Fiscal deficit touches 63% of BE in 4 months

Chidambaram to have a tough time containing it at 4.8% of GDP

Amid slowing tax revenues and rising Plan expenditure, the Centre’s fiscal deficit for the first four months of this financial year soared to Rs 3.4 lakh crore, 62.8 per cent of the Budget estimate (BE) of Rs 5.42 lakh crore for 2013-14, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts.

In the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 51.5 per cent of the BE for 2012-13. However, in 2012-13, the government was able to rein in the deficit at 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), against the BE of 5.1 per cent, owing to a massive cut in Plan expenditure.

Earlier, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the target of reining in fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP this financial year was a red line that wouldn’t be breached. Friday’s data showed he had a difficult task at hand. In the April-July period this year, it was particularly Plan expenditure that increased the fiscal deficit — it stood at Rs 1.49 lakh crore, 27 per cent of the BE of Rs 5.55 lakh crore. In the corresponding period last year, it stood at 21.9 per cent of the BE.

Non-Plan expenditure accounted for 33.5 per cent of BE, at Rs 3.71 lakh crore. In the year-ago period, it accounted for 33.3 per cent of BE.

On the revenue side, taxes yielded just 16.4 per cent of the BE in the first four months of 2013-14, at Rs 1.45 lakh crore. In the year-ago period, this percentage stood at 18.5 per cent. Analysts blamed this on slowing economic growth.

Tax receipts are expected to see an impact of the slowdown in growth. The Centre’s non-debt capital receipts yielded just 6.6 per cent of BE, against 9.7 per cent in the year-ago period. The government collected Rs 4,401 crore of such receipts, against Rs 66,468 crore pegged in the BE. Of this, disinvestment yielded only Rs 93.9.34 crore, against Rs 40,000 crore estimated in Budget 2013-14.

Given real GDP growth is not expected to exceed six per cent this financial year and Wholesale Price Index-based inflation might remain at about six per cent, nominal economic growth might not exceed 12 per cent. In the Budget, this growth was estimated at 13.5 per cent, against the previous year. With low growth, in absolute terms, any fiscal deficit would seem large, as percentage of GDP.

Revenue deficit or the gap between current expenditure (which doesn’t add to asset creation) and current receipts, touched 73 per cent of BE in the April-July period, against 61.3 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

Q1 GDP disappoints at 4.4% vs 5.4%

PM today said GDP estimate at 5.5 for current fiscal was possible, fears of growth at 3% "unfounded"

First quarter Gross Domestic Product in FY14 stood at 4.4%.

C Rangarajan said today that going forward, "GDP numbers will impove".

Agriculture growth was recorded at 2.8% versus 2.9%. Rangarajan said, agriculture growth was expected to be better in the second half of the year owing to good monsoon season. Rangarajan pegged agriculture growth estimate at 4-5%.

Services sector grew by 6.6% versus 7.7% on year while the industrial sector only recorded 0.2% growth.

In the fourth quarter of 2012-13, the GDP had grown at 4.8% while in April-June period last year, GDP growth stood at 5.4%.

Manufacturing growth was recorded at -1.2% compared with -1% YoY in the numbers released today. However, Rangarajan also said that manufacturing growth was expected to pick up Q3 onwards.

The prime minister, today in Rajya Sabha, said that GDP estimate at 5.5% this fiscal was possible and that fears of numbers going down to 3% were ''totally unfounded".

Sentiments turned jittery in the markets intraday, after the Manmohan Singh said that the rupee's tumble is a "matter of concern" but is part of a needed adjustment due to India's large current account deficit.

Singh said that rupee depreciation will see upward pressure on inflation, but added that RBI will, however, work on containing it.

Moody's Analytics, the research and analysis wing of Moody’s had expected GDP growth for the first quarter to be at 4.5%. According to foreign brokerage Bank of America - Merrill Lynch (BoFA-ML), in the current economic situation, the first quarter economic growth was estimated at 4%.

Various analysts tracking the sector were also of the opinion that growth would remain subdued. CARE Ratings chief economist Madan Sabnavis had said that he expected the GDP growth at around 4.7%.

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor at the State Bank of India expected the economy to grow below 5% level in the range of 4-7-4.8%.

Initial margin on gold futures raised to 5 percent

 The initial margin on gold futures was raised to 5 percent from 4 percent for domestic traders effective Monday, the market regulator said on Friday.

The Forward Markets Commission's (FMC) move comes after gold prices rose 18 percent to reach a record high earlier this week.

The FMC, which regulates the commodity futures market in India, also imposed an additional 5 percent margin on gold, silver and crude oil futures contracts from Monday.

The Multi Commodity Exchange, where most gold futures trading takes place in India, records a daily volume of 28.8 tonnes on an average.

Tata Consultancy Services trades in green on BSE

Tata Consultancy Services is currently trading at Rs. 2000.00, up by 53.85 points or 2.77% from its previous closing of Rs. 1946.15 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1940.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2005.00 and Rs. 1930.50 respectively. So far 1, 91,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2,005.00 on 30-Aug-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1,197.60 on 18-Dec-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1969.00 and Rs. 1781.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 3, 91,444 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 73.96% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 21.57% and 4.47% respectively.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, has declared that the Kolkata edition of TCS IT Wiz 2013 will be held on September 6 at the Science city - Grand Theatre in Kolkata. The event is open to all school students studying in class 8-12 including Pre University of Junior college students.

There is no entry fee. Each institution is allowed to send multiple teams of two-members each to participate. The TCS IT Wiz, the hunt for smart Tech Wizard will be held across 14 locations across the country - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. Entries have to be sent through the respective institutions on or before Sept 2 to TCS IT Wiz Coordinator.

The winners of the Tech Wizard from each of these 14 locations will contest for the 'Smart Tech Wizard 2013' title in the mega finals to be held in December.

JSPL tanks over 12% as government initiates inquiry

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd plunged a little over 12 per cent in trade on Friday, after media reports suggested that the government has initiated an enquiry against NaveenJindal-led company.

According to a PTI report, the company is allegedly selling coal from its captive blocks in Chhattisgarh.

At 12:30 p.m.; Jindal Steel & Power company recouped some of the losses and was trading 6.4 per cent lower at Rs 227.95. It has hit a low of Rs 236.05 and a high of Rs 246.50 in trade today.

"The coal ministry has formed an inter-ministerial committee headed by Advisor coal and comprising members from power and steel ministries to probe misuse of coal by JSPL from its blocks in Chhattisgarh," said the PTI report.

A top coal ministry official said the probe has been initiated after complaints from several sections of the society alleging illegal sale of coal in Chhattisgarh by the group.

Jindal Power & Steel Ltd has refuted the charges, said the PTI report.

"The coal from all our captive mines are used in respective end use plants. There is no diversion of any coal from any mine whatsoever. The allegations are completely baseless," the report added quoting company's director external affairs Manu Kapoor.

Sensex trades flat in pre-noon session

 A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading at 38.81 points or 0.21 percent up during the pre-noon trade Friday.

The banking index (bankex) and healthcare sector showed good buying trends, while selling pressure was observed in the metal and oil and gas sectors.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,424.72 points, was trading at 18,439.85 points in the pre-noon session, up 38.81 points or 0.21 percent from the previous day's close at 18,401.04 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 18,632.23 points and a low of 18,283.74 points during the trade so far.
The S&P BSE bankex surged by 120.18 points and the healthcare index went up by 89.58 points. However, the metal index dropped by 107.83 points and oil and gas index slipped by 74.95 points.
The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading flat at 9.60 points or 0.18 percent up at 5,418.65 points.

Reliance bags government’s nod to invest $4 billion in D-6 block

Reliance Industries (RIL) along with its associates in the KG-D6 block - BP Plc and Niko Resources - have got government’s nod in order to invest $4 billion in the R-Series gas-field in the block. It has revised the earlier investment of $3.18 billion to $4 billion as input costs have gone up. This discovery is expected to hold an in-place reserve of 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, while recoverable reserves are estimated at 1.191 trillion cubic feet of gas.

RIL is an oil refining, petrochemicals and upstream (mainly natural gas at present) company. It has two highly complex refineries with combined capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day and domestic proved reserves of 660 million barrel of oil equivalent as at end-March 2013.

