Firstly, decide if you are a trader or an investor. 
 
If you decide to become a trader – to win – you must have a survival strategy…

You need to study the market yourself – not just rely on ‘reading the news’, or listening to others advice and tips.

Take advantage of technology – computers, software, electronic data – all at your finger tips. Seek out charting software and appropriate internet sites – they are plentiful.


Ensure that you ‘manage’ your money and keep some in reserve.

Have the ability to quickly identify failures as well as successes.

Stock Market trading appeals to those who are a little adventurous – rather than just placing their capital into bricks and mortar.


But – be mindful that portfolio values are less stable than real estate as they are continually moving up and down.

However – investing in the Stock Market means that you are putting your money to work – be aware, and enjoy the gains !

Share Market Terms

Hi there,
After interacting with some beginners, I found 3 very silly mistakes that’s so common. So, i thought i should write about that in this article, with the help of an example.
– You buy shares in company ‘x’ of IT sector. The shares move up and you get a decent profit. From that moment, you are tempted to look more deals like that., preferably from the IT sector- since you get a feeling the IT sector is a sure bet !
Not only that, in the process of trying to find such deals, you tend to overlook other investment opportunities that come your way – a new mutual fund offer or a low  rate in gold ETF or an opportunity to lock in a  debt fund that’s available at a higher rate of interest.

• This is the first point – as long as your investment remains in a few stocks or markets, you may be missing on other opportunities. It’s important to have an overall view of the economy and financial markets regularly- and not just stock market alone.Beginners tend to concentrate on stocks alone and in the process, they forget to take note of what’s going around in the financial world. For example – in 2010-11, it was gold that out performed all other asset classes. Those who had an overall knowledge about financial markets would have invested a part of their funds in gold.

Continuing the above example – let us assume that the buy price of that IT stock was Rs 150 and you sold it for Rs 225 in one month, thereby making a gross profit of Rs 75 per share. You made a killing on that stock. Every time that stock drops to Rs 150, even if it’s a year or two later, you’ll be tempted to buy that stock based on the previous experience. That ‘Rs 150’ remains in your memory as a sweet spot to buy. You tend to forget the fact that financial fundamentals of the company might have changed by then.

• So, that’s my second point – financial fundamentals of a company keep changing. That’s the reason why result announcements create such hype in the stock markets. It’s important to keep track of the fundamentals of the company every quarter. Do not buy a share just because it came back to the previous levels. This time, may be, there’s some problem with the fundamentals.

Let’s continue our story – after valuating some IT companies including the stock you previously owned, you have now short listed 2 companies – one trades at Rs 200 and the other trades at Rs 600. A common belief of beginners is that Rs 200 stock is 3 times cheaper than a Rs 600 stock. That’s wrong. For example, the company that trades at Rs 200 may have 6 million shares while the other one that trades at Rs 600 may have only 2 million shares. So the market capitalization of the two companies is the same. So the solution to this is in finding out the P/E of the stocks. The price of the stock is divided by the earnings per share and that tells you which company is more expensive. A stock that has a P/E of 20 is definitely priced lower than a stock that has a P/E of say, 65.

• That brings us to our 3^rd point – price per share is not the criteria to decide whether a stock is cheap or expensive. You need the P/E of the stocks.

From my interaction with freshers, these are 3 of the most common mistakes that they commit.
Bye for now!!

Commandment 1: Don't attempt to time the market

Timing the market is no guessing matter. To the little investor, timing the market is like taking a random walk. Most people only recognise the correct path after already having set foot on the wrong one. One exception to this is “bottom-fishing”, an approach to buy stocks that you want in your portfolio at prices below the prevailing levels. This entails biding your time and buying into a market downturn before the others do (the age-old philosophy of buying low, selling high). The downside of this approach being that the stock you want may never see the downside you expect.

