Sensex regains 18,000 level after 9-days as crude falls

The BSE benchmark Sensex added over 313 points to regain the 18,000-level after nine-days during intra-day trade today on heavy buying in blue-chips after a steep fall in crude prices and easing concerns on fuel prices hike.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index climbed 313.14 points to 18,037.63 at 1145 hrs, with most oil company stocks rising.

The National Stock Exchange's broader Nifty index rose by 92 points to 5,414.

The trading sentiment improved after Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy said his ministry has made no specific proposal on increasing auto and cooking fuel prices for consideration by the EGoM on fuel prices later today, easing concerns of more monetary tightening to curb inflation.

Crude oil prices dropped by 4.6 per cent to USD 91.02 a barrel in New York yesterday.

The largest state-owned oil explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, surged by 3.18 per cent, the most in a month, to Rs 272.90, while Gas Authority of India gained 2.20 per cent to Rs 446.50.

VMS Industries debuts with 10% premium

Shares of VMS Industries started the trade at Rs 43.95, up 10% as compared to issue price of Rs 40 a share despite lower subscription during the issue opened.

At 9:37 hours IST, the stock was trading at Rs 46.20, with volume of nearly 30 lakh equity shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

VMS Industries is engaged in ship recycling activities, off-shore support business activities. It raised Rs 25.75 crore through the issue.

Issue proceeds are proposed to be used for modernization of ship recycling plot, setting up of corporate office at Ahmedabad and for long-term working capital requirement.

Issue was opened for subscription during May 30-June 2 and was subscribed more than 1.4 times. Reserved portion of retail and non-institutional investors was subscribed 3.67 times and 1.24 times, respectively. However, qualified institutional buyers had not shown any interest in the issue.

India HDFC falls after 16.5 mln shares change hands

Shares in India's top mortgage lender, Housing Development Finance Corp , fell as much as 1.8 percent in early deals on Tuesday after 16.5 million shares, or 1.12 percent of equity, changed hands at 643 rupees each on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Identity of the buyers and sellers were not immediately known.

At 9:25 a.m. (0355 GMT), shares in HDFC were down 0.6 percent at 653 rupees after falling as low as 645.50 in firm Mumbai market .

On Monday, two sources with knowledge of the matter had said Citigroup had decided to reduce its stake in HDFC to about 10 percent from 11.4 percent via stock market deals. (Reporting by Manoj Dharra and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Sensex regains 18,000 level in opening trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex regained the 18,000 points level in opening trade on Tuesday, shooting up by over 113 points on a fresh spell of buying by funds and retail investors, taking cues from the firming trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which lost 332.76 points in the previous session, recovered by 113.45 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 18,106.78 in the first few minutes of trade today, with oil and gas, auto, banking, realty and consumer durable stocks leading the recovery.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index also moved up by 28.50 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 5,415.05.

Brokers attributed the recovery in stocks to fresh buying by funds and retail investors, driven by a firming trend on other Asian bourses.

In addition, covering-up of pending short positions ahead of monthly expiry in the derivatives segment of the National Stock Exchange on Thursday also supported the recovery, they said.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index was trading 0.11 per cent higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.10 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.05 per cent lower in yesterday’s trade.

Sensex in green; FMCG, metals, oil&gas advance

Buying activity near support levels helped the equities bounce-back in the positive terrain. FMCG, metals and oil&gas provided support while rate sensitive sectors like realty, auto and banks were marginally lower.

At 2:50 pm; Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 18584.22, up 65.41 points or 0.35 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 18643.58 and low of 18367.21 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5565.85, up 14.40 points or 0.26 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5586.05 and low of 5502.40 in trade so far.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.24 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.14 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE FMCG Index was up 1.36 per cent, BSE Metal Index gained 1.04 per cent and BSE Oil&gas Index advanced 0.32 per cent. BSE Auto Index was down 0.73 per cent, BSE Bankex declined 0.06 per cent and BSE Realty Index edged 0.01 per cent lower.

Bharti Airtel (3.62%), Tata Power (2.39%), Hindustan Unilever (1.58%), Sterlite Industries (1.43%) and Jindal Steel (1.27%) were the major Sensex gainers.

