25th Oct Morning Market Updates:

25th Oct Morning Market Updates:
Stocks that are in news today:

Results today: HUL, Idea, Adani power, Amara Raja, Asian Hotels (East), Crompton Greaves, EID Parry, GIC Housing, HOEC, Mundra Port, Petronet LNG, REC, Rolta, Tata Coffee, Titan, United Bank, Aventis Pharma
Alert: EID parry to also consider stock split

Piramal Health Q2 (cr - crore, vs - versus, cons - consolidated)
Consolidated net sales at Rs 752 cr vs Rs 999.99 cr (YoY)
Consolidated net profit at Rs 12,540 cr vs Rs 106.3 cr (YoY)
Net profit includes sale of assets to Abbott
One-time gain of Rs 16,224 crore
Piramal Health
Board approves buyback at Rs 600/sh via tender offer
Buyback for up to 20% of equity, on proportionate basis
To spend Rs 2,508 cr on buyback
Promoters to participate in buyback, maintain % stake at current levels
Piramal Health Says
Share buyback more tax efficient than dividend
Share buyback maximises value for shareholders
Hope to complete share buyback by February
Dr Reddy's Q2 (IFRS):
Cons net profit at Rs 287 cr vs Rs 217.3 cr (YoY)
Cons net sales at Rs 1,870 cr vs Rs 1,840 cr (YoY)
EBIDTA up 12% at Rs 420 cr (YoY)
Oil Secretary says
OMCs should declare good Q2 results
ONGC wants Cairn to seek permission, ONGC has not heard back from cairn energy yet
Other stocks and sectors that are in news today:
Gujarat NRE Coke to issue guarantee for USD 200 million for borrowings of Gujarat NRE Coking Coal, an Australian subsidiary
Simbhaoli Sugar: approves fund raising - 15 lakh equity shares + 25 lakh warrants on preferential basis
Microfinance to get a regulator in Nabard – ET (FinMin could move the bill in winter session)
Retail investors may be allowed Rs 2 lakh in IPO – ET
Singh Brothers may buyout Piramal Healthcare’s 10% stake in SLR (Super Religare Labs) – ET
RBI wants lock-in period for FDI In Hotels, Tourism – VS
Ashok Leyland scouts for acquisition in Latin America – BS
Lloyds Steel open offer at Rs 13.95/sh ((CMP: 12.54))
Areva T&D open offer likely at Rs 311/sh – DNA ((CMP: 296))
Orrisa Minerals, Rio Tinto in JV talks – DNA
Centre may open sugar exports window for extra 10 lakh tonnes – BL
SKS MicroFinance Q2
Net profit at Rs 80 cr vs Rs 37 cr
Total income at Rs 366 cr vs Rs 207 cr (YoY)
Q1 net profit at Rs 67 crore
F&O cues:

Futures Open Int down Rs 103 crore
Options Open Int up Rs 1505 crore

Nifty Oct Futures shed 16 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty Oct Futures at 24-point premium
Nifty Nov Futures add 8.5 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty Nov Futures at 50-point premium
Nifty Open Int PCR at 1.20 versus 1.27
Nifty Puts shed 13 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty Calls add 35 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty 5800 Put adds 4 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty 6100 Put sheds 11 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty 6200 Call adds 18 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty 6100 Call adds 9.7 lakh shares in Open Int
Stock Futures add 4 crore shares in Open Int
FIIs in F&O on October 22
Net buy Rs 150 crore in Nifty futures
Nifty futures Open Int down 21,167 contracts
Net buy Rs 774 crore in Nifty options
Nifty options Open Int up 13,767 contracts
Net sell Rs 392 crore in Stock futures
Stock futures Open Int up 177 contracts
US Markets:
US stocks could see big swings to the downside next week on any remotely "bad" news since volatility indexes are at levels considered too low.

Investors also will face a blizzard of earnings, which many analysts believe will continue to support the rally that began early this month. But any disappointments in either earnings or outlooks could, of course, trigger a sharp sell-off.
What's more, the market is likely to continue to garner support from investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve will take more steps to stimulate the economy, in what's known as "quantitative easing" or "QE2." The Fed is expected to unveil its initial commitment under QE2 at its November 2-3 meeting.
The Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index, or VIX, a gauge widely used to measure investors' anxiety levels, fell 2.54%on Friday to close at 18.78, its lowest level since April. The VIX, which rose to near 50 in May, has been around or under 20 for the past two weeks.
Options traders note that there is a clear sign of extreme complacency in the VIX and that it is making the market more vulnerable than before.
"The 'market volatility' index will see a lot more volatility (next week) since it is at such low levels now," said Steve Claussen, chief investment strategist at online brokerage OptionHouse.com.
The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures exchange-traded note, or ETN is also at a new 52-week low of 12.83. The ETN offers directional exposure to volatility and is based off of the front two-month VIX futures.
"If you look at VIX futures, investors seem to be always preparing for something to trigger the volatility to spike up again, yet there is nothing major in the immediate future that justifies that," Claussen said.
The VIX futures were traded at around 21 for November and 24 for December, but going into 2011, they were showing an increase of 40%, trading above 26.
The VIX, widely known as Wall Street's fear gauge, is a 30-day risk forecast of stock market volatility. The index typically has an inverse relationship with the S&P benchmark as it tracks option prices that investors are willing to pay as protection on the underlying stocks.
Earlier this week, the VIX instantly shot up nearly 12% when stocks suffered their steepest one-day decline since August after a surprising rate hike from China.
Earnings on center stage
Earnings will remain the center of attention next week. Many analysts predict that earnings will continue to support the market rally that kicked off October. If more companies report strong results, that could bolster sentiment, along with hopes for more Fed easing.
In the last week of October, 177 S&P 500 companies are due to report their balance sheets, of which seven are Dow components. Among them are energy giants Exxon and Chevron and technology giant Microsoft.
S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase 28% for the third quarter from a year ago, up from a growth estimate of 24% last week, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"The earnings are expected to be good next week as well ... we are not expecting any bad news out of there," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, in New York.
But Cardillo said that negative news from economic data could spark market volatility, especially as it would come just a week before the November 2-3 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, and in the week preceding the November 2nd mid-term elections.
Major economic data for the coming week includes existing home sales, durable goods orders and third-quarter GDP.
Elliot Spar, options market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus, also said a sell-off could begin as early as next week in anticipation of the Fed meeting and the mid-term elections.
"For those that are waiting for the 'sell on the news' event on November 3 when the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee concludes its meeting to discuss the prospect of another round of quantitative easing, I believe that the sell-off in the market will start during the week of October 25."
All three major indexes capped a third straight week of gains. For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 each rose 0.6% while the Nasdaq gained 0.4%.
From the technical viewpoint, a key support for the S&P 500 was seen at the 10-day moving average, which was at 1,175 as of Friday.
"A clear one-day break of the 10-day moving average with a follow-through to the downside the next day could be the catalyst for a meaningful pullback in the market," Spar said