HDFC Bank trades higher on BSE

HDFC Bank is currently trading at Rs. 754.55, up by 35.50 points or 4.94% from its previous closing of Rs. 719.05 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 719.30 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 756.75 and Rs. 719.30 respectively. So far 195850 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 760.50 on 25-Mar-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 528.00 on 28-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 728.40 and Rs. 712.20 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 180053.66 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 22.64% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 44.00% and 16.40% respectively. The bank has reported a rise of 23.11% in its net profit at Rs 2326.52 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 1889.84 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank has increased by 14.94% at Rs 12789.98 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 11127.54 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the full year ended March 31, 2014, the bank has reported a rise of 26.05% in its net profit at Rs 8478.40 crore as compared to Rs 6726.28 crore for FY13. Total income has increased by 17.03% at Rs 49055.18 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 41917.49 crore for the year ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, on the consolidated basis, the group has posted a rise of 27.28% in its net profit at Rs 8743.49 crore as compared to Rs 6869.64 crore for the same period in the previous year. Total income of the bank has increased by 18.28% at Rs 50852.52 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 42993.99 crore for the period ended March 31, 2013.

BHEL trades in green on the BSE

BHEL is currently trading at Rs. 192.15, up by 7.90 points or 4.29% from its previous closing of Rs. 184.25 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 186.90 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 194.35 and Rs. 185.15 respectively. So far 563425 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 207.90 on 22-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 100.35 on 20-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 185.35 and Rs. 176.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 46981.68 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 63.06% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 32.61% and 4.33% respectively. India's largest Power Project exporter, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has achieved one more milestone in the Middle-East region with the commissioning of yet another Gas Turbine Generating unit in Oman. The 126 MW Fr-9E Gas Turbine Generator (GTG) has been successfully commissioned at Qarn Alam-3 power project of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). This is the second successive project after the successful commissioning of the 2x126 MW Fr-9E PDO Amal GTG project in 2012. The Gas Turbine Generator units were engineered, manufactured and supplied by BHEL's Hyderabad Plant, while the state-of-the-art control system has been supplied by the company's Bangalore works. These Gas Turbine Generator Units have been supported with the required auxiliaries supplied by BHEL. The Sultanate of Oman is one of the key export territories of BHEL with various benchmark references established by the company. Beginning its success story with its first order in Oman for Wadi Al Jizzi Power station Project in 1995-96 to the Qarn Alam-3 project in 2014, BHEL has secured and executed 14 major contracts which include the supply of 16 Gas Turbine sets in Oman alone in the past nearly two decades. These contracts were received from diverse Sectors viz. Petroleum (Petroleum Development Oman); Utility (Ministry of Housing, Electricity & water Oman) and Industry (Oman Cement Company), which is a testimony of BHEL's strong presence and acceptability in the Oman market. BHEL supplied sets today account for over 50 per cent of the power generating capacity of Petroleum Development Oman. BHEL's global references spread across 76 countries and include the entire gamut of BHEL's products and systems such as Power plants (Thermal, Gas and Hydro), Turbines, Generators, Substations, Transformers, Motors, Photo Voltaic modules, Oil Field equipment and Transportation equipment, etc. The cumulative overseas installed capacity of BHEL manufactured power plants exceeds 10,000MW in 27 countries. BHEL is currently executing various power plant projects in as many as 20 countries for installing 7,000 MW power generating capacity worth over 3 Billion US Dollars.

Mentha oil futures rise on strong demand

Mentha oil futures exhibited a positive trend on MCX, as traders engaged in creating positions supported by strong demand at spot market from consuming industries. Sentiment improved further due to tight stocks position in the physical market due to restricted arrivals from producing belts. Moreover, weak sowing progress in local mandies along with strong export demand too supported mentha oil prices uptrend. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 881.00, up by 0.95% or Rs 8.30 from its previous closing of Rs 872.70. The open interest of the contract stood at 3688 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 890.60, up by 1.07% or Rs 9.40 from its previous closing of Rs 881.20. The open interest of the contract stood at 1097 lots on MCX.

Talwalkars Better Value Fitness gains on getting nod to form ‘Talwalkars Club’

Talwalkars Better Value Fitness is currently trading at Rs 177.80, up by 1.20 points or 0.68% from its previous closing of Rs 176.60 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 184.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs 184.85 and Rs 177.00 respectively. So far 56696 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 192.80 on 06-May-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs 110.00 on 30-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 192.80 and Rs 168.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 469.95 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 54.78%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 18.09% and 27.13% respectively. Talwalkars Better Value Fitness’ board of directors has granted approval to make Talwalkars Club, subsidiary of the Company. Earlier as on May 02, 2014, the company had reached the significant number of 150th gym with the opening of its Vile Parle branch in Mumbai on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya . Talwalkars Better Value Fitness is one of the largest fitness chains in India offering a diverse suite of services including gyms, spas, aerobics and health counseling under the brand ‘Talwalkars’.

Soyabean futures display mixed trend on NCDEX

Soyabean futures showed a mixed trend on NCDEX. The near term contracts declined due to the availability of adequate stocks in the physical market on account of higher supply from the producing belts, while October contracts rose on the expectations of rise in demand. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 4682.00, down by 0.28% or Rs 13.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4695.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 34480 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 4769.00, up by 0.27% or Rs 13.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4756.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 111600 lots on NCDEX.

