Lanco Infratech surges 3%

Ratnagiri Power, GMR Energy, GVK Power, Lanco Infratech and Sravanthi Energy are among companies that emerged with aggressive bids in third round of imported natural gas auction, according to reports. 

Lanco Infratech stock was up by 3% at Rs. 5.23. Ratnagiri Power, GMR Energy, GVK Power, Lanco Infratech and Sravanthi Energy are among companies that emerged with aggressive bids in third round of imported natural gas auction, according to reports.

The scrip opened at Rs. 5.06 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 5.29 and Rs. 5.06 respectively. So far 1088632(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 1399.41 crore.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 7.78 on 06-Jan-2016 and a 52 week low of Rs. 2.46 on 25-Aug-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 5.5 and Rs. 5.05 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 70.55 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 5.04 % and 24.41 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 50 DMA.

Stocks buzzing at this hour - Persistent Systems climbs, Lupin dips again

Check out the most important and latest stock news from NSE and BSE. Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd rallied 4.3% at Rs. 174. The company announced the commencement of INDFEX service at Pipavav port, as per a media report.

Persistent Systems Ltd stock was higher by 10% at Rs. 736. The company announced that it is working with IBM  to improve and transform engineering processes, integrating new specialized consulting services via the IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) platform to help engineers integrate massive amount of data from the IoT into product development.

Lupin slipped 2% to Rs.1529 on BSE.

VA Tech Wabag Ltd, a leading Indian MNC in the water sector has won record orders worth Rs. 5,000 crore in FY 2016. This is the highest ever order intake clocked by the Group in a single financial year.

Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd stock was higher by 4% at Rs. 174.The company announced the commencement of INDFEX service at Pipavav port, says a report.

Sobha Ltd stock was higher by 5% at Rs.273. The company raised Rs. 15 crore through private placement of non-convertible debentures, according to reports.

IDBI Bank stock was higher by 5% at Rs. 70. The government is planning to get  two large institutional investors to buy stake in state-run IDBI Bank, according to reports. Talks have been held with some players who showed interest, as per reports.

Alok Industries slipped 4.8% to Rs.5.13 on BSE. 

Va Tech Wabag secures orders worth Rs.5000 crore in FY16

The Exim Bank of India funded Polgahawela Water Treatment Plant order has been brought into the company's order book, following the signing of the loan agreement between the Water Board of Sri Lanka and Exim Bank of India earlier this month. 

VA Tech Wabag Ltd, a leading Indian MNC in the water sector has won record orders worth Rs. 5,000 Crores in FY 2016. This is the highest ever order intake clocked by the Group in a single financial year.

The Exim Bank of India funded Polgahawela Water Treatment Plant order has been brought into the company's order book, following the signing of  the  loan agreement between the Water Board of Sri Lanka and Exim Bank of India earlier this month. The order is worth US$ 108 mn and is the second order secured from Sri Lanka by the Company through Buyers Credit, the first one being the Dambulla order, which is at an advanced stage of completion. The scope includes Design, Construction, Testing and Commissioning of an Integrated Water Supply Scheme for Polgahawela and adjoining areas.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Arvind Dullu, Country Head - Sri Lanka, said "I am happy that we have secured the second order in Sri Lanka with Buyers Credit of Exim Bank which reaffirms WABAG's focus on funded orders across geographies."

In September '15, the company secured an INR 1,500 crore Effluent Treatment Plant order from PETRONAS in Malaysia which is progressing at a good pace. The Re-FEED engineering approval has been achieved and the procurement activities have already started for this project. The construction activities too at the site have begun.

On the INR 580 crore Al Madina Al Shamaliya Sewage Treatment Plant order, which was bagged by the Company during the month of July '15, the basic engineering has been approved by the client. In this project, the civil works have started and the ordering of key equipments is at an advanced stage. The INR 220 Crore RWTP order from Dangote Fertilizers in Nigeria is at an advanced stage of engineering and the ordering of supplies is progressing at a good pace.

stock view:
Va Tech Wabag Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 531.3, up by Rs. 22.75 or 4.47% from its previous closing of Rs. 508.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 513 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 540.95 and Rs. 507.5 respectively. So far 32346(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2771.41 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 956.7 on 19-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 409.3 on 01-Mar-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 536 and Rs. 497.7 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 28.95 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 52.4 % and 18.65 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Gujarat Pipavav port rallies 4%

The company announced the commencement of INDFEX service at Pipavav port, says a report. 

Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd stock was higher by 4% at Rs. 174. The company announced the commencement of INDFEX service at Pipavav port, as per a report.

The scrip opened at Rs. 167.9 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 175 and Rs. 167.4 respectively. So far 77734(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8063.78 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 262 on 06-Apr-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 136.6 on 30-Dec-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 169 and Rs. 155.55 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 43.01 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 49.36 % and 7.63 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

REC to invest Rs 99 cr in EESL

Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on March 18, 2016, inter alia, had approved sale and transfer of 50,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of NRSS XXXVI Transmission Limited.

Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on March 18, 2016, inter alia have approved sale and transfer of 50,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of NRSS XXXVI Transmission Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of RECTPCL (also subsidiary of REC as per the provisions of Section 2(87) of the Companies Act, 2013) to successful bidder, i.e., M/s Essel Infraprojects Limited.

Further investment in the equity share capital of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) (a joint venture company of NTPC, REC, PFC & Power Grid Corporation of India Limited) upto an amount of Rs. 99 crore was approved. After the proposed investment, the shareholding of REC in EESL will increase from 28.79% (amounting to Rs. 47.50 crore) to 31.7% (amounting to Rs. 146.50 crore) of the post issue paid up capital of EESL.

Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 170.8, up by Rs. 1.9 or 1.12% from its previous closing of Rs. 168.9 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 169.9 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 170.95 and Rs. 169.25 respectively. So far 128360(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 16678.2 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 352.95 on 19-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 152.5 on 24-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 170.75 and Rs. 162.5 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 60.64 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.4 % and 5.96 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Persistent Systems zooms 12%; working with IBM to improve engineering

The company announced it is working with IBM to improve and transform engineering processes, integrating new specialized consulting services via the IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) Platform to help engineers integrate massive amount of data from the IoT into product development.

Persistent Systems Ltd stock was higher by 12% at Rs. 750.

The company announced it is working with IBM  to improve and transform engineering processes, integrating new specialized consulting services via the IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) Platform to help engineers integrate massive amount of data from the IoT into product development. 

Persistent has more than 1,000 engineers dedicated to the IBM Watson IoT Platform and IBM IoT Continuous Engineering solutions, and the new specialized services around engineering, software development and data analytics will provide clients with the necessary skills and steps to adopt more agile practices for engineering.

The scrip opened at Rs. 690 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 796.75 and Rs. 690 respectively. So far 40351(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 5358 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 820 on 20-May-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 562.5 on 12-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 680 and Rs. 590 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 38.53 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 34.31 % and 22.18 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

IDBI Bank surges 5%; TPG Capital eyes stake

The government is planning to get two large institutional investors to buy stake in state-run IDBI Bank, according to reports. 

IDBI Bank stock was higher by 5% at Rs. 70. The government is planning to get  two large institutional investors to buy stake in state-run IDBI Bank, according to reports. Talks have been held with some players who showed interest, as per reports.

In his budget speech last month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Government will consider ceding control of IDBI Bank and that it was willing to cut stake to less than 50% from 80.2%. 

The UK’s development finance institution CDC Group Plc and US private equity firm TPG Capital are also in talks with the Government to purchase stake in IDBI Bank, as per a financial daily.

The scrip opened at Rs. 69 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 71.2 and Rs. 68.6 respectively. So far 525912(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 12758.86 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 95.7 on 03-Dec-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 47.4 on 12-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 67.65 and Rs. 63.65 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 80.16 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 11.62 % and 8.22 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

Top 17 stocks in focus today: ITC, Reliance Communications, Torrent Pharma

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

ITC: ITC's sales of its instant noodles brand Yippee are recovering and its market share has risen to anywhere between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, Executive Director Sanjiv Puri told a local news agency.

NALCO: The company is planning to invest more than INR 37,000 crore over the next 5-7 years for expansion of existing facilities, setting up of new smelter unit overseas, development of mines and diversification in power.

Pharma stocks in focus: Pharma stocks will be in action as the Delhi High Court will hear pharmaceutical fimrs’ plea against government ban on fixed dose combinations of drugs.

Jet Airways: The airline will announce operations to Amsterdam, Netherlands later in the day.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd: Torrent Pharma is planning to raise funds through various instruments, including qualified institutional placements (QIP).

