Market may open lower

Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 25 points at the opening bell.

HDFC, L&T, Dabur India, Biocon, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Raymond, Zee Entertainment Enterprises will announce their October-December 2013 earnings today, 22 January 2014.

HCL Technologies turns ex-dividend today, 22 January 2014 for the second interim dividend of Rs 4 per share for the year ending 30 June 2014.

Wipro turns ex-dividend today, 22 January 2014 for the interim dividend of Rs 3 per share for the year ending 31 March 2014.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), announced after market hours on Tuesday, 21 January 2014 the launch of the Digital Software & Solutions Group, a new business unit designed to help customers undergo critical digital transformations through modular, fully integrated, industry-tailored licensed software and solutions. Initial industries served will be Retail, Communications and Banking and Financial Services, three sectors with a particularly urgent need to adopt emerging technologies to enhance digital commerce and customer intelligence capabilities, and rapidly shift product and service offerings to compete in highly competitive and customer-centric arenas.

"Digital transformation is impacting almost every industry, and in several cases it is imperative to address needed operational changes within the next two years to remain relevant and prosper," said N Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD, TCS. "The Digital Software & Solutions Group is a serious commitment to TCS' strategic customer partnerships through fully integrated and scalable solutions that meet their business needs and challenges, while reducing the total cost of ownership."

The Digital Software & Solutions Group's initial offerings include 'Digital Commerce' and 'Customer Intelligence & Insights.'"They are modular- enabling customers to embark on the transformation journey at their own pace; scalable and fully integrated-providing a comprehensive roadmap of client needs today and tomorrow; and industry-specific-tailored to the unique needs of Retail, Communications and Banking and Financial Services companies, versus the all-too-common "one size fits all" approach.

"Digital Software & Solutions allows customers to select solutions and engagement models that best fit their needs, whether it's a software module that addresses a particular business pain point, a fully integrated solution that transforms a business function, or a digital transformation engagement driving results across the business," said Seeta Hariharan, General Manager & Group Head of TCS Digital Software & Solutions. "These solutions are backed by TCS' deep domain capability and delivery expertise."

By providing fully integrated solutions, TCS reduces the total cost of ownership for customers, due to business engagement models that are flexible and structured around a customer's consumption patterns. At the same time, TCS also offers support programs to train customers to best utilize TCS' software and solutions.

Colgate Palmolive (India)'s net profit rose 1.6% to Rs 112.83 crore on 14.05% growth in total income to Rs 907.35 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. Net sales jumped 16% to Rs 884 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The growth in bottom line lagged top line growth as advertisement expenditure surged. The company's advertisement expenditure rose 21.64% to Rs 121.46 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The operating profit margin (OPM) declined to 16.89% in Q3 December 2013, from 19.12% in Q3 December 2012. Colgate Palmolive (India) announced the results after trading hours on Tuesday, 21 January 2014.

During the quarter, the company achieved volume growth of 10% on year on year basis, led by a strong growth of 11% in toothpaste category wherein the company further enhanced its leadership position by registering a 56% volume market share for the period January-December 2013, compared to 54.5% for the period January-December 2012. Colgate Palmolive (India) said that the company further strengthened its leadership position in the toothbrush category by registering a volume market share of 41.5% for the period January-December 2013, as against 39.8% for the period January-December 2012.

The Reserve Bank of India should make managing inflation its main objective and set monetary policy by committee, a central bank panel has recommended, a shift that would bring its practices in line with many other central banks. The recommendations are widely expected to be accepted. They were issued late on Tuesday by the panel set up by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, which also recommended using consumer prices as the primary measure of price changes and setting an eventual inflation target of 4 percent. In its 130-page report, the panel recommends that managing inflation take precedence over the bank's two other current main objectives of economic growth and financial stability. As expected, the panel recommended that monetary policy decisions be made by a committee, which would consist of five members including the governor, a deputy governor, the executive director in charge of monetary policy and two external members appointed by the RBI.

The Reserve Bank of India's Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled on 28 January 2014. The RBI kept its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged after its last policy review in December and said at that time that it expected inflation to ease in the following months.

Key benchmark edged higher on Tuesday, 21 January 2014 as Asian and European stocks rose after China's short-term interest rates fell after China's central bank pumped in an usually large amount of funds into the money markets to pre-empt a potential liquidity crisis, as demand for cash rises ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The S&P BSE Sensex garnered 46.07 points or 0.22% to settle at 21,251.12 on that day, its highest closing level since 16 January 2014.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 43.74 crore on Tuesday, 21 January 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian stocks edged higher on Wednesday ahead of central bank meetings in Japan and Thailand. Key benchmark indices in China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea were up 0.01% to 1.7%.

The Bank of Japan is widely expected to keep its policy on hold after a two-day policy meet on Wednesday.

US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday after a stream of generally lacklustre earnings reports and a modest upgrade to the International Monetary Fund's economic forecast.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day monetary policy meeting on 28 and 29 January 2014. By a 9-to-1 vote, the Fed on 18 December 2013 decided to trim its asset-purchase program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month starting in January 2014.

The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for global growth this year as expansions in the U.S. and U.K. accelerate, and urged advanced economies to maintain monetary accommodation to strengthen the recovery. The global economy will grow 3.7% this year, compared with an October estimate of 3.6%, the IMF said in revisions to its World Economic Outlook released in Washington.

US gross domestic product will expand 2.8%, compared with 2.6%; Japan will gain 1.7% versus 1.2%; and the UK will increase 2.4% from 1.9%, the report showed. "In advanced economies, output gaps generally remain large and, given the risks, the monetary policy stance should stay accommodative while fiscal consolidation continues," the Washington-based organization said in the report. "In many emerging market and developing economies, stronger external demand from advanced economies will lift growth, although domestic weaknesses remain a concern." Central banks in the US, Japan and the euro area face inflation levels under their targets while trying to accelerate growth with policies including benchmark interest rates near zero and bond-buying programs. While it raised the outlook for advanced nations, the IMF said "downside risks remain," including financial-market volatility in emerging markets.

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