Goa Carbon gains on reporting 11,898 MT of Calcined Petroleum Coke production for April

Goa Carbon is currently trading at Rs. 65.95, up by 0.55 points or 0.84% from its previous closing of Rs. 65.40 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 65.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 66.45 and Rs. 65.05 respectively. So far 855 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 87.20 on 16-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 47.00 on 07-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 68.95 and Rs. 65.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 60.35 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 60.09 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 0.03 % and 39.88 % respectively. Goa Carbon has reported production of 11,898 MT (million tonnes) of Calcined Petroleum Coke for the month of April 2014. Of the total production achieved for the month, Goa plant and Paradeep plant of the company produced 5,713 MT and 6,185 MT respectively. On the sales front, the company has sold total of 12,862 MT of Calcined Petroleum Coke product for the month of April 2014. Of the total sale achieved for the month, Bilaspur plant, Goa plant and Paradeep plant of the company sold 886 MT, 1,642 MT and 10,334 MT respectively. Goa Carbon is into the business of manufacturing and marketing Calcined Petroleum Coke. Goa Carbon is firmly established as a leading Indian petcoke calciner. It is a regular supplier to aluminium smelters, graphite electrode and Titanium Dioxide manufacturers, as well as other users in the metallurgical and chemical industries.

Benchmarks add gains; Nifty above 6800 mark

Indian equity benchmarks added gains to continue their firm trade hovering near the highest point of the day in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. The market sentiment was on optimistic note after data showed that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Thursday i.e. May 08, 2014. As per provisional data from the stock exchanges foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 363.24 crore. The sentiments also got boost on hopes that opposition Bharatiya Janata Party would win a majority in elections which is set to conclude next week. Traders were seen piling up positions in Bankex, Realty and Power stocks, while selling was witnessed in HealthCare sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Jet Airways was trading in green after market regulator SEBI stated that Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad does not have to make an open offer for the Indian company’s shareholders pursuant to the Rs 2,060 crore stake deal between them. Sintex Industries was trading firm after the textiles and plastic firm reported 6.75% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 161.17 crore for the quarter ended March 31. On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green, while the European markets traded on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 6,800 and 22,900 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1491:1056 while 132 scrips remained unchanged. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22945.99, up by 601.95 points or 2.69% after trading in a range of 22959.33 and 22,317.18. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.24%, while Small cap index up by 0.73%. The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 4.25%, Realty up by 3.68%, Power up by 3.34%, Metal up by 3.33% and Capital Goods up by 3.09% while, HealthCare down by 0.34% was the only losing index on BSE.    The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 5.72%, Hindalco Industries up by 5.31%, Tata Power up by 4.72%, Coal India up by 4.62% and Tata Steel up by 4.24%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s Lab down by 0.68% was the sole losers on the index. Meanwhile, industry body Assocham in its latest report has stated that about 5 percent deficit rains due to possible El Nino factor could impact Indian economic growth by 1.75 percent (Rs 1,80,000 crore) in the current fiscal year. The report highlighted that as about 60 per cent of net sown area of the country is rain-fed, the deficiency in rains could have a significant bearing on India’s agriculture sector and will raise food inflation in the country. Besides, below normal rains can also affect lakhs of unskilled jobs in India. Agriculture sector represent around 15 percent share in the country GDP and provides employment to large number of people in the country. Assocham report highlighted that India must have good agricultural performance, as a rise in farm sector is estimated to lift demand for industrial goods and services. It mentioned that about 30 per cent of the manufacturing sector is agriculture-based and a bumper crop ensures the supply of raw material for industry at relatively lower prices. India is expected to witness below normal monsoon this year with met department forecasting 95 per cent rainfall because of the El-Nino effect. Meanwhile, the industry body has submitted a report to government which suggests a 12-point strategy in order to contain drought-like situation in country. Industry chamber stated that government must expand the farm insurance cover, advise financial institutions to settle crop insurance claims and distribute high quality seeds of alternate crops in drought-hit areas without delay. Further, Assocham suggested the government to bring down the cereal inflation by liquidating the extra stock and keep minimum support price (MSP) attractive for alternative crops to be cultivated in drought-hit areas. Moreover, Assocham also recommended measures like scrapping of the APMC Act, fuel subsidy to farmers to protect standing crops and free flow of agriculture goods across states to bridge demand- supply gap among others. The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,846.05, up by 186.20 points or 2.80% after trading in a range of 6,850.35 and 6,652.15. There were 47 stocks advancing against 3 declining on the index. The top gainers of the Nifty were Ambuja Cement up by 6.92%, ICICI Bank up by 5.77%, IDFC up by 5.76%, ACC up by 5.38% and Hindalco Industries up by 5.23%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 1.08%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.73% and Sun Pharma down by 0.07% were the only losers on the index. Asian equity indices were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng up by 0.12%, Nikkei 225 up by 0.25%, Straits Times was up by 0.05% and Jakarta Composite added 0.38%. While,  Shanghai Composite down by 0.21% and Taiwan Weighted declined by 0.46% were the losers among Asian pack. The European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC 40 was down 0.41%, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.26% and UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.26%.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals declines on reporting sharp fall in profit

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is currently trading at Rs 584.50, down by 8.90 points or 1.50 % from its previous closing of Rs. 593.40 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 595.30 and has touched a high and low of Rs 596.80 and Rs 577.90 respectively. So far 54211 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 640.35 on 02-May-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs 489.10 on 27-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 640.35 and Rs 585.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 15828.98 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 48.28% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 41.03% and 10.68% respectively. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has reported results for fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2014 The company has posted a rise of 78.61% in its net profit at Rs 151.66 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 84.91 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company increased by 34.28% at Rs 687.25 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 511.79 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. On consolidated basis, the company has reported 74.97% fall in its net profit at Rs 43.06 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 172.08 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company has increased by 27.09% at Rs 1691.48 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 1330.90 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, the company has posted a jump of 12.35% in its net profit at Rs 433.82 crore as compared to Rs 386.10 crore for the same period in the previous year. Total income of company improved by 14.64% at Rs 2368.03 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 2065.54 crore for the period ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, on the consolidated basis, the company has posted a fall of 12.54% in its net profit at Rs 542.27 crore as compared to Rs 620.03 crore for the same period in the previous year. However, total income of company has increased by 19.78% at Rs 6016.68 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 5023.08 crore in the previous fiscal.

