Sensex ends marginally in the green

The Sensex and the Nifty ended the session near flat amid firm global cues.

At 3.30 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 10.44 points or 0.05 per cent at 21,090.16 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 8.25 points or 0.13 per cent at 6,282.50.

Barring IT and TECk, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the green. Among them, realty, capital goods, metal and power indices were the star-performers and were up 3.16 per cent, 1.3 per cent, 1.52 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, IT index was down 0.98 per cent, followed by TECk 0.83 per cent.

Hindalco, BHEL, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Steel were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were Infosys, Tata Power, HDFC, TCS and HUL.

European stocks rose for a fourth day after the International Monetary Fund said that it is raising its outlook for the world’s largest economy Asian shares were also up.

Corporation Bank surges as Central Government raise its stake to 63.33%

Corporation Bank is currently trading at Rs. 261.95, up by 2.00 points or 0.77 % from its previous closing of Rs. 259.95 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 257.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 265.00 and Rs. 257.05 respectively. So far 17977 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 494.85 on 07-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 239.55 on 04-Sep-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 267.00 and Rs. 253.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 4388.76 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 59.82 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 32.56 % and 7.62 % respectively.

Central Government has raised its stake in Corporation Bank from 59.82% to 63.33%. The Board of the Bank at its meeting held on December 20, 2013 has allotted 1,46,27,486 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 297.64 a share to Government of India on a preferential basis. With this, the bank’s issued and subscribed capital has increased to 16,75,41,877 equity shares.

Corporation Bank is a Mangalore-based mid-sized public sector bank which was established in 1906. Government of India is the majority shareholder holding 59.82% stake in the bank. As on March 31, 2013, the bank has 1707 branches and 1425 ATMs.

United Bank of India gains on opening 50 more branches in Assam

United Bank of India is currently trading at Rs. 31.60, up by 0.50 points or 1.61 % from its previous closing of Rs. 31.10 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 31.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 31.85 and Rs. 31.30 respectively. So far 44938 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 84.95 on 07-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 27.40 on 30-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 32.40 and Rs. 30.95 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 1187.82 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 82.23 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 9.20 % and 8.57 % respectively.

Public sector lender, United Bank of India has reportedly opened 50 branches in Assam. The branches were inaugurated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. With this, the bank now has 244 branches in the Assam. Among the 50 branches opened, Guwahati region will get 16, followed by Nagaon region 13, Dibrugarh region 9, Cachar region 8 and Sivasagar region 4. Further, the bank is planning to six more branches in the region to take its branch tally there to 250. The bank is also planning to open one more regional office at Tezpur.

United Bank of India reported a net loss of Rs 489.47 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to a net profit of Rs 144.63 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank increased by 13.60% at Rs 2876.77 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 2532.39 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Nifty below 6,300 levels

At 12:36pm (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 21,145, up 65 points over the previous close, while NSE Nifty was quoting at 6,299 , up 25 points over the previous close.
The BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid- Cap index was trading up at 1%.
RIL, TCS, Wipro, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Gail India, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, are among gainers in Sensex and Nifty.
Infosys, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India, HDFC Bank among losers in Sensex and Nifty.
Teck, FMCG, Metal,  PSU, Capital Goods, IT, Teck, Consumer Durables, Realty, Oil and gas, Power indices are the gainers.
With market closed on Wednesday for Christmas and the F&O expiry on Thursday, there could be some swings though volumes may be relatively low.

Local political factors will take a back seat till we reach near the general elections and therefore global events and liquidity flows would largely determine the direction of the market. In the short-term, we expect markets to consolidate as investors look at reassessing the impact of the RBI status quo as well as Fed’s modest tapering.

A fall in vegetable prices is likely to ease headline inflation and retail inflation to 6.5 % and 9.20 % respectively in December, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan was quoted as saying.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Tata Steel UK Holdings Ltd. (TSUKH) to 'BB-' from 'B+'.
Apple and China Mobile  announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement to bring iPhone to the world's largest mobile network.As part of the agreement, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available from China Mobile's expansive network of retail stores as well as Apple retail stores across mainland China beginning on Friday, January 17, 2014.
ICICI Bank has reduced interest rates by 15 basis points designing a special scheme, which is only available to the new customers.

YES Bank raises $150 million Long Term Loan from International Finance Corporation

YES Bank, India’s fourth largest private sector Bank, has raised $150 million from IFC, Washington a member of the World Bank Group, for tenor of up to 7 years. The loan will be used by the bank to scale up its small and medium enterprise loan portfolio.

The financing package to the bank includes $45 million provided through IFC’s new co-lending program in addition to IFC’s own account loan of $60 million, both for a period of 7 years; and another $45 million syndicated loan provided by Intesa Sanpaolo, Bank Muscat, Doha Bank & AKA Frankfurt for a tenor of 2 years. The bank has swapped the said loan with RBI through the concessional swap window offered to banks.

