Sensex scales 21-1/2-week high

Key benchmark indices edged higher with the market sentiment boosted by data showing continuation of buying of Indian stocks by foreign funds. The market breadth turned positive from negative in late trade. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, achieved its highest closing level in 21-1/2 weeks. The 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty scaled its highest closing level in nearly 19 weeks. The Sensex jumped 75.71 points or 0.43%, up close to 120 points from the day's low and off about 10 points from the day's high. Private sector banking major HDFC Bank scaled record high. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher. The Sensex had declined 44.04 points or 0.25% in three trading sessions to settle at 17,557.74 on Friday, 10 August 2012, from a recent high of 17,601.78 on 7 August 2012. The Sensex has gained 397.27 points or 2.3% in this month so far (till 13 August 2012). The Sensex has jumped 2,178.53 points or 14.09% in calendar 2012 so far (till 13 August 2012). From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 2,497.59 points or 16.5%. From a 52-week high of 18,523.78 on 22 February 2012, the Sensex has lost 890.33 points or 4.8%. Coming back to today's trade, shares of organised retailers were mostly higher after the central government said the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir through their press statements have publicly endorsed a proposal to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 51% in multi-brand retail. ONGC rose after reporting strong Q1 earning. L&T rose after the company announced winning new orders. HCL Technologies scaled a 52-week high. Tech Mahindra struck a 52-week high, with the stock extending Friday's gains triggered by strong Q1 results. Mahindra Satyam hit a 52-week high. Zee Entertainment hit a 52-week high. Wockhardt struck a record. Bharti Airtel rose after the company increased the tariffs for fixed-line broadband Internet services by 5%-8%, citing regulatory changes and higher input costs. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose after unveiling good Q1 consolidated earnings. Private sector steel major Tata Steel fell ahead of its Q1 results. The market edged higher amid initial volatility. The Sensex slipped into the red later. The key benchmark indices regained positive zone in morning trade. Key benchmark indices alternatively swung between gains and losses in mid-morning trade to trade. Key benchmark indices pared intraday losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The market weakened further to hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. Volatility ruled the roost as key benchmark indices once again slipped into the red after regaining positive zone for a short while in mid-afternoon trade. The market surged in late trade. The market sentiment boosted by data showing continuation of buying of Indian stocks by foreign funds. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 123.50 crore from the secondary equity markets on Friday, 10 August 2012, as per data from Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs Rs 3828.20 crore from the secondary equity markets in 8 trading sessions from 1 to 10 August 2012. The inflow this month comes on the top of substantial purchases last month. FIIs bought shares worth net Rs 9691 crore from the secondary equity markets in July 2012. The BSE Sensex jumped 75.71 points or 0.43% to settle at 17,633.45, its highest closing level since 15 March 2012. The index rose 84.64 points at the day's high of 17,642.38 in late trade. The index fell 35.64 points at the day's low of 17,522.10 in afternoon trade. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 27.50 points or 0.52% to settle at 5,347.90, its highest closing level since 3 April 2012. The Nifty hit high of 5,352.45 and low of 5,309.05 in intraday trade. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.49% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.46%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The total turnover on the BSE amounted to Rs 1845 crore, lower than Rs 2192.36 crore on Friday, 10 August 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned positive from negative in late trade. On BSE, 1,474 shares gained and 1,280 shares declined. A total of 121 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 stocks fell and rest of them rose. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC fell 0.34% to Rs 266.85. The stock hit a high of Rs 268.45 and a low of Rs 264.15. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 268.90 in intraday trade on Friday, 10 August 2012. The company's net profit jumped 20.21% to Rs 1602.14 crore on 15.34% growth in net sales to Rs 6652.21 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. Despite series of tax hikes, ITC's performance in cigarettes business remains robust and displays pricing power for the company. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined 1.43% to Rs 490.60. The stock had hit a record of Rs 498.90 in intraday on Friday, 10 August 2012. The company's net profit jumped 112.3% to Rs 1331.19 crore on 13.7% growth in net sales to Rs 6250.15 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. Tata Global Beverages rose 0.94% to Rs 134.20. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 136.40 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. Dabur India rose 2.63% to Rs 123.10. The stock hit a record high of Rs 124 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.7% to Rs 787.50. The stock hit a high of Rs 790 and a low of Rs 779.95. RIL last week said it has bought back 3.88 crore shares for about of Rs 2776.78 crore till 7 August 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. RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's Annual General Meeting in June 2012 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. India's largest oil exploration firm by sales ONGC rose 0.54% to Rs 280.80. The stock came off day's high of Rs 290.75. The company on Saturday, 11 August 2012, said its net profit jumped 48.42% to Rs 6077.70 crore on 23.87% growth in income from operations (net) to Rs 20177.78 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. ONGC gave a subsidy discount of Rs 12346 crore in Q1 June 2012, higher than Rs 12046 crore in Q1 June 2011. This impacted the profit before tax (PBT) by Rs 10583 crore and profit after tax (PAT) by Rs 7149 crore in Q1 June 2012. State-run upstream oil firms share part of the under-recoveries of state-run oil refining-cum-market firms arising from the government-imposed price caps on three key fuels -- diesel, LPG for domestic use and kerosene sold through the public distribution system. ONGC said in a statement that while carrying out development drilling in D1 Field, the company discovered a new pool of reserves which may catapult D1 to become the third largest field in Western Offshore after prolific Mumbai high and Heera. Earlier, the D1 was known to have IOIP (Initial Oil In-place) to the order of 600 million barrel (82.20 million tonne oil equivalent). After the discovery of the new pool, its total IOIP is expected to be in excess of One Billion Barrel (140 mtoe). D1, primarily an oil producing field, is situated about 200 km West of Mumbai city in Deep Continental Shelf at a water depth of 85m-90m. The Field comprises of 4 blocks viz. D1-4, D1-12, D1-14 and D1-2/5. Apart from D-1, ONGC has notified three more discoveries in the past one month, ONGC said. Coal India (CIL) shed 0.3%. Coal production from CIL has increased from 360.92 million tones (MT) in 2006-07, the terminal year of the 10th Five Year Plan to 435.84 MT in 2011-12, the terminal year of the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP). The production is envisaged to reach 615 MT in 2016-17, the terminal year of 12th FYP. This was informed by Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil, Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal while replying a written question in Rajya Sabha today, 13 August 2012. Banking stocks were mostly higher. India's largest bank by branch network State Bank of India rose 0.94%, with the stock recovering from Friday's slide triggered by the bank reporting increase in bad loans in Q1 June 2012. SBI's ratio of net non-performing assets to net assets rose to 2.22% as on 30 June 2012, from 1.82% as on 31 March 2012, and 1.61% as on 30 June 2011. SBI's ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPA) to gross advances stood at 4.99% of gross advances as on 30 June 2012, higher than 4.44% as on 31 March 2012 and 3.52% as on 30 June 2011. SBI's net profit surged 136.91% to Rs 3751.56 crore on 16.89% increase in total income to Rs 32415.49 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. The surge in net profit was mainly due to a sharp fall in provisions and contingencies in Q1 June 2012. It may be recalled that SBI's provisions and contingencies had risen sharply in Q1 June 2011. The result was announced during trading hours on 10 August 2012. India's second biggest private sector bank in terms of branch network HDFC Bank rose 0.89% to Rs 607.40 after striking a record high of Rs 609.70 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. The stock recovered from day's low of Rs 600. During market hours today, 13 August 2012, the bank said it has issued on a private placement basis unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible, subordinated bonds towards Tier-II capital bonds for an amount aggregating Rs 3477 crore. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank fell 0.53%. The bank's profit after tax jumped 36% to Rs 1815 crore on 32% growth in net interest income to Rs 3193 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. ICICI Bank's net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.01% for Q1 June 2012, from 2.61% for Q1 June 2011. The bank announced the results on 27 July 2012. The government has issued directions to banks for restructuring of textiles industry loans on a case by case basis in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India's prudential guidelines on re-structuring of advances by banks. Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) rose 0.16%. M&M's consolidated profit after deducting minority interest jumped 55% to Rs 1026.40 crore on 23.7% growth in gross Revenue plus other income to Rs 17670.80 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. M&M announced the consolidated results during trading hours today, 13 August 2012. During the quarter, some of the major group companies like Mahindra Finance, Mahindra Satyam and Mahindra Lifespace Developers significantly improved their performance, M&M said in a statement. As on 30 June 2012, the M&M group comprised of 115 subsidiaries, 6 joint ventures and 11 associates. A full summation of gross revenues and other income of all the group companies taken together for the three months ended 30 June 2012 is Rs 20476.90 crore and profits before minority interest is Rs 1405.30 crore, M&M said in a statement. Car major Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.95%. Bharti Airtel rose 1.64%. The company has increased the tariffs for fixed-line broadband Internet services by 5%-8%, citing regulatory changes and higher input costs. Bharti's telemedia division provides fixed-line services, including