Reliance Communications: Shareholders of Sistema Shyam Teleservices approved the merger of the company with Reliance Communications, according to reports. SSTL reportedly said the meeting in Jaipur was convened by the high court to seek approval of the SSTL shareholders.

IDBI Bank: The government is planning to get  two large institutional investors to buy stake in state-run IDBI Bank, according to reports. 

JSPL, BHEL: Jindal Steel and Power has slapped a Rs. 123 crore notice on BHEL, regarding delays in execution of projects at two units of JSPL’s 2,400 MW coal-based plant, according to reports. 

Aurobindo Pharma: Aurobindo Pharma received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Naproxen Sodium Tablets USP, 220 mg (OTC).

Goa Carbon: Goa Carbon has temporarily shut down the operations at the company’s Bilaspur Plant located at 34-40, Sector B, Sirgitti Industrial Area, Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) from March 18, on account of the inventory of finished material. There would not be any financial impact due to the temporary shutdown of the said plant.

Tata Steel: Tata Steel, one of India’s leading producers of steel, expects its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project at Gopalpur in Odisha to attract a mammoth investment of up to Rs. 20,000 crore in next five years, according to a PTI report. The steel major is in talks with several foreign firms in the same regards.

Fortis Healthcare: Fortis Healthcare Limited has announced that one of our stepdown subsidiary company viz Fortis Cancer Care Limited has informed us that it has increased its shareholding in Lalitha Healthcare Private Limited (Lalitha) by 98972 equity shares (i.e. 12.2% of total share capital of Lalitha) of Rs. 10 each.

Essar Oil: Russia oil giant Rosneft has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 49 percent stake in Essar Oil, as per reports.  The deal is likely to be finalised by June.

Indian Oil: Indian Oil has signed an agreement with 3M India Ltd. for setting up 3M auto care centres at IndianOil outlets.

ONGC: ONGC has signed a preliminary agreement with Rosneft, as per report. Russian oil giant Rosneft is exploring the India Oil Market. With this agreement, Rosneft will ship crude oil and feedstock on a long term basis to ONGC’s refinery.

Zee Ent: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) is in talks with Anil Ambani's Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) to acquire 49% stake in the latter's BIG FM radio business as well as a 100% stake in its television channels, according to reports.

SBI: State Bank of India has announced that the Bank has, on March 18, 2016 issued 30,000, Basel III compliant, Tier-ll bonds in the nature of debentures, of face value of Rs. 10,00,000/- each at par.

M&M: Mahindra & Mahindra has announced the launch of Gusto 125. The Mahindra Gusto 125 is available in two variants – DX and VX  – at Rs 50,680 and Rs 53,680 (ex-showroom, Bengaluru) respectively.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has received tentative approval from the US health regulator for its generic version of Vimpat Oral Solution, used in treatment of epilepsy.

DHFL: Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd has announced that the Company now proposes to revise the said issue to 1250 Secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures with a face value of Rs. 10/- lakh each aggregating to Rs. 125 Crore including Greenshoe option to the extent of Rs. 50/- crore on Private Placement basis.

TCS: Tata Consultancy Services announced that the Million Women Mentors (MWM) program had reached two-thirds of its goal of 1,00,000 pledges from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) mentors for young women and minorities.

Page Industries Ltd: World Fund acquired stake worth Rs.188.49 crore in Page Industries, the licensee of Jockey International innerwear brand, through an open market transaction, as per media reports.

REC: The board has given its approval to increase its stake to 31.7% by investing Rs.99 crore more in Energy Efficiency Service Ltd (EESL).

GVK power, Lanco Infratech: Ratnagiri Power, GMR Energy, GVK Power, Lanco Infratech and Sravanthi Energy are among companies that emerged successful with aggressive bids in the third round of imported natural gas auction that will revive nine stranded power plants, as per media reports.

Cummins India Ltd: The company plans to invest Rs.1,000 crore in the expansion of its R&D centre in India, touted as the company's biggest outside of the US. The indiana-based company has 1,500 engineers at its technical centre in Pune, to which it aims to add 500 more over the next year.

Reliance Power Ltd: The company plans to raise up to Rs.1,000 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures, the company informed the bourses Friday. 

ITC market share in instant noodles rises to 30-40 per cent

Currently, ITC market share in instant noodle (Yippee) would be between 30 and 40 per cent. Before, (after the Maggi controversy broke) it was 20 per cent, said Sanjiv Puri.

