Bharti Airtel posts strong performances lead by surprise margin

Bharti Airtel’s quarter 4 (Q4FY1516) profit increases by 2.80% on consumption of voice and data services. Profit rose from 1,255 crore to Rs 1,290 crore counterbalancing competitive pressure on rates and higher interest cost. It’s revenue rose by 10.10% to Rs. 24,960 crore.

Company’s Net interest cost hopped to Rs. 1,524 crore from Rs 858 crore, due to debt borrowed for buying spectrum a year ago. The company’s consolidated net debt rose from $11.91 billion to $12.66 billion QoQ.

Strong voice growth; data disappoints

India mobile business reported 4.8% revenue growth on 6.0% voice volume growth and 1.5% realization drop and 9.6% data volume growth and 3.8% realization drop. Management attributed strong voice volume growth to better execution and disproportionate share of subscriber acquisition from operators whose licences expired. As operators have expanded their own 3G network, dependence on ICR has declined, leading to lower data volume as well as lower access charge. Africa business reported 0.5% QoQ revenue growth in USD on 3.8% spurt in voice volume, while margins improved 80bps QoQ.

Cost optimization drives margin surprise

Management has highlighted that it is conducting a cost optimization drive to rationalize cost, which, along with one-off benefit, resulted in 70bps QoQ decline in network cost for India business. Also, write-back of bad debt in the quarter led to 80bps gain in SG&A. We revise up our margin estimates for FY17 and FY18 80bps and 30bps, respectively, to factor in gains from lower access charges and network charges, leading to 11.5% and 3.8% earnings upgrade in FY17E and FY18E, respectively.

Posted on: 29/04/2016 07:56:00 PM

Posted by Prashant Patel, Stock Market Pulse

Permalink : http://stockmarketpuls.blogspot.com/2016/04/bharti-airtel-posts-strong-performances-lead-surprise-margin.html

Market Pulse - 19 Mar, 2013

Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 16:30 PM
Markets closed weak, amid political uncertainty.
Markets opened firm positive after tracking positive cues from Asian markets but closed weak amid political uncertainty after the DMK withdrew support to the ruling government UPA (United Progressive Alliance). Sensex closed down by 285.10 points or 1.48% at 19,008.10 after touching a high of 19,378.61 and a low of 18,939.47, whilw Nifty ended down by 89.30 points or 1.53% at 5,745.95 after touching a high of 5,863.60 and a low of 5,724.30 in the day.

Sectoral wise, all sectors ended the day negative with Realty index leading the list dropping down by 3.63%, followed by Capital Goods, Metal and PSU declining by 2.69%, 2.59% and 2.08%, Power, Bankex, Oil & Gas, Auto, Consumer Durables fell between 2-1% each, IT and FMCG dropped down by 0.69% and 0.41%, while Healthcare closed marginally down by 0.24%. In broader markets, Mid-cap index dropped down by 1.37% and Small-cap declined down by 1.57%.

Major stock gainers were, Gail (India) surging up by 1.96%, Bajaj Auto gained up by 1.17%, Sun Pharmaceutical gained up by 0.74%, ITC up by 0.44%, while Maruti Suzuki and Wipro Limited marginally up by 0.16% and 0.07%.

Major stock losers were, BHEL slumped down by 5.05%, Bharti Airtel and Sterlite Industries dropped down by 4.74% and 4.15%, Jindal Steel & Power Limited declined by 3.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra fell by 3.45%, HDFC dropped down by 3.01%, Tata Steel Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Hero Motocorp, ONGC, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India declined down between 3%-2% each, Cipla Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, Coal India Limited, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors Limited and NTPC fell between 2%-1% respectively, Reliance Industries and Tata Power Company down by 0.79% and 0.56%, while Infosys declined marginally by 0.08%.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its mid-quarter review of the monetary policy cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.50%, but at the same time it also said that “the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited."

Sun TV Network slumped by 5.98% after DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) withdrew its support to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government, over Sri Lanka issue. The company is owned and operated by Kalanidhi Maran, the nephew of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, Citigroup downgraded the stock from "Buy" to "Neutral" citing its stronger performance compared with peers recently.

Bharti Airtel declined by 4.74%, on reports that the 2G Trial Court has summoned Sunil Mittal, chairman and managing director of the company in the additional spectrum allocation case.

Coal India dropped down by 1.50%, on reports that the UK-based TCI, a minority shareholder, called for CAG (Comptroller Auditor General) investigation in the company’s Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs). According to TCI, the company has taken steps that have negative impact for investors, added report.

Overall market breadth was firm weak with 1,958 shares declined compared to 904 shares advanced, while 108 shares remained unchanged.

Market Pulse - 18 Mar, 2013

Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 16:30 PM
Markets closed lower, amid weak global cues.
Markets closed lower, amid weak global cues, weighed down by selling pressure in rate sensitive shares as investors turned cautious ahead of the RBI policy on Tuesday. Sensex closed down by 134.36 points or 0.69% at 19,293.20, after opening down by 144.93 points or 0.75% at 19,282.63 and striking a high of 19,345.42 and a low of 19,232.23, while Nifty closed down by 37.35 points or 0.64% at 5,835.25, after opening down by 55.85 points or 0.95% at 5,816.75 and touched a high of 5,850.20 and a low of 5,814.35 in the day.

Sectoral wise, FMCG, Consumer Durables and Healthcare were only indices which managed to end positive up by 0.68%, 0.32% and 0.30%, while all other indices ended the day negative. Metal index dropped down by 2.34%, followed by PSU and Auto declining by 1.64% and 1.44%, Realty and Oil & Gas also fell by 1.21% and 1.20% each, Power, Bankex and IT down between 0.80-0.50%, while Capital Goods index was tad down by 0.04%. In broader markets, Mid-cap index declined marginally by 0.29% while Small-cap index declined by 0.67% respectively.

