Domestic markets slip further; RIL drags

The domestic equity markets have taken the turn for the worst and while the global cues remain positive the local indices have plunged by over a percent in the mid morning session. Oil & gas sector is witnessing a sharp plunge partially by the rise in international crude prices and partially by the sudden fall in the index heavyweight reliance Industries, which has lost over 3 percent, declining below Rs 1000 mark again after it replied to DGH that the production of national crude oil and gas could fall further. Oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has asked Reliance Industries to fulfill its commitment of drilling 22 wells in the KG-D6 field to boost production. It has written last month to the company asking it to drill two more wells by April to meet its commitment of drilling 22 wells in the phase-1 development of the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 or D1 and D3 gas fields in the KG-D6 block. Back on street the broader indices too have lost their stem and were marginally trading in red while the metal index was the only gaining gauge on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,959.06, down by 190.81 points or 1.05%. The index has touched a high of 18,259.61 and low of 17,953.24 respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 declines on the index.

The broader indices too were trading lower; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were down by 0.24% and 0.12%, respectively.

The lone gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Metal, up by 0.21%. On the other hand Oil & Gas down by 2.61%, IT down by 1.20%, TECk down by 0.85%, Bankex down by 0.80% and PSU down by 0.73% were the top losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.25%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.59%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.52%, Hindalco up by 0.45% and DLF was up by 0.43%.

The top losers of the index were RIL down by 3.34%, BHEL down by 1.96%, TCS down by 1.66%, HDFC down by 1.64% and M&M was down by 1.17%.

Meanwhile, after seeing eight rounds of monetary policy tightening, the Indian Inc is finally beginning to complain about surging cost of funding, notwithstanding the high inflation which might require further tightening in the central bank’s monetary policy stance. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked its key policy rates by 25 basis points (bps) on Thursday, implementing eighth such step. Cumulatively, the repo rate, or the rate at which the central bank lends to the commercial banks, has gone up by 200 basis points over the FY11. This would mean that lending rates of banks too will go up by 200 basis points at least, if not more, although this transmission is often slow and uneven across the verticals. 

However, industry is already getting cautious of surging cost of financing. Lending rates have gone up significantly, even if not to the tune of tightening by the central bank. And, with continued deficit liquidity in the system, further upside to the rates is there. Coupled with the high inflation, this can dampen investment in the economy as many projects become unviable given the high cost of money.

Raising this point, the industry body FICCI said that the series of hikes in repo and reverse repo rates implemented so far have had a visible impact on the industrial production numbers, which were decelerating substantially in recent months. 'RBI's action in raising policy rates, though expected, will adversely affect growth prospects. There is also a lot of nervousness in the market given the global developments,' said the Director General of FICCI Rajiv Kumar.

Similarly, another industry chamber Assocham said the 25 bps increase in short-term lending and borrowing rates by RBI will hit the manufacturing sector which is already witnessing a slowdown due to rising input costs and wages. 'RBI should have waited till the new agriculture crop which is expected next month,' said the Assocham President Dilip Modi. The PHD chamber of commerce too in a similar tone said that while the rate hike might be justified due to high inflation, it will nonetheless impact growth going forward.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,397.00, down by 49.65 points or 0.91%.The index has touched high of 5,483.05 and 5,395.80 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 34 declines while 3 stocks remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were SAIL up by 2.02%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.07%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.61%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.60% and Tata Steel was up by 0.51%.

The top losers of the index were Reliance Industries down by 3.52%, BHEL down by 2.34%, BPCL down by 2.12%, HDFC down by 1.79% and RPower was down by 1.76%.

All the Asian markets were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite was up by 0.57%, Hang Seng has gained 0.75%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.45%, KLSE Composite higher by 0.31%, Nikkei 225 surged by 2.87%, Straits Times up by 0.24%, Seoul Composite inched higher by 1.14% and Taiwan Weighted has gained 1.36%.

