Stocks of major cement manufacturers are seen in a band next week, and take cues from the market movement. Cement prices have reportedly softened in parts of the country due to slump in construction activity because of recent rains. But a strong market has seen stocks of most cement companies rise 1-9% week-on-week. (Cement) Prices in September have softened further (as we expected) inmost regions (except Ahmedabad) after reaching all-time highs in July. Poor demand in most regions as the main cause of this weakness. Despite price correction in Hyderabad, we continue to maintain that south is likely to see relatively stable pricing compared with the rest of India. The negative sentiment due to weak cement demand has been overshadowed by improvement in market sentiment after the government hiked diesel price. Technically, Stocks of Ambuja Cements and UltraTech Cement are close to their life-time highs and may consolidate in the next few trading sessions.
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