Idea Cellular unveils 3G services in Punjab

Idea Cellular has unveiled 3G services in Punjab, expanding the coverage of its premium high speed Internet services. The company is also planning  to put up 1,800 3G cell sites by the end of 2015 fiscal, taking services to 170 towns across Punjab. Consumers can now avail 3G services in regions that include Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Nawanshahr, Jagraon, Malerkotla and Nabha. With this launch, Idea expanded its 3G footprint to 28 Indian states. Idea Cellular, an AV Birla group company, provides Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)-based wireless service at the pan-India level, it is present in all 22 telecom circles.

Apollo Tyres soars on plan to expand capacity at its Chennai facility

Apollo Tyres is currently trading at Rs. 178.35, up by 4.95 points or 2.85% from its previous closing of Rs. 173.40 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 174.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 181.20 and Rs. 174.00 respectively. So far 374810 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 193.90 on 23-May-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 54.60 on 21-Jun-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 193.90 and Rs. 173.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8986.76 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 43.50% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 42.36% and 14.14% respectively. Apollo Tyres is planning to expand its capacity at its Chennai facility. Moreover, the company is also in the process of setting up a R&D centre in the same complex. The new Centre will take up R&D works related to commercial vehicles for all the Apollo plants, across the World. At present, the Chennai plant manufacture radial tyres for truck and capacity of the plant is 6,000 trucks tyres and 15,000 passenger car tyres a day and the capacity utilisation of around 70-75%. The facility caters to both domestic and export markets. Apollo Tyres produces the entire range of automotive tyres for ultra and high speed passenger cars, truck and bus, farm, off-the-road, industrial and specialty applications like mining, retreaded tyres and retreading material. These are produced across Apollo’s eight manufacturing locations in India, Netherlands and Southern Africa.

Nifty at day's low

Indices struggle at lows; pharma, auto buck the trend

2:46PM: The BSE Sensex is trading down 249 points at 24,306, while S&P Nifty is trading down 64.95 points at 7,264. BSE Mid-cap is down 0.16% at 8,449, while BSE Small-cap is down 0.34% at 8,998. Barring healthcare sector, all the other sectoral indices are in red. BSE IT index is down 3.08%, while Oil & Gas index is down 1.21%. Dr Reddy's Lab, Hindalco, Axis Bank, SBI and Gail are among the gainers, whereasInfosys, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Cipla and Coal India are losing sheen on BSE. Revenue department to make presentation to FM on GST at 4:30pm today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce its priority agenda today. The PM has stressed on governance, delivery and implementation. He has asked each ministry to form a 100-day priority list and also asked minsters to address state views with Centre. The PM would meet ministers and secretaries separately. The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said that the Rajya Sabha will begin session from June 9. Stock news: Hindalco Group has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs. 21750.10 million for the year ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs. 30268.90 million for the year ended March 31, 2013. The stock is up 1.36% on BSE. Infosys is trading down 7.15% at Rs. 2,945 on BSE. Infosys has lost yet another senior executive. The company's president and board member BG Srinivas resigned on Wednesday. "The resignation will be effective June 10," the software major said in a statement.

Crude oil futures edge lower on MCX

Crude oil futures edged lower on MCX after US crude oil stockpiles rose 3.49 million barrels last week. Further, weak demand for the commodity in US, world’s largest consumer of crude oil also impacted the trading sentiments.

The contract for June delivery was trading Rs 6057.00, down by 0.90% or Rs 55.00 from its previous closing of Rs 6112.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 10405.00 lots.

The contract for July delivery was trading at Rs 6044.00, down by 0.82% or Rs 50.00 from its previous closing of Rs 6094.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 962.00 lots on MCX.

Nickel futures trade lower on weak global trend

Nickel futures traded lower on MCX as speculators engaged in trimming positions amid a weak trend in global markets. Further, sluggish demand from alloy making industries in the spot market also impacted the trading sentiments.

The contract for May delivery was trading at Rs 1112.30, down by 2.11% or Rs 24.00 from its previous closing of Rs 1136.30. The open interest of the contract stood at 6137.00 lots.

The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 1115.60, down by 2.13% or Rs 24.30 from its previous closing of Rs 1139.90. The open interest of the contract stood at 2901.00 lots on MCX.

