Hero MotoCorp sales up 18% in October

In the same month last year, it had sold 5,29,215 units

Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today reported a 18.17% rise in total sales at 6,25,420 units for October this year.

In the same month last year, it had sold 5,29,215 units, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

"This is also the first time that any two-wheeler manufacturer has exceeded the landmark six lakh unit sales in a month," it added.

The company's previous highest sales for any month was recorded in May this year when it sold 5,57,890 units.

Hero MotoCorp Senior Vice President (Marketing and Sales) Anil Dua said: "This sales momentum has been helped by our star brands Splendor and Passion and also by the new products."

"Our recently-introduced five-year warranty and our brand campaigns have also created customer preference for the Hero two-wheelers," he added.

Motherson Sumi Q2 net up 1.49% to Rs 139.63 crore

Company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 138 crore in the same period of previous fiscal

Auto component maker Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd today reported 1.49% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 139.63 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013.

The company had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 137.58 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) said in a BSE filing.

Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 7165.73 crore, up 23.53% as compared to Rs 5,800.55 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company's consolidated income from its operations stood at Rs 7,243 crore in the July-September quarter as against Rs 5,890.52 crore during the same period last year.

Commenting on the company's performance, MSSL Chairman V C Sehgal said: "Both domestic and overseas business of the company showed robust performance despite month long annual shutdown in Europe due to summer holidays."

The company's consolidated revenue from automotive segment stood at Rs 7,073.54 crore in this quarter as against Rs 5,724.88 crore in the same period last fiscal.

However, MSSL's consolidated revenue from non-automotive segment decreased to Rs 166.51 crore this quarter. It was at Rs 171.04 crore in corresponding quarter last year.

MSSL is a joint venture between Samvardhana Motherson Group and Japan-based Sumitomo Wiring Systems.

The company's shares were trading at Rs 264.60 per scrip during afternoon trade at BSE, down 2.07% from the previous close.

Toyota Kirloskar posts 11% rise in sales

Toyota Kirloskar Motor today reported 10.94 per cent increase in total sales at 15,576 units in October this year against 14,040 units sold in the corresponding month last year.

According to a company statement, domestic sales stood at 13,162 units, up 7 per cent from 12,281 units in the corresponding month last year.

During the month, the company exported 2,414 units of Etios.

Commenting on sales, Toyota Kirloskar Deputy Managing Director and COO (Marketing and Commercial) Sandeep Singh said: “October has seen good sales as the festive season has helped us in generating good numbers of enquiries and orders.”

Sales of all the models including the Innova, Etios, Liva, Fortuner and Corolla Altis have seen a positive growth last month, he added.

CPI inflation quickens to 9.84% in Sept

The year-on-year inflation measured by monthly CPI-IW stood at 10.70% for September, 2013

According to a press release issued by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour & Employment the All-India CPI-IW for September, 2013 rose by 1 points and pegged at 238 (two hundred and thirty eight). On 1-month percentage change, it increased by 0.42 per cent between August and September compared with 0.47 per cent between the same two months a year ago.

The largest upward pressure to the change in current index came from Miscellaneous group contributing 0.44 percentage points to the total change. At item level, Arhar Dal, Goat Meat, Dairy Milk, Milk (Cow & Buffalo), Pure Ghee, Snack Saltish, Tea Leaves, Onion, Electricity Charges, Firewood, College Fee, Secondary School Fee, Petrol, Bus Fare, Tailoring Charges etc. are responsible for the rise in index. However, this was compensated to some extent by Wheat, Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil, Poultry, Ginger, Vegetables and Fruit items, putting downward pressure on the index.

