BSE Sensex moves marginally up

Some positive buying is seen in FMCG, metal, oil & gas, realty, consumer durables, PSU, capital goods, healthcare, banking and power sectors

Equity benchmarks moved marginally up on broad based buying. At 2:38 PM (IST), S&P BSE Sensex is 308 points up at 18,927, while it had hit a high of 18,942.

The 50-share Nifty is 82 points up at 5,554 and it had hit a high of 5,564.

BSE Mid-cap is 74 points up at 5,374, whereas BSE Small-cap is 59 points higher at 5,250.

Some positive buying is seen in FMCG, metal, oil & gas, realty, consumer durables, PSU, capital goods, healthcare, banking and power sectors on BSE.

Tata Steel, ITC, RIL, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel, Hindalco and BHEL are up on BSE, whereas M&M, Tata Power, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's Lab and Infosys are showing some weakness.

Shares in Lupin Ltd gained 2.59% after the company got the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of eye drop Gatifloxacin on Friday.

Reliance Infrastructure increased 2.7% on the news that the company has completed Salem-Ulundurpet road project in Tamil Nadu through its special purpose vehicle (SPV)-SU Toll Road Pvt Ltd.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, which is 1.95% up, said that Ratna puja carrying 87,610 MT of Arab Extra Light crude completed discharge of its cargo through the company's single point mooring system.

Power Finance Corporation, which is 2.67% up, is likely to invite bids for two ultra mega power projects worth Rs. 200 billion in Odisha and Tamil Nadu by this week.

Puravankara Projects is planning to launch Manhattan condominiums at its flagship, Purva Windmere, in Pallikaranai near Velachery in Chennai district of Tamil Nadu. The scrip is 0.9% down on BSE.

In June 2013, mutual funds saw a net outflow of Rs. 500.67 billion as compared to a net outflow of Rs. 484.03 billion.

JP Morgan has cut the country's GDP growth forecast to 4.1% for the fiscal year ending March 2014. The brokerage had earlier projected India's GDP growth at 5.1%.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) fell from 50.1 to 48.5 in August, indicating a moderate deterioration of business conditions. The latest index reading was the
lowest in four-and-a-half years and the first sub-50.0 reading since March 2009.

The finance ministry has asked the RBI to consider if export credit could be included in priority sector lending of banks

Nikkei closed 184 points up at 13,572, while Hang Seng closed 443 points up at 22,175.

ICICI Prudential MF declares dividend under Multiple Yield Fund-Plan D

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has declared dividend under the ICICI Prudential Multiple Yield Fund-Plan D. The record date for dividend is September 06, 2013.

The recommended rate of dividend will be Rs 0.1416 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 per unit.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities/ debt instruments. The secondary objective of the Scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation by investing a portion of the Scheme’s assets in equity and equity related instruments. However, there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Plan under the Scheme will be realized.

Ashok Leyland sales decline 24% in August

Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland today reported 24.31 per cent decline in sales at 7,139 units for August 2013.

The Chennai-based heavy vehicle major had sold 9,432 units during the same month of previous year, Ashok Leyland said in a filing with the BSE.

Excluding its small commercial vehicle Dost, the company witnessed 25 per cent fall in commercial vehicle sales at 4,939 units last month from 6,597 units sold in August, 2012.

Sales of its small commercial vehicle Dost declined by 22 per cent at 2,200 units in August 2013 against 2,835 units sold during the year-ago period.

Reliance Infra SPV completes 136 KM road project in TN

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (RInfra), part of  the  Reliance Group,  announced completion of  widening of the entire 136 km Salem-Ulundurpet road in Tamil Nadu through its Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - SU Toll Road Pvt. Ltd. 

Built at a cost of Rs. 1,061 crore,  the SU corridor connects major tourist destinations, industrial zones  in Salem district  and the Chennai international airport.  The popular hill station Yercaud in Tamil Nadu will also be easily accessible through this corridor.
The project  has been  executed on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) pattern under the aegis of National Highways Authority of India. RInfra has been awarded the contract  to operate and  maintain the road for a concession period of 25 years.

Commenting on this development, Sudhir R Hoshing, CEO (Roads), Reliance Infrastructure,  said, “We are happy to complete the widening of the entire stretch of Salem-Ulundurpet  road that will provide a hassle-free, safe and smooth driving experience. We expect an  increase in traffic of over 4,000 more vehicles per day. The new toll plaza is closer to Salem, which is an industrial centre with numerous steel, textiles, cement and electrical equipment manufacturing units. Such industrial traffic would benefit from faster and convenient  passage through the road.”