Major index gainers were, Cipla Limited gaining up by 1.70%, Hindustan Unilever advanced up by 1.20%, HDFC Bank gained up by 0.75%, ITC up by 0.66%, while Hero Motocorp and Larsen & Toubro marginally up by 0.18% and 0.13%.

Major index losers were, Coail India Limited dropped down by 5.41%, Tata Power Company and Gail (India) declined by 3.43% and 3.16%, Maruti Suzuki, Sterlite Industries and Bajaj Auto declined down between 3-2% each, Wipro Limited, Tata Motors Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, Tata Steel Limited, Reliance Industries Limited, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC down between 2-1% each, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, Infosys, Jindal Steel, ONGC and State Bank of India dropped between 1-0.50%, HIndalco Industries Limited down by 0.47%, Tata Consultancy Services fell by 0.39%, NTPC marginally down by 0.27%, while Sun Pharmaceuticals tad down by 0.03%.

Coal India Limited slumped by 5.41%, on reports that the government is offloading 10% equity through share sale of Rs 20,000 crore, to meet half of the disinvestment target for the fiscal year 2013-14.

Bharti Airtel dropped by 0.98%, after reports that DoT (Department of Telecommunication) has asked the company to stop 3G services with in 3 days in the circles it dose not have the required licences.

Overall market breadth was firm negative with 1,757 shares declined compared to 1,091 shares advanced, while 121 shares remained unchanged.

Market Pulse - 26 Feb, 2013

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 16:30 PM
Markets closed negative, amid weak global cues.
Markets slipped down after opening weak in the morning tracking weak global cues on account of uncertainty in Italy post the general elections and also there was no positive surprise in the Railway Budget. Sensex which opened down by 41.03 points or 0.21% at 19,290.66 kept shedding and closed at 19,051.14 down by 316.55 points or 1.64%, while Nifty which opened down by 16.45 points or 0.28% at 5,838.30 also loosened and ended down by 93.40 points or 1.60% at 5,761.35.

Sectoral wise, barring IT index which closed up by 0.89%, all other indices closed negative. Leading the list was Oil & Gas index down by 3.07%, followed by Auto down by 2.76%, Capital Goods fell by 2.44%, Metal slumped by 2.30%, PSU declining by 2.29%, Healthcare down by 1.93%, Real-Estate down by 1.89%, Bank declined by 1.68%, Power down by 1.29%, Consumer Durables fell by 0.89% and FMCG fell by 0.54%. In broader markets, Mid-cap and Small-cap both the indices also closed negative. Mid-cap closed down by 1.76%, while Small-cap crashed down by 2.43%.

Major stock gainers were, Tata Consultancy Services gaining by 1.56%, Infosys up by 1.47%, Bharti Airtel gaining by 1.38%, NTPC gained by 0.73% and Hindustan Unilever tad up by 0.22%.

Major stock losers were, Hindalco Industries leading the list slumped by 4.49%, followed by Bajaj Auto down by 4.20%, HDFC and ONGC declining by 3.74%, Reliance Industries Limited fell by 3.51%, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors down by 3.35% and 3.29%, Coal India Limited fell by 3.28%, Tata Steel Limited down by 3.08%, ICICI Bank Limited, BHEL, Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Tourbo, Cipla Limited and Dr Reddys laboratories declining between 3-.2% respectively, Sterlite Industries and HDFC Bank Limited down between 2-1%, State Bank of India fell by 0.98%, Gail (India) down by 0.89%, Tata Power down by 0.87%, Wipro Limited down by 0.85%, Jindal Steel & Power down by 0.83%, Hero Motocorp fell by 0.77% and ITC down by 0.51%.

As there was no major announcement made by Railway Minister in it's Rail Budget, stocks dependant on Indian Railway's for revenues have plunged. Kalindee Rail slipped by 11.60%, Titagarh Wagons slumped by 8.10%, Kernex Microsystems (India) slumped by 15.31%, Hind Rectifiers fell by 8.82% and Bartronics down by 0.60%.

Zicom Electronic Security Systems gained by 4.20%, after Railway Minister proposed electronic display in trains for giving real time updates of train stations and schedules.

Jet Airways (India) plunged by 11%, extending its losses for the straight fourth day, amid concerns over it's stake-sale deal with Etihad Airways.

Overall market breadth was negative with 2,012 shares declining compared to 774 shares advancing, while 115 shares remained unchanged.

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 15:30 PM
Markets continue to remain weak..
Markets ended lower amid heavy selling done in index heavy weight. Sensex closed down by 299.73 points or 1.55% at 19,031.96 (provisional) Nifty ended down by 87.25 points or 1.49 points at 5,767.50 (provisional).

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 14:00 PM
Markets continue to remain weak..
Markets continue to trade weak tracking weak global cues amid selling in index heavy weights. Sensex fell by 230.69 points or 1.19% at 19,101, while Nifty fell by 69.75 points or 1.19% at 5,785.

Sector wise, Oil & Gas index declined by 2.50% and Auto, Capital Goods, Metal and PSU followed the trend were down by 2%, IT and FMCG were only indices trading positive. In broader market, both the indices Mid-cap and Small-cap were trading negative.

Major stock movers were, Tata Motors, ONGC, Hindalco Industries, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries Limited, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel, all were down between 3-4%.

Overall market breadth is negative with 1,978 shares were declined compared to 678 shares advanced.

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Markets continue to remain weak..
Markets continued to trade weak weighed by Financial and Oil & Gas sector shares. Sensex is down by 132 points at 19,200, while Nifty down by 41 points at 5,813. Sector wise, all indices are trading negative except for IT. In broader markets, both Mid-cap and Small-cap indices continued to remain weak amid selling pressure. Both the Mid-cap and Small-cap index are down by 1.3% each.

