ONGC, Hero Honda and Idea may be in limelight today

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has emerged the provisional winner for close to 10 out of the 29 blocks it has bid for in the ninth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

Reliance Industries has bid for six oil and gas exploration blocks while Cairn India submitted offers for two out of the 34 on offer in the 9th round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Meanwhile, the oil regulator DGH said that Reliance Industries has not kept its commitment on drilling wells on the prolific eastern offshore KG-D6 field that has seen drastic fall in production.

The Union Cabinet is likely to approve tomorrow the induction of Rs 4,500 crore foreign equity by Hero Investments (HIPL), mainly to fund the buyout of 26 per cent stake of Japan's Honda in Hero Honda.

Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular would invest Rs 4,200-crore in 3G network infrastructure, including erecting around 16,000 towers by March, 2012.

SREI Infrastructure Finance is eyeing to clock up to 30 per cent growth both in profit as well as disbursement in FY12, driven by growing momentum in the sector.

ITC Hotels, the hotels division of the tobacco-to hospitality major ITC, is foraying into retail mall and service apartments. Most of the new mega hotel projects of the company will have luxury retail space and service apartments.

Delhi-based realtor Unitech had objected to Uninor India's proposed rights issue at a board meeting earlier this year and had demanded that a business plan be finalised before the modalities of fund raising are decided but its objection was over-ruled by its Norwegian partner, Telenor.

Country's largest software firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged an order from Australian financial institution CUA for deployment of its banking solution. Software education services provider Aptech plans to expand in Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the $1.22 billion (more than Rs 5,400 crore) takeover of India's sixth largest IT firm Patni Computer by US-based iGate.

Tata Steel is working on a pilot project that will enable it to use waste material in iron ore.

Swift Fundamental Research and Education Society (SFRES), the education arm for the Rs 1,600-crore Ind Swift group (manufacturer as well as exporter of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and finished doses) is geared to venture in global education with the plan of setting up of a college in the United Kingdom.

Back office services firm Firstsource Solutions expects to clock a growth of about 10% in FY11 and expects to improve on that next fiscal.

The government said Coal India has lowered the production target to 440.20 million tonnes from 460.50 million tonnes for the current fiscal.

SREI Infrastructure Finance has been classified as Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC) by the Reserve Bank.

India's Essar Oil may defer its planned refinery shutdown to September-October from a planned May-June.

Reliance Communications has introduced Star Talk, a mobile voice platform service to reach out to one’s favorite celebs. Star Talk service includes round the clock celebrity entertainment news, gossips, film news, star interviews, movie masala, movie reviews, archives, etc.

Tata Sponge Iron has decided to install an AFBC based 25 MW power plant, subject to obtaining all necessary and statutory approvals / clearances.

Natco Pharma’s novel anti-cancer drug has received Orphan Drug Designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for three indications- Glioma (brain tumor), pancreatic cancer and chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Asian equities tread cautiously on Tuesday; Nikkei deposes 1.47%

Asian equity markets are treading in a cautious mood on a mixed note in Tuesday's morning session led by Japanese benchmark which fell the most in the space, on concerns over high levels of nuclear radiations from the ill fated Fukushima nuclear plant and the impact of the natural disaster on corporate earnings. Overnight leads from the Wall Street too remained subdued despite some good economic reports as traders showed concern over Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. South Korean shares receded on the back of profit booking after the recent eight-session streak of net purchases by foreign funds. Stocks in China rose marginally as steelmakers provided the much needed support on expectations of higher exports to Japan for use in the country's post-earthquake reconstruction drive.

Shanghai Composite rose 3.89 points or 0.13% to 2,987.90, Hang Seng advanced 5.54 points or 0.02% to 23,073.73, KLSE Composite gained 2.00 points or 0.13% to 1,516.25, Seoul Composite added 0.35 points or 0.02% to 2,056.74 and Taiwan Weighted increased 16.34 points or 0.19% to 8,569.40.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite shaved off 28.05 points or 0.78% to 3,574.81, Nikkei 225 plunged 139.55 points or 1.47% to 9,338.98 and Straits Times fell 3.54 points or 0.12% to 3,053.84.

