Sensex closes 0.7% lower; Maruti, Aurobindo hit record high

The market closed lower on Thursday post two big events - Federal Reserve meeting and RBI policy. The Sensex lost 151.24 points or 0.73 percent to 20,708.62, and the Nifty fell 50.50 points or 0.81 percent to 6,166.65, weighed down by banks, capital goods, power, oil & gas and FMCG stocks.

03:10pm Dish TV under pressure 
Shares of Dish TV plunged nearly 4 percent to Rs 59.50 on the BSE as Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has barred company's on-request offering of IndiaCast UTV channels. TDSAT said Dish TV can offer IndiaCast UTV channels on A-la-carte basis. (Disclaimer: TV18 Broadcast and Moneycontrol both are part of the Network18 Group)

 02:59pm Maruti Suzuki hits record high 
Shares of Maruti Suzuki rallied as much as 3.9 percent intraday to touch a life-time high of Rs 1,796.45 on the BSE. Suzuki Motor Corporation is looking at hiking stake in Maruti Suzuki, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. It is learnt that Suzuki Motor is considering various options including open offer and preferential issue to hike stake in Maruti, but it is yet to take final decision on hiking stake.

 02:45pm Aurobindo hits life-time high
 Aurobindo Pharma rallied 3.5 percent intraday to touch a record high of Rs 390 on the BSE. The stock has been buzzing since the biginning of this week, rising nearly 30 percent in five-sessions. Ventura Securities has initiated a buy coverage on the stock with a target price of Rs 466 apiece. At the current market price of Rs 377, the stock is trading at 12.5x and 9.7x its estimated earnings for FY15E and FY16E, respectively, representing a potential upside of around 24 percenet over a period of 24 months, Ventura report said. According to report, given the strong product pipeline (+100 general injectables by FY16E, around 4 penems by FY15, +20 controlled substances in FY15, 25 oncology products and 10 hormonal product by FY17) targeting the largest generic market (US), ARBPL will be a key beneficiary of the increased generic opportunities. Ventura expects Aurobindo Pharma revenues and earnings to grow at a CAGR of 24.2 percent and 57.2 percent to Rs 11,214 crore and Rs 1,131 crore over the forecasted period of FY13-16 expected. "Further, timely approvals for ready to market products can be a game changer for the company and further accelerate the pace of growth," it adds.

02:31pm Equity benchmarks pared losses in last hour of trade with the Nifty inching towards 6200 level supported by Reliance Industries and Tata Motors . Even the cut in losses of banks and capital goods stocks also helped the market recover from day's low. The Sensex slipped 71.91 points to 20,787.95, and the Nifty fell 23 points to 6,194.15. The broader markets are flat. Petrochemical major Reliance Industries gained 0.6 percent and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rose 0.4 percent. Maruti Suzuki and Wipro extended gains to 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. IT majors TCS and Infosys rose over 1.4 percent. However, top private sector lender ICICI Bank dropped 2.6 percent while its rivals HDFC Bank and State Bank of India declined 1.5 percent each. Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro and state-run oil & gas explorer ONGC slipped 2.4 percent each. FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever fell over 0.5 percent while index heavyweights HDFC plunged nearly 2 percent.

Tata Chemicals trades higher on the bourses

Tata Chemicals is currently trading at Rs. 264.00, up by 0.25 points or 0.09 % from its previous closing of Rs. 263.75 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 265.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 266.00 and Rs. 263.35 respectively. So far 21965 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 381.50 on 09-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 234.50 on 04-Sep-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 276.00 and Rs. 257.85 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 6730.66 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 31.06 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 44.32 % and 24.62 % respectively.

Reserve Bank of India has notified that the foreign share holding by Foreign Institutional Investors in Tata Chemicals has reached the trigger limit. Hence, further purchases of equity shares of this company would be allowed only after obtaining prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

Tata Chemicals is the world’s second largest producer of soda ash with manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The company’s industry essentials product range provides key ingredients to some of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass, detergents and other industrial products.

Sensex recovers a tad, but still down over 100 points

Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, today sought to allay fears over Fed tapering stating that the country is better prepared to deal with the situation arising out of a cut in US bond purchases. He said the Government felt markets had already factored in the impact of such a move.

