Market hits one week low on political worries

Key benchmark indices fell for the second straight day to hit lowest closing level in a week as weak global stocks and political crisis at home following Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the ruling UPA government deciding to withdraw its support to the government weighed on sentiment adversely. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was down 146.76 points or 0.79%, up about 60 points from the day's low and off close to 95 points from the day's high. The market breadth was negative. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher in volatile trade. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped nearly 3%. IT stocks rose on a weak rupee. India's markets were closed Wednesday due to a religious holiday. From a recent high of 18,542.31 on 17 September 2012, the Sensex has declined 193.06 points or 1.04% in two trading sessions. The Sensex has gained 919.69 points or 5.27% in this month so far (till 20 September 2012). The Sensex has jumped 2894.33 points or 18.72% in calendar 2012 so far (till 20 September 2012). From a 52-week high of 18,715.03 on 17 September 2012, the Sensex has declined 365.78 points or 1.95%. From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 3213.39 points or 21.23%. Coming back to today's trade, the market trimmed losses after a weak start. It once again trimmed losses after weakening in morning trade. It weakened after recovering to hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. It remained subdued in early afternoon trade. Market extended fall in afternoon trade as European markets opened lower. It trimmed losses in mid-afternoon trade. It weakened in late trade. Global stocks declined after weak Chinese manufacturing weighed on investors' minds and uncertainty prevailed over if and when Spain would apply for a bailout. Political worries heightened after the reform measures, part of a package unveiled last week by the government in a gesture to regain investor confidence, caused a government ally, the Trinamool Congress, to threaten Tuesday to pull its support from the coalition by the end of this week. The ruling Congress party on Wednesday said it won't reverse a controversial decision to allow foreign supermarkets to invest in India as part of other market-opening measures. But it may be willing to make some compromises, including partially rolling back recent diesel-price increases and limits on subsidized gas. Trinamool, on whom Congress depends for its majority in Parliament, says allowing foreign retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA to open supermarkets here will hurt smaller Indian retailers. Raising diesel prices and reducing the supply of low-cost gas, the party argues, hurts India's poor, who spend a higher percentage of their income on fuel. Trinamool's head, Mamata Banerjee, who is also chief minister of West Bengal state, vowed Wednesday to continue to oppose letting foreign supermarkets come to India. Ms. Banerjee had set Friday as the deadline to pull her ministers from the government to allow "a window for compromise." Congress can survive for now without Ms. Banerjee's support as Parliament isn't in session. But the government could face a no-confidence vote in December, when the legislature reconvenes. The government last week announced liberalization of foreign investment rules in retail, aviation and broadcasting sectors. While the government has allowed up to 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trading (MBRT), in the aviation sector the government has allowed foreign airlines to acquire up to 49% stake in Indian carriers. The BSE Sensex was down 146.76 points or 0.79% to 18,349.25, its lowest level since 13 September 2012. The index plunged 204.08 points at the day's low of 18,291.93 at the onset of the trading session. The index dropped 52.09 points at the day's high of 18,443.92 in mid-morning trade. The S&P CNX Nifty was down 45.80 points or 0.82% to 5,554.25, its lowest closing level since 13 September 2012. The index hit a high of 5,581.35 and a low of 5,534.90 in intraday trade. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.65% and the BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.53%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 2042 crore lower than Rs 2573 crore on Tuesday, 18 September 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1591 shares fell and 1204 shares rose. A total of 114 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks fell and rest of them rose. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose 0.92% to Rs 256.45. The stock had scaled a record high of Rs 272.50 in intraday trade on 14 September 2012. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) declined 2.7%, with the stock extending Tuesday's 2.11 losses. RIL has bought back 3.9 crore shares for about of Rs 2793.51 crore till 4 September 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. Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 0.61%. The company announced today that it has launched Amoxicillin Tablets Capsules, and Oral Suspension, a bioequivalent generic version of Amoxil® (Amoxicillin) Tablets, Capsules, and Oral Suspension in the US Market on September 17, 2012. Amoxicillin Tablets (500 mg and 875 mg), Capsules (250 mg and 500 mg), and Oral Suspension (125 mg/5 ml, 200 mg/5 ml, 250 mg/5 ml, and 400 mg/5 ml) are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The Amoxil brand and generic Tablets (875 mg) has U.S. sales of approximately $22.2 million, Capsules has U.S. sales of approximately $67.2 million, and Oral Suspension has U.S. sales of approximately $89.5 million, all for the most recent twelve months ending June 2012 according to IMS Health. Dr. Reddy's Amoxicillin Tablets in 500 mg and 875 mg are available in bottle counts of 20 and 100. Amoxiciliin Capsules in 250 mg and 500 mg are available in bottle counts of 100 and 500. Amoxicillin Oral Suspension in 200 mg/5 ml and 400 mg/5 ml are available in bottle sizes of 50 ml, 75 ml, and 100 mi. Amoxicillin Oral Suspension in 125 mg/5 ml and 250 mg/5 ml are avaiiable in bottle sizes of 80 ml, 100 ml, and 150 mi. Wockhardt slumped 3.56%. The company said after market hours today that the winding-up petition filed by the Trustees to the Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds before the Hon'ble Bombay high Court has been withdrawn. IT stocks rose on a weak rupee. The rupee fell to its lowest in nearly a week on Thursday as a key ally of the country's ruling coalition withdrew its support, raising worries the government may roll back key reforms such as the hike in diesel prices. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. IT major TCS rose 1.62%. The company announced during trading hours Tuesday, 18 September 2012, the official opening of the TCS Solutions Center - Minneapolis in Bloomington, Minnesota. The 50,000 square foot facility will be home t0 roughly 300 TCS employees. The center will serve as a hub for delivering technology services to customers in the region and is an integral part of TCS' Global Network Delivery Model. Infosys and Wipro rose by between 0.61% to 0.93%. HCL Technologies declined 0.66%. The company today announced that it has entered into a landmark five year, multi-million dollar deal with Freescale Semiconductor a global leader in embedded processing solutions. HCL will serve as an exclusive technology partner for Freescale, managing and strategically transforming their end-to-end corporate IT Infrastructure landscape. This deal reinforces HCL's IT leadership in the semiconductor industry. As part of the engagement, HCL will manage and transform infrastructure operations covering desktop support, compute, storage, database, telecom (network & security), process automation and compliance with the use of its pioneering Management Tools as a Service (MTaaSTM) framework and gold standard processes. As a result, Freescale will develop more resilient systems, optimize its operational costs, increase visibility into IT operations, experience reduced technology complexity and improved quality, sustain highest levels of customer service and drive innovation to existing and new initiatives. "The semiconductor industry is dynamic, fast paced and highly competitive”, said Hal Yarbrough, Director of IT Infrastructure at Freescale Semiconductor. “HCL will be a key partner in sharing our vision of building a robust and agile IT environment required to keep pace with the growing technological innovation demands of the business and creating new ideas and technologies for the next generation opportunities". "HCL's ability to quickly demonstrate an understanding of Freescale's environment and to identify key transformational opportunities through their experience and extensive knowledge was evident throughout the RFP process”, said Dani Guthrie, IT Infrastructure Program Manager at Freescale Semiconductor. “HCL is committed to delivering innovation to its customers”, said Vinod Chandran, Sr.VP and Head of North America, HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division (HCL ISD). “With a decade of industry experience, expansive service capabilities and mature business models, HCL is well poised to help Freescale create the finest experience for its customers as well as employees and accelerate the pace for its mission-critical and novel inventions." Mahindra Satyam rose 0.24% after company today announced the launch of its business insights solution REIMS-Retail Enterprise Information Management System.' This would help retailers to swiftly identify the optimal courses of action to achieve their business objectives. 