The SU road has already been revenue operational since July 28, 2012 with two toll plazas located at Nathakkarai and Veeracholapuram.  A third toll plaza at Mettupattai has now become operational. Toll collection has started at all toll plazas.

The SU corridor  project required major  realignment  work along with  widening  the entire stretch right from Salem to enable construction of four lanes.  With the  completion of the  project, the average speed of vehicles will now  double  to approximately 70 km/ hr,  thereby reducing the traveling time by upto 50% and also saving fuel cost by almost 40%.
Commuters traveling the entire 136 km stretch can now cover this distance in less than two hours,whereas earlier the same distance used to take  nearly four hours. Keeping  in mind the  traffic density, 10 lane toll plazas have been constructed on the SU road.

All toll plazas are equipped with Automated Toll System to  cut down  stopover time. Commuters residing within  10  and  20 km radius of  the  toll plazas can also avail the benefit of monthly discounted passes costing Rs 150 and Rs 300 respectively.
All toll plazas  are equipped with an Emergency Control Room  with  24x7  ambulance services to locate accident sites and provide medical services within  the  minimum response time.  Two patrolling cars will patrol the entire corridor 24X7 to ensure the safety and security of the commuters. The corridor also  has  38 Passengers Bus shelters with various commuter centric facilities like Reverse Osmosis (RO) drinking water kiosks, Truck Lay byes, etc

Sensex rises 301 points in afternoon trade

Some positive buying is seen in FMCG, metal, realty, consumer durables, banking, oil & gas, capital goods, healthcare and power sectors on BSE

At 12:56 PM (IST), S&P BSE Sensex is 301 points up at 18,921, while it had hit a high of 18,935.

The 50-share Nifty is 87 points up at 5,559 and it had hit a high of 5,563.

BSE Mid-cap is 67 points up at 5,368, whereas BSE Small-cap is 58 points higher at 5,249.

Some positive buying is seen in FMCG, metal, realty, consumer durables, banking, oil & gas, capital goods, healthcare and power sectors on BSE.

ITC, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, HDFC, ICICI Bank, RIL, Hindalco, Maruti Suzuki and Sesa Goa are up on BSE, whereas M&M, Tata Power, NTPC, Dr Reddy's Lab, HDFC Bank and Wipro are showing some weakness.

Jet Airways Ltd is 5.05% up, after the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has extended a deadline for regulatory approval that ended on August 31, until end of September.

Sun Pharmaceuticals's US subsidiary, Taro Pharmaceuticals, has entered into an exclusive development and licensing agreement with NovaBiotics, for its novel anti-fungal drug Novexatin. Sun Pharma is 1.47% up.

Bajaj Auto total sales declined 9% to Rs. 3.12 lakh in August 2013 from 3.44 lakh in August 2013. The scrip is 1.45% up on BSE.

Reliance Industries is facing excessive delays in receiving regulatory approvals for five key oil and gas projects worth $7.5 billion. The scrip is 2.81% up on BSE.

L&T Construction has won water project orders worth Rs. 11.41 billion. L&T is 1.34% up.

Maruti Suzuki rose 2.36% on the news that the car maker sold a total of 87,323 units in August 2013.

Bharti Airtel is trading 0.37% up on BSE. The company is in race to acquire Loop Mobile, according to a media report.

JPMorgan has cut the country's GDP growth forecast to 4.1% for the fiscal year ending March 2014. The brokerage had earlier projected India's GDP growth at 5.1%.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) fell from 50.1 to 48.5 in August, indicating a moderate deterioration of business conditions. The latest index reading was the
lowest in four-and-a-half years and the first sub-50.0 reading since March 2009.

The finance ministry has asked the RBI to consider if export credit could be included in priority sector lending of banks

Nikkei closed 184 points up at 13,572, while Hang Seng is trading 390 points up at 22,121.

Production at Hero MotoCorp's Haridwar unit fails to kick-start on Monday

Hero MotoCorp’s Haridwar plant has still not resumed manufacturing motor cycles for the third consecutive working day as the management declared off on Monday.

Over 5,000 workers were on strike for two days (Friday and Saturday) last week protesting against the suspension of one of their colleagues.

However, after assurance from the Assistant Labour Commissioner, they came back to work on Monday for the early morning shift, scheduled to start at 6.30 a.m. However, security guards announced about the no-work day.