The year-on-year inflation measured by monthly CPI-IW stood at 10.70% for September, 2013 as compared to 10.75 per cent for the previous month and 9.14 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Similarly, the Food inflation stood at 13.36 per cent against 13.91 per cent of the previous month and 11.00 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

At centre level, Labac Sichar recorded the highest increase of 9 points each followed by Varanasi and Vishakhapattnam (7 points each) and Bhilwara, Tripura and Darjeeling (6 points each). Among others, 5 points rise was registered in 3 centres, 4 points in 2 centres, 3 points in 7 centres, 2 points in 14 centres and 1 point in 15 centres. On the contrary, Goa reported a decline of 8 points followed by Godavarikhani (7 points), Bhavnagar (5 points) and Nagpur and Ahmedabad (4 points each). Among others 3 point decline was observed in 2 centres 1 point in 6 centres. Rest of the 15 centres’ indices remained stationary.
The indices of 39 centres are above All-India Index and other 38 centres’ indices are below national average. The index of Ajmer centre remained at par with all-India index.

Mid-cap, small-cap indices far away from new highs

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices quoting at 6,150 and 5,935 levels respectively, are trading over 30% below their historic highs

Even as the S&P BSE Sensex hit an all-time high after a gap of five years and 10 months, the mid-cap and small-cap indices are still far away from their lifetime highs they had scaled on January 10, 2008.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices quoting at 6,150 and 5,935 levels respectively, are trading over 30% below their historic highs. The mid-cap index had touched a lifetime peak of 10,245.81 and the small cap touched an all-time high of 14,239.24 in January, 2008.

Data suggests that the BSE small-cap and BSE mid-cap indices have underperformed the Sensex in the recent past. So far in the current calendar year 2013, the Sensex has gained 9.59%, while the BSE Small-cap index has lost 19.6%. The BSE Mid-cap index, in the same period, is down by 13.50%.

“The liquidity is tighter now as compared to what it was in 2008 and the cost of funds is also higher. So, working capital requirement for most mid-cap companies has risen, which has depressed return on equity (RoE). With a depressed RoE, one can’t have high earnings. Besides, a lot of mid-caps are vendors to the large companies and are not exporters themselves. It is the export-driven pack that has propelled the Sensex to a new high now,” said Ravi Shenoy, assistant vice president (mid-cap research), Motilal Oswal Securities.

The mid-cap and small-cap indices track the performance of companies with relatively smaller market capitalisation. There are total 654 stocks in the BSE mid-cap and small-cap index, which accounts nearly 18% of total BSE market capitalisation.

Among the sector classification five BSE sectoral indices – IT, Bankex, healthcare, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and auto have touched new all-time highs in the recent past.

Outside of these five sectors, the remaining six sectors have a lot more work to do before getting back to new records. Power, capital goods, metal, realty and oil and gas all hit their record highs in 2007 and 2008; and all five sectors need to rally between 60% and 900% before they see new highs. Consumer durable index trading at 6,251, a 24% lower from its record high of 8,221 touched on December last year.

The realty sector hit its all-time high in 2008 at a level of 13,848.09. With the sector currently trading at 1,365.46, it needs to rally nearly 900% before reaching its record high. Meanwhile, out of 527 actively traded stocks as many as 210 stocks available at half of their market price as on January 10, 2008.

Aban Offshore, Suzlon Energy, Educomp Solutions, Unitech, Jai Corp, HDIL, IVRCL, Punj Lloyd, HCL Infosystems, BEML and Lanco Infratech are down sharply between 90-98% from their January 2008 levels.

However, around 200 stocks that recorded gain over the period, the market price of 98 stocks more-than-double during the period.

TTK Prestige, Eicher Motors, Page Industries, Hawkins Cookers, Kajaria Ceramics, Cera Sanitaryware, Ajanta Pharma, Relaxo Footwear and Symphony have seen price appreciation over six-fold.

According to latest shareholding pattern data, individual investors holding in BSE Mid-Cap was 10.4%, while it was 17.35% in BSE Small-Cap. However, they are holding an average 6.6% stake in BSE-100 companies.

“With the markets touching new high, the momentum can bring back retail investors back to the markets, which can see mid-caps also move up. We like GRUH Finance, Bajaj Corp, Supreme Industries, United Phosphorous, Unichem Labs, Swaraj Engines, WABCO India and Berger Paints in the mid-cap space,” he adds.