Chana futures trade higher on spot demand

Chana futures were trading higher on NCDEX as speculators created fresh positions, supported by rising demand in the spot market. Sentiments improved further as a result of the limited stocks due to elections in many states. However, Poor quality of fresh arrivals discouraged millers from buying. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 3003.00, up by 0.60% or Rs 18.00 from its previous closing of Rs 2985.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 36570 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 3066.00, up by 0.69% or Rs 21.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3045.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 134780 lots on NCDEX.

Crude palm oil futures fall on weak demand

Crude palm oil futures once again returned to their declining path tracking weak domestic demand. The trading sentiment weakened further due to adequate supplies from producing belts and profit booking by the traders. Meanwhile, a weakening trend in overseas markets also put pressure on the palm oil prices at futures trade here.

The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 549.40, down by 0.20% or Rs 1.10 from its previous closing of Rs 550.50. The open interest of the contract stood at 2733 lots.

The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 546.10, down by 0.02% or Rs 0.10 from its previous closing of Rs 546.20. The open interest of the contract stood at 2129 lots on MCX. 

Tech Mahindra surges on foraying into Mexico as part of expansion strategy

Tech Mahindra is currently trading at Rs 1765.85, up by 23.15 points or 1.33% from its previous closing of Rs. 1742.70 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 1740.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 1767.95 and Rs 1740.00 respectively. So far 9906 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 1936.35 on 06-Mar-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 895.25 on 21-May-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1849.85 and Rs 1728.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 41062.12 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 36.29% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 48.80% and 14.91% respectively. Tech Mahindra a specialist provider of connected solutions to the connected world, has  entered into Mexico as part of its expansion strategy in the Americas region. Tech Mahindra in Mexico will offer an array of innovative solutions and consulting services focused on meeting the needs of customers in various industries such as Telecom, Banking, Energy, Manufacturing, Retail distribution, Insurance and many others. The company will establish partnerships with local universities, business schools and trade bodies to enable creation of 500 jobs in the next 24 months. Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry with a majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra. The company, since 2002 has operations in China with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou.

Tech Mahindra forays into Mexico as part of expansion strategy

Tech Mahindra a specialist provider of connected solutions to the connected world, has  entered into Mexico as part of its expansion strategy in the Americas region. Tech Mahindra in Mexico will offer an array of innovative solutions and consulting services focused on meeting the needs of customers in various industries such as Telecom, Banking, Energy, Manufacturing, Retail distribution, Insurance and many others. The company will establish partnerships with local universities, business schools and trade bodies to enable creation of 500 jobs in the next 24 months. Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry with a majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra. The company, since 2002 has operations in China with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou.

Sugar futures recover on NCDEX

Sugar futures recovered on the back of rise in demand from ice-cream and beverage makers due to summer season in spot markets. Sentiments improved further as India’s sugar production has dropped by 3.57% to 23.75 million tonnes in the first six months of the current marketing year due to lower output in key producing states. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 3103.00, up by 0.29% or Rs 9.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3094.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 38590 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 3050.00, up by 0.46% or Rs 14.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3036.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 49150 lots on NCDEX.

Cotton futures decline on profit-booking

Cotton futures showed a negative trend on MCX as speculators booked profits after recent gains. Subdued demand in the spot market and bearish cues from overseas markets also helps to lower the prices. Meanwhile, Indian cotton yarn industry feeling the pressure as China has reduced its cotton yarn import after the announcement of China’s new cotton policy. India has witnessed drop by 25% in the month of April which is the effect of Chinese policy. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 21090.00, down by 0.09% or Rs 20.00, from its previous closing of Rs 21110.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 5412.00 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 21370.00, down by 0.05% or Rs 10.00, from its previous closing of Rs 21380.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 2949.00 lots on MCX.

NDTV gains on getting nod for restructuring, private placement in NDTV Convergence

NDTV is currently trading at Rs. 69.05, up by 0.30 points or 0.44% from its previous closing of Rs. 68.75 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 68.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 69.40 and Rs. 68.00 respectively. So far 9290 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 4 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 100.90 on 11-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 67.55 on 14-Feb-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 79.50 and Rs. 68.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 443.88 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 61.45% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 6.03% and 32.52% respectively. New Delhi Television (NDTV) has been mandated to explore means of unlocking sum of parts shareholder value through various methods including restructuring or private placement in NDTV Convergence and / or other subsidiaries. The board of directors at its meeting held on May 08, 2014 has mandated the management for the same. NDTV operates as a television media company in India and internationally. Its channels offer news and current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, and youth programs, as well as family and realty shows, chat shows, and period dramas.