YES Bank is the first institution globally to receive funding through IFC’s Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program and also the first Indian bank to raise loan under IFC’s A/B loan facility. The IFC Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program is a new syndications platform that offers institutional investors the ability to passively participate in IFC’s future senior loan portfolio.

Gayatri Projects’ arm to reduce stake in NCC Power Projects below 45%

Gayatri Projects’ wholly owned subsidiary Gayatri Energy Ventures is a major partner in NCC Power Projects, which is building a 1320 MW Coal Fired Plant in Nellore District in Andhra Pradesh. At present preliminary discussions are taking place between NCC Infra and Sembcorp for the investment in NCC Power Projects, which is subject to a detailed Technical, Financial, Commercial & Legal due diligence. The terms of investments including structuring will be finalized after the due diligence process and negotiations are completed between the parties. As a result of the proposed investment the stake of Gayatri Energy Ventures (WOS of Gayatri Projects) may be reduced below 45%.

Gayatri Projects, an ISO 9001-2000 company, is one of the fastest growing construction companies in India executing major civil works including construction of concrete/masonry dams, earthen dams, national highways, bridges, canals, aqueducts, airports, ports, etc.

HCC soars on bagging contract worth Rs 1,597 crore

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), a leading infrastructure construction and development company has received a prestigious contract worth Rs 1,597 crore from THDC India to construct Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Power project in Chamoli district of Uttrakhand. This is an EPC contract (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) for civil works, hydro-mechanical works including penstock steel liner of the hydro electric power project. The project will be completed in 54 months.

Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydel power project is a 444 MW (4x111 MW) run of river scheme on Alaknanda River, which is a major tributary of river Ganga. The scope of work involves construction of concrete gravity dam (65m high), coffer dam, de-silting chamber, head race tunnel (13.4 km long, 8.8m dia), surge shaft, pressure shaft, underground power house and cavern, surge tank, tail race tunnel and hydro mechanical works. Around 12.5 km head race tunnel will be excavated using tunnel boring machine.

HCC is a leader in engineering and construction space. The company has established a vast presence and gained recognition in the sectors of Hydro Power, Water Solutions, Transportation and Nuclear Power.

Andhra Bank unveils e-banking zone in Visakhapatnam

Public sector lender, Andhra Bank has inaugurated its first electronic banking zone at the Seetammadhara branch in Visakhapatnam to ensure hassle-free 24x7 banking transactions for its customers. The e-banking zone has a cash deposit machine that is operated using the ATM debit card. Once the customer punches in the PIN on a shielded keypad, a slot opens up to deposit up to 200 pieces of currency notes of Rs 50 and above denominations. The said facility rolled out under the bank’s Nav Shakthi programme. This type of facility would also be available at the Maharanipeta, Gajuwaka, and Steel Plant branches in a couple of weeks.

Andhra Bank has reported a fall of 78.30% in its net profit at Rs 70.65 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 325.63 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank increased by 11.74% at Rs 3817.57 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 3416.55 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Kesoram Industries trades jubilantly on plan of reducing working capital requirement

Kesoram Industries is currently trading at Rs. 70.00, up by 3.50 points or 5.26% from its previous closing of Rs. 66.50 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 67.30 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 71.50 and Rs. 67.00 respectively. So far 101581 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 118.93 on 24-Dec-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 50.25 on 31-Jul-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 71.50 and Rs. 61.80 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 766.19 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 49.28% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 9.32% and 34.98% respectively.

In a bid to pare its debt, Kesoram Industries is planning to reduce its working capital requirement by around Rs 300 crore this fiscal. The company is also planning to sell some of its unproductive assets. Moreover, the diversified company plans to improve the debt-equity ratio from nearly 4.5:1 now to a more manageable 3:1 over the next couple of years.

As of now, the company’s total debt stood at Rs 4,700 crore and of the total debt around Rs 1,300 crore is working capital borrowing.

Kesoram Industries (KIL) is engaged in the manufacture of cement, tyres, tubes, rayon, paper, heavy chemicals and spun pipes. KIL is also listed on Societe de la Bourse de Luxembourg stock exchange.

Oil Suffers Slim Losses In Asia

Crude oil futures are trading slightly lower in the Asia electronic session today after the commodity closed last week with hefty gains of almost 3%.
Light sweet crude futures for delivery in February are trading down 16 cents at $ 99.16 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On the week the West Texas Intermediate or WTI rose 2.73%.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the U.S. economy expanded by 4.1% in the third quarter, well above initial estimates for 3.6% growth, adding to signs that the economic recovery is gaining traction.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced plans to begin tapering its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
Wednesday's bullish U.S. supply data also supported prices. The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels last week to 372.3 million barrels. That was above expectations for a decline of 2.3 million barrels.
MCX January crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 6170 levels with resistance near Rs 6210 levels and support around Rs 6150 levels.
In the week ahead, the U.S. is to release key reports on durable goods orders, new home sales and jobless claims.
Trading volumes are expected to remain light due to the Christmas holiday and as many traders already closed books before the end of the year, reducing liquidity in the market and increasing the volatility.

