Loha Ispaat IPO opens on March 11, to raise Rs 205 cr

Loha Ispaat has come out with its public issue of 26,705,476 equity shares of a face value of Rs 10 each. The issue will be available for subscription between March 11-20, 2014. 

The price band for the issue is fixed at Rs 77-80 per share. The company, which aims to raise around Rs 205-213 crore through the issue, intends to use these funds for working capital requirements (post expansion at Khopoli and Taloja Plants) and general corporate purposes.

Equity shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. The company is one of the organized independent steel service centers in India having an existing client base of over 500 customers. 

Aryaman Financial Services Limited is the book running lead manager to the issue. Bigshare Services Private Limited is the registrar to the issue.

Larsen & Toubro bags fresh orders worth Rs 2,935 crore

Larsen & Tubro construction has won new orders worth Rs 2,935 crore across various business segments in February and March 2014. In transportation infrastructure business, new orders worth Rs 1,035 crore have been won, buildings and factories business has got orders worth Rs 562 crore, water and renewable energy business has secured orders worth Rs 553 crore.

The power transmission and distribution business has bagged new orders worth Rs 502 crore in domestic and international markets. Additional orders worth Rs 283 crore have also been received from various ongoing jobs of the metallurgical and material handling and heavy civil infrastructure businesses, company said in a statement.

Indian bond yields rise; data heavy week

Country's benchmark 10-year bond yield were 3 basis points higher at 8.84 per cent, tracking a weaker rupee and higher US yields. 

The rupee was trading weaker at 61.28/29, versus Friday's close of 61.08/09, tracking falls in other emerging market currencies. Data heavy week with February CPI and January factory output due on Wednesday, February WPI on Friday. 

Cash conditions expected to tighten with service and excise tax outgo scheduled, followed by advance tax. 

Traders say CPI is broadly expected to be close to 9 percent, with any number significantly below that expected to spark a rally in debt and the rupee. 

US Treasuries yields rose to their highest levels in six weeks on Friday after jobs gains were stronger than expected in February, which could ease fears of an abrupt slowdown in economic growth and keep the Federal Reserve on track to reduce its monetary stimulus. 

Domestic car sales rise 1.39% in February

 

Domestic passenger car sales increased 1.39 per cent to 1,60,718 units in February from 1,58,512 units in the year-ago month.

Motorcycle sales last month climbed 5.39 per cent to 8,43,307 units from 8,00,165 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The total two-wheeler sales in February rose 9.69 per cent to 12,20,012 units.

Sales of commercial vehicles were down 29.84 per cent at 47,982 units in February, SIAM said.

Vehicle sales across categories registered an increase of 4.99 per cent to 15,23,693 units from 14,51,263 units in February 2013, it added.

Tata Power's Rs 2,000-cr rights offer to open by March 31

Tata Power Company will be going for a rights issue of shares to raise nearly Rs 2,000 crore shortly.

In a filing with stock exchanges, the company has informed that its rights offer is proposed to open on or prior to March 31, 2014 and shall remain open for a minimum period of 15 days thereafter.

The rights offer size is 33.22 crore shares (face value of Rs 1 each) at Rs 60 per share. The entitlement ratio will be 7:50 (7 rights equity shares for every 50 equity shares held by eligible shareholders on the record date).

The share was trading at Rs 78.90 at 10 am. The equity base is currently at Rs 237 crore. The company had reported a profit of Rs 251 crore on an income of Rs 2,008 crore in the third quarter ended December 2013.

Government to set up inflation target, RBI to achieve: Chidambaram

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in a joint news conference with the RBI governor clarified that while government holds the right to set country’s inflation target, the role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) remains to be implementation of that decision. He said that sovereign has the right to set the inflation target and then the central bank has the mandate to take steps to achieve that target.

Notably, the statement came right after an expert committee set by RBI chief Raghuram Rajan last year recommended that India’s apex bank should adopt new consumer price index (CPI) for anchoring the monetary policy.

The consumer price index (CPI) has been accelerating faster than wholesale price index (WPI) and one effect of the recommendation, once accepted, would make the RBI push for higher interest rates till consumer prices moderate. However, effecting quite a shift from Wholesale price index (WPI) to new Consumer price index (CPI) for anchoring monetary policy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), increased the repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 8.0% from 7.75% in its monetary policy on January 28,2014.