'in the last few years we have seen dramatic changes in the Retail landscape. There are mountains of raw data stored in different pockets throughout the Retail business - with diverse supply chains, volatile customer needs and extensive product lines. smarter and wiser decisions. REIMS™ solution is armed with proven accelerators and assets for each step of 81 analytical life cycle leading to a faster, risk-free deployment " said Mahesh Vasudevanallur, Head - Retail & CPG Practice, Mahindra Satyam. Auto stocks were mixed on reports government was considering a partial reduction in diesel prices after key ally of the ruling coalition, withdrew its support on Tuesday, demanding the government reverse its decision to raise diesel prices. Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.56% and Ashok Leyland gained 1.52%. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) shed 1.6%. The company today unveiled the eagerly awaited all new compact and versatile SUV QUANTO in Mumbai. Designed and developed in-house by Mahindra on the robust, proven and highly successful Ingenio platform, the Quanto is a direct outcome of customer insights pointing to the need for a compact and affordable SUV. The Quanto will be available nationally at Mahindra dealerships, with four distinct and attractive variants - C2, C4, C6 & C8. The Quanto price range starts from Rs, 5.82 lac {ex-showroom Thane) for the base C2 model, to Rs. 7.36 lac (ex showroom Thane) for the fully loaded top end C8 model.. All the Quanto variants are powered by a 1.5 litre mCRlOO diesel engine giving a category best output of l00 bhp & a massive 240 nm of torque. The mCRlOO engine has India's first twin stage turbo technology for maximum power and excellent torque delivery. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra. said, "The launch of Quanto, our first compact SUV, is another defining moment in our automotive journey. For the Mahindra Group, the Quanto represents yet another example of our alternative thinking approach. It has been developed keeping in mind the evolving needs of our customers. I am confident that the Quanto will create a new category within the SUV segment while offering a unique value proposition to our customers". Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra. while speaking at the launch stated, "The Quanto offers aspirational and distinctive SUV styling, superior technology, space and convenience, along with best in class features, all of which make it attractive to the younger buyer who leads an active lifestyle. Its compact size and versatility, at an affordable price, makes this product very unique and innovative". Tata Motors fell 0.55%. The company on Monday said its global wholesales, including Jaguar Land Rover, rose 13% to 97,225 units in August 2012 over August 2011. Cumulative wholesales for the fiscal are 475,381, higher by 11%, compared to the corresponding period in 2011-12. Global wholesales of all commercial vehicles - Tata, Tata Daewoo and the Tata Hispano Carrocera range – rose 4% to 50,084 units in August 2012 over August 2011. Cumulative wholesales for the fiscal were flat at 228,785 units. Global wholesales of all passenger vehicles rose 23% to 47,141 units in August 2012 over August 2011. Cumulative wholesales for the fiscal are 246,596 units, higher by 20%. Global wholesales of Tata passenger vehicles rose 35% at 23,081 units in August 2012 over August 2011. Cumulative wholesales for the fiscal are at 112,163 units, higher by 10%. Global wholesales of Jaguar Land Rover in August 2012 rose 13% at 24,060 vehicles in August 2012 over August 2011. Cumulative wholesales of Jaguar Land Rover for the fiscal are 134,433 units, higher by 31%. Jaguar wholesales for the month were 2,960 vehicles and cumulative wholesales were at 18,798 vehicles, while Land Rover wholesales in August 2012 were 21,100 vehicles and cumulative wholesales were 115,635 vehicles. Two wheeler makers also were mixed. India's biggest bike maker by sales Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) shed 1.56%. Bajaj Auto gained 2.31%. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) raised price of heavily subsidised diesel by Rs 5 per liter on Thursday, 13 September 2012 to balance government's fiscal deficit situation. Shares of organised retailers fell after the Trinamool Congress (TMC), key ally of the ruling coalition, withdrew its support on Tuesday, demanding the government reverse its decision to open India's supermarket sector to foreign direct investment. Pantaloon Retail (India), Trent and Store One Retail declined by between 2.94% to 7.43%. But, Shoppers Stop rose 0.69%. The government after trading hours on Friday, 14 September 2012, announced that the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion for permitting foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 51% in multi-brand retail trading (MBRT). The permission for 51% FDI in MBRT is subject to specified conditions. A statement issued by the government said that retail sales outlets can be set up in those states which have agreed or agree in future to allow FDI in MBRT under this policy. The establishment of the retail sales outlets will be in compliance of applicable state laws/ regulations, such as the Shops and