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Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
FY13 ends on a cheerful note; Mkts gain 0.7% on F&O expiry
Markets emerged from a gloomy session of the opening bell and shut shop with smart gains on March F&O expiry day. The Sensex rose 131 pts higher while the Nifty gained 41 points. Major headlines: February fiscal deficit at $93.2 bn Promoters to sell stake in Novartis Gitanjali Gems surges on deferment of FCCBs Indian indices: The key benchmark indices closed today's trading session in the green zone following the rally in S&P BSE Sensex. Indian indices opened today's session on a negative note tracking weak Asian cues. The markets witnessed lackluster trade in the first half, which left investors to calmly watch the show. However, there was a bounce back in the late afternoon session as majority of the sectors came under buyers radar led by intensified buying in the S&P BSE Sensex. The broader markets too ended the trade in the green zone. The positive opening of the European markets also helped the Indian equities to maintain its strength till the end of the day. Volatility in the markets was witnessed as the March futures and options series expired today and the traders rolled over their positions to the April series. Events: India's fiscal deficit during the April-February period was Rs5.07 trillion, or 97.4% of the budgeted full fiscal year 2012/13 target, government data showed on Thursday Movement of the Indian indices for the day: The Indian markets started today's trade on a negative note due to lack of local and Asian cues. Black clouds were hovering on the Dalal Street for most part of the day as the equities witnessed gloomy trading session. The key indices hit their intraday low levels at 18568.43 in morning session and intraday high at 18882.54 in the afternoon session. Markets took a breather as frontline Indian equity benchmarks staged a spirited comeback in the mid-afternoon trade led by strong buying across the board. The Indian equity benchmarks made a smart recovery in trade today supported by gains in Gail, Hindalco, ONGC, Sterlite Industries, HDFC Bank, Coal India. The recovery in the Indian equities also came due to the positive sentiments from European markets. The broader markets too ended with gains. The BSE Midcap index added 1.46%, while the BSE Smallcap index rose 1.32% in trade today. The overall market breadth stood positive at close. On currency front, the Indian rupee rose by 3 paise to Rs54.34 against the US dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the American currency against the euro overseas. Markets in Asia, Europe and US will be closed tomorrow (March 29, 2013), on account of Good Friday holiday The Sensex ended at 18835.77, up by 131.24 points while Nifty closed at 5682.55, up by 40.95 points. Following are the stocks/ sectors which were in news today: 1. Apollo Hospitals Enterprises surged 5.68% on reports that the company is in advance stage to acquire a Chennai-based Lifeline Hospitals. 2. Novartis India gained 3.75% after receiving a letter from Swiss drug firm Novartis AG, about their intention to reduce its holding to meet minimum public shareholding norm. 3. Gitanjali Gems gained 3.26% after the company decided to defer plans of raising funds through an FCCB issue. Market sentiment The market breadth stood in favor of advances. Of the 2898 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,625 (56.07%) rose, 1,149 (39.65%) fell and 124 (4.28%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening All the 13 sectoral indices closed in the green zone except BSE Auto down by 0.76%, the only sector to close in the red zone. Top Gainers: BSE Metal up by 2.69%, BSE CG rose by 2.17% and BSE CD surged by 1.89%. Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were – Opto Circuits (India) rose by 13.03%, JSW Steel up by 11.91% and Aurobindo Pharma surged by 11.67%. Top three losers were - Godrej Consumer Products declined by 4.25%, MMTC down by 3.72% and Multi Commodity Exchange of India fell by 3.70%. Global signals: Asian shares fell on Thursday as weak euro zone data, a sluggish debt auction in Italy and fears of a potential run on Cyprus's banks stoked investors' concerns about instability in Europe. European shares edged up on Thursday, recovering from a three-week low hit in the previous session as bargain hunters picked up beaten-down stocks on the last trading day of the quarter. US stock index futures pointed towards a flat to lower opening at the Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.22%, Dow Jones futures up 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.03%.
Sensex gains 8.23% in FY 2013
Key benchmark indices edged higher boosted buying of Indian stocks by foreign funds. Indian stocks gained in two of three trading sessions in the truncated week ended Thursday, 28 March 2013. In the week ended Thursday, 28 March 2013, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex gained 100.17 points or 0.53% to 18,835.77. The 50-unit CNX Nifty rose 31.20 points or 0.55% to 5,682.55. The S&P BSE Sensex has gained 1,431.57 points or 8.23% in the year ending 31 March 2013 (FY 2013). The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.54%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought shares worth Rs 8557.60 crore in this month so far (till 25 March 2013). FIIs had purchased shares worth Rs 24439.30 crore in February 2013. FIIs have purchased shares worth net Rs 55055.70 crore in 2013 so far (till 25 March 2013). FIIs bought shares worth net Rs 128359.80 crore in calendar 2012. Key benchmark indices dropped for seventh straight session on Monday, 25 March 2013 on political worries following reports that the Samajwadi Party (SP) might withdraw support to the Congress led UPA government at the Centre. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 54.18 points or 0.29% to 18,681.42, its lowest closing level since 26 November 2012. Market snapped seven-day losing streak to log small gains on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 23.11 points or 0.12% to settle at 18,704.53, its highest closing since 22 March 2013. The stock market remained shut on Wednesday, 27 March 2013, on account of Holi. Key benchmark indices surged amid choppy trade on the last trading session of March 2013 on Thursday, 28 March 2013. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 131.24 points or 0.7% to 18,835.77, its highest closing level since 20 March 2013. The stock market remains shut on Friday, 29 March 2013, on account of Good Friday. From 30-share Sensex pack, 15 stocks gained and 15 declined in the week ended Thursday, 28 March 2013. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 4.58% at Rs 773.70. The telecom department early this month cleared a proposal to allow companies with Internet permits to also offer basic mobile telecom services by paying a one-time license-conversion fee. RIL's telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, has frequencies to provide broadband Internet across India. Under the new rule, RIL will have to pay about Rs 1658 crore to also provide voice services. The Finance Minister said in his speech while presenting the Union Budget 2013-14 on 28 February 2013 that the oil and gas exploration policy will be reviewed to move from profit sharing to revenue sharing contracts. The natural gas pricing policy will be reviewed and uncertainties regarding pricing will be removed. NELP blocks that were awarded but are stalled will be cleared. A policy to encourage exploration and production of shale gas will be announced. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 1.28% to Rs 309.10. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 310.75 on 4 February 2013. The government raised the excise duty on cigarettes by about 18% on all cigarettes except cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm in Union Budget 2013-14 which was unveiled on 28 February 2013. Auto stocks edged lower as auto companies start unveiling monthly sales volume data for March 2013 from Monday, 1 April 2013. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) dropped 1.45%. The company on 19 March 2013 said that as part of aligning production with sales requirements, the company will be observing no production days at its tractor plants located at Jaipur for five days and Rudrapur for two days during the period from 24 March 2013 to 31 March 2013. The management does not envisage any adverse impact on the availability of tractors in the market due to adequacy of tractor stocks to serve the market requirements, M&M said in a statement. Maruti Suzuki India declined 1.75%. Maruti Suzuki India on 15 March 2013 said it has appointed Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in place of Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi with effect from 1 April 2013 on the latter having attained the age of retirement. Tata Motors fell 0.41%. The company's British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on 12 March 2013 said its sales rose 3% to 26,855 units in February 2013 over February 2012. Sales were up in almost every major market in February 2013, JLR said. But, sales declined 22% in China on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year falling in February this year and January last year, JLR said. Sales of Jaguar jumped 27% to 4,595 units in February 2013 over February 2012, with increased sales of the XF (up 37%) and the XJ (up 15%), reflecting new smaller engines and all-wheel drive options as well as the XF Sportbrake, JLR said. Sales of Land Rover declined slightly on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year holiday period, JLR said. Sales of Freelander jumped 26% year on year in February 2013 and that of Range Rover jumped 46% year on year in February 2013, JLR said. Two wheeler makers also declined. Bajaj Auto lost 1.53%. The company on 4 March 2013 said its total sales fell 3% to 3.32 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Motorcycles sales fell 4% to 2.91 lakh units February 2013 over February 2012. Sales of three wheelers declined 2% to 41,090 units in February 2013 over February 2012. The company's total exports rose 10% to 1.35 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp fell 6.9%. Hero MotoCorp on 1 March 2013 said total sales declined 4.23% to 5.01 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp's scooters -- Pleasure and Maestro -- clocked close to 54,000 unit sales in February 2013. The company is now scaling up its scooter production to over 60,000 units a month. Coal India (CIL) rose 3.93%. The company said after market hours on 25 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 25 March 2013, has approved to convert the Loan & Current Account balance granted to BCCL, a 100% subsidiary of the company, aggregating to Rs 2539 crore into 5% Non-Convertible, Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares as recommended by the Audit Committee of CIL on date. The board also approved to amend the Memorandum of Association & Articles of Association of BCCL to facilitate this. This is however subject to the approval of shareholders of BCCL, Coal India said. Bharti Airtel fell 0.82%. The company on 26 March 2013 announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. has successfully raised $500 million notes (the Additional Notes) in addition to the recently concluded transaction of $1 billion 5.125% Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Guaranteed 144A/Reg S Notes due 2023. The Additional Notes were issued at a premium and priced at 100.625% to yield 5.044% and will be consolidated and form a single series a long with the $1 billion 5.125% Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2023 issued on 11 March 2013. Following the highly successful recent inaugural US dollar bond transaction on 4 March 2013, the bonds of Bharti Airtel had witnessed a strong rally in the secondary market and additional notes were issued to tap the unsatisfied investor demand through a follow-on issuance, Bharti Airtel said. The transaction drew an order book of approximately $2 billion with participation from 140 high quality investor accounts. In terms of geographic distribution, 50% of Additional Notes were distributed in the United States, 32% in Europe and 18% in Asia. The Notes were distributed to high quality fixed income accounts across fund managers, banks, sovereign wealth funds/ insurance companies and private banks, Bharti Airtel said. IT stocks gained on renewed buying. Software major TCS added 2%. The company on 26 March 2013 said that it has bagged a contract from Southern Water to implement a customer services and revenue transformation programme for the latter. The programme will combine front and back-end technology deployments with internal process redevelopment. Southern Water will benefit from enhanced customer service capabilities, improved cash collection and debt management, and will see a reduction in operating expenditure, TCS said a statement. Wipro gained 0.29%. Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been appraised at Capability Maturity Model Integration CMMI-DEV 1.3 Level 5. This assessment validates Wipro's process capability based on the CMMI standards that measure process improvements, Wipro Technologies said in a statement. An assessment at maturity Level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an "optimizing" level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes. Infosys rose 1.02%. Infosys announces Q4 results on 12 April 2013. The company on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been selected by India Post to implement and manage a platform that will transform its rural operations. With this new agreement, Infosys will facilitate India Post's Rural Systems Integration (RSI) program. This initiative will increase adoption of the department's services, and enhance the reach of postal services to the country's rural population, streamlining the distribution of social benefits. As part of an earlier agreement, Infosys is also partnering with India Post to transform its financial services operations and end-user experience under the Financial Services System Integration program. The two projects are part of the 'India Post 2012' modernization program that aims to bring transparency, agility, flexibility and scalability to its business operations. The programs will empower employees to deliver services more efficiently to rural communities using the latest technology. They will also position India Post as a key agent in the Government of India's inclusive growth policies. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) slipped 1.07%. The company said after market hours on 26 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 26 March 2013 has appointed Mr. Sushil Maroo, Director as Deputy Managing Director of the company with effect from 1 April 2013. The company also said that Mr. K. Rajagopal has joined the company as JSPL Group CFO & Director from 26 March 2013. GAIL (India) slid 0.31%. The company on 25 March 2013, said it has set a target of marketing 84.05 million metric standard cubic metre per day (MMSCMD) and transmitting 110 MMSCMD of natural gas from domestic sources and through LNG route during FY 2013-14 under the Annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for performance targets. The MoU also provides for an 'Excellent' production target of 430 TMT of Polymers (HDPE & LLDPE) and 1,310 TMT of Liquid Hydrocarbons. The excellent financial targets are pegged at Rs 49155 crore in gross sales and a gross margin of Rs 6160 crore. In addition to key physical and financial parameters, the company's performance will be assessed on the basis of various parameters related to core business streams out of which 32% is allocated to key parameters related to implementation of Pipeline, Petrochemicals, City Gas Projects, Capital Expenditure, Marketing, E&P, Mergers & Acquisitions, Safety etc besides, Corporate Governance, Research & Development, Human Resource Management (5%), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development (8%) in line with the latest guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), GAIL (India) said in a statement. State-run State Bank of India (SBI) shed 0.54%. SBI on 20 March 2013 said that the Executive Committee of the Central Board of the Bank, in its Meeting held on 20 March 2013, approved the issuance and allotment of 1.29 crore equity shares at Rs 2,312.78 per share to the Government of India (GoI) by way of preferential allotment. Shares of state run power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) declined 1.69%. Bhel on 28 March 2013, said that the company has sold its entire equity stake in Udangudi Power Corporation (UPCL), the company's joint venture with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to TANGEDCO. UPCL was initially formed as a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and Bhel in November 2008 for setting up Udangudi Power Project. In 2010, TNEB was reorganized and the interest of TNEB in the Joint venture was transferred to TANGEDCO. Consequent upon TANGEDCO's request to undertake the Udangudi Project as a state government project only and accordingly, upon approval of Boards of Bhel, TANGEDCO and UPCL, BHEL has exited the Joint Venture by selling its equity stake in UPCL to TANGEDCO. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) slipped 2.39%. The company on 26 March 2013 said that the company, Generali Group and the Future Group have signed a non-binding term sheet for the merger of L&T General Insurance Company (LTGI) and Future Generali India Insurance (FGI). On completion of the merger, L&T will have 51% stake, Generali will hold 26% stake and Future Group hold the remaining 23% in the merged entity. The completion of the transaction is subject to satisfactory due diligence by both the parties, execution of mutually agreed definitive binding documents and requisite approvals from IRDA and other regulators and related corporate bodies, L&T said. LTGI achieved a GWP of Rs 118 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. LTGI currently has 15 branches. LTGI has issued more than 1.5 lakh policies covering various products till date. FGI is a joint venture between Future Group and Generali Group. The company achieved GWP of Rs 855 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. It has issued over 8.4 lakh policies and has settled over 1 lakh claims in FY 2013. FGI is currently active through 83 offices with about 5,900 agents. ONGC (up 5.31%), HDFC (up 3.74%) and Hindalco Industries (up 2.06%) edged higher from the Sensex pack. Tata Steel (down 3.04%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.24%) and Cipla (down 0.65%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Sensex skids 3.04% in Q4
Key benchmark indices surged amid choppy trade on the last trading session of March 2013. High volatility was witnessed on the bourses as traders rolled over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month March 2013 series to April 2013 series. The March 2013 F&O contracts expired today, 28 March 2013. The barometer indices, the S&P BSE Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, attained their highest closing level in over one week. The Sensex jumped 131.24 points or 0.7%, off close to 50 points from the day's high and up about 270 points from the day's low. The market breadth was positive. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC extended intraday gains in late trade. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in choppy trade. Bank stocks rose. Capital goods stocks rose on bargain hunting after recent losses. Metal stocks surged in late trade. Indian stocks edged higher for the second straight trading session today, 28 March 2003 From a recent low of 18,681.42 on 25 March 2013, the Sensex has gained 154.35 points or 0.82% in two trading sessions. The Sensex shed 25.77 points or 0.13% in March 2013. The Sensex declined 590.94 points or 3.04% in Q4 March 2013. The Sensex has gained 1,431.57 points or 8.22% in the year ending 31 March 2013 (FY 2013). The Sensex has declined 590.94 points or 3.04% in calendar 2013 so far (till 28 March 2013). From a 52-week high of 20,203.66 on 29 January 2013, the Sensex has declined 1,367.89 points or 6.77%. From a 52-week low of 15,748.98 on 4 June 2012, the Sensex has surged 3,086.79 points or 19.59%. Coming back to today's trade, the market edged lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks. The market extended initial losses to hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, hit its lowest level in more than 17 weeks. The 50-unit CNX Nifty hit lowest its level in almost 18 weeks. The market trimmed losses in mid-morning trade. Intraday recovery on the bourses gathered steam in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices hovered in negative zone in mid-afternoon trade. The market moved into positive zone later. The Sensex surged in late trade. The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 538.27 crore on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The stock market remains shut tomorrow, 29 March 2013, on account of Good Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 131.24 points or 0.7% to settle at 18,835.77, its highest closing level since 20 March 2013. The index surged 178.01 points at the day's high of 18,882.54 in late trade. The index fell 136.10 points at the day's low of 18,568.43 in morning trade, its lowest level since 26 November 2012. The CNX Nifty advanced 40.95 points or 0.73% to settle at 5,682.55, its highest closing level since 20 March 2013. The index hit a high of 5,692.95 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,604.85 in intraday trade its lowest level since 23 November 2012. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.46% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.32%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3086 crore, higher than Rs 1661.57 crore on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,625 shares rose and 1,149 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged. Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks rose while rest of them fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 0.7% at Rs 777.90. The scrip hit high of Rs 784 and a low of Rs 765. The telecom department early this month cleared a proposal to allow companies with Internet permits to also offer basic mobile telecom services by paying a one-time license-conversion fee. RIL's telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, has frequencies to provide broadband Internet across India. Under the new rule, RIL will have to pay about Rs 1658 crore to also provide voice services. The Finance Minister said in his speech while presenting the Union Budget 2013-14 on 28 February 2013 that the oil and gas exploration policy will be reviewed to move from profit sharing to revenue sharing contracts. The natural gas pricing policy will be reviewed and uncertainties regarding pricing will be removed. NELP blocks that were awarded but are stalled will be cleared. A policy to encourage exploration and production of shale gas will be announced. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 1.11% to Rs 309.50. The scrip hit high of Rs 310 and a low of Rs 304.70. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 310.75 on 4 February 2013. The government raised the excise duty on cigarettes by about 18% on all cigarettes except cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm in Union Budget 2013-14 which was unveiled on 28 February 2013. Auto stocks edged lower ahead monthly sales volume data for March 2013. Auto companies will start unveiling monthly sales volume data for March 2013 from Monday, 1 April 2013. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) dropped 0.24%. The company on 19 March 2013 said that as part of aligning production with sales requirements, the company will be observing no production days at its tractor plants located at Jaipur for five days and Rudrapur for two days during the period from 24 March 2013 to 31 March 2013. The management does not envisage any adverse impact on the availability of tractors in the market due to adequacy of tractor stocks to serve the market requirements, M&M said in a statement. Tata Motors dropped 2.16%. The company's British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on 12 March 2013 said its sales rose 3% to 26,855 units in February 2013 over February 2012. Sales were up in almost every major market in February 2013, JLR said. But, sales declined 22% in China on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year falling in February this year and January last year, JLR said. Sales of Jaguar jumped 27% to 4,595 units in February 2013 over February 2012, with increased sales of the XF (up 37%) and the XJ (up 15%), reflecting new smaller engines and all-wheel drive options as well as the XF Sportbrake, JLR said. Sales of Land Rover declined slightly on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year holiday period, JLR said. Sales of Freelander jumped 26% year on year in February 2013 and that of Range Rover jumped 46% year on year in February 2013, JLR said. Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.04% in choppy trade. Maruti Suzuki India on 15 March 2013 said it has appointed Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in place of Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi with effect from 1 April 2013 on the latter having attained the age of retirement. Two wheeler makers also declined. Bajaj Auto dropped 0.02%. The company on 4 March 2013 said its total sales fell 3% to 3.32 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Motorcycles sales fell 4% to 2.91 lakh units February 2013 over February 2012. Sales of three wheelers declined 2% to 41,090 units in February 2013 over February 2012. The company's total exports rose 10% to 1.35 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp declined 1.95%. Hero MotoCorp on 1 March 2013 said total sales declined 4.23% to 5.01 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp's scooters -- Pleasure and Maestro -- clocked close to 54,000 unit sales in February 2013. The company is now scaling up its scooter production to over 60,000 units a month. Titan Industries rose 1.91% to Rs 256.50. Two block deals of 1.93 crore shares each were executed in the counter at the onset of the trading session on BSE. The first block deal was executed at Rs 252.05 and the second deal was executed at Rs 250.10. The block deals constituted 4.34% of Titan Industries' equity. Telecom stocks were mostly higher. Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Reliance Communications gained by 1.1% to 8.02%. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) rose 1.1%. The company on Monday, 25 March 2013, said that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 25 March 2013 approved the proposal for raising non convertible debentures (in the form of bonds) worth Rs 3000 crore for a period of 10 years guaranteed by the Government of India. But, Bharti Airtel fell 1.77%. The company on 26 March 2013 announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. has successfully raised $500 million notes (the Additional Notes) in addition to the recently concluded transaction of $1 billion 5.125% Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Guaranteed 144A/Reg S Notes due 2023. The Additional Notes were issued at a premium and priced at 100.625% to yield 5.044% and will be consolidated and form a single series a long with the $1 billion 5.125% Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2023 issued on 11 March 2013. Following the highly successful recent inaugural US dollar bond transaction on 4 March 2013, the bonds of Bharti Airtel had witnessed a strong rally in the secondary market and additional notes were issued to tap the unsatisfied investor demand through a follow-on issuance, Bharti Airtel said. The transaction drew an order book of approximately $2 billion with participation from 140 high quality investor accounts. In terms of geographic distribution, 50% of Additional Notes were distributed in the United States, 32% in Europe and 18% in Asia. The Notes were distributed to high quality fixed income accounts across fund managers, banks, sovereign wealth funds/ insurance companies and private banks, Bharti Airtel said. IT stocks gained on renewed buying. Software major TCS added 0.93%. The company on 26 March 2013 said that it has bagged a contract from Southern Water to implement a customer services and revenue transformation programme for the latter. The programme will combine front and back-end technology deployments with internal process redevelopment. Southern Water will benefit from enhanced customer service capabilities, improved cash collection and debt management, and will see a reduction in operating expenditure, TCS said a statement. Wipro gained 0.31%. Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been appraised at Capability Maturity Model Integration CMMI-DEV 1.3 Level 5. This assessment validates Wipro's process capability based on the CMMI standards that measure process improvements, Wipro Technologies said in a statement. An assessment at maturity Level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an "optimizing" level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes. HCL Technologies gained 2.69% to Rs 795.95. The stock had hit record high of Rs 804.50 in intraday trade on 18 March 2013. Infosys rose 1.25%. Infosys announces Q4 results on 12 April 2013. The company on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been selected by India Post to implement and manage a platform that will transform its rural operations. With this new agreement, Infosys will facilitate India Post's Rural Systems Integration (RSI) program. This initiative will increase adoption of the department's services, and enhance the reach of postal services to the country's rural population, streamlining the distribution of social benefits. As part of an earlier agreement, Infosys is also partnering with India Post to transform its financial services operations and end-user experience under the Financial Services System Integration program. The two projects are part of the 'India Post 2012' modernization program that aims to bring transparency, agility, flexibility and scalability to its business operations. The programs will empower employees to deliver services more efficiently to rural communities using the latest technology. They will also position India Post as a key agent in the Government of India's inclusive growth policies. Mahindra Satyam gained 1.39% and Tech Mahindra gained 1.77%. Mahindra Satyam on 25 March 2013 