US markets snap their winning streak on Monday

US markets closed modestly lower on Monday despite some good economic reports as traders showed concern over Japan's nuclear crisis and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Oil prices eased a bit as rebels in Libya, gained ground against Moammar Gadhafi with the help of international airstrikes against Gadhafi’s forces. On the domestic front, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in four months in February, though some of the increase was driven by higher gas prices.

On the same time, the National Association of Realtors said more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February than economists were expecting. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast, but remained below what is considered a healthy level. Sales agreements for homes unexpectedly rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8. Signings were 19.6 percent above June's index reading, the low point since the housing bust.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.71 points, or 0.19 percent, to 12,197.88. The broader S&P 500 index dipped by 3.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,310.19, while the Nasdaq composite declined by 12.38 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,730.68.

Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Monday, Infosys was up by 0.18%, HDFC Bank was up by 0.70%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.93% and Tata Motors was up by 0.06%.
On the others hand MTNL was down by 0.02% and Wipro was down by 0.04%

Asian markets sustain sanguinity on last trading day of week with a positive start

Asian equity indices ascended this Friday morning as investors continued to pile up positions tracking buoyant leads from Wall Street overnight which went for a smart rally on the back of confident corporate earnings and signs of a stronger job market. Stock markets in Japan have bounced back from the recent downtrend as construction firms gained on optimism that demand will grow as Japan rebuilds after being grappled with a deluge of destruction. The South Korean benchmark climbed over half a percent as Won strengthened to a two-week high on speculations that global economic recovery will withstand Europe’s financial crisis.

Shanghai Composite advanced 16.56 points or 0.56% to 2,963.26, Hang Seng climbed 193.77 points or 0.85% to 23,109.05, Jakarta Composite zoomed 76.12 points or 2.14% to 3,632.35, KLSE Composite rose 4.03 points or 0.27% to 1,517.87, Nikkei 225 jumped 94.13 points or 1.00% to 9,529.14, Straits Times surged 28.20 points or 0.93% to 3,071.23, Seoul Composite increased 12.62 points or 0.62% to 2,049.40 and Taiwan Weighted added 40.39 points or 0.47% to 8,616.79.

US markets closed modestly higher despite weak housing data

US markets closed modestly higher on Wednesday, worries of Japanese crisis was still looming and the stocks remained lower for most of the day however a spurt in energy stocks was seen after Energy Department report showed that gasoline consumption continues to grow despite sharp price increases at the pump, it shows that higher fuel cost has not made much impact. Meanwhile the Japanese government estimated that rebuilding costs for the earthquake could be as high as $300 billion, dragging the economy growth by 0.5 percent this year due to the widespread devastation. Also there was a disappointment from the housing front; sales of new single-family homes plunged to the lowest on record in February.

Commerce Department reported that home sales fell 17 percent to 250,000, well below the 700,000 rate being expected, it was the third straight monthly drop. That decline in activity is weighing down the construction industry, which in the past has fueled economic recoveries.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 12,086.02.The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 1,297.54. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.43, or 0.54 percent, to 2,698.30.

Most of the Indian ADRs closed in green on Wednesday, Infosys was up by 1.64%, Wipro was up by 0.29%, HDFC Bank was up by 4.78%, ICICI Bank was up by 2.62%, MTNL was up by 0.05% and Tata Motors was up by 0.60%.