LIC increases stake in Yes Bank to 7.38%

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has reportedly increased its stake in Yes Bank to 7.38%. As on June 30, 2013, the insurance behemoth held 4.68% stake in the bank. The promoters' holding in the bank stood at 25.64% while institutions and non-institutions held 61.71% and 12.64% respectively.

The bank reported a rise of 38.15% in its net profit at Rs 400.84 crore for the first quarter, as compared to Rs 290.14 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income from operation of the bank increased by 30.61% to Rs 2839.97 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 2174.44 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Will not meet rupee decline with capital control: PM

Says CAD will be below $70 bn this year

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that the rupee fall was a matter on concern but the government will not meet the rupee decline with capital control measures.

The rupee's tumble is a "matter of concern", he said, but is part of a needed adjustment due to India's large current account deficit.

The depreciation will have a positive impact on export competitiveness in coming months, he told the Parliament.

Singh said the current account deficit was "unsustainably large" and to remedy this there needed to be a reduction in demand for gold and oil imports.

He added that CAD will be below $70 bn this year.

Singh said that government will do whatever is needed to rein in fiscal deficit at 4.8%.

Singh said that rupee depreciation will see upward pressure on inflation, but added that RBI will work on containing it.

PM added that government will do more to improve the fundamentals of the economy.  But he said that he expected H1 GDP growth to be relatively soft.

Wipro wins Rs 680 crore contract from US based company

Wipro, a leading global information technology, consulting and outsourcing company has reportedly received a $100 million (Rs 680 crore) technology outsourcing contract from a US based healthcare services company. This contract will be spread over 5 years and the company will provide infrastructure management including consolidating the client's multiple data centres.

Wipro is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better.

Idea Cellular to get new telecom licenses from DoT

Idea Cellular is likely to receive new telecom licenses from DoT, that had earlier refused to accept guidelines related to 3G roaming pacts in the unified license. This new license agreement between DoT and Idea may also incorporate certain clauses proposed by Idea. The telecom operator had earlier refused to sign new telecom permit (Unified Licence) as it barred operators from entering into 3G intra-circle roaming agreement.

Currently, both the companies have agreed to follow the court order with respect to implementation of norms related to 3G roaming pacts in new licenses and the same has been approved by Minister of Communications and IT Kapil Sibal.

IT shares extend rally, TCS, HCL Tech at new high

BSE IT index has surged 28% in past two months as compared to 4.2% fall in S&P BSE Sensex.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies continue at their upward march on expectation of rupee depreciation will benefit margins of IT services companies.

Most of the frontline stocks such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies are trading at their record high, while Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Infosys are quoting at their 52-week high on the BSE.

In past two months, the BSE IT index has outperformed the market by surging 28% after the Indian rupee (INR) depreciated by nearly 13% against the US dollar (USD). The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has dipped 4.2% during the same period.

Rupee depreciation theoretically benefits margins of IT companies as a large proportion of costs are in rupees, while revenues are largely in foreign currency.

'Given the sharp depreciation in the INR vs USD from 60 levels last quarter to current rates of 68, we think avenues for reinvestment will progressively reduce and margins/ earnings will show improvement, even for companies that did not show benefits in the last leg,'” said Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities in a note.

Cummins India soars as its parent company plans to hike its stake

Cummins India is currently trading at Rs. 394.45, up by 12.75 points or 3.34% from its previous closing of Rs. 381.70 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 379.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 415.00 and Rs. 379.10 respectively. So far 100339 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 550.00 on 09-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 365.05 on 28-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 393.00 and Rs. 365.05 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 11061.67 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 51.00% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.69% and 13.31% respectively.

Cummins India’s parent, Cummins Inc, is planning to increase stake in its Indian subsidiary to 75% from 51% via open offer. Further, this move is significantly expected to improve Cummins India’s cash flow. Meanwhile, as of June 13, 2013, while, promoters held 51% stake of the company, Institutional and Non-institutional investors held 35.69% and 13.31% of company's stake respectively.

Cummins Inc, the parent company of CIL, is engaged in design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. The company has customer presence in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations.

LIC's 30% equity cap may not be notified soon

 IRDA said that the regulatory oversight on LIC is quite comprehensive to the extent that it requires monitoring both prudential and market conduct operations of LIC

  Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) may be required to wait for some more time before they are allowed by the insurance regulator to invest up to 30% of equity of a company. With international financial agencies raising concerns over the insurance regulator’s incomplete oversight of LIC, industry experts said that the cap may not be raised very soon.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) had recently increased the equity cap for insurers from 10% to 12% and 15%, depending on the size of the controlled fund of an insurer. LIC is allowed to invest 15%.

Since the 10% cap on equity investment in a company by an insurer came into force in 2008, LIC had been lobbying for this relaxation, as it has exhausted the limit in various blue-chip stocks. LIC has sought an increase to have more headroom while transacting in good scrips. However, the former Irda chairman J Hari Narayan had clearly said that LIC would have to adhere to the existing limits for other insurers.

“Though the finance ministry officials may have given an informal nod to LIC to go up to 30% in equity investment, it is unlikely that Irda will notify this immediately. If they do, the regulator is likely to face criticism from international bodies for preferential treatment,” said a senior insurance consultant.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) in one of its detailed assessment reports on India’s adherence to Insurance Core Principles had said that the current uncertainty regarding Irda’s control of its funding and budget, its incomplete oversight of LIC, and the reserve powers of the central government to direct its activities all potentially detract from the supervisor’s powers and independence.

Responding to these concerns, IRDA had said that the regulatory oversight on LIC is quite comprehensive to the extent that it requires monitoring both prudential and market conduct operations of LIC. “Though LIC Act excludes the applicability of certain provisions of Insurance Act, 1938, nevertheless there is no dilution on the regulatory oversight on LIC,” it said.

In an interview to Business Standard LIC Chairman S K Roy had said that they were hopeful of getting a solution for raising equity exposure cap in a single company.

“We are still engaging with the regulator and we are hopeful that we will get a solution to this sooner than later. We don't want to be seen to be non-compliant and that is why we are engaging. We have made a representation and it is being actively considered,” he had said.

Coal India hits new low on government stake sale plan

The government has selected seven banks to manage the 5% stake sale in the company.

Coal India  has dipped nearly 5% at Rs 238, also its record low since listings, in early morning deals on BSE, on reports that the government has selected seven banks to manage the sale of a stake in the company.

The government has hired Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Indian investment banks SBI Capital, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Capital for the sale of a further 5% stake in the world's largest coal miner, the Reuters report suggests.

At the current market price, the Coal India stake sale will raise about Rs 7,900 crore for the government, added report.

The stock opened at Rs 250 and has seen a combined around 53,000 shares changing hands on the counter in early morning deals on BSE and NSE.

Macquarie Bank sells 19.40 lakh shares of Aurobindo Pharma

Macquarie Bank has sold 19,40,000 shares of Aurobindo Pharma through an open market transaction. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 180.97 on National Stock Exchange (NSE) on August 29, 2013.

Aurobindo Pharma manufactures generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company’s robust product portfolio is spread over 6 major therapeutic/product areas encompassing Antibiotics, Anti-Retrovirals, CVS, CNS, Gastroenterologicals, and Anti-Allergics, supported by an outstanding R&D set-up.

L&T Hydrocarbon bags orders worth Rs 807 crore

L&T Hydrocarbon, a brand of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has secured new orders worth Rs 807 crore for the supply of cracking furnace modules and parts, supply of equipment, EPC execution of cryogenic ethylene package, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical & instrumentation for petrochemical complexes of oil companies in India. Fabrication and assembly work for all the modules and equipment will be done at Lars modular fabrication facility at Hazira near Surat.

L&T Hydrocarbon provides complete design-to-build engineering and construction solutions for the oil & gas sector. In-house expertise, extensive experience and collaborations with strategic business partners enable it to deliver end-to-end solutions for every phase of a project - from front-end design engineering through fabrication, project management, procurement, construction and installation up to commissioning.

L&T’s Manufacturing Fabrication Facility at Hazira caters to business opportunities on the west coast of India and the Gulf. The facility has a major heavy manufacturing complex with captive Toad-on' and `Ro-Ro' jetties. Its mega-sized capabilities, its waterfront facility and relative proximity facilitate the shipping out of over-dimensioned equipment.