“We were told that due to administrative and security reasons, there will be off today. We will also be asked to work on any other day in lieu of this off,” Sandeep Sharma, workers’ nominated leader to resolve the suspension issue, told Business Line. This was sudden and without any prior information, he alleged.

On Saturday, the company had announced that the protesting workers have gone back, and despatches from the plant are going on. Even on Sunday, it did not indicate about the suspension of work on Monday when this news paper sought a detailed response on the allegations made by the workers. The company also did not say anything on whether the suspended workers would be taken back or not.

Suspension of worker

One of the workers, Amarnath was suspended on charge of misrepresenting the facts for employment.

The company said: “On Friday, the said worker was served a show-cause notice for misrepresenting facts while applying for employment at the plant, which is in gross violation of the model standing orders & policies as laid down by the company. In keeping with our policy of fair-play, he will indeed be given a fair chance to present his case during the independent enquiry, before any further course of action.”

Amarnath’s colleagues were aghast on the fact that why suddenly this issue has cropped up after he was confirmed almost year-and-a-half ago after two-and-half years of service. “In fact the management is targeting people who are working for setting up union,” one of the workers alleged.

Labour union

This plant, unlike the other two, as of now has no labour union and the application for recognition has also been rejected by the Labour Department. This plant manufactures around 9,000 motorcycles a day. The Haridwar plant is one of the biggest plants of Hero MotoCorp and produces Splendor-Plus, Splendor-Pro, Passion-Pro and Hunk.

Govt hikes petrol price by a steep Rs 2.35 per litre, diesel by 50 paise

Marking the sixth increase in rates in last three months, petrol prices have been upped by a steep Rs 2.35 per litre. Oil firms had on June 1 raised petrol prices by 75 paise, excluding VAT, and followed it with a Rs 2 per litre increase on June 16, a Rs 1.82 increase on June 29, Rs 1.55 hike on July 15 and 70 paise increase from August 1. The recent increases in rates, which are already effective, are excluding local sales tax or VAT. The actual hike will be higher and will vary from city to city. While, Petrol price in Delhi will go up by Rs 2.83 to Rs 74.10 per litre, the same will cost Rs 81.57 per litre in Mumbai as against Rs 78.61 currently.

Further, in a parallel move, diesel price too have been hiked by 50 paise, excluding VAT, in line with the January decision of the government allowing oil companies freedom to raise prices in small doses every month to wipe out mounting losses. Latest hike marks the eighth hike in diesel prices since the January 17 and with this hike, most of the losses on diesel sales should have been wiped off by now to make the fuel market priced. However, the sharp depreciation of Indian rupee by 25% since the start of this year, has worsened this situation, with oil firms losing Rs 12.12 per litre despite prices being raised by a cumulative Rs 4.75 this year.

Furthermore, indicating the chances of bigger hike in the near future, Moily on August 30 wrote to PM, highlighting that without a price increase the government will have to shell out a record Rs 97,500 crore to subsidise diesel and cooking fuel. Moily, who sent an almost identical note to Chidambaram, underscored that one rupee increase in diesel price will cut loss by Rs 4,522 crore in remainder of current fiscal. While, a Rs 3 per litre increase would trim losses by Rs 13,565 crore and further, highlighted that if rates are raised by a one-time Rs 5 per litre, the losses would be cut to Rs 29,390 crore.

L&T Construction wins Water Project Orders valued at Rs 1,141 crore

The Water & Renewable Energy Business of L&T Construction, a leading player in the water infrastructure and renewable energy sectors in India, has secured new orders worth Rs 1,141 crore in August 2013 in various business segments. The Water Supply & Distribution Business has secured an order from the Public Health Engineering Department, Rajasthan for an integrated drinking water supply project linking towns and villages in Rajasthan. The scope includes supply and laying of transmission pipelines, construction of clear water reservoirs and pumping stations.

Another turnkey order was received from the Public Health Engineering Department, West Bengal for the design, construction and commissioning of a 52 MGD water treatment plant. The company also strengthened its position in Tamil Nadu by securing a water supply project for Cuddalore Municipality from the Tamil Nadu Water Supply & Drainage Board.

Besides, in the Waste Water Business, orders have been secured from Delhi Jal Board for the supply and laying of internal and peripheral sewer lines in various parts of Delhi. The Industrial Water Systems Business has also received a turnkey EPC order from an infrastructure provider for constructing plant water systems for an upcoming project near Raichur, Karnataka.