said that pursuant to Clause 28.1 of Scheme of Amalgamation and Arrangement of Venturbay Consultants and Satyam Computer Services and C&S Systems Technologies and Mahindra Logisoft Business Solutions and CanvasM Technologies with Tech Mahindra and their respective shareholders and creditors (the scheme), the board of directors extended the validity of the scheme by a further period of six months till 30 September 2013. GMR Infrastructure jumped 3.11%. The company said on Wednesday, 27 March 2013, that Homeland Mining and Energy SA Proprietary (HMESA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Homeland Energy Group, a company listed in Canada (HEG) in which GMR Energy has a majority shareholding has entered into an agreement to divest its 50% equity interest in Tshedza Mining Resource, which holds the license for the development of Eloff mines. The purchaser of the Homeland's interest in the Eloff mines is the company's current BEE partner, who already holds a 50% interest in the property. The consummation of transaction is subject to receipt of statutory approvals in South Africa. HMESA has also entered into an agreement for the sale of its entire shareholding of Ferret Coal (Kendal). The transaction will be subject to receipt of statutory approvals and HEG Shareholders approval. The Kendal mine is an operating mine and sells coal in domestic market while the Eloff mine is under development stage. Aditya Birla Nuvo rose 0.82% to Rs 978.80. The company said after market hours on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, that the Investor Relations & Finance Committee of the board of directors of the company has on 26 March 2013, by way of Circular Resolution, approved allotment of 66.80 lakh shares at a premium of Rs 900.86 each to the Promoter and Promoter Group Company on conversion of equivalent number of warrants issued to them on 10 May 2012. The existing warrants held by these holders shall stand extinguished to the extent of exercise of the option for conversion of shares, the company said. Metal stocks surged in late trade. Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Bhushan Steel, Tata Steel and Sail rose by 0.33% to 11.28%. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) dropped 0.61%. The company said after market hours on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 26 March 2013 has appointed Mr. Sushil Maroo, Director as Deputy Managing Director of the company with effect from 1 April 2013. The company also said that Mr. K. Rajagopal has joined the company as JSPL Group CFO & Director from 26 March 2013. GAIL (India) jumped 4.64%. The company on Monday, 25 March 2013, said it has set a target of marketing 84.05 million metric standard cubic metre per day (MMSCMD) and transmitting 110 MMSCMD of natural gas from domestic sources and through LNG route during FY 2013-14 under the Annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for performance targets. The MoU also provides for an 'Excellent' production target of 430 TMT of Polymers (HDPE & LLDPE) and 1,310 TMT of Liquid Hydrocarbons. The excellent financial targets are pegged at Rs 49155 crore in gross sales and a gross margin of Rs 6160 crore. In addition to key physical and financial parameters, the company's performance will be assessed on the basis of various parameters related to core business streams out of which 32% is allocated to key parameters related to implementation of Pipeline, Petrochemicals, City Gas Projects, Capital Expenditure, Marketing, E&P, Mergers & Acquisitions, Safety etc besides, Corporate Governance, Research & Development, Human Resource Management (5%), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development (8%) in line with the latest guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), GAIL (India) said in a statement. Bank stocks rose. ICICI Bank rose 2.73%. ICICI Bank on 16 March 2013 said that based on an internal enquiry following allegations of money laundering by branch level employees of the bank, no actual transactions have been found to have taken place in respect of the specific instances reported by online magazine Cobrapost on 14 March 2013. ICICI Bank said it has appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, a leading accounting and audit firm, to conduct a full, independent forensic enquiry into the reported statements and arrive at its findings in a time-bound manner and report to the Audit Committee of the bank. ICICI Bank also said that the bank has suspended 18 employees pending the completion of enquiry, in line with its commitment to high standards of governance and ensuring an independent enquiry. ICICI Bank also said that a review of the relevant systems and processes is being undertaken by the management. An audit of some of the branches and the corresponding back-end processes is also being undertaken, ICICI Bank said. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has also already taken similar steps to investigate the matter thoroughly, ICICI Bank said. ICICI Bank said that the management requires that all of its employees conduct the business of the bank at the highest level of compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. All employees are trained and required to adhere strictly to the Group Code of Conduct, including anti-money laundering and know-your-customer norms. ICICI Bank said that the management has demonstrated its commitment by following a zero tolerance policy towards any violations. HDFC Bank gained 2.05%. HDFC Bank on 16 March 2013 said that the bank is committed to the highest standards of compliance, corporate governance and ethics, and has in place systems and procedures to ensure that its business is conducted in compliance with laws and regulations. The bank said that after considering the nature of the alleged money laundering charges against the bank, it has appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, a leading accounting and audit firm, to carry out an independent forensic enquiry into the allegations and reported statements as made by Cobrapost representatives, when secretly taping bank officials. The bank has also appointed M/s. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co to examine the breaches, if any of the bank's Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, by any bank officials, in association with the bank's internal departmental enquiry, commenced to verify the truth or untruth or correctness, as the case may be, in the reported tapings of bank officials. The bank has also decided to carry out special audit of some of its branches, where the reported videotaping was done. HDFC Bank said it is also proceeding to detail out the internal checks & balances and procedural safeguards already in place to report on the robustness of the compliance of regulatory guidelines and internal procedures, which would prevent, trap or enable pre-fact or post-fact discovery of violation of KYC norms and of money laundering activity. The bank is also detailing the efficacy of induction and ongoing training provided for ingraining ethical behaviour and conduct rules, as preventive and protective measures. The internal and external audits and inspections undertaken previously, and the action taken reports in this regard are being compiled and reviewed once again, to enable the bank to reiterate that the internal checks and balances and processes for ensuring compliance with KYC norms and for prevention and detection of, and protection against money laundering activity are robust and adequate, HDFC Bank said in a statement. Earlier, HDFC Bank has said on 14 March 2013 that the management is concerned about allegations of money laundering activities. The matter is being investigated on top priority, HDFC Bank had said. Axis Bank rose 0.44%. Axis Bank on 16 March 2013 said that a thorough internal enquiry is already underway following money laundering allegations and the findings are expected shortly. Pending the enquiry, the bank has advised 16 concerned employees to report to respective administrative offices. A senior level committee has been constituted to monitor and supervise the entire investigation process on a daily basis, Axis Bank said in a statement. State-run State Bank of India (SBI) gained 0.91%. SBI on 20 March 2013 said that the Executive Committee of the Central Board of the Bank, in its Meeting held on 20 March 2013, approved the issuance and allotment of 1.29 crore equity shares at Rs 2,312.78 per share to the Government of India (GoI) by way of preferential allotment. Among other PSU banks stocks, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda rose by 1.16% to 5.67%. Capital goods stocks rose on bargain hunting after recent losses. Thermax, Punj Lloyd and BEML gained by 4.66% to 21.27%. Shares of state run power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) gained 1.05%. Bhel today, 28 March 2013, said that the company has sold its entire equity stake in Udangudi Power Corporation (UPCL), the company's joint venture with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to TANGEDCO. UPCL was initially formed as a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and Bhel in November 2008 for setting up Udangudi Power Project. In 2010, TNEB was reorganized and the interest of TNEB in the Joint venture was transferred to TANGEDCO. Consequent upon TANGEDCO's request to undertake the Udangudi Project as a state government project only and accordingly, upon approval of Boards of Bhel, TANGEDCO and UPCL, BHEL has exited the Joint Venture by selling its equity stake in UPCL to TANGEDCO. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 2.32%. The company on 26 March 2013 said that the company, Generali Group and the Future Group have signed a non-binding term sheet for the merger of L&T General Insurance Company (LTGI) and Future Generali India Insurance (FGI). On completion of the merger, L&T will have 51% stake, Generali will hold 26% stake and Future Group hold the remaining 23% in the merged entity. The completion of the transaction is subject to satisfactory due diligence by both the parties, execution of mutually agreed definitive binding documents and requisite approvals from IRDA and other regulators and related corporate bodies, L&T said. LTGI achieved a GWP of Rs 118 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. LTGI currently has 15 branches. LTGI has issued more than 1.5 lakh policies covering various products till date. FGI is a joint venture between Future Group and Generali Group. The company achieved GWP of Rs 855 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. It has issued over 8.4 lakh policies and has settled over 1 lakh claims in FY 2013. FGI is currently active through 83 offices with about 5,900 agents. Siemens surged 4.51%. The company said during market hours today, 28 March 2013 that the High Courts of Bombay and Madras have approved the Scheme of Amalgamation of Winergy Drive Systems India with the company. The appointed date for the amalgamation is 1 October 2012. On the political front, the DMK on 19 March 2013 withdrew support to the Congress led UPA government at the Centre citing differences on the issue of atrocities on Tamils in Sri Lanka. All the five DMK ministers submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 20 March 2013. At a meeting of the DMK executives, the DMK Monday, 25 March 2013, decided not to extend even outside support to the UPA. After the withdrawal of support by the DMK to the UPA government on 19 March 2013, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on 20 March 2013 said the government was not a lame duck government and was stable. He said that no party has challenged the government for a floor test. The UPA has already been reduced to a minority government after Trinamool Congress withdrew support to the government in September last year. The Samajwadi Party (SP) along with its regional rival in Uttar Pradesh Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) provide outside support to the UPA government. SP has 22 MPs in Lok Sabha and BSP has 21 MPs. The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2013 cleared an ambitious food-security bill that would allow 67% of the population access to cheap food grains. The program would increase food subsidy costs and further bloat the government's fiscal deficit. Food subsidies account for more than 40% of India's total subsidy costs. Prices of the food grain to be supplied under the program would be frozen for three years from the date of implementation, expected in the second half of the year. Parliament's approval for the bill would permit the release of huge quantities of grain from the government's overflowing storage sites at near giveaway prices and is expected to become a big vote-winner for the Congress party-led coalition government, which faces a general election in early 2014. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5% after a mid-quarter monetary policy review on 19 March 2013. The key macroeconomic priorities are to raise the growth rate, restrain inflation pressures and mitigate the vulnerability of the external sector, RBI said. Notwithstanding moderation in non-food manufactured products inflation, headline inflation is expected to be range-bound around current levels over 2013-14 in view of sectoral demand-supply imbalances, the ongoing corrections in administered prices and their second-round effects, the RBI said. Elevated food prices, including pressures stemming from MSP increases, and the wedge between wholesale and retail inflation have adverse implications for inflation expectations, the central bank said. Risks on account of the CAD remain significant notwithstanding likely improvement in Q4 over an expected sharp deterioration in Q3 of 2012-13. Accordingly, even as the policy stance emphasises addressing the growth risks, the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited, the RBI said. The RBI said it will continue to actively manage liquidity through various instruments, including open market operations (OMO), so as to ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy. Reduction of promoter stake to meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandated minimum public shareholding of 25% for private companies and 10% for state-run firms will result in supply of equity in the market over the next few months. As per the Sebi mandated minimum public shareholding rule, private-sector companies must cut founders' stake to adhere to the rules by 30 June 2013, while the deadline for state-run firms is 31 August 2013. PSU divestment will also add to share sale glut in FY 2014. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The India Meteorological Department will issue its first forecast of 2013 southwest monsoon in April 2013. Moody's Investors Service on 18 March 2013 said that the current pace of food inflation in India is much faster than the global average and is negative for the country's credit rating as it hurts the government's finances. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 4 March 2013 said that the government will soon announce more measures -- including sops for exporters -- to boost economic growth. Some of these steps will be announced in parliament during the debate on the Budget, Chidambaram told industry representatives at a customary address held on 4 March 2013 after the budget announcement on 28 February 2013. The finance minister said that the fiscal deficit could turn out to be lower than the projected 5.2% of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year ending 31 March 2013. The government aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.8% of GDP in the year ending 31 March 2014. The finance ministry in October 2012 announced a five-year plan to cut fiscal deficit. The government hopes to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% by March 2017. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The target of divestment of government stake in state-run firms has been reduced to Rs 24000 crore for FY 2013 from the initial Rs 30000 crore. The government expects to mop up Rs 40847 crore from the sale of telecom bandwidth and fees in FY 2014. The government has substantially pruned the expected mop up from the sale of telecom bandwidth and fees to Rs 19440 crore from an initial target of Rs 58217 crore for FY 2013. The second half of the Budget session of the Parliament begins on 22 April 2013. The Budget Session of the Parliament ends on 10 May 2013. The government has lined up a number of key bills for consideration and passing during the Budget session of the parliament, which include The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011, The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, The National Food Security Bill, 2011 and The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008. Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on 5 May 2013 and the counting of votes and results of the election will be declared on 8 May 2013. European stocks edged higher on Thursday as an unexpected pickup in German retail sales countered concern Europe's debt crisis will deepen. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK gained by 0.16% to 0.3%. German retail sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, gained 0.4% last month from January, the latest data showed. German unemployment unexpectedly rose in March as renewed tensions in financial markets increased concerns the euro region's recovery will falter. The number of people out of work increased a seasonally adjusted 13,000 to 2.94 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. Moody's Investors Service affirmed junk debt ratings for Ireland and Portugal today and said the outlooks on both were negative given the euro area's continued vulnerability to shocks. Cyprus's banks will open their doors to customers today for the first time in almost two weeks, with new rules curbing access to cash. They have been closed since 16 March 2013, when the European Union presented a plan to force losses on depositors in exchange for a 10 billion euro ($12.8 billion) bailout. Moody's Investors Service late Wednesday cut its assessment of the highest rating it can assign to a domestic debt issuer in Cyprus to Caa2, saying the move stems from increased risk the financially troubled country will exit as a member of the euro zone. An exit from the euro by Cyprus "would result in large losses to investors due to the redenomination of government debt and private debt securities issued under Cypriot law," said Moody's in a statement. "It would also lead to further severe disruption to the country's banking system and additional acute dislocations in the real economy." Data on Wednesday showed confidence in the euro zone economy fell more than expected in March after four straight months of gains, with other reports pointing to a slump in Italian manufacturing and retail sales and shrinking gross domestic product in France in the final quarter of 2012. Asian stocks fell Thursday on concern Europe's debt crisis is deepening and after pending US home sales fell, damping earnings prospects for Asian exporters. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan fell by 0.15% to 2.82%. South Korea's Kospi was flat. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite rose 0.26%. China's financial system faces a number of issues, including the so-called shadow banking sector, lending to local-government vehicles, and a range of opaque wealth-management products. On Wednesday, China reportedly issued some rules to attempt to regulate the sector, demanding banks clearly link such products with specific assets. South Korea announced it will unveil a new stimulus package in April to spur the property market and revive an economy now predicted to grow less than forecast in 2013. A supplementary budget and details of the measures to encourage property sales will be unveiled over time, the Finance Ministry said in a statement in Sejong today. It said the economy will expand 2.3% this year, down from a 3% growth forecast made in December. The Australian, Hong Kong, Indonesian, New Zealand, Philippine, and Singapore markets will all be closed tomorrow, 29 March 2013, along with much of Europe and the US on account of Good Friday. Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Thursday, 28 March 2013. US stocks ended lower on Wednesday on euro zone debt worries as political parties in Italy remained deadlocked ahead of a deadline today, 28 March 2013, for forming a government.
