:56 am : Mkts choppy in opening trade

The markets have opened flat and witnessing some choppiness. Buying has seen in Cipla, JP Associates, Tata Steel, Ambuja Cements, Satyam, TCS, Infosys, SBI and Suzlon while selling in HDFC Bank, Grasim, ACC, Reliance Comm, DLF and HUL. Realty stocks continued to remain under selling pressure. Market breadth is negative.

The Nifty is still holding above 4000 mark. At 9:59 am, the Nifty was up 10 points at 4,051 and Sensex up 60 points at 13,521. The CNX Midcap was up 11 points at 5,249.

On the primary market front, Sejal Architectural has listed at Rs 137.85 as against its issue price of Rs 115.

Asian markets were trading mixed. Nikkei was up 0.25%, Jakarta Composite 0.7%. However, Shanghai fell 1.8%, Taiwan Weighed -0.7% and Kospi -0.4%.

US markets ended mixed on Monday capping a dismal quarter and first half marked by rocketiing oil prices and battered financials. Tech stocks were among the day's worst performers. The Dow Jones was up 4 points to close at 11, 350. NASDAQ was down 22 points to close at 2293 while S&P 500 closed up 2 points at 1280.

Market cues:

* FIIs net sell $ 185 mn in equity on June 27: SEBI
* Domestic MFs net buy Rs 4.2 cr in equity on June 27
* NSE F&O Open Int up by Rs 1071 crore at Rs 61, 070 crore

F&O cues:

* Futures Open Int down by Rs 450 cr, Option Open Int up by Rs 1521 crore
* Nifty Futures at 67 points discount; add 6.4 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty Open Int Put-Call ratio at 0.99 Vs 1.07
* Nifty Puts add 5.9 lakh, Nifty Call add 23.65 lakh shares in Open Int
* Call writing seen at 4100, 4200, 4300 level
* Nifty 3900 Put got active yesterday
* Nifty 3900 Put add 8.7 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty 4100 Call add 5.3 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty 4200 Call add 5 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty 4000 Call add 3.2 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty 4100 Put shed 2.5 lakh shares in Open Int
* Nifty 4000 Put shed 2.3 lakh shares in Open Int
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Get Rich Doing Nothing : Yogesh Chabria

Sometime ago markets were falling and people were talking about selling everything and doom. Now once again markets are rising and the same people who told you to sell everything a few weeks ago are talking about buying. I feel irrespective of where markets are certain principles and concepts remain universal. That is why I have decided to share something from my latest book ‘Invest The Happionaire™ Way’ which will help you understand the importance of long term investing better.

Get Rich Doing Nothing

I’m sure most of you might be wondering if it is really possible to get rich by doing nothing. Some of you might even be thinking that I have surely lost it.

That is what one of my close friends, who was taking my advice, thought. She had received a sizeable amount of money after selling some ancestral property around a year ago, and wanted me to help her out with it. It was the first time she was investing in the stock markets, and like most other people, thought that she would spend hours a day, carrying a laptop, trading in stocks and watching business channels. She wanted to be busy with the stock markets.

Fortunately for her, I didn’t allow her to do any of that. I asked her to pursue a hobby, go on a holiday, meet her family, start a business, perform community service or do anything else to keep herself occupied. The stock markets aren’t a great place to be “busy.” I strongly believe that investments aren’t meant to keep you busy; they are meant to make you rich.

(The author is an investor and bestselling author. You can read about him getting rich doing nothing and much more in his latest book Invest The Happionaire™ Way which is available at major bookstores across the country. You can find out more by visiting www.happionaire.com. You can write to him at yogesh.chabria@moneycontrol.com)

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70% chance of mkt breaking Jan lows: CLSA

Laurence Balanco of CLSA said he is looking at a 70% probability of market breaking January lows. He expects another 10% downside from the August lows.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18’s exclusive interview with Laurence Balanco:

Q: How is the Nifty chart looking right now is it looking in slightly better shape than January or still looking fragile?

A: It is still vulnerable to further downside. What we have seen is a bit of a consolidation develop. What has been disappointing is that with regional indices rallying from their March lows, really Indian markets being the Nifty and Sensex have gone up, in a ranging pattern that moved sideways. So the risk here is that we break below the January lows and move down to August 2007 low and that is our base case at this point in time. Sitting just above support, but disappointing action that we have seen so far.

Q: How much probability would you attach to that event of the Nifty going to its August lows of sub-4,000?

A: It is our preferred roadmap that we are looking at for that as far as trying to give it a percentage. We think there is a 70% probability that we’ll see a break of the January lows and then a test of the August lows. We would expect a good consolidation and some ranging around the August lows or to build the platform or at least a foundation to try and build up a rally from there. But recent action has been disappointing.

Read More : Moneycontrol