Black Money: Government Collects Rs 3,770 Cr From Over 600 Stash Holders

New Delhi: The government on Thursday said it received an amount of Rs 3,770 crore from 638 declarations under the one-time black money compliance window that closed the previous day.

"638 number of declarations have been received under the compliance window declaring undisclosed foreign assets amounting to Rs 3770 crore. These figures are subject to final reconciliation," the Finance Ministry said in a statement based on figures provided to it by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the top policymaking body of the Income Tax Department.

It added that tax at the rate of 30 per cent and penalty at the rate of 30 per cent is to be paid by December 31, 2015.

The window, created under the new Black Money Act, saw a hectic rush on the last day on Wednesday as declarants made a beeline to meet the deadline at the only income tax office designated here for the task.

"Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (the Act) has been enacted to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad."

"The Act also provided for a compliance window for a limited period to persons who have undisclosed foreign assets which they had not disclosed for the purposes of Income-tax so far," the statement added.

The compliance window opened on July 1, 2015 till September 30, 2015.

It said the officer designated to receive declarations worked till midnight even as the e-filing portal was also open till midnight to receive the declarations.        

Cement Stocks in Demand, UltraTech Gains 3.5%

Cement shares witnessed strong buying today after core industry data for the month of August showed that cement production during the month rose 5.4 per cent.

The core sector data was released after markets hours on Wednesday.

In contrast, cement production during April to July had cumulatively grown at a tepid 1 per cent as compared to the same period of the previous year.

Frontline cement stocks like UltraTech and Ambuja Cements had underperformed the Nifty in the past three months.

At 12:34 p.m., Ambuja Cements rose 2.12 per cent while UltraTech Cement gained 3.5 per cent.

Among other cement shares, Prism Cement rose 4.3 per cent, India Cements advanced 4 per cent while ACC edged up 1.3 per cent.

Eicher Motors Rises, Royal Enfield Sales Jump 59%

Shares of Royal Enfield-maker Eicher Motors rose over 2 per cent to their intraday high of Rs 18,145 on Thursday after the company reported strong sales for September.

Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, sold 44,491 units during the month - up nearly 59 per cent compared to 28,020 units in September 2014. Exports were up 56 per cent at 750 units.

Eicher Motors reported a nearly 28 per cent rise in commercial vehicle sales at 4,248 units in September, as against 3,326 units in September 2014.

As of 12:44 p.m., shares in Eicher Motors were trading 1.7 per cent higher at Rs 18,084.85 apiece on the BSE, outperforming the broader markets that were up 0.3 per cent.        

HCL Technologies' 15% Fall Biggest in Nearly 7 Years

HCL Technologies shares plunged 15 per cent to Rs 834.85 on Thursday in its biggest one-day fall since January 7, 2009. The sharp selloff was on account of HCL Tech's Wednesday warning about the possibility of "tepid" revenue growth in the September quarter. HCL Tech, India's fourth largest outsourcer, was the worst performer in the 50-share blue chip Nifty index.

Here are 10 things to know about HCL Tech's revenue warning

1) HCL warned that its Q1 revenue will be lower-than-expected because of adverse currency impact, client specific issue (revenue loss of $20 million on account of client disengagement) and slowdown in its most critical infrastructure management services (IMS) vertical.

2) HCL Tech's second warning (first was in April 2015) in six months rattled investors, sending the company's shares sharply lower. Fund manager Sandip Sabharwal termed HCL Tech's warning as "crazy", given the sharp depreciation in the rupee during the September quarter. IT companies get a major portion of their revenue in dollars, so rupee depreciation leads to translation gains.

3) The September quarter will mark the third consecutive quarter of earnings downgrade at HCL Tech, said Kawaljeet Saluja of Kotak Institutional Equities.

4) The revenue warning means HCL Tech will be the weakest performer among top 4 IT firms in the September quarter, analysts said. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Kunal Tayal, HCL Tech will post 1.5 per cent sequential growth in constant currency revenue and an operating (ebit) margin of 20.3 per cent in the September quarter.