Most Asian equities trade with marginal gains despite weak global cues

Majority of Asian benchmarks are trading in the green terrain this Wednesday morning session, however, the gains remained capped as weak cues from the Wall Street and towering crude oil prices on concerns that conflicts in Middle East could pinch oil supplies spoiled investors’ mood. The over one and half a percent plunge in Japanese stocks on reports that workers at Japanese nuclear plant were unable to continue work at reactor no 2 due to high radiation levels,that too did no good to the regional sentiments. The Singaporean benchmark, Straits Times remained the top gainer in the space as they climbed around half a percentage point.
Shanghai Composite advanced 12.01 points or 0.41% to 2,931.15, Jakarta Composite added 8.22 points or 0.23% to 3,525.94, KLSE Composite rose 11:41  0.41 points or 0.03% to 1,509.51, Straits Times climbed 14.34 points or 0.48% to 3,017.09, Seoul Composite inched up 1.45 points or 0.07% to 2,015.11 and Taiwan Weighted gained 2.94 points or 0.03% to 8,510.98.
On the other hand Hang Seng fell 57.77 points or 0.25% to 22,800.13 while Nikkei 225 plummeted 153.26 points or 1.60% to 9,455.06.

US markets close marginally down after a volatile trade

US markets closed marginally lower on Tuesday to snap the three days winning streak, though there was not much on economy front, the earthquake-tsunami disaster in Japan and the crisis at the country's nuclear plants that followed sent stocks lower. Energy stocks rose higher for the second day as Crude oil prices, a major source of concern, rose $2 per barrel. Oil briefly topped $105 on concerns that conflicts in the Middle East could pinch oil supplies as demand begins to rise.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly home-price index US home prices fell for a third straight month in January, adding to evidence that the housing market is weakening even though the economy is improving. Home prices fell 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in January compared with December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17.90 points or 0.15 percent to close at 12,018.63. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell by 4.61 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,293.77, while the Nasdaq composite index closed lower by 8.22 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,683.87.

Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Tuesday, Infosys was down by 0.68%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.01% and Tata Motors was down by 0.17%.

On the other hand HDFC Bank was up by 0.02% and MTNL too was down by 0.02%.

Most Asian indices extend gaining run; Japan ascends about 3%

Majority of Asian equity indices have extended their gaining run for the third successive session this Tuesday taking sanguine leads from the overnight upsurge in the US markets which garnered about one and a half percent on reports of stabilizing nuclear crisis in Japan along with some acquisition report. The investors' mood also got filliped on watching the Japanese benchmark, Nikkei 225 index, mount around three percent points, after a day of break, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission there said that situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant appeared to be stable and containment at three of the plant's six reactors was intact.

Shanghai Composite added 4.90 points or 0.17% to 2,914.04, Hang Seng advanced 72.45 points or 0.32% to 22,757.67, KLSE Composite rose 0.47 points or 0.03% to 1,509.35, Nikkei 225 jumped 270.74 points or 2.94% to 9,477.49, Straits Times gained 6.86 points or 0.23% to 2,990.37, Seoul Composite climbed 8.13 points or 0.41% to 2,011.55 and Taiwan Weighted surges 69.53 points or 0.82% to 8,537.24.

On the other hand only Jakarta Composite traded in the negative zone after shedding 9.12 points or 0.26% to 3,509.73.

US markets surge on some deals news and easing Japanese crisis

US markets soared on Monday and all the major indices were up by about one and a half percent on reports of that Japan's nuclear crisis was stabilizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant appeared to be stabile it further said that containment at three of the plant’s six reactors was intact. Also there were some deals news that helped the markets gain strength, AT&T Inc. said it would buy rival T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, creating the largest US cellphone company, while Charles Schwab Corp. said it would buy online brokerage services provider OptionsXpress for $1 billion.

However, there was a disappointment from the economy front, the National Association of Realtors, an industry group said that sales of previously owned US homes fell unexpectedly sharply in February and prices fell to their lowest in nearly nine years. Sales fell 9.6 percent month over month to an annual rate of 4.88 million units, snapping three straight months of gains. The median home price dropped 5.2 percent in February from a year earlier to $156,100, the lowest since April 2002.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged by 178.01 points, or 1.50 percent, to 12,036.53. The S&P 500 index gained 19.18 points, or 1.50 percent, to 1,298.38, while the Nasdaq composite rose by 48.42 points, or 1.83 percent, to 2,692.09.

