BackOpening bell 25 April
Opening bell 25 April
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Mumbai: The long weekend is over. It is F&O expiry week; expect markets to turn volatile. Meanwhile, here’s a list of things to watch out for before trading starts on Monday.
Better-than-expected corporate results helped US stocks close last week with gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.53% as Johnson & Johnson and Wynn Resorts reported results that beat analysts’ estimates. On Monday, Asian markets opened firmly. Stocks in Japan rose after Toyota Motor said it will raise production in July. The positive comments boosted expectations of a recovery in Japan’s manufacturing industry. The Nikkei is up 0.41%.
Crude oil is back on the boil as renewed violence in the Middle East and Africa led to fears of prolonged supply disruptions. Brent crude oil at $124.44 a barrel is trading higher by $0.45.
Meanwhile in India, Reliance Industries’ fourth quarter results came in lower than expectations. The company’s fourth quarter profits grew 14.14% against analysts’ expectations of 15%. Gross refining margins stood at $9.2 in January-March quarter. Analysts were expecting the company to report GRMs of around $10 per barrel. Read more...
RIL may have to invest close to ₹ 1.5 trillion over the next five years. Apart from investing in petrochemicals and energy exploration, it is expected to spend ₹ 50,000 crore in new business verticals such as telecom and financial services.
The department of telecom has accepted the Trai’s recommendation to charge cellular companies for the spectrum they hold beyond the contractual limit. The move, if cleared by the telecom commission, will force older operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular to pay a total of ₹ 24,700 crore.
Property developers are raising money thorough structured debt to tide over debt repayment problems. According to reports, developers in Delhi and Mumbai are paying an interest rate of 16-21% to PE firms.
Bankers have declined to create a ₹ 1,000-crore liquidity fund to help micro-finance institutions recover from mass defaults in Andhra Pradesh. After restructuring loans of MFIs in last month, banks are no longer interested in creating such a kind of fund.
The pressure on Indian government to clear the Cairn-Vedanta deal is increasing. The British High Commissioner to India has written to the Prime Minister’s Office saying that the transaction would be unviable if ONGC is allowed to recover the royalty.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has got approval to sell the generic version of Wyeth’s anti-depression drug from 1 June. It is Wyeth’s best-selling drug and has recorded sales worth $1.7 billion last year.
Axis Bank reported a 33.37% growth in March-quarter profits. While growth in fee income helped the bank report higher profits, rising cost of funds led to a squeeze in margins. Net interest margins in the fourth quarter slipped to 3.44% from 3.81% in third quarter.
Alok Industries is planning to invest ₹ 2,000 crore over the next four years to expand polyester capacity. The company expects the consumption of polyester to go up in both domestic and international markets.
Maruti Suzuki, Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services are expected to announce their March quarter results on Monday. Maruti’s comments on the impact of a rising Japanese yen on its financials will be keenly tracked.
And finally, plastic surgery emerged as the fourth most popular way to spend discretionary income in China. With incomes rising, the Chinese are spending more on going under the knife, after houses, cars and travel. About two million operations take place every year. Read more...
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