Benchmarks continue firm trade supported by reality and banking stocks

Indian equity benchmarks extended early gains and were trading near intra-day high level in afternoon session, supported by gain in front line blue chip stock such as Hindalco, HDFC and ICICI Banks among others. There was no sense of any profit booking since morning and almost all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading firm. However, there was a mild weakness in the defensive healthcare sector. Hopes of a stable government at the Centre after the ongoing general elections and high foreign institutional investors (FIIs) inflows encouraged the markets to extend their gains. FIIs were net buyers in Indian equities and bought shares worth Rs 363.24 crore in the previous session.  Sentiments also got a boost after Finance Minister P Chidambaram stated that Indian economy has stabilized and was about to see a revival in the investment, leading to high growth in future. Realty was top gainer index on BSE trading up by over 2.20% followed by banking and capital goods indices, both up by over 1.80%. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally with both mid and small cap indices trading up by over 0.50%. Finolex Cables, extending its previous day’s 10% rally, has surged another around 7%, after reporting a 79% yoy jump in net profit at Rs 69.30 crore for Q4 FY14. Bharat Forge was trading higher by 3% after the company said that its German subsidiary has won a multiyear contract worth EUR 250 million from a German OEM to supply suspension components. Further, Ahmednagar Forging surged around 12% after reporting a 46% yoy growth in net profit at Rs 55.53 crore for Q4 FY14. On global front, most of the Asian equity indices were trading in green. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 6,700 and 22,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2,226 stocks traded, 1,275 stocks advanced, while 842 stocks declined on the BSE. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22,607.64 up by 263.60 points or 1.18% after trading in a range of 22,612.30 and 22,317.18. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.61%, while Small cap index up by 0.50%. The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.21%, Bankex up by 1.83%, Capital Goods up by 1.82%, Power up by 1.59%, and Auto up by 0.98%. While, Healthcare down by 0.39% was the only losing index on BSE.    The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco Inds up by 3.33%, HDFC up by 2.42%, ICICI Bank up by 2.37%, L&T up by 2.22% and HDFC Bank up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s Lab down by 0.94%, Sun Pharma down by 0.50%,SSLT down by 0.31% and Gail India down by 0.05%. Meanwhile, the services and manufacturing activities across emerging markets recovered slightly in the month of April. The HSBC Composite Emerging Markets Index, based on the survey of around 8,000 firms in 17 countries, inched up to 50.4 in April, from 50.3 in March. However, the HSBC survey showed falling output in the four largest emerging economies. It noted that manufacturing output across largest emerging markets was broadly stagnant in April, while services activity growth remained weak in the reported month. Indian business activity fell for the ninth time in ten months with HSBC India Composite Output Index coming at 49.5 in the reported month.  Among other emerging economies, overall business activity across the Chinese manufacturing and services sectors declined for the third consecutive month in April, while private sector output in Russia fell at the fastest rate since May 2009. Brazil too posted a modest decline for the second time in four months at 49.9 in April. The survey further highlighted that the volume of new business across the sector rose marginally from March’s eight-month low. Backlogs of work fell for the fourth month running while a marginal cut in employment too was signalled. On inflation front, the survey noted that cost pressures remained subdued in April, as average input prices increased at the slowest rate since June 2013. Firms across emerging economies are not expecting any upturn about the year ahead, as the HSBC Emerging Markets Future Output Index which tracks firms' expectations for activity in 12 months' time fell to a new low in April mainly due to sharp weakening in output expectations in Brazil, Mexico and China. The HSBC survey expects that the prevailing slowdown in emerging market will continue to act as a dampener on global economic growth in coming months. The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,740.15 up by 80.30 points or 1.21% after trading in a range of 6,742.70 and 6,652.15. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 declining on the index. The top gainers of the Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.18%, IDFC up by 3.13%, Ambuja Cements up by 2.64%, DLF up by 2.61% and ICICI Bank up by 2.49%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s Lab down by 0.86%, Sun Pharma down by 0.54%, SSLT down by 0.31%, Lupin down by 0.24% and Cairn down by 0.03% were the major losers on the index. Asian equity indices were trading in green; Hang Seng up by 0.01% to 21,839.56, Nikkei 225 up by 0.19% to 14,190.86, Straits Times was up by 0.14% to 3,252.36 and Jakarta Composite up by 0.17% to 4,869.18. While,  Shanghai Composite down by 0.02% to 2,015.04 and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.46% to 8,889.90.

Jeera futures surge on strong demand

Jeera futures traded higher on NCDEX on the back of rising demand at spot markets amid restricted arrivals from producing belts. Further, improving demand query in domestic as well as export market supported Jeera futures price. However, gains seem to be limited for the commodity as higher production estimates are expected to weigh on its price in near term.

The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 10800.00, up by 0.75% or Rs 80.00 from its previous closing of Rs 10720.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 2892.00 lots.

The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 10925.00, up by 0.74% or Rs 80.00 from its previous closing of Rs 10845.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 8325.00 lots on NCDEX.

L&T trades in green on the BSE

L&T is currently trading at Rs. 1339.15, up by 38.75 points or 2.98% from its previous closing of Rs. 1300.40 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 1299.75 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1343.30 and Rs. 1288.50 respectively. So far 128937 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1387.85 on 23-Apr-2014 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. 1313.65 and Rs. 1251.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 124036.31 crore. The Institutions and Non-Institutions held 55.07% and 42.25% respectively. The Heavy Civil Infrastructure Business of L&T Construction, subsidiary of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has secured an order worth $740 million from Qatar Railways Company. The order is for the design and construction of the Gold Line of the Doha Metro project in Qatar. The contract was signed in the presence of Eng Saad AL Muhannadi, CEO of Qatar Railways Company. L&T secured the order along with its joint venture partners Aktor - Greece, Yapi Merkezi Insaat - Turkey, STFA Group - Turkey and Al Jaber Engineering - Qatar. The total value of order for the joint venture is $3.3 billion. The project is scheduled to be completed in 54 months. The contract includes the design and construction of twin tunnels for an approximate length of 11 Km and nine underground metro stations including architectural finishes and mechanical, electrical and plumbing works. This Metro project is among the key infrastructure projects of national interest as per the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Bihar expects bumper litchi crop this year

Bihar is expecting a bumper Shahi (royal) litchi crop this year, as per report compiled by Muzaffarpur-based National Research Centre for Litchi (NRCL). The Centre notified that due to favourable temperature it expects at least 20 percent more litchi this time compared to last year.

It highlighted that there is a good litchi crop in most parts of northern Bihar including Muzaffarpur which accounts for more than 62 percent of the country’s litchi production. The Litchi farmers are also expecting good earnings this year due to a bumper crop.

The yield of litchis would improve with warmer weather in the coming days as the coming weeks are important for the crop.

Nickel futures trade higher on global cues

Nickel futures were trading higher on MCX as speculators enlarged their positions, tracking firming trend in spot market on increased demand from alloy-makers. Besides, an  overseas upmove after Vale SA suspended activity in New Caledonia, stoked concern that supply might fall short of reviving demand, influenced nickel prices at futures trade here. The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 1221.00, up by 4.61% or Rs 53.80 from its previous closing of Rs 1167.20. The open interest of the contract stood at 12609.00 lots. The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 1226.80, up by 4.55% or Rs 53.40 from its previous closing of Rs 1173.40. The open interest of the contract stood at 1529.00 lots on MCX.