Major stock movers are, Reliance Industries down by 1.60%, ONGC fell by 1.20%, HDFC and ICICI Bank fell by 2%, SBI down by 1%, Larsen & Tourbo and Tata Motors too are trading weak. Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys gaining by 1%, ITC and Hindustan Unilever up by 1-2% each, Bharti Airtel gained by 3.10% and Idea Cellular Limited up by 3.60%.

Idea Cellular Limited and Bharti Airtel gaining by 3.6-3.1% on news of government’s decision to lower the reserve price of spectrum for 1,800-MHz. Mean while, Bharti Airtel launched 4G voice services in Pune, where it had earlier offered data services.

Maruti Suzuki fell by 1.9%, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that foreign institutional investor (FII) cannot buy shares of Maruti Suzuki as their limit of 24% has been breached.

Overall market breadth is weak, with 1,663 shares declining compared to 634 shares advancing.

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Markets trading cautiously.
Markets continue to trade languish as Railway Budget is to be announced at 11:00AM by Railway Minister, Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal. Sensex is down by 98 points at 19,233, while Nifty is down by 36 points at 5,818.

Sectoral wise, barring IT and FMCG indices, all other sectors are trading negative. IT index gaining by 0.70% and FMCG is flat. Auto index dropped by 1.30%, Capital Goods, Healthcare and Bank are down between 1%. In broader markets Mid-cap and Small-cap indices fell by 0.80% and 0.70% each.

Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 09:30 AM
Markets opened negative.
Markets opened weak, ahead of Railway Budget which is to be announced later today. Sensex opened down by 41.03 points or 0.21% at 19,290.66 is current trading at 19,203 down by 127 points, while Nifty opened down by 16.45 points or 0.28% at 5,838.30 is current down by 42 points at 5,812.

Sector wise, Auto index fell by 0.80%, Oil & Gas index down by 0.80%, Healthcare, Metal and Bank indices too were trading weak. Consumer Durables is just tad up by 0.20%, while IT index is almost flat.

Major stock movers were, BHEL, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever are positive between 0.30-0.80%, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors down by 1.50% each. ICICI Bank fell by 1.30%, HDFC, ONGC, Larsen & Tourbo, Wipro Limited and Hindalco are also trading weak.

Bharti Airtel surged by 4% as it has announced to launch 4G services by end of next month in Chandigarh.

Cairn India fell by 0.7%, as the company started drilling its first exploration well in four years on the prolific Rajasthan block.

Jet Airways slumped by 3%, after it's much anticipated Jet-Etihad deal hit a road block.

Market Pulse - 22 Feb, 2013

Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 18:30 PM
Markets closed almost flat.
Markets closed almost flat after a volatile session as investors opted to stay away as sentiments remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget. Sensex closed down by 8.35 points or 0.04% at 19,317.01, after opening flat up by 16.54 points or 0.09% at 19,341.90 and touching day's high of 19,401.75 and low of 19,289.83, while Nifty ended down by 1.95 points or 0.03% at 5850.30, after opening down by 14.45 points or 0.25% at 5,837.80 and touching day's high of 5,873.80 and low of 5,835.80 for the day.

Sectoral wise, Real-Estate index ended up by 1.35%, IT gained up by 0.83%, Healthcare up by 0.78%, Oil & Gas gaining up by 0.58%, Power, Bank and Capital Goods up by 0.23-0.17%, while FMCG declined by 1.41%, Auto and Metal down by 0.55-0.53% each, PSU fell by 0.29% and Consumer Durbales down by 0.15%. From broader markets, both the indices closed tad up by 0.02-0.11% respectively.

Major stock gainers were, Bharti Airtel gained by 4.6%, Wipro and TCS gaining by 2.4% and 0.4% respectively, Bajaj Auto edged up by 0.7%, ICICI Bank gained by 1.2%, Reliance Industries edged up by 0.7%.

Major stock losers were, HUL and ITC declined by 2.6% and 1.5% respectively, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries dropped nearly by 1% each, SBI and HDFC Bank fell by 0.6% while Maruti Suzuki ended down over 2%.

Bharti Airtel spurted nearly by 5% on reports of company planning to meet global investors for a potential benchmark-sized dollar bond sale.

DLF Limited gained up by nearly 3%, after the management announced its intention of reducing its debt by half to Rs 11,000-12,000 crore over the next 2-3 years.

Jet Airways slumped nearly by 6%, after on reports that Etihad Airways had put a host of new conditions including an option to buy up-to 49% stake in the company.

TVS Motors fell by nearly 2.6%, as proxy advisory firm Institutional Investors Advisory Services has opposed the proposed appointment of Sudarshan Venu to the board of directors.

HDFC, dropped down by nearly 2%, after Goldman Sachs, a global brokerage firm, downgraded its rating fron 'Neutral' to 'Sell' citing concerns of Indian ecomony to recover at a modest pace and the prospect of rising competition.

Overall market breadth was marginally negative, of 2,994 shares 1,072 shares declined compared to 1,043 shares advanced while 879 shares remained unchanged.

Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 15:30 PM
Markets ended flat.
Markets ended flat after a volatile session as investors opted to stay away, ahead of crucial Union Budget announcement scheduled next week. Sensex closed down by 16 points at 19,309.16 (provisionally), while Nifty closed down by 3 points at 5,848.90 (provisionally).

Major stock movers were, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Wipro Limited gained between 2-4%, while Coal India Limited, Hindustan Unilever and Maruti Suzuki declined between 2-3%.

Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 09:30 AM
Markets opened flat.
Markets opened flat on a muted global cues. Sensex opened up by 16.54 points or 0.09% is current up by points at 19,346, while Nifty opened down by 14.45 points or 0.25% at 5,852.25 is current up by just 2.75 points at 5,855.

Market Pulse - 19 Feb, 2013

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 17:00 PM
Markets closed positive.

