Investors buy stocks to acquire a partial ownership in a particular company and buy bonds to make a loan to corporations or governments. While stockholders benefit from the company profits, the bondholders receive returns. A fixed rated return is a percentage of the bond’s original offering price. The return is called a “coupon rate.” The principal amount of bonds is returned during the maturity date. Because they can be issued for any period of time, there are some bonds which take about 30 years to mature.

The risk of not being paid back with the principal amount is always carried by bonds. Although companies with higher credit worthiness are more likely to be safe investments, their coupon rates will be lower than those companies with lower credit ratings. Firms such as Standard and Poor and Moody’s Investor Service provide such credit ratings that range from a high AAA to a low D.
The safest type of bonds is the US Government bonds. Blue chip corporations, which are companies with established performance records for over several decades, are also considered to be safe bond investments. Although smaller corporations carry greater risks of defaulting bonds, bondholders of smaller corporations are considered to be preferential creditors because they will be compensated before stockholders in case the business goes bankrupt.
Bonds, just like stocks, can be bought and sold on the open market. The fluctuation of their values is based on the level of interest rates in the general economy. For example, an investor who holds a $1000 bond that pays 5% per year in interest is capable of selling the bond at a price that is higher than the face value as long as the interest rates are below 5%. If the interest rates rise above 5%, the bond can still be sold but it is usually at a price that is less than the face value. Because the potential buyers are capable of getting a higher interest rate than what the bond pays, the seller has to sell at a lower cost in order to offset the difference of the bond.
Most bonds are traded in the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Market that is composed of banks and security firms. Corporate bonds which are listed on stock exchanges may be bought through stock brokers. New bond issues are usually sold in $5000 increments while initial bond issues are quoted in $100 increments. A bond listed at 96 indicates a selling of $96 per $100 face value.

Stocks or Bonds

The risks and the potentials have to be weighed when deciding to invest either in stocks or bonds. Stocks carry a greater potential to increase in value but they also hold a greater vulnerability to market fluctuations. Investment grade bonds, which are rated BBB or better, carry slightly lower risks but offer relatively low yields.
A lot of investors agree that bonds offer greater security and return for short-term situations but when a time span over ten years is considered, the situation changes. The stock market has consistently outperformed bond investments by a large factor since companies tend to increase in value and any short-term fluctuations in the stock market are smoothed out over time.
Because they provide a stable investment that helps cushion against stock market fluctuations, bonds still have their place in most investor portfolios. A mixture of investments that includes stocks from different industries, bonds from various corporations, and other fixed-income investments is one strategic way of providing maximum growth while securing investment funds for the future.

Indian indices:

Welcome to the ‘Weekly Market Wrap’ for July 11, 2014 where key benchmark indices slumped last week as investors booked profit after a strong rally in the past few months. An upward momentum in Indian shares kicked off after BJP led NDA government won a thumping victory in general election in May this year. Investors build up position in the equity market ahead of the Union Budget 2014-15 on expectations of far-reaching reforms.
Modi government's maiden Budget on Thursday, 10 July 2014, fell short of the hype. It lacked any major policy reforms and roadmap for reduction of subsidies. But Narendra Modi's administration earmarked substantial sums for new infrastructure, which should revitalise growth. Finance Minster Arun Jaitley made a number of announcements in Budget such as a proposal to increase in foreign direct investment in insurance and defence manufacturing, a sharp increase in plan expenditure, measures to boost long-term financing for infrastructure by banks and provided clarity on taxation with respect to foreign portfolio investors. But, market expectations that the Finance Minster would scrap the law on retrospective taxation were not met. Government spending on plan expenditure was substantially increased to support growth.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 670.51 points or 7.02% to 8,875.24 and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 819.92 points or 7.80% to 9,688.11. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 937.71 points or 3.61% to 25,024.35. The 50-unit CNX Nifty fell 292 points or 3.77% to 7,459.60.