RBI to postpone mid-quarter review

The mid quarter review of RBI was originally scheduled on 18 September

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to postpone its mid-quarter review of monetary policy, top RBI sources told Business Standard.

The mid quarter review of RBI was originally scheduled on 18 September. Now, it will happen a few days after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which is scheduled on 17-18 September, RBI sources added. The mid-quarter review would also be the first policy announcement by Raghuram Rajan who takes over from D Subbarao on September 5.

The FOMC meet is expected to indicate when the US Fed would start tapering its stimulus programme, known as Quantitative Easing 3, which is crucial for the fate of currencies of emerging markets including India. Stabilising the rupee - which has depreciated 21 per cent since May - would be one of the immediate priorities of Rajan.RBI is expected to announce the new date of the policy review a week before the review is to happen.

The US Fed's comments on the timing on tapering of QE have weighed on the rupee and other emerging market currencies. Any indication of an early tapering of the US Fed's asset purchase programme has made investors pulling out from emerging markets, which exerted pressure on these currencies. The rupee - the worst performing Asian currency this financial year so far - is under pressure largely due to worsening external sector, apart from global factors.

The current account deficit (CAD) was at a record high at 4.8 per cent of the GDP in 2012-13, well above the central bank's tolerance level of 2.5 per cent. CAD is above the central bank's comfort zone for the last three years and RBI expects it to stay above 2.5 per cent this financial year as well.

Reliance Industries soars on bagging government’s nod to invest $4 billion in D-6 block

Reliance Industries is currently trading at Rs. 859.00, up by 7.45 points or 0.89% from its previous closing of Rs. 851.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 852.30 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 863.25 and Rs. 852.30 respectively. So far 66,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 954.80 on 21-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 760.10 on 03-Sep-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 858.35 and Rs. 765.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2, 77,418 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.33% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 28.94% and 22.25% respectively.  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

Videocon pulls the plug on telecom services in 3 circles

Trai data show the company has no subscribers in Uttar Pradesh East & West and Bihar

   In May this year, the Videocon group decided to scale down its telecom operations in three circles out of the six it was operating in. The operator, Datacom, now has subscribers only in Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, according to the latest data from the telecom regulator.

In the spectrum auctions held in last November, Videocon had reclaimed licences in six circles for Rs 2,222 crore. But now, its operations in the northern belt — Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West and Bihar — are all but shut. These circles show zero subscribers in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s data.

The operator has 2.28 million subscribers in three circles. Most of its subscribers are in Haryana.

Arvind Bali, chief executive of the telecom business of the company, said its operations in the three northern circles had always been a non-starter. “We have not yet launched commercial operations in them. And, the subscribers we had in these circles have been friendly subscribers — our employees and trade partners.” Bali added the company was still working on its strategy for these circles.

The move to exit operations could be a strategic customer clean-up exercise, say industry experts.

According to Trai, the percentage of subscribers active in the Bihar circle is 0.5 per cent. That puts the number of active subscribers at 92. In UP-East and UP-West, too, 0.94 per cent and 1.35 per cent subscribers were active, respectively. The effective subscribers in UP-East and UP-West the operator had in April were at 137 and 48, respectively.

Keeping such subscribers and maintaining towers add to costs, said Bali. “Running towers and operations is expensive. Low number of subscribers does not give us revenue.”

“The company (Videocon) has better businesses to focus on, like consumer durables and oil. Telecom has not made any money as of now. They seem to have lost interest on it,” said an industry expert, who declined to be identified.  

The company’s move is contrary to the claims it had made earlier this year that it would launch the next generation 4G services in all its six circles. The licences the company had bought are of a liberalised nature and will allow it to launch these services.

The company had 21 licences before the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences in February 2012 in a case relating to the 2G scam.

The operator could never make a dent in the market neither competitively nor in terms of subscribers. Even when it had all 21 licences, Videocon’s market share was around 0.42 per cent. “They were never a significant force though they did create competitive tension with their presence,” said Kunal Bajaj, an independent telecom consultant.

Datacom also had the disadvantage of being the last operator to launch services in early 2010. This was in the middle of the tariff war and all the big and serious players were already bombarding the markets with advertising efforts.

Like many of its Indian peers, Videocon also had plans to sell 26% stake in its company to a foreign telecom holding around the time it had launched its operations. However, before they could go ahead with their plans, tariff war had made telecom a difficult sector making foreign telecom operators lose interest in further investments.

