Key benchmark indices edged higher amid initial volatility. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 48.65 points or 0.25%, up close to 55 points from the day's low and off about 5 points from the day's high. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged higher in early trade. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in early trade. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive.
Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp jumped after the company said at the time of announcement of the Q4 results that it has hiked prices of its products, ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 with immediate effect. Sesa Goa declined on weak Q4 results.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 224.75 crore on Friday, 26 April 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 9:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 48.65 points or 0.25% to 19,335.37. The index rose 52.20 points at the day's high of 19,338.92 in early trade. The index gained 7.88 points at the day's low of 19,294.60 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was flat at 5,872.20. The index hit a high of 5,883.75 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,871.15 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 577 shares advanced and 368 shares declined. A total of 44 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 stocks rose while rest of them fell.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.4% to Rs 789.95. The company's telecom arm -- Reliance Jio Infocomm -- and Bharti Airtel on 23 April 2013, signed an agreement for international data connectivity under which Bharti will provide Reliance Jio data capacity on its i2i submarine cable. i2i connects India to Singapore and is wholly owned by Bharti. Reliance Jio will utilize a dedicated fiber pair on i2i. The high speed link will enable Reliance Jio to extend its network and service reach to customers across Asia Pacific region.
Earlier, at the time of announcement of its Q4 results, RIL in mid-April 2013 said that the company is working towards next wave of projects to exploit the undeveloped discovered resources in KG-D6 gas field targeted over the net 3-5 years. RIL has submitted an Integrated Block Development Plan (IBDP) for four discoveries in NEC -25 block (D-32, D-40, D-9 and D-10) proposing for a phased manner development. First gas is expected by mid-2019 subject to timely approvals.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose 0.77%, with the stock advancing for the third straight day.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 0.36% to Rs 320. The stock had hit record high of Rs 323.85 in intraday trade on 25 April 2013. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on 24 April 2013, announced a 10% hike in the value-added tax (VAT) on cigarettes to 25% from 15% to raise money for a relief fund for those depositors who have lost money in the Saradha chit fund scam.
Earlier, the Centre raised the excise duty on cigarettes by about 18% on all cigarettes except cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm in Union Budget 2013-14, which was unveiled on 28 February 2013.
Lupin rose 0.58%. The company announced after market hours on Friday, 26 April 2013, that its subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (collectively Lupin) has received final approval for its Pirmella 7/7/7 (Norethindrone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 0.5 mg/0.035 mg, 0.75 mg/0.035 mg and 1mg/0.035 mg) and Pirmella 1/35 Tablets (Norethindrone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 1 mg/0.035 mg) from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (US FDA) to market a generic version of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 Tablets and Ortho-Novum 1/35 tablets. Lupin would commence shipping the product shortly. Lupin's Pirmella 7/7/7 and Pirmella 1/35 Tablets is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use the product as a method of contraception. The combined annual sales of Ortho Novum 7/7/7 and Ortho Novum 1/35 Oral Contraceptive Tablets stands at $96.5 million (as per IMS MAT December 2012 data).
Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp jumped 4.45% after the company said at the time of announcement of the Q4 results that it has hiked prices of its products, ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 with immediate effect. The company's net profit fell 4.86% to Rs 574.23 crore on 1.79% rise in total income to Rs 6250.26 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The company announced its Q4 results after market hours today, 26 April 2013.
Commenting on the company's financial performance, Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp said: "FY 2013 has been a rough year for the overall Indian auto sector. Weak macroeconomic sentiment coupled with subdued consumer confidence adversely impacted the industrial growth and sales volumes. Considering the current environment, these are tough times for the auto sector in India and we remain cautiously optimistic about the growth prospects in the near term. However, having sold over 60 lakh two-wheelers in just 12 months, we have sustained our performance during the period. Being the industry leader, we have planned major initiatives to boost the industry sentiment and accelerate growth in the new financial year, mainly through new launches, campaigns, capacity addition and network expansion. In a significant step working towards our global vision, we have commenced dispatches to half a dozen new markets last fiscal and will add a few more to that tally very soon".
Sesa Goa declined 0.76% on weak Q4 results. The company's consolidated net profit fell 74% to Rs 298 crore on 90% decline in net sales to Rs 291 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The company announced Q4 results on Saturday, 27 April 2013. Sesa Goa's consolidated net profit declined 15% to Rs 2280 crore on 69% drop in net sales to Rs 2554 crore in the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013) over the year ended 31 March 2012 (FY 2012).
Sesa Goa said it has posted a loss before depreciation and taxes for Q4 March 2013 at Rs 206 crore, as against cash profit of Rs 1110 crore in Q4 March 2012. The cash profit for FY 2013 declined to Rs 23 crore from Rs 3235 crore in FY 2012 on account of suspension of iron ore operations, the company said in a statement.