SBI plans to start a special scheme for children's accounts

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to start a special scheme for children after RBI issued guidelines allowing minors over 10 years to operate bank savings accounts independently and use facilities such as ATMs and cheque books. The central bank’s move was aimed at promoting financial inclusion and bringing uniformity in opening of such accounts in banks. Minors were previously allowed to open fixed and savings deposit accounts with mothers as guardians. The bank reported 34.20% fall in its net profit at Rs 2234.34 crore for third quarter ended December 31, 2013 as compared to Rs 3396.06 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank increased by 14.91% at Rs 39060.76 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 33992.11 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Benchmarks extend early gains; trade near intra-day high level

Going from strength to strength, Indian equity markets have escalated to day’s high on sustained buying activities by market-participants on availability of beaten down, but fundamentally strong stocks. Sentiments also got some support from Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s statement that India's economy has stabilised in past few weeks and the investment cycle must start again for high growth. Moreover, overseas investors, who have been the biggest driver of the rally, continue to be buyers in the cash market, though the momentum seems to be on the wane. However, caution largely prevails ahead of the general election results due next week and investors were trimming portfolios and encashing positions. Meanwhile, global ratings agency Moody’s said that the Indian economy is unlikely to return to previous growth rates of around 7-8% in the near future even if the new government pursues a strong reform agenda limit the further uptrend of local equities. The BSE Sensex rose more than 200 points, while Nifty was up more than 50 points after hitting a nearly 1-1/2 month closing low on Wednesday. On the BSE sectoral front, maximum positions were built in Capital Goods counter, followed by Power and PSU stocks, while selling was witnessed in Healthcare counters. In scrip specific development, Jet Airways (India) was trading higher after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) exempted Etihad Airways PJSC from having to make an open offer to public shareholders of Jet Airways. Moreover, Sintex Industries jumped 4.2% as it reported 6.75% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 161.17 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. On the global front, Asian shares were trading mixed as a tense situation in Ukraine made investors cautious, though a tame inflation report from China calmed some nerves. Moreover, Wall Street indices ended lower following renewed selloffs in high-flying technology shares, offsetting optimism from better-than-expected jobless claims and dovish comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. Back home, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Eicher Motors and Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals will be in focus on account of March quarter earnings announcement. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 1838 stocks traded, 1133 stocks advanced, while 629 stocks declined on the BSE. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22583.76 up by 239.72 points or 1.07% after trading in a range of 22584.47 and 22317.18. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.42%, while Small cap index gained 0.49%. The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.45%, Power up by 1.32%, PSU up by 1.08%, Bankex up by 1.07% and Oil & Gas up by 1.03%. While, Healthcare down by 0.14% was the only loser in the space.    The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 2.46%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.23%, Tata Power up by 1.97%, HDFC up by 1.95% and Coal India up by 1.87%. On the flip side, SSLT down by 0.56% and Dr Reddys Lab down by 0.55% were the only losers on the Sensex. Meanwhile, Global rating agency Moody’s in its latest report has stated that India will not be able to revert to high economic growth path of 7-8 percent anytime soon, even if the new government formed after the general election pursues strong reforms agenda. The report added that India’s government has only limited opportunities to provide some fiscal stimulus to offset a possible slowdown in capital flows. The global credit rating agency has forecast India’s economic growth at 4.5-5.5 percent in 2014 and 5-6 percent in 2015. Indian economy’s growth slowed down to a decade low at 4.5 percent in FY13 and 4.6 percent during the first three quarter of FY14. The Moody’s report highlighted that Indian economy is hampered by lack of reforms in recent years and is now vulnerable to capital outflows. It expects the debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to more than 65 percent this year. Although, the country witnessed significant improvement in current account deficit (CAD), this curtailing is unlikely to be sustained once restrictions on gold imports are lifted. During the April-December’FY14, CAD stood at $31.1 billion (2.3% of GDP) versus $69.8 billion (5.2% of GDP) reported in the same period of previous fiscal year.  On inflation front, the report added that high inflation, at more than 8 per cent indicated that the central bank has no room to ease monetary policy in the short term and may even tighten the policy rates further. The rating agency further noted that during the past two months, the foreign investments in India increased at brisk pace, which indicate that international investors continue to perceive attractive investment opportunities in India. Capital flows increased amid expectations that new government will take strong reforms to boost the economic growth. However, these expectations could be disappointed if a coalition government lacks the political flexibility to pass reforms. The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,733.20 up by 73.35 points or 1.10% after trading in a range of 6,734.80 and 6,652.15. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 declining on the index. The top gainers of the Nifty were Ambuja Cements up by 2.62%, Power Grid up by 2.32%, M&M up by 2.31%, Hindalco up by 2.23% and Tata Power up by 2.03%. On the flip side, SSLT down by 0.56%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 0.55%, Lupin down by 0.09% and Cairn down by 0.01% were the only losers on the index. Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite was down by 0.38%, Hang Seng was down by 0.03%, Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.58%. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was up by 0.36%, Straits Times gained 0.15%, Seoul Composite was up by 0.11% and Jakarta Composite added 0.17%.

Indian Hotels Company to open Taj Dubai in fourth quarter of 2014: Report

Indian Hotels Company is reportedly planning to open Taj Dubai in the fourth quarter of 2014. Taj Dubai will be located in the Burj Khalifa downtown area, surrounded by a futuristic vision of landmarks like the Dubai Mall, world's largest shopping mall and Business Bay. The hotel will comprise of 296 guestrooms, including the Taj Club rooms, 20 junior and 14 luxury suites. The two lavishly appointed theme suites -The Tata Suite and The Maharaja Suite, occupying the top floors will comprise of their own private dining, living areas and panoramic views overlooking the downtown area. The group will introduce its exclusive members' only business club, 'Chambers', for the first time in the international market. The Indian Hotels Company and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and is recognized as one of Asia's largest and finest hotel company. IHCL operate in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market. Ginger (economy hotels) is IHCL’s revolutionary concept in hospitality. It currently comprises 105 hotels across India and 17 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East.