Bharti Airtel emerges as frontrunner to acquire Loop Mobile

 Bharti AirtelBSE 0.69 % has emerged the frontrunner to acquire Loop Mobile, one of Mumbai's oldest cellular networks, as the company's owners, Dubaibased IP Khaitan and family, seek to exit the telecom sector, said multiple sources aware of the negotiations.

Discussions with AirtelBSE 0.69 % have been going on for some time and have gathered momentum in recent weeks. But a final deal is dependent on clarity on guidelines governing mergers and acquisitions in the telecom sector and the renewal fee for Loop's licence, before discussions begin on the valuation and other commercial terms. Loop's licence expires in September 2014.

Loop, the fourth-largest operator in Mumbai, started operations in 1995 as BPL Mobile. In 2005, Khaitan Holdings Group took ownership control of the company. Loop has over 3 million customers as per July subscriber numbers.

What is, however, of strategic interest to likely buyers including BhartiBSE 0.69 % is the 8 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz frequency band that Loop operates in. Both Bharti and Idea, in the Mumbai circle, have spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. The 900 MHz frequency band is preferred by cellular companies as it is more efficient, in that a lesser number of cellphone towers are required, thus reducing capital spend.

Loop's subscribers have stayed on despite number portability — which allows them to switch to another operator while retaining their phone number — and the company generates among the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) per month. Nearly 30% of its subscribers are post-paid, and spend more per month. Comparable figures for Airtel in Mumbai are not available, but the number is likely to be much lower.

The acquisition of Loop will help Airtel become the leader in Mumbai in terms of number of subscribers, thus propelling it to the top slot in the key metros of Delhi and Mumbai.

 A Bharti spokesperson declined comment on what he described as market speculation. Loop Mobile's spokesperson also declined comment.

The deal, however, hinges on key regulatory issues and will close once there is clarity on them. Notably, these include the quantum of licence renewal fee that has to be paid in 2014, along with the M&A guidelines. "With the licence expiry due, Loop has just one year of business value left.

An acquirer would want to buy into future cash flows for a longer time. So, if Loop gets to retain its 900 MHz for another 10 years, then it will be a prized asset. However, the government may decide to take back a portion of that (spectrum) for the auction pool and swap it with 1800 MHz (frequency). This clarity is essential for the deal and the final valuation," said an investment banker privy to the discussions.

       Moreover, the guidelines for telecom sector M&As may impose a spectrum acquisition fee for non-market trades. "The minister has been hinting at plugging the loophole and asking telcos to pay a fee if they acquire spectrum from non-government sources, that is, via M&A. That will be a negative for any consolidation efforts," added another official on condition of anonymity.

China manufacturing rebounds to 50.1 in August: HSBC

China's factory activity expanded for the first time in four months in August as domestic demand rebounded, a private survey showed on Monday, the latest sign that the world's second-largest economy may have avoided a sharp slowdown.

The final Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed to 50.1 in August, up sharply from July's 47.7 and in line with last week's flash preliminary reading.

The survey came a day after China's official manufacturing PMI showed factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year in August with a jump in new orders.

Economists cheered the upbeat data as a sign that China's economy, which has cooled in 12 of the last 14 quarters, is finally steadying.

"We are definitely stabilising, but it's going to be a pretty weak to flat recovery," said Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered.

Asian shares climbed to a two-week high and the Australian dollar and copper gained after the report.

Modest growth in China's factories should still comfort financial markets, however, offering hope that a run of encouraging data in July was not a fluke.

The official PMI, which came in at 51.0 versus expectations for 50.6, is more weighted towards bigger and state-owned firms, which have easier access to credit and the scale to cope better with downturns than the smaller private firms that form the backbone of the Markit/HSBC survey.

As recently as a month ago, investors had worried that China's economy was slipping into a deeper-than-expected downturn, especially after its money market was hit by an unprecedented cash crunch in June.

But policymakers have stepped in with a series of measures aimed at stabilising the economy, including quickening railway investment and public housing construction and introducing policies to help smaller companies with financing needs.

EXPORTS STILL WEAK

Senior officials have also been talking up the economy, saying there are clear signs of stabilisation emerging and that the government's annual GDP target of 7.5 per cent is achievable.

Data for July had showed a pickup in trade and industrial output, while foreign investment into China also quickened, adding to confidence in the economy.