Weekly market trend from July 07 – July 11:

July 07- India's NSE index rose on Monday to a third consecutive record high, while the benchmark BSE index surpassed 26,000 points, riding on gains in technology stocks ahead of Infosys Ltd's results and hopes of a fiscally prudent budget. The BSE Sensex rose 0.53% and NSE Nifty gained 0.46% for the day. The Sensex closed at 26100.08, up by 138.02 points, while the Nifty rose 35.55 points to close at 7787.15
July 08- Indian shares fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday, marking their biggest single-day fall in over 10 months as a lower-than-expected railway budget outlay sparked worries about subdued government expenditure in the federal budget due on Thursday. The BSE Sensex fell 1.98% and NSE Nifty slipped 2.11% for the day. The Sensex closed at 25582.11, down by 517.97 points, while the Nifty fell 163.95 points to close at 7623.20
July 09- India's NSE index marked a 1-1/2 week closing low on Wednesday, continuing to retreat from the record high hit in the previous session, as investors pared positions in blue-chips such as Tata Motors ahead of the federal budget. The BSE Sensex fell 0.54% and NSE Nifty slipped 0.50% for the day. The Sensex closed at 25444.81, down by 137.30 points, while the Nifty fell 38.20 points to close at 7585.00
July 10- Indian shares edged lower in a volatile session on Thursday as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's pledge to narrow the fiscal deficit and open up sectors such as insurance and defence were offset by disappointment over the lack of major reforms. The BSE Sensex fell 0.28% and NSE Nifty slipped 0.23% for the day. The Sensex closed at 25372.75, down by 72.06 points, while the Nifty fell 17.25 points to close at 7567.75
July 11- India's NSE index fell 1.4% on Friday to post its biggest weekly loss since March 2013 as blue chips were hit by a range of factors including profit-taking and disappointment over the budget's lack of specifics. The Sensex closed at 25024.35, down by 348.40 points, while the Nifty fell 108.15 points to close at 7459.60

Global indices:

Top Losers: CAC40 down 3.75%, DAX100 fell 3.50% and FTSE100 slipped 2.82%.

Sectoral and stock screening:

Top Gainers: S&P BSE FMCG up 1.47% and S&P BSE IT up 0.73%
Top Losers: S&P BSE Power down 10.16%, S&P BSE CG slipped 9.98% and S&P BSE Realty fell 9.18%
Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were – Crisil up 11.28%, IDFC up 9.52%, Sun Pharma up 6.84%
Top three losers of the week were - Unitech fell by 26.93%, GMR Infra fell by 22.75% and JP Power down 21.40%.

FII/MF activity

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been the net buyers of the Indian stocks to the tune of Rs2091.93 crore and the domestic investors bought Indian shares worth a net of Rs131.60 crore as on July 09, 2014.

Market outlook for the coming week!

In the coming week, selling may continue amid lack of any major event. There could be some stock-specific action based on April-June 2014 corporate earnings announcements.
Macroeconomic data, trend in investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), trend in global markets, trend in other global emerging markets, the movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil price movement hold key.
On the macro front, the government is scheduled to announce the rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for the month of June 2014 on 14 July 2014.

INVESTING

Investing is not just about depositing your savings in the bank every few months. It’s about growing your money. It’s about making your money work for you.

INVESTING IS A LONG TERM ACTIVITY

When you invest, you  buy an asset like shares, mutual funds, gold or real estate when it’s available at a bargain and wait till its price go up. You may have to wait for a long time, say 5 or 10 years to get a real appreciation for your invested funds. So,  investing is a long term activity, you have to wait for your rewards.

IT’S ALSO ABOUT GROWING YOUR MONEY PRUDENTLY.

Money is a weapon that’s to be used very very carefully or else, it can backfire within no time resulting in a total ruin of your life. By being ‘prudent’ we  mean, determining an action or a line of investing that’s practically wise, judicious and careful.
When you look around for opportunities to invest, it’s natural to stumble upon ideas like multi level marketing of certain financial schemes or money chains etc that may seem to be too good an opportunity to make a quick buck. It’s important not get tempted by such investment offers. Any investing decision you take must be practical, legal, safe and capable of creating wealth for you in the long run.

REWARD FROM INVESTMENTS

Investments range from risky types like stocks  to very safe ones like fixed deposits. Depending on the type of investment you’ve made you get return in the form of rent, interest, dividends, premiums, pension benefits or appreciation in value. The more risk you take, the more you earn as rewards.