5) HCL Tech's case is a standalone one and will not impact the overall IT sector, said Rumit Dugar and Saumya Shrivastava of Religare. However, they noted that the frequency of client program disputes has been increasing of late.

6) Domestic brokerage Nirmal Bang's Girish Pai said HCL Tech has little control over cross currency issues, but the other two factors (client disengagement and lumpy growth in IMS) are probably more serious and require a greater scrutiny.

7) The slowdown in HCL Tech's IMS vertical (because of competition from other Tier-1 players) is worrisome because it is the biggest revenue generator for HCL Tech, analysts noted.

8) According to Kotak, HCL Tech has weak applications portfolio and it also lags competition in the fast-growing, high-margin digital space, Kotak added. These factors are likely to weigh on HCL Tech shares.

9) HCL Tech's loss proved gainful for other IT stocks such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, which saw buying on Thursday. HCL had outperformed TCS and Infosys in last one year; As of Wednesday's close, TCS was up 1.2 per cent year-to-date, while Infosys was up 18 per cent while HCL Tech gained 23 per cent.

10) Kotak retained its "reduce" call on HCL Tech and cut its target price from Rs 900 to Rs 875; Nirmal Bang also cut its target price on HCL Tech from Rs 1,008 to Rs 991. However, the brokerage retained its "accumulate" rating on HCL Tech terming the revenue warning as an "aberration"

Strides Arcolab gains after USFDA approval for Rilpivirine

The fund raising is subject to shareholders' approval and such other statutory approvals as may be required including that of Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

Strides Arcolab trading is higher 1.3% at Rs. 1,239 after getting approval for HIV Drug Rilpivirine, as per media  reports. The pharma company approved the proposal to raise long term funds by way of issue of GDRs/ ADRs/ FCCBs/ QIP or such other equity linked instruments as may be permissible for an amount upto Rs. 1,500 crore including a green shoe option.

The fund raising is subject to shareholders' approval and such other statutory approvals as may be required including that of Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1237 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1253 and Rs. 1231 respectively. So far 194170(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 7294.6 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1373 on 20-Aug-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 626.15 on 17-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1260.45 and Rs. 1191.4 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 27.65 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 45.94 % and 26.41 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.

Axis Bank reduces base rate by 35 basis points; stock flat

The country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%.

Axis Bank Ltd is currently trading at Rs.496.75, up by 0.24% from its previous closing of Rs. 495.55 on the BSE.

The country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%.

The scrip opened at Rs. 502.9 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 503.45 and Rs. 497 respectively. So far 1737722(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 117839.04 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 655.35 on 04-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 370.15 on 07-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 522.25 and Rs. 485.25 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 29.19 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 57.86 % and 9.12 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Larsen & Toubro surges on order win

The company said its construction arm has won contracts worth Rs. 13.76 billion in power transmission and distribution business this month.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1479.4, up by 0.9% from its previous closing of Rs. 1466.7 on the BSE.

The company said its construction arm has won contracts worth Rs. 13.76 billion in power transmission and distribution business this month.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1480 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1484.8 and Rs. 1472 respectively. So far 310144(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 136500.19 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1892.95 on 04-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1400 on 08-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1489 and Rs. 1413.15 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 0 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 55.68 % and 41.93 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

HCL Tech Shares Sink 15% on Q1 Revenue Warning

HCL Technologies shares sank 15 per cent on Thursday following the revenue warning it issued for its first quarter (July-September 2015). HCL Tech will report Q1 results in the fourth week of October.

"During this quarter, revenues to be reported in US dollar would have an adverse impact of 80 basis points on account of sharp depreciation of multiple currencies against US dollar," HCL Tech said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

HCL Tech was the top Nifty loser and underperformed the broader IT sub-index on the Bombay Stock Exchange, which traded 0.1 per cent lower.

"HCL Tech's revenue growth is likely to be 0 per cent to 1 per cent QoQ in reported US dollar terms for the July-September quarter of 2015. This is against the 3 per cent we had factored in earlier," said Girish Pai of domestic brokerage Nirmal Bang Securities.