Jayant Agro shines on entering into JVA for investing in Vithal Castor Polyols

Jayant Agro Organics, India’s leading castor oil and castor based derivatives manufacturers, Mitsui Chemicals Inc, Japan and Itoh Oil Chemicals Company, Japan have together entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) for investing in the equity shares of Vithal Castor Polyols in the ratio 50:40:10 respectively. The joint venture will be focused on manufacturing Castor Oil based Polyols through Vithal Castor Polyols. The details of the project are being worked out.

Jayant Agro Organics is a 100% export oriented unit (EOU unit) and leading the castor based industry in India. The company has people with vast experience in castor oil and its derivatives manufacturing – delivering much more than molecules, converting the molecules to products for markets and turning ideas into solutions. Great solutions are the results of inspiration, hard work, dedication and team work.

Mitsui Chemicals’ business portfolio includes petrochemicals, basic chemicals, polyurethanes, functional polymeric materials, functional chemicals, and films & sheets.

Itoh Oil Chemicals Company, established in 1946, the leading castor oil speciality manufacturing company in Japan with products ranging from castor oil, its derivative and various speciality chemicals derived from castor oil.

Birla Sun Life MF introduces Fixed Term Plan - Series HU (30 days)

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offer (NFO) Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series HU (30 days), a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on Aug 30, 2013, and closes on Sep 3, 2013. No entry load or exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Rs.10 thereafter.

The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against CRISIL Liquid Fund Index and its fund manager is Kaustubh Gupta.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate income by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities maturing on or before the duration of the scheme.

Tata Steel Europe plans to launch 30 new products

In a bid to widen its customer base, Tata Steel Europe is planning to introduce as many as 30 new products this fiscal year. The company has identified nine market sectors, including automobile, lifting and excavating, packaging, energy and power, and rail.

Tata Steel’s European plants have a production capacity of 17.9 million tonnes (mt).

Tata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel.

Sesa Goa drops on profit booking

Sesa Goa lost 2.29% to Rs 188.10 at 09:21 IST on BSE, with the stock declining on profit booking after surging 25.9% in prior four trading sessions.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 67.29 points or 0.37% at 18,333.75
On BSE, 2.52 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 5.27 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 189.20 and low of Rs 182.40 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 205.40 on 7 January 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 119.45 on 31 July 2013.
The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 29 August 2013, surging 53.39% compared with the Sensex's 6.08% fall. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 21.37% as against Sensex's 8.67% fall.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 86.91 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.
Shares of Sesa Goa were on a roll recently. The stock surged 25.9% in four trading days to Rs 192.50 on 29 August 2013 from a recent low of Rs 152.90 on 23 August 2013. Shares gained 9.39% to Rs 167.25 on 26 August 2013 ahead of the stock's entry in the BSE Sensex pack. Shares gained 15.1% in three trading days since the stock's entry in the BSE Sensex pack from 27 August 2013.
Meanwhile, Sesa Goa after market hours on Thursday, 29 August 2013 said that the company's board of directors at its meeting held on Thursday, 29 August 2013 approved allotment of equity shares to the shareholders of Sterlite Industries (India) (Sterlite), The Madras Aluminium Company (MALCO) and Ekaterina (Ekaterina) pursuant to the Schemes of Amalgamation and Arrangement.
Shares of Sesa Goa were included in the 30-share benchmark S&P BSE Sensex from 27 August 2013. Sesa Goa replaced Sterlite Industries (India) in the Sensex following the scheme of amalgamation between the two Vedanta group firms whereby Sterlite Industries (India) was merged with Sesa Goa. As per the swap ratio, every equity shareholder of Sterlite holding 5 equity shares of the company will be entitled to be issued 3 shares of Sesa Goa. Shares of Sterlite Industries (India) settled at Rs 90.20 on Monday, 26 August 2013, its last trading day.

Sesa Goa's consolidated net profit fell 57% to Rs 414.30 crore on 79.1% decline in net sales to Rs 360.66 crore in Q1 June 2013 over Q1 June 2012.
Sesa Goa is India's leading producer and exporter of iron ore in the private sector with operations in the states of Goa and Karnataka in India and a large integrated project site in Liberia, West Africa.

SBI raises interest rate on bulk deposits by up to 1.5pc

State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday raised interest rates by up to 1.5 per cent on bulk deposits of over Rs 1 crore. The interest rate for bulk deposits for the tenors 7-60 days will be 9 per cent.

Fixed deposits between 61 days to less than one year will be 8.25 per cent, SBI statement said.

The new rates would be effective from August 31, it added.

The bank had last revised interest rate on fixed deposits over Rs 1 crore on June 7.

As per the existing rate structure, the bank is paying interest rate of 7.5 per cent on term deposits of 7-180 days.

Crude prices cool down on easing Syrian pressure

Crude oil futures cooled down on Thursday as an US led attack on Syria appeared less imminent after the UK parliament voted against military strikes. Also, the UN Security Council's permanent members failed to agree to a proposal for any military action against Syria. Crude prices have soared in last session on speculation that a US military attack in Syria may engulf the oil-rich Middle East and threaten global supply.

Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery declined $1.30 or 1.2 percent to close at $108.80 a barrel after trading in a range of $110.07 and $108.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent oil futures for October delivery were down by 1.18% at $116.40 a barrel on the ICE.

LIC raises stake in SBI to 13.26%

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has raised its stake in the country’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) by 2.86% to 13.26%. The insurance behemoth has acquired 19.57 lakh shares from open market for Rs 49.15 crore.

Post acquisition, the equity share capital of the LIC has increased to Rs 684.03 crore from Rs 634.88 crore. Before the acquisition, LIC’s stake in the bank was 10.4 per cent.

SBI reported a 13.6 per cent fall in standalone net profit to Rs 3,241.08 crore for the first quarter ended June of 2013-14 due to a rise in bad loans and increased provisioning.

South Korea Industrial Output Falls In July

South Korea's industrial production shrank in July after a brief expansion in the preceding month, showing still weak growth momentum in the economy, government data showed Friday.
Industrial output fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in July from the previous month, following a revised 0.6% increase in June, according to Statistics Korea.

From a year earlier, the reading in July rose 0.9%, compared with a revised 2.5% fall in June.
The leading indicator, a closely watched reading predicting economic conditions, rose to 100.8 in July from the prior month's 100.5. Readings over 100 indicate conditions will get better.

Sensex down 74 points amid mixed Asian cues

Domestic markets fell over 0.4 per cent in the opening session on Friday on sustained selling by FIIs amid mixed Asian cues.

At 9.15 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 74.31 points (0.4 per cent) at 18,326.73 and the 50-share NSE index was down 40.1 points (0.74 per cent) at 5,368.95.

Asian shares were trading mixed and oil prices fell as fears eased of an imminent Western military strike against Syria.

Dollar remained steady around a three-week high against a basket of currencies after upbeat US growth data.

India’s Q1 GDP data today; likely to remain below 5%

The sense of crisis building around the rupee's precipitous fall is likely to deepen on Friday with the release of data expected to show India's economy slowing to dangerously low levels.

A dearth of investment lies at the heart of India's economic malaise. Little improvement is expected any time soon, with investors doubting whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's minority government can force through bold reforms with an election due within eight months.

Economic growth virtually halved in two years to 5 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March -- the lowest level in a decade -- and most economists surveyed by Reuters in the past week expect 2013/14 to be worse.

"The economy appears to be entering a tailspin as business confidence collapses under the weight of rapid rupee depreciation, rising energy costs, sharply tightening financial conditions and policy confusion," BNP Paribas said in a note on Wednesday.

The withdrawal of funds from emerging markets as investors re-adjust portfolios in anticipation of higher U.S. interest rates has caused tremors from Brasilia to Jakarta. But the weight of India's current account and fiscal deficits has seen the rupee sink faster than most currencies.

However much Finance Minister P. Chidambaram protests that the market's move is overdone, investing in a currency that has lost around 20 percent since May would be a test of bravery that even India's richer diaspora living abroad could flunk.

In the eight sessions through Tuesday, investors pulled out USD1 billion from India stocks. Total net outflows from stocks and bonds have totaled USD7.4 billion since May.

Thank heavens for a good monsoon, which should boost rural income and perk up flagging consumer demand, because without it the economy would be looking a lot worse than it already does.

