Dust of worries! Indices set for a weak Wednesday start

If the point is sharp, and the arrow is swift, it can pierce through the dust no matter how thick. - Bob Dylan
 
RBI decided to keep repo rate unchanged at 6.75%, along expected lines. Rise in food prices, concerns over the progress of fiscal consolidation and a challenging global environment are key reasons cited in the policy. Meanwhile, the Central bank will continue with daily variable rate repos and reverse repos in order to smooth liquidity. Consumer inflation has moved higher during past five months. RBI has targeted 5% inflation by end of March 2017 but trajectory of oil prices, currency movement, monsoon and inflation resulting from hike in salaries and pensions of Central Government employees (not accounted for in current projection) hold the key.
 
The late sell-off on Tuesday is set to keep the selling pressure on at start. Nifty will attempt a recovery near the 7400 levels. The rupee could drop below the 68 mark versus the dollar today. The heartening news amidst the gloom is that China’s services sector expanded the most in six months. The Caixin-Markit services PMI was at 52.4 in January, up from 50.2 in December. Metals, oil & gas, power, healthcare and auto stocks were among the major losers on Tuesday and they could see sell-off again. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks are also bearing the brunt. Key results today include Bajaj Finance, CCL Products, Gateway Distriparks, Hexaware Technologies, Dish Tv, KEC International, La Opala, Lakshmi Machine, Mangalam Cement, Orient Cement, Meghmani Organics, Pfizer, TD Power and Redington India.
 
The NSE may reportedly announce a re-balancing of Nifty index in its semi-annual review later this month. Punjab National Bank, Vedanta, Hindalco and Cairn India could move out says a report. IndiaBulls Housing Finance, Aurobindo Pharma, Indian Oil Corporation, Eicher Motors and Bharti Infratel are among those which stand a chance to be included, the report added.
 
US stock indices tumbled on Tuesday, as weakness in Energy and Financial companies offset strength in Google parent Alphabet toy maker Mattel, and fashion retailer Michael Kors.
Alphabet officially surpassed Apple to become the most valuable company in the world.
Meanwhile, crude oil futures fell below US$30 per barrel, down 5.5% on the day following a 6% slide on Monday.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 295.64 points, or 1.8%, to end at 16,153.54. The S&P 500 index slumped 36.35 points, or 1.9%, to close at 1,903.03. The Nasdaq Composite index plunged by 103.42 points, or 2.2%, to settle at 4,516.95.
 
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended subsidies aimed at the poor, ET reports that the government is gearing up to announce a mammoth rollout of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) with an outlay at Rs 130,000 crore, will be double the number earmarked in this year's Budget.
 
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley favoured increasing public spending to boost the economic growth. India has been growing by 7-7.5 per cent, and for the country to accelerate, all sectors have to contribute, Jaitley reportedly said at the MGNREGA Sammelan-2016.
 
Yusuf Khwaja Hamied, currently the Non-executive Chairman of drug major Cipla Ltd, has increased his stake in the company to over 20% by acquiring additional 5% stake of his wife Farida Hamied. 
 
Tata Motors is considering changing the name of its new Zica hatchback as global panic mounts over an outbreak of the identical-sounding Zika virus, the company reportedly said.
 
TeamLease Services Limited has finalized the allocation of 22,38,498 Equity Shares at Rs. 850 per share (upper end of the Price Band) aggregating to Rs. 190.28 crore to 15 anchor investors.
 
GMR Infrastructure slipped 1.8% to Rs 12.72 on BSE after the Philippines apex court upheld the decision to award Cebu Airport modernization project to the consortium of the company.
 
Coal India slipped to 3% to Rs.319 on BSE. The company and its subsidiaries on provisional basis achieved 94% of targeted production at 52.86 million tons in January 2016.
 
Yahoo is looking to cut 15 per cent of the company's headcount (about 1,600 jobs), according to media reports. The company will also shut down several business units, the reports add.
 
Microsoft Corp. is all set to buy London-based smart-keyboard maker Swiftkey for about US$250 million, according to a UK financial daily.
 
Godrej Properties Ltd. is hoping to double its full-year sales booking in the current financial year from the INR 2,600 crore levels that it recorded in 2014-15.
 
