A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices slipped into the red after reversing initial losses in morning trade. Weakness in Asian stocks dampened investor sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 16.87 points or 0.08%, up close to 55 points from the day's low and off close to 25 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive.
Asian stocks dropped today, 3 December 2013, as signs the US economy is strengthening fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon start tapering stimulus. The US central bank currently buys bonds worth $85 billion a month in a bid to hold interest rates low and encourage economic growth in the world's biggest economy. Minutes of the Fed's October meeting released on 20 November 2013 showed officials may reduce their $85 billion a month of bond buying if the economy improves as anticipated. Fed's bond-buying program has been a source of liquidity for most Asian and emerging markets this year.
Bajaj Auto declined after the company reported weak sales for the month just gone by. IT stocks rose on positive economic data in the United States. Wipro rose after the company said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Opus Capital Markets Consultants LLC (Opus CMC), one of the leading US-based providers of mortgage due diligence and risk management services for a purchase consideration of $75 million that includes a deferred earn-out component. Pidilite Industries scaled record high.
A bout of volatility was witnessed in early trade as key benchmark indices trimmed losses after a lower opening. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices slipped into the red after reversing initial losses in morning trade.
At 10:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 16.87 points or 0.08% to 20,881.14. The index lost 71.28 points at the day's low of 20,826.73 in early trade. The index rose 9.38 points at the day's high of 20,907.39 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 8 points or 0.13% to 6,209.85. The index hit a low of 6,194.25 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 6,215.95 in intraday trade.
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The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 964 shares rose and 698 shares dropped. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 stocks fell and rest rose. HDFC (down 0.91%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.04%) and NTPC (down 0.88%) declined.
Idea Cellular declined 0.48%. The company said after market hours on Monday, 2 December 2013, that it has received a communication from Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Ministry of Communications & IT, on imposition of financial penalty of Rs 600 crore for alleged violation of terms and conditions of CMTS/UAS licenses while acquiring erstwhile Spice Communications. Idea said Spice Communications (Spice) was amalgamated with Idea effective 1 March 2010, after approval of the merger by Gujarat High Court on 26 November 2009 and Delhi High Court on 5 February 2010. Subsequently, in the matter of transfer of Telecom CMTS/UASL licenses held by Spice to Idea, the Division Bench of Delhi High Court vide its order passed on 13 July 2012 had directed DoT to give its final decision on transfer of operational Spice licenses of Punjab and Karnataka in the name of Idea. Now, vide the latest communication received from the DoT dated 29 November 2013, the DoT has written to the company that the DoT is prepared to take the merger of companies i.e. Spice Communications with Idea Cellular on record and change the name of two Spice UAS licenses of Punjab and Karnataka service areas subject to Idea paying financial penalty of Rs 600 crore besides other list of compliances within next 15 days.
Idea Cellular said that the company is preparing to take necessary steps to challenge the DoT letter at appropriate forum.
IT stocks rose on positive economic data in the US. US is the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. TCS (up 1.01%) and Infosys (up 0.35%) gained.
Wipro rose 0.61%. The company announced after market hours on Monday, 2 December 2013, that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Opus CMC, one of the leading US-based providers of mortgage due diligence and risk management services for a purchase consideration of $75 million that includes a deferred earn-out component. The acquisition will strengthen Wipro's mortgage solutions and outsourcing business and complement its existing offerings in mortgage origination, servicing and secondary market.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Opus CMC provides comprehensive risk management solutions to the mortgage industry in the United States. It has over 490 employees, including over 315 loan underwriters, spread across 5 centers in the US, Wipro said in a statement.
Opus CMC offers operational and loan level due diligence, valuation support, forensic analysis, and advisory services on all classes of mortgage products, residential and commercial, ranging from re-underwriting whole loans to collateral reviews of securitized pools. Its customers include several of the top global banks, mortgage conduits, mortgage investors, and independent mortgage originators, the company added.
"We welcome Opus CMC's employees to the Wipro family," said Manoj Punja, Senior Vice President and Head - BPO, Wipro. "This acquisition will help us expand in the high end Mortgage BPO segment, and brings differentiated capability with a platform-based risk management offering. Opus CMC has an experienced management team with a deep understanding of the emerging needs of this business. We believe Opus CMC will continue to lead with their innovative offerings and extend these capabilities to Wipro's banking and financial services customers as well. Our vision is to leverage Wipro's offerings with Opus CMC's capabilities and knowledge base to create an end-to-end offering for all mortgage players, with a greater degree of automation and application of analytics."
Opus CMC has been very successful in building a talented team that can address a wide range of quality management needs for mortgage product sellers, intermediaries and investors. Its proprietary due diligence platform, encapsulates nearly a decade of business intelligence in loan reviews, and the latest in regulatory requirements.
"We are excited about the opportunity to join hands with Wipro and continue to be a dominant player in the industry with increased range and scale of offerings for our clients. Our industry is at a pivotal point with the introduction of new mortgage regulations driven by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and government agencies. Wipro and Opus CMC will jointly assist our clients in navigating this challenging and changing business environment and help build reliable outcomes in mortgage origination and secondary market operations," said Joseph Andrea and Jennifer LaBud, Co-founders and Principals, Opus CMC.