India's statistics office is due to release GDP data for the June quarter at 1730 IST on Friday, bringing down the curtain on what has probably been the worst week for the rupee in nearly 17 years.

The GDP print is likely to be fittingly gloomy.

A Reuters poll of 36 economists showed India's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.7 percent year-on-year in the quarter to June, near decade lows on an annual basis and a tad under the 4.8 percent growth in the previous three months.

GOING DOWN

Raghuram Rajan, the much-vaunted former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund chief economist, is set to take over as governor of the Reserve Bank of India next Thursday, but so long as the rupee remains under attack he will find it hard to lower interest rates to encourage growth.

With inflation moving back above 5 percent, the upper limit of the central bank's perceived comfort zone, its hands are even more tightly tied.

"With RBI set to sustain, even extend, recent monetary tightening, we now expect the palpable downside risks facing the Indian economy to largely crystallise over the next 6-9 months," said BNP Paribas.

The French bank has cut India's growth forecast to 3.7 percent for this fiscal year, which would be the lowest since 1991/92.

That is nowhere near good enough for a country with India's demographics. It has a population of 1.2 billion and a per capita income of around USD1,000.

Chidambaram warned on Tuesday that the economy needs to be averaging 8 percent growth to generate jobs for the increasing numbers of youth joining the workforce, but it is about far more than jobs.

With nearly 270 million people living in poverty, India is a vastly different kind of economy.

On Tuesday, parliament approved a Food Security Bill that critics fear will push up a fiscal deficit that at nearly at 5 percent of GDP is among the highest among major economies.

LOST REPUTATION

With enough foreign exchange reserves to cover six months of imports and relatively low levels of sovereign foreign debt, India's situation is less acute than it was in 1991 balance of payments crisis.

But, once lionised as the finance minister whose liberalisation of the economy rescued it from that crisis, Prime Minister Singh is now widely criticised for having feet of clay during his nine years at the helm.

His government has loosened rules for foreign investors, but it has failed to introduce the tax and labour reforms that Singh has long advocated.

Instead, policy flip-flops, high-profile tax disputes and numerous regulatory hurdles have stymied investments to a point where many firms find it easier to invest overseas than at home.

"India's fundamentals have deteriorated steadily under the missteps of Singh, his aides and the central bank," Morgan Stanley said in a research note on Wednesday.

Singh and Chidambaram over the past year cut budget busting fuel subsidies, sped up the clearances for infrastructure projects and relaxed rules for foreign investments into a swathe of industries. But most analysts view their actions so far as too little, too late.

Dismal earnings from India's heavily indebted corporates suggest consumer demand is weak. Manufacturing activity has virtually stagnated, hitting merchandise exports and widening the trade deficit.

At nearly USD90 billion India's current account deficit is the third largest in the world. Chidambaram has pledged to narrow it to USD70 billion this fiscal year.

Exports might benefit from the rupee's descent, but it will exacerbate the oil import bill, increase fuel subsidy costs and pump up inflation. It appears to be a vicious circle.

The rupee could recover if growth attracted investment, but the trends are going the wrong way, with the June quarter expected to mark a third consecutive quarter below five percent.

"Expectations about economic growth are already rock bottom. But if the GDP data undershoots them, it could prompt more weakness in the rupee," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics in London.

Japan’s jobless rate falls to 3.8% in July

Japan’s unemployment rate declined to 3.8 per cent in July for the second straight month of decline amid an economic recovery, the government said on Friday.

The jobless rate for women declined to 3.3 per cent from 3.5 per cent in June, while unemployment for men edged up to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The number of unemployed people dropped by 330,000 from a year earlier to 2.55 million, falling year-on-year for the 38th consecutive month, the ministry said.

Medical and social services added 230,000 jobs to employ a total of 7.41 million, and wholesalers and retailers saw an increase of 120,000 jobs to 10.53 million, while the construction industry eliminated 310,000 positions to 4.72 million, the ministry said.

Analysts said that government figures didn’t reflect Japan’s employment problems as one of the country’s most crucial issues in the past decade has been unstable forms of employment, especially among women and young people.

In 2012, the proportion of temporary and part-time workers in the labour force hit a record high of 35.2 per cent for the third straight year of rise, the government said.

The availability of jobs, measured as a ratio of job offers per job seekers, rose 0.02 points from the previous month to 0.94 in July for the fifth consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said.

Japan’s industrial output rises 3.2 % in July

Japan’s industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 3.2 per cent in July from the previous month for the first increase in two months, the government said on Friday.

The figure, which was below the 3.7 per cent rise predicted by analysts surveyed by the Nikkei business daily, followed a 3.1 per cent fall in June.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry maintained its basic assessment, saying “industrial production shows signs of picking up at a moderate pace.” The index of production at factories and mines stood at 97.7 against a baseline of 100 for 2005, the ministry said.

General machinery, electronic parts and devices and transport equipment industries contributed to the bulk of the rise in July, the ministry said.

Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expected industrial output to edge up 0.2 per cent in August and rise 1.7 per cent in September.

The index of industrial shipments climbed 1.3 per cent in July from the previous month to 94.9, and that of industrial inventories rose 1.5 per cent to 108.6, the ministry said.

Lok Sabha passes land acquisition bill

The ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2012’ seeks to give a fair deal to farmers

The Lok Sabha has debated and passed two land-mark laws; the food bill and an updated version of the 19th-century legislation governing land acquisition.

The ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2012’ seeks to give a fair deal to farmers losing their land, especially multi-crop land, to industrial needs.
But industry complained the law would push cost and timeframe for setting up new enterprises.
The bill was passed with 216 votes in favour and 19 against.
381 amendments were moved to the bill, of which 166 were official ones, says report.

Sensex gains over 400 points, Oil shares surge

The 30-share Sensex gained 311 points at 18,402 and the 50-share Nifty added 124 points at 5,410 levels

Benchmark indices edged higher in noon deals tracking gains in FMCG, oil and gas and financials shares. Also the Rupee strengthened in today's trade after Reserve Bank of India's move to provide dollars directly to oil companies.

At 1400 hrs, the Sensex was up 347 points at 18,343 and the Nifty advanced 107 points to trade at 5,392.

In the broader markets, midcap index was up over 1% and the smallcap index gained 0.6%, both underperforming the BSE benchmark index which was up nearly 2%.

Rupee recovered to the levels of 67.71/$ in noon trades after the central bank said it has started a facility to meet the daily dollar requirement of the country's three state-run refiners.

Meanwhile, Asian shares recouped some of the two previous sessions' steep losses on Thursday as fears abated that U.S.-led forces would soon launch a military strike on Syria, and oil prices retreated from a six-month peak.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1% after falling 2.2% in the previous two sessions.

Japan's Nikkei share average, advanced 0.8% in light trade, helped by the safe-haven yen giving up some of the recent gains that had taken it to a three-week high against the dollar.

European shares too started trading in the green ahead of consumer price data. FTSE 100 was up 0.7% and DAX and CAC was up 0.4% each.

Markets  are trading at day’s high with Sensex and Nifty trading above the 18,400 mark and the 5,400 levels, respectively, led by FMCG, oil and capital goods shares.  Firm global cues have also supported the upward movement.

At 15:05 PM, the 30-share Sensex gained 311 points at 18,402 and the 50-share Nifty added 124 points at 5,410 levels.

Foreign brokerage company Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoAML) today pegged the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 4%.

     Back home, on the sectoral front, BSE Capital Goods, Metal, FMCG and Oil & Gas indices surged 2% each.  Bankex, Teck, Consumer Durables, Power and IT indices too gained 1-2%.

The main gainers on the Sensex were Sesa Goa, HDFC, Hindalco, RIL, Bharti Airtel, TCS and L&T, up 1-9.5%.

Dr Reddys Lab, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and ONGC which gained 2-3% were the other notable gainers.

Coal India down 1.5%, Infosys and Cipla losing 0.4% and 0.1% were the only names in the red among the Sensex-30.

The market breadth was positive. 1,171 stocks advanced while 888 stocks declined on the BSE.

Sebi notifies new preferential issue norms

To check the flow of illicit funds in the issuance of shares to investors on preferential basis, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified the new norms that make it mandatory for payments and allotments to be done directly through the beneficiaries' accounts.

The payment for preferential shares will need to be made only from the own bank accounts of the buyers while it would be necessary to carry out such allotments through demat accounts.