HCL Tech, India's fourth largest outsourcer, based its tepid revenue growth projection on a) adverse currency impact, b) revenue loss of $20 million to take care of disengagement with a client, and c) skewness in revenue growth due to transition timelines for complex engagements in infrastructure services.

"In one of the multi-million custom application development project being executed for one of the customers...certain differences have arisen on with the customer," HCL Tech said. The company reserved up to $20 million as a matter of prudence.

"While the company has little control over cross currency issues, we believe the other two factors are probably more serious and require a greater scrutiny," Mr Pai said.

Nirmal Bang termed the revenue warning as an "aberration" and retained its "accumulate" rating on HCL Tech. However, it cut its target price on the stock from Rs 1,008 to Rs 991.        

Top Corporate news of the day - October 01, 2015

Check out the most important news stories which captured the headlines at the corporate level in India and internationally.

Alleging bias, Nestle India Limited told the apex consumer commission that it was being "singled out" by the government in the Maggi noodles ban case as no action was being taken against other manufacturers of similar products. 

Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), will partner with Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom subsidiary to launch fourth-generation (4G) mobile phone services by year-end, the company's chairman said.

After degrading capacity of its one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh by 35%, Vedanta Ltd is looking at options to source alumina from the domestic market to cut its dependence on high cost alumina imports. 

Inox Wind said it has bagged a 50 Mw wind power project in Gujarat from a major minerals and lignite mining company GMDC. 

Tata Communications and MasterCard have partnered to financially empower 25,000 women in developing economies like India, Nigeria, Indonesia and Guatemala and aim to take the number to 100 million by 2020. 

Larsen & Toubro said its construction arm has won contracts worth Rs13.76bn in power transmission and distribution business this month. 

In one of the largest office deals in the country, Godrej Properties sold 0.43 million sq ft of office space at its commercial project, Godrej BKC, in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) area in Mumbai to pharma company Abbott for Rs14.79bn. 

Axis Bank, the country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%. 
Blue Star Infotech (BSIL) has announced that its board has decided to sell the entire information technology (IT) business of the company on a slump sale basis to Infogain. 

Vivimed Labs Ltd has entered into a definitive agreement for sale of some of its specialty chemical products to Clariant Chemicals (India) Ltd, an arm of Switzerland based Clariant AG, for Rs3.80bn. 

Kalpataru Power Transmission (KPTL) has bagged two contracts worth Rs7.81bn.  

Trending flat: Rupee opens at 65.56/$

The currency touched a high and low of 65.79/$ and 65.89/$ respectively. On macroeconomic front, output of India’s eight core sectors grew 2.6% in August, compared with the reading of 1.1% during the previous month

Indian rupee today opened at 65.56/$ in early trade on Thursday. Yesterday, rupee bolstered against major currencies, buoyed by the strength in equity markets and sharp fall in sovereign bond yields. The central bank mentioned that the prevalent conditions meet the criteria for further monetary easing, manifested by sharp fall in inflationary pressure, contained food prices and delay in the rate hike by US Federal Reserve.

On macroeconomic front, output of India’s eight core sectors grew 2.6% in August, compared with the reading of 1.1% during the previous month. US indices managed to notch up gains. Asian markets are also higher. Investors will now look at the PMI numbers and auto sales figures to get some sense of how the economy is doing.

On Wednesday, the Indian currency ended at 65.57/$, higher by 39 paise. The currency touched a high and low of 65.79/$ and 65.89/$ respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 65.74 and for Euro stood at 73.79 on September 30, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 54.80, the reference rate for the Great Britain (GBP) stood at 99.5331.

RCOM to strengthen ties with Reliance Jio for 4G services

Reliance Jio customers will fall back on to RCOM’s extensive 2G and 3G networks, as RCOM is the only operator in India to hold 5 MHz or more of the most valuable 800–850 band spectrum, across the country, Ambani said.

Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) is planning to further strengthen its strategic partnership with Reliance Jio by extending their cooperation in offering 4G services.

