Market seen opening lower on negative Asian cues

Trading of S&P CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates a fall of 28.50 points at the opening bell. Asian markets edged lower on Monday on fears of the impact of an economic slowdown in China.

Maruti Suzuki India has reportedly increased the prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 17,000 pe unit following the hike in excise duty in the Budget 2012-13. Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava on Saturday, 24 March 2012, said the company will invest Rs 1700 crore to set up a new diesel-engine plant in Gurgaon to cater to the rising demand for cheaper fuel vehicles. The new plant will initially produce 1.50 lakh diesel engines and the plans are to double production by 2014, Bhargava said.



State-run gas utility GAIL India is reportedly evaluating several proposals for equity stakes and long-term supply deals in the United States, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The board of directors of Reliance Industries (RIL) has approved a scheme of arrangement for amalgamation of Reliance Jamnagar Infrastructure (RJIL) -- a wholly-owned unlisted subsidiary of RIL -- with RIL. RIL, being the holding and transferee company, the entire issued, subscribed and paid up capital of RJIL will get cancelled and no news shares of RIL will be issued, RIL said.

Jaiprakash Associates has won two contracts totaling Rs 913 crore from Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority, Bhutan. The two contracts are pertaining to the 720 megawatt Mangdechhu hydroelectric power project at Trongsa district in Bhutan.

The Government of India (GoI) has decided to infuse capital funds to the tune of Rs 810 crore in IDBI Bank by way of preferential allotment of equity in favour of GoI.

Key benchmark indices edged higher on Friday, 23 March 2012, amid high volatility as bargain hunting emerged after Thursday's 2.3% fall. The BSE Sensex jumped 165.27 points or 0.96% to settle at 17,361.74, its highest closing level since 21 March 2012.

The market may remain volatile this week as traders roll over positions from the near-month March 2012 series to April 2012 series. The March 2012 derivatives contracts expire on Thursday, 29 March 2012.

The next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2012 earnings. The earnings season will begin in mid April 2012. Advance tax payout of top Indian firms for the last installment of 15 March 2012 was largely flat. A muted advance tax payment indicates that the revenues and profits of companies are under stress. Companies have to pay advance tax on their projected earnings a fortnight before the end of every quarter.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 9.46 crore on Friday, 23 March 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. FIIs have made substantial purchases of Indian stocks recently. Their inflow totaled Rs 7305.48 crore in 11 trading sessions from 9 to 23 March 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian shares edged lower on Monday on fears of the impact of an economic slowdown in China. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea were down by between 0.03% to 1.38%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.21%.

US stocks reversed early losses on Friday, 23 March 2012, shrugging off dull news from Europe and a downbeat picture of US home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 34.59 points, or 0.3%, at 13,080.73. The S&P 500 index gained 4.33 points, or 0.3%, to 1397.11, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 4.60, or 0.15%, to 3067.92.