Chidambaram's statement had some impact on the stock market as the indices rebounded a bit. The BSE Sensex had opened on a positive note but panic selling had set in.

Selling spree

Technically, the BSE Sensex, at about 12.44 p.m., was down by over 100 points from its previous close.

The Sensex had tanked nearly 370 points from the day's high in morning trade. It is still off 267 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 21,017.45 points and a low of 20,646 before trading at 20,750.33.

It is down by about 109 points from the previous day's close of 20,718.73. The Sensex opened with a gap of 100 points at 20,959.

Biggest losers

During the session, ICICI Bank was the biggest index loser, down by 2.9% to Rs 1,065. HDFC shed 2.57% to trade at Rs 777.90, Airtel lost 2.44% to quote around Rs 320, L&T was down by 2.43% at Rs 1,066 and ONGC eased by 2.43% to Rs 275.

Top gainers

Among the gainers were Wipro, up by 2.42% at Rs 535.05, Sun Pharma rose 2.04% to 584.55, Jindal Steel gained 2.01% to Rs 253.45, TCS added 1.96% to Rs 2,094.60 and Sesa Sterlite was up by 1.91% at Rs 205.20.

Sector-card

On the BSE, Bankex dived 2.28% and Capital Goods 1.52%. Realty was down 0.65 per cent.

IT (up 2.09%), Healthcare (+1.11%) and TECK (+1.47%) were among the gainers.

Liquidity tightening

The Indian markets, which responded positively to the RBI's move to keep the repo and CRR unchanged yesterday, are now looking at the possibility of liquidity tightening, albeit gradually.

It is true that the US Fed has not specified a timeframe for ending the bond buying programme and has set a modest initial figure of $10 billion a month cut in the stimulus programme-from $85 billion to $75 billion a month.

But a general view is that the tapering might gather pace if the US economy continues its recovery. The US Dow Jones index yesterday celebrated the announcement of outgoing Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rallying by about 290 points.

In Asia, while Japanese Nikkei index was up strongly by about 250 points, two other key indices -- Singapore Straits Times and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were only marginally trading higher.

Mirroring fears over rupee weakening against the US dollar because of possible FII selling, the rupee was trading down at 62.27 against the US dollar.

Kotak Mahindra Bank plans to open 100 branches in current fiscal: Report

Private sector lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank is reportedly planning to open 100 new branches during the current financial year, which includes 24-34 new branches in rural areas and another 25 in semi-urban areas. Till September 2013, the bank had around 503 branches and looks to take its tally to over 600 by March 2014.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has reported 25.74% rise in its net profit at Rs 352.54 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 280.38 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank has increased by 13.56% at Rs 2469.46 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 2174.50 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Sun Pharma leads the pack on BSE, up nearly 2%

Pharma and IT stocks were the predominant gainers on the bourses on Thursday morning, with Sun Pharma and Cipla among the top gainers along with IT majors TCS, Infosys and Wipro.

At 11.10 a.m. Sun Pharma was the top gainer on the BSE. It was quoting at Rs 584.45 as against Rs 573.15 at close yesterday, a gain of 1.97 per cent.

Jindal Steel was also up nearly 2 per cent to quote at Rs 253.25 as against Rs 248.45 at close on Wednesday.

TCS was trading at Rs 2,092 as against its overnight close of Rs 2,054.30, representing a gain of 1.84 per cent.

Infosys held gains of 1.80 per cent to quote at Rs 3,520 as against Rs 3,457.80 at close on Wednesday. Both Infosys and TCS have indicated that they would be recruiting freshers in the coming year.

Wipro was trading at Rs 531, up 1.65 per cent on its overnight close of Rs 522.40.

Cipla held gains of 1.13 per cent to quote at Rs 397.50 as against its previous close of Rs 393.05.

Glenmark Pharma gains as Merrill Lynch picks up 0.79% stake in company

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is currently trading at Rs 528.00, up by 5.75 points or 1.10% from its previous closing of Rs 522.25 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs 524.45 and has touched a high and low of Rs 530.95 and Rs 520.40 respectively. So far 24352 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Re 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 612.00 on 12-Jul-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs 458.00 on 28-Mar-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 532.70 and Rs 518.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 14238.13 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 48.31% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 40.86% and 10.83% respectively.

Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana SA SV has reportedly bought 21.40 lakh shares or 0.79% stake of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals through the open market route. The shares were purchased on an average price of Rs 518.80 valuing the transaction to Rs 111.52 crore.

Glenmark’s current portfolio consists of 90 products authorized for distribution in the US marketplace and 53 ANDA’s pending approval with the USFDA. In addition to these internal Filings, GGI continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of the existing pipeline and portfolio.

Hindalco’s arm to expand aluminium automotive grade production capacity in US, Germany

In a bid to expand its aluminium automotive grade production capacity in the US and Germany, Hindalco Industries’ US-based subsidiary, Novelis Inc is planning to invest $205 million.

With the said investment, the company will make new finishing lines at its plants in Oswego, New York, and Nachterstedt, Germany, dedicated to the production of aluminium automotive sheets. The two new lines will each have a capacity of 1,20,000 tonnes a year.

Novelis is one of the world's leading providers of aluminium automotive sheet, which auto manufacturers are turning to for making structural components and exterior body panels. The company’s products are used in over 180 different vehicle models produced by leading automakers around the globe.

Strides Arcolab crashes 58% to adjust to special dividend

Share price of Strides Arocolab crashed 58 per cent on Friday to adjust to special dividend announced by the company.

Last week, Strides had announced a blockbuster dividend of Rs 500 a share in the wake of the $1.75-billion sale of Agila Specialities, its injectable drugs unit, to Mylan Inc of the US.

The company said the record date for the payment of special dividend will be December 20 and it would be paid on or after December 27.

Shareholders whose name appears on the company's book on December 20 would be eligible for the special dividend.

The stock is currently ruling at Rs 374, down Rs 508.9 or 57.7 per cent over the previous day's close of Rs 882.90.

Initially, the company had planned to distribute $700-800 million pre-tax to the shareholders. But the board has approved the special dividend of Rs 500 a share, which would result in a pre-tax distribution of about $525 million.

The sale of Agila Specialities to Mylan was announced on February 28 this year for an aggregate value of $1.6 billion in cash and potential additional consideration of up to $250 million.

Suzlon bags 2 contracts in France

Suzlon Group subsidiary REpower Systems SE has concluded two contracts, totalling 40 MW, with GDF-SUEZ Futures Energies.

These are for the supply of 20 wind turbines MM92 and MM82 types with a nominal output of 2.05 MW each. REpower will provide with the full maintenance of these two wind farms for a minimum of five years.

Suzlon's shares were up 3.54 per cent at Rs 9.65 on the BSE in morning trade.

To fulfil the requirements of the Somme Soude wind farm site in the northern-eastern region of Champagne-Ardenne will be supplied with nine turbines with 92 metres rotor diameter at different hub heights (80m and 100m) and one turbine with 82 meters rotor diameter. Project deliveries are planned for spring 2014, and commissioning for September, 2014.

Ten MM92 turbines with 100 metres hub height are intended for Hangest wind farm located in the Northern region Picardie. The delivery and the erection of the wind turbines are planned for summer 2014, and the commissioning for October 2014.

Pierre Parvex, Director of the Renewable Energy Division – GDF SUEZ Energie France said: “These contracts are the results of many fruitful exchanges between both our companies. The commissioning of the wind farms of Hangest sur Somme and Somme Soude is perfectly in line with our development strategy in wind energy. Today, GDF SUEZ operates over 1,200 MW of wind energy, and is the first wind operator in France.”

Olivier Perot, Managing Director – REpower S.A.S. added, “With over 1,500 MW installed in France, we are proud to contribute to the development of French wind energy, particularly in Picardie and Champagne-Ardenne regions where REpower has a strong footprint.”

Biocon trades in fine fettle for second consecutive session

Biocon, Asiais premier biotechnology company, and Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a world leader in the discovery and development of siRNA -based therapeutics, have entered into a Licensing & Collaboration agreement for the development of a range of siRNA (small interfering RNA) based novel therapeutics.

This collaboration will enable Biocon to co-develop, manufacture & commercialize QPI-1007, a novel siRNA drug candidate for ophthalmic conditions, for India and other key markets. Biocon will have access to Quark's innovative and proprietary siRNA technology platform that can be leveraged for the development of novel therapeutics for various unmet medical needs.

