Dollar index rises to six-week high

The dollar index rose to a six-week high on Tuesday, buoyed by its gains against the euro as speculators bet on a robust inflation reading in the United States to contrast with the very low price growth in the euro zone. 
Both headline and core consumer price index rates are seen steady at 2.1 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively, with stronger data likely to push the euro below key support in the $1.3475/80 area, traders said. 
Both headline and core consumer price index rates are seen steady at 2.1 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively, with stronger data likely to push the euro below key support in the $1.3475/80 area, traders said. 

The euro fell to $1.3481, its lowest since early February, when it touched a low of $1.34756. A dip below that would take the single currency to its lowest since November of last year. 
The dollar index rose to 80.739, its highest since June 12, with the greenback also making steady gains against the Swiss franc. 

Asian Paints Q1 sales at Rs3325 crores.

The Audited Standalone results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2014

The Company has posted a net profit from ordinary activities after tax of Rs. 3088.40 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 as compared to Rs. 2839.20 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income has increased from Rs. 23718.00 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 27896.50 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

"The Consolidated Results are as follows :

The Unaudited Consolidated results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2014

The Group has posted a net profit after taxes & Minority interest of Rs. 3387.00 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 where as the same was at Rs. 2752.00 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income is Rs. 34095.50 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 where as the same was at Rs. 28688.20 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

The above results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 include consolidated financials of Sleek International Private Limited in which the Company obtained 51% stake on August 08, 2013. In view of this, the results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 are not comparable with the corresponding previous period."

Rupee slipped from 53.67 to 69.15 in 4 months

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Parliament on Tuesday that the real crisis for the rupee started back in May 2013 amid talks of the quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve. 

The Indian rupee plunged nearly 29 per cent in a matter of just four months back in 2013, a period described by most analysts as the worst for the Indian currency. 

The rupee plunged from 53.67 recorded in May 2013 to a record low of 69.13 (intraday) against the US dollar on 28 August, which also marked its largest single day fall in 18 years. 

Not just the rupee, the Indian stock markets also took a hit with the S&P BSE Sensex recording a fall of nearly 4 per cent during the same period, putting further pressure on the rupee. 

The US Federal Reserve, which was putting in about $85 billion into the market, announced their intention to ease this situation, which resulted in a sharp depreciation in the rupee, explained Jaitley. As a result of which, foreign currency in terms of dollars was being pulled out from various other economies, which created this particular balance, he added. 

Kansai Nerolac Q1 net up 19.77% at Rs 72.98 cr

Net sales during Q1, 2014-15 were at Rs 921.07 crore, an increase of 16.61 percent as compared to Rs 789.81 crore in the year-ago period.

Kansai Nerolac Paints   today reported 19.77 percent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 72.98 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. The company had reported net profit of Rs 60.93 crore in the April-June quarter of 2013-14 fiscal. Net sales during Q1, 2014-15 were at Rs 921.07 crore, an increase of 16.61 percent as compared to Rs 789.81 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing. Overall expenses during Q1 stood at Rs 823.17 crore, up 16.63 percent as against Rs 705.75 crore in the same quarter last year.

Tomato prices double in a week; leave onion prices behind

Tomato prices have doubled to Rs 80 a kg in the past week, soaring high above notoriously inflation-prone onions, as plant diseases halved the output in Maharashtra, a major producer, while heavy rains disrupted supply in the north, creating a scarcity. Prices were already high in southern and western India but northern India was so far insulated because of higher cultivation following last year's high prices. 


But on Monday, tomato was retailing at Rs 80 in Delhi also as the heavy downpour in Himachal Pradesh snapped supplies from Shimla. Farmers said they have been selling their produce for Rs 52 a kg. Farmers said output in Maharashtra has fallen because of plant disease, caused by hot weather in June, when the monsoon failed to reach the fields on time. Demand from other states has added to the pressure on supply from Maharashtra. 

