Gold futures edge lower on MCX

Gold futures traded down on MCX as speculators exited positions in the precious metal tracking a weak trend in the overseas market as holdings in bullion-backed exchange traded products slumped to a six-year low, signaling weak demand for the bullion as an alternative asset.

The contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 25582.00, down by 1.47% or Rs 381.00 from its previous closing of Rs 25963.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 8231.00 lots.

The contract for February delivery was trading at Rs 25790.00, down by 1.36% or Rs 356.00 from its previous closing of Rs 26146.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 1929.00 lots on MCX.

Muthoot Finance reports 19% drop in Q2 net profit

Muthoot Finance has reported results for second quarter ended September 30, 2014.

The company has registered 19.09% fall in its net profit at Rs 170.71 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 210.99 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company has decreased 18.45% at Rs 1061.52 crore for Q2FY15 as compared Rs 1301.8 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.

Muthoot Finance is the largest gold financing company in India in terms of loan portfolio. The company is a Systemically Important Non-deposit taking NBFC headquartered in the southern Indian state of Kerala and with its corporate office in New Delhi.

Chana futures trade lower on ample supplies

Chana futures traded lower on NCDEX on ample supplies from the major producing belts. However, improved demand from mills and a hike in minimum support price (MSP), capped some losses in chana prices to some extent.

The contract for November delivery was trading at Rs 3149.00, down by 1.10% or Rs 35.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3184.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 92740 lots.

The contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 3119.00, down by 0.57% or Rs 18.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3137.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 58040 lots on NCDEX.  

Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Wednesday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading higher in the early deals on Wednesday. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market swung between gains and losses with investors looking for direction after recent gains. In economic news, the monetary base in Japan surged 39.6 percent on year to 255.754 trillion yen in October. That follows the 35.3 percent surge in September. The adjusted monetary base climbed an annual 76.6 percent to 244.740 trillion yen after gaining 8.3 percent in the previous month. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia are trading higher. Shanghai, Malaysia and Taiwan are trading lower.

Nikkei 225 soared 16.76 points or 0.10% to 16,879.23, Hang Seng increased by 296.02 points or 1.25% to 23,998.06, KOSPI Index improved 0.38 points or 0.02% to 1,935.57, Straits Times surged by 2.81 points or 0.09% to 3,284.38 and Jakarta Composite was up by 6.24 points or 0.12% to 5,077.18.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined by 11.83 points or 0.49% to 2,418.84, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 6.25 points or 0.34% to 1,841.11 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 27.44 points or 0.31% to 8,961.74.

Tata Motors’ Jaguar wins ‘Best British Luxury Brand’ title

Tata Motors’ British-based arm Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) has won the prestigious Walpole British Luxury Awards. Jaguar has been named the Best British Luxury Brand in London. The awards are run by Walpole – a unique alliance of 160 British luxury brands that work together to promote British quality, design, craftsmanship, innovation and service around the world.

Jaguar Land Rover was also nominated in the Corporate Social Responsibility category, while Land Rover picked up a nomination for the British Luxury Brand Overseas award.

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.

Hero MotoCorp plans to enter European markets by end of 2015

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL), the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, is planning to enter the European markets by the end of 2015. The company made this announcement at the biggest event in the world dedicated to two-wheelers, organized by EICMA at Milan in Italy. EICMA is the marketing body of Italy’s National Association of Bicycles, Motorcycles and Accessories (ANCMA).

In the first phase of its foray into Europe, Hero MotoCorp aims to launch its products in Italy, Spain and France; followed by the UK and Germany in the next phase of expansion. To begin with, the company will launch its first serial-hybrid scooter ‘Leap’ in these markets, and subsequently bring more models including scooters and motorcycles.

Hero MotoCorp recently announced an investment of $800 million in building capacity across the globe in the next few years. Expanding aggressively over the past three years, Hero MotoCorp is already present in over 20 countries across Central & South America, East & West Africa and Asia. By 2020, the company aims to be in over 50 countries with 20+ assembly facilities globally.

Tata Power installs 36 biogas plants across 8 villages

Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power Company, has successfully installed 36 biogas plants across 8 villages. The company has undertaken the installation of biogas plants under project ‘Annapurna’ in Mundra and Mandvi in association with Tata Power Community Development Trust (TPCDT).

With this initiative, Tata Power aims to promote the use of Household Biogas by creating awareness on the optimal use of cow dung. Being considerably cheaper than conventional energy sources, the daily input in each Bio Gas plant is nearly 40 KG which enables cooking for a family of 5-6 people. The total cost of each plant is Rs 26,200, of which Rs 18,000 was invested by Tata Power with Rs 8200 contributed by the community.

Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company with a significant international presence. The Company has an installed generation capacity of 8521 MW in India and a presence in all the segments of the power sector viz. Generation (thermal, hydro, solar and wind), Transmission, Distribution and Trading.

ICICI Prudential MF introduces Capital Protection Oriented Fund - Series VII - 1285 Days Plan B

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offer (NFO) of ICICI Prudential Capital Protection Oriented Fund - Series VII - 1285 Days Plan B, a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on Nov 05, 2014 and closes on Nov 19, 2014.  No entry load or exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000.

The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against CRISIL MIP Blended Index and its fund manager is Vinay Sharma, Rahul Goswami, Rahul Goswami and Shalya Shah.

The investment objective of the scheme is to protect capital by investing a portion of the portfolio in highest rated debt securities and money market instruments and also to provide capital appreciation by investing the balance in equity and equity related securities.

Crude oil futures slump to end at a three-year low

Crude oil futures extending their slump for a fourth straight session, plummeted to end at a three-year low on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia announced a cut in prices to buyers in the US. Last month, Saudi Arabia had announced a reduction in oil prices for its customers in Asia and Africa as well. Prices were also weighed down by a report of the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, which said the country’s trade deficit widened to $43.03 billion in September from $39.99 billion in August.

Benchmark crude oil futures for December delivery plunged by $1.59 or 2.0 percent to close at $77.19 a barrel after trading in a range of $78.41 and $75.84 a barrel intraday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent oil futures for December delivery declined by 2.49 percent at $82.67 a barrel on the ICE.