Besides, the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner of these shares will have to be disclosed, according to the market regulator's notification dated August 26.

There have been concerns that promoters might use the preferential allotment route through front entities and thus adversely impact the interest of public shareholders.

"The issuer shall ensure that the consideration of specified securities, if paid in cash, shall be received from respective allottee's bank account," Sebi noted.

The notification comes after Sebi approved these norms in its board meeting in June.

The regulator said the issuer is required to submit a certificate of the statutory auditor to the stock exchange where the equity shares are listed stating that it is in compliance with necessary regulations and the relevant documents are maintained.

Sebi said the specified securities allotted on preferential basis would not be transferred till trading approval is granted for such securities by all the recognised stock exchanges where the equity shares of the issuer are listed.

"Provided that if there is any listed company, mutual fund, bank or insurance company in the chain of ownership of the proposed allottee, no further disclosure will be necessary," Sebi noted.

Lok Sabha debates Land Acquisition Bill

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh moved the Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The House has now started debating the Bill that seeks to give fair compensation to those who lose their land.

Earlier, the key legislation could not be taken up for debate immediately after being tabled as the Opposition demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on the falling Rupee. An uproar over the same had earlier also led to the adjournment of the Lower House till 12 noon.

The Land Acquisition Bill is another pet project of the UPA leadership and aims to provide "just and fair" compensation to families whose land has been acquired for industrial purposes.

The Bill, renamed as "The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012", was tabled in the Lower House just days after it cleared another key legislation - the Food Security Bill.

The Land Acquisition Bill proposes payment of compensation that is up to four times the market value in rural areas and two times the market value in urban areas.
The Bill also aims at making affected persons partners in development, leading to an improvement in their post- acquisition social and economic status.

Ramesh had earlier said that the proposed legislation shows government's determination to address "widespread and historical injustices".

This has been done by establishing strong legal prerequisites that need to be discharged first while acquiring land.

The Bill will replace over a century-old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which suffers from various shortcomings, including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by the acquisition of land.

Besides, it had the much criticised 'Urgency Clause' which never truly defines what constitutes an urgent need and leaves it to the discretion of the acquiring authority.

Apart from this, it provided low rates of compensation.
The Bill is being brought for consideration and passage after two all-party meetings, which made the government accept five key amendments suggested by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and Left parties.

The Union Cabinet had approved the amendments amid the government's efforts to create broad-based political consensus on the key legislation.

Among the amendments approved by Cabinet was the one suggested by Swaraj that instead of acquisition, land could be leased to developers so that its ownership remain with farmers and provide them regular annual income.
Swaraj had also suggested provision for payment of 50 per cent compensation to original owners whose land was purchased after introduction of the Bill in Lok Sabha in September 2011.

Moving out of its way to create political consensus on the Bill, the Cabinet also agreed to this suggestion.

The Bill ensures that farmers get a fair deal and that there is no forcible acquisition of their land.

In cases where PPP projects are involved or acquisition is taking place for private companies, the Bill requires consent of no less than 70 per cent and 80 per cent respectively (in both cases) of those whose land is sought to be acquired.

"This ensures that no forcible acquisition can take place," Ramesh said.
According to Rural Development Ministry officials, this will be the very first law that links land acquisition with accompanying obligations for resettlement and rehabilitation.

"Over five chapters and two entire Schedules have been dedicated to outlining elaborate processes (and entitlements) for resettlement and rehabilitation," an official said. 

One in 5 MF distributors is active in India

Over the last few years fund houses have lost close to 1 cr equity folios, mostly retail

India's mutual fund sector has currently only 15,000 active distributors. At a time when insurance industry alone has close to 2.5 million agents such low distributors' base is proving a setback for the fund houses.

According to industry lobby Association of Mutual Funds in India ( Amfi ) the sector as on date is having 83, 000 MF distributors registered with it. But when it comes to number of active distributors on ground it is pathetic at only 18% of the total.

No wonder why penentration of mutual fund products remain at abysmal level of less than 5% in India.

Not long ago, the industry had only 50, 000 registered distributors.Thanks to the free regustration drive by Amfi since February this year that the number could be increased to 83, 000 currently.

According to Amfi top executives, though many new distributors have joined but due to bad economic situation these individuals have not yet jumped in to start their business.

"These distributors may have got themselves registered with no fees. But they may start selling when the tide turns and situation improves, said a top Amfi official.

However,  what is more alarming for the industry is the fact that against expectations the free registration drive had "lukewarm" response.

That's why Amfi had extended the waiver to September against the earlier set deadline of June. However, sources said that there are little chances of any further extension.

Over the last few years fund houses have lost close to 1 crore equity folios,  mostly retail.

Meanwhile,  Amfi recently had launched its voluntary district adoption scheme. The industry officials expect the move will help industry to bring in more investors from country's hinterland.

Call rates oscillate near emergency funding rate

Interbank call rates edged higher at 10.25/30% compared to previous close of 10.20/30% on Wednesday, as demand more or less stabilized in the first week of reporting cycle. However, tight liquidity condition is maintaining pressure on call rates, with banks borrowing Rs 69585 crore from the Reserve Bank of India's marginal standing facility (MSF) window on August 28, higher than the Rs 56435 crore on August 27. It needs to be noted that the RBI had raised the MSF rate by 200 basis points to 10.25% and also imposed restrictions on daily borrowings by banks under its repo window last month.

The banks via Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) borrowed Rs 39984 crore through repo window on August 29, 2013, while banks via Special Liquidity Adjustment Facility borrowed Rs 39074 crore through repo window and parked Rs 18 crore via reverse repo window on August 28, 2013.

The overnight borrowing rates touched a high and low of 10.50% and 10.25% respectively.

According to the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL), the weighted average rate (WAR) in the call money market was 10.23% on Thursday and total volume stood at 16515.96 crore, so far.

As per CCIL data, WAR in the CBLO (Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation) market was 10.25% on Thursday and total volume stood at Rs 43797.50 crore, so far.

The indicative call rates which closed at 10.20/10.30% on Wednesday were contributions made from Andhra Bank, AXIS Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, J P Morgan Chase, Citibank N.A., Corporation Bank, Credit Agricole Bank, Indusind Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, IDBI Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Punjab National Bank, RBS, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, so far.

Sesa Goa trades in green on the BSE

Sesa Goa is currently trading at Rs. 182.75, up by 13.20 points or 7.79% from its previous closing of Rs. 169.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 169.75 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 184.80 and Rs. 166.20 respectively. So far 22, 80,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 205.40 on 07-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 119.45 on 31-Jul-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 174.50 and Rs. 139.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 15,882 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 55.13% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.49% and 13.39% respectively.

In a bid to gear-up for completing first phase of mining in the West African nation by December, 2014, Sesa Goa is planning to invest $400 million in its Liberian iron ore mining project in 2-3 years. In this regard, the company has already invested about $35 million so far and has plans to spend about $100 million this year. While, in next 2-3 years the company will invest between $250 million to $400 million.

Sesa Goa, which had acquired Liberia's Western Clusters project for about $123.5 million has divided the project into several phases and has plans to ramp up production up to 30 MTPA by 2016-17.

Sensex soars 308 points; Capital goods, consumer durables stocks rally

Domestic markets jumped over 1.6 per cent in the afternoon session on heavy FII inflows as the rupee recovered from its all-time low coupled with positive global cues.

Domestic sentiment turned better after the rupee opened sharply higher at 66.90 from its previous close of 68.80 after RBI announced fresh measures to check the rupee's free fall amid firm global cues.

Besides, covering up of pending short positions by speculators as today being the last day of current month’s settlement in the derivatives segment supported the rise in stock prices.

At 12.45 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 307.91 points (1.71 per cent) at 18,304.06 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 86 points (1.63 per cent) at 5,371.

All BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Among them, capital goods, consumer durables, metal and banking indices found investors' support and were up 2.16 per cent, 1.91 per cent, 1.77 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

Among 30-share Sensex, Sesa Goa, HDFC, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel and L&T were the top five gainers, while the top five losers were Coal India, Infosys, Wipro, GAIL and Hero MotoCorp.

Asian shares rose from a two-month low tracking overnight cues from the Wall Street.

Wall Street had ended higher on Wednesday as energy shares rallied on higher oil prices as the United States and its allies moved closer to take military action against Syria.

