Sensex, Nifty end flat

Stock markets in India were stuck in a narrow trading range for the third consecutive trading session as the struggle for specific direction prolonged. Market participants remained cautious ahead to new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's first testimony before lawmakers.

Meanwhile, exports posted a sluggish 3.79% growth in January 2014 to US$26.75bn compared to the same month last year. Gold & silver imports fell by 77% during the month to US$1.72bn responding to higher import duties and other restrictions imposed by the Government pulling down total imports by 18.07% to US$36.67bn. As a result, trade deficit almost halved to US$9.92bn in January 2014 compared to US$18.87bn in January 2013. 

Car sales in India fell for the fourth straight month in January this year with a decline of 7.59%. domestic car sales stood at 1,60,289 units in January this year compared to 1,73,449 vehicles in the same month of 2013. Compounding the problem for the auto industry was the prolonged slump in the commercial vehicles segment, under which heavy and medium CVs saw 23rd month of consecutive drop in sales. 

Coming back to today’s action, the markets ended with modest gains on Tuesday led by the IT, Telecom, Auto and the Consumer Durables stocks. Even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks were trading higher. 

On the other hand, Power, Oil and Gas, Realty ann the Pharma stocks were under selling pressure.

Finally, the BSE Sensex closed at 20363 up 29 points while the NSE Nifty ended higher by 9 points to close at 6063 compared with the previous closing.

Dr Reddys Laboratories reports 70% rise in Q3 consolidated net profit

Dr Reddys Laboratories has reported results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

The company has reported 79.77% rise in its net profit at Rs 623.17 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 346.64 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company has increased by 21.07% at Rs 2646.96 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 2186.30 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

On the consolidated basis, the group has reported 70.22% rise in its net profit at Rs 618.42 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 as compared to Rs 363.31 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the group has increased by 22.95% at Rs 3551.49 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 2888.47 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Thomas Cook Insurance Services buys 86.67 lakh shares of Sterling Holiday Resorts: Report

Thomas Cook Insurance Services has reportedly bought 86.67 lakh shares of Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) through open market route. The shares were purchased on an average price of Rs 97.82 valuing the transaction to Rs 36.50 crore. On the other hand, Bright Star Investments has sold 17 lakh shares in the company for an average price of Rs 98 through open market route.

Sterling Holiday Resorts is in the business of developing and running holiday resorts, hotel, restaurants etc. It has holiday resorts at various cities including Kodaikanal, Goa, Manali, Munnar, Puri, Darjeeling, Lonavala, Gangtok etc.

IOB plans to raise Rs 400 crore by selling shares to LIC

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the public sector bank is planning to raise Rs 400 crore by selling shares on preferential basis to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). The bank is holding an extraordinary general meeting on February 26, 2014 to get the approval of shareholders. The bank will issue and allot up to 8.15 crore of Rs 10 each shares at an issue price of Rs 48.84 per share aggregating to Rs 398.05 crore.

Earlier, the bank had received Rs 1,200 crore from the government as part of capital infusion plan for public sector banks for the current fiscal. After this infusion, Government of India's holding in the bank has increased to 79.01%, from 73.80%.

Indian Overseas Bank has reported 35.56% fall in its net profit at Rs 75.07 crore for third quarter ended December 31, 2013 as compared to Rs 116.50 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank has increased by 5.87% at Rs 6190.26 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 5846.98 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Power Ministry asks for Rs 5,000 cr subsidy to support gas-based power plants

Amid concerns over rising natural gas prices and scarcity of gas for power plants, Power Ministry has sought a subsidy of Rs 5,000 crore over the next two years to support state distribution companies, as they will have to pay double for natural gas prices from April 1.

Earlier, in June’13, the government had approved Rangarajan Committee formula for pricing of all domestically produced gas at an average of international hub rates and cost of imported LNG. Such averaging pricing will raise the effective gas price to $11.43 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) from $4.2 per mmBtu, leading to cost of electricity generation of around Rs 10.47 per unit. The power ministry has then said that gas based power stations would need to be supported by the government through an appropriate subsidy mechanism. As per ministry proposal, subsidy to state discoms should be the difference in actual tariff and Rs 5/unit for Rs 2014-15 and Rs 5.50 for 2015-16. The subsidy to be borne by government would be about Rs 3,621 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 2,056 crore in 2015-16 in order to support administered price mechanism for gas-based power plants. 

