Financial TechnologiesBSE 0.03 % Ltd is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 1070 and a stop loss of Rs 1142 (Previous close - Rs 1119.70)

Tata MotorsBSE -1.07 % DVR is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 158 and a stop loss of Rs 172.50

Indian Oil Corporation LtdBSE 1.44 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 345 and a stop loss of Rs 319 (Previous close - Rs 327.30)

Jet AirwaysBSE 0.88 % Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 660 and a stop loss of Rs 618 (Previous close - Rs 622.10)

Punjab National BankBSE -1.15 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 950 and a stop loss of Rs 893 (Previous close - Rs 912.45)

Headlines for the day

Dewan Housing plans to raise Rs4,000 cr via debentures route. Union Bank to get Rs2,500 cr capital infusion. SBI cuts base rate by mere 5 basis points 9.70%.

Events for the day

Results: Bayer CropScience, Grasim Industries, Cummins India, Siemens, Tata Global Beverages, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Satyam Computer Services, Lupin, ICICI Bank, Thermax, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Punjab National Bank, Godrej Consumer Product.

1) ICICI BankBSE 1.11 % Ltd will be in focus ahead of its quarterly results. According to ET Now poll, the bank's net profit is likely to grow to Rs 2,087 crore, up 20.8 per cent, as compared to a net profit of Rs 1,728 crore, in the corresponding quarter last year.

2) HDFC BankBSE 0.48 % Ltd, after taking cues from RBI's rate cut yesterday, private sector HDFC Bank has decided to slash auto loan rates by up to 0.5 per cent.

"The interest rate on car loan will be lower by 0.25 per cent while two-wheeler loan will be cheaper by 0.5 per cent, a senior bank official confirmed when contacted," PTI reported.

3) Jet AirwaysBSE 0.96 % Ltd, after Etihad Airways may seek increased access to Indian destinations as part of its plan to pick up a 24% stake in Jet Airways (India) LtdBSE 0.96 %.

4) Oil India Ltd, after the government on Wednesday decided to off-load 10 per cent of its equity in Oil India (OIL) on February one to mop up Rs 2,500-3,000 crore.

5) Reliance IndustriesBSE 1.87 % Ltd, after the Delhi High Court set aside a November 6 order passed by the Chief Information Commission (CIC) directing capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) to disclose information in the 2007 Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) insider trading case.

6) BHELBSE -0.56 %, after the company said it has commissioned a 100 MW hydro power generating set in Vietnam, a development that is likely to open up more opportunities for the state-run major in the fast-growing market.

7) Cummins India Ltd will be eyed ahead of its quarterly results. The company is likely to report a net profit of Rs 150 crore for the quarter ended December 2012, up 6 per cent, as compared to a net profit of Rs 141 crore in the same period a year ago, says ET Now poll.

8) Essar Shipping Ltd, after the company reported an over 63% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 17.85 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012, largely due to marginal sales growth, higher expenses as well as interest outgo.

9) Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd, after the oral care major reported a nearly 4% decline in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 to Rs 111.1 crore as the company upped ad spends to fight competition from rivals.

10) Godrej ConsumerBSE -0.46 % India Ltd will be eyed ahead of its quarterly results. The company is likely to report a net profit of Rs 206 crore for the quarter ended December 2012, up 23.50 per cent, as compared to a net profit of Rs 167 crore in the same period a year ago, says ET Now poll.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on the last leg of his four-nation sojourn to woo investors to India, says private sector investment will pick up in the next fiscal year. He tells ET Now in an interview from London that the red lines on fiscal prudence will not be crossed, the Congress party and the government were on the same page on the challenges before the economy and that they would present a responsible budget. Edited excerpts:

On the RBI's decision to cut rates and the growth vs inflation debate

Finance ministers will always lean in favour of growth and central bankers lean in favour of taming inflation, but the balance has to be sought by the governor. If he has come to the conclusion that this is a right balance at this time, I am not going to second guess him. I welcome the decision. Going forward, if inflation moderates, he will do more.
On RBI's assertion that challenges to growth are non-monetary in nature

What he means is that more is to be done on the fiscal side if we are to tame inflation and revive growth. That is my assessment too. We have to contain the fiscal deficit. We have to have a credible path of fiscal consolidation, and we must ensure that public borrowing does not crowd out private borrowing.

We are doing what we can and we will do more as we go forward. And once growth revives, say in the next fiscal year, then there is more room for both fiscal policy and monetary policy. But growth must revive and to revive growth, the ball is in the government's court.

Whether investors were holding back on investments and when will that change

As we speak now, my sense is that the public sector companies have started investing. They have been clearly told that they cannot sit on piles of cash. If they do not use it, they lose it. The numbers when they come out in March will show that they have moved forward on investment.