Commandment 2: Don't try to outguess the market

Market psychology is for shrinks, not for couch potatoes like we humans. What captures the imagination of the market is transient. This means that what is “in” today is “out” tomorrow. Most people only recognise the pattern after it has become apparent to almost everyone else and is too late to act upon. For example, if investment in technology appears to be the current flavour, you are probably already too late to cash in on the trend. In this instance, you should only invest in technology as part of a long-term balanced approach.

Commandment 3: Treat investing like marriage--go for the long haul

Short-term investing could go either way. Invest for the long term. Almost all market pundits and investment studies show that stock investing should be part of a long-term strategy, lasting for five to ten, or even 20, years or longer. Beware that not every year will result in a positive return on your investment. However, over time the plus will likely overwhelm the minus by a substantial margin.

Commandment 4: Stay clear of broker's advice, hot tips and "multibaggers"

Every portfolio advisor is not Sharekhan (J) who swears by sound investment principles. Think. Wouldn't most brokers be tempted to make their living by goading their clients to constantly move in and out of positions, thus garnering commissions? This is diametrically opposite to Commandments 1, 2 and 3. For most people, stock advice is like a game--of darts! Only accept advice if the person has your financial interest in mind and is not making a living by selling your stock. Of course never buy from someone who calls on you and gives you advice. J

Commandment 5: Almost always invest in blue chips and blue chips-to-be

Do invest in companies that are considered blue chips. These include not only the BSE 100, but also the others that are slowly stepping into the big league. Invest only in established companies with a good track record. Beware that not every blue chip will rise after you buy it, and that even these otherwise stellar performers will have their good months/years and bad months/years. But over time, the fluctuations will even out and you would be left with a considerable net plus. Also invest in companies that have a good record of declaring dividends (and if you find the solitary one that increases its dividend pay-out each year...you know what to do).

Commandment 6: Prefer steady installment-like buying of stock to buying at one go

Investing should never be done in panic or be treated as an emergency. Purchasing your favourite few is best accomplished at a steady rate over time, so as to avoid the ups and downs of the market. This is called rupee cost averaging and is one of the safest approaches to investing. It works just like any other habit: you buy, regardless whether the price is up or down, until you reach the desired number of shares of that stock.

Commandment 7: Diversify, diversify and diversify

Do diversify your portfolio, both within your selected sectors and within the overall industry. For example, don't invest in only technology because it happens to be in vogue but consider the other industries as well.

Commandment 8: No shopping with borrowed money and maintain a core reserve

Never use margin money to buy stocks. You should not invest money you don't have. A simple and basic rule is to not leverage yourself to an extent that when the tide turns against you, all you are left with is nothing.

You never know when a financial emergency might arise. That's why you must keep a comfortable cash reserve in your savings account, so you do not have to tap into your long-term investments. A reserve equal to six months of salary should be just about ideal.

Commandment 9: Set realistic financial goals

Treat a 500% return with as much derision as you would a 5% return. Decide what you need the money for: To retire early, to finance your kid's college education or to fund your daughter's marriage or just to preserve and build wealth? Whatever the goal you set, make sure it is reasonable and attainable. Expecting too much will only lead to disappointment down the road. Aim for an expected return level that is realistic--not mediocre or overambitious.

Commandment 10: There are 10 more commandments

For those who thought that was the last of the ten commandments I have good news. There's more. Ensure that your portfolio size is controllable (15 stocks is about ideal) and your stocks are well researched. Checkpoints: Is the management quality above board? Does the company have a positive cash flow? Does it have the capability to compete on a global scale? Most importantly, is it shareholder friendly?

Finally, leave your emotions behind when you enter the world of investing. Follow the ten commandments. Time is on your side. Investment success won't happen overnight, so stay focused on long-term returns and avoid overreacting to short-term market swings. Remember, investment success depends on time, not timing.
Sharekhan has the best stocks under its coverage. Invest in them for the long term for healthy returns.

In line with the key identified investment themes (policy push-driven re-rating of construction, power and public sector undertakings, and early beneficiaries of an economic revival, like auto and financial services), we are adding
LIC Housing Finance, 
TVS Motor Company, 
Gabriel India and  
Gateway Distriparks
to the Top Picks basket. We believe that a possible pull-back or correction in these stocks after the recent upsurge would offer an attractive opportunity for investors to accumulate these stocks with a little longer time horizon.