Internet, and it accounts for 7% of the company's total revenue. At the end June, this division had 3.3 million subscribers and 1.4 million of them were broadband Internet users as well. Intense competition has made it tough for Bharti to take price raises for its wireless telephone services, from where the company gets the bulk of its revenue, and to look at other businesses to increase tariffs and support its financial performance. India's largest engineering & construction firm by sales L&T rose 0.98% after company said during market hours today that its construction division has won new orders valued at over Rs 2008 crore across various business segments in July and August 2012. Realty major DLF gained 3.47% on reports the company has sold its 17.5-acre plot at Lower Parel in Mumbai to Lodha Developers for Rs 2750 crore. The deal is a part of the DLF's decision to sell non-core businesses to reduce debt. India's largest pharma company by market capitalisation Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.95%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries announced today, 13 August 2012, that they have entered into a merger agreement together with certain affiliates of Sun Pharma. The merger agreement provides that all shareholders of Taro other than Sun Pharma and its affiliates will receive a cash payment of $39.50 per share upon the closing of the merger. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and its affiliates collectively own approximately 66% of the outstanding Taro ordinary shares and 100% of Taro's founders shares, representing approximately 77.5% of the outstanding voting power in Taro. Upon completion of the merger, Taro will become a privately held company. It will be wholly owned by affiliates of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and its ordinary shares will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The merger agreement was approved by Taro's Board of Directors based upon the recommendations and approvals of the Special Committee of Taro's Board of Directors (the Special Committee) and the Audit Committee of Taro's Board of Directors. Wockhardt rose 0.73% to Rs 1199.25 after striking a record high of Rs 1206.95 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. The stock extended recent strong gains triggered by the company reporting strong Q1 earnings. Shares of Wockhardt have jumped 18.56% in six trading sessions from Rs 1,010.60 on 3 August 2012 after the company, during trading hours on 6 August 2012, reported strong Q1 earnings. Wockhardt's consolidated net profit jumped 94.9% to Rs 377.97 crore on 35.4% growth in net sales to Rs 1425.82 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals fell 0.23%. During market hours today, 13 August 2012, the company reported 10.83% growth in net profit to Rs 163.52 crore on 15.93% growth in total income to Rs 699.88 crore in Q2 June 2012 over Q2 June 2011. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals said its core pharmaceuticals business grew by 16.3% in Q2 June 2012. The quarter saw a growth across all the business verticals. Dermatology and Vaccines continued to grow strongly. Despite material cost escalations and adverse exchange rate movement, the EBITDA margin was 33% for the quarter. In Q2 June 2012, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals launched Uricostat for Gout treatment. The company expanded its Oncology portfolio by launching HycamtinTM to fulfil unmet needs for patients with advance cancers and relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The company also introduced Volibris (Ambrisentan), a non-sulphonamide class endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). During the quarter, a Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) with dose counter was launched, which will help patients keep a correct count of drug doses taken. Commenting on the performance, Dr. Hasit B. Joshipura, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals said: "Growth for the quarter was market competitive, with all the segments delivering strong growth." HCL Technologies rose 1.01% to Rs 542.10 after striking a 52-week high of Rs 544 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. Tech Mahindra rose 2.08% to Rs 816.10 after striking a 52-week high of Rs 818.70 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. The stock extended Friday's gain triggered by strong Q1 results. The company's consolidated net profit rose 12% to Rs 338 crore on 9% growth in revenue to Rs 1543 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. Tech Mahindra's operating profit jumped 38% to Rs 330 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. The result was announced after market hours on Thursday, 9 August 2012. Mahindra Satyam rose 1.52% to Rs 93.70 after striking a 52-week high of Rs 93.90 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. Zee Entertainment rose 1.79% to Rs 170.80 after striking a 52-week high of Rs 171.65 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. Shares of organised retailers were mostly higher shares of organised retailers were mostly higher after the central government said the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir through their press statements have publicly endorsed a proposal to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 51% in multi-brand retail. ONGC rose after reporting strong Q1 earning. Shoppers Stop (up 1.16%) and Pantaloon Retail (India) (up 3.32%) gained. But, Trent shed 1.14%. Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today, 13 August 2012, that the state of Delhi and Manipur and the Union Territory of Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, have expressed support in writing for a proposal to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 51% in multi-brand retail. Late last year, the government approved 51% FDI in multi-brand retail. But, in the face of a firestorm of protest, including from coalition allies within the Congress party-led government, the implementation of the proposal was put on hold. Aviation shares advanced on bargain hunting after recent losses. Jet Airways and SpiceJet gained by between 2.9% to 5.68%. Shares of Vijay Mallya-promoted UB Group companies rallied. United Breweries Holdings and United Spirits jumped by between 9.54% to 11.87%. United Breweries jumped 9.54% after net profit jumped 38.9% to Rs 98.64 crore on 28.7% growth in net sales to Rs 1225.82 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. United Breweries (UBL) said the Q1 June 2012 results include the operations of Millennium Beer Industries (MBIL), United Millennium Breweries (UMBL), UB Nizam Breweries (UBNB), Chennai Breweries (CBPL) and UB Ajanta Breweries (UBA) consequent to the merger of these entities into the company, and the results are therefore not comparable with the results of Q1 June 2011. The merger of SNIPL is progressing as planned and expected to be completed in FY 2013, UBL added. UBL said several key markets of the company posted double digit volume growth, namely Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. UBL's sales volume in Tamil Nadu continues to be affected by the unfavorable ordering pattern of TASMAC, the company said. Maharashtra and West Bengal recovered strongly from the excise duty increase in the previous year, while Bihar volumes were up significantly on account of non-supply in Q1 June 2011, UBL said in a statement. UBL said strong beer brands continue to drive the company's overall volumes, with an overwhelming growth of 23%, while the mild beer volumes declined by 9% in line with the market. UBL said the input prices have been well controlled. While malt costs have risen in excess of 15% and can prices have been impacted by the movement in the rupee/dollar exchange rate, improved efficiencies and the company's patented bottle system have enabled the company to contain the increase of input of input prices, UBL said in a statement. The company's greenfield brewery in Nanjangud is expected to commence production in Q2 September 2012 and expansions at other breweries are underway as planned, UBL said in a statement. Kingfisher Airlines jumped 20% to Rs 8.88. The stock reversed direction after hitting a record low of Rs 7.01 in intraday trade today, 13 August 2012. The company reported a net loss to Rs 650.79 crore in Q1 June 2012, higher than net loss of Rs 263.54 crore in Q1 June 2011. Kingfisher Airlines' net sales declined 84.2% to Rs 301.38 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. Kingfisher Airlines said it has halved its operating losses to Rs 204 crore in Q1 June 2012, from Rs 429 crore in Q1 June 2011. This was achieved by reducing the level of operations in this high cost environment through a 20 aircraft 'Holding Operation', the company said in a statement. Kingfisher Airlines said the impact of high fuel cost, high interest rate, depreciation of rupee and extraordinary expenses on account of return of aircraft to the lessors and the costs associated with non-operating aircraft resulted in a net loss of Rs 651 crore in Q1 June 2012. The UB Group provided cash support of over Rs 750 crore to the Kingfisher Airlines to meet its cash flow requirements, the company said in a statement. Kingfisher Airlines said it continues to believe it will get recapitalized and get on a path of sustained profitability. The airline is in discussions with several strategic and financial investors to bring fresh capital, Kingfisher Airlines said in a statement. Metal stocks were mostly higher on hopes China will ease monetary policy further to revive slowing economic growth. China is the world's largest consumer of industrial metals. Sterlite Industries, Bhushan Steel, JSW Steel, Sail, Hindustan Zinc rose by between 0.33% to 2.66%. Private sector steel major Tata Steel shed 1.19% ahead of its Q1 results today, 13 August 2012. Kingfisher Airlines clocked highest volume of 1.2 crore shares on BSE. SpiceJet (61.94 lakh shares), Birla Power Solutions (53.03 lakh shares), Vikas Wsp (52.48 lakh shares) and HDIL (39.44 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order. SBI clocked highest turnover of Rs 182.01 crore on BSE. United Spirits (Rs 148.26 crore), Vikas Wsp (Rs 38.05 crore), HDIL (Rs 33.86 crore) and RIL (Rs 32.48 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order. The stock market remains closed on Wednesday, 15 August 2012, on account of Independence Day. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Saturday, 11 August 2012, said the fundamentals of the economy remain strong. "We have the highest savings and investments rate in the world," Dr. Singh said. This year we will see better than 6.5% (gross domestic product) growth of last year, he said. Industrial production declined 1.8% in June 2012 compared to the level in the month of June 2011, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Thursday, 9 August 2012, showed. Manufacturing output, which has a 75.5% weight in the index of industrial production, fell 3.2% in June 2012 compared to the level in the month of June 2011. Capital-goods production shrank 27.9% in June 2012 compared to the level in the month of June 2011. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last week said that a path of financial consolidation will be unveiled shortly. Government finances are under pressure as expenses exceed revenue, mainly because of subsidies doled out for cheaper supplies of food, fuel and fertilizer. Mr. Chidambaram said that the fiscal-deficit target for the current financial year will be reassessed after a mid-year review later this financial year depending on the pace of expenditure and the resource position of the government. The government is aiming to restrict spending on subsidies, the finance minister said. The government has already taken some steps to reduce expenditure. In late May, the finance ministry asked government departments to reduce their non-plan spending -- expenditure that won't create long-term assets -- by 10% this fiscal year as part of its efforts to keep the fiscal deficit under check. The government intends to fine tune policies and procedures that will facilitate capital flows into India, Mr. Chidambaram said last week. Clarity in tax laws, a stable tax regime, a non-adversarial tax administration, a fair mechanism for dispute resolution, and an independent judiciary will provide great assurance to investors, Mr. Chidambaram said. The government has recently appointed two committees -- one to examine anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) legal provisions and guidelines and the other to review taxation of the IT sector and Development Centres. Mr. Chidambaram said he has also directed a review of tax provisions that have a retrospective effect in order to find fair and reasonable solutions to pending as well as likely disputes between the Tax Departments and the Assessees concerned. Mr. Chidambaram said that the government has received requests to put off plans to implement the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) which aim to check tax avoidance. The implementation of GAAR was postponed by one year in order to provide an opportunity of wider consultation before such a legislation is implemented, Mr. Chidambaram said in the lower house of parliament while replying to lawmakers' questions. The provisions of GAAR are directed toward preventing tax avoidance by way of aggressive tax planning, he added. The implementation of GAAR proposal introduced in the Union Budget 2012-13 in March 2012 by then-finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has been deferred to 1 April 2013. This came after heavy criticism from foreign investors who fear that GAAR would give the authorities arbitrary powers to examine any deal that they feel is designed to avoid tax. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh last month constituted 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 by 30 September 2012. Dr. Singh last month also decided to refer the issue of implications on FIIs and portfolio investors of the amendment made to the Income Tax Act relating to the taxation of non-resident transfer of assets where the underlying asset is in India to the Expert Committee on anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR). "It is necessary to have clarity on the tax liability of portfolio investors and foreign institutional investors as a result of this amendment particularly when the investment is made through a registered stock exchange in accordance with SEBI guidelines and purely in the form of portfolio investment", the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement issued on 30 July 2012. Any clarification needs to be harmonised with the GAAR guidelines and will have to address any residual concerns outside of GAAR, the PMO said. In the next few weeks, the government will announce a number of decisions to attract more people to invest in mutual funds, insurance policies and other well-designed instruments, Mr. Chidambaram said last week. On the macro front, inflation based on the monthly wholesale price index (WPI) is seen inching up to 7.4% in July 2012 from 7.25% (provisional) for the month of June 2012, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. The data is due for release at 11:30 IST tomorrow, 14 August 2012. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will unveil data on consumer price index (Agricultural Labourers/ Rural Labourers) on Friday, 17 August 2012. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects normal rains in August -- a critical month for summer crops. It expects rainfall to be 5-6% below average in September due to the possibility of El Nino. The weather office expects rainfall during August-September to be 91% of the long-term average. The monsoon has been less than average during the current year. Quantitatively, monsoon season rainfall for the country as a whole was deficient by 19% till 3 August 2012. Nineteen out of 35 states/union territories received less than the average rainfall till the end of July 2012. A panel of Indian ministers last week approved steps to contain the impact of a near-drought situation. The steps include providing a diesel-price subsidy to farmers, increasing the subsidy on seed supplies and removal of the import tax on oilmeals. Rice sowing has picked up according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture. Rice was sown in 264.39 lakh hectares (lh) till Thursday, 9 August 2012, compared with 233.68 lh until 3 August 2012. Rice sowing so far has been below the normal area of 272.58 lh for the summer sown crop by this time of the year. Cumulative sowing of coarse cereals totaled 140.89 lh till 9 August 2012, compared with 135.75 lh until 3 August 2012. Sowing of coarse cereals remains much lower than 181.24 lh of normal area for the crop this time of the year. Sowing of pulses totaled 74.48 lh till 9 August 2012, compared with 72.79 lh until 3 August 2012. Sowing of pulses remains lower than 92.81 lh of normal area for this time of the year. Sowing of oilseeds totaled 151.82 lh till 9 August 2012, compared with 145.17 lh until 3 August 2012. It is slightly lower than the normal area of 153.39 lh for oilseeds by this time of the year. Sowing of cotton totaled 109.23 lh till 9 August 2012, compared with 100.14 lh until 3 August 2012. The normal cotton sowing area of 99.9 lh by this time of the year has already been surpassed. Sowing of jute and mesta totaled 8.41 lh as on 9 August 2012, exceeding the normal area of 8.23 lk for the crop by this time of the year. 