Tata Motors (-1.74%), Jaiprakash Associates (-1.68%), Maruti (-1.52%), Hero Honda (-1.27%) and Reliance Infrastructure (-1.19%) were the top losers.

Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 1412 losers as compared to 1284 gainers.

Coal India Reaches Record as Price Increase May Lift Earnings

Coal India Ltd. (COAL), the world’s biggest producer of the fuel, reached a record in Mumbai on optimism higher prices will boost fourth-quarter earnings due this week.

Shares of the Kolkata-based company climbed as much as 5.2 percent to 388.9 rupees, the highest price since the stock’s trading debut in November, and traded at 387.8 rupees as of 2:32 p.m. local time. The shares have gained 23 percent this year, compared with a 9.5 percent decline in the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index.

The company raised prices by 30 percent for certain grades on Feb. 27., which will increase revenue by 6.5 billion rupees in the year ended March 31, it said in a statement on Feb. 28. Chairman N.C. Jha last month said the company will decide on increasing prices for the second time this year as a revision in wages is due July 1. Earnings are due on May 12.

“There is expectation that profit will rise significantly in the fourth quarter because of the hike in prices,” Rakesh Arora, head of research at the Indian unit of Macquarie Group Ltd., said from Mumbai. “That is boosting share prices.”

Coal India and its units may report a net income of 36.5 billion rupees in the quarter ended March 31, according to the average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Profit was 26.3 billion rupees in the three months ended Dec. 31. The company hasn’t announced earnings from a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rakteem Katakey in New Delhi at rkatakey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net.

Nifty ends in red; auto, tech, metals down

Indian markets ended in the red after briefly moving into positive terrain. Gains in oil&gas, FMCG and capital goods were offset by losses in auto, technology and metals space.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5537.30, down 27.95 points or 0.50 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5578.80 and low of 5503 intraday.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 18469.36, down 65.33 points or 0.35 per cent. The 30-share recovered from intraday low of 18339.53 and high of 18604.36.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.45 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.54 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index was down 1.33 per cent, BSE IT Index moved 1.08 per cent lower and BSE Metal Index slipped 1.05 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.2 per cent and BSE FMCG gained 0.36 per cent.

ACC (-6.20%), Ambuja Cement (-5.61%), Bajaj Auto (-4.91%), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (-4.64%) and Grasim (-4.57%) and were the top losers.

ONGC (5.73%), BPCL (4.18%), Punjab National Bank (3.47%), HDFC Bank (1.76%) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (1.62%) were the major Sensex gainers.

Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 1687 declines against 1110 advances.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) may buy out Bharti from Axa JV; stock up

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance group is in talks to buy out Bharti in the life insurance firm Bharti Axa Life. Reliance, which has spelt out its aspirations to build a financial services empire, is understood to be in advanced stage of negotiations with the Mittals-led Bharti which has been looking for an exit for the past one year.

At 9:45 am, shares of Reliance Industries were trading 0.53% up at Rs 979 on the Bombay Stock Exchange .

According to a Reliance insider, "the group is indeed keen to enter insurance and has been approached by two to three companies, but is yet to finalise a partner." A Reliance spokesperson declined to comment on the matter while a Bharti spokesperson said, "As a policy, we do not comment on rumours or speculation".

Bharti Axa Life is one of the struggling players in the insurance industry with a market share of 1.1%. The firm, a joint venture in which Bharti owns 74% equity and the Paris-headquartered Axa group holds 26%, started operations in 2006. The company's new business premium income has dropped 17% to Rs 364 crore in 2010-11.

For Reliance, financial services and particularly insurance, are capital intensive avenues to deploy its large investible surplus generated by the petrochemicals business. A month ago, Reliance Industries, the country's largest private sector company, announced a financial services joint venture with New York-based DE Shaw .

"Life insurance with its huge opportunities is an obvious area that it will look into. Unlike general insurance where the key element is risk, the life business is a combination of savings and risk," said a senior investment banker.

At the peak of the stock market boom, the life insurance industry emerged as a formidable domestic investor. Fuelled by investor interest in Ulips, a market-linked product, insurance companies were competing with foreign portfolio investors in the local securities market. In 2007, of the total premium income earned by insurance companies, 80% was Ulip investment; of this close to 70% went into stocks.

