Sensex trades firm; SBI, Tata Steel, Bharti most active

At 12:38 hours IST - the 30-share BSE Sensex continued to trade higher with 100 points gains led by upmove in telecom, capital goods, auto, technology, metal, oil & gas exploration and FMCG sectors.

However, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Suzlon, ACC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Unitech, BPCL, HCL Tech and Power Grid were the only losers.

The Sensex was trading at 16749, up 91 points and the Nifty was at 5027, up 27 points

In the largecap space, Hero Honda was the top gainer with close to 3% gain. Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Infra and SBI were up 2-2.9%. On the losing side, Suzlon Energy, ACC, Axis Bank, Unitech and ICICI Bank were down 0.7-1.6%.

SBI, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa, Bharti Airtel, DLF, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors were the most active shares on bourses.

Top gainers on the BSE Midcap: Pantaloon Retail, Bombay Rayon, Pipavav Shipyard, Kwality Dairy and Dish TV India were up 4-5%.

Top losers on the BSE Midcap: Shree Global Tr, Bajaj Holdings, Anant Raj Indusitries, Simplex Infra and Atlas Copco were down 2-4%.

Top gainers on the BSE Smallcap: MSP Steel, Shristi Infra, Tata Metaliks, Bata India and Gallantt Metal were up 9-20%.

Top losers on the BSE Smallcap: Fem Care Pharma, Sahara One, Kanani Industries, Intra Infotech and C and C Const were down 3.5-6%.

On the global front, European markets were marginally negative in opening trade while Asian markets were mixed in trade.

Source http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-trades-firm-sbi-tata-steel-bharti-most-active_463370.html

SBI base to be around 7.5-8.5pc: Bhatt

The State Bank today hinted that base rate that will replace existing prime lending rate (PLR) will be between 7.5 and 8.5 per cent.

"We are working out the number...it could be between 7.5 and 8.5 per cent," SBI Chairman OP Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of seminar organised by the CII here today. The bank would announce the base rate by June 15, he added.

The base rate is the lowest rate that the bank can charge from a customer and is intended to bring about more transparency in the lending operations of banks.

The Reserve Bank has proposed to replace PLR with base rates from July. PLR of SBI is currently is 11.75 per cent.

On the liquidity condition in the system, Bhatt said it is "fairly tight" and likely to continue so in June because there is going to be large outgo on the account of advance tax payment and payment towards broadband wireless access (BWA).

"Now with liquidity already tight at this point of time and these two major events takes place in June. So, in June it would continue to be tight," he said, adding "July onwards may be some of these money gets recycled and also you have monetary policy of Reserve Bank then we will see what is the response of the system."

Without giving clear indication on whether banks could increase rates post July, he said, "there is already an upward bias on the interest rate. If liquidity is tight there will obviously be an upward bias on interest rates."

He also said liquidity is tight and other economic activity is picking up. So, the credit demand is also going to pick up. "So the (upward) bias is definitely there," he added.

Source http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/SBI-base-to-be-around-75-85pc-Bhatt/articleshow/6028686.cms

Sensex trims gain amid volatile session

The Hindu A broker watches the trading screen in Mumbai. Sensex went up by 66 points in morning trade on Wednesday.

Indian markets turned choppy in late session after staging a smart rally earlier. The benchmark indices were still in red but the Nifty slipped below its 200 DMA.

The Sensex and Nifty were up by by a quarter of a per cent at 2.30 pm.

Among the sectoral indices, FMCG led the losses. The index was down 2.24 per cent after leading the gains on Tuesday. ITC slid 3.05 per cent. Oil and gas made came back strongly after losing ground on Tuesday. ONGC gained 1.66 per cent. The broader markets were in the green too with the BSE mid cap up 0.36 per cent and the small cap gaining 0.31 per cent. The breadth of the market was positive with 52 per cent stocks advancing on the BSE.

Among the buzzing stocks, Marico gained 7.43 per cent. Bajaj Finserv rose 4.51 per cent on reports that Warren Buffet was looking to buy a stake in the company.

Bharti gained 5.02 per cent. The company announced that it had completed the acquisition of Zain's African business on Tuesday. However, the stock's rating was downgraded to BB+ by S&P today.

ACC, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries rose on the Sensex while Tata Power, Wipro and Infosys were the main losers.

European stocks were trading with marginal gains. The CAC 40 was up 0.38 per cent, German DAX gained 0.19 per cent and FTSE added 0.09 per cent.

Asian stock markets were weak but pared losses towards the day's end. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 98 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 9,403. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.26 per cent to 1,647.

The Chinese markets were in the green with the Shanghai Composite gaining 2.95 per cent and the Shenzen 300 adding 3.24 per cent.

The Dow Jones rose 123 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 9,939 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's reassuring comments on the U.S. economic recovery.

Source http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-trims-gain-amid-volatile-session-72666

Read more at: http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-trims-gain-amid-volatile-session-72666?cp

Sensex, Nifty rangebound; FMCG stocks slide

Indian markets opened flat for a second consecutive day today and continued to be range bound. The Sensex and Nifty were up 0.15 per cent but lacked any conviction in the absence of strong global or domestic cues.