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani told RCOM shareholders at the company's AGM in Mumbai on Wednesday.

“We are at an advanced stage of discussion for finalising nationwide trading and sharing arrangements in the 800–850 MHz band. Both the companies will have reciprocal agreements for roaming by respective customers on each other’s networks,” Ambani said.

He also said that these arrangements will facilitate RCOM customers’ access to Reliance Jio’s ‘world class’ 4G/LTE networks on an asset-light and minimal capex model.

“Reliance Jio customers will fall back on to RCOM’s extensive 2G and 3G networks, as RCOM is the only operator in India to hold 5 MHz or more of the most valuable 800–850 band spectrum, across the country,” Ambani said.

18 Stocks in focus today

Check out the companies which will be in focus during trade today based on recent and latest news developments.

HCL Technologies: The company has warned about tepid revenue growth for the July-September quarter, citing depreciation of multiple currencies against the US dollar and a strong likelihood of a disengagement in a multi-million dollar contract.

Reliance Communications: RCOM is planning to further strengthen its strategic partnership with Reliance Jio by extending their cooperation in offering 4G services.

Nestle India: The company told the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that the Government was being biased by banning its popular Maggi instant noodles while not taking action against other manufacturers of similar products.

M&M: Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery and Mahindra announces start of their strategic partnership.

PI Industries Limited: The company has commenced the commercial production as its second unit located at Sterling SEZ facility, Jambusar in the state of Gujarat, w.e.f. September 26, 2015. The new unit will enhance the production by nearly 1000 MT per annual at its peak production.

AXIS Bank Ltd: The bank has announced that the Board of Directors of the Bank vide Resolution passed by Circulation on September 30, 2015 has allotted 15000 Unsecured Redeemable Non Convertible Subordinated Debentures (Basel - III Compliant Tier II Debentures) (Series - 23) of the face value of Rs. 10 lakh each for cash at par aggregating to Rs. 1500 crores on a private placement basis.

GSK and Novartis: GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd has announced that the Company has completed its transaction with Novartis Healthcare on September 30, 2015 whereby the Company has acquired Novartis’ vaccines business and divested its marketed oncology portfolio to Novartis India.

Bharat Forge Limited: The company has announced that its subsidiary BF Infrastructure Ventures Limited, has divested its 50% stake in its JV (David Brown Bharat Forge Gear Systems India Limited) to its Joint Venture partner, David Brown Systems India (Holdings) Limited, for a sum of Rs. 30.91 million.

Inox Wind: The company has bagged a 50 Mw wind power project in Gujarat from a major minerals and lignite mining company GMDC.

IDBI Bank: IDBI Bank on Wednesday cut its base rate by 0.25 per cent to 9.75 per cent, a day after the Reserve Bank slashed its key repo rate by 50 basis points.

Godrej Properties: The company announced the sale of 4.35 lakh square feet in its commercial project at BKC, Mumbai for about Rs 1,480 crore.

Punjab National Bank: The bank has cut its Base Rate by 40 bps to 9.6% with effect from October 1.

Abbott India: The largest health care product company in India, is deepening its commitment to India through several new initiatives, building on the Rs. 25,600 crore ($4 billion USD) the company has invested in India over the last five years. 

Kalpataru Power Transmission: The company has secured new orders worth Rs. 781 crore.

ICICI Bank: The bank has reduced Interest Rates on Bulk Deposits by up to 25 bps.

Axis Bank: The country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%.

Larsen & Toubro: The company said its construction arm has won contracts worth Rs. 13.76 billion in power transmission and distribution business this month.

Tata Communications: The company and MasterCard have partnered to financially empower 25,000 women in developing economies like India, Nigeria, Indonesia and Guatemala and aim to take the number to 100 million by 2020.