Wholesale tomato prices in Delhi almost doubled on Monday as compared to Saturday last week due to rains in Himachal Pradesh. The average tomato price at Azadpur mandi jumped from Rs 17/kg on Saturday to about Rs 30/kg on Monday. The price of the top quality tomatoes increased from Rs 30/kg to Rs 50/kg in the wholesale market taking the retail prices to Rs 80/kg. 

U.S. Oil Futures Reach Two-Week High on Refinery Demand

West Texas Intermediate crude rose to the highest in almost three weeks as strong refinery demand reduced U.S. inventories. The U.S. benchmark’s discount to Brent narrowed to a three-month low.

Prices gained for a third time in four days. U.S. refineries operated at the highest rate in nine years in the week ended July 11, according to the Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, dropped to a six-year low as oil flowed to theGulf Coast where prices were higher.

“The supply side really should keep us higher,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. “Cushing is the delivery point so the drawdown there is giving the market a boost. The drop at Cushing is definitely favoring WTI over Brent.”

WTI for August delivery, which expires tomorrow, gained $1.46, or 1.4 percent, to $104.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since July 1. The more-active September future was up 91 cents at $102.86. The volume of all futures was about 27 percent above the 100-day average.

August futures were $1.73 higher than September, the biggest spread between a front-month and second-month contract since September 2008.

Idea Cellular rallies as Q1 net profit jumps over 57%

Idea Cellular Ltd rose as much as 4.9 per cent in trade on Tuesday, a day after the telecom major reported 57 per cent jump in its net profit number for the quarter ended June 30. 

At 09:20 a.m.; Idea Cellular was trading 3.7 per cent higher at Rs 144.95. It hit a low of Rs 144.20 and a high of Rs 146.60 in trade today. 
The country's No. 3 carrier said net profit rose to Rs 728.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30 fromRs 462.7 crore a year earlier. Analysts had expected net profit at about Rs 629 crore. Revenue climbed 16 per cent to Rs 7,561.0 crore. 

The Aditya Birla Group company expanded its operating margin to 33.2 per cent from 31.7 per cent in the previous quarter. ARPM in the April-June period rose to 45.1 paise from 43.6 paise in the previous quarter ended March 31, Idea said. 

Over the past six quarters, the telecom industry has benefited from reduced competition, which allowed operators to increase effective call rates by cutting free minutes on calls, ET reported. 

This trend continues, helping telecom companies to improve key parameters such as average revenue per user (ARPU) and average realisation per minute (ARPM), added the report. 

Rolta wins Multi-million Dollar from Saudi Arabia

Rolta was selected for project based on its unique combination of world class capabilities in Engineering and Information Technology.

Rolta announces has been awarded an additional scope of work by Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) to implement a comprehensive Engineering Information System within Sadara’s Jubail integrated chemical complex. This multi-million dollar award of additional scope is an amendment to the contract which was awarded earlier and which was also multi-million dollars in value. Rolta was selected for this challenging project based on its unique combination of world class capabilities in Engineering and Information Technology (IT). The project is being managed by a global Rolta team working out of the United States, India and Saudi Arabia. Sadara represents a unique alliance between Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), one of the leading energy suppliers to the world, and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), a leading science and technology company of the world. With a total investment of about US$20 billion, Sadara is now building and will own and operate an integrated chemical complex in Jubail Industrial City II in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Comprised of 26 world scale manufacturing units, the Sadara complex will possess flexible cracking capabilities and will produce over 3 million metric tons of high value-added chemicals and performance plastics products. Rolta has been leveraging its in-depth knowledge of engineering work processes, application systems, IT and systems integration to provide an extensive suite of engineering solutions designed to support Process Engineering, Technical Support, Process Automation and Control, Asset Integrity, Analytical Lab and Standards, and Document Management.

Bafna Pharma sells India branded generic drug business to Strides Arcolab

Bafna continue to manufacture and supply the products from its existing manufacturing facilities for a period of five years.