While Ulip inflow has fallen as expenses have been capped and agents are less eager to promote the product, for investors Ulip has transformed into a more transparent product. "For a group taking up insurance business, traditional products like endownment are equally alluring with their higher margins," said a senior official of an insurance company.

Reliance's entry into financial services services is a development that is closely tracked by corporates and markets. It's perceived that the group will build businesses like non-banking financial services, insurance and asset management where entry barriers are low compared to banking.

Sensex opens higher in early trade

Snapping a three-day losing streak, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recovered by over 93 points in opening trade on Thursday on the back of a fresh spell of buying by funds as well as retail investors amid a firming trend on other Asian bourses.

However, participants kept their commitments restricted, on Thursday being the last session of monthly expiry in the derivatives segment on the NSE.

The 30-share barometer, which has lost nearly 153 points in the previous three sessions, rose by 93.36 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 19,542.05.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 22.50 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,856.40.

Brokers said the emergence of buying by funds and investors, taking positive cues from other Asian markets in line with overnight gains in the US market following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold short-term interest rates near zero, boosted the sentiment here.

Meanwhile, in the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.54 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei by 1.13 per cent in morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.76 per cent higher in the previous session.

Sensex gains 131 points, led by RIL ahead of its results

The BSE Sensex gained for the third straight day today, adding 131 points to close at 19,602, led byReliance Industries ahead of its fourth quarter results and a firm global trend.

Brokers said investor sentiment remained positive on the back of steady FII inflows and expectations of encouraging Q4 earnings from RIL, to be announced this evening.

However, lower-than-expected earnings by software major TCS and higher food inflation for the week ended April 9, capped the gains.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, which climbed 380 points in the previous two sessions, added another 131.25 points, or 0.67 per cent to close the day at 19,602.23.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also surged 33.05 points, or 0.56 per cent to close at 5,884.70. It touched the session's high of 5,912.90 and a low of 5,864.35.

The RIL stocks rose by 1.39 per cent to Rs 1,039.95. However, having failed to meet market expectations,Tata Consultancy Services fell 2.23 per cent to Rs 1,191.65. It had gained two per cent in the early trade.

A firm trend in the Asian markets and higher openings in Europe, followed by overnight gains in the US supported Indian markets.

While metals, oil and gas, realty, bank and auto sectors, pushed up the market, a weak trend in capital goods, power and IT sectors reduced the gains.

Sensex ends 110 points up; Maruti, ONGC, Hindalco gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note but off highs as investors took some profits off the table ahead of truncated week-end. Metals, oil&gas and realty stocks led the upmove while capital goods, power and IT led the losers pack.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 19581.67, up 110.69 points or 0.81 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 19695.98 and low of 19530.50 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5887.70, up 36.05 points or 0.62 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5912.90 and low of 5866.90 in today's trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.10 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.03 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index was up 1.57 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index gained 1.14 per cent and BSE Realty Index moved 0.60 per cent higher. BSE Capital Goods Index slipped 1.06 per cent and BSE Power Index declined 0.91 per cent.

Maruti (3.80%), ONGC (2.78%), Hindalco (2.66%),HDFC (2.46%) and Sterlite Industries (2.30%) were the major Sensex gainers.

BHEL (-4.73%), TCS (-2.61%), Bharti Airtel (-1.38%),Tata Motors (-0.99%) and Cipla (-0.42%) were amongst the top losers.

Shares of TCS were down on profit booking after it reported better-than-expected quarterly figures. Its standalone net profit grew to Rs 7569.99 crores for the year ended March 2011 against Rs 5618.51 crores a year ago. Net sales grew to Rs 29275.41 crores from Rs 23044.45 crores.

Reliance Industries will be announcing results later in the day. Analysts are expecting the oil&gas major to report robust numbers due to higher gross refining margins. The stock ended at 1.37 per cent higher on the BSE.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1364 gainers against 1510 losers.

Sensex ends 300 points lower; DLF, JP Asso, TCS down

Indian markets ended sharply lower for second consecutive session as weak global peers and concerns of possible rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India spooked sentiments.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex closed at 19095.02, down 291.80 points or 1.51 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 19649.22 and low of 19071.47 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 5731.60, down 92.95 points or 1.60 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5897.90 and low of 5722.25 in today's trade.