DLF: The Group has posted a net profit of Rs. 1639.50 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 as compared to Rs. 1317.90 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki will launched the Compact SUV Vitara Brezza at Delhi Auto Expo.
 
Lupin: Pharma Major Lupin announced that its US subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has launched its Metformin HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg to market a generic equivalent of Santarus Inc.’s Glumetza HCl ER Tablets, 500 mg and 1000 mg.
 
Tata Communication: The company posted a decline in consolidated net profit by 79.8 per cent at Rs 21.89 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2015.
 
Adani Ent: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s mega project worth US$ 16.5 billion in Queensland, Australia, has received environmental approval from the state’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP).
 
Hindustan Zinc: The company is looking to expand its all operations in a time-frame of 3-5 years, taking current ore production levels of 9.36 MTPA to 14.00 MTPA and finished metal production levels from 0.85 MTPA to 1.10 MTPA.
 
Birla Corporation: The proposed Rs. 5,000-crore deal by Birla Corporation Ltd. to acquire two cement manufacturing units of Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd., along with two cement brands has been called off.
 
Vedanta: Vedanta Resources will repurchase bonds worth up to $250 million of its outstanding $1.25 billion convertible bonds due this year.
 
Cipla: Yusuf Khwaja Hamied, currently the Non-executive Chairman of drug major Cipla Ltd, has increased his stake in the company to over 20% by acquiring additional 5% stake of his wife Farida Hamied.
 
RPG Life Sciences Ltd: The pharma company reported an increase of 84.58% in its standalone net profit at Rs. 4.67 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015.
 
DCM Shriram Ltd: The company reported more than two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs. 60.48 crore for the quarter ended December on higher sales and fall in interest outgo.
 
Minda Industries:  Minda Industries reported a 121.5% increase in standalone net profit at Rs. 28.8 crore for the third quarter that ended on December 31, 2015.
 
Crompton Greaves: The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs.107.03 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.
 
Tata Motors: Tata Motors has decided to rename its soon-to-be-launched hatchback Zica as concern grows globally over the outbreak of the identical sounding name Zika virus.
 
Grindwell Norton: The company’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs. 280.79 crore, up 0.36% yoy but down 1.06% qoq.
 
Majesco: Majesco reported consolidated net profit of Rs. 7.9 crore vs loss of Rs. 0.6 crore qoq.
 
Hero MotoCorp: Hero MotoCorp reported a marginal growth in Jan '16 sales with 5,63,348 units as against 5,58,982 units sold in Jan '15.
 
Jindal Stainless: Jindal Stainless Ltd's standalone net loss narrowed to Rs.191.25 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to Rs. 341.98 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, but widened from Rs. 188.05 crore in preceding quarter.
 
Tube Investments: Tube Investments of India Ltd posted a net profit of Rs. 1115.00 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared with Rs. 871.40 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Escorts: Escorts, leading engineering conglomerate, reported standalone net profit of Rs.20.49 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, registering decline of 42.58% yoy, but growth of 26.62% qoq.
 
Maharashtra Scooters: The company recorded a decline of 30.7% in its net profit  Rs.1.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared with Rs.2.6 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Amara Raja Batteries: Amara Raja Batteries reported standalone net profit of Rs. 136.18 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, registering growth of 33.07% yoy and 11.1% qoq.
 
Bayer Crop: The consolidated net profit for the quarter was at Rs. 2.7 crore as against Rs. 5.5 crore. The company’s standalone revenue stood at Rs. 642.40 crore, down 9.78% yoy and 45.31% qoq.
 
AstraZeneca: AstraZeneca announced that it has completed the transaction to acquire a majority equity stake in Acerta Pharma, a privately-owned biopharmaceutical company based in the Netherlands and US.
 
HSIL: The company recorded increase 22.4% in its net profit at Rs.37 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared with Rs.30.3 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
United Breweries: The company has posted a net profit of Rs. 721.20 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared with Rs. 399.40 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
OCL India: OCL India, flagship company of 'Dalmia Group, reported standalone net profit of Rs. 37.07 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, registering growth of 28.85% yoy and 119.74% qoq.
 
Godrej Properties: The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs. 51.99 crore for the quarter ended  December 31, 2015, registering growth of 10.06% yoy, but declining 51.03% qoq.
 
Uflex: Uflex, flexible packaging solutions company, reported consolidated net profit of Rs. 78.68 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, registering growth of 37.87% yoy.
 