HDFC trades in green on the bourses

HDFC is currently trading at Rs. 869.70, up by 20.45 points or 2.41% from its previous closing of Rs. 849.25 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 859.95 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 870.40 and Rs. 852.95 respectively. So far 15803 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 933.00 on 10-Apr-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 632.20 on 28-Aug-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 913.95 and Rs. 840.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 135411.75 crore. The Institutions and Non-Institutions held 87.65% and 12.35% respectively. The company has posted a rise of 10.79% in its net profit at Rs 1723.10 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 1555.21 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company increased by 17.09% at Rs 6647.82 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 5677.71 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. On consolidated basis, the company has reported 15.92% rise in its net profit at Rs 2414.70 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 2083.13 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company went up by 11.35% at Rs 12296.02 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 11042.88 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, the company has posted a jump of 12.21% in its net profit at Rs 5440.24 crore as compared to Rs 4848.34 crore for the same period in the previous year. Total income of company has improved by 14.42% at Rs 24197.67 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 21147.62 crore for the period ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, on the consolidated basis, the company has posted a rise of 19.70% in its net profit at Rs 7947.82 crore as compared to Rs 6639.72 crore for the same period in the previous year. Total income of company has increased by 13.41% at Rs 40814.56 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 35986.93 crore for the period ended March 31, 2013.

Tata Motors speeds up on BSE

Tata Motors is currently trading at Rs. 423.35, up by 1.20 points or 0.28 % from its previous closing of Rs. 422.15 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 424.25 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 424.85 and Rs. 419.40 respectively. So far 83375 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 437.70 on 11-Apr-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 263.10 on 27-Jun-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 424.00 and Rs. 409.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 115502.98 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 34.33%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 36.89% and 7.53% respectively. Tata Motors, the country’s largest auto major, will enhance customer purchase experience at dealerships. The company in association with its channel partners has announced a major recruitment drive, hiring a workforce of over 3,000 staff across all Tata Motors full range dealerships nationally. The company has taken this step after the imminent launch of the much awaited compact sedan, Zest and dynamic hatchback, Bolt. The company and dealers, will shortlist and recruit candidates who will be given roles such as Customer Advisors, Team Leaders and Sales Managers, across more than 200 dealerships. Prospective candidates will be extensively evaluated through a newly introduced recruitment process wherein they would undergo aptitude and psychometric test. These tests, exclusively developed with help from experts in this field, will measure the candidate’s orientation towards sales. 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.

Economy stabilized, investment cycle too witnesses revival: Chidambaram

Countering opposition’s attack on the Centre over the state of the economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram highlighted that the economy has stabilized and was about to see a revival in the investment, leading to high growth. On the capex plan, he underscored that domestic capital expenditure of about 23 public sector undertakings, including Navaratnas and Mini Ratnas, for the current fiscal would be at Rs 1.33 lakh crore as against Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the previous year and further praised the performance of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) for driving domestic investment. Besides, Chidambaram expressed confidence that inflation of food items would be contained and said the Government brought about 1,200 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice to the public through various schemes and the public distribution system.  He highlighted that government had sold 69.01 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market in the year 2012-13, while in the following year, the government sold 61.10 lakh tonnes of wheat. Similarly, the government had sold 0.99 lakh tonnes of rice during 2012-13, while in 2013-14, the government sold 1.48 lakh tonnes of rice in the open market. The Finance Minister further stated that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the last financial year, till February, was $26.90 billion. Additionally, he added that Rupee at 60 per dollar was true reflection of the value of currency.

Indian Hotels Company to open Taj Dubai in fourth quarter of 2014: Report

Indian Hotels Company is reportedly planning to open Taj Dubai in the fourth quarter of 2014. Taj Dubai will be located in the Burj Khalifa downtown area, surrounded by a futuristic vision of landmarks like the Dubai Mall, world's largest shopping mall and Business Bay. The hotel will comprise of 296 guestrooms, including the Taj Club rooms, 20 junior and 14 luxury suites. The two lavishly appointed theme suites -The Tata Suite and The Maharaja Suite, occupying the top floors will comprise of their own private dining, living areas and panoramic views overlooking the downtown area. The group will introduce its exclusive members' only business club, 'Chambers', for the first time in the international market. The Indian Hotels Company and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and is recognized as one of Asia's largest and finest hotel company. IHCL operate in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market. Ginger (economy hotels) is IHCL’s revolutionary concept in hospitality. It currently comprises 105 hotels across India and 17 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East.

Federal Bank launches new gold loan product

Federal Bank has launched a new gold loan product ‘Vidya Gold’ in order to meet educational expenses in the forth coming school re-opening season. The product is ideal for meeting the school admission and related expenses of students from LKG level to Higher Secondary. The bank offers this product at 200 basis points lower than normal gold loan products, an interest rate as low as Rs 99 paise per Rs 100 per month.  To encourage the students to maintain bank accounts and develop saving habit, the product is offered as a combo offer beneficiaries are requested to open an SB or RD account. Under the scheme, 75% of the market value of gold pledged is given as loan subject to a maximum of Rs one lakh.

Sundaram Finance advances on subsidiary bagging three deals in West Asia

Sundaram Finance is currently trading at Rs. 725.00, up by 19.55 points or 2.77% from its previous closing of Rs. 705.45 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 718.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 727.80 and Rs. 714.00 respectively. So far 830 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 749.95 on 25-Apr-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 463.10 on 04-Sep-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 735.00 and Rs. 690.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8056.14 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 36.07 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 12.78 % and 51.16 % respectively. Sundaram Finance’s IT subsidiary - Sundaram Infotech Solutions has bagged three large IT and ERP deals in West Asia. These include its first overseas non banking financial company (NBFC) deal with a Muscat-based fund management firm to implement term loan, financial accounting and treasury modules of its lending software solution SmartLend3G (S3G). The company has also bagged onsite ERP deal from perfume manufacturer Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group, in UAE. Another ERP deal is in the sports space. Sundaram Finance is one of the oldest and largest providers of finance for the acquisition of commercial vehicles of all makes. The commercial vehicle finance provided by it helps the small operators to acquire vehicles with minimum hassle and documentation.