Category/Index	Current Value	All-time high	Date	%chg
Broad
S&P BSE SMALL CAP	5947.15	14239.24	08/01/2008	-58.2
S&P BSE MID CAP	6173.47	10245.81	08/01/2008	-39.7
S&P BSE 500	7694.18	8991.42	08/01/2008	-14.4
S&P BSE 200	2502.22	2776.96	08/01/2008	-9.9
S&P BSE 100	6295.22	6760.43	08/01/2008	-6.9
Sectoral
S&P BSE REALTY	1379.18	13848.09	08/01/2008	-90.0
S&P BSE POWER	1618.16	4929.34	08/01/2008	-67.2
S&P BSE CAPITAL GOODS	9240.45	21020.97	15/11/2007	-56.0
S&P BSE METAL	9288.67	20494.62	04/01/2008	-54.7
S&P BSE OIL & GAS	8910.45	14268.89	15/01/2008	-37.6
S&P BSE CONSUMER DURABLES	6180.61	8221.12	07/12/2012	-24.8
S&P BSE BANKEX	13267.54	15335.89	20/05/2013	-13.5
S&P BSE FMCG	6751.17	7600.65	24/07/2013	-11.2
S&P BSE IT	8455.06	8812.08	15/10/2008	-4.1
S&P BSE HEALTHCARE	9637.82	9979.76	11/10/2013	-3.4
S&P BSE AUTO	12239.78	12263.55	01/11/2013	-0.2
At 1215 hours

BHEL bags Rs 2,569 crore contract from Neyveli Lignite Corp

State-run BHEL today said it has bagged a Rs 2,569 crore contract from Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited for supplying equipment for the company’s 1,000 MW thermal power project.

“Valued at Rs 2,569 crore, the order has been placed on BHEL by Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited for the upcoming 1,000 MW thermal power project,” BHEL said in a statement.

The order includes supply of Steam Generator Package for two thermal units of 500 MW each.

BHEL has earlier secured orders from Neyveli Lignite for their 2x500 MW Tuticorin, 2x250 MW Neyveli and 2x125 MW Barsingsar projects.

The company has established the capability to deliver power plant equipment of 20,000 MW per annum.

BHEL shares were trading at Rs 143.50, up 2.55 per cent on the BSE.

TVS Motor October sales up 4%

Motorcycles grow 13%, total exports rise 25% in October

TVS Motor Company reported a 4% growth in total sales in October 2013 at 197,905 units as compared to 190,438 units registered in October 2012.

Two wheeler sales grew by 2%, with sales increasing from 186,376 units in October 2012 to 189,979 units in October 2013. Domestic two wheeler sales grew by 2% to 173,229 units in 2013 from 170,273 units in October 2012.

Motorcycles grew by 13% to 82,352 units in October 2013 from 72,687 units in October 2012.

Scooters registered sales of 42,124 units in October 2013 as against 43,973 units in October 2012.

Company's total exports grew by 25% to 23,154 units in October 2013 from 18,563 units in the month of October 2012.

Two wheeler exports registered a growth of 4%, with sales growing from 16from 16,103 units in October 2012 to 16,750 units in October 2013.

Three Wheeler sales rose by 95% to 7,926 units in October 2013 from 4,062 units in October 2012.

State Bank cuts short-term bulk deposit rate as liquidity eases

But hikes 180-210 day deposits by 20 bps; other banks maintains status quo

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, has reduced short-term bulk deposit rate by 200 basis points as liquidity in the banking system is becoming comfortable. However, it has raised the rate by 20 bps for a particular maturity, of 180 to 210 days.

“Our liquidity position is comfortable,” Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson, when asked the reason.

From Friday, SBI will offer 6.5 per cent for deposits of Rs 1 crore and above, for seven to 60 days maturity, as compared to 8.5 per cent offered earlier. On the rate rise in 180-210 day maturity, Bhattacharya said it was a part of liquidity management.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the repo rate by 25 bps to 7.75 per cent, to tame rising prices.

Liquidity in the banking system has eased considerably, with banks’ daily borrowing  from RBI’s Marginal Standing Facility coming below Rs 10,000 crore from a high of Rs 1 lakh crore and above in September. On Wednesday, banks  borrowed about Rs 9,000 crore from the MSF at 8.75 per cent.