Torrent Power: Torrent Power Ltd posted a net profit of Rs. 3720.10 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 where as the same was at Rs. 687.70 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
 
Results: Hexaware Technologies, KEC International, Hikal, Intrasoft Technologies,Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, J.B.Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Copper, Elder Pharmaceuticals, Dish TV India,Pfizer, Redington (INDIA), Gateway Distriparks,Greaves Cotton, La Opala Rg, Accelya Kale Solutions,Bajaj Finserv,Bajaj Finance,CCL Products (INDIA), Aptech, Accel Transmatic,Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Adi Finechem, Alchemist, Alchemist Realty, Auroma Coke, Cambridge Technology Enterprises, Dalmia Bharat, Elango Industries, Fruition Venture, Klrf,Mangalam Cement, Mangalam Organics, Neuland Laboratories, Orient Cement,Trident, Orient Cement, Religare Enterprises, Shiva Medicare, The Byke Hospitality, Thomas Cook (INDIA), TTK Healthcare 
 
Global Data: RBNZ Governor Wheeler Speech  NZD, BRC Shop Price Index (MoM) (Jan) GBP, Building Permits (MoM) (Dec) AUD, Building Permits (YoY) (Dec) AUD, Exports (Dec) AUD, Imports (Dec) AUD, Trade Balance (Dec) AUD, Caixin China Services PMI (Jan) CNY, Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda Speech  JPY, Consumer Confidence Index (Jan) JPY, Non-monetary policy's ECB meeting EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) EUR, Markit PMI Composite (Jan) EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) EUR, Markit PMI Composite (Jan) EUR, Markit PMI Composite (Jan) EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) EUR, Markit Services PMI (Jan) GBP, Consumer Price Index (YoY) (Jan)Preliminar EUR, Consumer Price Index (EU Norm) (YoY) (Jan)Preliminar EUR, Consumer Price Index (EU Norm) (MoM) (Jan)Preliminar EUR, Consumer Price Index (MoM) (Jan)Preliminar EUR, European Commission Releases Economic Growth Forecasts EUR, Retail Sales (MoM) (Dec) EUR, Retail Sales (YoY) (Dec) EUR, M3 Money Supply INR, MBA Mortgage Applications (Jan 22) USD, ADP Employment Change (Jan) USD, Markit PMI Composite (Jan) USD, Markit Services PMI (Jan) USD, ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Jan) USD, EIA Crude Oil Stocks change (Jan 29) USD, Foreign investment in Japan stocks (Jan 29) JPY, Foreign bond investment (Jan 29) JPY
 
Trends in FII flows: The FIIs were net sellers of Rs.11.39 bn in the cash segment on Monday. The domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs.3.23 bn as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.
 
Other news in the media:
 
Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc launched metformin, its generic copy of diabetes drug Glumetza, in the US market. A First-to-File (FTF) product, the company will be priced 15-20% lower and enjoy 180 days of marketing exclusivity by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (ET)
 
Indian Oil Corporation, is hoping to build a strong upstream portfolio as the oil rout turns assets cheaper while leaving traditional upstream companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation with depleting cash reserves. (ET)
 
Tata Motors said on Tuesday that it has decided to rename its soon-to-be-launched hatchback Zica as concern grows globally over the outbreak of the identical sounding name Zika virus (BS)
 
PC Jewellers said that the Reserve Bank of India has approved increase in investment limit by foreign institutional investors/foreign portfolio investors. (BS)
 
Moving ahead with its decision to open up the coal sector for commercial mining, government has identified 15 blocks to be alloted to central and state PSUs for undertaking production and sale of the dry fuel. (ET)
 
Lupin pharmaceuticals Inc launched metformin, its generic copy of diabetes drug Glumetza, in the US market. A First-to-File (FTF) product, the company will be priced 15-20% lower and enjoy 180 days of marketing exclusivity by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (ET)
 
Sale of liquor in plastic bottles has been banned in Maharashtra with effect from April 1 this year, fearing it might harm the health of consumers, the state government has told the Bombay High Court. (ET)
 
India approved the third phase of development projects being carrying out in Afghanistan. These projects are part of the 92 small-scale programmes that India had previously approved in an effort to strengthen bilateral strategic and commercial ties. (BL)