Establishments Act etc. The policy provides that it would be the prerogative of the state governments to decide whether and where a multi-brand retailer, with FDI, is permitted to establish its sales outlets within the state. Therefore, implementation of the policy is not a mandatory requirement for all states, the government said in statement. Retail sales outlets can be set up only in cities with a population of more than 10 lakh as per 2011 Census and may also cover an area of 10 kms around the municipal/urban agglomeration limits of such cities; retail locations will be restricted to conforming areas as per the Master/Zonal Plans of the concerned cities and provision will be made for requisite facilities such as transport connectivity and parking; In States/ Union Territories not having cities with population of more than 10 lakh as per 2011 Census, retail sales outlets may be set up in the cities of their choice, preferably the largest city and may also cover an area of 10 kms around the municipal/urban agglomeration limits of such cities. The locations of such outlets will be restricted to conforming areas, as per the Master/Zonal Plans of the concerned cities and provision will be made for requisite facilities such as transport connectivity and parking. At least 50% of total FDI brought in shall be invested in 'backend infrastructure' within three years of the induction of FDI, where 'back-end infrastructure' will include capital expenditure on all activities, excluding that on front-end units. For instance, back-end infrastructure will include investment made towards processing, manufacturing, distribution, design improvement, quality control, packaging, logistics, storage, ware-house, agriculture market produce infrastructure etc. Expenditure on land cost and rentals, if any, will not be counted for purposes of backend infrastructure. A high-level group under the Minister of Consumer Affairs may be constituted to examine various issues concerning internal trade and make recommendations for internal trade reforms, a government statement said. Capital goods stocks declined on profit booking after recent gains. L&T declined 1.97%. The company during trading hours on Friday, 14 September 2012, said it has restructured its IT and L&T Integrated Engineering Services businesses with a view to accelerate growth in the technology space. L&T Infotech has been reorganised around two business clusters, "industrial" and "services". L&T Integrated Engineering Services (IES) will be rebranded as L&T Technology Services. As a part of this strategy, three US-based professionals - Keshab Panda, Mukesh Aghi and Vivek Chopra will join as directors on the L&T Infotech board. L&T believes this restructure will help the company in growing these businesses, the company said in a statement. Among other capital goods stocks, BEML, Bhel, ABB, Thermax and Siemens declined by between 0.49% to 3.77%. Metal stocks declined on weak economic data in China. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum.. Sterlite Industries, Bhushan Steel, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sail, Hindalco Industries, and Hindustan Zinc shed by between 0.52% to 3.35%. Realty stocks fell after a key ally of government; Trinamool Congress removed its support from the government opposing government's decision to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail trade putting in jeopardy the prospects of government's key reform measure. Investors bet that retail real estate will get a boost from the entry of foreign supermarket chains in the country. Unitech, D B Realty, Anant Raj Industries and HDIL dropped by between 0.48% to 3.68%. But, DLF rose 1.37%. Bank stocks fell across the board on profit booking after recent gains. State Bank Of India dropped 1.36% after bank said that it has decided to revise downwards its Base Rate by 25 basis points (bps) from 10.00% per annum to 9.75% per annum effective from September 20, 2012. Axis Bank fell 2.39%. The bank said Schroder Singapore Holding has acquired 25% stake in its subsidiary, Axis Asset Management Company (Axis AMC). The transaction provides Axis AMC access to Schroders' global distribution network and to advise overseas funds invested in Indian securities, Axis Bank said in a statement. The bank, however, did not disclose the deal value. Further, it enables Schroders to participate in the growth opportunity represented by the Indian mutual fund market through a strategic relationship with a leading private sector bank, it said. Longer term, in addition to distributing Axis AMC's funds internationally, there will be an opportunity to distribute Schroders funds in India through Axis AMC's distribution network, it added. Schroder Singapore Holding is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schroders, which is UK's largest asset management company. It has operations in 26 countries. HDFC Bank rose 0.19%. ICICI Bank dropped 1.52%. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to make heavy purchases of Indian stocks for the third day in a row on Tuesday, 18 September 2012. FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 1092.40 crore from the secondary equity markets on Tuesday, 18 September 2012, as per data from Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Earlier, FIIs had bought shares worth a net Rs 5174.90 crore in two sessions on 14 and 17 September 2012. On the macro front, consumer price inflation in India remains high. Provisional annual inflation rate based on all India general Consumer Price Indices (CPI) (Combined) for August 2012 on point to point basis (August 2012 over August 2011) stood at 10.03% as compared to 9.86% (final) for July 2012. The data was released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation during trading hours Tuesday, 18 September 2012. The Reserve Bank of India Monday, 17 September 2012, announced a reduction of 25 basis points in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks to 4.5% of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) effective the fortnight beginning 22 September 2012 from current 4.75% after mid-quarter review of monetary policy. The reduction in CRR will inject around Rs 17000 crore of primary liquidity into the banking system, RBI said in a statement. The RBI kept its policy rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8%, stating that inflationary pressures, both at wholesale and retail levels, remain strong. As inflationary tendencies have persisted, the primary focus of monetary policy remains the containment of inflation and anchoring of inflation expectations, RBI said. While the recent upward revision in diesel prices and rationalisation of subsidy for LPG is a significant achievement, in the short-term, there will be pressures on headline inflation, RBI said. Over the medium-term, however, it will strengthen macroeconomic fundamentals, RBI said. Over the longer run, holding down subsidies to under 2% of GDP as indicated in the Union Budget for 2012-13 is crucial to manage demand-side pressures on inflation. Containing inflationary pressures and lowering inflation expectations warrant maintaining the momentum of recent policy actions to step up investment, alleviate supply constraints, and improve productivity, RBI said. RBI said since the First Quarter Review (FQR) of Monetary Policy in July while growth risks have increased, inflation risks remain. Mitigating the growth risks and taking the economy to a higher sustainable growth trajectory requires concerted policy action across a range of domains, a process to which last week's actions made a significant contribution, RBI said. Monetary policy also has an important role in supporting the growth revival, RBI said. However, in the current situation, persistent inflationary pressures alongside risks emerging from twin deficits – current account deficit and fiscal deficit - constrain a stronger response of monetary policy to growth risks, RBI said. Accordingly, as this process evolves, the stance of monetary policy will be conditioned by careful and continuous monitoring of the evolving growth-inflation dynamic, management of liquidity conditions to ensure adequate flows of credit to productive sectors and appropriate responses to shocks emanating from external developments, RBI said. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Monday, 17 September 2012, said the government will unveil more measures to narrow fiscal deficit and to boost economic growth, which may encourage the central bank to cut interest rates at its next monetary policy review on 30 October 2012. He didn't elaborate on what the measures could be. RBI is scheduled to undertake Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy - 2012-13 on 30 October 2012. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) raised price of heavily subsidised diesel by Rs 5 per liter on Thursday, 13 September 2012 to balance government's fiscal deficit situation. The CCPA also restricted the supply of subsidized LPG cylinders to each consumer to six cylinders (of 14.2 kg) per annum. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram early this month said that India is making consistent efforts to check the abuse of a double-taxation-avoidance pact it has with Mauritius. India has in the past said it is considering a review of the treaty in an effort to boost tax revenue. An India-Mauritius joint working panel was set up in 2006 to put in place adequate safeguards for preventing the misuse of the double-taxation-avoidance agreement between the two countries. India, in the past, has said that Mauritius was unwilling to cooperate on this issue. Mauritius says it has taken India's concerns seriously. Traditionally, Mauritius has accounted for nearly 40% of India's foreign investment. Under the avoidance of double taxation treaty, companies that invest through Mauritius do not have to pay tax in India but only have to pay tax in the island. But capital gains tax is