OBJECTIVES OF INVESTING

Objectives or purpose of investing would be different for different people.  By choosing to budget your expenses, accumulate money, invest that accumulated fund and limiting the amount of debt – you can achieve most of your life’s goals. Normally, a person would invest with one or many of the following objectives in mind:

• A Regular Income
• Creation of wealth
• Preserving his capital
• Planning for retirement life
• Education /marriage of his children.
• To start a business

THE PROCESS OF INVESTING

The process of investing is quite simple-
Depending upon the money you got, you will have to short list the type of asset suitable for investment.
Next, you’ll have to assess yourself and find out how much knowledge you have in that particular asset category. This assessment will tell you where you stand right now, and the amount of preparatory work you need to do before investing you money in it.
Once you gain enough knowledge, try to draw a plan to invest systematically – get access to the right information, plan properly and make the right choice.

REASONS TO INVEST

Why does investing acquire so much of importance? That’s because of three core benefits of investing-
First, the probability that you’ll beat inflation.
Second, the probability of achieving your financial goals quickly.
Third, the probability of building something for your next generation.
An investor’s  main focus should be to beat inflation.  Inflation and it’s after effects were discussed in our previous articles.  You’ve to invest in such a way that the rate of return beats the inflation rate. If you don’t do that, it eats away your returns. Unless your rate of return beats the inflation rate, you’re not growing your investments.We said ‘probability’ because, investments carry the risk of not hitting the desired targets. When you set higher targets ( higher returns) the risk of not achieving it is also high.
Apart from achieving financial goals and securing your children’s future, another important reason would be to plan for your retirement. When do you plan to retire? At 60 or at 50? You can opt to retire when you have a sufficient amount of wealth so that, you can maintain the standard of living that you are maintaining today. The earlier, the better!
In the coming lessons, we take to you through different aspects of investing. Each lesson has a concept to share. At the end, you’ll know what investing is all about, why it’s essential to invest early, different avenues to invest etc..In our next article , let’s see why investing is the most important activity one should have.

The markets ended on a high note last week after three weeks of sideways movement. It was the hopes built around the first budget of Modi government that made the sensex and the nifty rally 862 and 242 points respectively.
Going ahead, the Big day is here. Millions of people, corporates and businessmen are waiting to hear what the finance minister has worked out for each one of them so that they may retain the hope of good days ahead. A friendly budget which will not impact the living standards of the people negatively and which will kick off the growth process will immediately spur an upward movement that may crack the 27,000 level (sensex) and 8,000 levels (nifty) for the first time. But on the other had if the budget turns out to be a disappointing one (especially for the FD investors) we’re going to witness a plunge that may dip below 23,500 (sensex) and 6,500 (Nifty). Finally, if the budget happens to be an ordinary one which leaves some happy n some sad, it’s going to have a mixed reaction with a short rally on the budget day and then a retreat back to where we’re standing now.

Now, we can’t really say what exactly is going to come out of Mr. Arun Jaitley’s box on July 10^th. So we suggest investors to watch the game from the sidelines. It will be prudent for those who have profitable positions in cash market to liquidate a portion and take some profits home. Investors having loss positions may hold on to their investments for a gamble – should the budget spark a rally, they might get an opportunity to off load their investments at a profit or at least at par. Remember that not all is well with the fundamentals and Mr. Modi had earlier hinted about taking tough steps that may not impress the common man. Apart from the budget, the first quarter earnings results will also kick off this week with Infosys results on July 11th. For investors looking for opportunities in banking sector , Indian overseas bank looks fairly valued at the present market rate of Rs 84.
Expect a volatile week ahead. We expect the sensex and the nifty to trade in a range of 25,000-26,500 and 7,550-7,890 for the nifty assuming that the budget is going to be a reasonably good one.

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.

