Metal shares slide as China's GDP growth decelerates in Q2

Key benchmark indices dropped for the third day in a row and reached their lowest lowest closing level in more than two weeks as index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in volatile trade. The market breadth was negative. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, shed 18.85 points or 0.11%, up about 30 points from the day's low and off close to 130 points from the day's high. Metal stocks dropped as China's economy cooled to its weakest rate of growth in more than three years in Q2 June 2012. From a recent high of 17,618.35 on 10 July 2012, the Sensex has declined 404.65 points or 2.29% in three trading sessions. The Sensex has lost 216.28 points or 1.24% in this month so far (till 13 July 2012). The Sensex has jumped 1,758.78 points or 11.38% in calendar 2012 so far (till 13 July 2012). Coming back to today's trade, HDFC Bank gained after reporting strong Q1 result. But, other bank stocks declined. TCS rose on strong Q1 results. Realty stocks reversed initial gains. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged higher in volatile trade. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today, 13 July 2012, approved the constitution of an expert committee on anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) to undertake stakeholder consultations and finalise the guidelines for GAAR. The committee would manage the consultation process and finalise the draft GAAR guidelines, the prime minister's office (PMO) said in a release. While postponing GAAR by one year to 2013 was a very welcome move, a widespread consultative process is necessary to generate a discussion on GAAR provisions so that there is an informed debate on how GAAR is going to operate, the release said. Department of Revenue undertook some consultations with stakeholders before finalising a first draft set of guidelines. This consultation was done by invitation. Subsequently, at PM's behest, Department of Revenue put the draft guidelines on the internet. This was widely welcomed as it lifted the veil on the GAAR guidelines, the release said. While these steps are good in themselves, a need was felt for far more widespread consultations, it said. There is a need to have greater clarity on many other fronts, the release said. The committee will invite comments from stakeholders and the general public on the draft GAAR guidelines which have been published by the government on its website. After receiving feedback, the committee will vet and rework the guidelines based on the feedback and publish the second draft of the GAAR guidelines for comments and consultations. This will be followed by the committee undertaking widespread consultations on the second draft GAAR guidelines. Once the consultation process is completed, the committee will finalise the GAAR guidelines and a roadmap for implementation and submit these to the government by 30 September 2012. The market edged higher in early trade as most Asian stocks rose. The market trimmed initial gains in morning trade. The market regained strength in mid-morning trade. The market trimmed gains once again in early afternoon trade. The market retained positive zone in afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices reversed gains in choppy mid-afternoon trade. The 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty hit two-week low. The BSE Sensex shed 18.85 points or 0.11% to settle at 17,213.70, its lowest closing level since 28 June 2012. The index declined 50.26 points at the day's low of 17,182.29 in mid-afternoon trade. The index jumped 110.33 points at the day's high of 17,342.88 in early trade, its highest level since 11 July 2012. The S&P CNX Nifty shed 8 points or 0.15% to settle at 5,227.25, its lowest closing level since 28 June 2012. The index hit a low of 5,216.85 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 5,267.15 in intraday trade, its highest level since 11 July 2012. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.22% and underperformed the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.11% and matched the Sensex's declined. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 1924 crore, lower than Rs 2181 crore on Thursday, 12 July 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,474 shares fell and 1,304 shares rose. A total of 137 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 17 stocks fell and the rest of them rose. India's second biggest private sector bank in terms of branch network HDFC Bank rose 1.21% after private sector bank said during market hours today its net profit jumped 30.6% to Rs 1417.40 crore on 34.3% growth in total income to Rs 9536.90 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. HDFC Bank's operating expenses jumped 25.7% to Rs 1934.60 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. The core cost-to-income ratio rose to 49.2% in Q1 June 2012 from 48.3% in Q1 June 2011, the bank said in a statement. The bank's total balance sheet size increased by 25.9% from Rs 2.85 lakh crore as on 30 June 2011 to 