Styrolution ABS gains on inaugurating new Absolan line in Gujarat, India

Styrolution ABS (India) is currently trading at Rs. 446.45, up by 11.55 points or 2.66% from its previous closing of Rs. 434.90 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 435.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 450.00 and Rs. 435.00 respectively. So far 253 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 544.85 on 17-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 334.05 on 29-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 468.00 and Rs. 434.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 785.11 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 75.00 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 11.05 % and 13.95 % respectively. Styrolution, the global leader in the styrenics industry, has inaugurated a new line for the high performance styrenic specialty product Absolan at its Katol site located in Gujarat, India. The new 40,000 mt line intends to meet the growing demand for Absolan across key growth industries in India. Absolan customers will benefit from improved local service and greater security of supply. The move to increase domestic supply of styrenic specialties in India aligns with Styrolution’s Triple Shift growth strategy, which puts a greater focus on higher growth industries, styrenic specialties and ABS Standard, and emerging markets. Styrolution ABS is engaged in manufacturing and selling acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and styrene-acrylonitrile and other products to industries, such as consumer durables, automobiles, business machines, telecommunications, electronics, etc.

Sundaram Finance’s arm bags three deals in West Asia

Sundaram Finance’s IT subsidiary - Sundaram Infotech Solutions has bagged three large IT and ERP deals in West Asia. These include its first overseas non banking financial company (NBFC) deal with a Muscat-based fund management firm to implement term loan, financial accounting and treasury modules of its lending software solution SmartLend3G (S3G). The company has also bagged onsite ERP deal from perfume manufacturer Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group, in UAE. Another ERP deal is in the sports space. Sundaram Finance is one of the oldest and largest providers of finance for the acquisition of commercial vehicles of all makes. The commercial vehicle finance provided by it helps the small operators to acquire vehicles with minimum hassle and documentation.

NIIT in green on launching multiple new-age career opportunities under ‘ReVOLUTION GNIIT’

NIIT is currently trading at Rs. 32.00, up by 0.50 points or 1.59% from its previous closing of Rs. 31.50 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 30.60 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 32.25 and Rs. 30.60 respectively. So far 49,000 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 35.40 on 22-Apr-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 14.90 on 31-Jul-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 32.85 and Rs. 30.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 525.00 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 34.20% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 26.53% and 39.27% respectively. NIIT, leading Global Talent Development Corporation, has launched ‘ReVOLUTION GNIIT’- a path-breaking GNIIT program that maximizes career opportunities for class XII and college students by offering a range of future-ready courses in - Banking and Finance, Digital Marketing and Social Media, Cloud & Mobile Software Engineering, Big Data and Business Analytics, e-Commerce & Business Administration and Cloud Computing & IT Management. For the first time ever, this offers students the flexibility to choose options from a range of multiple new-age career programs, aligned to the evolving needs of the knowledge economy. NIIT is a market leading, global learning outsourcing company which provides a comprehensive suite of managed training services including Curriculum Design and Content Development, Learning Administration, Learning Delivery Management, Learning Technology (including LMS), Strategic Sourcing and Advisory Services.

Rejected banking licence applicants can buy strategic stake in banks: RBI Dy Governor

In a fresh development, banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has underscored that any entity which failed to make the cut for banking licence could buy a strategic stake in a bank and this would not amount to back-door entry into banking system. As per RBI’s deputy governor, R Gandhi, any entity that wishes to acquire more than 5% stake in a bank is required to apply to the RBI, which in turn will examine such applications on merit basis. Interestingly, this development comes right after non-banking finance company L&T Finance Holdings, which was one of the 25 applicants for new bank licenses and could not make the cut, was reportedly said to be in talks with YES Bank to buy out the promoters’ stake of about 23%. The NBFC reportedly has also approached the RBI informally. Besides, RBI’s deputy governor also unveiled the guidelines on differentiated bank licences, as well as on ‘on-tap’ licences, which could be expected by the end of this year and would be departure from the current practice of granting universal bank licences alone. Differentiated bank licences, one of the key recommendations of the Nachiket Mor committee on financial inclusion, refers to licences given to banks specialising in key functions, i.e. either lending or borrowing, while “on-tap licensing” means any entity which is planning to start a bank which could apply to the RBI at any point as against the current system where they apply when the window opens. After issuing two in-principle bank licences last month to infrastructure financier IDFC and micro lender Bandhan, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan averred it was possible some of the applicants for licences were more suited to operate differentiated banks, not universal banks.

Benchmarks trade in fine fettle in early deals on Friday

Benchmarks turned higher after a flat start helped by gains in selected index heavyweights. Sentiments remained up-beat with Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s statement that India's economy has stabilised in past few weeks and the investment cycle must start again for high growth. Further, Capital inflows by foreign funds also support the sentiments. Gains on up side remained capped as traders turned cautions with global ratings agency Moody’s said that the Indian economy is unlikely to return to previous growth rates of around 7-8% in the near future even if the new government pursues a strong reform agenda. The agency also said that the country is also vulnerable to capital outflows given a history of sizeable current account deficits.

On the global front, the US markets made a mixed closing and the trade remained lackluster despite the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that jobless claims pulled back by more than expected in the week ended May 3rd. The Asian markets traded mixed. Back home, on the sectoral front, Metal, Power and Health Care witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while Health Care, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas were the top losers on the BSE. In scrip specific movement, Tata Power Company traded higher by 2% after Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by BEST in which it sought to restrain the company from laying its network to provide power supply to consumers in its license area.

