Market ends slightly lower

Key benchmark indices trimmed losses to provisionally settle slightly lower after slipping into the red from positive terrain in late trade. Weak global stocks dampened sentiment. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was provisionally down 7.70 points or 0.04%, up close to 105 points from the day's low and off about 25 points from the day's high. The market breadth was negative. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in volatile trade. Realty shares declined on profit booking after recent strong gains triggered by the Competition Commission of India directing cement firms last month to cease and desist from indulging in any activity relating to agreement, understanding or arrangement on prices, production and supply of cement in the market. Metal stocks fell as metal prices declined on London Metal Exchange on Thursday, 5 July 2012. Jindal Steel & Power declined on reports that the company has suspended operations at its iron ore mine in Bolivia. White goods makers rallied as rise in temperature caused due to weaker-than-expected rainfall so far during the monsoon season sparked hopes of increased sales. IT stocks were mostly lower on weak economic data in the US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. Global stocks fell on Friday, 6 July 2012, after weak US services data overnight and after a flood of action by central banks on Thursday, 5 July 2012, highlighted the depth of concern for the global economic outlook. 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 market trimmed losses in mid-morning trade. Intraday recovery continued in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices slipped in afternoon trade after European market opened lower. The Sensex moved into the positive terrain and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. It trimmed losses after slipping onto the red in late trade. As per provisional figures, the BSE Sensex was down 7.70 points or 0.04% to 17,531.60. The index gained 15.88 points at the day's high of 17,554.55 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 113.20 points at the day's low of 17,425.47 in morning trade. The S&P CNX Nifty was down 9.70 points or 0.18% to 5,317.60, as per provisional figures. The index hit a high of 5,327.20 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,287.75 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 4 July 2012. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 2101 crore lower than Rs 2915 crore on Thursday, 5 July 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,557 shares declined and 1,258 shares declined. A total of 127 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 stocks declined and the rest rose. ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC and ITC rose by between 1.16% to 1.97%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) declined 0.61% to Rs 734. The stock hit a high of Rs 739 and a low of Rs 729.65. The company said during market hours today that it has selected Technip as a technology supplier and engineering contractor to implement its Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC) project. This is part of the expansion project being executed at RIL's Jamnagar refinery and petrochemical complex in Gujarat. The ROGC plant will be amongst the largest ethylene crackers in the world and will be using refinery off-gas as feedstock, RIL said. The products from the plant will be utilised for the new downstream petrochemical plants being built at Jamnagar, RIL said. RIL has bought back 3 crore shares for Rs 2144.73 crore till 22 June 2012 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set a maximum buyback price of Rs 870 for share buyback. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013. Last month, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's Annual General Meeting in Mumbai that the company's buyback program represents a highly accretive use of cash by the company and it will supplement earnings growth from operations, for higher EPS (earnings per share), in the near future. White goods makers rallied as rise in temperature due to weaker-than-expected rainfall so far during the monsoon season sparked hopes of increased sales. Hitachi Home, Blue Star, Whirlpool India, Panasonic Home rose by between 1.29% to 3.06%. Airline stocks declined on profit booking after recent gains triggered by fall in crude oil prices. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet declined by between 1.56% to 3.82%. Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) typically makes up almost half of an airline's operating cost. Prices of jet fuel are directly linked to crude oil prices. State-run oil marketing companies--Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month based on the average international crude price in the preceding fortnight. IT stocks were mostly lower on weak economic data in the US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. India's second largest software services exporter by revenues, Infosys, declined 1.58%. The company announces Q1 results on 12 July 2012. India's third largest software services exporter by revenue, Wipro, dropped 0.93% India's largest software services exporter by revenues, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), rose 0.74%, with the stock reversing intraday losses. The company announces Q1 results on 12 July 2012. India's largest engineering & construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 1.54% on profit taking after recent strong gains. The company said during trading hours on Wednesday, 4 July 2012, its construction division secured new orders worth over Rs 1523 crore across various business segments in June 2012. India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 0.28%, with the stock extending recent gains. Bhel last week said it had secured a contract worth Rs 950 crore for a 1,020 megawatts hydroelectric project in Bhutan. Metal stocks edged lower as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, fell 0.7% on Thursday, 5 July 2012. Bhushan Steel, Sail, Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite Industries, Bhushan Steel, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Hindalco Industries shed by between 0.27% to 2%. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) declined 3.73% on reports that the company has suspended operations at its iron ore mine at El Mutun in Bolivia as last-ditch talks with the Bolivian government to rescue the struggling project have failed. El Mutun is a vast iron ore deposit on Bolivia's border with Brazil estimated to contain 40 billion tons of ore. In 2006, JSPL and Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a $2.1 billion contract to develop the mine and build a steel mill near the river port of Puerto Suarez. But the ambitious project once showcased by Mr. Morales as an example of how his government and multinational companies could work as equal partners has been stalled for years. The government accuses JSPL of violating the terms of the contract by not meeting its investment schedule. On the other hand, JSPL has blamed the Bolivian government for failing to provide the gas and infrastructure necessary to move the project ahead. Realty shares declined on profit booking after recent strong gains triggered by the Competition Commission of India directing cement firms last month to cease and desist from indulging in any activity relating to agreement, understanding or arrangement on prices, production and supply of cement in the market. Cement is a key raw material in housing construction. DLF, HDIL, Oberoi Realty and Unitech shed by between 1.34% to 2.53%. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 4 July 2012, approved the proposal for extending the scheme of interest subvention of 1% on housing loans upto Rs 15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh for the year 2012-13 and to amend the operational part of guidelines for release of funds. A budgetary provision of Rs 400 crore has been made for Financial Year 2012-13 for implementing the scheme. Consequent upon the extension of scheme, the limit of subsidy for an individual borrower would be Rs 14,912 for a loan of Rs 15 lakh and Rs 9,925 for a loan of Rs10 lakh. The extended scheme will benefit all house loans availed in Financial Year 2012-13, a government statement said. India's largest utility vehicle maker by sales M&M rose 1.38%. The company today, 6 July 2012, said it has tied up with Kenya's Simba Corp. to sell its utility vehicles and pickup trucks in the African nation. M&M will export its sport-utility vehicles Scorpio and XUV500, as well as the Genio and Maxximo pickup trucks to Kenya. The auto maker currently exports to more than 40 countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Australia and other European as well as South American nations. M&M already sells tractors in Kenya through a tie-up with Timsales, and also plans to introduce new vehicles in the country. M&M's sales rose 16% to 41,322 units in June 2012 over June 2011. The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes the UVs and Verito) has registered a growth of 23%, having sold 19,792 units in June 2012, as against 16,053 units during June 2011. The company announced a 24% rise in its auto sales numbers, which stood at 1,26,029 units during the first quarter of FY 2012-13 as against 1,01,997 during the first quarter of FY 2011-12. Mahindra & Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) maintained its leadership position in the tractor industry in June 2012. Domestic sales in June 2012 stood at 22,493 units, as against 21,552 units during June 2011. Total tractor sales (domestic plus exports) in June 2012 stood at 23,765 units, as against 22,730 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month of June 2012 stood at 1,272 units. An India-Mauritius joint panel will in August discuss a series of proposals to review the double taxation avoidance treaty between the two nations, Mauritius Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell said on Thursday, 5 July 2012. India has been looking to negotiate the double taxation avoidance agreement with Mauritius for the past few years to check so-called round tripping and other potential abuses. Round tripping entails moving money out of one country to another, and getting it back under the garb of foreign capital. Capital gains tax is close to zero in Mauritius and almost 40% of investments into India come through the island nation. Under the bilateral agreement, capital gains from sale of securities can be taxed only in Mauritius. India and Mauritius will discuss the renegotiation of the tax pact between 22-24 August in Mauritius. The India-Mauritius joint working group will also discuss the inclusion of a so-called limitation of benefit clause, similar to the Singapore tax treaty with India, to ensure only genuine Mauritius-based companies are benefited. India's tax agreement with Singapore says that only those companies that spend a minimum of $200,000 (about Rs 1 crore) in Singapore can avail the benefits of the treaty. Sanctity of tax residency certificates issued by a country to companies operating in its jurisdiction to enable the firms to claim tax benefits under various treaties is another issue between India and Mauritius. While India in this year's national budget said the certificates are a necessary but not sufficient condition, Mauritius wants those issued by it honoured. Draft guidelines issued by Indian government last week for implementing the controversial anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) state that GAAR provisions should be invoked on a foreign institutional investor (FII), if it chooses to take a treaty benefit, but would not in any case be invoked in the case of the non-resident investors of the FII. The draft guidelines suggested that the onus of proving wrongdoing should be on the authorities. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said in a newspaper interview that he has identified controlling the fiscal deficit, achieving clarity on tax matters, reviving the mutual funds and insurance industries, clearing a backlog of foreign investment proposals and boosting infrastructure as his focus areas in the short term. Singh said there will be no arbitrariness in tax matters. The statement assumes significance in the context of a raging controversy over the Income Tax amendment to re-open tax demands with retrospective effect from companies like Vodafone over acquisition of companies having operations in India but registered abroad to avoid taxes. Singh last month said he is chalking out plan for the country's economic revival. Singh last month took additional charge at the finance ministry after Pranab Mukherjee resigned as finance minister on 26 June 2012 to contest the presidential polls scheduled on 19 July 2012. Mr. Mukherjee is the leading contender in the July 19 presidential election, having been nominated by the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government for the largely ceremonial post. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today, 6 July 2012, said that production of lentils and oilseeds could fall this year as a delayed start to the monsoon season. Rainfall in June 2012 was not satisfactory for agriculture and water reservoirs, Pawar said on the sidelines of a conference. Monsoon rainfall has been deficient in 82% of India's crop area so far, coming in 29% below long-term average in June alone. Any sharp fall in the production of oilseeds and pulses would mean that India, the world's biggest importer of cooking oils and lentils, will be importing a lot more of these commodities this year. Mr Pawar said the delayed monsoon won't impact the summer-sown rice crop so much. Plantings of rice paddy starts in June but the main sowing period for the water-intensive crop is July when the country receives the maximum monsoon rainfall. According to the India Meteorological Department, the monsoon will likely advance to the northwestern region--a major grain-growing area--by early next week, though more than a week later than usual. The situation, however, could turn grim if this doesn't happen as water levels in reservoirs in the north are already low. The monsoon rains--which make up around 70% of India's annual rainfall--are crucial to the nation's agriculture sector and broader economy. More than 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed. The timing, distribution and quantity of rainfall are all important for crops. The next major trigger for the stock market is Q1 June 2012 corporate earnings, which will start trickling from the second week of July 2012. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the result which could cause revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the current year or the next year. A deceleration in top line growth of India Inc amid economic slowdown and slowdown in investment cycle will weigh on bottom line growth in Q1 June 2012 as the core operating profit margin could be negatively impacted by deceleration in top line growth. HDFC announces Q1 results on 11 July 2012. IT heavyweights, Infosys and TCS unveil Q1 results on 12 July 2012. HDFC Bank declares its Q1 results on 13 July 2012. Axis Bank announces Q1 results on 17 July 2012. Bajaj Auto reports Q1 results on 18 July 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Dr Reddy's Laboratories unveil Q1 results on 19 July 2012. Asian Paints announces Q1 results on 20 July 2012. ICICI Bank announces Q1 results on 27 July 2012. Maruti Suzuki India announces Q1 results on 28 July 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra announces Q1 results on 8 August 2012. Ranbaxy Laboratories announces Q2 June 2012 results on 9 August 2012. European stock markets edged lower on Friday, as investors continued to fret over global growth prospects after a series of rate cuts in Europe and China the prior day. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were down by 0.16% to 0.53%. The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates to a record low on Thursday to breathe life into a deteriorating euro zone economy and back up measures agreed by European Union leaders last week to tackle the bloc's debt crisis. The quarter-point cut in the ECB's main refinancing rate to 0.75% was in line with market expectations and followed a dire batch of economic data that show even euro zone powerhouse Germany is entering a modest downturn. In addition to cutting the main refinancing rate, the ECB also reduced its deposit rate, which acts as a floor for the money market, to zero from 0.25%. But, the ECB refrained from taking more dramatic steps such as resuming purchases of troubled euro zone government bonds or flooding banks with fresh liquidity. The Bank of England (BOE) approved another round of quantitative easing on Thursday in a bid to keep the UK economy out of the ditch. As expected, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted in London to boost the size of its asset purchases by 50 billion pounds ($78.1 billion), bringing the total size of the program to 375 billion pounds. The bank said it expected the purchases to take four months to complete. Meanwhile, the BOE left its key lending rate unchanged at a record low 0.5%, also as expected. Asian stocks fell on Friday, 6 July 2012, after weak US services data overnight and after a flood of action by central banks on Thursday, 5 July 2012, highlighted the depth of concern for the global economic outlook. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan fell by between 0.04% to 0.92%. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.01%. Singapore's Straits Times rose 0.24%. China's central bank -- People's Bank of China -- cut benchmark interest rates for the second time in a month on Thursday and allowed banks to offer bigger discounts on their lending costs, stepping up efforts to reverse a slowdown in the world's second biggest economy after the US. The one-year lending rate will fall by 31 basis points and the one-year deposit rate will drop by 25 basis points effective from Friday, 6 July 2012. Banks can offer loans of as much as 30 percent less than benchmark rates, the central bank said. Important Chinese economic data is due over the next few days. During a five-day period from 9 to 13 July 2012, China will unveil data on second quarter gross domestic product, data for June 2012 on fixed-asset investment, inflation, industrial production and bank lending. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 20 points at the opening bell on Friday, 6 July 2012. US Stocks edged lower on Thursday as economic stimulus measures by major central banks failed to excite investors before the US jobs report expected to show tepid growth. The US Labor Department will release the influential US non-farm payroll figures and the unemployment rate for June 2012 today, 6 July 2012. US service companies grew in June at the slowest pace in nearly two and a half years, a troubling sign for the world's biggest economy. But those same firms boosted hiring last month, adding to other data that show job growth may have picked up. The Institute for Supply Management said on Thursday that its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 52.1 last month from a May reading of 53.7. The reading was the lowest since January 2010. Still, any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The sector has grown now for 30 straight months.