3.60 lakh crore as on 30 June 2012. Total net advances as on 30 June 2012 were Rs 2.13 lakh crore, an increase of 21.5% over 30 June 2011. The mix of loans between the retail and wholesale segments was 52:48 as on 30 June 2012, as against 54:46 as on 31 March 2012. The CASA (current and savings accounts) deposits ratio of the bank stood at 46% as on 30 June 2012. The bank's total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at June 30, 2012 (computed as per Basel II guidelines) stood at 15.5% as against the regulatory minimum of 9%. Tier-I CAR was 10.9% as on 30 June 2012. Asset quality of the bank remained healthy and stable with gross non-performing assets as on June 30, 2012 at 1% of gross advances and net non-performing assets at 0.2% of net advances. The bank's provisioning policies for specific loan loss provisions remained higher than regulatory requirements. The NPA coverage ratio based on specific provisions (not including write-offs, technical or otherwise) was at 81% as on June 30, 2012. Total restructured loans (including applications received and under process for restructuring) were at 0.3% of gross advances as of June 30, 2012. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank declined 0.21%, with the stock reversing initial gains. The country's biggest commercial bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India shed 1.69%, with the stock reversing initial gains. The bank has raised interest rate by 25 basis points to 9% on fixed deposits for the tenure of three years to less than five years with effect from 1 July 2012. This is applicable for deposits below Rs 15 lakh. Among other PSU bank stocks, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank shed by between 0.12% to 1%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) declined 0.34% at Rs 718.75. The stock was volatile. The scrip hit a high of Rs 726.40 and a low of Rs 715. RIL has bought back 3.47 crore shares for about Rs 2484 crore till 10 July 2012 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set maximum buyback price of Rs 870 per share. 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. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 0.89% to Rs 254. The stock was volatile. The scrip hit a high of Rs 254.40 and a low of Rs 250.35. India's largest software services exporter by revenues, TCS, gained 1.1% after company said after market hours on Thursday, 12 July 2012, its consolidated net profit as per Indian GAAP jumped 14.6% to Rs 3318 crore on 12.1% growth in revenue to Rs 14869 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. Operating profit rose 10.8% to Rs 4077 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. Consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 2.89% to $604 million on 3.02% growth in revenue to $2.728 billion in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. TCS said growth in Q1 June 2012 was quite broad-based. Growth was seen across all industry segments, led by Retail, Telecom and BFSI, TCS said in a statement. There was balanced growth across IT and other service lines led by BPO, enterprise solutions & infrastructure services, TCS said. Major markets grew smartly led by UK, USA and Europe alongside growth markets like Latin America, TCS said. TCS added 29 new clients in Q1 June 2012. Commenting on the Q1 performance, TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, N Chandrasekaran said: "We have seen strong, secular growth across all our service lines and industry segments driven by robust volumes from key markets like North America, Europe and UK. We have also absorbed impact of wage hikes and maintained our profitability in a volatile setting. Looking ahead, TCS continues to see good demand from global corporations as they successfully navigate an increasingly complex environment. Our investments in new technologies and platforms are bearing fruit with increasing market traction and we are confident of playing a pivotal role in our customers' future business evolution." TCS Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director S. Mahalingam said: "Our ability to closely monitor and maintain our operating expenses to support higher revenues is helping us maintain healthy margins. This ensures that we are able to continuously make investments needed in technology, capabilities and infrastructure to fuel growth over the long-term. The unprecedented volatility among major currencies and the Indian rupee will continue to be a challenge in the short term and we are taking the steps to mitigate any risks arising from this scenario." India's second largest software services exporter by revenues, Infosys, extended Thursday's losses triggered by the company revising downwards both earnings and revenue growth guidance for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) in dollar terms after reporting disappointing Q1 June 2012 results before trading hours on Thursday, 12 July 2012. The stock shed 1.65%. The scrip had tumbled 8.15% on Thursday. India's third largest software services exporter by revenue, Wipro, dropped 0.03%. The company announces Q1 results on 24 July 2012. Media shares rose on renewed buying. Zee News, Dish TV, Den Network, Balaji Telefilms, NDTV, TV Today Network, Zee Entertainment rose by between 0.18% to 8.19%. The Information & Broadcasting ministry has set an ambitious task of digitalizing the cable sector in the entire country by December 31, 2014. However its previously set deadline for the complete digitalization of cable services in the four metros by July 1, 2012, had to be deferred to November 1 due to slow installation of set top boxes (STBs). Metal stocks edged lower as China's economy cooled to its weakest rate of growth in more than three years in Q2 June 2012. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum. Jindal Steel & Power, Hindustan Zinc, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, Sterlite Industries, and Tata Steel dropped by between 0.63% to 3.24%. Realty stocks reversed initial gains on profit booking. Realty stocks witnessed strong gains over the past few weeks after the Competition Commission of India directed 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, Unitech and HDIL fell by between 1.3% to 3.56%. The Union Cabinet early this month 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. Castrol India rose 0.02%, with the stock extending gain for the third straight day. The company said during market hours on Wednesday its board of directors will consider proposal for bonus share issue on 16 July 2012. Auto stocks were mixed. M&M gained 0.34%. The company early this week said it has suspended its plans to develop a vehicle for the US market due to changes in the US regulatory and market situation. M&M said it will continue to monitor the US situation and remain flexible with its approach to this market. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors declined 0.49%. Global rating agency S&P on Monday, 9 July 2012, said it has raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Tata Motors and given it a positive outlook as it expects the company's cash flow to improve on account of strong sales at its UK-based unit Jaguar Land Rover Plc (JLR). S&P also said that it may further upgrade Tata Motors' ratings if JLR's risk profile improves or if Tata Motors is able to bring down its consolidated debt-to-operating profit ratio to 2.5. S&P raised Tata Motors' rating to BB from BB- previously and said it assesses the company's business risk as "fair." S&P said JLR's business risk profile has improved to fair from weak due to healthy vehicle sales -- particularly in emerging markets -- strong demand for Land Rover's sport-utility vehicles and introduction of the Evoque SUV. It said Evoque is expected to be the best-selling model for JLR in 2013. The rating agency said, however, that JLR still faces a challenge in repositioning the Jaguar brand in the competitive and technologically advanced luxury car market. JLR sells luxury sedans under the Jaguar brand. Renault SA last week introduced sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Duster in India as part of an aggressive strategy by the French auto maker to make deeper inroads in one of the world's biggest automobile markets. The Duster has a starting price of Rs 7.19 lakh for the base gasoline model and Rs 7.99 lakh for the base diesel model at New Delhi dealerships, pitching it in competition with SUVs from market leader Mahindra & Mahindra as well as Tata Motors and Force Motors. India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India declined 0.95%. The company early last week said its total sales jumped 20.3% to 96,597 units in June 2012 over June 2011. Automobile industry body -- the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) – on Tuesday, 10 July 2012, cut its forecast of domestic car sales for the year through March 2013 to 9%-11% from 10%-12% earlier. But it raised the guidance for total domestic car and sport-utility vehicle (SUV) sales to 11%-13% from 10%-12% due to expectations of higher SUV sales, most of which run on diesel. Sales of diesel cars and SUVs are surging as the price of diesel in India remains cheaper than petrol. In New Delhi diesel is 39% cheaper than petrol. Two wheeler makers gained. India's second largest motorcycle maker by sales Bajaj Auto gained 0.38%. As per recent reports, the company has cut prices of its products in Sri Lanka to bring back the volumes lost post the excise duty hike in that country. Bajaj Auto has reportedly cut retail prices of 3-wheelers by 10% and 2-wheelers to the tune of 5-14%, depending on the model, in Sri Lanka. The hit due to the price cut will be shared between the company and the dealers. Sri Lanka accounts for almost 5-7% of the total volumes of the company. It is one of the biggest markets for the auto major in terms of export and accounts for 17-18% of export sales. Bajaj Auto early last week said its total sales fell 6% to 3.45 lakh units in June 2012 over June 2011. The company's commercial vehicles sales plunged 39% to 26,785 units in June 2012 over June 2011 as three-wheeler exports to Sri Lanka and Egypt were disrupted in June 2012. Bajaj Auto expects sales to normalise from July 2012 onwards. Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) rose 1.38%. The company launched a 125 cubic-centimeter motorcycle Ignitor last week. The Ignitor motorcycle will be available in two versions, costing Rs 55,900 and Rs 57,900 at dealerships in New Delhi, the company said. The latest model follows the 110cc Maestro scooter, which was launched in March, and the 150cc Impulse motorcycle, introduced last October. The Ignitor will add to the Glamour and the Super Splendor -- the two 125cc motorcycle models sold currently by Hero MotoCorp. Hero MotoCorp sells motorcycles with 100cc to 225cc engines. It also sells two scooter models, including the Maestro. Hero MotoCorp's total sales rose 4.26% to 5,34,091 units in June 2012 over June 2011. With sales of 5,34,091 units in the month of June, HMCL's cumulative sales for the first quarter (April-June) of this financial year (2012-13) has touched 16,42,292 units -- its highest-ever sales in any single quarter. Divi's Laboratories fell 0.4%. The company has clarified regarding media reports stating that AP Pollution Control Board has served orders or closure notices to several pharma companies including Divis Pharma or Divi's Labs. The company said it reckons that closure notices were issues by AP Pollution Board to 12 units located in the heart of the city of Hyderabad, one of them being Divis Pharmaceuticals. The company clarified that Divi's Lab does not have any business dealings or transactions with Divis Pharmaceuticals. The company also clarified that its manufacturing facilities are located at Choutuppal village, Nalgonda District and Chippada Village, Bheemunipatnam Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. The company's business is normal as usual, Divi's Laboratories said. Power equipment major Bhel rose 0.06% on reports the Ministry of Power has proposed protecting local manufacturers by expanding the 21% tax on imported generating equipment. The government already levies a 21% tax on imports of generating equipment for power projects with a capacity of less than one gigawatt. But equipment for larger projects is exempted as part of a drive to boost the country's generating capacity. India's largest engineering & construction firm by sales L&T fell 0.35%. The company said after trading hours on Thursday that it has inaugurated its manufacturing facility for switchgear products at Vadodara in Gujarat. The new switchgear facility is a part of L&T's Electrical & Automation (E&A) business. L&T said the new facility will manufacture Air Circuit Breakers (ACBs) and Moulded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCBs). A development centre to provide research, development and engineering for circuit breakers will also be located at this facility, L&T said. A smart mix of labour and automation has been deployed at the unit that would enhance productivity by 2.5 times, L&T said in a statement. The lines are equipped to produce circuit breakers of different frames and several ratings from 16A to 6300A. Speaking on the occasion, L&T Chairman and Managing Director A. M. Naik said, "The new Vadodara switchgear facility is an investment for the future. It forms part of the wide ranging initiatives we are taking forward in the run-up to our Platinum Jubilee. The facility at Vadodara will enable us to elevate switchgear manufacturing technology to the next level, and advance further in our goal to upgrade India's manufacturing capabilities." Telecom stocks were mostly higher after the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on telecom on Thursday decided mobile phone companies to mortgage airwaves, a move that will allow telcos to use spectrum as collateral and raise funds from banks for the upcoming auctions. It was the first meeting of the EGoM under the chairmanship of Home Minister P Chidambaram, after it was reconstituted following the resignation of Pranab Mukherjee as the finance minister. MTNL, Idea Celluar and Bharti Airtel gained by between 0.42% to 4.29%. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Reliance Communications fell by between 0.8% to 0.93%. EGoM also decided it would try to meet the Supreme Court's deadline of August 31, despite a fresh deadline for the appointment of the auctioneer and also the release of the information memorandum for the auction only on August 22, instead of the earlier decision for August 6. On April 23, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended a base price of Rs 3622 crore for a megahertz of spectrum at pan-India level which is around 10 times higher than the price for 2G licences in 2008 when A Raja was the Telecom Minister. According to Trai recommendations, a minimum of 5 Mhz should be allotted which would mean that a pan-India spectrum in 1800 MHz band will cost Rs 18000 crore. The reserve price is five times the base price of Rs 3500 crore for 3G auction. However, telecom operators have been opposing the Trai recommendations, saying that it will hurt investment in the sector further and