2:00 pm Asian Markets: Japanese stocks rose to a three-week high , helped by gains in construction equipment makers on news China is taking steps to stimulate its economy, and as the dollar hit a 10-week high to the yen after solid US economic data. The Nikkei ended 0.8 percent higher to 15,071.88 points, the highest close since March 11. The broader Topix rose 0.5 percent to 1,216.77.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400, a gauge comprised of companies with a high return on equity and robust corporate governance, added 0.6 percent to 11,029.28.
1:50 pm Interview: Debunking the myth that weak monsoons lone can be responsible for affecting the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) growth in the rural areas, Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur said the rural demand has been lower over the last two quarters. According to him, the correlation between rural income and monsoon is very direct. But the same with consumer demand is not always true. "We cannot be completely insulted from the impact of a bad monsoon. But it doesn’t alter the dynamics of consumption to a very great degree. Likewise a great monsoon also doesn’t accelerate demand, there are host of other conditions required to stimulate or depress demand," he added.
1:40 pm In focus: Shares of Unitech are attracting buyers after the company said it has been approached by a third party for its stake in Candor Investment- the IT parks. The stock gained as much as 6.5 percent intraday. Meanwhile, sources told CNBC-TV18 that real estate major Unitech and Unitech Corporate Parks (UCP) will sell six India assets for up to Rs 12,500 crore. It is learnt that the company will raise Rs 4,000-5,000 crore from milestone payments over three years. Unitech and UCP have signed exclusivity with a potential buyer and they will exit IT park portfolio of 16 million square feet, sources say.
1:30 pm Market outlook: Nirmal Jain, chairman, IIFL recommends long-term investors to hold on to their equity investments now. “Most foreign investors remain bullish on India and if nothing catastrophic happens then we can see a sustained bull market,” he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. Market participants should adopt a bottom-up approach, but must not leverage given that election is a high risk event. “If the election outcome is not as per expectations then it will have a huge impact,” he cautioned. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle nod for the much-awaited bank licence to IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services on Wednesday. “This is positive start. They want the banking sector to open up,” Jain said. 1:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Siti Cable Network rallied as much as 5.5 percent intraday after the company said promoters raised stake in the company to 72.82 percent, up from 63.08 percent as of December 2013.
The cable television service provider in its filing to the exchange said the promoters have invested additional Rs 243 crore in the business to support the aggressive growth plan to grow subscriber base to 10 million in FY14-15. "As per the approval received from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in March 2013 to raise Rs 324 crore from promoter entities, the company has already received first tranche Rs 81 crore in March 2013 and this is balance tranche fund of Rs 243 crore.
With this total promoter shareholding rises to 72.82 percent," the company elaborated. Don't miss: Bank licence regrets: L&T Fin, Muthoot, JM Fin tank 9-14% The market continued to remain under pressure as the Sensex is down 107.10 points at 22444.39, and the Nifty is down 33.45 points at 6719.10. About 1122 shares have advanced, 1380 shares declined, and 124 shares are unchanged. Banking, capital goods and oil & gas stocks are dragging the indices. 
BHEL loses 3 percent, followed by Coal India, SBI and L&T. The MCX board is likely to meet today to consider preferential allotment. Sources indicate that some private equity investors may join the board. Earlier, Financial Technologies was asked by FMC to reduce its stake in MCX to 2 percent from 26 percent.
The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to release its national manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections today. The manifesto will spell out party's stand over different issues including the party's agriculture, economic and foreign policy. Issues like gas price may also find place in the manifesto.