close to zero in Mauritius, making it a popular investment hub. India wants to renegotiate the double taxation treaty with Mauritius to check round-tripping, in which money is moved out of one country to another and brought back under the garb of foreign capital, taking advantage of tax breaks. Meanwhile, a committee appointed by the government to review the controversial general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) early this month suggested deferring the implementation of anti-avoidance rules by three years. "Where Circular No. 789 of 2000 with respect to Mauritius is applicable, GAAR provisions shall not apply to examine the genuineness of the residency of an entity set up in Mauritius," the committee said. The committee has also recommended that the government should abolish the tax on gains arising from transfer of listed securities, whether in the nature of capital gains or business income, to both residents as well as non-residents. The panel has said the government might consider increasing the rate of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) appropriately to make the proposal tax neutral. At present, short-term capital gains on equities are taxable at the rate of 15%. Holding period of less than one year is considered as short term. There is no long term capital gains tax on sale of shares. Business income is taxed at 30%. Distinguishing capital gains and business income depends on several factors, and disagreements have resulted in numerous litigation cases between the Revenue Department and taxpayers, the committee said in its report. European markets fell Thursday after weak Chinese manufacturing weighed on investors' minds and uncertainty prevailed over if and when Spain would apply for a bailout. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were down by between 0.44% to 0.66%. Spain sold 4.8 billion euros ($6.2 billion) of bonds, the most since January, as the Treasury focused on short-term notes that would be targeted for central- bank buying in the case of a bailout. The Madrid-based Treasury sold 3.94 billion euros of a new three-year benchmark at an average yield of 3.845 percent and 859 million euros of its 10-year benchmark at an average of 5.666 percent. That was the lowest since January and compares with 6.647 percent when it was last sold on Aug. 2. Euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted in September as European leaders struggle to pull the single-currency bloc's economy out of its slump. A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries in the 17-nation euro area dropped to 45.9, a 39-month low, from 46.3 in August, London-based Markit Economics said today in an initial estimate. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Asian stocks fell from the highest level since May on Thursday after Japanese exports dropped for a third month. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan dropped by between 0.42% to 2.08%. China's manufacturing activity contracted in September for the 11th straight month, though overall conditions showed a slight improvement from levels in August, according to preliminary reading of HSBC's monthly survey. HSBC's flash Purchasing Mangers' Index printed at 47.8 on a 100-point scale, up slightly from its final reading of 47.6 the previous month, but still below July's level. Japan's exports declined 5.8% in August from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry reported today. Imports in Japan slid 5.4% leaving a trade deficit of 754.1 billion yen ($9.6 billion), the Finance Ministry said. The Japanese central bank moved to ease monetary policy Wednesday, saying it would buy more government bonds and other assets, following the United States Federal Reserve in a show of resolve to shore up a shaky economic recovery. The central bank, the Bank of Japan, will expand its asset purchase and loan program by 10 trillion yen, or $126 billion, to 80 trillion yen, the bank announced after a two-day board meeting that ended Wednesday. The purchase program was also extended six months, to the end of 2013. The program aims to stimulate economic growth by adding to bank reserves and driving down the cost of lending, prompting more money to flow through the economy. The Bank of Japan downgraded its assessment of the country's export-driven economy, citing slower global demand and fresh uncertainties caused by anti-Japan protests this week in China, a big trading partner. As expected, the bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a range of zero to 0.1 percent. New Zealand's economy grew 0.6% in the second quarter faster than estimated. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 33 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 20 September 2012. US stocks surged on Wednesday as the investors dipped back into the market after the recent pullback from a rally. Election for a new president in the United States, the world's biggest economy, is scheduled on 6 November 2012.