Sesa Goa said that its iron ore operations were affected by the suspension of mining in Goa and Karnataka. On 18 April 2013, the Supreme Court of India has given clearance for resumption of mining operations for A and B category mines in Karnataka subject to statutory clearances. Sesa Goa's Karnataka mine falls under B category, and the company is awaiting statutory clearances, including forest clearance which expired in October 2012, to resume mining, the company said. The company said it expects to commence mining shortly, subject to the grant of statutory clearances.
Regarding the suspension of mining in Goa, the date for initial hearing is yet to be fixed by Supreme Court of India, Sesa Goa said. In the meantime, the state government and major miners including Sesa Goa, have filed their responses to the Central Empowered Committee report, the company added. Separately, the company has filed an application to the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the suspension of mining and restrictions on ore transportation, Sesa Goa said in a statement.
In Q4 March 2013, production of pig iron and metallurgical coke were 75% and 48% higher at 1,04,000 tonnes and 94,000 tonnes, respectively, due to the new capacities commissioned in Q2 September 2012, the company said. For the full year, the production of pig iron and metallurgical coke grew by 24% and 29% respectively, Sesa Goa said in a statement.
Sesa Goa's power sales were 43 million units in Q4 March 2013 and 159 million units for FY 2013. Power sales are not comparable with the previous periods in view of Goa Energy acquisition in March 2012, and the commissioning of new 30 (megawatts) MW power plant, the company said in a statement.
During the year, Sesa Goa acquired the remaining 49% of the outstanding common shares of Western Cluster (thereby taking the equity interest in the project to 100%) for a cash consideration of $33.5 million.
With regard to the update on Sesa Sterlite merger, Sesa Goa said the proposed Vedanta Group Consolidation and Simplification has received the approval of the High Court of Bombay at Goa on 3 April 2013. The hearings at the High Court of Madras have been completed and the order is awaited, the company said. Following the receipt of Court Approvals, a record date will be announced to complete the transaction, Sesa Goa said in a statement.
Sesa Goa's board of directors at a meeting held on Saturday, 27 April 2013, recommended dividend of 10 paise per share for FY 2013.
The focus of the market is on Q4 results. IDFC announces Q4 results on Wednesday, 1 May 2013. Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank unveil Q4 results on Thursday, 2 May 2013. ACC and Ambuja Cements announce Q1 March 2013 results on Friday, 3 May 2013. Grasim and Jaiprakash Associates unveil Q4 results on Saturday, 4 May 2013. HDFC unveils Q4 results on 8 May 2013. Ranbaxy announces Q1 March 2013 results on the same day. Asian Paints announces Q4 results on 9 May 2013. NTPC announces Q4 results on 10 May 2013. Dr Reddys Laboratories announces Q4 results on 14 May 2013. Bajaj Auto announces Q4 results on 16 May 2013. BPCL announces Q4 results on 29 May 2013. M&M announces Q4 results on 30 May 2013.
The stock market remains closed on Wednesday, 1 May 2013, on account of Maharashtra Day.
Markit Economics will unveil HSBC India Manufacturing PMI, which gauges the business activity of India's factories, for April 2013 on Wednesday, 1 May 2013. The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI fell to 52 in March 2013, after a surge to 54.2 in February 2013. Markit Economics will unveil the result of a monthly survey on the performance of India's services sector for April 2013 on Friday, 3 May 2013. The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index, based on a survey of around 400 companies, fell to a 17-month low of 51.4 in March from 54.2 in February. Services make up over 60% of India's economy.
Slowing wholesale price inflation has raised expectations that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate to boost economic growth. The (RBI) will announce the Monetary Policy Statement 2013-14 on Friday, 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.
Inflation based on the monthly wholesale price index (WPI) eased to the lowest level in 40 months at 5.96% in March 2013, and sharply lower than 6.84% in February 2013, data released by the government on 15 April 2013 showed. Non-food manufacturing inflation or core inflation slowed further to 3.41% in March 2013, the data showed.
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia and Singapore rose by 0.2% to 0.24%. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan and South Korea fell by 0.07% to 0.27%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat. Markets in China and Japan were closed today, 29 April 2013 for a holiday.
Most US stocks dipped in thin volume on Friday amid a mixed bag of earnings and weak economic figures. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5% rate in the first quarter, below estimates of 3%, heightening fears the US economy could struggle to cope with deep government spending cuts and higher taxes that kicked in earlier this year.
A two meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on US interest rates begins tomorrow, 30 April 2013.
In Europe, the European Central Bank's (ECB) Governing Council meets in Bratislava on Thursday, 2 May 2013, to review euro area interest rates. The ECB is seen cutting euro area interest rates by 25 basis points to a record low of 0.5% as economic conditions continue to deteriorate across the euro zone and as inflation remains well below the bank's target.
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