Jet Airways up 5.5%, gets syndicated loan facility in Gulf

Shares of  Jet Airways (India) climbed 5.5 percent intraday Tuesday on successfully concluding a five-year syndicated loan facility of USD 150 million in the Gulf. The airline company said the transaction was fully subscribed by banks spread across the Middle East region, from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Doha-based financial institutions. The participating banks include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, and Commercial Bank International PJSC as the mandated lead arrangers and Ahli United Bank B.S.C and Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C., as the lead arrangers. Mashreqbank psc was the sole initial mandated lead arranger and book runner for the transaction while Alpen Capital acted as financial advisors to Jet Airways for the transaction. "We will continue to build on this strong foundation as part of our three-year turnaround plan. This syndicated loan facility will be instrumental in underpinning the airline on this progressive path," said Cramer Ball, CEO of Jet Airways. Earlier, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways PJSC and Jet had announced a long term strategic alliance with the investment by Etihad of a 24 percent equity stake in Jet Airways and a 50.1 percent stake in Jet Privilege Private Limited. The partnership between the two airlines will be mutually beneficial across multiple areas including network growth, operational synergies, revenue enhancement and cost optimization. At 09:48 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 403.20, up Rs 15.65, or 4.04 percent on the BSE.

BoB spurts after fixing record date for stock split

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has started the day on a firm note with a gain of a per cent at Rs. 1,068, after the bank fixed 23 January 2015 as the record date for 5-for-1 stock split.

Soon, the stock added more gains and touched a high of Rs. 1,080. Currently, Bank of Baroda has jumped almost 2 per cent at Rs. 1,076.

The counter has witnessed trades of around 29,000 shares in early morning deals, as against the two-week daily average volume of 150,000 shares on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex has rallied over 100 points at 27,816.

Counting begins in Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir

Counting of votes for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly began in 24 centres across the state today amid tight security. There are 1,312 counting tables, besides 83 tables for assistant returning officers, an Election Commission release said here. The process began at 7 AM and the actual counting started an hour later. Deogarh constituency would have the maximum rounds of 31 and Chakradharpur the minimum with 10 rounds. The nearly four-week long elections to the Assembly concluded on December 20 to decide its fate after two previous voters' verdict throwing a hung House. A record 66.47 per cent polling had been registered in the five-phase polling, which began on November 25. Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM -Dumka and Barhait seats) and ex-CMs Arjun Munda (BJP-Kharsawan), Madhu Koda (Jai Bharat Samanta Party-Majhgaon) and Babulal Marandi (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Dhanwar-Giridih) are among the total 1,136 candidates, including 111 women, who contested the polls. Other prominent candidates in the fray were Speaker Shashank Sekhar Bhokta (JMM) from Sarath and ex-Speaker C P Singh (BJP) from Ranchi. J&K Counting of votes for the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly began today amid tight security at various centres set up by the Election authorities. Counting centres have been set up at all 22 district headquarters of the state while additional counting centres have been set up in constituencies which have been cut off by snow or inclement weather, officials said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the counting process with police and paramilitary personnel deployed in strength around the counting centres and in some parts of the city. A strategy has been put in place to deal with any law and order problem which may arise during or after?the counting. The early trends are expected in 30 to 45 minutes, the officials said. A total of 821 candidates, including 276 independents, contested the elections. The voter turnout in the state this year was 65 per cent which was 4 per cent more than the last Assembly elections held in 2008?development which has generated hope as well as anxiety among all major political parties. While the ruling National Conference is claiming that higher voter turnout will benefit it at the hustings, PDP and BJP are maintaining that it is a reflection of the people's desire for a change. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Opposition PDP's chief ministerial candidate Mufti Muhammad Sayeed are among the 821 candidates, who are seeking election from the 87 constituencies.

Sensex, Nifty open flat; M&M, Bharti, NTPC gainers

After the rally seen on Monday, the market has opened flat today. The Sensex is up 8.16 points at 27709.95 and the Nifty is up 0.60 points at 8324.60. About 386 shares have advanced, 191 shares declined, and 33 shares are unchanged. M&M, NTPC, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Dr Reddy's Labs, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Sesa Sterlite and Hindalco. The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 63.30 per dollar against the previous closing of 63.25. The dollar holds firm, having risen to its highest level in nearly nine years against a basket of major currencies, driven in part by persistent weakness in the euro and a fresh fall in the yen. Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The upward march of USD continues amid thin trading in holiday season. The revival of risk appetite helped global equity markets end higher, with dollar broadly firm on divergent yield outlook." Globally, US markets ended higher leading the Dow and the S&P 500 to record finishes. European markets too closed with gains with the sentiment boosted by a rebound in the Russian ruble. Asian markets are positive. In other asset classes, crude prices declined, with Brent Crude down 2 percent to USD 60 per barrel after Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister said OPEC would not cut production at any price. Gold slipped below USD 1180 an ounce and silver slid 3 percent after US existing home sales fell to a six-month low, and as oil prices eased back. 