Markets closed higher, after opening flat in the morning and trading range bound for about two sessions, amid buying in index-weights. Sensex closed up by 134.64 points or 0.69% at 19,635.72 after touching day's high of 19,671.17 and low of 19,547.21, while Nifty ended up by 41.50 points or 0.70% at 5,939.70 after touching high of 5,947.55 and low of 5,883.15 in the day.

Sector wise, all sector ended positive, with Real-Estate index leading the gain list. Real-Estate gaining up by 1.90%, IT and Healthcare ended up by 1.66% and 1.38% each, Power, PSU and Oil & Gas up by 1.16%, 1.06% and 1.03% each, Auto up by 0.96%, FMCG up by 0.74%, Bank up by 0.56%, Metal gaining up by 0.41%, Capital Goods and Consumer Durables ended up by 0.35% and 0.26%. From broader markets Mid-cap and Small-cap index firmed up in th last hour of the trade, with Mid-cap gaining up by 1.12% and Small-cap ended up by 0.94%.

Major stock gainers were, ONGC gained up by 4.03%, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki gaining up by 2.36% and 2.19%, BHEL up by 2.00%, Cipla gained up by 1.96%, Wipro up by 1.90%, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industires up by 1.63% and 1.04%, NTPC gained up by 1.62%, Infosys and TCS up by 1.53% and 1.25%, Hindustan Unilever gaining by 1.47%, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories up by 1.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors gaining up by 0.86% and 0.62%, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India up by 0.86% and 0.62%, Tata Power up by 0.57%, Sun Pharma inching up by 0.55%, ITC gained up by 0.47%, Tata Steel gained up by 0.39%, while Reliance Industries Limited tad up by 0.18%.

Major stock losers were, Bharti Airtel dropped by 1.94%, Hero MotoCorp fell by 1.37%, Gail (India) down by 1.37%, Coal India declining by 1.35%, Jindal Steel fell by 0.79%, HDFC Bank Ltd down by 0.22%, while Larsen & Tourbo and HDFC ended tad down by 0.09% and 0.08% each.

ONGC spurted up by 4.03% on the company's revival plan to set up a liquid gas (LNG) import terminal near it's Mangalore refinery.

Essar Ports surged up by 8%, after the company announced that the lenders have released the pledged shares and the same being re-pledged with the trustees.

Overall market breadth was firm positive, of 2,960 shares traded 1,371 shares advanced compared to 742 shares declined, while 847 shares were unchanged.

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 15:30 PM
Markets closed positive.

Markets closed positive, amid buying in index heavy-weights. Sensex up by 152 points at 19,654, while Nifty gained up by 47 points at 5,945.

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 14:30 PM
Markets recovers.

Markets recovered in noon session amid buying interest in index heavi-weights. Sensex is up by 14 points at 19,515, while Nifty up by 4 points at 5,903.

Sector wise, Metal and Capital Goods were trading weak, while Real-Estate, Power, Healthcare, PSU and IT were up between 0.5-1% respectively. Whereas in broader market, Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up by 0.5% each. Major stock movers include, ONGC, NTPC, Cipla and Hindustan Unilever gaining up between 1-2.7%, BHEL, Infosys, Wipro, Dr Reddys Lab and Sterlite up between 0.6-0.9%. Bharti Airtel, Gail (India), Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, and Jindal Steel down between 1-2%, while Reliance Industries, Larsen & Tourbo, HDFC and ITC down between 0.3-0.7% respectively.

Overall market breadth is positive with 1,423 shares gaining compared to 1,269 shares declining.

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Markets trading flat.

Markets continues to trade flat range round with negative bias, amid weakness in index heavy-weight. Sensex is declining by 10.08 points or 0.05% at 19,491, while Nifty down by 4.2 points or 0.07% at 5,894.

Major stock movers are, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, CIL, RIL and SBI trading weak, whereas Cipla, ONGC, HUL, BHEL and NTPC are few gainers.

Hotel Leela Ventures spurted up by 10%, after the Board of Directors approves to sell the company's IT Park Building in Chennai.

Kingfisher Airlines locked at upper circuit in opening deals as UB Holdings seeking to revamp support to the beleaguered Airlines.

Trent advancing by 2%, after the board approved a proposal to buy private equity fund TVS Shriram Growth Fund's entire stake in Landmark Ltd, for Rs 84 crore.

Overall market breadth is positive with 1,117 shares advanced compared to 874 shares declined.

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 09:30 AM
Markets opend flat.

Markets opened flat with a negative bias. Sensex is down 3 points at 19,499 after opening up by 22.62 points at 19,523.70, while Nifty is unchanged at 5,898.20 after opening up by marginally 2 points or 0.03% at 5,900,20.

Sectoral wise, Real-Estate index up by 0.7%, Capital Goods, Power, Auto and Consumer Durables indices also gained up by 0.4-0.7% each, while Oil & Gas index is marginally down.

Major stock movers are BHEL gaining up by 1%, Cipla and Jindal Steel up by 1%, HUL, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and NTPC are also trading positive. Bharti Airtel is down by 1%, TCS is by down 0.5%.

Bharti Airtel down by 1%, as the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) is planning to hold a third round of auction of unsold spectrum under the 1800 MHz band in 18 circles immediately after the March auction.

BSE market breadth is marginally weak. Out of 1,376 stocks traded, 844 shares have advanced while 476 shares have declined.

Market Pulse -14 Feb, 2013

Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 17:30 PM
Markets closed lower

Markets closed lower, after opening flat in the morning, amid profit booking in Financial, Auto and index heavy-weight Reliance Industries. Sensex closed down by 110.90 points or 0.57% at 19,497.18 after touching day's high of 19,639.83 and low of 19,444.33, while Nifty ended down by 36 points or 0.61% at 5,896.95 after touching day's high of 5,940.20 and low of 5,884.55 for the day.