Sensex, Nifty to open on a positive note

US indices managed to notch up gains. Asian markets are also higher. A smart start is in store. Technically, Nifty managed to close above the previous quarter’s low of 7940, which indicates that positive momentum may prolong in the coming days. The main indices managed to keep the momentum going despite FII selling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Welcome to the month of October, which has a history of some of the worst stock market crashes. The IMF head says there is reason to be concerned about the global economy warning that a marked slowdown in big emerging market countries will cut global growth to its lowest level since the deep recession of 2009. The good news is that India remains a bright spot. China is slowing down as it rebalances away from export-led growth. Countries such as Russia and Brazil are facing serious economic difficulties. Growth in Latin American countries, in general, continues to slow sharply, she added.

Fortunately for the stock market, the sentiment seems to be good for the moment. US indices managed to notch up gains. Asian markets are also higher. A smart start is in store. Technically, Nifty managed to close above the previous quarter’s low of 7940, which indicates that positive momentum may prolong in the coming days. The main indices managed to keep the momentum going despite FII selling on Tuesday and Wednesday. Investors will now look at the PMI numbers and auto sales figures to get some sense of how the economy is doing. Stocks like HCL Tech could see pressure after the company warned about tepid revenue growth for the July-September quarter, citing depreciation of multiple currencies against the US dollar and a strong likelihood of a disengagement in a multi-million dollar contract.

Besides the currency impact, other factors that led the company to project muted revenue growth are client specific issues and challenges from its second largest revenue generating vertical – infrastructure services. On the issues confronting a multi-million dollar contract, HCL Tech said that while discussions are on with the customer and it is in the process of disengagement, as a matter of prudence the company is considering reserving up to US$20mn this quarter.

The rupee which moved higher may remain in positive zone following improvement in sentiment after increase in cap on FPI debt invest limit by RBI.

Gold futures registered a fourth straight day of losses, settling at their lowest level in more than two weeks. The precious metal has lost for the month, quarter and year.

Oil futures saw a 24% loss for the third quarter, after ending weak on Wednesday.WTI and Brent crude prices, are down by more than 15% YTD.

The Union Ministry of Mines is reportedly planning to open up mines exploration to both Indian private sector companies and foreign companies. The Mines Ministry is in the process of introducing a new mineral exploration policy, which will be announced very soon, a top ministry official has been quoted as saying.

Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) is planning to further strengthen its strategic partnership with Reliance Jio by extending their cooperation in offering 4G services. Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani told RCOM shareholders at the company's AGM in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Apollo India Pvt. Equity II (Mauritius) Ltd. has sold its entire 3.58% stake in direct-to-home (DTH) services provider Dish TV India Ltd. for INR 399 crore.  According to the bulk deal data available on the BSE, Apollo India Pvt Equity Mauritius sold 3,81,23,235 shares of Dish TV for INR 399 crore. The shares were sold at an average price of INR 104.64.

Nestle India on Wednesday told the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that the Government was being biased by banning its popular Maggi instant noodles while not taking action against other manufacturers of similar products. A NCDRC bench, headed by justice V.K. Jain, issued notice to the Government on Nestle India’s plea and sought its response by 8th October.
Transport Minister Gadkari will speak at the National Workshop on Road Asset Management for National Highways this morning. Expect some sound bytes here.

The government reduced natural gas prices by 16% to $4.24 per unit for the six-month period, beginning October 1.

The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 169.6 in August, 2015, which was 2.6 % higher compared to the index of August, 2014. Its cumulative growth during April to August, 2015-16 was 2.2 %.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari reportedly said that the Corrective steps by the Modi government have led to roll out of majority of the Rs 3.8 lakh crore stuck highways projects.The Fast-tracking of projects may be made possible because of expediting decision-making process as well as policy interventions, Nitin Gadkari reported.

Addressing the shareholders at Annual General Meeting, the Reliance Capital Chairman Anil Ambani reportedly said in Reliance Life, Nippon plans to hike the stake from 26% to 49%, while it would increase holding in Reliance Capital Asset Management Company from 35% to 49%. The company is targetting to more than double  housing finance business loan book to Rs 10,000 crore this fiscal, he said.

The government is planning to join the arbitration initiated by British oil explorer Cairn Energy plc over a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand and will soon appoint its arbitrator, says report.