Nifty below 8,250 levels

At 11:29AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,424 up 52 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,240 up 18 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading up at 1%.

Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, Capital goods, FMCG, Healthcare, Metal, Realty, Oil and gas indices are the gainers, while IT,Bankex, Teck indices are losers.

Coal India, ONGC, GAIL, Bajaj Auto, ITC, Bharti Airtel are among the gainers, whereas ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Infosys, Tata Motors, Axis Bank are losing sheen on BSE.

According to reports, the government is planning to reduce the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on special economic zones (SEZ) from 18.5% to 7.5%. The move is expected to be announced in the Budget for next financial year.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has lined up close to a dozen launches for the New Year. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor also also lining up UV launches. Meanwhile, manufacturers are finalising production plans based on current trends, and most players say they are planning to roll out a higher number of petrol cars in 2015, says a report.

Infosys is in the midst of putting together a staff appraisal practice that includes some of the best practices followed at new-age companies, including Google and Facebook, and will start evaluating employees from October next, a report said.

On the political front, the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to win the Delhi assembly polls comfortably, but the people of Delhi want Arvind Kejriwal as their chief minister, says a report.

The finance ministry is planning to rush through a Cabinet note seeking permission to sign an accord with the US on exchanging investment information before a December 31 deadline, ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Delhi at the end of January, a report stated.

Wipro founder Azim Premji's Premji Invest, a family office specialising in private equity and venture capital investments, will purchase a 1 per cent stake in India's HDFC Standard Life Insurance for Rs 185 crore, valuing the firm at Rs 18,500 crore.

Shares of DLF Ltd was up 2% at Rs134 on reports that the company has explored options to monetize some commercial assets worth about $500 million or Rs 3,000 crore.

Jindal Steel and Power stock up 4%

Shares of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd was up 4% at Rs143.

The stock has hit a high of Rs143 and a low of Rs138.

on December 19, the company has allotted 10,000 privately placed unsecured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) amounting to Rs 1,000 crore to Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

Crompton Greaves stock up 2%

Crompton Greaves opened with a positive gap of 1.4 per cent at Rs. 183 and soon, has jumped 2.8 per cent to Rs. 185 on the back of receiving order from Belgium company.

According to a release issued to BSE, the company received a contract from the Belgian offshore wind farm operator Northwind to provide operation and maintenance services for the 216 MW wind farm offshore substation on the Lodewijik bank, 40 km off the Belgian coast.

Now, the stock is up 2.2 per cent at Rs. 184.50. On the BSE counter, so far, 7.37 million shares are traded, against its two-week daily average volume of 678,000 shares.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex is up 33 points at 27,405.

HDFC Bank spurts 1.5% in opening trade

HDFC Bank spurted 1.5 per cent to a high of Rs. 955 in opeing trade this morning on back of FIPB nod for raising fresh funds.

According to reports, FIPB has cleared a proposal of the bank allowing it to raise Rs 10,000 crore.

The stock is now up 0.8 per cent at Rs. 948. The counter has seen trades of around 22,000 shares so far on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has gained 44 points at 27,416.

Top corporate news of the day - December 22, 2014

GoAir said it has put 1.7 mn seats up for sale, offering fares as low as Rs 1,469 for travel next year to stimulate demand during the lean period. 
 
Infosys  is increasing its focus on geographies like North America and EMEA region to drive growth of its core banking solution Finacle. 
 
Giving Indian sarees a 'green' touch, Dupont has joined hands with Reliance Industries and Vipul Sarees for use of its renewable fibre product Sorona to make an 'environment-friendly' version of this ethnic ladieswear. 
 
Tech Mahindra is learnt to have entered into a strategic alliance with a German start-up, Enquiss GmbH & Co KG, to expand in the connected devices segment. 
 
The 40mm L/70 anti-aircraft guns used by Indian defence forces are being upgraded and modernised at Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur-based Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), with the help of Bharat Electronics Limited. 
 