Commenting on this acquisition, Dan Latimore, Senior Vice President of Celent's Banking Practice said, "A critical differentiator for mortgage industry participants going forward is the ability to manage risk and identify profitable growth opportunities in both existing loan portfolios and new originations. Execution capabilities in legacy books, combined with deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks and the ability to efficiently implement them, will be essential for success."
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and will be completed in Q4 March 2014, Wipro said.
Bajaj Auto declined 0.77% after the company reported weak sales for the month just gone by. The company's total sales dropped 17% to 3.1 lakh units in November 2013 over November 2012. Motorcycles sales declined 15% to 2.78 lakh units in November 2013 over November 2012. Commercial vehicles sales fell 30% to 31,888 units in November 2013 over November 2012. Exports rose 8% to 1.33 lakh units in November 2013 over November 2012.
State-run Canara Bank declined 1.33%. The bank has announced reduction in interest rates on some bulk deposits i.e. on deposits of Rs 1 crore and above. Interest rate on deposits of the maturity bucket 61 days to 90 days has been has been reduced to 7.75% from 8.75%. Interest rate on deposits of the maturity bucket 91 days to 120 days has been reduced to 8.5% from 9%. Interest rate on deposits of the maturity bucket 121 days to 179 days has been reduced to 8.75% from 9%. Interest rate on deposits of the maturity bucket of above 1 year to less than 2 years has been reduced to 9% from 9.1%. The revised rates are applicable from today, 3 December 2013.
Pidilite Industries rose 1.66% to Rs 312.25 after hitting record high of Rs 312.50 in intraday trade.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on broad dollar gains triggered by speculation the Federal Reserve will soon start tapering stimulus after data overnight showed US manufacturing activity unexpectedly climbed last month. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 62.34, compared with its close of 62.315/325 on Monday, 2 December 2013.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after trading hours on Monday, 2 December 2013, said that based on preliminary figures, India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to $5.2 billion or 1.2% of GDP in Q2 September 2013, from $21 billion or 5% of GDP in Q2 September 2012. The CAD was also much lower than 4.9% of GDP in Q1 June 2013, the RBI said. The lower CAD was primarily on account of a decline in the trade deficit as merchandise exports picked up and imports moderated, particularly gold imports. The merchandise trade deficit (BoP basis) contracted to $33.3 billion in Q2 September 2013, from $47.8 billion a year ago. Net invisibles during Q2 September 2013 improved, essentially reflecting a rise in net services exports, the RBI said. Net services exports at $18.4 billion recorded a growth of 12.5% year-on-year in Q2 September 2013, mainly on account of 'computer services'.
Contraction in the trade deficit coupled with a rise in net invisibles receipts resulted in a reduction of the CAD to $26.9 billion or 3.1% of GDP during the period April-September 2013, from $37.9 billion or 4.5% of GDP during the period April-September 2012, the RBI said.
The Eight Core Industries having a combined weight of 37.9% in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted by 0.6% in October 2013, compared with a growth of 7.8% growth in October 2012, posting lowest growth in last 12-months.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announces next Mid-Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 18 December 2013. The Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled 28 January 2014.
Asian stocks edged lower on Tuesday, 3 December 2013, after stronger US manufacturing data boosted speculation the Federal Reserve may pare stimulus to the US economy sooner than anticipated. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were down 0.01% to 0.8%. Key benchmark indices in Japan and Singapore rose 0.09% to 0.68%.
China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 56 last month from 56.3 in October, according to a report released today by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Australia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low and said the currency is still uncomfortably high, even after a 4% decline since its previous meeting. Governor Glenn Stevens and his board kept the overnight cash-rate target at 2.5%, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement today in Sydney.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 11 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 3 December 2013. US stocks dropped on Monday amid data showing manufacturing unexpectedly climbed last month and reports on holiday retail sales. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index rose to 57.3 in November from 56.4 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group's report showed. Manufacturing accounts for about 12% of the economy. A separate report from Markit Economics showed the final November index of US manufacturing increased to 54.7 from 51.8 the previous month.
Purchases at US stores and websites fell 2.9 percent to $57.4 billion during the four days beginning with the Nov. 28 Thanksgiving holiday, according to a survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation.
Investors are keeping a close watch on economic data in the United States as the Federal Reserve monitors the pace of recovery to gauge when it will begin to reduce monetary stimulus for the US economy, which has been aimed at encouraging growth. The US government will release the influential US non-farm payrolls data for November 2013 on Friday, 6 December 2013. The Fed has said improvement in the labor market is a key factor in its policy assessment.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day policy meeting on interest rates in the United States on 17-18 December 2013. The US central bank currently buys bonds worth $85 billion a month in a bid to hold interest rates low and encourage economic growth in the world's biggest economy. Minutes of the Fed's October meeting released on 20 November 2013 showed officials may reduce their $85 billion a month of bond buying if the economy improves as anticipated.
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