The private sector is little more wary. I have spoken to a number of private business houses. They are still wary, they are still cautious, but are beginning to show interest. There are more enquiries of banks, there are more people coming to see me to say 'Yes, we are going to do that'.

Give them another couple of months, they will wait for the budget, they will wait for the implementation of the budget and the tax changes if any. Like at the time of every budget, everybody anticipates or fears tax changes. By about April, when things are clearer, the budget will be out, the tax proposals will be clear. Next fiscal, private investment should pick up.

On the response of global investors towards India in his meetings with them

Well, the meetings start with a high degree of scepticism, but as the meeting goes into the second hour, or thereafter in one-on-one meetings, I find that there is greater confidence in what I am telling them. They are willing to believe that the government is determined to take the fiscal prudence path. On GAAR, there is universal welcome to what we have done.

My sense is that the ghost of GAAR has been buried... If anyone has to unwind his present positions, he can always unwind them. GAAR only hits at unjustified tax avoidance arrangement. So, there is enough time for people to unwind any such arrangement and become tax compliant.

On awarding new private bank licences, especially to corporate groups

The (RBI's rough) guidelines say that more licences will be given to the private sector (although) there is no specific reference to corporate houses. The government has given its views. The governor told me that he would be able to finalise the guidelines in about two weeks.

We should wait for the final guidelines...Who will qualify for bank licences from the private sector, whether any corporate or any kind of corporate will be excluded, I cannot say. But if the guidelines are laid out and transparently spelt out, and, if a corporate satisfies those guidelines, I do not see any reason why a corporate should not be given the licence.

NEW DELHI: The BSE Sensex rose 0.3 per cent in early trade on Wednesday, led by gains in RIL, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India.

At 9:20 a.m., the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 0.20 per cent higher at 20,024. RIL (0.8 per cent), ICICI Bank (0.7 per cent) and SBI (1.01 per cent) led the gainers pack.

The Nifty was trading 0.2 per cent higher at 6,065.15. It touched a high of 6070.95 and a low of 6061.05 in early trade today.
Here is a list of twenty stocks that are likely to be in action in morning trade today:

Moneycontrol Bureau
The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday cut the repo rate—the rate at which it lends to banks—and also cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points each. While the stock market cheered the move even though the cut in repo rate was on expected lines, bond market remanined lacklusture as it already factored in. The central bank also lowered its inflation forecast for the current fiscal to 6.8 percent from 7.5 percent. The simultaneous cut in both repo and CRR has surprised many economists considering RBI's cautious view in its macroeconomic report released yesterday.

A section of the market feels the central bank may have had little choice other than to cut the rate considering that the government has been doing its bit to address the fiscal deficit issue. So far, the RBI had been insisting that monetary easing would do little to stoke growth as long as the government did not manage its finances well. This time, the RBI has admitted to the government's efforts in its policy statement.

"Various measures undertaken by the Government since mid-September have significantly lifted market sentiment which, in due course, should spur investment," the RBI policy said.

At the same time, the RBI has cautioned that it will take time before the government policies actually revive growth in the economy.

Some feel the cut in policy could be also to lower borrowing costs for the government and facilitate the fiscal consolidation process by helping the government fix its balance sheet.

Many equity analysts have cautioned that banks will not be able to reduce their lending rates despite the rate cut, as deposit growth remains weak. Cutting lending rates would also necessitate cutting deposit rates, and the latter move could further alienate depositors.

And many bank chiefs had cautioned that unless there was a CRR cut as well, they would not be able to transmit the repo rate cut to their customers. So that could explain the CRR cut. But some economists point out that the CRR cut contradicts inflation management, as the RBI will now have to grapple with excess liquidity in the system. (The CRR cut will infuse around Rs 18,000 crore into the system).

By the RBI's own admission, inflation remains one of the key threats to its macroeconomic management going ahead. That is because demand pressures have begun to ease, but supply side constraints remain.

“In the absence of an effective supply response, inflationary pressures may return and persist with adverse implications for macroeconomic stability,” the RBI policy said, adding, “further moderation in domestic inflation going into 2013-14 is likely to be muted as the correction of under-pricing of administered items is still incomplete and food inflation remains elevated.”

But the biggest headache for the RBI remains the widening current account deficit. Because of the weakness in the global economy, it is unlikely that India's export growth will recover to the point where it can solve a good chunk of the CAD problem.

Foreign portfolio flows have helped bridge the CAD so far, but that is a risky strategy.

"Financing the CAD with increasingly risky and volatile flows increases the economy's vulnerability to sudden shifts in risk appetite and liquidity preference, potentially threatening macroeconomic and exchange rate stability," the RBI policy said.

And while the market is hoping the RBI move today marks the beginning of a declining interest rate environment, the key to growth will be outside the monetary policy.