Nandan Chakraborty, MD, Institutional Equity Research, Axis Capital recommends investors to have a judicious mix of defensives and cyclicals in their portfolios now.
Sharing views on the current market rally, Chakraborty told CNBC-TV18 that in upmoves, consumer discretionary and BFSI stocks rise first. He expects 15 percent growth in Sensex levels by year-end. He sees big upside in select engineering and infrastructure  stocks.
Also, certain pockets of banking stocks may see large upmove going ahead. From the PSU banking pack, he is positive on  SBI  and PNB  . One can bet on auto ancillary stocks like  Motherson Sumi  in the midcap auto space, he added.
 Further, he added that earnings upgrade is seen only for companies with improvement in balance sheet, he said. Meanwhile, he expects further appreciation in the Indian currency.

IDFC and L&T Finance Holdings extended gains to 6 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively on hopes of banking license. 
The decision of whether to issue banking license or not during elections period is in hands of Election Commission and not the government. 
Election Commissioner VS Sampath on Tuesday said he has not taken a final call on the banking license issue. "
We will take up this issue on Monday," he added. Election Commission has raised legal ethical issues on banking licenses matter. 
12:20pm Talwalkars in focus Shares of Talwalkars Better Value Fitness rose 11 percent as buzz of stake sale gathered steam. According to media reports UK's health and fitness group David Lloyd is looking to buy 20 percent stake in the Indian health and fitness company. "The management of David Lloyd is in talks to pick up an equity stake in Talwalkars. This will help both companies to expand their current relationship," the report quoted an investment banker. 
12:10pm FII View Credit Suisse is bullish on India and considers elections to be a turning point for the country. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the Credit Suisse Asia Conference in Hong Kong, Sakthi Siva, Asia Strategist, Credit Suisse said that atleast 5-10 percent upside in the Indian market is possible from current levels in the near-term. Siva is quite confident that though India’s growth last year was the lowest in the past 10 years, but with politics, potential change, there could be a turning point for the Indian market and the economy. 
12:00pm The market extended an upmove in noon trade with the Sensex rising over 100 points supported by banks, capital goods and auto stocks. The Sensex rose 107.58 points to 22202.88 and the Nifty climbed 38.45 points to 6639.85. About 1468 shares have advanced, 869 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged. Top lender State Bank of India jumped 3.5 percent after Goldman Sachs has upgraded the PSU bank to buy from neutral rating and revised target price to Rs 2,080 from Rs 1,440 apiece. 
PNB and Bank of Baroda gained 2.5-3 percent while rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank advanced 0.7 percent each. Axis Bank rallied 2 percent. Brokerage house Morgan Stanley added Axis Bank to its Asia ex-Japan model portfolio. The firm is positive on the stock given company's reducing risks in books. 
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel surged 3 percent followed by Hindustan Unilever, M&M, Hero Motocorp, BHEL and NTPC with 1-2 percent. However, state-run oil & gas major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's stock (ONGC) is quoting ex- dividend today. It fell nearly a percent. The board of directors on March 24 have approved second interim dividend of Rs 4.25 per equity share of Rs 5 each for the financial year 2013-14.  
 Drug majors Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs declined more than 1 percent. Dr Reddy's Labs has launched Amlodipine Besylate (to treat high blood pressure) and Atorvastatin calcium tablets in US market.

10:30am Oberoi Realty jumps over 10%
 Oberoi Realty bought Tata Steel’s defunct manufacturing plant in Borivali, a western suburb in Mumbai. Oberoi Realty jumped 10 percent while Tata Steel rose 2 percent after the real estate developer announced buying the 25-acre land for Rs 1155 crore through e-auction
"The Committee of Independent Directors appointed for the oversight and governance of the sale process by the Tata Steel Board declared Oberoi Realty Limited as the highest bidder of the auction on the basis of their final bid of Rs 1,155 crore, after several rounds of bidding," Tata Steel said in a statement

Welcome to StockNod’s stock market school for beginners. Here you can learn all about the analysis of stock charts, technical analysis, and how to begin trading stocks and taking personal control over your financial future. This section of our site is continually growing as we add more and more articles and information so check back with us often as we expand our stock market education for beginners.

