GLOBAL MARKETS ROUNDUP
* Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange down 0.29
percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan
was 0.46 percent down.
* Investors growing wary of recent index highs and mixed
signals from global equities overnight capped Asian share prices
on Wednesday, while sterling remained vulnerable after weak U.K.
data fed fears of a triple-dip recession.
* The S&P; 500 ended lower on Tuesday, breaking a
seven-session string of gains as investors pulled back from
technology and financials, but the Dow eked out the smallest of
gains to finish at another all-time closing high.
FACTORS TO WATCH
* World Bank president press briefing at 0630GMT.
* RBI Governor speaks at London School of Economics at
1430GMT.
* US House hearing on India trade barriers at 1400GMT.
INDIAN STOCKS TO WATCH
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NOTE: Reuters has not verified third-party stories and does not
vouch for their accuracy.
FINANCIAL/REGULATORY
* Tata Steel Ltd enters into strategic
relationship with Labrador Iron Mines Canada that shall transfer
51 percent interest in the Howse deposit to for a consideration
of up to C$30 million. (Reuters)
* Part of the corpus of the Employees Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) would soon be available for investment in
bonds of seven private firms that meet the new criterion of
‘AAA’ rating from at least two agencies, Chief Provident Fund
Commissioner Anil Swarup told Business Standard. (Business
Standard)
ENERGY
* India will set up a special fund to provide insurance to
public and private refineries to overcome obstacles from global
re-insurers who are not providing cover to Indian oil companies
because of sanctions against Iran. (Economic Times)
* Iraq has selected seven international oil companies
(IOCs), including Indian major Reliance Industries, to
bid to develop its Nasiriya oilfield and refinery, the oil
ministry said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
* The Supreme Court has fired a warning shot across the
government’s bow with a threat to cancel all coal block
allocations if these are found to be done without following
proper procedures. (Economic Times)
* Bulk sales of diesel have fallen drastically since the
price of the fuel for non-retail buyers was raised to market
levels in January, prompting the oil ministry propose a sale
limit of 200 litres for customers taking away the fuel in a
drum. (Economic Times)
* State-owned iron ore miner NMDC is looking at
garnering 80-100 billion rupees from sale of its 50 percent
stake in upcoming three million tonne per annum steel plant in
Chhattisgarh to a strategic partner, according to a steel
ministry source. (Press Trust of India in Economic Times)
* Tata Steel Ltd enters into strategic relationship
with Labrador Iron Mines Canada that shall transfer 51 percent
interest in the Howse deposit to for a consideration of up to
C$30 million. (Reuters)
* Reliance Industries Ltd, Shell and Essar Oil,
which had shown interest in selling ATF, will now be able to use
state-run companies’ infrastructure built near the Delhi
airport, for a fee, a senior government official told Business
Standard. (Business Standard)
ENGINEERING
* Larsen & Toubro is in the final stages of
negotiations to sell its 50 percent stake to Japanese partner
Komatsu in their hydraulic equipment manufacturing
joint venture, L&T; Komatsu. (Economic Times)
RETAIL
* Wal-Mart Stores Inc has stopped opening new stores
in India, pending an anti-bribery probe into the company’s
operations, and has asked several employees hired a year ago for
the new outlets to relocate to other parts of the country.
(Economic Times)
* FMCG major ITC has hiked prices of 74mm size
cigarettes by 10 rupees per pack. The prices have been hiked
mainly to offset the effect of higher VAT and excise duty on
cigarettes, say sources. (Economic Times)
* Reliance Industries, the country’s largest company, is
expanding investment in its telecom and retail businesses by up
to 65 billion rupees a year for the next five years, beginning
April 1, analysts said. (Business Standard)
AUTOS
* Maruti Suzuki India is looking at ways to cut
discretionary costs, including marketing, promotions and travel,
as a slump in demand has crimped profit at the nation’s biggest
car maker. (Mint)
* Maruti Suzuki plans to keep its biggest plant at
Gurgaon in Haryana regularly closed for around two days every
month as it remains unsure of a turnaround in the sluggish car
market in the near future. (Financial Express)
* For the first time in a decade, India’s largest automobile
firm Tata Motors’ market share in the passenger car
segment fell to its lowest level of 4.9 percent in February 2013
as rising competition and overall slowdown in the market took a
toll on sales. (Economic Times)
* Mahindra Systech, the automotive component arm of Mahindra
& Mahindra, is in advanced talks with European auto
components major CIE for an alliance that will give the Indian
company access to Latin American markets while offering the
European partner footprint in the Indian market, said sources in
investment banking circles. (Times of India)
* Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover sold 26,855 vehicles
during February, an increase of three per cent against the
corresponding period last year, hit by weak Chinese demand.
(Business Standard)
AVIATION
* Air India is likely to emerge as a cash surplus company in
the next financial year with a net earning of over 10 billion
rupees on the back of high passenger revenue and sale and lease
back of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to an Air India
official. (Press Trust of India in Economic Times)
* NRI entrepreneur Naresh Goyal is putting in place a
multi-phase, structured deal that will allow Abu Dhabi’s Etihad
Airways to buy a substantial stake in Goyal’s Jet Airways
valued at $1.2 billion, sources said. (Times of India)
* Jet Airways (India) Ltd. may sell a stake in its frequent
flier unit to Etihad Airways PJSC as the Gulf carrier seeks to
buy a stake in India’s biggest publicly traded airline,
Bloomberg TV reported, sitting people it didn’t identify. (DNA)
TELECOM
* The telecom department will ask Bhatia Airtel,
India’s largest mobile phone company, to stop providing third
generation (3G) services ‘within fifteen days’ in seven circles
where it does not have frequencies to provide high-end data
services, an official aware of the development told ET.
(Economic Times)
PHARMA
* A top shareholder in Cipla Medpro said on Tuesday
it would ask India’s Cipla Ltd to raise its $500 million offer
for South Africa’s third-largest generic drugs firm. (Reuters)
IT
* IT firm Mahindra Satyam may increase its headcount in
Australia to 5,000 in two years from the present 1,600, a senior
official of the IT major said. (Press Trust of India in Economic
Times)
* NOTE: Reuters has not verified third-party stories and
does not vouch for their accuracy.
(Compiled by Manoj Rawal; Edited by Subhadip Sircar)