BSE Midcap Index fell 1.30 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.73 per cent lower.

All the sectoral indices ended lower. BSE Realty Index fell 3.48 per cent, BSE IT Index was down 2.73 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index was declined 2.15 per cent.

DLF (-5.16%), Jaiprakash Associates (-3.33%), TCS (-3.07%), Infosys Technologies (-2.89%) and L&T (-2.88%) were the major Sensex losers.

Hero Honda (2.33%), HUL (2.10%), Bajaj Auto (0.87%),ONGC (0.80%) and Maruti Suzuki (0.44%) were the top gainers.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1713 declines against 1177 advances.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Reliance Industries hires McKinsey for corporate restructuring

India's largest corporarte, Reliance Industries has hired business consultancy firm McKinsey to advice it on a business transformation plan which would catapult the company's enteprise value by another $ 80 billion in the next 10 years. RIL will also take help from its independent director and former dean of Kellogg's management school Dipak Jain to chart out the new business reorganisation plan.

ET NOW has learnt from three independent sources that the new corporate structure would lead to changes in the top management team. Though the current core team of Chairman Mukesh Ambani comprising of Manoj Modi, PMS Prasad and Kamal Nanavati will remain untouched, a few new faces will be hired to head new economy businesses like telecom, retail and financial services. RIL has already sounded off head hunting firms to poach talent from rival companies.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, RIL's stock was trading at Rs 1021.70, up by over 1 percent since previous close. RIL is working in a plan to make a foray into new growth areas. The plan includes merger and acquitions apart from setting up new businesses. In the last one year, Reliance has made some big ticket acquistions in the United States to buy stake in shale gas assets.

In India , Reliance bought 14.8 per cent stake in Oberoi Hotels and spent Rs 4500 crore in taking over Infotel Broadband to launch 4G telecom services in the country. The company recently sold 30 per cent stake in its Krishna Godavari based gas assets for $ 7.2 billion to BP. The new corporate restructuring is expected to enable RIL transform itself into one of tge world's biggest conglomerates.

Last year, Mukesh Ambani's RIL and younger brother's Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) dropped the earlier non-compete agreement and signed a new non-compete agreement. After this, RIL has been looking for opportunities in power sector across generation, transmission and distribution.

The company is currently looking for strategic partners, such as service providers, infrastructure providers, device manufacturers and other participants to expand its infocomm business. Last month, RIL also announced to establish a joint venture with US-based investment and technology development firm DE Shaw group to build financial services business in India. ADAG is already present in telecom, power and financial services.

RIL's main businesses under older Ambani brother have been exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, textiles, retail and special economic zones. RIL has now become the world's largest producer of polyester yarn and fibre, is among the world's top ten producers of various petrochemicals and is the largest producer of gas in India.

economictimes.indiatimes

Hero Honda declares 3,500 pc interim dividend

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda today declared a 3,500 per cent interim dividend of Rs 70 per equity share of Rs 2 each.

In its board meeting held today, the company considered and declared "an interim dividend at the rate of 3,500 per cent that is Rs 70 per equity share of Rs 2 each", Hero Honda said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The company, however, did not mention how much will be the capital outgo due to this exercises and other details regarding the period for the dividend.

Repeated calls to Chief Financial Officer Ravi Sud and to a company spokesperson remained unanswered.

Reacting sharply, the shares of Hero Honda were trading 6.28 per cent up at Rs 1,742 a piece on the BSE during late-afternoon.

In March last year, the company declared a Silver Jubilee Special Dividend of 4,000 per cent or Rs 80 per equity share of Rs 2 each.

In 2009, Hero Honda had said it was sitting on a huge cash reserve of over Rs 4,000 crore and the company was looking at many options to use the fund, including special dividend to its shareholders or expanding capacity.

During April-December, 2010, the company's net profit fell by 12.66 per cent to Rs 1,426.29 crore from Rs 1,633.02 crore in the same period previous year.

The total net operating income during the 9-month period increased by 19.36 per cent to Rs 14,010.22 crore from Rs 11,738.19 crore in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, Hero Honda appointed Toshiyuki Inuma as a Non-Executive Additional Director with effect from April 13.