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 5.5 percent decline in total sales in March at 1,13,350 units as against 1,19,937 units in the same month last year. The company said its domestic sales declined  by 5.2 percent during the month to 1,02,269 units as against 1,07,890 units in March 2013. Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined by 11 percent to 40,085 units as compared to 45,047 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.
The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose by 9.3 percent to 28,285 units in March this year as against 25,868 units last year, reports PTI. 12:50pm HSBC's India manufacturing PMI down in March HSBC's India manufacturing PMI declined in March at 51.3 versus 52.5 in February, but remained above the waterline, indicating positive growth. "Growth in the manufacturing sector eased on the back of weaker growth in output and a slowdown in order flows from domestic clients.
By goods, consumer goods firmed, but the production of investment goods remains subdued according to panellists. Looking ahead, the recovery is likely to prove protracted. Meanwhile, inflation eased in March, with the PMI index for input and output prices falling," the HSBC report said.
12:45pm Expert on RBI policy Kunal Shah, fund manager-debt, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance said, "RBI has maintained status quo as per our and consensus expectations, though not clearly spelled out in policy but RBI is incrementally concerned about sticky growth underperformance." According to him, RBI has hinted that lead indicators do not point to any sustained revival in industry or services & hence believes that slower activity will help disinflate the economy which will support the fight against inflation. "Till these processes evolve RBI feels current policy rates are appropriate and may not require further tightening," he added. "We expect current disinflation process to continue and core inflation to moderate further however sharp fall is unlikely in short-term. Monsoon will be key to watch as it can create short-term volatility in inflation path," Shah said.
12:40pm Rate hike unlikely if inflation does not rise further The Reserve Bank’s policy stance will be firmly focussed on keeping the economy on a disinflationary glide path that is intended to hit 8 per cent CPI inflation by January 2015 and 6 per cent by January 2016, the central bank said. It further said that at the current juncture, it is appropriate to hold the policy rate, while allowing the rate increases undertaken during September 2013-January 2014 to work their way through the economy. Furthermore, if inflation continues along the intended glide path, further policy tightening in the near term is not anticipated at this juncture, the RBI said.
12:35pm RBI says Since December 2013, the sharper than expected disinflation in vegetable prices has enabled a sizable fall in headline inflation. Looking ahead, vegetable prices have entered their seasonal trough and further softening is unlikely. Meanwhile, CPI inflation excluding food and fuel has remained flat. There are risks to the central forecast of 8 percent CPI inflation by January 2015 stemming from a less-than-normal monsoon due to possible el nino effects; uncertainty on the setting of minimum support prices for agricultural commodities and the setting of other administered prices, especially of fuel, fertiliser and electricity; the outlook for fiscal policy; geo-political developments and their impact on international commodity prices. 12:30pm Market falls further, banks extend losses Equity benchmarks extended losses in afternoon trade weighed down by banking and financial stocks.
The Sensex is down 81.76 points to 22304.51 and the Nifty down 20.25 points to 6683.95. India's biggest lender State Bank of India plunged 2 percent while rival HDFC Bank slipped 1.9 percent. Top private sector lender ICICI Bank and housing finance company HDFC dropped over a percent. Shares of L&T, ITC, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, BHEL and Coal India declined over 1 percent.

However, TCS held its early gains, up 2 percent followed by Wipro and ONGC with more than 1.5 percent. Infosys and Tata Motors climbed over 0.5 percent. 12:25pm RBI says Retail inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) moderated for the third month in succession in February 2014, driven lower by the sharp disinflation in food prices, although prices of fruits, milk and products have started to firm up. Excluding food and fuel, however, retail inflation remained sticky at around 8 percent. This suggests that some demand pressures are still at play.
12:20pm RBI increases the liquidity provided under 7-day and 14-day term repos from 0.5 percent of net demand and time liability (NDTL) of the banking system to 0.75 percent. It decreases the liquidity provided under overnight repos under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) from 0.5 percent of bank-wise NDTL to 0.25 percent with immediate effect.
12:15pm Rajan says the bank may need to push foreign banks to follow subsidiary model. Foreign banks avoid subsidiary route on priority sector norm, he adds.
12:10pm While addressing press conference after an announcement of bi-monthly review, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said the bank had responded to Election Commission queries on banking licences. "We took Election Commission (EC) opinion on banking licences to stay away from controversy. Bimal Jalan had also suggested getting EC nod for banking licences," Rajan said. He further said the window for differentiated banking licences would be opened soon. 12:05pm Reserve Bank of India kept repo rate, at which banks borrow money from RBI, unchanged at 8 percent and cash reserve ratio at 4 percent. The central bank also left marginal standing facility rate and bank rate unchanged at 9 percent.
12:00pm The market remains volatile after the Reserve Bank of India kept policy rates unchanged that is in-line with expectations. The Sensex slips 15.12 points to 22371.15 and the Nifty declines 4.75 points to 6699.45. About 1174 shares have advanced, 1042 shares declined, and 131 shares are unchanged.   Top lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank decline 0.5-0.8 percent. Housing finance company HDFC slips 0.66 percent. State-run power equipment maker BHEL drops 1.7 percent, and engineering and construction major L&T is down 1.3 percent.