Sector wise, barring FMCG and IT index all other indices ended lower. FMCG closed up by 0.44% and IT ended up by 0.27%. Capital Goods declined by 2.27%, Oil & Gas fell by 1.59%, Auto down by 1.49%, Power, Real-Estate, Consumer Durables and Healthcare indices closed down between 1.25-1.11%, PSU ended down by 0.71%, Bank down by 0.65%, while Metal almost ended flat tad up by 0.04%. In broader market, both Mid-cap and Small-capindex ended down by 1.43% and 1.86% each.

Major stock gainers were, Hindustan Unilever Limited gained by 2.24%, Gail (India) up by 1.97%, HDFC Bank Limited gaining by 1.65%, Tata Steel Limited gained up by 1.17%, Tata Consultancy Services gained up by 1.15%, Coal India Limited gaining up by 0.92%, Infosys up by 0.85%, Tata Power up by 0.80%, NTPC gaining by 0.78%, Sun Pharmaceuticals up by 0.46%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.28%, ITC gaining up by 0.12%, while Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel tad up by 0.09%.

Major stock loser were, Bharti Airtel drowned by 4.02%, Wipro Limited down by 3.33%, Maruti Suzuki fell by 3.30%, Larsen & Tourbo down by 2.72%, Reliance Industires declining by 2.63%, Tata Motors down by 2.59%, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell by 1.80% and 1.64%, Cipla Limited and Dr Reddy's Laboratories declining by 1.57%-1.44% respectively, Hero Motocorp down by 1.44%, Sterlite Industries fell by 1.11%, BHEL, Bajaj Auto and ONGC declining by 0.80%-0.60% respectively, while HDFC tad down by 0.06%.

Bharti Airtel top index loser, drowned 4.02%, after reports that government has demanded additional revenue share for spectrum usage.

Wipro slipped down by 3.30%, after National Stock Exchange of India decided to exclude these company from its benchmark index Nifty from 1st April 2013.

State Bank of India dropped by almost 2%, after posting a marginal 4% rise in net profit Y-O-Y for third quarter ended December 2012 at Rs 3,396 crore, compared a year earlier.

Reliance Industries Limited declining by 2.63%, after company said that it is not obliged to provide full access to documents relating to years that are not under audit to CAG.

Overall market breadth was negative with 1,501 shares declining compared to 656 shares advancing, while 804 shares were unchanged.

Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 13:00 PM
Markets trading lower

Markets trading lower, after opening flat in the morning, amid State Bank of India posted weaker-than-expected third quarter result. Sensex declined by 28.36 points or 0.15% at 19,579.72, after touching day's high of 19,639.83, while Nifty fell by 18.15 points or 0.31% at 5,914.80, after touching day's high of 5,940.20.

India's WPI inflation eased to 6.62 percent as to estimated 7 percent in January.

Sector wise, IT gained by 0.52%, Metal up by 0.29%, FMCG gained by 0.18%, while Auto dropped by 1.52%, Capital Goods fell by 1.30%, Consumer Durables and Power down by 1.04%-1.02% each, Healthcare, Real-Estate, Oil & Gas and Banks fell between 0.80-0.14% respectively. In broader markets, both indices traded negative with Mid-caps down by 1.12% and Small-caps falling by 1.41%.

Major stock movers were, HUL gained by 2.4%, GAIL rised by 1.3%, TCS and Infosys gaining by 1.3% and 1% respectively, Tata Steel up by 0.6%, HDFC Bank gained by 1%. While Bharti Airtel down by 3.7%, Wipro felling by 3%, Maruti Suzuki dropped by 2.6%, State Bank of India fell by 1%, Bajaj Auto down by 1%, HUL down by 0.7% and BHEL fell by 0.4% respectively.

State Bank of India fell by 1%, after it reported a 4% increase in net profit at Rs 3,396 crore for the quarter ended December 2012. It was Rs 3,263 crore in December 2011. The gross NPA for the quarter under review was 5.30% as against 5.15% in September 2012.

Sahara Housingfinance Corporation fell by about 15%, after the market regulator Sebi froze bank accounts of Sahara Group companies yesterday.

Overall market breadth is negative, of 2,672 shares traded, 1,851 shares declined compared to 697 shares advanced.

Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 09:45 AM
Markets open flat

Markets opened on a flat note, as Investors would watch out for January WPI data scheduled for later today, which is likely to decide the stance of RBI's monetary policy on March 19. Also, third quarter the earnings of companies like SBI and DLF to be announced later today. Sensex has opened up 18 points or 0.10%, at 19626.81 is now at 19,611.92 up by 3.84 points or 0.02%, while Nifty opened up by 0.25 points at 5,933.20 is now up by 0.3 points at 5933.25

Sectoral wise, Auto index down by 1.02%, followed were Healthcare and Consumer Durables fell by 0.55-0.51%, Capital Goods, Power and Bank down between 0.32-0.01% respectively. Whereas IT index gained by 0.58%, Oil & Gas and PSU indices gained by 0.34-0.33% each, FMCF and Real-Estate tad up by 0.10-0.05%, while Metal index remain unchanged.

Weekly Pulse - 10 Feb, 2013

Weekly Update - Feb 10, 2013

Markets continued to end lower.