But US President Barack Obama has said that he has not yet decided whether to attack Syria in the aftermath of the Assad regime allegedly using chemical weapons against its own people on August 21.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.38 points or 0.33 per cent to 14,824.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.48 points or 0.27 per cent at 1,634.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 14.83 points or 0.41 per cent to 3,593.35.

Japan's Nikkei rose 121.25 points or 0.91 per cent to 13,459.70, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 119.77 points or 0.56 per cent to 21,644.40 and S&P/ASX 200 was up 5.25 points or 0.1 per cent at 5,092.41.

Investors are keeping an eye on West Asia after the US and the UK had yesterday said that they are prepared to take military action against Syria, without authorisation from the United Nations Security Council, after concluding that the regime was responsible for a chemical weapons attack against civilians on August 21.

They are also awaiting a report on US economic growth that may give signs on when the Federal Reserve will start scaling back its $85-billion-a-month bond-buying programme.

Kotak Mahindra Bank surges on plans to open 100 branches in FY14

Kotak Mahindra Bank is currently trading at Rs. 628.60, up by 22.60 points or 3.73% from its previous closing of Rs. 606.00 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 610.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 631.10 and Rs. 597.00 respectively. So far 52268 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 804.00 on 30-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 561.20 on 05-Sep-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 650.05 and Rs. 588.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 47646.88 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 43.75% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.40% and 22.61% respectively.

Private sector lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank is planning to open 100 branches during the current fiscal as the savings bank balance of the bank has increased 45% year- on- year, the bank also added 1.5 lakh customer accounts during the first three months of the fiscal. At present, the bank has total branch count of 450.

Further, the bank will open five additional branches in Tamil Nadu as deposits in the state have increased by 40% to over Rs 2,150 crore, while savings account deposits increased 33% to Rs 350 crore as on June 30.

Recently, the bank unveiled ‘Kotak Junior’, a specially designed savings bank account for children in Chhattisgarh. This new account has been aimed to encourage children in the age group of 0-18 to save money smartly.

MCX hits upper circuit, up nearly 50% from record low

MCX was trading at Rs 355, rallied around 50% from record low of Rs 238 touched on August 19 on BSE.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has hit its upper circuit for the ninth consecutive trading session, up 5% at Rs 355 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) with no sellers.

A combined 18,352 shares have changed hands on the counter and there are pending buy orders for 1.76 million shares on BSE and NSE (National Stock Exchange) at 1045 hours.

The counter has rallied nearly 50% from its record low of Rs 238 registered on August 19 this year, after the company said it has no exposure to crisis-hit National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), which had to settle dues worth Rs 5,600 crore to investors.

MCX and NSEL are totally different entities with no financial commitments or exposure to each other whatsoever. The company is in full compliance with the directive of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the commodity markets regulator, on investments, loans and advances.

The company said it is a debt-free company and has a net worth of Rs 1,214 crore in the quarter ended June 30.

RIL-BP win approval for $3.18 bn plan for R-Series gas field

Reliance Industries and its partner BP Plc on Thursday won approval to invest $3.18 billion in R-Series gas field in the flagging KG-D6 block.

RIL-BP plan to quickly bring satellite fields in the KG-D6 block to production to help reverse the decline in output.

The block oversight committee, called Management Committee (MC), headed by upstream regulator DGH, approved plans of RIL and its partners BP plc of U.K. and Niko Resources to produce 13-15 million standard cubic metres per day of gas for 13 years from D-34 discovery in the KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block, sources privy to the development said.

The planned output from D-34, which is estimated to hold an in-place reserve of 2.2 Trillion cubic feet, is equivalent to the combined current production from Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) gas field and MA field in the KG-D6 block.

RIL, the operator of KG-D6 block with 60 per cent interest, had on January 30 submitted the Field Development Plan (FDP) for D-34 field to DGH.

Sources said DGH after examination trimmed down the recoverable reserves to 1.191 Tcf from 1.413 Tcf estimated by the operator.

Also, the peak production of 14.9 mmscmd estimated by RIL was brought down to 12.9 mmscmd by DGH.

The Dhirubhai-34 or D-34 gas discovery in the southern part of KG-D6 block in Krishna Godavari basin was notified in May 2007. The find was declared commercially viable by MC in November 2011.

RIL has so far made 19 gas discoveries and 1 oil find in the KG-D6 block. Of these, D1&D3 gas fields were brought to production in April 2009 while MA oilfield began pumping oil in September 2008.

D-34 is part of what is known as R-Cluster of discoveries. R-Cluster comprises of four discoveries - D-29, 30, 31 and 34. Of these, only D-34 has so far been declared commercially viable while the Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) of others has been refused in absence of DGH prescribed tests confirming the discoveries.

RIL estimates that output from KG-D6 can reach up to 60 mmscmd by 2019 when all of the satellite fields are put into production.

The MC had last year approved $1.529 billion investment in four satellite fields that can produce 10 mmscmd. Investment plans for rest are under consideration, sources added.

ONGC in talks to sell 25-30% stake in petrochemical plant at Gujarat

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is in discussions with Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Investment Authority and Qatar Investment Authority for selling 25-30% stake in an Rs 21,396 crore mega petrochemical plant at Gujarat. Further, ONGC has ordered Ernst & Young to search for a strategic partner who could be a technology provider or a marketer of chemicals the plant will produce.

Basically, ONGC Petro additions (OPaL) is building a 1.1 million tonnes plant at Dahej in Gujarat. The plant, which was originally scheduled to be commissioned by December this year, running behind schedule, is now expected to come up sometime in 2015. While, ONGC holds 26% stake in OPaL, state gas utility GAIL India holds 15.5% in OPaL and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GPSC) another 5%. Meanwhile, state Bank of India, the lead banker to the project, has offered to take 3-5% of equity on closure of the debt syndication exercise.

Tata Motors’ global arm- JLR’s car plants production hits by union strike

Tata Motors’ global arm - Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) car plants production in Britain was affected because of industrial action by supply chain workers over a pay dispute. Union Unite workers had voted in favor of 30-minute walkouts at the start of each shift. The company is trying to minimize the disruption to production at the luxury car manufacturing units.

Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is also the world's fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer.

Indian Overseas Bank rises on seeking Rs 2,100 crore capital support from Govt

Indian Overseas Bank is currently trading at Rs. 38.70, up by 0.15 points or 0.39% from its previous closing of Rs. 38.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 39.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 39.35 and Rs. 38.35 respectively. So far 35380 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 94.85 on 07-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 37.15 on 19-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 41.00 and Rs. 37.20 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 3580.87 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 73.80% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 14.01% and 12.19% respectively.

In a bid to enhance its capital base, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is looking for capital support of Rs 2,100 crore from the government. With this, the bank’s Tier I capital will reach to 8%. Tier I capital or the equity capital of the bank stood at 7.80% at the end of March 2013.

Earlier this year, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said all public sector banks are meeting Basel III requirements for capitalisation, though four of them -- Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Dena Bank -- have Tier-1 capital below 8%.

Last year, the bank received Rs 1,000 crore from the government as part of recapitalisation package.

As of March 2013, the total capital funds of the bank stood at Rs 18,366 crore due to allotment of preferential shares to the government of India.

Why has India’s gold outperformed global price?

Gold price hits fresh all-time high of Rs 34,622 per ten grams in futures trade on Wednesday on heavy buying as rupee plunged to its new record low of 68.75 against the US dollar.

Despite recovering about USD 240 an ounce, or more than 20 percent, since hitting a near three-year low of USD 1,180.71 in late June, gold prices are still down 15 percent so far this year in international market. On the contrary, the yellow metal, which plunged to a low of Rs 25,000 in mid-April, is at a record high in India.

Here’s looking at why gold price in India is spiralling:

Rupee depreciation:
 The depreciation in rupee has cast a huge impact on the escalation of gold prices as it makes imports costlier. Rupee is down nearly 19 percent so far this year. Hence, gold price in India cannot be at parallels with the price in international market. The difference arising out of the depreciation in rupee has pushed the gold prices higher.