expansion of the industry in rural areas. HDFC shed 0.2%. The company said on Thursday that a total of 4.6 crore convertible warrants issued by the company in August 2009 are outstanding as on date. The conversion price for the warrant is Rs 600 per share. HDFC said the option of conversion of these outstanding warrants is available till 24 August 2012. Warrants which are not exercised on or before 24 August 2012 will lapse and cease to be valid and any amount paid towards them to date will stand forfeited, HDFC said. HDFC's net profit rose 18.63% to Rs 1001.91 crore on 29.29% growth in total income to Rs 4934.95 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. HDFC's loan book stood at Rs 1.48 lakh crore as on 30 June 2012 as against Rs 1.24 lakh crore in the previous year. This excludes loans sold during the preceding 12 months amounting to Rs 4978 crore to HDFC Bank. BAMPSL Securities clocked highest volume of 71.42 lakh shares on BSE. Kingfisher Airlines (55.10 lakh shares), Lanco Infratech (50.96 lakh shares), Sybly Industries (49 lakh shares) and Cals Refineries (43.86 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order. SBI clocked highest turnover of Rs 88.75 crore on BSE. Infosys (Rs 72.49 crore), United Spirits (Rs 67.47 crore), Blue Star (Rs 64.16 crore) and TCS (Rs 54.05 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order. Foreign direct investments in India fell 38% in the April-May period, according to central bank data which reflect the battering the country's appeal has taken in the past few months. FDI flows into India in the first two months of the fiscal year which began April 1 dropped to $3.2 billion from $5.15 billion a year earlier. In May alone, net foreign direct investment more than halved from a year earlier to $1.38 billion, adding to worries about India's current account deficit. India depends on capital inflows to finance its current account deficit, which widened to a record 4.5% of gross domestic product in the January-March period. India's trade deficit narrowed in June, helped by a sharp fall in imports, director-general of foreign trade Anup Pujari said on Friday, 13 July 2012. The trade deficit was $10.3 billion during the month, down from $14.4 billion a year earlier. Exports in June fell 5.45% from a year earlier to $25.1 billion while imports declined 13.46% to $35.3 billion due slide in crude oil prices. Concerns on the monsoon front remain. Director-general of the state-run India Meteorological Department L.S. Rathore, (IMD) on 11 July 2012 said there is a strong chance of an El Nino weather event this season and it will likely emerge in August 2012. El Ninos are usually associated with lower rainfall. Lower rainfall this year is intensifying concerns that output of summer-sown crops such as oilseeds, sugar and pulses will fall compared with record-high levels in the last couple of years, hitting farm income. Poor rainfall in cane and pulses growing Maharashtra and Karnataka is cause for concern, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on 11 July 2012. Maharashtra is the top sugar producer and second-biggest producer of soybeans, while Karnataka is the No. 1 coffee producer. 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. Corporate affairs minister Veerappa Moily said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday, 11 July 2012, that the government is hopeful of the passage of the pension bill in the monsoon session of parliament. The monsoon session of parliament begins on 7 August 2012. 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 recently for implementing the controversial anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the 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 said in a newspaper interview last week 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. The first quarter June 2012 earnings season has just begun. In the next one month, investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the result to see if there is any 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. Axis Bank announces Q1 results on 17 July 2012. Bajaj Auto reports Q1 results on 18 July 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Laboratories unveil Q1 results on 19 July 2012. Reliance Industries and Asian Paints unveil Q1 results on 20 July 2012. Hindustan Unilever, L&T and Cairn India unveil Q1 results on 23 July 2012. Wipro and Jindal Steel & Power unveil Q1 results on 24 July 2012. GAIL (India) and Power Grid Corporation of India unveil Q1 results on 25 July 2012. Cement majors ACC and Ambuja Cements unveil Q2 June 2012 results on 26 July 2012. Bhel announces Q1 results on the same day. ICICI Bank and Grasim Industries unveil 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. BPCL announces Q1 results on 10 August 2012. Hindalco Industries announces Q1 results on 14 August 2012. Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) is seen rising further to 7.62% in June 2012 from 7.55% in May 2012, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. The CSO will announce data on WPI inflation for June 2012 at 11:30 IST on 16 July 2012. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announces first quarter review of the Monetary Policy 2012-13 on 31 July 2012. The RBI unexpectedly left its key lending rate unchanged at its last meeting in June 2012, citing inflationary concerns. European shares edged higher on Friday as in-line China growth data prompted some to expect it to lead to further growth stimulus measures. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up by 0.27% to 1.28%. Moody's Investors Service on Friday cut Italy's bond rating to Baa2 from A3, with a negative outlook. Moody's said the government in Rome is more likely to experience a sharp increase in funding costs, or the loss of market access, and that its near-term economic outlook has deteriorated. Italy on Friday sold 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) of new three-year government bonds, producing a yield of 4.65%, down from 5.30% in a sale in June, news reports said. Borrowing costs were expected to decline after Italian bond yields pulled back from crisis levels following a European Union summit meeting in late June. The amount sold was at the top end of the government's range of 2.5 billion to 3.5 billion euros. Demand outstripped supply 1.73 times, reports said, up slightly from 1.59 in June. Asian stocks gained on Friday after China reported second-quarter growth in line with expectations, dousing fears of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the world's second biggest economy. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore rose by between 0.02% to 1.54%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell 0.37%. China's economy cooled to its weakest rate of growth in more than three years in Q2 June 2012, expanding 7.6% from a year earlier, in a result that matched expectations but underscored problems faced by its export-dependent growth model. The growth rate was the weakest since the first quarter of 2009. For the January-to-June period, the economy grew 7.8%, compared to 9.6% in the same period a year earlier. The GDP had risen 8.1% in Q1 March 2012. In other data released simultaneously on Friday by China's National Bureau of Statistics, industrial production was also slightly weaker, expanding 9.5% in June, compared to May's 9.6% expansion. Fixed-asset investment growth in urban areas accelerated to 20.4% in the first half, picking up from 20.1% in the first five months of the year. Retail sales were up 13.7% in June from a year earlier, softening slightly from May's 13.8% growth. Sales of home appliances at large retailers were among bright spots, rising 9.5% on year, up from 0.5% growth in May. There is no need to worry about deflation although China's consumer inflation is likely to continue to slow, an official with the country's statistics bureau said on Friday, 13 July 2012. Despite lower inflation recorded in June, Chinese companies still face heavy cost pressures, Sheng Laiyun, the National Bureau of Statistics' spokesman, said at a press conference. Meanwhile, people should be cautious about imported inflation due to ample liquidity globally, he said. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) left ultra-low interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting on Thursday. The BoJ reaffirmed its commitment to steadily increasing the size of its asset purchase program, but didn't announce any immediate increase in the overall size of the program. The Bank of Korea on Friday scaled back its 2012 economic-growth forecast for the second time this year, a day after it unexpectedly cut interest rates and signaled that it would act pre-emptively to protect against slowing global growth. South Korea's economy will expand 3% this year, the central bank said today in a statement, an estimate lowered from a 3.5% prediction made in April and 3.7% in December. Singapore's economy unexpectedly contracted last quarter as manufacturing fell, adding to signs of a deepening slowdown in Asian expansion as Europe's debt crisis curbs demand for the region's goods. Gross domestic product fell an annualized 1.1% in the three months through June from the previous quarter, when it climbed a revised 9.4% the Trade Ministry said today. The Asian Development Bank said in a report released on Thursday, 12 July 2012, that weaker global demand is helping ease international oil and food prices in Asia, which is reducing inflationary pressures in the region. The bank trimmed its inflation forecast for developing Asia for this year to 4.4% from 4.6% previously. It cut its inflation forecast for China this year to 3.7% from 4% previously. The World Bank on Thursday revised down its 2013 Indonesia growth forecast to 6.4% from 6.5% a month ago, but said a severe global downturn could send growth tumbling even further to 4%. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 61 points at the opening bell on Friday, 13 July 2012. US stocks matched their longest losing streak this year on Thursday, with losses driven by downbeat corporate forecasts and worries about the global economy.