ITC's sales of its instant noodles brand Yippee are recovering and its market share has risen to anywhere between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, Executive Director Sanjiv Puri told a local news agency on Sunday.

“Currently, ITC market share in instant noodle (Yippee) would be between 30 and 40 per cent. Before, (after the Maggi controversy broke) it was 20 per cent,” said Puri.

During the pre-Maggi controversy, the industry sales were INR 250-300 crore per month, according to Puri. The industry sales fell to 5-10 per cent after the controversy broke, but now the same has recovered to nearly 50 per cent of the original industry sales, he added.

“We had to run big campaigns to bring back the confidence. We are encouraged by the recovery but it is still far from complete recovery to pre-crisis sales,” Puri told the news agency.

He also said that the company will gradually expand its foray into the dairy sector nationally.

ITC has entered the dairy segment with ghee in the southern market and is looking to introduce more products in the dairy segment in future, including chocolates.

“We always explore to deepen the existing food products portfolio and are introducing new products,” Puri told the news agency. 

Sensex, Nifty to open on a positive note

Asian markets are mixed with Japan's Nikkei 1.25% lower and China’s CSI300 up over 2.25%. China's central bank is set to pump in 130 billion yuan into money markets through seven-day reverse bond repurchase agreements today, a report stated.

Welcome to a truncated week with less triggers in store. The rise in crude price added gains for global equity markets including India. The Nifty, which has managed a close above the multi-month resistance level of 7600 will look to convincingly remain above those levels. How long this sustains on a closing basis remains to be seen.  The RBI’s move on interest rates will be keenly awaited even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said lower interest rates are needed to make the economy more efficient. Interest rates on various small savings schemes have been slashed and PPF rate is down from 8.7pc to 8.1pc.

The outlook is a positive start. Asian markets are mixed with Japan's Nikkei 1.25% lower and China’s CSI300 up over 2.25%. China's central bank is set to pump in 130 billion yuan into money markets through seven-day reverse bond repurchase agreements today, a report stated. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi are flat. On Friday, Wall Street had ended higher with crude touching $42 a barrel mark in trade.

All eyes will be on online shopping portal Infibeam Incorporation, which will hit the capital markets on March 21 to mop-up Rs 450 crore through an initial share plan, becoming the first e-commerce firm to tap the IPO route.

Banking stocks will be in focus for the coming week as finance ministry has scheduled a meeting with senior bankers of public lenders on March 21 for the issue of dealing with large loan defaults as part of an exercise to clean up balance sheet of banks.

Government's one-time window to settle all pending retrospective taxation issues will open on June 1, says a report adding taxpayers will need to pay just principal amount due while interest payment and penalties would be waived off.


Union Agriculture and farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh  said here said that news report of ASSOCHAM stating that wheat production in the country this year is likely to be lower by 1.5 crore tonne is factually incorrect. In 2015-16, wheat production in the country is estimated at 93.82 million tonnes (2nd Advance Estimate).

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India reportedly said it has finalised wage pact with workers at its Manesar unit.

The Government is delighted to announce the revival of 9 stranded gas based power generation plants with an installed capacity of 5942 MW which have successfully bid through a transparent and competitive reverse e-auction process.

The government is planning to get  two large institutional investors to buy stake in state-run IDBI Bank, according to reports.

Jindal Steel and Power has slapped a Rs. 123-crore notice on BHEL, regarding delays in execution of projects at two units of JSPL’s 2,400 MW coal-based plant according to reports.

Alibaba has approached Tata Sons for possible partnership. According to reports, Alibaba is planning to set up shop in India later this year.

Patanjali plans to add four to five new food parks to expand capacity, yoga guru and founder of the FMCG company Baba Ramdev has been quoted as saying.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has reportedly criticized the Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) fuel standards announced in the draft notification by the Road Transport & Highways Ministry.

The Indian Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA) has called off its 19-day strike against the levy of one per cent excise duty after the Centre agreed to set up a high-level task force led by Ashok Lahiri to look into their demands.

ICICI Bank will consider its borrowing proposal at its meeting of Committee of Executive Directors any time next week starting from March 21

Pharmaceuticals stocks also will remain in action as fourteen more healthcare majors, including Cipla, Lupin, Wockhardt, GlaxoSmithKline and Mankind Pharma among others have been granted interim relief by the Delhi high court up-till March 2. This is in reference to the ban imposed by the Centre on sale of some of their fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs.