Post Session Indian stock Market Commentary, 19/08/2009

Stock market lost its opening strength and extended its losses towards the closing to end the session with losses backed by significant selling pressure. Weak Asian markets along with negative European stocks took huge strike on the bourses. Lower US index futures also weighed on sentiments. Investors were worried regarding the weak monsoon rain that is putting pressure on food prices and energy supplies. However, market pared some losses during last trading hours on a little buying in key stocks. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in India stood at $2.58 billion in June, with rise of 8% as compared with the same month last year. The BSE Sensex ended below 14,850 level and NSE Nifty closed below 4,400 mark.

Market opened slightly higher tracking positive cues from the US markets. On Tuesday, the US stocks markets rebounded from previous session’s sharp fall to close higher as buyers picked up stocks at low prices to give a good start for the markets. The rally was directed by financial, retail and technology as stocks posted gains over the ground. However, Indian stocks suddenly turned choppy backed by lower Asian markets. Further, benchmark indices continued to trade with losses on profit booking pressure at higher level. The selling pressure was mainly led by more than 4% fall in the Chinese markets. During final trading hours, market managed to reduce losses a bit but was still in negative territory. From the sectoral front, all indices ended in red. Besides, Oil & Gas, Metal, Auto, Power, PSU, Realty, Power and Teck stocks contributed to most of the selling pressure. Broader markets also remained out of favour as BSE Midcap and Smallcap stocks closed with losses.

Among the Sensex pack 27 stocks ended in red territory and 3 stocks ended in green territory. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained negative as 1490 stocks closed in green while 1134 stocks closed in red and 89 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 225.62 points or (1.50%) at 14,809.64 and NSE Nifty ended down by 64.80 points or (1.45%) at 4,394.10. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with losses of 62.49 and 33.06 points at 5,434.06 and 6,308.69 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 15,096.94 and intraday low of 14,684.45.

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are ACC Ltd (5.08%), Reliance Infra (4.86%), RCom (4.38%), Grasim Industries (4.20%), Tata Steel (3.93%), M&M Ltd (3.58%), Reliance (3.23%), Hindalco (3.20%), JP Associates (2.80%), SBI (2.46%), Herohonda Motors (2.27%), Tata Motors (2.27%), TCS Ltd (2.11%), ONGC Ltd (1.99%), NTPC Ltd (1.90%), Bharti Airtel (1.44%) and Wipro Ltd (1.43%).

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are HDFC (1.56%), HDFC Bank (0.44%) and L&T Ltd (0.22%).

Foreign direct investment (FDI ) in India stood at $2.58 billion in June, with rise of 8 per cent as compared with the same month last year, a senior official said. In June 2008, the FDI inflow was $2.39 billion.

On the global markets front the Asian markets that opened before the Indian market, ended with losses with financial and airline stocks weighed on the markets. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225, Singapore''s Straits Times Index and Seoul Composite closed lower by 125.30, 352.04, 80.96, 44.94 and 4.28 points at 2,785.58, 19,954.23, 10,204, 2,522.78 and 1,545.96 respectively.

European markets, which opened after the Indian market, are trading in red, as equities had slid across Asia. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading lower 68.69 points at 5,182.05 and in London FTSE 100 is trading down by 39.96 points at 4,645.82.

The BSE Oil & Gas index dropped by (2.68%) or 254.71 points at 9,259.60 despite crude oil gained for the first time in three days overnight. Losers are Essar Oil Ltd (4.60%), Reliance (3.23%), RNRL (3.19%), Reliance Petroleum (2.66%) and Gail India (2.31%).

The BSE Metal index closed tumbled (2.33%) or 284.33 points at 11,929.02. Losers are Gujarat NRE C (3.98%), Tata Steel (3.93%), Sesa Goa Ltd (3.30%), Hindalco (3.20%) and JSW Steel (2.98%).

The BSE Auto index lost (2.14%) or 115.48 points at 5,277.76 on worries arising from scanty rains as auto firms derive larger revenue from rural India. Main losers are Bharat Forge (5.59%), Ashok Leyland (3.63%), M&M Ltd (3.58%), Bajaj Auto (3.52%) and Cummins Indi (3.25%).

The BSE Power index tumbled (1.93%) or 55.49 points at 2,812.57 as Reliance Infra (4.86%), Suzlon Energy (3.90%), GMR Infra (3.10%), Siemens Ltd (2.81%) and Crompton Greaves (2.75%) ended in red.

The BSE PSU index closed lower by (1.88%) or 153.87 points at 8,048.22. Losers are Rashtriya Chem & Fert (4.07%), Canara Bank (3.50%), Corporation (3.41%), MRPL (3.30%) and Power Financ (3.08%).

The BSE Realty index ended down by (1.86%) or 69.63 points at 3,680.77 on profit taking. Losers are Unitech Ltd (3.28%), Orbit Co (3.03%), Housing Dev (2.76%), Penland Ltd (2.68%) and Anant Raj (2.42%).

DLF Ltd lost 1.08%. The company is set to bag India''s largest land deal in Gurgaon, Haryana as DLF has emerged as the sole bidder for the 350.71-acre land parcel in Gurgaon put up for auction by a Haryana state corporation. The state corporation has fixed the minimum reserve price as Rs 1,700 crore for the land.

Cairn India dropped by 1.88%. The company and state-owned ONGC will jointly invest $4 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) in an attempt to scale up the production capacity of their oil fields at Barmer in Rajasthan by 25,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to two lakh bopd.

Glenmark Pharma tumbled 14.68%. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A. (Switzerland), a subsidiary of the company and Forest Laboratories, Inc announced top-line results from a Phase lib dose range finding study of Oglemilast in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd fell 0.46% despite a block deal of five lakh shares was executed on NSE at Rs. 100 per share.

Bharat Forge Ltd plunged 5.59% on profit booking after the stock rose 8.50% in the preceding trading session.

Dish TV surged 1.84% on back of plans to raise funds up to $200 million. As per reports, the company plans to raise $200 million (around Rs 1,000 crore) by way of equity issue in either domestic or international markets.

PSL Ltd ended up by 2.58%. The company has secured an order valued approximately Rs 500 crore from Gail (India) Limited for supplying quality API 5L X-80 grade PSL-2 Pipes for their Dahej-Vijaipur Pipe Line Upgradation Project (DVPL-II).

Market shrunk on weak global cues

Stock Market plunged after swinging between the positive and negative terrain at the early trade of the trading session led by huge sell-off in Oil&Gas, Realty, Metals and Auto stocks, drifted the bourses towards southward journey. A sustained fall was reported as most of Asian stocks slipped into negative terrain. Scanty monsoon rains pushed India to the edge of drought, forcing pressure on food prices and energy supplies. Meanwhile, India''s merchandise exports soften for the 10th straight month in July 2009, but its balance-of-trade account improved as imports declined at a faster pace, according to the sources.

On the sectoral front, all indices declined. Oil exploration stocks slipped despite crude oil gained for the first time in three days overnight, on better-than-estimated earnings at Home Depot Inc. and Target Corp of US. Auto, Realty and Bank stocks fell on profit taking after recent gains on bargain hunting.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak On BSE, out of 2,576 stocks traded so far, 903 shares advanced while 1,580 shares declined. Nearly 93 shares are unchanged.

At 1.22PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 313.72 points at 14,721.53 whereas NSE Nifty is down by 91.69 points at 4,367.20.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading lower by 81.00 points at 5,415.55 and Small cap is trading down by 55.38 points at 6,286.06.

Major losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Reliance Infrastructure Ltd plunged 4.20% to Rs. 1,088.00, ACC Ltd by 4.02% to Rs. 765.00, Tata Steel by 3.82% to Rs. 434.20, Grasim Industries Ltd by 3.59% to Rs. 2,481, Reliance Industries Ltd by 3.53% to Rs. 1,877.75, State Bank of India by 3.22% to Rs. 1,678, Reliance Communication Ltd by 3.10% to Rs. 243.45, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd by 3.04% to Rs. 745, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd by 2.99% to Rs. 206 and Hero Honda Motors Ltd by 2.79% to Rs. 1,351.90.

Major gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Housing Development Finance Co Ltd by 1.69% to Rs. 2,360.30 and Tata Power Ltd by 0.63% to Rs. 1,270.00.

The BSE Realty is lower by 81.50 points or 2.17% at 3,668.90. Stocks declined include Unitech Ltd 3.40% to Rs. 82.40, Anant Raj Industries 2.98% to Rs. 130.25, Orbitco Ltd by 2.97% to Rs. 168, Housing Development by 2.76% to Rs. 271.25, Penland Ltd 2.55% to Rs. 76.40, Ansal Infra Ltd 2.47% to Rs. 59.25, Parsvnath Ltd by 1.61% to Rs. 110.05 and DLF Ltd 1.43% to Rs. 369.80 among others.

Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd fell 0.41% to Rs. 98.00 despite a block deal of five lakh shares was executed on NSE at Rs. 100 per share.

PSL Ltd advanced 0.78% to Rs. 142.30 after the company bagged an order worth Rs. 210 crore from GAIL.

Sintex Industries Ltd improved 0.40% to Rs. 198.35 after a block deal of 3.28 lakh shares was executed on BSE at Rs 200 per share.

Bharat Forge Ltd plunged 5.07% to Rs. 218.05 on profit booking after the stock rose 8.50% in the preceding trading session.

Rallis India Ltd gusted up 2.85% to Rs. 750.80 on buzz the Tata Group is considering merging Rallis India with Tata Chemicals.

Market on a selling spree

After a flat start, the key benchmark indices are continuously trading with negative sentiments on the back of mixed cues from the global market. The frontline stocks are facing resistance at upper level and witnessing profit booking pressure on a regular interval. On a stock specific move, DLF Ltd has emerged as the sole bidder for the 350.71-acre land parcel in Gurgaon put up for auction by Haryana State Corporation. With a reserve price of Rs 1,700 crore, the land deal would be the biggest since March 2008. The stock is currently trading lower by 0.24%. During the last hours’ trading session heavy selling pressure has emerged across Auto, Oil & Gas and Banking counters. Among BSE sectoral indices, Auto, Oil & Gas and Bankex is trading lower by 1.68%, 1.37% and 1.25% respectively, while a moderate buying interest seen across Consumer Durable counter. Overall the market breadth is positive as out of total 2,211 stocks traded in BSE, 1,110 advanced, 1,023 declined and 78 remained unchanged.

At 11:28:26 AM BSE SENSEX was at 14,836.92 down by 198.34 points or by (1.32%) and the NSE Nifty was at 4403.00 down by 55.9 points or by (1.25%). The BSE MIDCAP was at 5,459.27 down by 37.28 points or by (0.68%) and the BSE SMLCAP was at 6,333.85 down by 7.6 points or by (0.12%)

Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Hero Honda down by (3.07%) to Rs. 1,348, along with Rel Infra by (2.80%) to Rs. 1,103, Jaiprakash associate by (2.45%) to Rs. 207.15, TCS Ltd by (2.40%) at Rs. 497.50, RIL by (2.38%) at Rs. 1,900 and Tata Steel by (2.31%) at Rs. 441.

Losers from the NSE Nifty Pack are Hero Honda decreased by (2.99%) at Rs. 1,350 along with Reliance infrastructure by (2.44%) at Rs. 1,107.6, Wipro Ltd by (2.12%) at Rs. 489.8, ACC Ltd by (2.04%) at Rs. 781.55, SBI by (1.99%) at Rs. 1,699.85 and Tata Steel by (1.97%) at Rs. 442.8.

BSE AUTO index was at 5,302.56 down by 90.68 points or by (1.68%) The main losers were Bharat Forge down by (5.29%) at Rs.217.55, Cummins Indi down by (4.08%) at Rs.314.25, Herohonda M down by (3.07%) at Rs. 1,348, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. down by (2.06%) at Rs.752.5, Bajaj Auto down by (2.03%) at Rs.1,114.8. The main gainers were Apollo Tyre up by (1.75%) at Rs. 40.7, Bosch Ltd up by (0.93%) at Rs.3900, Exide Indus up by (0.65%) at Rs.84.75.

BSE OIL&GAS index was at 9,383.90 down by 130.41 points or by (1.37%) The main losers were Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. down by (3.08%) at Rs. 358.4, Reliance down by (2.38%) at Rs. 1,900 Essar Oil Ltd. down by (2.19%) at Rs. 131.95, Ril Nat Res down by (2.02%) at Rs. 79.9, Bharat Petroleum Corporation L down by (2%) at Rs. 508. The main gainers were Cairn Ind up by (0.19%) at Rs. 239.4.

Post Session Indian stock Market Commentary

Indian stock market ended the session with handsome gains backed by significant buying that emerged after Asian markets reversed losses. Higher US index futures also added to sentiments. Market touched the day’s high during afternoon trade mirroring firm European markets though afterwards pared gains a bit. However, monsoon worries continued to remain a key concern as 9 States have declared drought. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that government has no proposal to write off loans taken by farmers as it did in 2008 in its first term in office. Further, India’s July export is down 26% from a year earlier. The BSE Sensex ended above 15,000 level and NSE Nifty closed above 4,450 mark.

Market opened on flat note today after reporting heavy selling in previous session. The US stocks markets closed lower on Monday, marking the worst single-session percentage loss in six weeks due to huge selling pressure. Slower-than-expected economic growth in Japan prompted a global sell-off on worries that an economic rebound may be further off than previously considered. Investors were not exciting by the news that the empire state manufacturing index moved into positive territory, signaling growth for the first time since April 2008. Further, Indian benchmark indices bounced back, as investors looked for some bargain chasing after yesterday’s sharp fall. Market touched day’s high during afternoon trade in line with recovery in other Asian stocks along with positive European markets.

Finally, market closed on positive note on account of sustained buying. From the sectoral front, all indices ended in green. Among those, most of the buying was seen in Capital Goods, Realty, Metal, Power, PSU, Auto, Bank, and FMCG stocks. Broader markets also followed the same trend as BSE Midcap and Smallcap stocks gained more than 2% each.

Among the Sensex pack 26 stocks ended in green territory and 4 stocks ended in red territory. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained positive as 1741 stocks closed in red while 896 stocks closed in green and 78 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 250.34 points or (1.69%) at 15,035.26 and NSE Nifty ended up by 71 points or (1.62%) at 4,458.90. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 111.04 and 129.74 points at 5,496.55 and 6,341.45 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 15,134.51 and intraday low of 14,740.26.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Hindalco (6.08%), JP Associates (4.73%), L&T Ltd (4.66%), HUL (3.45%), Tata Steel (3.14%), HDFC (3.06%), DLF Ltd (2.95%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (2.89%), Bharti Airtel (2.87%), BHEL (2.76%), HDFC Bank (2.39%), RCom (2.36%), ICICI Bank (2.10%), Reliance Infra (2.08%), Maruti Suzuki (2.04%), ONGC (1.46%) and SBI (1.21%).

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Infosys Tech (0.59%), Grasim Industries (0.35%), TCS Ltd (0.19%), Sun Pharma (0.19%).

India''s exports fell 26% from a year earlier in July, federal Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said on Tuesday. The country''s imports during July fell 35%-36% from the same month last year.

On the global markets front the Asian markets that opened before the Indian market, ended with gains. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225, Singapore''s Straits Times Index and Seoul Composite closed higher by 40.25, 169.20, 16.35, 21.74 and 3.18 points at 2,910.88, 20,306.27, 10,284.96, 2,567.72 and 1,550.24 respectively.

European markets, which opened after the Indian market, are trading in green helped by some upbeat German economic data. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading higher 29.77 points at 5,231.38 and in London FTSE 100 is trading up by 31.39 points at 4,676.40.

The BSE Capital Goods index was at 12,313.50 up by 432.33 points or by (3.64%). The main gainers were Siemens Ltd up by (5.2%), Punj Lloyd up by (4.86%), Larsen & Toubro Ltd. up by (4.66%), Aiaengineer up by (3.98%) and Jyoti Struct up by (3.68%).

The BSE Realty index was at 3,750.40 up by 87.70 points or by (2.39%). The main gainers were Indbul Real up by (5.47%), Housing Dev up by (4.01%), Penland Ltd up by (3.43%), Anant Raj In up by (3.03%) and DLF Ltd up by (2.95%).

The BSE Metal index was at 12,213.25 up by 274.34 points or by (2.3%). The main gainers were Hindalco up by (6.08%), JSW Steel up by (3.8%), Nalco up by (3.55%), Jindal Saw up by (3.48%) and Welsp Guj Sr up by (3.27%).

The BSE Power index was at 2,868.06 up by 59.30 points or by (2.11%). The main gainers were Siemens Ltd up by (5.2%) at Rs.453.95, Suzlon Energy up by (3.57%), Gmr Infrastr up by (3.44%), Crompton Greaves Ltd. up by (3.12%) and BHEL up by (2.76%).

The BSE PSU index was at 8,202.09 up by 144.20 points or by (1.79%). The main gainers were Andhra Bank up by (5.1%) at, Power Finan up by (5%), Corporation up by (4.47%), Contain Corp up by (4.38%) and Mangalore Refineries & Petroch up by (3.81%).

The BSE Auto index was at 5,393.24 up by 89.74 points or by (1.69%). The main gainers were Bharat Forge up by (8.5%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd up by (2.89%), Ashok Leylnd up by (2.73%), Escorts Ltd. up by (2.44%) and Apollo Tyre up by (2.3%).

Ahluwalia Contracts India Ltd advanced by 4.13%. The company informed regarding the recent Awards of New Projects worth of Rs 215.06 Crores.

HDFC ended up by 3.06%. The leading mortgage lender has started its Rs 4,300 crore immediate fund raising exercise. The amount to be raised from the issue of NCDs would be about Rs 4,000 crore. Further the company is issuing 1.1 crore warrants, each convertible into one equity share of the company within three years, at a price of Rs 3,000. The stock is now trading higher by (3.12%) at Rs. 2,320.

Bharti Airtel ended higher by 2.87% after telecom major received bids from more than a dozen overseas banks keen to fund its around USD 23-bn merger deal with top South African mobile company MTN.

Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd spurted 7.18% after the Reserve Bank of India raised the foreign portfolio investment limit in the company to 40%.

Moser Baer increased by 1.88%. The company launched new optical Media high-end products in India.

HCL Technologies Ltd. lost 0.85%. The company said that it has been informed by Reader''s Digest Association (RDA) that the latest developments at its end do not affect its relationship and engagement with HCL.

Tata Communications closed lower by 0.56%. The company, together with its supplier, Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology, today announced that they have completed the installation, testing and commissioning of the TGN-lntra Asia {TGN-IA) Cable System.

Market gusted northward on bargain hunting

The indian stock market after opening lower, regained strength on bargain hunting with traders buying out in Realty, Capital Goods and Metals stocks despite heavy losses in Chinese equities, which turned lower amid fears that the summer rally could have over heaped the index too far, too fast. Meanwhile, the monsoon situation remains fragile with the country heading into the worst drought year over the last two decades.

On the sectoral front, all indices inclined. Oil exploration stocks gained as crude oil rose, as the dollar''s decline spurred investors to purchase commodities as an alternative investment. Realty and Bank stocks advanced on bargain hunting after being hammered in recent past.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong On BSE, out of 2,532 stocks traded so far, 1,714 shares advanced while 737 shares declined. Nearly 81 shares are unchanged.

At 1.22PM, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 289.35 points at 15,074.27 whereas NSE Nifty is up by 82.95 points at 4,470.85.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading higher by 110.51 points at 5,496.03 and Small cap is trading up by 127.80 points at 6,339.51.

Major gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Hindalco Industries Ltd by 5.59% to Rs. 105.85 along with, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd surged 4.00% to Rs. 210.85, DLF Ltd by 3.92% to Rs. 378.70, Larsen & Toubro Ltd by 3.80% to Rs. 1,465.55, Tata Steel Ltd by 3.78% to Rs. 454.25, HDFC Bank Ltd by 2.97% to Rs. 1,449.00, Hindustan Uniliver Ltd by 2.93% to Rs. 256.75, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd by 2.86% to Rs. 1,313.00, Housing Development Finance Co by 2.78% to Rs. 2,314.80, Reliance Communication Ltd by 2.65% to Rs. 251.95, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd by 2.52% to Rs. 765.60, Wipro Ltd by 2.44% to Rs. 508.50 and Bharti Airtel Ltd by 2.44% to Rs. 408.90.

Major losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are TCS Ltd plunged 0.61% to Rs. 507.6 and Infosys Technologies Ltd by 0.25% to Rs. 1,978.10.

The BSE Realty is higher by 133.21 points or 3.64% at 3,795.91. Stocks inclined include Phoenix Mills Ltd 5.33% to Rs. 131.50, Indiabulls Realty 4.96% to Rs. 229.50, Ansal Infrastructure Ltd by 4.39% to Rs. 61.85, Housing Development by 4.33% to Rs. 279.80, Penland Ltd 4.22% to Rs. 79.00, DLF Ltd 3.92% to Rs. 378.70, Anant Raj by 3.22% to Rs. 134.50 and Sobha Developers Ltd 3.08% to Rs. 209.45 among others.

Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd spurted 7.17% to Rs. 372.40 after the Reserve Bank of India raised the foreign portfolio investment limit in the company to 40%.

Numeric Power Systems Ltd gusted by 19.99% to Rs. 446.20 after it said its board will meet on 22 August 2009 to consider issue of bonus shares.

MVL Ltd improved 2.40% to Rs. 160.10 after its board approved splitting one share of face value Rs. 10 into five shares of face value Rs. 2 each.

Everonn Systems India Ltd gained 1.42% to Rs. 354.25 after a block deal of 2.94 lakh shares was executed on NSE at Rs. 353 per share.

Kiri Dyes & Chemicals Ltd spurted 5.98% to Rs. 410.25 after the company said it is looking for an overseas acquisition.

Weak monsoon may hurt economic rebound: FM

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated that the inadequate rainfall is the reason for the decline in the economy this year while the previous year it had started moving upward due to two stimulus packages. However, when asked about the slowdown of credit between September, 2008 and June, 2009 he said that the agriculture minister is making the evaluation and trying hard to handle the situation.

In addition, it had its worst impact when the there was a major financial crisis all over the world and the industrial crisis surrounded developed countries however, credit is necessary for investment, for carrying business and utilizing it for fruitful purposes. Moreover, even if the government takes action now by amending the credit policy, it will take some more time to get its full impact on the whole economy.

Board Meeting Headline : Board Meeting on 07-08-2009

Rathi Steel & Power
Manjushree Techno
Munoth Capital M
MMTC Ltd.
Gati Ltd.
C G Impex L
Neha Internation
Ackruti City
MTZ Polyfilms Ltd.
Maharaja Shree U
Core Emballage L
Info-Drive Softw
KIC Metaliks
Greaves Cotton

MARG Signs MoU With BSNL

MARG Ltd, India''s fastest growing Integrated infrastructure company, inked an MoU with BSNL to provide world class telecommunication facilities in the upcoming mega Infrastructure project, MARG Swarnabhoomi. As part of the MoU, BSNL will provide complete telecom solutions, including voice, data, WiFi hotspots, video and audio conferencing facility, broadband, leased lines and wireless services at MARG Swarnabhoomi.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harlnarain said, "We are committed to providing the . occupants of MARG Swarnabhoomi reliable, and state-of-the-art secured networks with a bouquet of voice,, video and data services at competitive prices on a single window basis. We are pleased to partner with BSNL In this endeavour."

BSNL will cater to all the telecommunications requirements of the industries, hospitals, school, and residential buildings conning up In MARG Swarnatahooml, BSNL would start work immediately as the BVM Global School at MARG Swarnabhoomi Is scheduled to be operational by July 2009, The basic Infrastructure to lay the cables and exchange facilities will be provided by MARG,

Various services that will be provided by BSNL Include landllnes with CLIP phones, free phoner plus services, free centrex In each apartment block, mobile services, Broadband and WiFi services, EPBAX and voice solutions, Mobile CUG, VSAT solutions, Blackberry solutions and smart PCOs etc. BSNL will also take care of the specific needs of various types of industries that will come up In the two SEZs.

Reliance unit files for insolvency in Germany

Reliance Industries Ltd on Wednesday said that Trevira, a European textile unit, had applied in a German court to start the proceedings of insolvency with a restructuring plan.

The move follows major efforts by the company to overcome the impact of industrial slowdown in Europe particularly of the automotive and textile sectors to whom it is an important supplier, Reliance said in a statement.

Reliance said that Trevira was "severely impacted" by the recent global financial downturn that resulted in considerable contraction in demand in its'' principal market segment. Trevira makes polyester fibres as well as filament yarns. It has production units in Germany as well as Denmark, Poland and Belgium, the website showed.

Reliance Industries had acquired Trevira in 2004.

Geometric releases GeomCaliper version 2.3

Geometric Limited, a leader in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions and technologies, announced the release of version 2.3 of GeomCaliper with support and integration with CATIA V5R19 and enhanced features primarily for performance improvement.

Major advancements in this release include:

* Support and integration for CATIA V5R19

* Improved accuracy of the Thickness Checker tool; the tool now displays important and more relevant results only, by filtering out non-critical results

* Ability to create and load different templates of Options/Settings for different types of thickness analysis

* Editable colour band that allows you to change GeomCaliper results file after importing it in CATIA V5

A free 15 day trial version of GeomCaliper for CATIA and Pro/ENGINEER platforms can be downloaded from http://geomcaliper.geometricglobal.com/

GeomCaliper is an innovative tool that facilitates measurement and checking of wall thickness of 3D CAD models. It accelerates the design review process for manufacturability, enabling faster prototyping and production of designs, thus reducing the overall design cycle time. Unlike other traditional measurement methods, GeomCaliper is fast, accurate and easy to use.

IRDA likely to allow banks to sell policies of rival insurers

The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is expected to allow banks to sell policies of rival insurers in order to give more choices to the customers. IRDA is evaluating the norms that limit banks from selling policies of rival insurance companies. According to the existing norms, a bank can sell insurance products of one life and one general insurance company and only insurance brokers are allowed to sell policies of rivals. The plan may impinge on the multi-crore distribution arrangements between banks and insurers. Life insurers earn an important part of their premium through sales by a group bank. Banks are getting commissions for passing on customers to life insurers. Insurers also worried that banks would push the products of those who pay the maximum commission, after getting freedom to sell policies of multiple companies.

Radico''s new grain-based distillery goes on stream

Radico Khaitan Ltd, the second largest spirits maker, has commissioned its second grain-based distillery, set up in Aurangabad, Maharashtra with an investment of Rs 136 crore. The new facility has been associated to reduce transportation and logistics costs.

The company, which posted Rs 1,600-crore turnover last year, said it expects to close the current fiscal with 15-18 per cent growth.

The company will hold a 36% stake in the new company to be called Radico NV Distilleries Maharashtra, with the remaining 64% divided between the other two partners Riddhi Siddhi and NV Distillers. The company also owns Asia’s largest distillery in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

According to Mr Raju Vaziraney, Chief operating Officer, Domestic Business Radico Khaitan, the Aurangabad distillery will have an annual capacity of 36 million litres and will produce extra neutral alcohol, ethanol and Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL). It will also have a bottling facility.

Unprecedented Contraction of Automobile Market

The Automobile market reported a cumulative production data for April - November 2008 that shows production growth of 6.56 percent over April - November 2007. However, in November 2008, the overall production fell by 6.11% as compared to the same month last year.

Domestic Sales:

During April - November 2008, the passenger vehicles segment reported a marginal growth of 1.10 percent over the period between April - November 2007. During the same period, the Passenger Cars grew by 0.48 percent, Utility Vehicles fell by -0.21 percent and Multi Purpose Vehicles grew by 12.00 percent in this period. However, the sales in November 2008 for passenger vehicles fell by 23.71% over November 2007 - with all sub-segments registering negative growth.

The cumulative sales of Commercial Vehicles Segment registered de-growth. During April - November 2008, the segment grew at (-) 9.35 percent as compared to the same period last year. While Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles registered significant de-growth at (-) 16.88 percent, Light Commercial Vehicles also recorded de-growth of -0.26 percent. In November 2008, the commercial vehicles sales fell by 49.51%. M&HCV fell by 63% and LCV fell by over 33%. Also, buses (M&HCV) fell by 32% and even the smaller buses also fell by 26%. In fact the decline in buses has been since April 2008 with an exception in June.

Exports:

In terms of export, the automobile exports registered a growth of 33.03 percent during the period from April - November 2008 with all segments except commercial vehicles, registering positive growth. On the other hand, the passenger Vehicles and two Wheelers segment grew by 66.39 and 30.98 percent respectively.

Railway earnings up 14.49 per cent during April-November 2008

Indian Railways total approximate earnings of on originating basis during 1st April - 30th November 2008 were Rs. 50931.98 crore as against Rs. 44484.60 crore reported during the same period last year.

During the period, total goods earnings have climbed to Rs. 34393.78 crore from Rs. 29733.82 crore during 1st April-30th November, 2007, registering a growth of 15.67 per cent.

The total passenger revenue earnings stood at Rs. 14440.93 crore as compared to Rs. 12869.41 crore, registering a growth of 12.21 per cent. On the other hand, the revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 1297.71 crore as against Rs. 1215.99 crore during the same period last year, representing a growth of 6.72 per cent.

The total sundry earnings have gone up to Rs. 799.56 crore from Rs.665.38 crore, showing an increase of 20.17 percent.

The total approximate number of passengers booked during April-November 2008 was 4717.37 million as against 4430.75 million during the same period last year, showing a growth of 6.47 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during the period was 2510.40 million and 2206.97 million as compared to 2428.48 million and 2002.27 million, an increase of 3.37 per cent and 10.22 per cent respectively.

Indian Railways to invest approximately Rs 37,500 crore

During the current financial year, Indian Railways have drawn up plans for the increased upgradation of rail infrastructure and procurement of new assets of rolling stock with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 37,500 Crore to shore up the infrastructural development and upkeep. This move will give a boost to the Indian Economy as well as provide strengthened rail infrastructure for carrying yet higher loads.

The strategy includes massive track and sleeper renewal activity leading to increased steel consumption, along with this production of more steel bridge girders, more production of passenger EMU & MEMU Coaches. In line with this, more production of diesel and electrical locos, more production of wheels & axles, development of model stations and world class stations, installation of modern and upgraded signaling system, increased route electrification and improvement in telecommunication work. Apart from this, the Indian Railways is also undertaking the construction of dedicated freight corridor, which is the biggest infrastructural development activity of Indian Railways since independence, towards which an amount of Rs. 400 crore is being spent in 2008-09 and Rs. 3000 crore have been earmarked for 2009-10.

Some of the projects under execution are as follows:

o Indian Railways have set a high target of rail renewal over 2941kms which will require 3,39,288 MT of rail steel. The target of sleeper renewal over 2382 kms will require 38.59 lakhs pre-stressed concrete sleepers (approx.).

o A target of renewal of 44.5 lakhs of PSC sleepers has been fixed for open line works.

o Indian Railways to manufacture 3000 coaches this year which is an increase of 12.5 % over the previous year.

o It is planned to acquire 2873 EMUs, 1091 MEMUs, 216 Kolkatta Metro Coaches and 3 - phase propulsion system for 200 motor coaches with an expected outlay of about Rs. 9200 Crore .

o Railway has planned to acquire sufficient number of wagons to meet the requirements of growing freight.

o The production of diesel locomotives and high horse power EMD Design Locomotives would be enhanced at the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi.

o Indian Railways are setting up a 1000 MW thermal power plant through a joint venture with NTPC at Nabi Nagar, Bihar with a total cost of Rs. 5352 Crore.

o Indian Railways are also seeking an allocation of a coal block of 300 MT, which is proposed to be utilized for setting up a 2000 MW power plant.

o About Rs.300 Crore will be spent during the next three months for commissioning modern electronic signaling systems at about 400 stations, intermediate block signaling in about 200 block sections and 400 route kms of automatic block signaling. Rs.1800 Crore will be spent during the next year (2009-10) for the modernization/ upgradation of signaling systems.

o Railway electrification target for the XIth Plan has been enhanced to 3500 Kms. Similarly, the electrification target for the current year has been increased from 700 Kms to 1000 Kms.

o Acquisition of electric locomotives has been enhanced from to 220 in 2008-09. Process is underway for acquiring 200 electric locomotives from BHEL at an approximate cost of Rs. 5.5 crore each.

o A factory is to be set up at Madhepura for manufacturing 100 electric locomotives per year through JV route. Bid process is presently underway.

o Indian Railways is seeking an outlay of Rs. 2800 crore towards undertaking telecommunication works till 2011-12. The scope of works include replacement of more than 10,000 route Kms. of overhead alignment in the optical fiber communication and Quad Cable network, provision of a very high capacity DWDM network, modernize the switching and networking structure and Mobile Train Radio Communication.

