Markets Continue the March into the Newly Discovered All-time High Zone, Unabated!

Given that good old high-beta trade is back in the market, it is very easy for the indices to build further on the momentum that has come about in the early part of this week. New highs of 6500+ on the NIFTY have suddenly started seeming very easy and market commentators are getting unanimous about the pre-election rally finally having to take shape. What levels the markets will test in this new, untested zone is anybody’s guess but it does seem that there is a disposition towards fresh build-ups in long positions and this is not a case of short covering that we’ve seen a couple of times earlier when markets rallied in this fashion in Dec’13 and even prior to that. Cyclicals such as Cement, Cap Goods, Banking are the ones that have replaced the erstwhile movers and shakers from within the FMCG and PHARMA space and there could be some more momentum within this new found love for the down and out stocks of yore! Ideal time to dip into the market with some tactical short term long trades while keeping a close eye on booking profits in counters which have run-up too sharply (L&T, JPASSOC, DLF, to name a few!)

Sachin Karpe Gives Some Tips to Maximize Returns from Your Systematic Investment Plan in Mutual Fund

Many people start an SIP in a mutual fund and terminate it when the market is on the decline. This defeats the very purpose of investing via the SIP. As with any investment, you should link the SIP with a specific financial goal. If you don't keep an eye on your goals, you will invest in a haphazard manner and fall short of your requirements. List your financial goals in order of priority, fix a time frame for achieving these, and finally, quantify each goal in terms of the corpus required says Sachin Karpe. Fund houses allow SIP investments on specific dates of a month. One can provide ECS mandate or a direct debit instruction to be carried out on, say, the 1st, 5th, 15th, or 20th day of a month.

How to Get Loans Easily From Banks Explains Sachin Karpe

Getting a bank loan approved is not the easiest process. In light of recent economic troubles across the nation, lenders are looking for a lot more in a loan applicant. While there are several key areas lenders will be focusing on, it is important that you are ready to present the perfect, complete package for review if you hope to get approved says Sachin Karpe. Before heading to your bank, check out loan packages online and see what competitors are offering. You need to be aware of what kind of loan you are looking for, the terms you can reasonably afford, and your goal for paying off the loan as fast as possible. If you are pursuing a loan, you should already be aware of your credit history and current score. The bank should tell you the range of credit scores required for loan approval. Again, applying for a loan when you’re in a hurry is never a good idea. Loan officers have a certain protocol for approving a loan and getting you the money. During the process, make sure to discuss the sequence of events so you’ll have an idea of when to expect an answer.

Effective Tips on Marketing by Sachin Karpe

Often people starting a creative business feel they ought to write a business plan. Sachin Karpe, an advisor to creative people and businesses, has some advice to develop a market research strategy more easily. Market research should be a high priority – finding out not just what your customers want, but what they will actually buy.The true measure of the combination of a great product and thorough market research is that customers start to buy during the process of the research itself. Target carefully. Aim for laser-precision marketing. Take time to find out what it is about your values that people really like. What do your customers enjoy about what you do and how you do it? Allow some ways for people to discover, taste and try your products or services. Then gather feedback.

What Are the Best Investment Options in India? Explained by Sachin Karpe

To figure out the best investment options analyzing the technicalities of the Indian market is a tough job. Here are some 10 best investment options for 2014 & you can choose the one that serves your purpose. Fixed deposit in banks form a major vote in terms of the safest investment in India says Sachin Karpe. The most important reason for this is its ability to provide reasonable returns & the money invested is locked in safely. Insurance policies range from a variety of types & provide different types of coverage. Insurance policies like LIC, Home insurance, car insurance & Health insurance are few examples of such type of investment options. Public Provident Fund (PPF) is also a good option to invest money securely for future periods as it gives high rate of returns mainly for people who are under 30% tax brackets. 

Banks and Cap Goods Gain as Markets Look Better After Interim Budget

The strong opening for the Indian equities seemed more like a relief that marketmen breathed after the insipid and uneventful vote-on-account was passed in the previous session. Fears related to any populist measures that could weaken the condition of the country’s Balance Sheet were finally put to rest and it was once again, business as usual. Not surprising then that pockets that were oversold in the last few sessions, such as BANKS and CAP GOODS suddenly found life, mostly on account of short covering and triggered by some very strong numbers announced as part of the last quarter earnings by Cap Goods major ABB. The other players in the segment, LT, SIEMENS, CROMPGREAVES too saw a strong pullback of sorts while the move in banks was led by the pvt sector brigade comprising of ICICIBANK, AXISBK, HDFCBk & KOTAKBANK.

While the market did muster up the strength to test the 6100 mark decisively, it would be a tough task for it to cross into the late 6100s and any rally that takes NIFTY closer to 6200 would be a sound opportunity to sell into!

Firm Markets, After US Markets Show Strength

Markets opened firm, given the strength from the US markets and the rebound of sorts in the rest of the Asian markets as well. Domestic cues continue to be predicated around the earnings announcements and its turn of the smaller co’s to share their numbers with the street. Till now, there have been no howlers and its quite likely this earnings season too will end up proving to be less disappointing than what most people made it look like! Data from Europe on steel sales by Arcelor Mittal has buoyed the mood locally for TATASTEEL’s performance going forward and the stock has been a key gainer on the indices, in anticipation of some favourable announcements on Tuesday next week.