Overall deposit growth in the banking system is, however, sluggish and lags credit growth. According to RBI data, credit growth was 17.7 per cent on a yearly basis till October 4, while deposits had grown 14.8 per cent.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had also expressed concern over the slow pace of deposit mobilisation.

While SBI has altered the deposit rate, other banks are still in a wait and watch mode. “We are maintaining status quo. Any changes in rates will depend on liquidity,” said S S Mundra, chairman and managing director, Bank of Baroda.

Similarly, a senior Union Bank of India official said it would not revise deposit rates at this point.

BALANCING ACT

* Short-term bulk deposit rate cut by 200 bps

* Short-term bulk deposit rate raised by 20 bps for a particular maturity, of 180 to 210 days

* From Friday, the lender to offer 6.5% for deposits of Rs 1 crore and above for seven to 60 days maturity period

* Move after RBI increased the repo rate by 25 bps to 7.75%

Bank of India shines on receiving approval to raise funds aggregating Rs 1,000 crore

Bank of India has received an approval for raising of Tier-1 capital by issue of fresh equity shares to the Government of India (Promoters) aggregating Rs 1,000 crore including premium amount, on preferential basis, subject to necessary approvals. The board of directors at its meeting held on October 31, 2013 has approved for the same.

The bank has reported over two fold jump in its net profit at Rs 621.77 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 301.85 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank increased by 16.18% at Rs 10339.55 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 8899.55 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) have improved to 2.93% in the July-September quarter as against 3.42% in the same quarter previous year, while net NPAs too decreased to 1.85%.

Birla Corp soars on plan to set-up new units in four States

Birla Corporation is reportedly planning to set-up new units in four States and will also invest around Rs 950 crore for the same. The company will set up three grinding cum blending units in Madhya Pradesh, one grinding unit in Bihar, one blending unit in Uttar Pradesh and another in Jharkhand, which will have a combined capacity of 4.5 million tonnes.

Moreover, the company has already started mechanical mining at its Chanderia mine in Rajasthan in the first week of August after an interim order by the Supreme Court on July 29.

Birla Corporation operates four division cement, jute, vinoleum and auto trim. It has eight manufacturing facilities located in Pune, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gurgoan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

China’s manufacturing index rises to 18-month high in October

China’s monthly index of manufacturing activity climbed to 51.4 per cent in October, its highest mark for 18 months, boosting the world’s second-largest economy before a key meeting to approve reforms.

The purchasing managers’ index rose from 51.1 per cent in September and 51 per cent in August, statistics from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed.

The 50 per cent mark denotes the divide between expansion and contraction of purchasing managers’ orders.

The ruling Communist Party is expected to announce a new round of measures to re-balance the economy and stabilise growth on November 12 following an annual meeting of its Central Committee.

China’s annual economic growth fell to 7.8 per cent last year, the slowest since 1999, and it is expected to be slightly below that figure this year.

The party set a broad target of 7.5 per cent for economic growth this year.

Tata Motors speeds on receiving RBI’s approval for increasing FII investment limit up to 75%

Tata Motors has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) approval to increase Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) investment limit through differential voting right shares up to 75%. However, the FII limit for ordinary shares of the company will remain unchanged at 35%. Under the scheme, FIIs/NRIs can acquire shares/debentures of Indian companies through the stock exchanges in India. The RBI permission comes after the boards of companies approve hiking FII investment limit.

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.

HCL Tech gains after RBI hikes FII limit

HCL Technologies rose 1.61% to Rs 1,110.85 at 9:52 IST on BSE after the central bank on Thursday, 31 October 2013, allowed a hike in foreign institutional investors investment limit in the company's paid up capital.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made the announcement after market hours on Thursday, 31 October 2013.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 101.44 points, or 0.48%, to 21,265.96.
On BSE, 15,000 shares were traded in the counter compared with average volume of 89,555 shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 1,119 and a low of Rs 1,093.50 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,177 on 15 October 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 602.40 on 19 November 2012.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 31 October 2013, rising 0.45% compared with the Sensex's 9.21% rise. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 16.58% as against Sensex's 9.40% rise.
The large-cap IT company has an equity capital of Rs 139.66 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

RBI allowed enhancing the limit for purchase of HCL Technologies equity shares and convertible debentures by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) under the Portfolio Investment Scheme, up to 49%. Earlier the limit was 30% of the paid up capital of HCL Technologies. The said limit is increased with effect from 31 October 2013.
FIIs, at the end of September 2013, controlled 26.01% stake in the company, while promoters holding stood at 61.84%.