India has lifted a ban on cement exports

According to trade ministry, India has lifted a ban on cement exports, as price pressures eased and domestic demand is depressed due to a slowdown in construction activity. The Director General of Foreign Trade under the Commerce Ministry has informed that he has allowed cement export with immediate effect.

In order to increase local supplies and check rising prices, government had banned cement exports in May. Construction activity has slowed down In the past few months as high interest rates trimmed demand for new homes while companies deferred expansion plans due to a credit crisis.

In November, India''s cement output was 14.34 million tonnes, which was than 14.76 million tonnes produced in October, according to the Cement Manufacturers'' Association.

BHEL bags order to set up 500MW plant at MP

Bharat Heavy Electricals LTD (BHEL), state-run power equipment maker said on December 22, it has bagged contract of worth a Rs 1,175-crore for setting up a 500 MW thermal power plant at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. The order has been placed by Bina Power Company Ltd, a Jaypee Group company. The company would install two units of 250 MW each for the project which is scheduled for synchronization during the 11th-Plan Period (2007-12). The company''s scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of boilers, turbines and associated auxiliaries. The company plans to invest Rs 4,200 crore to enhance its capacity from 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW in two years. It also plans to invest about Rs 10,000 crore for new ventures in the coming years. For achieving this target, its production units at Tiruchirappaly, Bhopal, Haridwar, Jhansi and Hyderabad are in the process of modernization and expansion.

Rajendra Electrical Board to consider Bonus Issue

Rajendra Electrical Industries Ltd has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on December 29, 2008, inter alia, for considering the proposal to make a bonus issue of shares.
The authorised share capital will have to be increased also. The General Meeting for passing the necessary resolutions will be convened and held thereafter.

Software dealers demand CENVAT benefits

However, after the declaration of CENVAT on IT products by Central government, which would be reduced by 4%, the dealers anticipated that the decision would help improve the market performance that has been slow due to economic recession. A week after the government''s decision, the distributors like Ingram Micro and Redington are still taking advantage of imported software and the modified excise duty is not being applied on them.

The Indian Software Dealers Association (ISODA) members informed that distributors have not yet reduced the prices on products from Tally, Adobe and Symantec. On the other hand, after the government''s declaration the reduction was implemented on Microsoft licenses four to five days.

The members protesting the monopolistic attitude of distributors and in order to make them realize the strength of ISODA, have decided to call for a ''no transaction day'' on Dec 22, informed Harinder Singh Salwan, Secretary, ISODA.

Hemant Chabria, Secretary, ISODA informed that dealers were protesting about the fact that even after the government''s announcement the distributors are taking advantage by selling the products at higher rates.

Salwan informed that on Dec 22, all the 100 members of ISODA will protest and no billing, payment, supply or transaction will take place on that day. "We want to let our distributors realize that ISODA is a strong association and they cannot run business according to their own will," he said.

An ISODA member shared that the association had directly interacted with top officials of Redington and Ingram Micro over the issue of reducing the excise duty by four percent and the distis had agreed with them.


On the other hand, when the software dealers conveyed the message to an executive of one of the distributors, he refused to acknowledge the reduced rates, saying that ISODA is not a recognized body and cannot play any role in modifying the distributor''s decision.

Mega Launch of ACi Laptops, exploring growth by 100% & Profitability for FY 2008-09

Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd has announced the new launch of ACi Laptops for the Christmas and the New Year. After encountering significant demand from customers for low cost, low weight, and elegant looking high-end laptop, ACi launches December 22, 2008 its new fully upgradeable laptop models ACi Elite Pro and ACI Cinderella. ACi Elite Pro offers an idea solution for all mobile users working within the corporate and SOHO segment, housing a new and fast INTEL Ultra Low Voltage ATOM CPU running at 1.6 GHz, with 10.1 TFT screen, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, DVD / RW, Built-in web-camera and Built-in WiFi. The model only weighs 1.3Kg and is offered in two colors BLACK & WHITE.

Having appreciated the fact that most women of today are also in need of laptops for the work and pleasure, ACi launches a laptop model, ACI Cinderella, for women keeping in mind the elegant design and colour most women wear and prefer to carry available in two exciting colours i.e. Pearl White and Glossy Pink.

Both the new models are priced at only Rs 24,999, and with a choice of colours (i.e. white and black) and high user-defined specifications in a light weight and easy to slide in a handbag form factor. With this price tag and specifications, ACi Elite Pro and ACi Cinderella are first of its kind in the market. ACis launch of these two models today forms an ideal gift option for all during the forthcoming Christmas and New Year festivals.

On successful launching of the new products, Company is confident in increasing its sales turnover of its mid-high end range of laptops to well over 100%, i.e. from Rs 3 Cr to Rs 6 Cr for FY 2008 -09 giving rise to at least Rs 50 lacs of additional gross profits within the first quarter of its launch.