Market may edge lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks
The market may edge lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks. Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 9.50 points at the opening bell. Volatility may remain high on the bourses today, 28 March 2013, as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month March 2013 series to April 2013 series. The March 2013 F&O contracts expire today, 28 March 2013. GMR Infrastructure said on Wednesday, 27 March 2013, that Homeland Mining and Energy SA Proprietary (HMESA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Homeland Energy Group., a company listed in Canada ("HEG") in which GMR Energy has a majority shareholding has entered into an agreement to divest its 50% equity interest in Tshedza Mining Resource, which holds the license for the development of Eloff mines. The purchaser of the Homeland's interest in the Eloff mines is the company's current BEE partner, who already holds a 50% interest in the property. The consummation of transaction is subject to receipt of statutory approvals in South Africa. HMESA has also entered into an agreement for the sale of its entire shareholding of Ferret Coal (Kendal). The transaction will be subject to receipt of statutory approvals and HEG Shareholders approval. The Kendal mine is an operating mine and sells coal in domestic market while the Eloff mine is under development stage. Aditya Birla Nuvo said after market hours on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, that the Investor Relations & Finance Committee of the board of directors of the company has on 26 March 2013, by way of Circular Resolution, approved allotment of 66.80 lakh shares at a premium of Rs 900.86 each to the Promoter and Promoter Group Company on conversion of equivalent number of Warrants issued to them on 10 May 2012. The existing warrants held by these holders shall stand extinguished to the extent of exercise of the option for conversion of shares, the company said. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) said after market hours on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 26 March 2013 has appointed Mr. Sushil Maroo, Director as Deputy Managing Director of the company with effect from 1 April 2013. The company also said that Mr. K. Rajagopal has joined the company as JSPL Group CFO & Director from 26 March 2013. Key benchmark indices snapped seven-day losing streak to log small gains on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 23.11 points or 0.12% to settle at 18,704.53 on that day, its highest closing since 22 March 2013. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 538.27 crore on Tuesday, 26 March 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The stock market remains shut tomorrow, 29 March 2013, on account of Good Friday. Reduction of promoter stake to meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandated minimum public shareholding of 25% for private companies and 10% for state-run firms will result in supply of equity in the market over the next few months. As per the Sebi mandated minimum public shareholding rule, private-sector companies must cut founders' stake to adhere to the rules by 30 June 2013, while the deadline for state-run firms is 31 August 2013. PSU divestment will also add to share sale glut in FY 2014. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The India Meteorological Department will issue its first forecast of 2013 southwest monsoon in April 2013. The second half of the Budget session of the Parliament begins on 22 April 2013. The Budget Session of the Parliament ends on 10 May 2013. The government has lined up a number of key bills for consideration and passing during the Budget session of the parliament, which include The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011, The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, The National Food Security Bill, 2011 and The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008. Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on 5 May 2013 and the counting of votes and results of the election will be declared on 8 May 2013. Asian stocks fell Thursday on concern Europe's debt crisis is deepening and after pending US home sales fell, damping earnings prospects for Asian exporters. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea fell by 0.07% to 2.34%. China's financial system faces a number of issues, including the so-called shadow banking sector, lending to local-government vehicles, and a range of opaque wealth-management products. On Wednesday, China reportedly issued some rules to attempt to regulate the sector, demanding banks clearly link such products with specific assets. The Australian, Hong Kong, Indonesian, New Zealand, Philippine, and Singapore markets will all be closed tomorrow, 29 March 2013, along with much of Europe and the US on account of Good Friday. US stocks ended lower on Wednesday on euro zone debt worries as political parties in Italy remained deadlocked ahead of a deadline today, 28 March 2013, for forming a government Moody's Investors Service late Wednesday cut its assessment of the highest rating it can assign to a domestic debt issuer in Cyprus to Caa2, saying the move stems from increased risk the financially troubled country will exit as a member of the euro zone. An exit from the euro by Cyprus "would result in large losses to investors due to the redenomination of government debt and private debt securities issued under Cypriot law," said Moody's in a statement. "It would also lead to further severe disruption to the country's banking system and additional acute dislocations in the real economy." Data on Wednesday showed confidence in the euro zone economy fell more than expected in March after four straight months of gains, with other reports pointing to a slump in Italian manufacturing and retail sales and shrinking gross domestic product in France in the final quarter of 2012.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Market snaps 7-day losing streak
Key benchmark indices snapped seven-day losing streak to log small gains. The market breadth was negative. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped in volatile trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 23.11 points or 0.12%, up 92.16 points from the day's low and off 54.35 points from the day's high. Capital goods stocks extended recent losses on worries slowdown in the economy could crimp new orders. Realty stocks also edged lower. Shares of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group declined. Indian stocks today, 26 March 2013, snapped 7-day losing streak. The Sensex had declined 889.02 points or 4.54% in seven trading sessions to 18,681.42 on 25 March 2013 from a recent high 19,570.44 on 14 March 2013. The Sensex has declined 157.01 points or 0.83% in this month so far (till 26 March 2013). The Sensex has declined 722.18 points or 3.72% in calendar 2013 so far (till 26 March 2013). From a 52-week high of 20,203.66 on 29 January 2013, the Sensex has declined 1,499.13 points or 7.42%. From a 52-week low of 15,748.98 on 4 June 2012, the Sensex has surged 2,955.55 points or 18.77%. Coming back to today's trade, IT stocks gained in volatile trade. Software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose after the company said it has bagged a contract from Southern Water to implement a customer services and revenue transformation programme for the latter. Bharti Airtel edged higher after the company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. has successfully raised $500 million notes (the Additional Notes) in addition to the recently concluded transaction of $1 billion 5.125% Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Guaranteed 144A/Reg S Notes due 2023. Aviation stocks dropped. Bank stocks were mixed. Most metal stocks declined as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, dropped 0.47% on Monday, 25 March 2013. A bout of volatility was witnessed in early trade as key benchmark indices slipped into the red after moving into positive terrain for a brief period after opening in the red. The S&P BSE Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit lowest level in more than 17 weeks. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices once again slipped into the red after moving into positive zone from negative terrain for a brief period in morning trade. Key benchmark indices regained positive zone and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade as most Asian stocks rose. The Sensex trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices extended gains to strike intraday high in afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices regained positive terrain after slipping into the red shortly after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The market trimmed gains in late trade. Volatility may remain high on the bourses on Thursday, 28 March 2013, as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month March 2013 series to April 2013 series. The March 2013 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, 28 March 2013. The stock market remains shut tomorrow, 27 March 2013. The stock market remains shut again later in the week on Friday, 29 March 2013, on account of Good Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 23.11 points or 0.12% to settle at 18,704.53, its highest closing since 22 March 2013. The index rose 77.46 points at the day's high of 18,758.88 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 69.05 points at the day's low of 18,612.37 in early trade, its lowest level since 26 November 2012. The CNX Nifty advanced 7.75 points or 0.14% to 5,641.60, its highest closing level since 22 March 2013. The index hit a high of 5,655.30 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,612.05 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 23 November 2012. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1652 crore, lower than Rs 2116 crore on Monday, 25 March 2013. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,450 shares declined and 1,302 shares advanced. A total of 133 shares were unchanged. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.04%. The BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.11%. Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 stocks advanced while rest of them declined. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 3.12% at Rs 783.65. The scrip hit high of Rs 805 and a low of Rs 781.10. The telecom department early this month cleared a proposal to allow companies with Internet permits to also offer basic mobile telecom services by paying a one-time license-conversion fee. RIL's telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, has frequencies to provide broadband Internet across India. Under the new rule, RIL will have to pay about Rs 1658 crore to also provide voice services. The Finance Minister said in his speech while presenting the Union Budget 2013-14 on 28 February 2013 that the oil and gas exploration policy will be reviewed to move from profit sharing to revenue sharing contracts. The natural gas pricing policy will be reviewed and uncertainties regarding pricing will be removed. NELP blocks that were awarded but are stalled will be cleared. A policy to encourage exploration and production of shale gas will be announced. GAIL (India) tumbled 3.09%. The company on Monday, 25 March 2013, said it has set a target of marketing 84.05 million metric standard cubic metre per day (MMSCMD) and transmitting 110 MMSCMD of natural gas from domestic sources and through LNG route during FY 2013-14 under the Annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for performance targets. The MoU also provides for an 'Excellent' production target of 430 TMT of Polymers (HDPE & LLDPE) and 1,310 TMT of Liquid Hydrocarbons. The excellent financial targets are pegged at Rs 49155 crore in gross sales and a gross margin of Rs 6160 crore. In addition to key physical and financial parameters, the company's performance will be assessed on the basis of various parameters related to core business streams out of which 32% is allocated to key parameters related to implementation of Pipeline, Petrochemicals, City Gas Projects, Capital Expenditure, Marketing, E&P, Mergers & Acquisitions, Safety etc besides, Corporate Governance, Research & Development, Human Resource Management (5%), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development (8%) in line with the latest guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), GAIL (India) said in a statement. Coal India (CIL) rose 1.18%. The company said after market hours on Monday, 25 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 25 March 2013, has approved to convert the Loan & Current Account balance granted to BCCL, a 100% subsidiary of the company, aggregating to Rs 2539 crores into 5% Non-Convertible, Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares as recommended by the Audit Committee of CIL on date. The board also approved to amend the Memorandum of Association & Articles of Association of BCCL to facilitate this. This is however subject to the approval of shareholders of BCCL, Coal India said. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 1.34% to Rs 306.30. The scrip hit high of Rs 307.70 and a low of Rs 302. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 310.75 on 4 February 2013. The government raised the excise duty on cigarettes by about 18% on all cigarettes except cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm in Union Budget 2013-14 which was unveiled on 28 February 2013. Among other FMCG stocks, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Dabur India, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico and Tata Global Beverages rose by 1.53% to 2.64%. IT stocks edged higher in volatile trade. Software major TCS rose 0.84% after the company today, 26 March 2013, said it has bagged a contract from Southern Water to implement a customer services and revenue transformation programme for the latter. The programme will combine front and back-end technology deployments with internal process redevelopment. Southern Water will benefit from enhanced customer service capabilities, improved cash collection and debt management, and will see a reduction in operating expenditure, TCS said a statement. Wipro rose 1.36%. Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been appraised at Capability Maturity Model Integration CMMI-DEV 1.3 Level 5. This assessment validates Wipro's process capability based on the CMMI standards that measure process improvements, Wipro Technologies said in a statement. An assessment at maturity Level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an "optimizing" level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes. Mahindra Satyam gained 1.31% and Tech Mahindra lost 0.74%. Mahindra Satyam said after market hours on Monday, 25 March 2013, that pursuant to Clause 28.1 of Scheme of Amalgamation and Arrangement of Venturbay Consultants and Satyam Computer Services and C&S Systems Technologies and Mahindra Logisoft Business Solutions and CanvasM Technologies with Tech Mahindra and their respective shareholders and creditors (the scheme), the board of directors extended the validity of the scheme by a further period of six months till 30 September 2013. HCL Technologies rose 1.09% to Rs 777. The stock had hit record high of Rs 804.50 in intraday trade on 18 March 2013. Infosys was unchanged at Rs 2,854. Infosys announces Q4 results on 12 April 2013. The company on 15 March 2013 announced that it has been selected by India Post to implement and manage a platform that will transform its rural operations. With this new agreement, Infosys will facilitate India Post's Rural Systems Integration (RSI) program. This initiative will increase adoption of the department's services, and enhance the reach of postal services to the country's rural population, streamlining the distribution of social benefits. As part of an earlier agreement, Infosys is also partnering with India Post to transform its financial services operations and end-user experience under the Financial Services System Integration program. The two projects are part of the 'India Post 2012' modernization program that aims to bring transparency, agility, flexibility and scalability to its business operations. The programs will empower employees to deliver services more efficiently to rural communities using the latest technology. They will also position India Post as a key agent in the Government of India's inclusive growth policies. Bharti Airtel jumped 3.14%. The company today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. has successfully raised $500 million notes (the Additional Notes) in addition to the recently concluded transaction of $1 billion 5.125% Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Guaranteed 144A/Reg S Notes due 2023. The Additional Notes were issued at a premium and priced at 100.625% to yield 5.044% and will be consolidated and form a single series a long with the $1 billion 5.125% Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2023 issued on 11 March 2013. Following the highly successful recent inaugural US dollar bond transaction on 4 March 2013, the bonds of Bharti Airtel had witnessed a strong rally in the secondary market and additional notes were issued to tap the unsatisfied investor demand through a follow-on issuance, Bharti Airtel said. The transaction drew an order book of approximately $2 billion with participation from 140 high quality investor accounts. In terms of geographic distribution, 50% of Additional Notes were distributed in the United States, 32% in Europe and 18% in Asia. The Notes were distributed to high quality fixed income accounts across fund managers, banks, sovereign wealth funds/ insurance companies and private banks, Bharti Airtel said. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) rose 0.56%. The company said after market hours on Monday, 25 March 2013, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 25 March 2013 approved the proposal for raising non convertible debentures (in the form of bonds) worth Rs 3000 crore for a period of 10 years guaranteed by the Government of India. Bank stocks were mixed. State-run State Bank of India (SBI) fell 0.67%. SBI on 20 March 2013 said that the Executive Committee of the Central Board of the Bank, in its Meeting held on Wednesday, 20 March 2013, approved the issuance and allotment of 1.29 crore equity shares at Rs 2,312.78 per share to the Government of India (GoI) by way of preferential allotment. ICICI Bank rose 1.2%. ICICI Bank on 16 March 2013 said that based on an internal enquiry following allegations of money laundering by branch level employees of the bank, no actual transactions have been found to have taken place in respect of the specific instances reported by online magazine Cobrapost on 14 March 2013. ICICI Bank said it has appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, a leading accounting and audit firm, to conduct a full, independent forensic enquiry into the reported statements and arrive at its findings in a time-bound manner and report to the Audit Committee of the bank. ICICI Bank also said that the bank has suspended 18 employees pending the completion of enquiry, in line with its commitment to high standards of governance and ensuring an independent enquiry. ICICI Bank also said that a review of the relevant systems and processes is being undertaken by the management. An audit of some of the branches and the corresponding back-end processes is also being undertaken, ICICI Bank said. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has also already taken similar steps to investigate the matter thoroughly, ICICI Bank said. ICICI Bank said that the management requires that all of its employees conduct the business of the bank at the highest level of compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. All employees are trained and required to adhere strictly to the Group Code of Conduct, including anti-money laundering and know-your-customer norms. ICICI Bank said that the management has demonstrated its commitment by following a zero tolerance policy towards any violations. HDFC Bank advanced 0.63%. HDFC Bank on 16 March 2013 said that the bank is committed to the highest standards of compliance, corporate governance and ethics, and has in place systems and procedures to ensure that its business is conducted in compliance with laws and regulations. The bank said that after considering the nature of the alleged money laundering charges against the bank, it has appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, a leading accounting and audit firm, to carry out an independent forensic enquiry into the allegations and reported statements as made by Cobrapost representatives, when secretly taping bank officials. The bank has also appointed M/s. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co to examine the breaches, if any of the bank's Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, by any bank officials, in association with the bank's internal departmental enquiry, commenced to verify the truth or untruth or correctness, as the case may be, in the reported tapings of bank officials. The bank has also decided to carry out special audit of some of its branches, where the reported videotaping was done. HDFC Bank said it is also proceeding to detail out the internal checks & balances and procedural safeguards already in place to report on the robustness of the compliance of regulatory guidelines and internal procedures, which would prevent, trap or enable pre-fact or post-fact discovery of violation of KYC norms and of money laundering activity. The bank is also detailing the efficacy of induction and ongoing training provided for ingraining ethical behaviour and conduct rules, as preventive and protective measures. The internal and external audits and inspections undertaken previously, and the action taken reports in this regard are being compiled and reviewed once again, to enable the bank to reiterate that the internal checks and balances and processes for ensuring compliance with KYC norms and for prevention and detection of, and protection against money laundering activity are robust and adequate, HDFC Bank said in a statement. Earlier, HDFC Bank has said on 14 March 2013 that the management is concerned about allegations of money laundering activities. The matter is being investigated on top priority, HDFC Bank had said. Axis Bank declined 1.33%. Axis Bank on 16 March 2013 said that a thorough internal enquiry is already underway following money laundering allegations and the findings are expected shortly. Pending the enquiry, the bank has advised 16 concerned employees to report to respective administrative offices. A senior level committee has been constituted to monitor and supervise the entire investigation process on a daily basis, Axis Bank said in a statement. Most metal stocks declined as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, dropped 0.47% on Monday, 25 March 2013. Sterlite Industries (India) (down 0.55%), JSW Steel (down 1.56%), Nalco (down 3.53%, Sesa Goa (down 0.92%), Tata Steel (down 2.75%), Sail (down 2.7%) declined. Hindalco Industries (up 0.4%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.13%) and Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.41%) gained. Auto stocks were mixed. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) dropped 0.57%. The company on 19 March 2013 said that as part of aligning production with sales requirements, the company will be observing no production days at its tractor plants located at Jaipur for five days and Rudrapur for two days during the period from 24 March 2013 to 31 March 2013. The management does not envisage any adverse impact on the availability of tractors in the market due to adequacy of tractor stocks to serve the market requirements, M&M said in a statement. Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.11%. Maruti Suzuki India on 15 March 2013 said it has appointed Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in place of Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi with effect from 1 April 2013 on the latter having attained the age of retirement. Tata Motors rose 1.7%. The company's British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on 12 March 2013 said its sales rose 3% to 26,855 units in February 2013 over February 2012. Sales were up in almost every major market in February 2013, JLR said. But, sales declined 22% in China on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year falling in February this year and January last year, JLR said. Sales of Jaguar jumped 27% to 4,595 units in February 2013 over February 2012, with increased sales of the XF (up 37%) and the XJ (up 15%), reflecting new smaller engines and all-wheel drive options as well as the XF Sportbrake, JLR said. Sales of Land Rover declined slightly on year on year basis in February 2013, reflecting the Chinese New Year holiday period, JLR said. Sales of Freelander jumped 26% year on year in February 2013 and that of Range Rover jumped 46% year on year in February 2013, JLR said. Two wheeler makers declined. Bajaj Auto dropped 0.83%. The company on 4 March 2013 said its total sales fell 3% to 3.32 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Motorcycles sales fell 4% to 2.91 lakh units February 2013 over February 2012. Sales of three wheelers declined 2% to 41,090 units in February 2013 over February 2012. The company's total exports rose 10% to 1.35 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp declined 2.97%. Hero MotoCorp on 1 March 2013 said total sales declined 4.23% to 5.01 lakh units in February 2013 over February 2012. Hero MotoCorp's scooters -- Pleasure and Maestro -- clocked close to 54,000 unit sales in February 2013. The company is now scaling up its scooter production to over 60,000 units a month. Capital goods stocks extended recent losses on worries slowdown in the economy could crimp new orders. Thermax, Punj Lloyd, Bhel, BEML, ABB and Siemens dropped by 0.33% to 5.24%. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) declined 2.39%. The company today, 26 March 2013, said that the company, Generali Group and the Future Group have signed a non-binding term sheet for the merger of L&T General Insurance Company (LTGI) and Future Generali India Insurance (FGI). On completion of the merger, L&T will have 51% stake, Generali will hold 26% stake and Future Group hold the remaining 23% in the merged entity. The completion of the transaction is subject to satisfactory due diligence by both the parties, execution of mutually agreed definitive binding documents and requisite approvals from IRDA and other regulators and related corporate bodies, L&T said. LTGI achieved a GWP of Rs 118 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. LTGI currently has 15 branches. LTGI has issued more than 1.5 lakh policies covering various products till date. FGI is a joint venture between Future Group and Generali Group. The company achieved GWP of Rs 855 crore for 9 months ended 31 December 2012. It has issued over 8.4 lakh policies and has settled over 1 lakh claims in FY 2013. FGI is currently active through 83 offices with about 5,900 agents. Realty stocks edged lower. Sobha Developers, DLF, HDIL, D B Realty and Unitech shed by 1.88% to 3.49%. The finance minister proposed levy of TDS at the rate of one percent on the value of the transfer of immovable property where the consideration exceeds Rs 50 lakh in Union Budget 2013-14, which was unveiled on 28 February 2013. Service tax abatement on homes and flats with a carpet area of 2000 square feel or more or of a value of Rs 1 crore or more has been reduced from 75% to 70%. However the existing exemptions from service tax for low cost housing and single residential units will continue. A person taking a loan for his first home from a bank or a housing finance corporation upto Rs 25 lakh during the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 will be entitled to an additional deduction of interest of upto Rs 1,00,000 in 2013-14, provided the value of the residential property is not more than Rs 40 lakh. If the limit is not exhausted, the balance deduction can be claimed in 2014-15. This deduction will be over and above the deduction of Rs 1,50,000 allowed for self-occupied properties under section 24 of the Income-tax Act. Shares of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group declined. Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance MediaWorks and Reliance Power dropped by 2.01% to 5.48%. Reliance Broadcast Network was flat. Aviation stocks dropped. SpiceJet (down 4.47%), Kingfisher Airlines (down 3.14%) and Jet Airways (India) (down 0.39%) edged lower. Torrent Power declined 1.72%. The company after trading hours on Monday, 25 March 2013, said that the company has allotted 10.10% Secured Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (N) of upto Rs 300 crores on private placement basis. On the political front, the DMK on 19 March 2013 withdrew support to the Congress led UPA government at the Centre citing differences on the issue of atrocities on Tamils in Sri Lanka. All the five DMK ministers submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 20 March 2013. At a meeting of the DMK executives, the DMK Monday, 25 March 2013, decided not to extend even outside support to the UPA. After the withdrawal of support by the DMK to the UPA government on 19 March 2013, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on 20 March 2013 said the government was not a lame duck government and was stable. He said that no party has challenged the government for a floor test. The UPA has already been reduced to a minority government after Trinamool Congress withdrew support to the government in September last year. The Samajwadi Party (SP) along with its regional rival in Uttar Pradesh Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) provide outside support to the UPA government. SP has 22 MPs in Lok Sabha and BSP has 21 MPs. The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2013 cleared an ambitious food-security bill that would allow 67% of the population access to cheap food grains. The program would increase food subsidy costs and further bloat the government's fiscal deficit. Food subsidies account for more than 40% of India's total subsidy costs. Prices of the food grain to be supplied under the program would be frozen for three years from the date of implementation, expected in the second half of the year. Parliament's approval for the bill would permit the release of huge quantities of grain from the government's overflowing storage sites at near giveaway prices and is expected to become a big vote-winner for the Congress party-led coalition government, which faces a general election in early 2014. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5% after a mid-quarter monetary policy review on Tuesday, 19 March 2013. The key macroeconomic priorities are to raise the growth rate, restrain inflation pressures and mitigate the vulnerability of the external sector, RBI said. Notwithstanding moderation in non-food manufactured products inflation, headline inflation is expected to be range-bound around current levels over 2013-14 in view of sectoral demand-supply imbalances, the ongoing corrections in administered prices and their second-round effects, the RBI said. Elevated food prices, including pressures stemming from MSP increases, and the wedge between wholesale and retail inflation have adverse implications for inflation expectations, the central bank said. Risks on account of the CAD remain significant notwithstanding likely improvement in Q4 over an expected sharp deterioration in Q3 of 2012-13. Accordingly, even as the policy stance emphasises addressing the growth risks, the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited, the RBI said. The RBI said it will continue to actively manage liquidity through various instruments, including open market operations (OMO), so as to ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy. Reduction of promoter stake to meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandated minimum public shareholding of 25% for private companies and 10% for state-run firms will result in supply of equity in the market over the next few months. As per the Sebi mandated minimum public shareholding rule, private-sector companies must cut founders' stake to adhere to the rules by 30 June 2013, while the deadline for state-run firms is 31 August 2013. PSU divestment will also add to share sale glut in FY 2014. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The India Meteorological Department will issue its first forecast of 2013 southwest monsoon in April 2013. Moody's Investors Service on 18 March 2013 said that the current pace of food inflation in India is much faster than the global average and is negative for the country's credit rating as it hurts the government's finances. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 4 March 2013 said that the government will soon announce more measures -- including sops for exporters -- to boost economic growth. Some of these steps will be announced in parliament during the debate on the Budget, Chidambaram told industry representatives at a customary address held on 4 March 2013 after the budget announcement on 28 February 2013. The finance minister said that the fiscal deficit could turn out to be lower than the projected 5.2% of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year ending 31 March 2013. The government aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.8% of GDP in the year ending 31 March 2014. The finance ministry in October 2012 announced a five-year plan to cut fiscal deficit. The government hopes to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% by March 2017. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The target of divestment of government stake in state-run firms has been reduced to Rs 24000 crore for FY 2013 from the initial Rs 30000 crore. The government expects to mop up Rs 40847 crore from the sale of telecom bandwidth and fees in FY 2014. The government has substantially pruned the expected mop up from the sale of telecom bandwidth and fees to Rs 19440 crore from an initial target of Rs 58217 crore for FY 2013. The second half of the Budget session of the Parliament begins on 22 April 2013. The Budget Session of the Parliament ends on 10 May 2013. The government has lined up a number of key bills for consideration and passing during the Budget session of the parliament, which include The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011, The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, The National Food Security Bill, 2011 and The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008. Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on 5 May 2013 and the counting of votes and results of the election will be declared on 8 May 2013. European stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday before US data that may show durable-goods orders increased and new-house sales held close to a four-year high last month. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany rose by 0.11% to 0.65%. Cyprus, the euro-area's third-smallest economy, on Monday agreed the terms for a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades agreed to shut the country's second-largest bank, and will impose tax on deposits of more than 100,000 euros. Cyprus will keep its banks closed until Thursday amid fears those institutions will be overrun by customers trying to extract their money after a bailout deal reached Monday. Media reports said the announcement came suddenly as all but the nation's two biggest banks had been preparing to re-open on Tuesday. Those banks have been closed since 16 March. Most Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea rose by 0.19% to 1.34%. Key benchmark indices in China and Japan shed by 0.6% to 1.25%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was flat. South Korea's economy expanded less than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, underscoring the case for stimulus by the new government, the latest data showed. The Bank of Japan's governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday that buying five-year or longer-term government securities is one option for the central bank in easing monetary policy, providing a fresh hint on what policy changes the BOJ may adopt under his leadership. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 29 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 26 March 2013. US stocks edged lower on Monday after reports suggested that deposit holders in other ailing European economies may be at risk in the future after Cyprus's bailout plan to tax bank depositors.
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