The Sensex was trading at 16,638 while the Nifty kept flirting with the psychological 5,000 mark though still trading below its 200 day moving average at 11.15 am.

Among the sectoral indices, FMCG led the losses. The index was down 1.88 per cent after leading the gains on Tuesday. ITC slid 3.45 per cent. Oil and gas made came back strongly after losing ground on Tuesday. ONGC gained 2.27 per cent. The broader markets were in the green too with the BSE mid cap up 0.60 per cent and the small cap gaining 0.53 per cent. The breadth of the market was positive with 62 per cent stocks advancing on the BSE.

Among the buzzing stocks, Bajaj Finserv rose 5.97 per cent on reports that Warren Buffet was looking to buy a stake in the company. Bharti gained 4.91 per cent.
The company announced that it had completed the acquisition of Zain's African business on Tuesday. However, the stock's rating was downgraded to BB+ by S&P today.

ACC, M&M and DLF rose on the Sensex while Tata Power, Tata Motors and Wipro were the main losers.

Asian stock markets were weak as Europe's debt crisis stunted enthusiasm despite the Dow ending higher after two sessions of extensive losses.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 133 points, or 1.40 per cent, to 9,403. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.59 per cent to 1,641.

The Chinese markets were lower with the Shanghai Composite down 0.22 per cent and the Shenzen 300 lower by 0.15 per cent.

The Dow Jones rose 123points, or 1.3 per cent, to 9,939 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reassuring comments on the U.S. economic recovery.

Source http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-nifty-rangebound-fmcg-stocks-slide-72615

Read more at: http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-nifty-rangebound-fmcg-stocks-slide-72615?cp

Hundreds of Hyundai workers arrested

Two hundred workers of Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL) at Sriperumpudur in Chenna were arrested on Tuesday for staging a sit-in strike in the plant,police said.

The workers are demanding reinstatement of over 60 dismissed workers.

They were part of 230 workers who went into the plant on June 6 for the second shift, and stayed on, declaring a sit in strike and stalling assembly work, police said.

Six workers were arrested yesterday as they had gathered around the company gate and allegedly hurled stones and broken glasses,shouting slogans in support of those on strike.

The flash strike by a section of workers forced suspension of production of 2,200 cars yesterday, valued at around Rs 65 crore, the company had said in a release.

The Hyundai Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU) Vice President Thangapandiyan had claimed that nearly 1,500 workers were on strike but the company maintained only around 150 workers have resorted to a ‘sit-in strike’, forcing it to suspend production.

HMIL said the 'unrecognized union' (HMIEU) -- had called for the strike.

The company said it had on July 28 2009 signed an MoU with the union in the presence of the Labour Minister and other government officials, agreeing to reinstate 20 of the 87 dismissed employees on a case by case review.

It had fulfilled its commitment on humanitarian grounds, but HMIEU was now demanding reinstatement of the remaining 67 employees, who had been dismissed for gross misconduct, leading to damage of company property and violence against fellow workers, the release said.

HMIEU has initiated the ‘sit in’ strike even before the conciliation proceedings before the Labour Commissioner are to be completed, the release added.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/Hundreds-of-Hyundai-workers-arrested/Article1-554907.aspx

Anil Ambani withdraws Rs10000cr defamation suit against Mukesh in HC

Industrialist Anil Ambani today withdrew a Rs 10,000 crore defamation suit against elder brother Mukesh Ambani in the Bombay High Court, signalling a further thaw in their relationship.

"Yes, we have withdrawn the suit claiming Rs 10,000 crore as damages", a Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group spokesman said.

Anil had dragged his brother to court, alleging that Mukesh had defamed him in an interview to New York Times that was reproduced in two leading Indian newspapers (in June 2008). The two newspaper had also been made respondents in the suit.

The withdrawal of the suit comes weeks after the brothers decided to scrap a non-compete agreement between their group companies and pledged to expeditiously renegotiate a gas supply agreement on the lines of the Supreme Court verdict of May 7.

The Ambanis had parted ways in June 2005, and out of four of the last five years they have been engaged in a legal row over supply of gas from Mukesh-run RIL to Anil Ambani group's RNRL.

A spokesperson for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries declined to comment.

Source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Anil-Ambani-withdraws-Rs10000cr-defamation-suit-against-Mukesh-in-HC/articleshow/6023803.cms

Hiring prospect look strong in India: Manpower

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, job seekers in India are likely to benefit from a active labour market as India’s employers expect to hire at a pace seen prior to the global recession. With a net employment outlook of +42%, Indian employers report the most optimistic forecast among all 36 countries and territories participating in the Manpower survey.

India’s Outlook improves by 2 percentage points quarter-over-quarter, and improves by 19 percentage points when compared to Q3 2009. Job seekers in the Mining & Construction sector (+46%) and the Manufacturing Sector (+44%) can look forward to the most favourable hiring environment in the next three months of the year. Meanwhile, the weakest – but still strong – hiring pace is reported by Transportation & Utilities (+24%) sector employers.

“The job market has recovered sharply from the weaker forecasts of early 2009. We are witnessing a notable exuberance in hiring sentiments across all industry sectors, cities and functional areas.” said Sanjay Pandit, Managing Director of Manpower India.

Source http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/hiring-prospect-look-strongindia-manpower_462781.html