Tilaknagar Industries plans to more than double its capacity here to 6 mn cases in the next 6-8 months to cater to the domestic demand and exports. (ET)
 
Coal India arm WCL has proposed to increase the price of coal by Rs 500 a tonne on certain grades of the dry fuel to make some of its projects viable. 
 
Tata Chemicals Ltd is looking to strengthen its FMCG business by entering new product categories. 
 
Ashok Leyland has introduced the Captain 2523 Tipper and Captain 2518 Tipper in Telangana. The Captain series is designed to meet high productivity norms of mines and construction. 
 
Zomato continued it global shopping spree and announced the acquisition of Italy’s Cibando — the fifth purchase in five months — for an undisclosed amount. 

Sensex to open on a flat note

For now the year 2014 is fast disappearing and this truncated week could see some wild swings. The F&O expiry will add to the choppiness in the coming days. Despite recent nervousness, investors appear ready to bet even on counters that are fairly valued hoping that the long-term growth potential of stable companies will reap rich rewards. Reports say a large chunk of the selling in December so far has been by hedge funds, known for their trading bets rather than long-term investments. In other words, much of the quality investors remain still invested in India and are looking at pumping in money early next year.

The outlook is a flat start. Some attention will be on the Rajya Sabha. The government’s ability to push through their way will be tested in the next two days. The trend in global markets, movement of rupee against the dollar, and crude oil price will dictate near-term trend. The euro has weakened on expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will be forced to expand its asset-buying program to include sovereign debt in early 2015, says a report. All this comes at a time when the Federal Reserve, though ‘patient,’ is preparing to lift interest rates next year.

Global cues are not really offering much cues. Asian indices are mixed with Japan's Nikkei marginally lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is trading higher. China's Shanghai index is also up over a percent. On Friday, the Dow rose 0.15% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq added 0.4%  each.

As the rouble crisis deepens, with the country staring at a possible recession, Russia — the largest diamond producing country in the world — may increase its diamond exports which may lead to a decline in rough diamond prices by 2-5%, says a report.

A lot of action is likely to pick up in the auto pack early next year. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has lined up close to a dozen launches for the New Year. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor also also lining up UV launches. Meanwhile, manufacturers are finalising production plans based on current trends, and most players say they are planning to roll out a higher number of petrol cars in 2015, says a report.

Infosys is in the midst of putting together a staff appraisal practice that includes some of the best practices followed at new-age companies, including Google and Facebook, and will start evaluating employees from October next, a report said.

On the political front, the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to win the Delhi assembly polls comfortably, but the people of Delhi want Arvind Kejriwal as their chief minister, says a report.

The finance ministry is planning to rush through a Cabinet note seeking permission to sign an accord with the US on exchanging investment information before a December 31 deadline, ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Delhi at the end of January, a report stated.

Wipro founder Azim Premji's Premji Invest, a family office specialising in private equity and venture capital investments, will purchase a 1 per cent stake in India's HDFC Standard Life Insurance for Rs 185 crore, valuing the firm at Rs 18,500 crore.

Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for amending the Constitution of India to facilitate the introduction of Goods and 

Services Tax (GST) in the country. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the said Bill in the Lok Sabha. The proposed amendments in the Constitution will confer powers both to the Parliament and State legislatures to make laws for levying GST on the supply of goods and services in the same transaction. 

GST will simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime in the country. GST will broaden the tax base, and result in better tax compliance due to a robust IT infrastructure. 

In its Mid-Year Eco Review, the Govt said it is committed to meeting FY15 fiscal  aim despite difficult odds. India's GDP is expected to rise to 5.5 per cent in the current fiscal from 4.7% last year. FY15 revenue estimates were  over-optimistic, the review stated adding that current RBI policy appears to be  historically tight.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared HDFC Bank's proposal to raise Rs 10,000 crore, says report. Earlier Shareholders allowed the lender to raise Rs 10,000 crore through routes that may include public or private placement as well as domestic or international markets. 

Vistara has opened bookings from Thursday night for its first flights from January 9, according to reports.

According to the report, IDFC Ltd is planning to cut stake in IDFC Infrastructure Debt Fund to 49%. Report said IDFC was in talks with foreign investors in this regard.

Hindalco Industries lost its chance to bid for Mahan coal block in the upcoming coal auction, says a report.

As per the International Financial Statistics, 2014 of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India holds 10th position among the major holders of official gold reserves in the world. The Reserve Bank of India holds 557.75 tons of gold. This was stated by Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.