Cement
Stocks Outlook for the week – 12 to 16.01.2015
( www.rupeedesk.in )
Stocks of major cement companies to remain range bound next week ahead
of the manufacturers detailing their Oct-Dec earnings. Views are quite mixed
on what to expect from cement companies' performance for the quarter ended December.
According to HDFC Securities Institutional Equities, cement demand
remained tepid despite all enabling conditions, mainly due to liquidity issues and paucity of
government orders. Cement prices were weak for most of the quarter across regions except South
India.
In North India, cement prices came off by as much as 15 rupees per
bag, while Central India saw prices fall by 10 rupees per bag. South India was relatively stable
with cement prices holding up with an upward bias—a 10-rupee-per-bag improvement.
Market will also keep an eye on Index of Industrial Production
forNovember to be detailed on Monday. India's industrial production is likely to have expanded 2.2%
in November on the back of improvement in core sector output and manufacturing activity.The
industrial growth had fallen to a four-year low of (-) 4.2% in October.
In large caps, we prefer UltraTech Cement and ACC and in mid-cap space
we recommend JK Cements, Mangalam Cement and Orient Cement--which are quality
companies at reasonable valuations.