Biocon is India’s largest and Asia’s leading Biotechnology Company with a strategic focus on biopharmaceuticals and research services.

Lupin extends gains as its arm launches Generic Trizivir Tablets

Pharma Major Lupin’s  US subsidiary-Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has launched  Abacavir Sulfate, Lamivudine, and Zidovudine Tablets, 300mg (base) / 150mg / 300mg in the US after the US District Court for the District of Delaware ruled that the Lupin’s generic version of Trizivir did not infringe on patents. Lupin had earlier received approval for the same.

Lupin’s Abacavir Sulfate, Lamivudine Zidovudine 300mg (Base)/150mg/300mg Tablets are the AB‐rated generic equivalent of ViiV Healthcare’s (ViiV) Trizivir Tablets, 300mg (base) / 150mg / 300mg and are indicated in combination with other antiretrovirals or alone for the treatment of HIV‐1 infection. Lupin is the first applicant to file an ANDA for Trizivir Tablets and as such is entitled to 180 days of marketing exclusivity.

Trizivir Tablets, 300mg (base) / 150mg / 300mg had annual U.S sales of approximately $ 111.6 million (IMS MAT Sep, 2013).

Union Cabinet may consider interest-free loans of Rs 7,200 crore to Sugar industry

Sugar industry facing financial problems due to higher cost of production and lower sugar prices is likely to get some good news, as the Union Cabinet may consider a proposal on providing interest-free loans of Rs 7,200 crore to the cash-starved industry for making sugarcane payment to farmers. The proposal is in line with relief measures recommended by the PM-constituted ministerial panel, headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, to address the sugar mills inability to pay higher cane prices this season.

There was a meeting of an informal group of ministers (GoM) on the sugar issue where besides Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food Minister K V Thomas, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh were present. A cabinet note was issued, where the Food Ministry proposed that loans worth Rs 7,200 crore would be provided by banks to the sugar mills exclusively for sugarcane payment. It is also being reported that the Food Ministry will move a separate Cabinet note for giving additional incentives to the industry as suggested by the PM panel. Food minister said that “The current situation has not only created cash flow and profitability issues for the sugar mills but has also led to cane arrears for 2012-13 season.”

Concerned that non-payment of cane arrears would increase farmers' woes ahead of the general elections, the GoM examined the additional sops for millers to help improve their working capital. Besides interest-free loans, the panel had recommended recasting of loans taken by mills as per Reserve Bank norms, incentives to produce 4 million tonne of raw sugar and setting up of buffer stock, besides doubling ethanol-blending in petrol to 10 percent.

Jet Airways wins top honours at Global Traveller ‘Wines on the Wing’ awards

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, has won the top honours in the prestigious ‘Wines on the Wing’ awards, instituted by the US-based Global Traveller magazine. While two of the airline’s wines – Puligny Montrachet Louis Jadot and Domaine Lous Moreau Chablis – occupied the first and second spots in the first-class white wines category, Billecart-Salmon Brut came in fifth in the business-class champagne category.In the first class category , the airline secured the third position in overall standings.

At the contest held in Los Angeles, 22 of the world’s best airlines served their best white, red and sparkling wines to 31 expert judges in a blind-tasting session. The judges’ individual scores for each wine were added and averaged, and scores of an airline’s submissions were aggregated. At the end of the session, Jet Airways was conferred with the Wines on the Wing awards.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 113 aircraft, which include 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 10 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 4 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 72 next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900/900 ER aircraft and 15 ATR 72-500 and 2 ATR72-600.

Fed begins taper but suggests easy policy

The US Federal Reserve announced plans to trim its aggressive bond-buying program on Wednesday but sought to temper the long-awaited move by suggesting its key interest rate would stay lower for even longer than previously promised.

In what amounts to the beginning of the end of its unprecedented support for the US economy, the central bank said it would reduce its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to total $75 billion. It trimmed equally from mortgage and Treasury bonds.

The move, which could come as a surprise to many investors, was a nod to better prospects for the economy and labor market and marks a historic turning point for the largest monetary policy experiment ever.