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 four-month southwest monsoon season that starts from June accounts for almost 70% of total annual moisture that Indian soil receives in a year. A comprehensive Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill is among the 31 Bills the government has lined up for consideration and passing during the ongoing monsoon on session of Parliament. Among the other bills include those on Forward Contracts, Banking laws, whistle-blowers and women's reservation as also the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials bill. The monsoon session of Parliament will conclude on September 7. An India-Mauritius joint panel will discuss a series of proposals to review the double taxation avoidance treaty between the two nations on 22-24 August in Mauritius. 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. 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 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. The Q1 June 2012 results season ends tomorrow, 14 August 2012, when Hindalco Industries, Reliance Infrastructure and IDFC unveil their Q1 results. Hindalco Industries' US unit -- Novelis Inc. -- also unveils Q1 June 2012 results tomorrow, 14 August 2012. European stock markets reversed intraday losses on Monday, 13 August 2012, as banks and utility firms lent support. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were up 0.02% to 0.4%. Euro zone second quarter GDP data is due for release tomorrow, 14 August 2012. Stronger German growth in the first quarter lifted the overall euro-zone GDP reading to 0% quarter-on-quarter, contrary to the forecasts for 0.2% quarter-on-quarter decline. Germany's Federal Constitutional Court will announce a decision on lawsuits challenging the country's participation in the permanent euro-zone rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and the fiscal pact on 12 September 2012. The court held a public hearing earlier this month to examine complaints that participation in the fund and the fiscal pact violated German law by taking some authority over the national budget away from parliament. Most Asian shares declined on Monday, 13 August 2012, after disappointing data from Japan. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were down by 0.06% to 0.94%. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.35%. Chinese stocks dropped after investor disappointment as Beijing officials didn't ease monetary policy over the weekend. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.51% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.27% Japan's economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.4% in the second quarter -- lower than analysts' expectations of 2.7% rise -- as exports slowed and a domestic-demand led recovery showed signs of faltering. That marked a steep slowdown from an upwardly revised advance of 5.5% in the first quarter. Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Monday, 13 August 2012. US stocks ended higher on Friday, 10 August 2012, as expectations grew from euro zone policymakers to come up with reforms to bring Europe out of debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 42.76 points, or 0.3%, to 13207.95. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 3.07 points, or 0.2%, to 1405.87 and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 2.22 points, or 0.1%, to 3020.86. Data on US retail sales for July 2012 is due for release on Tuesday, 14 August 2012. The data will be watched closely as an indicator of economic health in the world's biggest economy. US retailer Home Depot Inc. unveils its quarterly results on Tuesday, 14 August 2012. Data on US July consumer-price index and the August Empire State index will be out on Wednesday, 15 August 2012. The NY Empire State Index is a regional economic indicator published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It is considered to be an indicator of economic conditions in one of the most populated states in the US. The National Association of Home Builders will also release its August housing market index -- a measure of home builder confidence -- on Wednesday, 15 August 2012. The July housing starts report and the August Philadelphia Fed index will be released on Thursday, 16 August 2012. Data on initial weekly jobless claims will be released on the same day. US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveils its quarterly results on Thursday, 16 August 2012. The University of Michigan will release its preliminary consumer sentiment survey for August on Friday, 17 August 2012. Election for a new president in the United States, the world's biggest economy, is scheduled on 6 November 2012. Senior officials from the Group of 20 largest economies are discussing calling a meeting of an emergency forum to try and coordinate a response to surging food prices due to a severe drought in the US, a leading London based newspaper reported. G20 officials plan to hold talks by the end of the month on setting up the meeting and it could take place in late September or early October, the report said citing four officials familiar with the conversations.