Weekly Update
Top Gainers
Company Name	Current	Previous Close	% Change
TCS	1423.25	1383.55	5.71
HDFC Limited	808.00	778.65	3.77
Sun Pahrmaceutical Industries Ltd	744.05	719.80	3.37
HDFC Bank Limited	649.65	640.15	1.48
Wipro Limited	411.45	407.80	0.90
Infosys Limited	2788.30	2770.95	0.63
Tata Motors Limited	285.55	285.00	0.19
Top Losers
Company Name	Current	Previous Close	% Change
Sterlite Industires Ltd	101.25	111.95	9.56
Cipla Limited	380.90	413.65	7.92
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd	208.50	225.35	7.48
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd	313.45	332.45	5.72
NTPC Limited	148.00	156.75	5.58
Tata Power Company Ltd	97.10	102.65	5.41
State Bank of India	2286.40	2409.90	5.12
Hero Motocorp Ltd	1724.05	1813.35	4.92
Coal India Limited	339.15	355.75	4.67
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd	1856.50	1946.70	4.63
Tata Steel Limited	386.70	400.75	3.51
ICICI Bank Limited	1130.10	1171.00	3.49
Reliance Industries Limited	864.20	893.45	3.27
Hindalco Industries Limited	109.75	113.45	3.26
Bharti Airtel Limited	321.10	330.50	2.84
Hindustan Unilever Limited	452.30	465.00	2.73
ITC Limited	301.65	309.15	2.43
GAIL (India) Limited	335.90	342.65	1.97
Larsen & Lourbo Limited	1509.35	1534.90	1.66
Maruti Suzuki India Limited	1588.30	1608.70	1.27
Jindal & Steel Power Ltd	412.65	415.50	0.69
Bajaj Auto Limited	2043.80	2053.45	0.47
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd	882.80	885.95	0.36

Weekly Pulse - 02 Feb, 2013

Weekly Update - Feb 02, 2013

Markets ended negative.

Markets closed down by over 1%, amid profit booking in Auto and Bank sectors after RBI at its policy meet struck a cautious note on further easing as it awaits governments plan to control the rising fiscal deficit and said that inflation continues to remain above its comfort zone. Sharp reduction in growth forecast by RBI for 2012-13 also aided weighed on market sentiment. Sensex closed down by 322 points or 1.6% at 19,871, while Nifty closed down by 76 points or 1.2% at 5,999.

Barring Pharma, FMCG and Consumer Durables sectors, profit booking was seen in all other sector with Capital Goods being the top loser, followed sectors were Oil & Gas, Auto, Power and Real-Estate. However, the Mid-cap index ended down 0.1%, while the Small-Cap index ended 1.2% lower.

Bharti Airtel closed down by 8.1%, after it's profit fell for the twelfth quarter in a row and missed estimates by a wide margin, dragged down by higher costs. The company saw its net profit fall to Rs 284 crore in the third quarter that ended December 31, from Rs 1,011 crore a year earlier.

Bharat Heavy Electricals ended down by 1.8% after reporting 18% year-on-year (yoy) drop in its net profit at Rs 1,182 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012 (Q3) on account of lower operational income. The company's total order book position has declined to Rs 113,700 crore at the end of December 2012 quarter from Rs 122,300 crore as on September 2012 (Q2).

L&T ended down by 4.5% on profit taking after the stock rose post the announcement of its third quarter earnings last week on the back of encouraging order book position. The company said its order inflow grew 14% year-on-year (yoy) at Rs 19,545 crore during the October-December quarter (Q3).

State Bank of India closed down by 4.1% on profit taking after recent gains. The bank reduced its base rate by 5 basis points to 9.7% and the benchmark prime lending rate by 5 basis points to 14.45%. The bank has also lowered interest rates on home loans.

ICICI Bank ended marginally lower. Bank said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 increased by 22% from a year earlier to Rs 2,645 crore on the back of improved financial performance of banking and life insurance businesses.

Tata Motors closed down by 5.3% on concerns over JLR sales. Last week, the company said that sales for JLR, which accounts for a majority of Tata Motors' profits, have slowed significantly over the past quarter. Meanwhile, the stock crashed over 10% in intra-day trade on Friday. The trades, which happened in the last 30 minutes of Friday’s trading on both the exchanges, were executed at prices below the market rates, resulting in both these stocks tumbling as much as 10% before trimming losses. An NSE official said the orders were within the exchange’s limits and came from a single broker. The official clarified these were not freak trades, but clarified the exchange would look into the matter.

Other losers in the financial space, HDFC Bank ended 4.7% lower, HDFC slipped 3.3% and ICICI Bank ended marginally lower after rising to Rs 1,200 levels.

Metal shares were also among the top losers during the week under review. Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Sterlite Ind ended down 0.2-4% each.

Companies that will announce their third quarter earnings next week include, Bank of Baroda, Cipla, Tech Mahindra, ACC, Ambuja Cement, Hindalco Industries, M&M and Sun Pharma among others.

The RBI in its third quarter monetary policy review on Tuesday surprised the market by cutting short-term lending rate called repo by 0.25% to 7.75% and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by similar margin to 4%, releasing Rs 18,000 crore primary liquidity into the system. The Reserve Bank of India lowered its growth projection as new investment demand continues to remain subdued. The banking regulator now expects the domestic gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.5% in the current financial year. It had earlier projected 6.5% growth in July, 2012. But lowered it to 5.8% three months later as investment demand slowed, consumption spending moderated and export performance eroded. Growth in Indian manufacturing slowed to a three-month low in January, as new export orders lost momentum, a business survey showed on Friday, underscoring the risks to India's economy from weak global demand, particularly in Europe.

Market Pulse - 01 Feb 2013

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 16:30 PM
Markets closed lower.

Markets closed lower for second consecutive session, on concerns over growth slowdown, led by losses in rate sensitives indices like Bank, Metal and Capital Goods. Risk appetite was also frail after index stocks such as Bharti Airtel Limited and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited posted below estimate Oct-Dec results exacerbating growth woes. Sensex closed down by 101.80 points or 0.51% at 19,793.18 after touching a high of 19,966.69 and low of 19,736.45, while Nifty closed down by 30.15 points or 0.50% at 6,004.60, after tapping a high of 6,052.95 and low of 5,983.20 intraday today.

Sector wise, barring FMCG, Healthcare and Power indices which were up by 0.21%, 0.78% and 0.06% respectively, all other indices were trading negative. Real-Estate was the leading laggard down by 1.16%, followed were Auto, Bank, Metal, PSU and IT down between 0.98-0.41%. Mid-cap and Small-cap index were also dwon by 0.06% and 0.21% each.