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.

Today the global scenario looks favourable, which may result in positive opening of the Indian markets. SGX Nifty is also trading 31.00 points higher.
Global Market
Asian shares raced to two-week highs on Wednesday, with investor confidence getting a much needed boost from upbeat U.S. data and lingering hopes China may take steps to stimulate its sagging economy.
US stocks Tuesday finished a choppy trading session higher, boosted by stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data. The main indexes recorded small gains after two days of losses.
European shares rebounded on Tuesday, anticipating of stimulus measures from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Chinese central bank to help their economies fight off any slowdown.
Levels to watch out:
Supports @ 6570 - 6540 - 6510
Resistance @ 6600 - 6650 - 6680

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

The biggest near-term catalyst for the Indian market is the upcoming general election and the current rally is seen as the one fuelled by hope of a stable government. Gautam Chhaochharia, head of India research of UBS Securities sees the Nifty touching 6,900 on favourable election outcome.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he said, sector rotation will take front seat and this up move will be lead by cyclicals largely banks, which have a considerable weightage in the index. Other sectors like industrials and power would also perform well.
Traders who are looking to play recovery in the capex cycle theme can buy infrastructure stocks, but from six months – two years perspective, one should be cautious because on the ground revival in the sector will take a longer time.  L&T and  BHEL are his top picks from the capital goods space. He likes  Voltas  from the midcaps.
 UBS prefers sticking to private sector lenders and is underweight on public sector banks, however, those interested in investing in this space can consider PNB , which looks good from a valuation perspective, he said.
He is overweight on the IT sector from a strategy perspective and expects recovery in US and Europe to aid the sector. Giants  TCS and  Infosys are his top bets. However, he cautioned that sector rotation can drag IT services. Recent rupee appreciation and hopes of economic recovery has led investors to take money from this safe heaven sector to cyclicals.
Meanwhile, he expects the gas price hike to eventually go through. He is positive on  ONGC and RIL .  From the media space, he is positive on Sun TV , Dish TV and Hathway .
Continuing his bullish tone, he added that correction steps taken by previous government have given confidence in the Indian economy. He feels that bulidimng blocks for economic growth are in place. The broking firm is constructive on Indian market from a two-three year perspective

MCX | Financial Technologies | Arshiya International | ONGC | ACC | Tech Mahindra | United Spirits | Dabur India | PNB | Tata Power | Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services | Bharti Infratel | Mindtree and Axis Bank are stocks, which are in the news today.

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 .. 

Today is special trading session....timing : 11am to 3.30pm

UMBAI/NEW DELHI: The government on Friday raised as much as $1.4 billion through share sales, in a push to shore up state finances before it heads into a tough parliamentary election next month

As a result, New Delhi managed to exceed its sharply-lowered budget target to raise as much as $3.1 billion via stake sales in some private as well as state companies in the fiscal year to March 31, after years of falling short.
Some analysts hope the new government, taking office in May, will speed divestments to bolster revenue generation and trim the budget deficit, as part of efforts to revive slowing economic growth.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had penciled nearly $9 billion in divestment revenues into his budget for this fiscal year, but slashed that figure last month to $3.1 billion.

He also set an ambitious target of raising $8.5 billion from further share sales in the next fiscal year, but this estimate could be revised by a possible successor after the election.

"With the next government in place, one would only expect better fortunes from stake sales," said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy think tank.

 "A recovery in growth sentiment in the market should help sell stakes quite early in the next fiscal year to meet the target."