"The key to stimulating growth is a vigorous and sustained revival in investment. Achieving this will, however, depend on a number of factors such as bridging the infrastructure gaps, especially in power and transport, hastening approvals, removing procedural bottlenecks, and improving governance," the RBI policy said.

Sharekhan's top SIP fund picks

Large-cap funds	Multi-cap funds
Birla Sun Life Top 100 Fund	Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund - Plan A	SBI Magnum Global Fund 94
SBI Magnum Bluechip Fund	ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund
Franklin India Bluechip	BNP Paribas Equity Fund
Tata Pure Equity Fund	Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund
BSE Sensex	BSE 500
Mid-cap funds	Tax saving funds
SBI Emerg Buss Fund	BNP Paribas Tax Advantage Plan
Franklin India Prima Fund	Franklin India Taxshield
HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund	Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
Sundaram Select Midcap - Reg	Principal Tax Savings Fund
Reliance Long Term Equity Fund	Sundaram Taxsaver - (Open Ended Fund) - Reg
BSE Midcap	S&P Nifty

Good news for Bharti and Idea. The Bombay High Court (HC) has given a stay to Bharti Airtel   in the one-time fee case till February 24. Also, Idea Cellular   has secured a stay against spectrum fee till March 1. CNBC-TV18's Ashmit Kumar reports.
The government had sought to raise nearly Rs 21,000 crore by imposing this additional fee. The two telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular had moved to Bombay High Court with respect to the one-time spectrum fee.

The telecom majors have challenged it on the grounds that under Section 4 of the Telegraph Act, the government does not have any positive powers or sanction by the law so to speak. That is the version coming in from the lawyers who sought to give the image that the government at this point does not have the powers.

At this point Bharti Airtel has been slapped with one-time spectrum fee of about Rs 5,200 crore and Idea has been confronted with a burden of about Rs 2,000 crore. Now, the critical element here is that a similar order of a stay has been granted for both these parties. As of now, the one-time spectrum fee has been stayed until March 1.

Stock	Expert	Reco Date	Reco Price (Rs)	Peak From Reco	% Gain	Current Price (Rs)	% Gain
Hawkins Cooker	Jagdish Malkani	Jun 23rd 2007	119	2485.00	1983.86	2436.95	1947.86
Gitanjali Gems	SP Tulsian	Dec 17th 2008	77	614.05	701.11	577.80	650.39
Eicher Motors	PN Vijay	Jul 30th 2007	354	3240.00	816.42	2650.70	648.79
Tata Cofee	Ashish Chugh	Nov 14th 2007	238	1674.50	603.28	1586.00	566.39
Heritage Foods (India)	Ashish Chugh	May 29th 2009	75	569.75	656.64	468.80	525.07
Natco Pharma	Ashish Chugh	Aug 5th 2008	74	505.20	581.32	462.55	525.07
Coromandel Fertiliser	Rajen Shah	Oct 12th 2006	36	376.00	959.15	224.30	523.06
Mcleod Russel	Jagdish Malkani	Apr 9th 2007	63	372.00	490.48	341.75	442.46
Bayer Cropscience	SP Tulsian	Mar 7th 2007	224	1341.80	499.02	1190.90	431.65
Axis Bank	India Infoline Picks	Mar 9th 2009	295	1608.00	444.62	1384.10	369.19
Tata Coffee	SP Tulsian	Sep 1st 2009	358	1674.50	367.41	1586.00	343.02
Selan Explorations	Ashish Chugh	Nov 4th 2006	73	425.37	480.31	311.35	326.51
Poly Medicure	Ambareesh Baliga	Jul 14th 2006	110	485.00	340.91	462.00	320.00
Astral Poly Technik	KR Choksey	Feb 10th 2010	90	423.65	373.35	367.55	308.39
Lupin	PN Vijay	Jul 31st 2008	147	631.90	329.86	599.50	307.82
Kewal Kiran Clothing	Kashyap Pujara	Mar 17th 2007	194	875.00	351.03	706.35	264.10
Marico	India Infoline Picks	Jan 23rd 2009	60	250.00	318.06	217.35	262.25
3M India	Jagdish Malkani	Sep 5th 2006	1150	4950.00	330.43	4016.05	249.22
Nestle India	India Infoline Picks	Dec 22nd 2008	1352	5040.00	272.70	4645.20	243.58
Sun TV Network	KR Choksey	Nov 19th 2008	139	556.50	301.52	444.25	219.60
IDFC	Deven Choksey	Jun 9th 2006	55	235.00	327.27	169.60	208.36
Shriram Transport Finance	PN Vijay	Oct 27th 2007	248	899.90	262.86	758.60	205.89
Kovai Medical Centre & Ho	Ashish Chugh	Jun 1st 2007	55	194.85	254.27	167.00	203.64
Gitanjali Gems	SP Tulsian	May 20th 2006	195	614.05	214.90	577.80	196.31