NTPC signs coal-swapping agreement with GSEC

State-run National Thermal Power Corporation ( NTPC  ) today signed a coal-swapping agreement with Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSEC) at Gandhinagar to swap 10 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of coal. State Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said GSEC and NTPC will collectively save Rs 900 crore through the deal. "With the initial swap of 10 lakh MT of coal, Gujarat will save Rs 140 crore. Later, when 25 lakh MT of coal will be swapped, Gujarat will save Rs 400 crore, while NTPC will save Rs 500 crore, taking the total amount of mutual benefit to Rs 900 crore," an official release quoted Patel as saying. Most power generating companies are given specific allocation of coal by Coal India   Ltd. According to a Central directive, power generating firms are needed to import 10-15 percent of their total coal requirement.

Sensex, Nifty flat; Hero Motocorp gains 2%, Wipro rises

Equity benchmarks started October month on a flat note with the Sensex falling 2.97 points to 26627.54 and the Nifty declining 5.95 points to 7958.85 while the broader markets saw marginal gains. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent each. About 596 shares have advanced, 254 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged. Auto sector will remain in focus today as all auto companies are going to announce their September auto sales data. Strong volume growth is expected across all segments on the back of improvement in the demand scenario in the past 2-3 months. Hero Motocorp's total September sales came in 30 percent higher at 6 lakh units; the stock gained 2 percent. Wipro extended gains, up nearly 2 percent. TCS, Sesa Strelite and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, ITC, Tata Steel, Tata Power and HDFC. The Indian rupee declined in the early trade. It has opened lower by 18 paise at 61.93 per dollar against 61.75 Tuesday. Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "With the USD appreciating in response to expectation of rise in dollar interest rates, dollar-funded carry trades are shifting to euro as an attractive funding currency." "This dollar rally is impacting rupee to some extent. The rupee is expected to trade today in a range of 61.60-62/dollar," he added. On the global front, the US stocks fell with equities posting September losses and quarterly gains, as portfolio managers engaged in end-of-quarter positioning. S&P 500, Nasdaq extended quarterly win streak. On the economic data front - the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index rose at an annual pace of 6.7 percent in July. That is the lowest pace of growth in twenty months. US consumer confidence has fallen unexpectedly this month, to a four-month low. In Europe, shares closed broadly higher, as investors focused on key data from the euro zone rather than the geopolitical risk posed by the protests in Hong Kong. Two of the Asian markets, Hong Kong and Shanghai are closed. Hong Kong markets are closed until Friday, while Shanghai markets are shut until October 7. In Japan, Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed business sentiment improving in the past quarter. Kospi extended losses into a fourth session. In the currency space, dollar gained strength and trades near 4-year high. The euro languished near a fresh two-year trough having come under fire as a further slowdown in euro zone inflation intensified pressure for more stimulus from the European central bank.