Major stock gainers were, Maruti Suzuki gained by 1.65%, Cipla and Dr Reddy's rising by 1.58% and 1.4% respectively, Bajaj Auto up by 1.26%, Reliance Industries gaining up by 0.78%, Coal India, ITC, TCS and Sun Pharma rising by between 0.78-0.2%.

Major stock losers were, Tata Motors drowned by 4.36%, DLF fell by 2.62%, Bharti Airtel fell by 2.62%, ONGC down by 2.12, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industires dropped by 1.99 and 1.71% respectively, Jindal Steel fell by 1.15%, HUL down by 1.68%, ICICI Bank and SBI Bank down by 2% and 0.5%, BHEL down by 1%, Larsen & Toubro shedding by 0.5%.

Bharti Airtel slipped by 2.6%, after posting disappointing set of numbers. Bharti Airtel fell for the twelfth quarter in a row and missed estimates by a wide margin dragged down by higher costs, it has posted a 72% decline in its profit for the third quarter ended December 2012. Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit fell to Rs 284 crore in the third quarter that ended December 31, from Rs 1,011 crore a year earlier.

Jet Airways swung back into profit of Rs 85 crore for the third quarter ended December 2012 mainly due to rising fares in an under-serviced market and on lower costs. In the same period a year ago its net loss was Rs 101 crore. The stock ended marginally up by 0.1%.

Oil India's $575 million share auction was fully covered on Friday, (provisional) data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Shares of OIL fell by 2.5%.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, fell by 1% after it missed analyst estimates with a 17.5% fall in third-quarter net profit, hit by a slowdown in new orders, sending its shares down more than 4%.

Overall market breadth turned negative, of 2,987 stocks traded, 1,149 stocks declined compared to 954 gained.

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 15:30 PM
Markets ended lower.

Markets ended lower led by drop in rate-sensitive sectors such as Banks, Real-Estate amid concerns over economic growth slowdown. Sensex fell by 105.73 points (provisionally) ended at 19,789.25, while Nifty declined 30.15 points to end at 6,004.60 (provisional).

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 14:00 PM
Markets trading lower.

Market continues to trade lower, amid selling pressure Bharti Airtel and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. Sensex down by 86 points at 19,809, while Nifty declined 27 points at 6,007.

Sectoral wise, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Power indices gained, while Real-Estate, Banks, IT, Capital Goods declined. Whereas, Mid-caps and Small-caps inched up by 0.1% each.

Major stock movers are, Maruti Suzuki gaining by 2%, Cipla & Dr Reddy's Lab rising by 1.5%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.3%, Reliance Industries up by 0.6% ,Sun Pharma up by 0.5%. Whereas, BHEL down by 2%, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries down by 0.5% and 1.5% respectively, HUL dropped by 1.4%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.5%, ICICI Bank and SBI Bank down by 1% and 0.3%, Larsen & Toubro fell by 0.2%.

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 13:00 PM
Markets turn negative.

Markets extended its losses in noon session. Sensex down by 52 points at 19,843, while Nifty down by 18 points at 6,016.

Sector wise, Real-Estate and Capital Goods indices have declined almost by 1% each followed by indices like FMCG, Power, IT, Banks and PSU, all declining marginally, however, Consumer Durable index surged over by 2%.

Major stock movers are, BHEL down almost by 5%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.4%, HUL, Hero Moto, Tata Motors, Hindalco, HDFC Bank, Infosys and L&T were other losers on the list. Maruti Suzuki has gained over by 2%, Bajaj Auto, Cipla and Dr. Reddys Lab have gained between 1-2%.

Yes Bank is trading higher by 2.3%, after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to jointly create a private equity (PE) fund that will make investments across sectors in North-Eastern States.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) dipped almost 5%, after reporting 18% year-on-year (yoy) drop in its net profit at Rs 1,182 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012 (Q3) due to lower operational income.

Bharti Airtel has slipped by 2.4% after posting disappointing set of numbers. Profit at Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile network operator, fell for the twelfth quarter in a row and missed estimates by a wide margin, dragged down by higher costs.

Kennametal India has tanked over by 12%, extending its previous day’s 6% fall after its US-based parent-promoter announced plans to cut stake in the company from the current 88.61% to comply with the SEBI norms on minimum public share holding requirements.

Overall market breadth remains neutral with 1,284 shares advancing and 1,205 shares declining.

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Markets turn negative.

Markets pared off early gains and is trading almost flat. Sensex, after touching a high of 19,967 is trading flat at 19,897, while Nifty almost flat at 6,035.

Sector wise, Consumer Durables gained by 2%, Metal, Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices advanced substantially in trades, while Real-Estate index is down by 1%, Bank and FMCG indices are also showing some weakness. Whereas, Mid-cap and Small-cap are positive and up by 0.5% each.

Major stock movers are, Bharti Airtel has managed to recover from its lows and is now trading flat, HUL is down by 1.5%, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, HDFC Bank are also trading weak. Whereas, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki are up between 1-2% each, while Reliance, Jindal Steel and Larsen & Toubro are some of the other gainers.

Overall market breadth is positive, of 2,359 stocks traded, 1,281 stocks have advanced while 967 stocks have declined.

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Markets trading positive.

Markets continued to trade positive, however it has pared off early morning gains. Sensex is up by 13 Points at 19,919, Nifty is up by 8 points at 6,042.

Sector wise, Consumer Durables spurted up by 2.2%, Metal, Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices advanced substantially, while Real-Estate is down by 0.4%, FMCG is also trading weak. Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices are trading marginally up by 0.5% each.

Major Stock movers are, Bharti Airtel has slipped down by 2.7%, HUL down by 1%, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, HDFC Bank are other stocks trading in negative. Suzlon Energy spurted up by 5%, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki are up between 1-2% each, while Reliance Industries, Jindal Steel and Larsen & Toubro are other gainers.