Bafna Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Bafna”) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of majority stake in its India Branded Generics Business to Strides Arcolab Limited (“Strides”). India Branded Generics Business of Bafna is engaged in sales and marketing of branded pharmaceuticals products in niche therapeutic segments of Haematinic, Women healthcare, Pediatric care in India and includes the flagship brand ‘Raricap’ and 7 other brands. The Business has presence in 17 states in India with a field force of about 400 people and had revenue of INR 246 million for the financial year ended March 31, 2014. Pursuant to the transaction, Bafna will transfer entire India Branded Generics Business as a going concern on a slump sale basis to Strides and will receive a cash consideration of INR 481 million and 26% equity in a SPV, where Strides will hold 74%. Under the proposed transaction, Bafna will continue to manufacture and supply the products from its existing manufacturing facilities for a period of five years. KPMG Corporate Finance acted as an exclusive financial advisor and Desai & Diwanji acted as legal advisor to Bafna Pharmaceuticals Limited for this transaction.

ABB, Volvo tie-up for hybrid bus fast-charging

This approach, based on internationally accepted standards, enables maximum re-use of existing e-mobility technologies

Volvo Buses and ABB have signed a partnership agreement regarding automatic e-bus chargers for electric-hybrid and full-electric Volvo buses. The cooperation creates a city-wide standardized charging system for electric and electric hybrid buses that can charge buses quickly through an automatic roof-top connection system at bus stops or through cabled charging systems overnight. This approach, based on internationally accepted standards, enables maximum re-use of existing e-mobility technologies, thereby ensuring a rapid deployment of urban e-mobility. The first joint project for Luxembourg’s public transportation system is planned for 2015. Volvo’s new Electric Hybrid bus, which reduces fuel consumption by 75 percent compared to conventional diesel buses, will debut at the IAA exhibition in Hannover, Germany, in September. ABB and Volvo will contribute with their respective expertise in power grids and e-buses to further develop e-bus fast-charging standards, such as communications protocols for infrastructure, electrical grids and e-buses. An electric-bus charging standard will be largely based on the recently adopted global DC fast charging standards for passenger cars, guaranteeing safety and helping stimulate investment, long-term commitment and increased adoption of clean mobility.

Hitachi Home hits record high, up 14% on hefty profit in Q1

Net profit of the electronic products manufacturer shot up 203 percent on yearly basis to Rs 43 crore during April-June quarter from Rs 14.2 crore on account of strong sales and operational performance despite higher expenses.

Shares of  Hitachi Home and Life Solutions (India) touched an all-time high of Rs 414, up 13.7 percent intraday after reporting stellar performance in the quarter ended June 2014. Net profit of the electronic products manufacturer shot up 203 percent on yearly basis to Rs 43 crore during April-June quarter from Rs 14.2 crore on account of strong sales and operational performance despite higher expenses. Delayed onset of monsoon and a longer-than-expected summer may have pepped up sales for the company. Net sales grew 27 percent year-on-year to Rs 596 crore during the quarter while other expenses jumped 27.7 percent to Rs 126 crore in the quarter gone by. Operating profit rose 74.2 percent to Rs 68.6 crore and margin expanded 310 basis points to 11.4 percent in June quarter. Meanwhile, the company last week decided to shift its entire Jammu unit along with manpower, plant and machineries to its main plant in Gujarat without adversely affecting the production capacity. 

Exide Industries hits 52-week high post Q1 results

Exide Industries Ltd. surged as much as 6.7 per cent in trade on Tuesday to hit its fresh 52-week high of Rs 168.55, after the company reported 16.68 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 185.3 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014. 

At 09:40 a.m.; Exide Industries was trading 6.5 per cent higher at Rs 168.20. It hit a low of Rs 163.65 and a 52-week high of Rs 168.55 in trade today. 

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 158.8 crore in the same period of previous fiscal. 

Net sales of the company rose by 17.41 per cent to Rs 1,909.61 crore in the first quarter, as against Rs 1,626.34 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, Exide Industries said in a filing to the BSE. 

Overall expenses of the company stood at Rs 1,653.56 crore compared with Rs 1,395.07 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. 