United Spirits shares fall after court annuls Diageo deal

Shares fall as much as 6%

Shares in United Spirits Ltd fell as much as 6% on Monday after a court ordered the annulment of the sale of the Indian spirits maker to British group Diageo.

Karnataka High Court ordered the cancellation of the sale on Friday in response to a petition by creditors of United Breweries Holdings Ltd , which sold its stake in United Spirits to the British firm through a complicated share transaction.

United Breweries Holdings initially fell as much 9.1%, but was down 3.6% at 9.31 am, compared with a 0.4% gain in the broader Nifty.

United Spirits shares were down 1.2% at 9.32 am.

GMR Infrastructure surges as its arm inks JDA with IFC for Upper Marsyangdi-2 hydropower project

GMR Infrastructure is currently trading at Rs. 23.35, up by 0.35 points or 1.52 % from its previous closing of Rs. 23.00 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 23.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 23.65 and Rs. 23.05 respectively. So far 285076 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 25.00 on 17-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 10.65 on 06-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 23.25 and Rs. 21.05 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8952.60 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 71.70 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 18.33 % and 9.97 % respectively.

GMR Infrastructure’s arm - GMR Energy has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, to jointly develop the prestigious Upper Marsyangdi-2 hydropower project (600 MW) in Nepal. The 600 MW Upper Marsyangdi-2 Project is located on the Marsyangdi River, in the Manang and Lamjung districts of Nepal, which is in an advanced stage of development. The project is currently being undertaken by Himtal Hydro Power Company, a subsidiary of GMR Energy.

The Government of Nepal has identified the proposed Upper Marsyangdi-ll as one of the National Priority Projects and it is being facilitated by the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN). The project has completed all survey and investigation works, finalized the feasibility studies and has already received a majority of clearances from the Government of Nepal. The Project Development Agreement is expected to be signed early next year.

IFC in Nepal is committed to strengthening private sector growth, promoting a supportive regulatory framework, boosting investment, particularly in infrastructure and financial sector, and creating more jobs in the country.

NHPC completes share buy-back worth Rs 2,368 crore

NHPC, the country’s largest hydro power producer, has bought back equity worth Rs 2,368 crore under an offer that ended earlier this month after attracting more shares than targeted. The state-run hydro-electricity generator bought back 1.23 billion equity shares at Rs 19.25 apiece. Around 1.4 billion shares were tendered in the offer, which started on November 29 and closed on December 12.

The company purchased 1.1 billion shares worth Rs 2,130 crore from the government, equivalent to 90% of the buyback. The government’s stake in the company was reduced to 85.96% from 86.36%.

NHPC is engaged in the planning, development and implementation of an integrated and efficient network of hydroelectric projects in India. It executes all aspects of the development of hydroelectric projects, from concept to commissioning.

L&T gains as its arm seeks FIPB approval for FDI

L&T is currently trading at Rs. 1077.00, up by 15.45 points or 1.46% from its previous closing of Rs. 1061.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1065.30 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1079.00 and Rs. 1065.00 respectively. So far 14,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1152.40 on 09-Dec-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 678.10 on 28-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1105.00 and Rs. 1044.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 99,816.00 crore.

The Institutions and Non-Institutions held 52.61% and 44.43% respectively.

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) subsidiary - L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) has submitted an application to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking approval in relation to the proposed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in L&T IDPL.

The company is engaged in discussions with a large global institutional investor for a proposed acquisition of a stake in L&TIDPL. Subject to completion of due diligence processes and necessary agreement on governance and other terms of the transaction with the investors, there is a contemplation of an initial infusion of Rs 1,000 crore into L&TIDPL, followed by a second tranche of Rs 1,000 crore (or such other higher amount as may be agreed between the company and the investor) after twelve months from the date of the initial investment, subject to further regulatory approvals at such time where required.

The proposed transactions are subject to various factors including necessary regulatory and authority approvals, and market conditions, and may or may not be completed, and parties have not yet entered into any agreements.

D-Link (India) gets nod to acquire Team FI Networks

D-Link (India) has received an approval for acquisition of Team FI Networks through issue of 55,00,000 equity shares by the company on preferential basis for ‘consideration other than cash’ to the promoters and other shareholders of Team FI Networks. The above is in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009 and other applicable laws.

