Key benchmark indices ended almost unchanged for the day after moving in a narrow range during a special live trading session conducted by the stock exchanges today, 22 March 2014. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 1.57 points or 0.01%, off close to 25 points from the day's high and up about 30 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. A special live trading session was held today, 22 March 2014, as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was testing its software. Trading started at 11:15 IST and ended at 12:45 IST.
Most auto stocks gained. Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher in volatile trade after the company on Friday, 21 March 2014, dubbed as a "canard" allegations that the near-doubling of natural gas prices will lead to a similar hike in domestic cooking gas (LPG) prices and inflation in food items.
The market edged lower amid initial volatility. Key benchmark indices moved in a narrow range in early afternoon trade. The Sensex continued to move in a narrow range in late trade.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.57 points or 0.01% to settle at 21,755.32. The index rose 25.17 points at the day's high of 21,778.92 in early afternoon trade. The index fell 28.23 points at the day's low of 21,725.52 in early trade, its lowest level since 20 March 2014.
The CNX Nifty rose 1.70 points or 0.03% to settle at 6,494.90. The index hit a high of 6,502.65 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 6,481.35 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 20 March 2014.
The BSE Mid-Cap index garnered rose 22.21 points or 0.33% to settle at 6,792.15. The BSE Small-Cap index garnered 46.88 points or 0.69% to settle at 6,831.99. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The total turnover was Rs 437 crore on BSE.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,339 shares rose and 889 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.
Cipla (up 1.77%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.68%), and Bharti Airtel (up 0.44%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher in volatile trade after the company on Friday, 21 March 2014, dubbed as a "canard" allegations that the near-doubling of natural gas prices will lead to a similar hike in domestic cooking gas (LPG) prices and inflation in food items. The stock rose 0.29% to Rs 888.30. The scrip hit high of Rs 891 and low of Rs 884. RIL after market hours on Friday, 21 March 2014, said that a fear psychosis is being created in the minds of the masses that come April 1, inflation will start raging in the country as gas prices shall be increased by the government. The most common allegation is that the LPG price will double once gas prices are increased. Nothing can be far from truth, RIL said. LPG can neither be made nor is being made from KG-D6 gas, RIL said. Gas from these fields contains 99.9% pure methane (natural gas) and does not have any Propane and Butane which are used to make LPG. Therefore there cannot be any correlation between LPG prices and increase in natural gas prices, RIL said.
This can be further corroborated from the fact that for the last five years natural gas price have been constant but the price of LPG cylinder has increased from about Rs 280 to about Rs 450 for 14.2 kg cylinder. Obviously, the sole purpose of perpetuating these lies is to scare the consumers, RIL said. Most of the LPG is produced in refinery from crude oil. It has no correlation with natural gas prices, RIL said.
The second lie that is being perpetuated is that with a hike in gas prices from April 1, the cost of food grains are set to increase. "However, the fact is that trucks, tempos and tractors that use diesel and not gas, so how will increase in gas price impact these costs?," RIL questioned.
Oil India gained 0.98%. The company said after market hours on Friday, 21 March 2014, that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 21 March 2014, inter alia, has declared second interim dividend of Rs 10 per share (i.e. 100%) for the year ending March 2014. Dividend is payable on and from 28 March 2014. Payment will be completed on and before 19 April 2014.
Auto stocks edged higher. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 0.43%), and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.12%), edged higher. Tata Motors fell 0.07%. Ashok Leyland was flat.
Shares of most two wheeler makers gained. Bajaj Auto (up 0.11%), and TVS Motor Company (up 2.54%) gained. Hero MotoCorp shed 0.24%.
Federal Bank gained 6.05% after the Reserve Bank of India withdrew its restrictions placed on purchase of the bank's shares by foreign investors with immediate effect. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 21 March 2014.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, 21 March 2014, notified that the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of Federal Bank have been withdrawn with immediate effect. Equity shares of Federal Bank can now be purchased through primary market and stock exchanges, the RBI said. The Reserve Bank of India stated that consequent upon the Government of India approving the increase in foreign investment in Federal Bank from 49% to 74% of its paid up equity share capital of Federal Bank, the aggregate shareholding through Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)/Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs)/Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/American Depository Receipt (ADR)/Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in Federal Bank has gone below the prescribed threshold ban limit stipulated under the extant FDI policy.
Gujarat Gas Company rose 4.05% after the company executed an amendment agreement with GSPC for purchase of additional regassified liquefied natural gas. The announcement was made after trading hours on Friday, 21 March 2014. Gujarat Gas Company (GGCL) after market hours on Friday, 21 March 2014, said it has executed an amendment agreement with GSPC for purchase of additional 0.2 mmscmd of regassified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) on Friday, 21 March 2014, for the period 1 April 2015 up to 1 July 2025. With this execution GGCL secures 0.85 mmscmd of long term RLNG for serving demand in its operating area, the company said.