Hindustan Zinc Q1 net profit at Rs16176.70 mn

Total Income has increased from Rs. 36044.40 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 37245.60 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Hindustan Zinc Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs. 16176.70 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 as compared to Rs. 16604.50 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income has increased from Rs. 36044.40 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 37245.60 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Gold Below Three-Month High as Dollar Strength Offsets Haven Bid

Gold traded below the highest level in more than three months as the dollar strengthened amid the outlook for higher U.S. borrowing costs, countering haven demand fueled by tension in Ukraine and Gaza.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded $1,312.60 an ounce by 11:36 a.m. in Singapore from $1,312.49 yesterday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal has retreated from $1,345.17 on July 10, the highest since March 19, and last week capped the first weekly decline in seven.

Gold sank 28 percent last year to end a 12-year rally on expectations the Federal Reserve will scale back stimulus as the economy improved. U.S. and European leaders pressed their message that Russian President Vladimir Putin risks isolating himself on the world stage after a Malaysianpassenger jet was downed over Ukraine by a missile believed to be supplied by his country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo seeking to mediate a truce to end the fighting in Gaza.

“Improving U.S. economic data is positive for the dollar which in turn weighs on gold,” said Lv Jie, an analyst at Cinda Futures Co., a unit of one of four funds in China created to buy bad debt from banks. “While gold may get some support from unrest around the world, the longer term downtrend is intact because of the expectations for higher U.S. interest rates.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency against 10 major counterparts, traded near the highest level in a month before data today that may show U.S. inflation held at the fastest pace since October 2012, supporting the case for the Fed to tighten monetary policy.

Gold for December delivery slid 0.1 percent to $1,314.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest bullion-backed exchange-traded product, fell 0.2 percent yesterday, data on the company’s website showed.

Silver for immediate delivery traded at $20.9414 an ounce from $20.9242 yesterday. Spot platinum decreased 0.2 percent $1,487.88 an ounce, and palladium lost 0.5 percent to $871 an ounce.

DLF to sell 30-acre land for Rs 550 crore to further reduce debt .

DLF, India's largest real estate developer, is selling a 30-acre land parcel in Hyderabad's Raidurg area to local builder My Home Group for Rs 550 crore, two people with knowledge of the development said. 
The transaction will be completed in the next one month and DLF will use the money to reduce its debt further, one of the persons said. DLF has pared its debt toRs 18,500 crore from over Rs 23,000 crore a few years ago, but it hopes to bring this down further to Rs 17,500 crore by the end of the current fiscal. 

A spokesman for DLF said the company did not comment on market speculation. A spokesman for My Home Group said the company did not want to respond to any market rumour on the matter. 

DLF was unable to develop the land because it fell under the Archaeological Survey of India's heritage zone where no construction was allowed. The land was dotted with several large rocks that were meant to be preserved, so no construction was allowed near them. 

DLF has about 25 million sq ft of leased office space spread across Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Chennai, which generates a rental of about Rs 1,950 crore every year and supports Rs 12,000 crore of the company's debt. 

Brent holds steady above $107; focus on Ukraine, US stockpiles

Brent crude held steady above $107 a barrel on Tuesday, with worries over escalating geopolitical tension balanced by expectations of large draws in US oil stockpiles. 

Speculators mostly kept on the sidelines, with light volumes across most risk assets including oil, but the risks in oil prices seemed to point towards gains, with the possibility of new Western sanctions on Russia, the world's top crude producer. 

Brent crude for September delivery was up 12 cents at $107.80 a barrel at 0334 GMT, while US oil for August delivery traded 25 cents higher at $104.84 a barrel. The US front-month contract expires on Tuesday. 

The European benchmark has kept in a tight range since surging nearly 2 per cent last Thursday after news that a Malaysian Airlines jet had been shot down over eastern Ukraine. 

The conflict in Gaza added to worries that tensions may spread across the Middle East, as Israeli jets, tanks and artillery continued to pound the territory and the death toll from a two-week conflict topped 500.