What is Technical Analysis?
Technical Analysis is the forecasting of future financial price movements based on an examination of past price movements. Like forecasting the weather, technical stock analysis does not result in absolute predictions about the future. Instead, technical analysis can help investors anticipate what is most likely to happen to prices over time based on historic data. Technical analysis uses a wide variety of charts that show price over time. Technical analysis is applicable to stocks, commodities, futures or any tradable instrument like indices where the price is influenced by the forces of supply and demand. Price refers to any combination of the open, high, low, or close for a given security over a specific time frame. The time frame can be based on intraday, daily, weekly or monthly price data and last a few hours or many years. In addition, some technical analysts include volume or open interest figures with their study of price action.
What is Fundamental Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is the examination of the underlying forces that affect the well being of the economy, industry groups, and companies. As with most analysis, the goal is to derive a forecast and profit from future price movements. At the company level, fundamental analysis may involve examination of financial data, management, business concept and competition. At the industry level, there might be an examination of supply and demand forces for the products offered. For the national economy, fundamental analysis might focus on economic data to assess the present and future growth of the economy. To forecast future stock prices, fundamental analysis combines economic, industry, and company analysis to derive a stock’s current fair value and forecast future value. If fair value is not equal to the current stock price, fundamental analysts believe that the stock is either over or under valued and the market price will ultimately gravitate towards fair value. Fundamentals is the starting point of most stock market analysis for beginners. By believing that prices do not accurately reflect all available information, fundamental analysts look to capitalize on perceived price discrepancies between market value and current price.

How to Read Stock Charts


A stock price chart is a sequence of prices plotted over a specific time frame. In statistical terms, charts are referred to as time series plots. On the chart, the y-axis represents the price scale and the x-axis represents the time scale. Prices are plotted from left to right across the x-axis with the most recent plot being the furthest right. Types of stock charts include line charts, bar charts, point & Figure, and the ever popular candlestick charts.

Technical chartists use charts to analyze a wide array of securities and forecast future price movements. The word “securities” refers to any tradable financial instrument or quantifiable index such as stocks, bonds, commodities, futures or market indices. Any security with price data over a period of time can be used to form a chart for analysis. While technical stock analysts use charts almost exclusively, the use of charts is not limited to just technical analysis. Because charts provide an easy to understand visual representation of a security’s price movement over a specific period of time, they can also be of great benefit to discovering the fundamentals of a stock. A graphical historical record makes it easy to spot the effect of key events on a security’s price, its performance over a period of time and whether it’s trading near its highs, near its lows, or in between. Stocknod alerts are based on the same technical analysis as provided by stock charts, but provide users the same information without the convulsion of chart reading and interpretation.

Stocknod Automated Stock Analysis Services

    Stocknod Stock Alerts - Being successful in today’s market requires research. This is an arduous task for most traders to study in-depth the fundamentals and technical’s of stocks. Now with Stocknod stock alerts this data is provided for you and now this critical homework has become automated for traders. With an automated algorithm with over twenty trend metrics we provide our clients stock alerts with the technical’s they need to become more successful traders. The automated technical analysis of Stocknod Alerts is the only software that is 100% fully automated.
    Stocknod Hotsheet - The Hotsheet is the Stock Watchlist that has been generated by the Stocknod neural network and hand reviewed by the Stocknod analyst. The Stocknod.com staff has a wealth of experience and acutely developed instincts for finding stock picks. We leverages a tremendous knowledge base and real time data sources to keep our company ahead of the market. We evaluate stocks for what they truly are–pieces of a business. Instead of prognosticating short-term price movements or momentum, our analysts focus on determining the value of a business, its risks, and whether the stock price accurately reflects both the value and risk in relation to current pricing.

Stock Trading Online for Beginners
Online Stock Trading is becoming the most popular way to trade stocks because of computers. No longer do we have to call a broker and pay high commissions to buy or sell a stock. With just a few clicks of the mouse we are in total control of our investments. With online brokerages competing for your business, commission prices are at levels that are easily affordable. Access to information, known only to stockbrokers a few years ago, is now at our finger tips.

