Apollo Tyres rallies as RBI hikes FII limit

Apollo Tyres is currently trading at Rs. 210.25, up by 13.25 points or 6.73% from its previous closing of Rs. 197.00 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 197.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 211.80 and Rs. 197.00 respectively. So far 806550 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 217.70 on 09-Sep-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 63.05 on 21-Oct-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 211.80 and Rs. 183.25 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 10694.61 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 44.06% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 43.17% and 12.77% respectively. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) investment limit in Apollo Tyres to 45% of its paid-up capital. RBI has notified that FIIs/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs), through primary market and stock exchanges, can now purchase up to 45% of the paid up capital of Apollo Tyres under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). The company has passed resolutions at the board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit from 40% to 45% for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/ RFPIs. Apollo Tyres produces the entire range of automotive tyres for ultra and high speed passenger cars, truck and bus, farm, off-the-road, industrial and specialty applications like mining, retreaded tyres and retreading material. These are produced across Apollo’s eight manufacturing locations in India, Netherlands and Southern Africa.

Sensex, Nifty weak; metals lose shine, Infosys most active

Equity benchmarks fell half a percent in noon trade while the broader markets were flat. The Sensex dropped 125.50 points to 26442.49 and the Nifty slipped 42.40 points to 7903.15. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1355 to 1141 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Dipan Mehta, Member, BSE & NSE, said that an absence of action on major reforms from the government has been putting doubts in the market. He said that technically, the markets appear to be weak and vulnerable at this point of time because all India-centric stocks, the banks, cement, capital goods—which are supposed to do well on the uptick of GDP growth rates -- are just not participating in the bull run, and the defensives and export-oriented sectors can contribute only up to a level. “Thus at this time it is best to be a bit of cautious and wait as this correction may deepen further over the next few trading sessions,” he added. Infosys was the most active stock on exchanges ahead of its second quarter earnings that will be announced on October 10, up 0.25 percent. Hindalco Industries, HDFC, Sesa Sterlite, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel, Cairn India, UltraTech Cement and Jindal Steel were top losers, down 2-4 percent. However, Tata Motors, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and HCL Technologies gained 0.5-2 percent. 

Gold future edge lower on weak global cues

Gold future traded down on MCX due to trimming of positions by speculators in tandem with a weak global trend, as the dollar advanced towards a four-year high, reducing demand for precious metals as an alternative investment.

The contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 26700.00, down by 0.08% or Rs 21.00 from its previous closing of Rs 26721.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 7309.00 lots.

The contract for February delivery was trading at Rs 26882.00, down by 0.08% or Rs 22.00 from its previous closing of Rs 26904.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 255.00 lots on MCX.

Nifty breaks 7900; Infosys rebounds, Tata Motors rises

The market remained under pressure weighed down by index heavyweights like HDFC twins and ITC. The Sensex fell 154.24 points to 26413.75 and the Nifty declined 52.15 points to 7893.40. About 1130 shares have advanced, 1235 shares declined, and 114 shares are unchanged. Metal stocks are weak as global growth concerns weigh. The World Bank has cut China's growth forecast for the next 3 years - estimate is 2015 growth will be 7.2 percent, 7.1 percent in 2016 versus a previous forecast of 7.5 percent for both years. Other frontline stocks in focus include Tata Motors (up 1.5 percent) that saw buying despite weak September sales, Mahindra and Mahindra (down 2 percent) as Mahindra 2 wheelers bids to acquire 51 percent stake in Peugeot Motorcycles. Infosys reversed earlier losses reacting to Jack Palmer (former employee) suing the company again. DLF lost nearly 3 percent as Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said the Election Commission should take appropriate action over the Haryana government's approval of DLF and Robert Vadra land deal From the broader markets, Mphasis declined 2 percent after Macquarie downgraded the stock to underperform. TVS Motor and Ashok Leyland gained 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively post September sales numbers. Ballarpur Industries rallied 11 percent as IFC will invest USD 100 million in BILT's arm while Apollo Tyres rose 6 percent after the RBI said foreign investors can buy upto 45 percent in the company. Brent crude fell to over two-year lows while FIIs started month of October on negative note with a sell figure of Rs 63 crore on last Wednesday. This comes after September saw the lowest FII flows in seven months.

World Bank on Indian economy

  Indian economy, which accounts for 80 percent of South Asia's output, is set to grow by 6.4 percent in 2015-16 as against 5.6 percent in 2014-15, the World Bank has said. With economic activity buoyed by expectations from the new elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "India is benefiting from a "Modi dividend"," the Bank said in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report yesterday. Over the next year or so economic growth should be supported by the recovering US economy that would provide a market for Indian merchandise and service exports, it said. "The outlook over the next years for South Asia indicates broad economic stability and a pick-up in growth with potential risks concentrated on the fiscal and structural reform side," said Martin Rama, Chief Economist for South Asia at the World Bank. "Future growth will increasingly depend on strong investment and export performance," he added. Private investment is expected to pick up thanks to the government's business orientation, and declining oil prices should boost private sector competitiveness. But economic reforms will be needed for India to achieve its full long-term growth potential, the report argued. The report said the region's economy will expand by a real 6 percent in 2015 and by 6.4 percent in 2016 compared to 5.4 percent this year, potentially making it the second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific, reports PTI.

Sensex, Nifty flat; Tata Motors, TCS, HCL Tech top gainers

After a long weekend of five days, equity benchmarks started of Tuesday's trade on a lower note with the Sensex falling 22.52 points to 26545.47 and the Nifty losing 11.25 points to 7934.30. However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.4 percent each. About 595 shares have advanced, 309 shares declined, and 52 shares are unchanged. Shares of ITC, HDFC Bank, HUL, Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs and UltraTech Cement lost 0.8-1.4 percent while TCS, BHEL, Coal India, ICICI Bank, NTPC, HCL Technologies and BPCL gained 0.7-2 percent. The Indian rupee opened higher by 20 paise on Tuesday at 61.41 per dollar against 61.61 a dollar on last Wednesday. There is a flat trade for the dollar after rising to a four-year high of 86.746 on Friday. Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The recent US non-farm payrolls number fuelled the speculation that US Federal Reserve may hike interest rates sooner than expected which sent the dollar index to near-term highs." "The USD-INR pair continues to trade in the 61-62 range, tracking the choppy and volatile global markets," he added. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed. Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi saw marginal gains while Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted declined. Protest in Hong Kong that started a week ago has been demanding the right to choose a candidate for the chief executive role in 2017. In the US, stocks fell with investors adopting a cautious approach two days before the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting and quarterly earnings. The federal open market committee releases minutes from its last session on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve on track to conclude its bond purchases this month. And in Europe, it was a positive start to the week although the German DAX pared gains following disappointing economic data from the country.