Meanwhile, the expert committee set by RBI suggested moving to an inflation target of 4 percent in three years, with a 2 percent band around either side when setting monetary policy, sharply below current levels. However, RBI’s governor Raghuram Rajan, in a bid to restore harmony between the two authorities and also to avoid sour relationship that his predecessor shared with governor, has since publicly reiterated his agreement that the government and parliament would have the final say in any decision on whether to adopt an inflation target.

Euro zone inflationary pressures rising but still subdued: EZFIG

The Eurozone Future Inflation Gauge ( EZFIG), published by the Economic Cycle Research Institute, rose to 92.3 in January from December's 91.7. 

Published a day after the European Central Bank left rates on hold despite inflation being well below its target of close to 2 per cent, the data will do little to allay fears about deflation in the 18-nation bloc. 

Euro zone inflation stabilised in the ECB's "danger zone" last month rather than falling as expected. 
"Euro zone inflation pressures, while having edged up, remain subdued," said Lakshman Achuthan, ECRI's chief operations officer. 

Inflation pressures in Spain jumped but they eased in Germany and Italy. 

European Union statistics office Eurostat estimated last week consumer prices rose an annual 0.8 per cent in February, the same rate as in January and December. 

Bharti Airtel shares gain after S&P upgrades rating

Shares of Bharti Airtel rise after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgrades the company's ratings, traders said.

S&P, late on Thursday, raised Bharti's long-term corporate credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'.

The rating agency says the upgrade reflects expectation that Bharti will use its significant free operating cash flows and funds from strategic measures to reduce its leverage to a level that is in line with an "intermediate" financial risk profile.

Bharti shares were trading 5.4 percent higher at 301.15 rupees as of 11.13 a.m.

Nifty hits 6500, Sensex surges over 300 pts;

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) shares are up 6 percent in morning trade to Rs 1206, after hitting a 52-week high of Rs 1221.80 earlier in the session. 

Brokerage house Citi has raised its target price for the stock to Rs 1305 from Rs 1137. "L&T looks set to grow sales 15% over FY14E-16E with stable margins. Domestic capex should rebound in early FY16E," it said. 

Nifty and Sensex scale fresh all time highs today. The Nifty has gained 7.5 percent since February13 with the Bank Nifty rising over 14 percent. The Sensex is up 310.03 points or 1.44 percent at 21823.90, and the Nifty is up 91.50 points or 1.43 percent at 6492.65. About 1227 shares have advanced, 1050 shares declined, and 102 shares are unchanged.  

The capital goods index is trading at a 15-month high today. ICICI Bank is up 8 percent while Axiz Bank gains 7 percent.  L&T, Bharti and SBI jump 5-6 percent. Wipro, TCS lose around 3 percent each with weakness in rupee. 

Equity market sentiment, strong FII flows and strength in the likes of the euro support the rupee. Gilts trade tad lower due to lack of buying support and participation.

 Asian markets are firm tracking gains in the US after jobless claims fell to a 3-month low. The US markets saw the S&P touch record highs on better-than-expected US jobless claims. The ECB's decision to keep interest rates unchanged is helping sentiment. Investors are eyeing the release of US non-farm payrolls data for February due later today.Currencies saw the dollar weaken as risk appetite improved globally with the euro surging and Asian currencies such as the Korean won, Malaysian ringgit rising.

Central Bank of India rises on selling its entire stake in CIBIL

Central Bank of India is currently trading at Rs. 46.65, up by 1.10 points or 2.41% from its previous closing of Rs. 45.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 46.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 46.70 and Rs. 46.00 respectively. So far 43,000 shares were traded on the counter.The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 76.40 on 10-May-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 43.05 on 24-Feb-2014.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 46.70 and Rs. 43.25 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 4,867.00 crore.The promoters holding in the company stood at 88.63% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 7.02% and 4.35% respectively.

Central Bank of India has sold its entire stake in Credit Information Bureau of India (CIBIL) to Transunion International Inc (FII). The bank has taken this step after receiving the approval for the same.

Central Bank of India has been serving more than 3,50,00,000 account holders through its 4,400 branches, 6 extension counters, 29 Satellite offices, 1,970 ATMs and 2,413 ultra small branches (USBs).