Gold import duty:
Gold import duty has also added fuel to the rapidly increasing gold price. In order to contain the widening Current Account Deficit (CAD), the government this month hiked the import duty on gold from existing 8 percent to 10 percent, which has led to a straight jump of more than 600 per 10 gram in gold prices. Prior to this hike, the government had twice hiked import duty from 4 percent to 6 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Geo-political tensions:
 Geopolitical tensions in Syria are one of the reasons that have immediately triggered the hike in gold prices. Analysts believe that the possibility of US military action against Syria is driving demand for safe-haven assets including gold. Speculations are also doing the rounds that Fed might delay tapering of its bond buying programme if US forces attack Syria.

Low-level demand/ETF buying:
In the last two weeks, SPDR gold trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, has reported inflow, signalling renewed interest of market players. Apart from ETF buying, low-level buying also stoked up prices.

Central Bank’s buying: 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) data has showed that central banks continued to add to their gold reserves. Turkey added the most by buying 22.5 tonnes of gold in July, while Russia's holdings topped 1,000 tonnes. The accumulation of gold by the central banks has underpinned demand for gold, which in turn has strengthened the metal’s price.

Crude continues its surge on Syrian concern

Crude oil futures continued their surge on Wednesday with Nymex crude ending above the $110-mark. The geo-political concerns kept supporting the prices with the US and its allies mulling over possibilities of military intervention in Syria. Traders even ignored the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly crude oil report that showed US commercial crude oil stockpiles increased more than expected for the week ended August 23.

The EIA reported that US crude oil inventories increased by 2.9 million barrels, while gasoline stocks fell by 587,000 barrels in the week ended August 23.

Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery surged by $1.09 or 1 percent to close at $110.10 a barrel after trading in a range of $112.24 and $109.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent oil futures for October delivery gained 1.39% at $115.96 a barrel on the ICE.

JK Paper soars on hiking product prices by up to 5%

JK Paper is currently trading at Rs. 25.25, up by 1.20 points or 4.99% from its previous closing of Rs. 24.05 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 25.20 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 25.90 and Rs. 25.20 respectively. So far 1,653 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 46.80 on 19-Dec-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 23.10 on 22-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 25.90 and Rs. 23.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 350.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 51.92% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 10.96% and 37.13% respectively.

JK Paper, a paper and packaging major, has hiked prices of its products by up to 5% with immediate effect. The company has taken this step in order to offset the cost of raw materials and chemicals which are on rise.

Three categories of products, including copier papers and packaging board, have been affected by the price hike and the increase will range from by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per kg. The company had earlier increased its prices in May this year.

JK Paper is India’s largest producer of branded paper and is a leading player in the printing and writing segment. It is also engaged in outsourcing activity wherein it contracts the capacities of other mills in India and abroad to manufacture various grades of paper, maintaining the same quality and service assurance.

Titan Industries spurts on plans of entering into helmet market by early 2014

Titan Industries is currently trading at Rs. 219.10, up by 6.80 points or 3.20% from its previous closing of Rs. 212.30 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 217.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 220.85 and Rs. 213.10 respectively. So far 114902 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 313.60 on 30-Nov-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 200.00 on 13-Jun-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 236.85 and Rs. 206.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 19526.86 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 53.05% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 22.94% and 24.01% respectively.

Titan Industries, the country’s leading watch, jewellery and eyewear maker, will enter the helmet market in early 2014, with a superior quality product to ensure safety and comfort of two-wheeler riders. The company will, however, not manufacture helmets but source them from vendors in the sector and market them under its Titan brand. The company is also planning to enter into fragrance market in the near future.

Titan is India’s largest manufacturer of quartz watches and has a 60% market share in the Indian market. It is world’s sixth largest manufacturer of branded watches. It has a manufacturing and assembly unit at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

FDI in multi-brand retail to face heat in Rajya Sabha today

The foreign direct investment policy for multi-brand retail is set for a rough ride in Parliament on Thursday when the amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), needed to make the rules legally valid, come up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

The policy, which allows 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail sector subject to sourcing and investment conditions, was approved by the Cabinet last September. While the Lok Sabha had approved the policy and the required amendments to FEMA (although there are still certain amendments from Opposition members to be discussed), the Rajya Sabha is yet to give its nod.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, who had moved a motion against the FEMA amendment, will explain his reasons for doing so to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday following which the motion may be put up for voting. Critics fear that allowing large retail stores with dedicated low cost supply chains will lead to job losses, loss of business for the small industry and closing down of neighbourhood ‘mom-n-pop’ stores.

“It has to be voted in Rajya Sabha. The Government is in a minority on the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail,” said Yechury.

No foreign multi-brand retail company, including Walmart and Tesco that had initially shown great enthusiasm in setting up shop in the country, has submitted proposals yet as they are waiting for all policy clearances to come through, a DIPP official said. Opposition parties are having discussions among themselves and with the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for forging a common stand on the amendments.

Interestingly, while the SP and the BSP had opposed the policy allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, both had walked out when the policy was being voted in the Lok Sabha, thus allowing it to be approved.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, whose Ministry was instrumental in formulating the policy for multi-brand retail, is expected to intervene on the statutory motion and outline the benefits of the policy. He is expected to give assurances that the policy will not lead to job losses, as was being feared and would lead to the creation of back-end infrastructure in the country.

“One has to see if voting actually happens and if it does, what happens to the future of the FDI policy for multi-brand retail,” the DIPP official said.

This would be just the first bridge to cross for the multi-brand retail FDI policy. The fresh amendments made to the multi-brand retail policy recently to attract elusive investors will also require amendments to FEMA. Opposition parties including the Left parties have already said they would oppose the new rules in Parliament as they were in breach of what had been projected to them earlier.

The new FDI rules have eased compulsory sourcing norms from the small sector, exempted foreign retailers from investing in back-end infrastructure beyond the first tranche of investments brought in and allowed stores to come up even in small cities.

NSEL declares 10 more members as defaulters; takes tally to 19

Crisis-ridden NSEL on Wednesday declared ten more entities as defaulters after they failed to pay their dues on the second-pay out, taking the number of members who are to pay dues at 19.

The exchange also declared the name of clients who traded through defaulting members.

The nine members who have been declared defaulters are, LOIL Continental Food, LOIL Health Foods, Mohan India, Namdhari Food International, Namdhari Rice and General Mills, White Water Foods, Shree Radhey Trading Company, P D Agroprocessors, Swastik Overseas Corp and Juggernaut Projects.

NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-headed FTIL, is facing a crisis after it suspended trade on July 31, raising concerns about possible default of Rs 5,600 crore owed by 24 buyers/ members.

NSEL has defaulted for the second consecutive week in paying its investors as it has been able to pay only Rs 12.05 crore against the scheduled payout of Rs 174.72 crore.

Earlier, the exchange had declared the name of nine members as defaulters who failed to pay their dues on the first day of settlement on August 20, following directives from the commodity market regulator FMC. Only Rs 92 crore was mopped up out of Rs 174.72 crore scheduled payout.

FMC had directed NSEL to declare members, who have failed in making payments, as 'defaulters' and liquidate all their realisable assets.

The regulator also asked NSEL to auction defaulters' commodities lying in the accredited warehouses as collateral.

FMC had also ordered NSEL to ask defaulters to hand over books, documents, papers, assets, cheque books and other documents, and the same should vest with the exchange for the benefit of creditors.

Crude oil futures end lower as US stockpiles advance

Crude oil futures ended a tad lower in the domestic market on Wednesday after a report said that US crude oil stockpiles rose last week, signaling weakening demand for the fuel in the world’s biggest crude oil consuming nation. US crude oil stockpiles rose 2.99 million barrels to 362 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said.

A decline in pending homes sales in the US signaled a cooling housing recovery in the world’s biggest economy, dimming the demand outlook for the fuel. The gauge measuring pending home sales fell at the fastest pace this year, down 1.3 per cent in July 2013.

However, concerns that the Syria conflict may escalate and disrupt oil supplies from the Middle East, curbed losses in the fuel. The US and UK were ready to take military action against Syria even without UN authorization.

At the MCX, Crude Oil futures, for the September 2013 contract, closed at Rs 7,347 per barrel, down by 0.11 per cent, after opening at Rs 7,377, against a previous close of Rs 7,355. It touched an intra-day low of Rs 7,303.

Asian stocks rebound from heavy losses

Asian markets saw a mild bounce on Thursday after suffering heavy selling pressure this week, but traders remain on edge ahead of an expected military strike on Syria.

