A bout of initial volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices edged higher on firm Asian stocks. The 50-unit CNX Nifty regained the psychological 6,000 mark. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 110.54 points or 0.55%, up 23.41 points from the day's low and off 32.74 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong.
Bank stocks gained after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, 21 November 2013, said it would focus on the monitoring of banks' asset quality and help improve the poor debt recovery process in the country. ONGC rose after the company's wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh (OVL) after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, announced that it has on 20 November 2013 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Petrovietnam to promote the joint cooperation in hydrocarbon sector in Vietnam, India and other countries. Cairn India advanced after the company before market hours today, 22 November 2013, said that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 26 November 2013 to consider the proposal for buy back of equity shares of the company.
Ambuja Cements and ACC rose after Ambuja Cements after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, announced that it has received shareholders' approval to buy a 24% stake in Holcim (India) from Holderind International for Rs.3,500 crore and the amalgamation of Holcim (India) with it. Dabur India gained after the company said after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, that it has agreed to purchase the business undertaking on a going concern basis from Northern Aromatics on a slump sale basis for a consideration of Rs 15 crore. Siemens rose ahead of financial year ended 30 September 2013 results today, 22 November 2013.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 59.80 crore on Thursday, 21 November 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 9:23 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 110.54 points or 0.55% to 20,339.59. The index jumped 143.28 points at the day's high of 20,372.33 in early trade. The index rose 87.13 points at the day's low of 20,316.18 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 35.45 points or 0.59% to 6,034.50. The index hit a high of 6,040.90 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 6,026.95 in intraday trade.
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The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 796 shares gained and 268 shares fell. A total of 36 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 111 crore by 09:25 IST.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 26 stocks gained and rest of them declined.
Bank stocks gained after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, 21 November 2013, said it would focus on the monitoring of banks' asset quality and help improve the poor debt recovery process in the country. HDFC Bank rose 0.23%.
ICICI Bank rose 0.73%. ICICI Bank early this week said that the bank acting through its Dubai branch, priced an issuance of 5.5 year fixed rate notes of an aggregate principal amount of $750 million. The notes were sold under the Rule 144A/Reg S format. The notes carry a coupon of 4.8% and were offered at an issue price of 99.609.
State Bank of India gained 0.87%
The focus on asset quality comes as bad debts at Indian banks have nearly doubled since 2009 to 4.2% of total loans at the end of September, while debt restructuring is also at a record high. The RBI said the situation required "priority attention".
RBI has advised banks to put in place mechanisms for early detection of signs of distress and to use early warning signals to avoid non-performing loan. It has also advised banks to strengthen information sharing, making it compulsory to receive and share information on borrowers before loans are approved. The central bank also cited an urgent need to speed up operations at fast-track government courts for lenders that deal with cases involving the recovery of debt called Debt Recovery Tribunals and Asset Reconstruction Companies.
ONGC rose 0.86%. ONGC's wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh (OVL) after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, announced that it has on 20 November 2013 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Petrovietnam to promote the joint cooperation in hydrocarbon sector in Vietnam, India and other countries. This MoU is in furtherance to the agreement signed between OVL and Petrovietnam on 12 October 2011. Under the MoU, Petrovietnam has offered 5 blocks to OVL. OVL would assess these blocks and if these are of interest, it would make a proposal to Petrovietnam.
ONGC said that Vietnam is one of the focus countries for OVL where it would like to acquire stakes in oil and gas assets depending on techno-commercial viability.
Cairn India advanced 2.98%. The company before market hours today, 22 November 2013, said that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 26 November 2013 to consider the proposal for buy back of equity shares of the company.
Ambuja Cements rose 0.64%. ACC rose 0.53%. Ambuja Cements after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, announced that it had received shareholders' approval to buy a 24% stake in Holcim (India) from Holderind International for Rs 3500 crore, and the amalgamation of Holcim (India) with it.
Another round of voting will take place at Ambuja Cements' extraordinary general meeting (EGM) as well as at a court-convened meeting tomorrow, 23 November 2013. At the EGM, where the Ambuja Cements' board is proposing a special resolution for reduction in share capital because of the cancellation of Ambuja's shares held by Holcim (India) after the merger, the promoters can also vote.
On 25 July 2013, Holcim decided to restructure its India operations to get Ambuja Cements and ACC to work better together, saving around Rs 900 crore. In a complex deal announced at that time, Holcim planned to raise its stake in Ambuja Cements to 61.39% from just over 50%. Once the deal is completed, Ambuja will hold a 50.01% stake in ACC.
Dabur India gained 1.24%. The company said after market hours on Thursday, 21 November 2013, that it has agreed to purchase the business undertaking (including manufacturing facility and all assets and liabilities relatable to the said facility) situated at Plot no. 16, Sector -2, IIE, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, on a going concern basis from Northern Aromatics (Dabur's existing vendor) on a slump sale basis for a total consideration of Rs 15 crore. This facility will be used to manufacture food products, ayurvedic medicines and cosmetics, Dabur India said. Agreement to sell in this respect has been executed on 18 November 2013, the company said in a statement.
Siemens rose 1.49% ahead of its year ended 30 September 2013 results today, 22 November 2013.
Asian stocks edged higher on Friday, 22 November 2013, as positive political and economic news from the US supported sentiment. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea rose by 0.28% to 1.21%. Key benchmark indices in China and Singapore fell 0.17% to 0.2%.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in parliament today, 22 november 2013, that the yen isn't excessively weak. The central bank yesterday maintained its unprecedented monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved its first-ever close above 16,000 on Thursday, 21 November 2013, as US stocks rallied boosted by better-than-expected data on weekly jobless claims and as investors reconsidered their concerns about the Federal Reserve's potential reduction in its bond-buying program.
The Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 323,000. In addition, wholesale prices dropped 0.2% last month. On the downside, the Philadelphia Fed's index of manufacturing conditions dropped to 6.5 in November.
The US Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, 21 November 2013, voted 14-8 to approve Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Fed, sending the nomination to the full Senate for approval.
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