IOC reports 35% fall in Q4 net profit

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has reported results for fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2014. The company has posted a fall of 35.30% in its net profit at Rs 9389.85 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as compared to Rs 14512.81 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income from operations of the company rose by 5.75% at Rs 134867.42 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 127534.77 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the year ended March 31, 2014, the company has posted a jump of 40.24% in its net profit at Rs 7019.09 crore as compared to Rs 5005.17 crore for the same period in the previous year. Total income from operations of company has increased by 5.84% at Rs 473210.09 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 447096.25 crore for the year ended March 31, 2013. Indian Oil Corporation has recommended dividend of Rs 8.70 per equity share (face value Rs 10 per equity share).

Groundnut production in Gujarat estimated at 193,256 tonnes

The production of groundnut in state of Gujarat is expected to reach 193,256 tonne this year’s summer, as per estimates by the Indian Oilseed and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC). Summer sesame seed production in the state is estimated at 128,878 tonnes. The groundnut production in the state was 80,000-90,000 tonnes in 2013, while that of sesame seed was 38,000-40,000 tonnes during the same period. In order to estimate summer groundnut and sesame seed production, the council did a survey in Gujarat during May 12-19. The sowing had improved in both commodities due to better availability of water and owing to good monsoon. According to the report, farmers had sown groundnut in 96,331 hectares and sesame seed in 138,074 hectares. On the other hand, traders and exporters asserted that production of groundnut would be not more than 150,000 tonnes, while for sesame seed, they predicted 140,000-150,000 tonnes this summer.

Barley futures edge lower on ample stocks

Barley futures edged lower on NCDEX on account of offloading of positions by traders amid mounting stocks following higher supplies in spot markets. However, seasonal demand from consuming industries, particularly beer makers restricted the losses to some extent.

The contract for June delivery was trading at Rs 1303.50, down by 0.19% or Rs 2.50 from its previous closing of Rs 1306.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 12580.00 lots.

The contract for July delivery was trading at Rs 1327.00, down by 0.49% or Rs 6.50 from its previous closing of Rs 1333.50. The open interest of the contract stood at 5580.00 lots on NCDEX.

Tata Motors’ arm JLR partners with Team Sky and Pinarello to engineer new Tour De France racing bike

Tata Motors’ British-based arm Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) has deepened its partnership with Team Sky, one of the world’s leading professional road cycling teams, and built a new relationship with Pinarello, the highly regarded Italian bike manufacturer, by helping them develop the team’s latest race bike. The car maker, renowned for some of the world’s finest luxury saloons and sports cars, has used its advanced aerodynamics knowledge and facilities to help in the creation of the new Pinarello Dogma F8 bicycle, to be raced by Team Sky during the remainder of the 2014 season. This is the first time Jaguar’s comprehensive technical capability has been used by the team, and marks the beginning of a new collaborative relationship between Jaguar, Team Sky and its family of partners and suppliers, including legendary frame manufacturer Pinarello. Jaguar is now an official ‘innovation partner’ with Team Sky. Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is also the world's fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer.

Bond yields edge lower in range-bound trade on safe haven buying

Bond yields were trading lower in a range-bound trade on caution ahead of Rs 16,000 crore debt sale auction. However, caution ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy review, who is likely to keep monetary policy steady in June, given continued concerns about inflation, led to some safe haven buying. On the global front, yields on benchmark US 10-year Treasury notes dropped to their lowest in nearly 11 months on Wednesday, undermined by fall in the German bond market following weak data and more month-end buying from institutional investors. Meanwhile, Brent crude edged up slightly on Thursday, holding near $110 a barrel amid hopes of improved demand from top oil consumer the United States as a sharp drop in the country's gasoline stocks added to recent data pointing to a stronger economy. Back home, the yields on new 10 year Government Stock 2023 were trading 1 basis point lower at 8.69% from its previous close of 8.70% on Wednesday. The benchmark five-year interest rate swaps were trading 3 basis points lower at 8.13% from its previous close of 8.16% on Wednesday. The Government of India have announced the sale of four dated securities for Rs 16,000 crore on May 30, 2014, including (i) 8.35% Government Stock 2022 for Rs 4000 crore, (ii) New 14 Year Government Stock for Rs 7000 crore, (iii) 9.20% Government Stock 2030 for Rs 2000 crore and (iv) 9.23% Government Stock 2043 for a notified amount of Rs 3000 crore.