HCL Technologies' consolidated net profit rose 18.7% to Rs 1416 crore on 14% increase in revenue to Rs 7961 crore in Q1 September 2013 over Q4 June 2013.


HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company. It offers an integrated portfolio of services including software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management, engineering and R&D services and business services.

SpiceJet appoints Sanjeev Kapoor as COO

Budget carrier SpiceJet Thursday announced the appointment of aviation industry consultant Sanjeev Kapoor as chief operating officer effective from next month, nearly three months after its chief executive officer Neil Mills resigned.

Kapoor was earlier special advisor to the board of GMG Airlines, Bangladesh and has also been associated with consulting firms such as Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group.

According to a company release, Kapoor was responsible for productivity improvement, cost control, customer satisfaction and service quality at GMG Airlines.

Kapoor's entry into the budget carrier follows the resignation of Niel Mills in July. Prior to Mills' resignation the airline's chief commercial officer Harish Moideen Kutty had also put in his papers.

Mills had been with the company since 2010 and was hired by Kalanithi Maran, the promoter of Sun Group, after buying a majority stake in the airline from non-resident Indian Bhulo Kansagra.

Kutty had resigned just days after the airline announced a loss of Rs.191 crore in 2012-13. The company is expected to declare the second quarter results on Nov 7, 2013.

The company had reported a 10 percent fall in net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal, which stood at Rs.50.55 crore from Rs.62.44 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2012-13.

SpiceJet had the fourth largest domestic market share of 17.3 percent in September after IndiGo, Air India and Jet Airways.

Strong dollar, US data to keep gold under pressure

Gold prices will continue to be under pressure on domestic spot and futures market on the back of a strong dollar and US data pointing to green-shoots in the economy.

US jobless claim dropped last week and its Mid-west region reported better business activities last month - indications of the economy recovering. In Asia, data showed that Chinese factory output had increased to an 18-month high.

The US developments are in sync with the Federal Reserve’s observation that there are signs of the economy strengthening, giving rise to speculation that the $85 billion a month stimulus package could be pruned earlier than expected.

Dhanteras and Kharif crop arrivals

In India, Dhanteras on Friday and Diwali during the weekend could mean tapering of demand for the precious metal. Weddings will be the only factor that can drive gold amidst rains affecting harvest and quality of the summer or kharif crops.

This could also possibly bring down the premium that gold enjoys in the Indian market due to problems in importing the yellow metal.

Spot gold, gold futures

In Asian trade, spot gold ruled at $1,324.35 an ounce and gold futures maturing in December at $1,324.

In the domestic market on Thursday, gold for jewellery (99.5% purity) dropped to Rs 30,680 for 10 gm and pure gold (99.9% purity) to Rs 30,830.

On MCX, gold December contracts could trade between Rs 30,000 and Rs 30,500.

Crude oil

Crude oil ruled near lows seen in June despite signs of economic recovery. Easing of geo-political tensions and higher stockpiles in the US are keeping it on leash. It could continue to rule side-ways on Friday.

Brent crude for delivery in December ruled at $108.08 a barrel and US crude contracts for the same month at $96.36.

Soyabean arrivals

Improved weather conditions leading to better plantings of soyabean in South America and progress in arrivals of Indian kharif or summer oilseeds could begin to put pressure on the oils and oilseeds market. Malaysia palm oil, which had topped $800-a-tonne-mark this week, could witness profit booking. Palm oil had gained on reports of production in plantations being affected by rains.

Chicago Board of Trade soyabean for delivery in January fell to $12.69 a bushel. Crude palm oil contracts expiring in January opened lower at 2,587 ringgit or $817 a tonne.