Besides, the company also approved resignations of its Non-Executive Director Yuji Shiga and Non-Executive and Independent Director Shobhana Bhartia from its board with effect from April 13.

In December last year, the Indian promoter of the two-wheeler maker, the B M Munjal family, had agreed to buyout the entire 26 per cent stake of the Japanese promoter Honda Motor Co in Hero Honda for Rs 3,841.83 crore. The process of Honda exiting the joint venture completed this month.

The Economic Times

Sensex ends 208 points down

A benchmark index for Indian equities markets closed 208 points lower with realty, auto and consumer durables leading the losers list.

The 30-scrip sensitive index ( sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,382.91 points, was ruling at 19,242.59 points (provisional) -- down 208.86 points or 1.07% from its previous close at 19,451.45 points.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange too shut shop 1.07% lower at 5,779.5 points.

Broader markets were ruling dull, with the BSEmidcap index closing 0.77% down and the BSE small cap index ending a similar quantum lower.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Shilpi Cable debuts with over 13% premium on BSE

Cables manufacturer Shilpi Cable Technologies made a strong debut on the bourses today, listing with a premium of over 13 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange vis-a-vis its issue price.

The company started the day at Rs 78.35 on the BSE as against the issue price of Rs 69 a share, reflecting a jump of 13.55 per cent.

Within minutes, the stock surged by 22.68 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 84.65 on the bourse.

In a similar fashion, the company opened the day at Rs 78, up by 13.04 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.

On the volume front, over three crore shares of the company were traded on the bourses within the first one hour of trade.

The company had fixed a price band of Rs 65-69 a share for its Rs 55.88 crore initial public offer.

The proceeds of the issue will be used for capital expenditure on its cable/wire assembly shop, tools for 3G enabling and augmenting cable manufacturing capabilities, long-term working capital requirements for proposed new businesses and for investment in the subsidiary of the company, Shilpi Cabletronics .

Meanwhile, the BSE barometer Sensex was trading at 19,515.41, down by 75.77 points, at 1115 hrs.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee down by 3 paise against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee fell marginally by 3 paise to Rs 44.20 against the US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange on Thursday, weighed down by a weak trend in the stock market, but steady FII inflows restricted the losses.

The rupee had strengthened by 25 paise to close at a five-and-half month high of Rs 44.17/18 per dollar in the previous session, buoyed by healthy capital inflows and sustained sale of dollars by exporters and corporates.

Forex dealers said the lower opening in the stock market mainly put pressure on the rupee sentiments.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchangebenchmark Sensex fell by 69.21 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 19,542.99 in opening trade today.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Oil & gas, IT drag Sensex down 83 points

Erasing its opening session gains, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark lost over 80 points during the pre-close session on Tuesday due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors amid mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 83.35 points at 19,618.38. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty was down 7.55 points at 5900.90.

Volume toppers during the session were SBI, L&T, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank. Major Sensex losers were Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC, L&T, RIL, Mahindra & Mahindra and ONGC. Tata Motors, BHEL and SBI were the major gainers.

Among the heavyweights, RCom was up 4.17 per cent, BHEL 1.35 per cent, Cipla 1.28 per cent, Tata Motors 0.91 per cent and SBI 0.82 per cent. Tata Power was down 1.75 per cent, M&M 1.69 per cent,L&T 1.6 per cent, DLF 1.58 per cent and HDFC 1.33 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, consumer durables was up 1.66 per cent, metal 0.75 per cent, healthcare 0.23 per cent and PSU 0.23 per cent. Oil & gas was down 0.63 per cent, IT 0.46 per cent, bankex 0.28 per cent and capital goods 0.22 per cent. Of the total 2,922 stocks traded, 1,794 advanced, 1,028 declined and 100 remained unchanged.

The BSE benchmark Sensex gained over 68 points in the opening trade today on the back of strong FII inflows amid expectations of encouraging fourth quarter earnings by corporates.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which had gained 281.34 points in the previous session, rose further by 68.48 points to 19,770.21 points as heavyweights such as oil and gas, PSU and power sector stocks made headway.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index also gained 20.20 points to 5,928.65.

www.thehindubusinessline.com

Sensex slips lower; banks, realty, tech decline

MUMBAI: Benchmarks were moving in a range with negative bias as bulls took a breather after a rally in past few sessions. However, some buying activity was seen in broader markets as traders turned focus on midcap stocks available at lower prices.