More individuals Trade Stocks Online and are entering the Stock Trading markets on a daily basis than ever before. With the recent financial crisis more and more people are entering the stock markets and taking control of their own financial futures. Stock market for beginners information found at Stocknod.com is a great resource and starting point for any new beginners to the stock market.
Additional Stock Market for Beginners Resources

Online Stock Trading is becoming the most popular way to trade stocks because of computers. No longer do we have to call a broker and pay high commissions to buy or sell a stock. With just a few clicks of the mouse we are in total control of our investments. With online brokerages competing for your business, commission prices are at levels that are easily affordable. Access to information, known only to brokers a few years ago, is now at your finger tips.

StockNod.com provides you, the Beginner Stock Trader with a quick guide to information pertaining to trading stocks online. Stocknod also provides trade signals via stock alerts, stock picks, and education at the Stocknod blog. If you want success in trading the moves then let Stocknod help put you in the right game and then alert you when to be leave while you are ahead. Learn trading’s critical steps by subscribing to Stocknod today and master your trading psychology and remove emotion from your stock trades. Learn to trade successfully like the minority of traders that are making consistent profits from better information and better research. So to all new stock market beginners we say Welcome! Please contact us for any new subject matter that you would like to see expanded on the Stock Market for Beginners page. Start trading with the Nod!

NEW DELHI: Indian markets are expected to trade higher on Saturday in absence of any major global cues. The key support for the index is around 6,430 levels.
"The Nifty is expected to trend up till 6575 in the next couple of days. In this period the key support will be at 6430 and resistance will be at 6575," said Somil Mehta, Senior Tech Analyst (Equity) at Sharekhan
"The Nifty has been forming higher tops and higher bottoms; it has also closed above the previous swing's high which is a positive sign for the market," he added.
Mehta is of the view that the short-term bias remains positive for a target of 6600 with reversal at 6430. The medium-term outlook remains positive as the index has started forming higher tops and higher bottoms on the weekly charts

Here is a list of ten stocks which are likely to be in focus in trade Today .. 

Here are experts’ equity calls for the day on how the market is expected to trade:

Ridham Desai, Morgan Stanley: Market is prepping for a macro trade as evident in low stock correlations and high relative volatility. The implied volatility levels are low and given relative valuations, the direction of this macro trade could be down. We are overweight on technology, telecom, consumer discretionary and energy. We remain underweight on banks, industrials, consumer staples and utilities.

Sanjeev Prasad, Kotak Institutional Equities: The reward-risk balance for the Indian stock market is less favourable after the sharp run-up in prices of several domestic cyclical and PSU stocks. Current stock prices already discount FY15 EPS for most large-cap stocks. Earnings upgrades will largely depend on favourable government action in a few sectors, which depend on favourable election outcome and continuation of reforms

NEW DELHI:
The S&P BSE Sensex snapped three-day winning streak and is trading lower in trade on Thursday, led by losses in ITCBSE -1.81 %, L&T, HDFCBSE -1.73 % and ICICI BankBSE -0.75 %.

Tracking the momentum, the 50-share Nifty index was trading near its key support levels of 6500, led by losses in FMCG, auto, oil & gas and auto stocks.

At 11:50 a.m.; the 30-share index was at 21,825.74, down 7.8 points or 0.04 per cent. It touched a high of 21,853.25 and a lo ..