Wheat, corn prices

The grain complex will likely head south as the International Grains Council has projected global wheat production higher at 696 million tonnes and carry-over stocks are likely to be higher at 183 million tonnes.

Rains in China that could boost winter sowing are another bearish factor.

Corn (industrial maize), on the other hand, is under pressure on higher global production.

Wheat on CBOT for delivery in December slipped to $6.67 a bushel and corn contracts for December fell to $4.28 a bushel.

Crude oil prices mixed in Asian trade

Crude oil prices were mixed in Asia today on weak US demand and news that a terminal in Libya will resume production early next week, analysts said.

New York’s main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for December delivery dipped four cents to $96.34 in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for December rose three cents to 108.87 in volatile trade.

Weak US demand

Kenny Kan, a market analyst with CMC Markets, said that the WTI prices remain weighed by weak US demand, reflecting a steady rise in crude oil inventories.

“The WTI crude prices had an accumulative decline near to 6.0 per cent during its trade in October as the (US Energy Information Administration) report showed crude inventories increased to 383 million barrels as at the week ending October 25,” he said in a note.

Libya to resume production

News that Libya’s Al-Harriga terminal will resume production next week kept Brent prices volatile, with analysts pointing to uncertainties.

The Al-Harriga terminal, which has a capacity of 110,000 barrels a day, has been closed along with several other terminals by protesters demanding jobs and a more equitable distribution of oil revenues.

Libya’s National Oil Corp. has said it expects the terminal to resume operations on Monday at the latest.

Labour unrest

Libyan crude production has been disrupted for several months by the labour unrest, and the output slashed to as little as 300,000 barrels per day from 1.5 million-1.6 million before the showdown began.

Production had increased in recent weeks, but an uptick in protests has raised concerns about exports from the country.

Subh Dhanteras

           blue Capital wishes all its viewers a very Happy Dhanteras!!

Petrol price cut by Rs 1.15/litre; diesel hiked by 50 paise

Petrol price in Mumbai will cost Rs 78.04 a litre, while in Delhi, it will be cut by Rs 1.38 to Rs 71.02 per litre.
Petrol price was reduced by Rs 1.15 a litre, while diesel prices were raised by 50 paise per litre.

Report said that this move announced by oil companies are excluding local sales tax or VAT and will be effective midnight tonight.

Petrol price in Mumbai will cost Rs 78.04 a litre, while in Delhi, it will be cut by Rs 1.38 to Rs 71.02 per litre.

Report stated that the diesel price was hiked by 50 paise, excluding VAT.


The diesel price in Delhi has been increased by 56 paise to Rs 53.10 per litre, while it would cost Rs 60.08 in Mumbai as compared to Rs 59.46 currently.

Sensex hits all time high in opening deals

The Sensex opened higher by 33 points at 21,198 mark and the Nifty declined by 6 points at 6,305 levels.

Markets have started the November series on a marginally higher note. Sensex has hit all time high in the opening trades.  

The Sensex opened higher by 33 points at 21,198 mark and the Nifty declined by 6 points at 6,305 levels.

US stocks finished lower on Thursday as the Federal Reserve's statement the day before added to investors' anxiety about the timing of a pullback in its stimulus program. While it was a second consecutive day of losses for the market, all three major indexes ended October with solid gains.

Dragging on the Dow and the S&P 500, Visa Inc lost 3.5% to $196.67 after the world's largest credit and debit card company reported a 28% drop in quarterly profit.

Asian shares sagged on Friday though upbeat signals on China's manufacturing activity limited losses, while the dollar pushed higher after upbeat US data led some investors to price-in a less dovish stance at the US Federal Reserve. China's manufacturing sector grew at the fastest in 18 months in October, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 51.4 last month from September's 51.1, beating economists' consensus forecast of 51.2.

The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 50.9, up from 50.2 in September and unchanged from a preliminary flash estimate released last week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 0.2%, while Australian shares gave up 0.2%, but still remained just shy of five-year highs. Japan's Nikkei stock average erased early gains and dropped 0.6%.