Majority of the Indian ADRs made a green closing on Monday, Infosys was up by 0.65%, Wipro was up by 0.54%, MTNL was up by 0.03% and Tata Motors was up by 0.55%.

On the other hand HDFC Bank was down by 1.79% and ICICI Bank was down by 0.53%.

Most Asian equities climb in Monday morning trade

Majority of Asian equities climbed in the Monday morning trade as investors tracked the positive cues from the US markets which climbed on Friday while Japan’s progress in battling radiation leaks at a nuclear complex too spurred optimism in the region. However, the surge in crude oil prices on the back of lingering upheaval in Libya, where the US and allied forces launched a military campaign over the weekend in support of a UN resolution, threatening to jeopardize the market's fragile confidence. Stock markets in China remained very volatile in morning trade as oil stocks advanced due to spike in crude prices while copper producers receded on fears that the Chinese central bank may take measures to tame inflation.
Hang Seng surged 234.16 points or 1.05% to 22,534.39, Jakarta Composite advanced 10.51 points or 0.30% to 3,504.58, KLSE Composite added 0.56 points or 0.04% to 1,504.45, Straits Times climbed 25.65 points or 0.87% to 2,961.43, Seoul Composite soared 17.89 points or 0.90% to 1,999.02, Taiwan Weighted jumped 85.86 points or 1.02% to 8,480.61.
On the other hand only Shanghai Composite traded in the negative zone after shedding 4.92 points or 0.17% to 2,901.96.
Stock markets in Japan remained shut on account of Spring Equinox Day holiday.

Asian markets trade on an optimistic note on supportive global cues

Asian equity indices are trading on an optimistic note on the last trading day of the week and the markets in the region bounced back after yesterday’s pounding on supportive cues from overnight US markets which surged around one and half a percent on the back of the slew of good economic reports that helped to put aside the fear of Japanese crisis. Japanese equities surged close to two percent points after the G7 industrial nations agreed to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem the sharp rise in yen against the American greenback. The South Korean benchmark too surged over a percent lifted by foreign investors buying while buying interests in refiners too underpinned sentiments in the trade today.
Shanghai Composite climbed 17.80 points or 0.61% to 2,915.10, Hang Seng advanced 111.93 points or 0.50% to 22,396.36, Jakarta Composite amassed 18.09 points or 0.52% to 3,502.30, KLSE Composite gained 4.00 points or 0.27% to 1,496.09, Nikkei 225 jumped 158.26 points or 1.77% to 9,120.93, Straits Times added 11.14 points or 0.38% to 2,954.02, Seoul Composite surged 22.87 points or 1.17% to 1,981.90 and Taiwan Weighted soared 95.01 points or 1.15% to 8,377.70.

US markets rebound on good economic reports

The US markets pulled back and closed higher on Thursday on the back of good economic reports helping investors put aside fears over Japan’s nuclear crisis. The Labor Department reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell more than economists expected last week. Ongoing claims dropped to the lowest level since October 2008. In other economic reports, the survey from the Federal Reserve's Philadelphia branch showed new orders soared, while a gauge of manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region jumped in February to the highest point since January 1984.

The Labor Department in separate report showed consumer prices edged higher in February. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5 percent last month. Core prices, which exclude food and fuel costs, edged higher by 0.2 percent, the same as the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 161.29 points, or 1.39 percent, to 11,774.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 16.84 points, or 1.34 percent, at 1,273.72, while the Nasdaq rose by 19.23 points, or 0.73 percent, at 2,636.05.

Most of the Indian ADRs closed in green on Thursday, Infosys was up by 0.43%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.12%, MTNL was up by 0.04% and Tata Motors was up by 0.24%.

On the other hand, Wipro was down by 0.18% and HDFC Bank was down by 0.53%.