Sun Pharma Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 610 and a stop loss of Rs 585

Aurobindo Pharma LtdBSE 1.02 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 545 and a stop loss of Rs 520

Bank of BarodaBSE -3.07 % is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 625 and a stop loss of Rs 655

BHELBSE -2.50 % is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 178 and a stop loss of Rs 191
Titan Company Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 275 and a stop loss of Rs 250

HULBSE 1.73 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 587 and a stop loss of Rs 560

Tata Communications LtdBSE 1.70 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 309 and a stop loss of Rs 285

Karnataka BankBSE 0.78 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 118 and a stop loss of Rs 108.75

HUL is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 590 and a stop loss of Rs 561

Lupin LtdBSE 0.85 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 980 and a stop loss of Rs 938

Tata Communications Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 305 and a stop loss of Rs 288

IDBI BankBSE -1.18 % Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 70 and a stop loss of Rs 56

Sesa Sterlite Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 190 and a stop loss of Rs 168

Tata Communications Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 340 and a stop loss of Rs 280

Torrent PowerBSE 0.43 % Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 95 and a stop loss of Rs 76

Hitachi Home Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 210 and a stop loss of Rs 165

Goldman Sachs has upgraded India to 'overweight' and has put an aggressive target of 7,600 for the Nifty in the next 12 months, which implies 17% upside from current levels.

Citing the reasons for the same, the global investment bank said in a report: "The cyclical macro adjustments in India have reduced external vulnerability. We now expect domestic fundamentals to improve as growth recovers in 2Q. Corporate earnings downgrades seem to have bottomed out, with more signs of improvement in the investment cycle. Headline valuations have recently expanded but cyclical sectors remain inexpensive compared to history and are relatively under-owned."

The Indian stock markets today extended gains and hit fresh all-time high as inflows continued on the back of positive cues from global markets. The benchmark Sensex was trading above 22,000.

Banks, auto oil & gas and realty sectors were the top sectoral performers in intraday trade.

Goldman said the upcoming parliamentary elections in April could have an impact on reforms progress.

Bharti Airtel Ltd: 

Bharti AirtelBSE -1.66 % is raising over $400 million (Rs 2,446 crore) through a bond offering to European investors, its second in less than a quarter, a banker on the deal said, as the telecom major moved to bring down its net finance costs. 

Maruti SuzukiBSE -0.14 % Ltd: 

 Maruti's institutional investors today approached Sebi, seeking its intervention to safeguard minority shareholders' interests and to ensure compliance with good corporate governance norms with regard to the transfer of a Gujarat project to the car maker's Japanese parent Suzuki. 

Gujarat Gas Company Limited: 

Post a Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) nod, Gujarat Gas CompanyBSE 1.22 % Limited (GGCL) can now expand its city gas distribution (CGD) network into Bhavnagar district. 

Tata Motors Ltd: 

Tata MotorsBSE 0.19 % said global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles, declined 19.06 per cent to 79,996 units in February from a year ago. The company had sold 98,837 units in February last year, Tata Motors said in a statement.

AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd: 

The board will meet on 15 March to decide on delisting the company's shares from the stock exchanges. The drug maker's Swedish parent, AstraZenecaBSE 8.46 % Pharmaceuticals AB, had on 1 March written to the Indian unit about its decision to voluntarily delist the company, said media reports.

MphasisS Ltd:  

HP-owned IT services firm MphasiSBSE -1.69 % reported a 2 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 180.6 crore for the first quarter ended January 31, 2014.

Crompton Greaves Ltd:

Billionaire Gautam Thapar has put Crompton GreavesBSE 0.88 % up for sale, said two persons familiar with the development. Thapar wants to sell his controlling 42.7% stake to an overseas company seeking to establish itself in the Indian power transmission and distribution sector, said one of the persons.

Infosys Ltd: 

IT services major InfosysBSE 0.55 % said its Senior Vice President and head of Computers and Communications Divisio(CCD) K Muralikrishna has sold shares worth Rs 5.48 crore

IOC Ltd:

State-owned Indian OilBSE -0.35 % Corp ( IOCBSE -0.35 %) is mulling setting up a Rs 30,000 crore refinery at Mundra in Gujarat as part of a plan to increase its processing capacity to 100 million tonnes.

Coal India Ltd:

Production and supplies at Coal IndiaBSE -0.13 % mines dwindled about 20% on Thursday as officers of the state-run company started a three-day strike demanding salary increase. Coal-fired power generation, though, has not been ffected and is expected to remain largely normal the next two days as most power stations have stocked up enough coal.