Trent jumped 5.89% after the company after trading hours on Friday, 21 March 2014, said that the company has approved definite agreements whereby Tesco Overseas Investments (Tesco Overseas), a wholly-owned subsidiary of British retail giant Tesco, would purchase part of the equity shares currently held by Trent in Trent Hypermarket (THL) for approximately Rs 150 crore and would separately subscribe to additional THL equity shares for an amount of approximately Rs 700 crore. THL is at present a wholly owned subsidiary of Trent. Following the conclusion of the proposed investment, Trent and Tesco Overseas will each hold a 50% stake in THL. The proposed investment by Tesco Overseas is subject to necessary approvals, the company said.
Upon completion of the deal, Trent Hypermarket will operate 12 stores selling a range of items from food and grocery to home and fashion. The stores are operated under the Star Bazaar and Star Daily banners, and spread across the Southern and Western regions of India. Tesco already operates in India with a service center, as well as a franchise arrangement with Tata Group.
The Reserve Bank of India will announce the First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2014-15 on 1 April 2014. Citing price pressures, the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rates by 25 basis points after Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 28 January 2014.
The next major trigger for the stock market is the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha elections will be held between 7 April 2014 and 12 May 2014 in nine phases. The counting of votes will be take place on 16 May 2014. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31. Along with the Lok Sabha election, Andhra Pradesh (AP), including the regions comprising Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new assemblies. AP, Odisha and Sikkim assemblies come to end on June 2, June 7 and May 7 respectively.
HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics' gauge of Chinese manufacturing will be released on Monday, 24 March 2014.
US stocks dropped on Friday, 21 March 2014, pressured by a selloff in the health-care sector, but major equity indexes still posted solid weekly gains.
Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein on Friday, 21 March 2014, said monetary policy should be less accommodative when bond markets are overheated even if it raises the risk of higher unemployment. "All else being equal, monetary policy should be less accommodative -- by which I mean that it should be willing to tolerate a larger forecast shortfall of the path of the unemployment rate from its full-employment level -- when estimates of risk premiums in the bond market are abnormally low," Stein said. He didn't comment on the current stance of policy. Stein said pursuing lower levels of unemployment with low interest rates may also entail costs if they raise financial instability that could affect jobs and growth at later time if yields shoot back up. "There is a cost to be weighed alongside the benefit" of an accommodative policy, Stein said at a forum on monetary policy at Georgetown University in Washington. Financial stability matters "insofar as it affects the degree of risk around the employment leg of the Federal Reserve's mandate."
As one measure of financial overheating, Stein pointed to risk premiums on longer-term debt, or the component of the bond's yield that compensates investors for owning a longer-term security as opposed to a short-term security. He said that in the spring of 2013 in the US when yields on US 10-year notes were around 1.6 percent, estimates of the term premium were around negative 0.80 percentage point. "Applied to this period, my approach would suggest a lesser willingness to use large-scale asset purchases to push yields down even further," he said. Stein said the "dark side" of collapsed risk premiums occurs if they return to normal abruptly in a way that causes "larger economic effects than the initial compression."
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, the sole dissenter on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), released a statement on Friday, 21 March 2014, in which he criticized the Fed's new guidance, saying it "weakens the credibility of FOMC's commitment to target 2% inflation" and "fosters policy uncertainty and thereby suppresses economic activity."
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review at a two-day meeting on 29-30 April 2014. The Federal Reserve on 19 March 2014 said after the conclusion of a monetary policy review that it will trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion. The Federal Reserve will end its bond-buying program before the end of the year with an interest-rate increase likely to follow in "around six months," Chair Janet Yellen said on 19 March 2014. Quarterly Fed forecasts on 19 March 2014 showed more officials predicting that the benchmark interest rate, now close to zero, will rise to at least 1% by the end of 2015 and 2.25% a year later.
President Vladimir Putin signed laws completing Russia's annexation of Crimea on Friday as investors took fright at a US decision to slap sanctions on his inner circle of money men and security officials. Putin promised to protect a bank partly owned by an old ally, which Washington has blacklisted and Russia would respond in kind to the latest financial and visa curbs after producing one blacklist of its own. Obama's national security adviser said the world was reassessing its relationship with Russia and Washington was sceptical of Russian assurances that troop movements on the Ukraine border were no more than military exercises.
European Union leaders - who like Obama insist Crimea is still part of Ukraine - imposed their own sanctions on 12 people, including Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin and two aides to Putin. Canada sanctioned 14 people.
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