How to Manage Financial Risk in Your Marketing Plans?

Marketing plans are integral to any business, especially if it is a of B-to-C or Business to consumer model. This typically would be products that involve consumers as the final end users therefore, they need to be informed by the product. The entire process then follows is the marketing which is in the form of advertisements, social media promotions, on ground activities, sampling etc. Sachin Karpe will guide on managing financial risks in marketing plans.

Any kind of marketing plan needs a budget to take it ahead. The most challenging part is the lack of measurement of Return on Investments (in this case the marketing spend). Not all media of marketing has a mechanism to measure the outcome. The only way remains the increase/decrease or leads for a particular product. This may be seen as a financial risk by many in a business. But, as a businessman, one needs to understand that it is not important to monetize everything in business. There are ancillary activities like marketing, admin and HR, to name a few, that help keeping the business afloat. The best way to, however, avoid any financial risk in a business is to not allocate more than a specific percent of annual profit for marketing. It must be understood that whatever is spent, does eventually come back in terms of brand recall and visibility which later converts into buying, explains Sachin Karpe.

Market Climbs Up on Global Cues

The BSE Sensex opened over 0.5% higher today tracking gains in the global stock markets. Global markets rallied on Wednesday after Turkey stunned investors with a huge hike in interest rates, stirring hopes that the drastic action would short-circuit a vicious cycle of selling in emerging markets and revive risk appetite generally. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading up 0.3% and 0.93%, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.74%. Overnight, US markets closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.57%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up around 0.61% and 0.35%. respectively. The 30-share benchmark Sensex was trading up 0.54%, or 111.44 points, at 20,794.95 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty rose 0.65%, or 40.05 points, to 6,166.30 points. The gainers among the Sensex stocks included Maruti Suzuki India Ltd that jumped 5.23% to Rs.1,645 and ICICI Bank Ltd that rose 1.65% to Rs.1,036. Among the losers, Gail India Ltd shares fell 0.83% to Rs.342.25, while Infosys Ltd slipped 0.24% to Rs.3,668.30. The BSE Bankex rose 1.14% to be the biggest gainer, while the BSE IT index was the biggest loser, falling 0.03%. After the results announcement, Bharti Airtel Ltd was trading at Rs.311.75 on BSE, up 2.16% from its previous close. The company reported a net profit of Rs.610.2 crore, while net sales stood at Rs.21,938.5 crore for the December quarter. It will be a results-heavy day. Aditya Birla Money Ltd, Crompton Greaves Ltd, Gail India Ltd, Godrej Properties Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Nalco Ltd, Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd, Titan Ltd, TVS Motor Co. Ltd and VIP Industries Ltd are some of the companies that will release their earnings for December quarter today.

On Tuesday, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly raised benchmark repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 8%; only 3 of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted an increase. Reverse repurchase rate got lifted to 7% from 6.75%. Cash-reserve ratio was unchanged at 4% as forecast by all 38 economists surveyed. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was down by 3 bps at 8.72%. The rupee was trading higher at 62.20/21 vs Tuesday's close of 62.51/52 on broad Asian FX gains.

Stocks on a Cautious Note as RBI to Review Policy on Jan 28

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in an extremely narrow range with a negative bias in afternoon session amid selling witnessed in IT, Tech and Auto stocks. Weak global cues and depreciation in rupee value against the dollar weighed on the sentiments. Prevailing caution ahead of RBI’s policy review on January 28, 2014, is mainly weighing on the sentiment after earlier expectations for the RBI to hold rates have been thrown into doubt after the central bank recommended keeping a high consumer inflation in check a priority. Meanwhile, market losses remained capped as buying was witnessed in capital goods and healthcare stocks. Sentiments got some support as the Moody’s Analytic, in its report titled 'India Outlook: Steady Growth, Lower Risk' has noted that the worst is over for the India’s economy with GDP expansion likely to touch 5 to 5.5 percent this year and more than 6 percent in 2015. Capital Goods index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices up by over 2.16% on the BSE amid better than expected result of Larsen & Toubro for Q3 FY14.

Benchmark 10-year bond yield is trading in a range at 8.62 per cent as investors are waiting for the upcoming RBI policy review next week. Uncertainly over the likelihood of a rate pause has risen after a central bank panel recommended making retail price inflation a primary indicator while setting monetary policy. Market participants are not expecting a rate hike in the policy review but the chances of a rate cut, as was popularly expected, has come down. 

Is Investing in Mutual Funds Safe? Sachin Karpe Opines

Mutual funds are a kind of investments in equity, but managed by professional fund managers. That makes your investment relatively safer. The most important benefit of a mutual fund is that you get an instant access to several stocks from different sectors., observes Sachin Karpe. Since they offer transparency, they are safe. At any given point you can evaluate the NAV of a particular fund and decide to withdraw and re-invest your money.

Sachin Karpe opines that if a particular fund is performing well then the dividends can be re-invested further. If one wants to achieve liquidity, the money can be immediately withdrawn. Overall, one needs to have a good judgment of the market. A Mutual fund investment, if done smartly, can take care of all your major financial goals like education, marriages and retirements.