Market may edge higher in early trade on firm Asian stocks

The market may edge higher in early trade on firm Asian stocks. Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 26.50 points at the opening bell. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) after market hours on Tuesday, 9 April 2013, announced plans to relocate its North America Headquarters and establish a R&D Center in Princeton, New Jersey. The company has entered into two lease agreements for a 75,500 square foot office facility and a 31,000 square foot office/lab at 107 College Road East and 303 College Road East respectively with National Business Parks. Dr. Reddy's anticipates relocation to the office facility at 107 College Road East by the end of the summer of 2013 after the renovations to the facility are completed. The new North America Headquarters will house the Generics, Biologics, PSAI and Proprietary Product businesses as well as the corporate support functions within North America. It is projected to employ more than 300 people as the US businesses within Dr. Reddy's continue to expand in the coming years, DRL said in a statement. The lab facility located at 303 College Road East will undergo a redesign to accommodate Dr. Reddy's product development and analytical laboratory requirements. Approximately 20,000 square feet of space will be part of the initial phase of redesign. The lab facility is also expected to be completed by late summer to early fall of 2013 and will employ 35 scientists, chemists and support personal. Commenting on the move, G V Prasad, Chairman and CEO, Dr. Reddy's said, "The relocation will allow Dr. Reddy's to tap into local talent which will be instrumental in our long term growth. This R&D center, along with centers in Cambridge (UK) and Leiden (Netherlands) establishes our presence within some of the leading innovation centers of the world." Key benchmark indices edged lower after undergoing intraday volatility on Tuesday, 9 April 2013, with investor sentiment hit adversely by provisional data showing that foreign funds remained net sellers of Indian stocks on Monday, 8 April 2013. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 211.30 points or 1.15% to settle at 18,226.48 on that day, its lowest closing level since 13 September 2012. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 664.90 crore on Tuesday, 9 April 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The upside on the domestic bourses may be capped as reduction of promoter stake to meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandated minimum public shareholding of 25% for private companies and 10% for state-run firms will result in supply of equity in the market over the next few months. As per the Sebi mandated minimum public shareholding rule, private-sector companies must cut founders' stake to adhere to the rules by 30 June 2013, while the deadline for state-run firms is 31 August 2013. PSU divestment will also add to share sale glut in FY 2014. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014. The next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2013 results. The Q4 March 2013 corporate earnings season will begin around mid-April 2013. Infosys announces Q4 results on Friday, 12 April 2013. Reliance Industries (RIL) announces Q4 results on 16 April 2013. TCS announces Q4 results on 17 April 2013. IndusInd Bank announces Q2 results on 18 April 2013. Wipro announces Q4 results on 19 April 2013. Cairn India announces Q4 results on 22 April 2013. HDFC Bank announces Q4 results on 23 April 2013. Axis Bank will announce its Q4 March 2013 results on 24 April 2013. ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki unveil Q4 results on 26 April 2013. HDFC announces Q4 results on 8 May 2013. Dr. Reddys Laboratories announces Q4 results on 14 May 2013. On the macro front, the government will unveil industrial production data for February 2013 on Friday, 12 April 2013. Industrial production had risen 2.4% in January 2013, as against a contraction of 0.5% in December 2012. The government will unveil data on the combined consumer price index for urban and rural India for March 2013 on 12 April 2013. Inflation based on the combined consumer price index for urban and rural India had edged up to 10.91% in February 2013, from 10.79% in January 2013. The government will unveil data on the wholesale price index (WPI) for March 2013 on 15 April 2013. The annual rate of inflation, based on the monthly wholesale price index (WPI), edged up to 6.84% in February 2013 from 6.62% in January 2013. The India Meteorological Department will issue its initial forecast of 2013 southwest monsoon in this month. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao on 6 April 2013 said that the high fiscal deficit is a problem because it exacerbates inflation and impedes monetary policy transmission. The RBI will announce the Monetary Policy Statement 2013-14 on 3 May 2013. The RBI cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5% after a mid-quarter monetary policy review on 19 March 2013. The key macroeconomic priorities are to raise the growth rate, restrain inflation pressures and mitigate the vulnerability of the external sector, RBI said at that time. Even as the policy stance emphasises addressing the growth risks, the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited, the RBI said. The RBI said it will continue to actively manage liquidity through various instruments, including open market operations (OMO), so as to ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy. The second half of the Budget session of the Parliament begins on 22 April 2013. The government has lined up a number of key bills for consideration and passing during the Budget session of the parliament, which include The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011, The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, The National Food Security Bill, 2011 and The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008. The Budget Session of the Parliament ends on 10 May 2013. Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on 5 May 2013 and the counting of votes and results of the election will be declared on 8 May 2013. Asian stocks rose on Wednesday pushing the benchmark regional equities gauge higher for a third day, as commodity producers advanced and a report showed China's imports jumped. Key benchmark indices in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan rose by 0.2% to 0.73%. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia and Singapore shed by 0.19% to 0.24%. China's imports rose by an above-forecast 14.1% in March while shipments abroad increased 10% from a year earlier, the customs administration said today in Beijing. US stocks rose on Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high, as Wall Street embraced the start of first-quarter earnings. The Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes of its March 19-20 meeting later in the global day today.