Religare Enterprises to raise funds up to Rs 1,000 crore through issue of capital

Religare Enterprises has received an in-principal approval to raise funds up to Rs 1,000 crore through further issue of capital. The board of directors at its meeting held on October 31, 2013 has approved for the same. The company will also be obtaining approval of shareholders through postal ballot in due course of time.

Religare Enterprises is one of India’s leading diversified financial services groups. It offers an integrated suite of financial services including asset management, life and health insurance, lending, broking, investment banking, and wealth management.

Markets to extend gains on Diwali eve

The Indian markets witnessed fireworks in last session, though missing the all time high levels just by a whisker, but still the major bourses managed an all time closing high. Today, the start of the new month and new series is likely to be in green with fireworks continuing on the Diwali eve. The markets will be getting boost from the macro front, where the core sector industries recorded 8 percent growth in September, highest in the past 11 months.  The growth in the eight infrastructure industries was mainly due to expansion in crude oil, steel and electricity production. Also, the Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has said that the government will meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.8 percent of GDP for the current financial year. The statement came after the data showed that the fiscal deficit at the end of six months of the 2013-14 fiscal year reached 76% of the full-year estimate of Rs 5.43 lakh crore. There is another supportive cue for the markets, it has been reported that foreign direct investment (FDI) in India increased by about 35 percent to $13.6 billion during the first half of 2013 with merger and acquisitions accounting for the bulk of inflows. There will be buzz in the PSU oil marketing companies, as the petrol price was cut by Rs 1.15 a litre, while diesel prices were raised by 50 paise per litre. ATF prices too have been reduced by 4.5 percent.

There will be lots of important result announcements too, to keep the markets buzzing, 3I Infotech, AIA Engineering, Berger Paints, Eveready Inds, Kansai Nerolac, Punj Lloyd etc will be announcing their numbers today.

The US markets extended their fall on the last day of the month, mainly induced by late hour selling. Though, there were some good economic reports but the traders remained cautious with the next stance of Federal Reserve’s outlook for monetary policy. The Asian markets have made a mixed start with some of the indices marginally in red. The Chinese market was trading in green, as a manufacturing gauge of the country rose more than estimated to an 18-month high in October.

Back home, Thursday turned out to be a remarkable day of trade for Indian equity markets with both the frontline indices, after trading choppy for most part of the session, changed gears in late trade to end near their all time high. Earlier, the domestic markets made lackluster start tailing sluggish global cues as the Fed indicated that it may start paring stimulus sooner than previously forecasted. But, buying which emerged in last leg of trade helped key gauges to end the last day of Futures & Options expiry of October month in a great style, near their psychological 21,200 (Sensex) and 6,300 (Nifty) levels led by public sector banks such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India etc, which edged higher on hopes of stabilizing asset quality and valuations. Sentiments also got some boost after Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said that India now is in a better position to face the US Federal Reserve’s unwinding of its easy money policy whenever it takes place. Global cues remained weak with all the Asian counters ending in the red after the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy outlook was deemed less dovish than some had wagered on, lifting both bond yields and the dollar. Back home, sentiments remained up-beat after foreign investors remained net buyers for 19th consecutive session on October 30, buying shares worth a net Rs 1016.77 crore. Some boost to the local bourses came in after investors continued buying public sector oil marketing companies viz. BPCL, HPCL and IOC after the recommendations of expert panel headed by former Planning Commission member Kirit S Parikh that Diesel prices should be hiked by a steep Rs 5 per litre, kerosene by Rs 4 a litre and cooking gas (LPG) rates by Rs 250 per cylinder immediately to cut fuel subsidy bill by Rs 72,000 crore. Also, it suggested that the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders supplied to households in a year should be cut to 6 bottles of 14.2-kg from the current quota of 9. Meanwhile, slew of strong second quarter result from public sector lenders too boosted the sentiments. Allahabad Bank reported a rise of 17.76% in its net profit at Rs 275.81 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 234.20 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Moreover, bank of India reported over two fold jump in its net profit at Rs 621.77 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 301.85 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 130.55 points or 0.62%, to settle at 21164.52, while the CNX Nifty gained 47.45 points or 0.76% to settle at 6,299.15.