The market breadth on BSE remains positive with advances to declines in the ratio of 713:509. BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were comfortably trading near their psychological 22,300 and 6,650 levels respectively.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22382.35, up by 38.31 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 22396.47and 22317.18. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.14% and Small cap index gained 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 0.56%, Power up by 0.22%, Health Care up by 0.22%, Auto up by 0.20% and Realty up by 0.19%, while Health Care down by 0.29%, Capital Goods down by 0.12%, Oil & Gas down by 0.03% and Auto down by 0.01% were the losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 1.70%, Hindalco Inds up by 1.39%, Coal India up by 1.27%,BHEL up by 0.92% and HDFC up by 0.89%. On the flip side, ONGC was down by 0.94%,Dr Reddys Lab was down by 0.83%, Cipla was down by 0.68%, Tata Steel was down by 0.63% and Gail India down by 0.59% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, global rating agency Moody’s in its latest report has stated that India will not be able to revert to high economic growth path of 7-8 percent anytime soon, even if the new government formed after the general election pursues strong reforms agenda. The report added that India’s government has only limited opportunities to provide some fiscal stimulus to offset a possible slowdown in capital flows. The global credit rating agency has forecast India’s economic growth at 4.5-5.5 percent in 2014 and 5-6 percent in 2015. Indian economy’s growth slowed down to a decade low at 4.5 percent in FY13 and 4.6 percent during the first three quarter of FY14.

The Moody’s report highlighted that Indian economy is hampered by lack of reforms in recent years and is now vulnerable to capital outflows. It expects the debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to more than 65 percent this year. Although, the country witnessed significant improvement in current account deficit (CAD), this curtailing is unlikely to be sustained once restrictions on gold imports are lifted. During the April-December’FY14, CAD stood at $31.1 billion (2.3% of GDP) versus $69.8 billion (5.2% of GDP) reported in the same period of previous fiscal year.  On inflation front, the report added that high inflation, at more than 8 per cent indicated that the central bank has no room to ease monetary policy in the short term and may even tighten the policy rates further.

The rating agency further noted that during the past two months, the foreign investments in India increased at brisk pace, which indicate that international investors continue to perceive attractive investment opportunities in India. Capital flows increased amid expectations that new government will take strong reforms to boost the economic growth. However, these expectations could be disappointed if a coalition government lacks the political flexibility to pass reforms.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,666.60 up by 6.75 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 6,674.50 and 6,652.15. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Power up by 1.70%, Hindalco up by 1.28%, Coal India up by 1.06%, BHEL up by 0.95% and Power Grid up by 0.82%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.02%, DR Reddy down by 0.89%, SSLT down by 0.64%, BPCL down by 0.63% and Tata Motors down by 0.54% were the top losers on the index.

Asian equity indices were traded on mixed; Shanghai Composite was down by 6.88 points or 0.34% to 2,008.39, Hang Seng was marginally down by 0.88 points to 21,836.24, Taiwan Weighted was down by 38.31 points or 0.43% to 8,892.59.

On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was up by 55.34 points or 0.39% to 14,219.12, Straits Times gained 2.52 points or 0.07% to 3,250.11, Seoul Composite was up by 1.30 points or 0.07% to 1,951.90 and Jakarta Composite added 9.31 points or 0.19% to 4,870.20.

Banco Products (India) to sell entire stake in Lake Cement for Rs 2.2 crore

Banco Products (India) has received an approval for sale of its 3,721 equity shares, its total stake in Lake Cement at a consideration of $0.38 million amounting approximately Rs 2.2 crore. The board of director at its meeting held on May 08, 2014 has approved for the same.

The board also noted that its subsidiaries - Lake Minerals (Mauritius) and Nederlandse Radiateuren Fabriek BV have also considered and approved in their respective board meeting the sale of 174,875 equity shares their combined total stake in Lake Cement at a consideration of $17.3 million.

The above mentioned sale of investment is subject to necessary approval from regulatory authorities, financial institutions and such other statutory approvals if any, as applicable in respective countries.

Styrolution inaugurates new Absolan line in Gujarat, India

Styrolution, the global leader in the styrenics industry, has inaugurated a new line for the high performance styrenic specialty product Absolan at its Katol site located in Gujarat, India. The new 40,000 mt line intends to meet the growing demand for Absolan across key growth industries in India. Absolan customers will benefit from improved local service and greater security of supply. The move to increase domestic supply of styrenic specialties in India aligns with Styrolution’s Triple Shift growth strategy, which puts a greater focus on higher growth industries, styrenic specialties and ABS Standard, and emerging markets.

Styrolution ABS is engaged in manufacturing and selling acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and styrene-acrylonitrile and other products to industries, such as consumer durables, automobiles, business machines, telecommunications, electronics, etc.

Indian economy unlikely to witness 7-8% growth even after strong reforms: Moody’s

Global rating agency Moody’s in its latest report has stated that India will not be able to revert to high economic growth path of 7-8 percent anytime soon, even if the new government formed after the general election pursues strong reforms agenda. The report added that India’s government has only limited opportunities to provide some fiscal stimulus to offset a possible slowdown in capital flows. The global credit rating agency has forecast India’s economic growth at 4.5-5.5 percent in 2014 and 5-6 percent in 2015. Indian economy’s growth slowed down to a decade low at 4.5 percent in FY13 and 4.6 percent during the first three quarter of FY14. The Moody’s report highlighted that Indian economy is hampered by lack of reforms in recent years and is now vulnerable to capital outflows. It expects the debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to more than 65 percent this year. Although, the country witnessed significant improvement in current account deficit (CAD), this curtailing is unlikely to be sustained once restrictions on gold imports are lifted. During the April-December’FY14, CAD stood at $31.1 billion (2.3% of GDP) versus $69.8 billion (5.2% of GDP) reported in the same period of previous fiscal year.  On inflation front, the report added that high inflation, at more than 8 per cent indicated that the central bank has no room to ease monetary policy in the short term and may even tighten the policy rates further. The rating agency further noted that during the past two months, the foreign investments in India increased at brisk pace, which indicate that international investors continue to perceive attractive investment opportunities in India. Capital flows increased amid expectations that new government will take strong reforms to boost the economic growth. However, these expectations could be disappointed if a coalition government lacks the political flexibility to pass reforms.