BackOpening Bell 10 January | Markets to focus on UPA overdrive, Infosys results
Asian markets were trading lower after Chinese December trade figures missed forecast
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Mumbai: The United progressive Alliance (UPA) government has gone on an overdrive before the polls. The Cabinet on Thursday cleared a 13% stake sale of Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India in Axis Bank Ltd, which can fetch the government around ₹ 7,000 crore. It also signed off on a proposal to add nearly 16,000 medical seats and approved a policy to regulate television rating agencies.
Caution was seen ahead of the start of the corporate earnings reporting season, with Infosys Ltd announcing its results on Friday.
Asian markets were trading lower after Chinese December trade figures missed forecast, reports Financial Times. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.4% after exports fell to 4.3%, missing forecasts, while imports rose 8.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average declined over 0.5%.
Overnight, US markets ended on a cautious note ahead of the jobs data. Analysts expect Friday’s labour market data to show that about 195,000 jobs were created last month, reports Financial Times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%, S&P 500 ended flat and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. In Europe, Mario Draghi had appeared to pave the way for further policy accommodation by leaving rates unchanged.
Moody’s Investors Service has warned that India’s ability to absorb rising government debt could diminish significantly if low economic growth and high inflation persisted beyond next few quarters as it could weaken the country’s sovereign credit profile.
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd shares may see some action after a group of ministers headed by P. Chidambaram deferred a decision on disinvestment following strong opposition to the stake sale by the oil ministry.
The Cabinet has allowed state-run telecom carriers Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to return their 4G radio spectrum and get refunds of a total ₹ 11,260 crore to help reduce their ballooning debt.
United Spirits Ltd said it is planning to initiate a process of selling its UK-based unit Whyte and Mackay Ltd to allay anti-trust concerns raised by the UK fair trade regulator as a result of USL’s merger with Diageo Plc.
Lanco Infratech Ltd shares will be in the limelight as it is considering selling its Australian unit Griffin Coal Mining Co. to help repay debt. The company is also in advanced talks to divest a hydroelectric power plant in India.
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd shares will be in focus after it signed a licensing agreement to sell Epirus Switzerland GmbH’s copy of arthritis and rheumatic disorder drug Infliximab in India and other emerging markets, reports Mint.
Tech Mahindra Ltd shares will see some action as it is keen on buying Jignesh Shah’s Financial Technologies India Ltd if the promoter is asked to sell his stake as part of the resolution to the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam proceedings. Read more.
Shares of gold loan finance companies Muthoot Finance Ltd and Manappuram Finance Ltd will continue to see upward trend after the Reserve Bank of India relaxed the norms by raising the loan to value ratio from 60% to 75%.
The Supreme Court has warned the Sahara Group to reveal the source of the ₹ 22,885 crore which it claimed to have refunded its investors or be ready to face inquiry by CBI and the Registrar of Companies.
Lastly, the tussle over power tariff in Delhi has escalated as distribution companies have told the Arvind Kejriwal government that they are running out of money to pay generation and transmission companies because electricity rates in the city state are too low which may lead to more blackouts in Delhi, reports Economic Times.
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