The dollar also benefited as fears eased over the impact of an attack on the Middle Eastern country, which is accused of using chemical weapons on its own people.

Rupee was slightly off record lows touched Wednesday as investors fret over the country's stuttering economy as well as the future of the US Federal Reserve's stimulus programme.

Tokyo rose 0.48 percent by the break, Hong Kong added 0.58 percent, Shanghai gained 0.42 percent and Seoul rallied 1.25 percent but Sydney shed 0.28 percent.

Buying sentiment was given a boost by a rally on Wall Street, which ended three days of losses, as energy companies benefited from a surge in oil prices.

The Dow rose 0.34 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.41 percent.

Obama, who had warned the use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a "red line", said Washington had definitively concluded that the Assad regime was to blame for last week's attack that killed hundreds of people.

However, he said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether to strike.

His comments, which were more cautious than recent statements, come as political uproar in London cast doubt on whether Britain will join any such action.

Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires: "Excessive risk aversion is unwinding."

Anxiety about Syria initially caused the dollar to weaken earlier this week as investors bought alternative safe-haven currencies including the Swiss franc and yen.

"I think the general feeling is that the United States won't be as heavily involved in Syria as it was when it invaded Iraq back in 2003," he said.

Crude prices edged lower after surging Wednesday on fears of a supply shortage in the oil-rich Middle East caused by any military intervention.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, was down 71 cents to $109.39 a barrel after spiking at a two-year high of $112.24 the previous day.

Brent North Sea crude for October shed 75 cents to $115.86. The contract peaked at six-month high of $117.34 Wednesday.

Thursday's pick-up also provided some respite for stocks in emerging markets, which have been hammered in recent weeks on expectations of an end to the Fed's stimulus, which has fuelled an investment splurge in the region over the past year.

Jakarta was up 1.10 percent, Manila added 0.80 percent and Kuala Lumpur climbed 0.53 percent.

The Indian rupee was also better off, sitting at 68.82 to the dollar after tapping 69.22 Wednesday.

However, the unit remains strained owing to ongoing troubles in the domestic economy.

The dollar bought 97.88 yen in early trade, compared with 97.72 yen in New York and well up from the low 97-yen levels in Tokyo Wednesday.

The euro fetched $1.3327 and 130.42 yen compared with $1.3341 and 130.36 yen.

Gold cost $1,409.35 an ounce, near a three-month high, at 0220 GMT, up from $1,422.90 late Wednesday.

Markets may open higher; F&O expiry eyed

At 800 hrs Indian Standard Time the SGX Nifty was up 46 points at 5,314.

Markets are likely to open higher but may trade rangebound ahead of the expiry of August derivatives contracts today.

The movement of rupee and foreign fund flows would also largely drive the stock market.

At 800 hrs Indian Standard Time the SGX Nifty was up 46 points at 5,314.

According to technical experts, the Nifty may seek support around 5,210-5,160, while face resistance around 5,360-5,410.

Wall Street rose on Wednesday as energy shares rallied on higher oil prices as the United States and its allies edged closer to military action against Syria

On Wednesday stocks recouped some of the losses as traders bought energy stocks, which rose on a spike in oil prices as markets feared supply interruptions from the Middle East.

The Dow Jones industrial, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3-0.4%.

Asian shares stabilised on Thursday after two days of steep losses as fears abated that U.S.-led forces would soon launch a military strike on Syria, and oil prices retreated from a six-month peak.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.1 percent after falling 2.2 percent in the previous two sessions. Japan's Nikkei share average advanced 0.5 percent.

STOCKS TO WATCH

The Odisha government has turned down Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL)’s proposal to acquire 49 per cent stake in Gopalpur Ports.

Titan Industries, now re-christened Titan Company Ltd, said it planned to widen its footprint in the personal lifestyle segment by venturing into new categories within the space.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam will soon enter into a technological collaboration with Russia's Novolipetsk Steel Company to set up a plant for producing silicon steel, used in the power sector.

Essar Projects has secured a Rs 700 crore contract from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

Infosys said Ashok Vemuri, a member of the company's board of directors and head of its operations in the Americas, has resigned.

Videocon planning to roll out 4G services by July-August next year and is in talks with Nokia Siemens Networks for infrastructure.

Corporate bond street still dry, as yields trading high

The falling rupee has not only impacted bond yields but also issuance of corporate bonds

Since the time the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened liquidity in mid-July, these have dried up as the cost of borrowing rose. Issue arrangers are not expecting primary issuances of corporate bonds to pick up unless liquidity  improves.

The yield on the 10-year AAA-rated public sector unit corporate bond was 8.52 per cent on July 1 and is now at 9.65 per cent. On July 15, RBI had announced a first round of liquidity tightening to arrest the depreciating rupee, due to which the yield had breached nine per cent, reaching 9.33 per cent the next day.

“Corporate bond yields are still high and liquidity in the system is tight. In such a scenario, investors are in the process of selling their investments in corporate bonds, due to which there is excess supply. Due to all these factors, we are not seeing primary issuances of corporate bonds through the private placement route,” said Ajay Manglunia, senior vice-president (fixed income), Edelweiss Securities.

Only tax-free bond issuances are expected to garner investors’ interest. “These are an attractive investment because the issuers are all highly rated corporates. Besides, for corporates paying high tax, investing in these bonds makes sense because they are tax-free,” said Manglunia.

Data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India  shows companies had raised Rs 110,785 crore through public placement of corporate bonds in April-June, the first three months of the financial year.

“The liquidity scenario has to improve for primary issuances to hit the market. Besides, there is no clarity on interest rates,” said Ramesh Kumar, senior vice-president (debt), Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates.

Though RBI announced a partial relaxation in its tight money policy last week, bond yields continue to be high. “Through the liquidity and interest rate tightening measures, we have ended up closely linking various segments of financial markets, namely, the money market, equity market, bond market and currency market. The various segments are feeding on each other. Volatility in one market influences the other and in turn impacts the third and so on,” said Mohan Shenoi, president, group treasury and global markets, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

BSE Sensex turns positive; LIC buying shares

 The BSE Sensex turned positive on Wednesday after earlier falling as much as 2.9 percent led by gains in software services exporters such as Tata Consultancy Services, while banks recovered from earlier falls on value buying.
Life Insurance Corporation was also spotted buying Indian shares on Wednesday.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd  gained 3.3 percent while HDFC Bank Ltd rose 0.1 percent after earlier falling as much as 5.9 percent.
The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading up more than 100 points while the broader Nifty rose over 20 points at 15.04 IST.

RUPEE

   The rupee once again weakened against the dollar in today due to month-end dollar demand, said currency dealers.

At 2:20PM, the rupee was trading at Rs 67.98 per dollar compared to Tuesday's close of 66.24/25 on the Interbank Foreign Exchange. The currency touched an all-time low of Rs 68.75 in early trades.

The previous all-time low was Rs 66.19 per dollar, a level the rupee had ended on yesterday. The currency has fallen more than 8% so far this week.

GLOBAL MARKETS
  
Asian stocks fell while Brent crude surged to over 2-year high on brewing tensions between Syria and US.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.5% to 13,338, Singapore’s Straits Times fell 1% to 3,002, China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.1%  at 2,101 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.6 % to 21,52 4 today.

European markets also opened lower. France’s CAC was tad up 0.1% to 3,973, Germany’s DAX shed 0.4% to 8,204 while UK’s FTSE was down 0.3% to 6,422.

STOCK MOVERS
     
Domestically, barring IT and metal index, rest all declined with banks, realty, capital goods, oil & gas, PSU leading the drop on the BSE.

The gainers included counters such as Tata Power rising 3.4%, Wipro and TCS gained 3.2% each, Jindal Steel gained 3% while Hindalco Industries was up 1.9% on the BSE.

The laggards were ONGC declined 7.8%, HDFC shed 7%, GAIL fell over 4% while Bharti Airtel declined 2.8% on the BSE.

The key notable movers included counters such as ITC has moved higher by 2% at Rs 303, bouncing back over 6% from intra-day low, after the board of diversified company fixes a merger ratio.

Strides Arcolab is trading higher 4% at Rs 863 on reports that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared the long-pending $1.8-billion investment proposal by US generic drug maker Mylan Inc, to acquire Strides Arcolab’s injectible unit, Agila Specialities.