The board of directors at its meeting held on December 21, 2013 has approved for the same. The board also approved raising of funds by way of issue of equity shares for cash for a sum not exceeding Rs 60 crore on rights basis. Further, the board or committee thereof formed for the said purpose shall be free to determine the terms of the Rights Issue.

D-Link India is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of advanced networking, broadband, digital, voice and data communications solutions.

Godawari Power’s Raipur plant to be shutdown for 60 days

Godawari Power and Ispat’s Iron Ore Pellatization Plant situated at Siltara Industrial Complex, Raipur, Chhattisgarh with a capacity of 0.60 million tonnes per annum shall be shut down tentatively for a period of 60 days for maintenance and for replacement of refractories lining and change of machining parts of travel grate.

Godawari Power and Ispat is engaged in the production of sponge iron, steel billets, ferro alloys, HB wires, oxygen, fly ash bricks and is also in the power business. GPIL is a flagship company of Raipur-based Hira Group of Industries, which is an integrated steel manufacturer and is having dominant presence in the long product segment of the steel industry; mainly into mild steel wire.

Fall in vegetable prices to bring inflation lower to 6.5% in December: C Rangarajan

In a potential good news for the economy, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan, underscored that he expects, a fall in vegetable prices to likely ease the headline inflation and retail inflation to 6.5 percent and 9.20 percent respectively in December. Further, he added that some of the things that have really pushed up inflation are vegetables like onion prices, which have crashed in December and therefore the economy will see retail inflation coming down by 2-2.5 percentage from the current level of 11 percent or so and wholesale inflation by 1 percent, by mid-January.

It needs to be noted that RBI, left key policy rates unchanged in its December mid-quarter policy review and pointed that it would have to act accordingly, if the expected softening of food inflation does not materializes and translates into a significant reduction in headline inflation in the next round of data releases, or if inflation excluding food and fuel does not fall. These views came after Wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) accelerated to 14- month high of 7.52 percent in November, while retail inflation quickened to 8-month high of 11.24 percent during the month. Meanwhile, quoting an econometric study, the PMEAC  chief and the former RBI governor pegged the threshold inflation level at around six percent, but underscored there was a need to look at the slightly lower, as the level is much higher than what many other countries in the world. 

Further, Rangarajan blamed the delay in the completion of the projects for the snail-paced economic growth in the last few years. He highlighted that the economic growth had declined more steeply than warranted by the decline in investment and added that he expects the economy to grow by 5 percent in the current fiscal. Nevertheless, exuding confidence, he pointed that the existing level of investment rate should enable the economy to grow at 7.5 percent in the short run, while the potential growth rate of 8.5 percent could be achieved with some pick up in domestic savings rate, narrow current account deficit and sustained level of capital output ratio at around 4:1.

Sensex to open on a positive note

The Nifty will look at breaching past the 6300 mark today as it gears for some choppiness later in the week.

The holiday season is here and the market seems to be in good cheer to begin with. Global sentiment will receive a boost from the fact that the International Monetary Fund is raising its outlook for the U.S. economy, as a budget deal in Washington and the Federal Reserve’s plan to taper its bond buying ease doubts about the future, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying.

The outlook is a positive start. The Nifty will look at breaching past the 6300 mark today as it gears for some choppiness later in the week. With market closed on Wednesday for Christmas and the F&O expiry on Thursday, there could be some swings though volumes may be relatively low.

Local political factors will take a back seat till we reach near the general elections and therefore global events and liquidity flows would largely determine the direction of the market. 

In the short-term, we expect markets to consolidate as investors look at reassessing the impact of the RBI status quo as well as Fed’s modest tapering.

A fall in vegetable prices is likely to ease headline inflation and retail inflation to 6.5 % and 9.20 % respectively in December, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan was quoted as saying.

Amid slowing economy, indirect tax collections grew by 5% in the April-November period of this fiscal, a report stated.

China’s central bank sought to allay fears of a cash crunch on Friday, saying it has added $50 billion in three days to the interbank market, a report stated.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.4% while South Korea's Kospi index added 0.57%. China's Shanghai index was trading lower.

Infosys director and chief financial officer V Balakrishnan will resign from Infosys, effective 31 December, the company said.

US stocks rose on Friday, as an unexpectedly strong report on US growth boosted investor confidence that the economy could handle a wind-down of Federal Reserve stimulus.  Gross domestic product grew at a 4.1% annual rate in  the third quarter, the fastest pace in almost two years, and higher than the 3.6 per cent pace reported earlier this month. 

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reportedly said that if US job gains continue as expected, the bond purchases will be cut at a "measured" pace through much of next year.


The Dow Jones rose 74.75 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 16,253.83, while the S&P 500 gained 9.81 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,819.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 37.315 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 4,095.449.