"There is no stopping the Indian juggernaut these days with the steady flow of FII money keeping the interest alive in the market. Another quarter more or less in line with expectations for India Inc. is something many are anticipating.

Stay focused as we do have a few macroeconomic headwinds in the form of high inflation and rising cost of capital. Right now it's all about momentum, which is driving the stocks up.

Growing global risk appetite in the face of adverse news flow from the MENA region, eurozone and Japan has been another source of support lately. We therefore expect the current rally to stretch a bit longer. Stay alert for global developments as they could change the direction anytime. Keep an eye on crude oil price swings.

Given the indecisive cues from the global markets the early gains may not sustain for long. The key indices could turn choppy later in the day. Action may continue in the non-index counters but beware of stocks with dubious track record. On the Nifty, 5860 might act as a strong support today," said IIFL report.

At 11:30 am; Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 19574.40, down 127.33 points or 0.65 per cent. The index touched intraday low of 19573.16 and high of 19770.21.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5874.75, down 33.70 points or 0.57 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5928.65 and low of 5867.75 in trade so far.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.09 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.71 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Bankex was down 0.87 per cent, BSE Realty Index slipped 0.81 per cent and BSE IT Index declined 0.76 per cent. BSE Healthcare Index moved up 0.26 per cent.

DLF (-1.60%), Tata Power (-1.48%), Jindal Steel (-1.14%), Bajaj Auto (-1.06%) and M&M (-1.04%) led the Sensex losers pack.

Reliance Communications (1.42%), BHEL (1.34%), Cipla (1.28%), Hindalco Industries (1.07%) and Tata Motors (0.93%) were the top gainers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1492 advances against 1093 declines.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rabobank gets licence for banking operations

Mumbai: Netherlands-based Rabobank Nederland announced on Friday that it had received permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start full-fledged local banking operations, as it seeks to take advantage of growth prospects in the world’s second fastest expanding major economy.

“This will help Rabobank to substantially expand its current range of services in the Indian market,” the Dutch lender said. “Rabobank’s application for this licence is part of the bank’s international strategy to expand its activities in major growth markets with a strong food and agriculture base.”

The licence comes nine months after it sold an 11% stake in private sector Yes Bank Ltd. It still has a 4.82% holding in the Indian lender, according to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Under Indian banking regulations, a foreign bank holding more than 5% equity in an Indian lender can’t apply to open branches in the country.

Rabobank was a promoter in Yes Bank, holding as much as 20% when the private bank got a licence in 2004. This stake was reduced to 15.82% as Yes Bank sold shares to raise capital.

In India, the Rabobank Group also runs Rabo India Finance Ltd, a non-banking financial company that lends to food and agri-businesses and renewable energy companies, besides advising on mergers and acquisitions.

A Rabo India Finance spokesperson said the bank received the RBI approval on Thursday.

“The licence gives us an opportunity to start banking operations, but it is too early to say on what we will do with Rabo India,” she said.

Globally, Rabobank is focused on the food and agriculture business with origins in the local loan cooperatives that were founded in the Netherlands nearly 110 years ago, according to its website.

“India’s food and agriculture sector is currently estimated to be €185 billion (Rs11.7 trillion) and it is estimated to reach a size of €400 billion by 2025,” Rabobank said, adding that with a likely gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7-9% annually, India could become the third largest economy by 2030.

The Indian licence will allow Rabobank to accept deposits and provide working capital loans to companies, besides dealing in foreign exchange, domestic fixed-income products and trade finance.

With the credit to GDP ratio at just about 60%, India presents an opportunity for new entrants such as Rabo, said Rajeev Mehta, research analyst with India Infoline Ltd.

Credit to GDP ratio is bank loan or credit as a percentage of GDP. Lower credit to GDP ratio means there is a huge scope for banks to lend more.

“Developed countries have a credit to GDP of more than 100%, so India presents a huge opportunity,” he said. “But with only one branch, Rabo will start with wholesale and corporate banking.”

www.livemint.com