India’s total installed power generation capacity is 225,793 MW, of which 20,000 MW or nearly 8 percent, is gas-based. With the hike in the natural gas price as per the approved formula, the cost of gas-based power will shoot around Rs 10 per unit, making it unattractive for state discoms as such a high cost of electricity cannot be absorbed by consumers. Meanwhile, the present cost of power produced with blended imported coal comes to about Rs 3.45 per unit.

Furthermore, Power Ministry also asked for three years moratorium and waiver of penal interest for projects that are operating on low plant load factor on account of less availability of natural gas in the country. Presently, around 6,000 MW of the total 20,000 MW installed gas based capacity in the country is stranded because of unavailability of natural gas.

India ranks 5th in consumer confidence among emerging market economies

The latest emerging market consumer survey by Credit Suisse has ranked India at fifth position in terms of consumer confidence. The survey, based on nearly 16,000 face-to-face interviews with consumers across nine emerging economies, highlighted that optimism level in India slipped four percentage points over last year. The list was topped by China, while , Indonesia and Mexico remained at third and fourth position.

The survey stated that confidence among emerging market consumers has deteriorated during the last year with around 26 percent of respondents believing that their personal finances would improve over the next three months as compared to 28 percent a year ago. However, the survey found that there are signs of an underlying improvement, as more people now expect inflation to fall and are increasing spending on items. On area wise, the survey highlighted larger improvement in rural areas than urban in most categories with net balance of people expecting income to rise was (+) 6 percent in rural areas versus (-) 15 percent in urban areas.

In terms of spending categories, the  survey highlighted that there has been more growth in discretionary categories items such as cars and smartphones in 2013. Survey expected that the growth in discretionary categories items to remain firm, alongside other items such as watches and branded goods.

RBI raises FII limit in Dabur India to 30%

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) investment limit in Dabur India to 30% of its paid-up capital. RBI has notified that FIIs, through primary market and stock exchanges, can now purchase up to 30% of the paid up capital of Dabur under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).  Dabur India has passed resolutions at the board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing to enhance the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs.

Dabur India is one of the largest FMCG Company in India. Building on a legacy of quality and experience of over 125 years, Dabur operates in key consumer products categories like Hair Care, Oral Care, Health Care, Skin Care, Home Care & Foods.

TTML’s total subscribers stood at 10,461,948 in January 2014

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (TTML) has reported the subscriber figures as on January 31, 2014. The company’s total subscribers stood at 10,461,948 of which Wireline contributes 770,463, FWT 745,834 and Mobile 8,945,651 subscribers.

In Mumbai service area, the company’s total subscribers stood at 3,987,842 of which Wireline contributes 519,175, FWT 8,432 and Mobile 3,460,235 subscribers while in Rest of Maharashtra, the company’s total subscribers stood at 6,474,106 of which Wireline contributes 251,288, FWT 737,402 and Mobile 5,485,416 subscribers.

Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (TTML) is a part of the Tata Group. This telecom services company has its presence all over Maharashtra and Goa.

ACC inaugurates cement blending unit at Udupi district

ACC has inaugurated a cement blending unit situated at Padubidri in Udupi district. The unit is capable of blending 30,000 tonnes of cement a month. The Udupi plant will cater to the requirements of cement in coastal Karnataka and Kerala.

The clinker from ACC’s plant at Wadi in Gulbarga district is used for cement production at the blending unit in Udupi district. The unit uses fly-ash from the thermal power plant of Udupi Power Corporation in Udupi.

Besides, the company also has two modern satellite cement grinding units located at Thondebhavi near Bengaluru and Kudithini near Bellary which utilize clinker from the Wadi plant.

DSCL enters into a joint Venture with Axiall Corporation

DCM Shriram Consolidated (DSCL), an integrated business entity with presence in the Agri-rural, Chloro-Vinyl sector and Polymer Compounding in India, has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement for its Polymer Compounding business with Axiall Corporation, a North American manufacturer of Chloro-Vinyl, Aromatics and Building Products.

Under the agreement, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, Axiall will invest Rs. 34.65 crore in SVP (a 100% subsidiary of DSCL) to acquire a 50% stake in SVP. Consequently, SVP will have access to Axiall’s Polymer Compounding Technology and market knowledge. This arrangement is intended to enable SVP to launch latest-generation Polymer Compounds in India, offering more cost-effective Polymer Solutions for different applications to Indian customers.

DCM Shriram Consolidated is an integrated business entity, with a presence across the entire Agri-rural value chain and Chloro-Vinyl industry. The company is one of the leading players in Polymer Compounding in India.