The Fed's asset purchase program, a centerpiece of its crisis-era policy, has left it holding roughly $4 trillion of bonds, and the path it must follow in dialing it down is rife with numerous risks, including the possibility of higher-than-targeted interest rates and a loss of investor confidence.

The Fed "modestly" reduced the pace of bond buying in light of better labor market conditions, it said in a statement following a two-day policy meeting.

But in a move likely meant to forestall any sharp market reaction that could undercut the recovery, the central bank also said it "likely will be appropriate" to keep rates near zero "well past the time" that the jobless rate falls below 6.5 percent.

It was a noteworthy tweak to a previous commitment to keep benchmark credit costs steady at least until the jobless rate hit 6.5 percent. The rate stood at 7.0 percent in November, a five-year low.

The Fed's latest so-called quantitative easing program, or QE, was launched 15 months ago to kick-start hiring and growth in an economy that was recovering only slowly from the Great Recession. The Fed's first QE program was launched in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term expires at the end of January, will explain the Fed's thinking at a news conference at 2:30 p.m. (1930 GMT).

Meanwhile, the Fed lowered its expectations for both inflation and unemployment over the next few years, acknowledging the faster-than-expected drop in joblessness to a five-year low of 7 percent last month. It expects the unemployment rate to fall to 6.3 percent to 6.6 percent by the end of 2014, from a previous prediction of 6.4 percent to 6.8 percent, according to the central tendency of policymakers.

Three policymakers now expect the first rate rise to come in 2016, up from only two making that prediction in September, while a strong majority of 12 officials still see the move in 2015.

The Fed has kept interest rates near zero since the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008 and asset purchases have stoked anxiety that they could unleash inflation or fuel hard-to-detect asset price bubbles.

Even some within the Fed have worried the bond purchases could have unintended and economic costly effects.

The unprecedented money-printing has helped drive US stocks to record highs and sparked sharp gyrations in foreign currencies, including a drop in emerging markets this year as investors anticipated an end to the easing.

Earlier on Wednesday, Brazil's finance minister issued a plea for the Fed to end its buying sooner rather than later to reduce market uncertainty that has kept emerging economies on edge.

But some have credited the Fed's asset purchases with stabilizing an economy and banking system that had been crippled by the 2008 financial crisis and with staving off what could have been a damaging cycle of deflation.

Recent growth in jobs, retail sales and housing, as well as a fresh budget deal in Congress, had convinced a growing number of economists the Fed would trim the bond purchases. The 15-month-old program is meant to put downward pressure on long-term borrowing costs to stimulate investment and hiring.

But many thought the central bank would wait until early in the new year, given persistently low inflation and the fact that the world's largest economy has stumbled several times in its crawl out of the 2007-2009 recession.

According to a Reuters poll taken before US lawmakers struck a budget deal last week, only 12 of 60 economists expected the Fed to scale back its purchases this week. Twenty-two predicted a move in January, while about half pointed to March.

A handful of the Fed's policymakers had been pushing for the US central bank to better telegraph how it plans to wind down the stimulus program, or to clarify its longer-term intentions to keep policy loose.

The Fed policy meeting was the penultimate one of Bernanke's tenure. His second four-year term as chairman of the central bank expires on January 31, just two days after the close of the Fed's first policy meeting of 2014.

Janet Yellen, the Fed's vice chair and a strong proponent of the Fed's aggressive response to the recession, is positioned to succeed Bernanke. The US Senate is expected to vote to confirm her for the post by the end of this week.

SKS Microfinance gains on completing Rs 215 crore securitization

SKS Microfinance has completed its third substantial microfinance securitization during the current financial year of Rs 215 crore. The first two substantial securitizations being Rs 321 crore announced by the Company on September 30 and Rs 80.81 crore on December 11. 

With this, the total sum of securitizations completed for FY-14 (YTD) is Rs 616.81 crore. This transaction is priced at a good 200 basis points lower than our cost of borrowing for the previous quarter. 

Meanwhile, the company has downloaded the receivables from micro loans extended to more than 2,50,000 rural women entrepreneurs to a Special Purpose Vehicle, and Pass Through Certificates (PTCs) have been purchased by a major private sector bank. The entire pool qualifies for priority sector treatment as per RBI's priority sector lending guidelines. 