Bharti Airtel, down by 2.7%, after posting dissapointing set of numbers. Profit at Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile network operator, fell for the twelfth quarter in a row and missed estimates by a wide margin, dragged down by higher costs. The company saw its net profit fall to Rs 284 crore in the third quarter that ended December 31, from Rs 1,011 crore a year earlier.

Suzlon Energy has soared 5%, extending its previous day’s 16% rally, after the company said it has signed 138 megawatt (MW) firm order in South Africa.

Videocon Industries has rallied by 8%, on back of heavy volumes in morning deals on reports that ONGC Videsh Limited, the overseas arm of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), eyes Videocon Industries' 10% stake in Mozambique's Rovuma offshore block.

Overall market breadth is positive, of 2,055 shares traded, 1,231 shares advanced compared to 741 shares declined.

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 at 09:30 AM
Markets open positive.

Markets opened marginally up, with Sensex gaining up by 23 points or 0.1% at 19,998, while Nifty gaining up by 5.05 points or 0.08% at 6,039.80.

Consumer Durables, Pharma, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, and Power were indices which gained, while FMCG, Bank, Real-Estate were trading a bit subdued.

Bajaj Auto has spurted up by 2%, Tata Steel and Cipla are up around by 1.5% each. Tata POwer, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries are also trading positive. SBI, however is trading flat with a positive bias, while Bharti Airtel is up by 0.5%. Whereas, Hindustan Unilever has slipped down by 0.8%, Hero MotoCorp is down by 0.7%, followed by Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are down 0.3% each.

Overall market breadth is positive, of 1,490 stocks traded, 968 shares have advanced compared to 453 shares declined.

Weekly Pulse - Dec 8, 2012

Weekly Update - Dec 8, 2012

In spite of  government winning the vote on FDI in multi-brand retail, the market struggled a bit on Friday afternoon, but managed to recuperate towards the end of the session. Although the market ended the day on a losing note, it posted modest gains for the week; supported by FII's heavy buying. Markets ended slightly higher with Sensex ended the week with a gain of around 84 points or 0.4% at 19,424, while Nifty closed with a gain of 27.55 points or almost 0.5% at 5907.40.

Sector-wise BSE Realty index surged 5% to 2102, Oil & Gas also showed a good rally  and went up 3% to 8,510, Metal shares also gained on reports of higher demand from China, the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum. Banks and Financials sectors witnessed some selling pressure towards the end of the week, index managed to end up 1.6% at 14,183. However, State Bank of India remained the top gainer this week with 6.5% gains at Rs 2,311. British lender Barclays said, the Reserve Bank is likely to leave the policy rates unchanged at the December 18 review and that a lending rate cut may happen only in the January policy announcement. However, BSE Indian IT index slumped 4% to 5,644. Most shares were in the red on fears that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp may issue lower revenue growth guidance for 2013 based on compensation targets for top executives.
ITC, Reliance Industries, Tata Power, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India saw some bright spells and ended the week on a positive note.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) surged after the company on 5 December 2012 said that the board of Ex-Im Bank has voted to extend the single largest financing transaction of $2.1 billion to Reliance Industries. The stock rallied 5% to Rs 834.

Maruti Suzuki added over 2.4%, as stock touched a one-year high level after the company said it will increase the prices of its vehicles across all models by up to Rs 20,000 from January, it also reported a near 10% surge in domestic sales in November. The company said its exports saw a rise of more than 38% in the month. Tata Motors reported a 14% decline in commercial and passenger vehicles sales. It's exports figures too were disappointing, as they declined by more than 4%, stock inched higher by 3.4%.

Hindalco, BHEL, Sterlite and ICICI Bank were other key gainers this week. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel slipped 4.3% to Rs 322. The initial public offer of Bharti Airtel's subsidiary Bharti Infratel opens for bidding on 11 December 2012. The price band for the IPO has been fixed at between Rs 210 to Rs 240 per share.

Information technology stocks eased amid concerns Cognizant Technology Solutions might issue a lower revenue guidance for fiscal 2013. TCS and Wipro shed 3.4% each on outlook worries. Sun Pharma slipped 1.4% to Rs 700 after traders took to booking profits.

According to a survey, India's manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in five months in November 2012, boosted by strong export orders and a surge in output. HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which gauges the business activity of India's factories, rose to 53.7 in November from 52.9 in October. The new export orders sub-index rose to a six-month high of 55.9 in November, giving thrust to overall orders and factory output, both of which expanded at their fastest pace since July.

Meanwhile, India's services sector grew at its weakest pace in over a year during November 2012 due to slowing orders, according to a survey. The HSBC services Purchasing Managers' Index, based on a survey of around 400 companies, fell to 52.1 in November from October's 53.8, to register a 13-month low.

Market Pulse - Dec 1, 2012

Bharati Infratel IPO to open on 10 December 2012.

Bharti Infratel, the telecommunication tower arm of cellular operator Bharti Airtel, is set to raise Rs 4,000-4,500 crore through the country’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) in two years. It has set a price band of Rs 210-240 a share for the entry, scheduled to open on December 10 for foundation investors and close on December 14 for retail subscribers. The issue will constitute 188.9 million shares, including 146.2 million new shares or 10 per cent of Bharti Infratel.

According to the company, it could raise up to Rs 4,530 crore at the upper band and Rs 3,970 crore at the lower band. This would be the largest IPO after Coal India which raised Rs 15,199 crore, and was subscribed 15.2 times in November 2010. Bharti Infratel has a little more than 33,000 telecom towers and the company also holds a 42 per cent stake in the world’s biggest tower company, Indus Tower.

Telecom tower companies mainly get revenue from leasing of infrastructure to mobile phone carriers. With reforming and fresh auction of spectrum, and more clarity in policy, he says telcos are expected to invest again from March, to expand and also roll out third generation services for better utilisation of the towers. There are about 5,76,000 telco tenants, in about 3,60,000 towers across the country.