"We expect some upside surprises to China's growth in the coming months," said Qu Hongbin, an HSBC economist, noting that factory activity had picked up on firms rebuilding their stocks and on recent steps taken by authorities to boost activity.

However, any expectations for a strong rebound may be misplaced. As a PMI reading above 50 indicates growth while one below 50 demarcates contraction, the latest Markit/HSBC data suggests August's expansion was only modest.

Indeed, the survey showed new export orders dipping from July to stay well below the 50-point threshold. New orders, which include domestic orders, showed marginal growth by rising to 50.8, albeit a four-month high.

Infosys plans to increase share of domestic business to 3%

Infosys is planning to raise share of revenue from domestic market to 3% by 2015 by focusing more on private sector, according to reports.

Infosys's domestic business accounted for about 2.6% or Rs 9,616 crore in the June quarter.
Media report said that IT company has 50 domestic clients, but 70-80 per cent of its local business comes from the public sector.

InfosysBSE -0.28 % domestic business unit head C N Raghupathi said, "The IT projects in the government sector have their own nuances. These are long durational and transformational projects.

Tata Motors sells 49,611 vehicles in August

Tata Motors’ total sales including exports of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles in August 2013 were 49,611 vehicles. The company’s domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for August 2013 were 44,717 units.  Cumulative sales including exports for the company for the fiscal were 254,355 units.

The company’s sales of commercial vehicles in August 2013 in the domestic market were 33,153 units, LCV sales were 24,904 units, while M&HCV sales stood at 8,249 units. Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 176,853 units. Cumulative LCV sales were 127,547 units, while M&HCV sales stood at 49,306 units.

The sales of passenger vehicles for August 2013 were at 11,564 units. Sales of the Nano/ Indica/ Indigo range in August 2013 were 8,761 units while the Sumo/ Safari/ Aria/ Venture range sales were 2,803 units. The cumulative sales of passenger vehicles were 56,896 units. Cumulative sales of the Nano/ Indica/ Indigo range were at 44,780 units while cumulative sales of the Sumo/Safari/ Aria/ Venture range were 12,116 units.

The company’s sales from exports were 4,894 units in August 2013. Cumulative sales from exports for the fiscal were 20,606 units.

Mahindras Auto sector sells 37,897 units during August 2013

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, has reported its auto sales numbers for August 2013 which stood at 37,897 units as against 45,836 units during August 2012.

The Passenger Vehicles segment which includes the UVs and Verito sold 15,821 units in August 2013, as against 21,831 units during August 2012. The company’s domestic sales stood at 35,159 units during August 2013, as against 42,826 units during August 2012.

Besides, the 4 wheeler commercial segment which includes passenger and load vehicles sold 13,718 units, while the 3 wheeler segment clocked 5,149 units in August 2013. Exports for the month of August 2013 stood at 2,738 units.

Aditya Birla Chemicals acquires CA&P Division of SCIL for Rs 153 crore

Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) (ABCIL) has acquired the Chlor-Alkali & Phosphoric Acid Division from Solaris Chemtech Industries on September 01, 2013 and henceforth the said division is part and unit of the company and has been named as Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) - Karwar Chemical Division.

The company had earlier on May 31, 2013 received an approval for acquisition of the Chlor-Alkali & Phosphoric Acid Division (CA&P Division) of Solaris Chemtech Industries (SCIL) for a cash consideration of Rs 153 crore.

Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) is a leading Chlor Alkali company with a caustic soda capacity of 242,725 tpa capacity. The company manufacturers various chlorine derivatives as value added products.

SCIL is a closely held unlisted company having its registered office in New Delhi.

Markets may open tad higher, FII trend key

Markets may open marginally higher tracking positive Asian cues.

Markets may react to the economic growth data that was announced post market hours on Friday. The movement of rupee and foreign fund flows would drive the stock market this week.

At 08:00 AM Indian Standard Time the SGX Nifty was up 2 points at 5,447.

According to technical experts, the Nifty may seek support around 5,420-5,390, while face resistance around 5,520-5,555.

Wall Street shares fell on Friday to mark their steepest decline since May 2012 amid uncertainty over the possibility of U.S.-led military intervention in the Syrian conflict.

The Dow Jones industrial, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were down 0.3-1%.

Asian shares, the Australian dollar and copper prices rose on Monday while the yen fell as hopes grew that China may have halted a sharp economic slowdown after factory activity data expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year in August.


MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. Japan's benchmark Nikkei gained 0.8 percent.