Notably, 27% of the pool is from women entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 21% from minorities, 37% from Backward Castes and the remaining 14% from women belonging to the Other Castes. The entire pool comprises receivables from women entrepreneurs from weaker sections. 

The pool is rated A + (SO) by a leading rating agency signifying adequate degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligation. Such instruments carry low credit risk. 

DHFL along with promoters’ entities acquires 74% stake in DPLI

Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) and Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) have closed their previously announced joint venture (JV) transaction, following regulatory approval, to provide life insurance products to customers in India. Under the agreement, DHFL, along with its promoters’ entities, has acquired DLF’s 74% stake in DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company (DPLI).

DHFL has capped its stake at 50% in accordance with National Housing Bank (NHB) requirements, while the two other promoter entities have each acquired a 12% stake. The name of the life insurance company shall be changed to DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company (DHFL Pramerica) very shortly, subject to regulatory approval.

DHFL is India’s second largest private housing finance company with presence spread across the country. PFI is a global financial services company which does business under the trade name Pramerica in select countries outside the United States. 

Bank of Baroda raises Rs 1,000 crore through bonds

Bank of Baroda has privately placed non convertible, redeemable, un-secured Basel III compliant Tier-II Bonds (Series XVII Coupon 9.73% per annum) aggregating Rs 1,000 crore for which allotment process has been completed.

Bank of Baroda is among the top five banks in India, with total assets of Rs.5.5 trillion as on March 31, 2013. The bank had a domestic network of 4289 branches, with around 61 per cent of its branches in the semi-urban and rural areas, as of June 30, 2013.

NTPC Kayamkulam bags 2nd prize at National Energy Conservation Award 2013

NTPC Kayamkulam bagged 2nd prize in the Thermal Power Station Category (Gas fired) for Excellence in Energy Conservation at the National Energy Conservation Awards 2013 held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

NTPC is the largest power generating company in the country. It has also diversified into hydro power, coal mining, power equipment manufacturing, oil & gas exploration, power trading & distribution.

Alstom bags contract to supply components to BHEL for NNTPP

Alstom has been awarded a contract worth close to €125 million by BHEL to supply components and services for 2X500 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project (NNTPP) located at Neyveli in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Out of the entire aforesaid contract, Alstom India’s scope of work would be €65 million amounting Rs 556.40 crore.

Under the scope of the contract, Alstom will co-operate with BHEL in conceptualizing, designing, engineering and supplying two tower boilers, the complete lignite milling and firing equipment, and critical components. It will be engineered and manufactured in Alstom’s world class facilities in Stuttgart (Germany) as well as in Durgapur and Shahabad (India).

The 1000 MW greenfield Neyveli New Thermal Power Project (NNTPP), being developed by Neyveli Lignite Corporation, will be the first lignite - fired 2X500 MW power plant in the country and major source of power to the southern states.

Markets slip after gap up opening

Markets have slipped into negative zone after making a gap up opening tracking positive global cues.

By 9:20, the Sensex was lower by 8 points at 20,852 and the Nifty dipped by 11 points at 6,211 levels.

Asian share markets rallied on Thursday as a Federal Reserve commitment to low rates offset a long-dreaded decision to taper stimulus, sending Wall Street to record heights and the dollar galloping above 104.00 yen for the first time since 2008. The dollar was a major beneficiary, surging to 104.15 yen while the euro toppled back to $1.3685.

Japan's Nikkei share average jumped 1.5% on Thursday morning to within striking distance of its year high, as global equity markets took the glass half-full view after the US Federal Reserve announced it would start to unwind its historic stimulus.

Tokyo stocks were also bolstered by a surge in the dollar/yen to over five-year highs in the wake of the Fed decision, underscoring the benefits of a weak currency for Japan's export-reliant economy.

US stocks staged an explosive rally on Wednesday, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to all-time closing highs after the Federal Reserve announced it would start to unwind its historic stimulus.

While the Fed's move came as a surprise to many in the market, it confirmed that the US economy was on firmer footing and put to rest the question of when the Fed would begin to scale back its bond-buying program, a relief to some investors, analysts said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1198.60 crore on Wednesday, 18 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.