HCL Infosystem soars on securing order worth Rs 300 crore

HCL Infosystem, India’s premier hardware, services and ICT system integration company, has been awarded prestigious order worth over Rs 300 crore  from India Air Force to deploy the Wideband CDMA based Portable Wireless Network covering many Air Force Stations across India. The company will be deploying the whole project in turnkey basis.

Indian Air Force has added another feather in its cap by finalizing  contract for establishing a captive 3G Mobile network for its air worries offering latest value added services using state of art mobile communication technology.

This Wideband CDMA based Portable Wireless Network will be integrated with the Air Force Network as the backbone connectivity and ensure video interactivity for video calls, cross connectivity with other communication within Air Force Network. The 3G network will also have transportable mobile base stations for establishing communications with higher echelons even from remote locations in the country.

PSU OMCs trade lower as international crude prices surge

Increase in international crude prices drag the local PSU oil marketing companies lower. The conflict in Libya and diplomatic efforts to forge a response has once again raised the crude prices.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is currently trading at Rs 562.05, down by 11.60 points or 2.02% from its previous closing of Rs 573.65 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 565.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 567.40 and Rs 561.00 respectively. So far 9895 shares were traded on the counter.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) is currently trading at Rs 330.20, down by 7.45 points or 2.21 % from its previous closing of Rs 337.65 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 332.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 333.40 and Rs 329.05 respectively. So far 18576 shares were traded on the counter.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is currently trading at Rs 303.00, down by 3.00 points or 0.98% from its previous closing of Rs 306.00 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 305.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 305.00 and Rs 302.10 respectively. So far 21310 shares were traded on the counter.

Crude prices surged on Thursday by about 4 percent edging back above $100 a barrel mark on escalating tensions between Libya and governments working on a response at the United Nations and on continuing unrest in the Middle East and Bahrain that kept investors worried about potential supply disruptions. The trading volume remained low and the expiration of the April contract added some volatility to the prices.

The United Nations Security Council authorized military strikes on Libya, and US and European officials said last night that air attacks against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces were possible 'within hours'.

Benchmark crude for April rose $3.40 to expire at $101.38 a barrel, after trading in a range from $96.60 to $101.99 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, ICE Brent crude for May rose $4.30, or 3.89 percent, to settle at $114.90 a barrel on the ICE.

M&M to develop Ssangyong brand with a big push on the investments in R&D

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to focus on developing the Ssangyong brand, for which the company has completed all formalities related to the acquisition of 70% stake in Ssangyong Motor Company and is planning to invest in the company with a big push on the investments in R&D.

Pawan Goenka, the president of Mahindra's automotive and farm equipment sector, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Ssangyong Motor as he shares Mahindra’s more on the way forward.

M&M plans to give the highest priority to product development as the Korean SUV majors' pipeline of products is not very strong. Fresh recruitment will be done in critical areas such as R&D as Ssangyong lost people in the last two years.

The Korean auto major will invest over Rs 960 crore this calendar year on product development and brand building. Ssangyong has targeted sales of 1.21 lakh vehicles in 2011 against the 82,000 sold in 2010. Ssangyong intends to bring its Rexton and the Korando C to the Indian markets and will be assembled at its new Chakan facility.

Subex wins multi-million dollar deal from Middle East operator

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Dolphin Offshore Enterprises bags contract from SCI

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has appointed Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) as a subcontractor for providing diving services on board ONGC's two Multi Support Vessels (MSVs). In a letter bearing no. SCI/D0LPHIN/DIVSUBCON/2011-12/N0A dated March 16, 2011 received by Dolphin, SCI has subcontracted diving services of ONGC's two Multi Support Vessels (MSVs), Samudra Sevak and Samudra Prabha and one Geo Technical Vessel (GTV) Samudra Sarvekshak to Dolphin Offshore.
This contract starting from March 24, 2011 is for a firm period of one year with SCI having option to extend it for further 18 months on the same terms and conditions. The value of the contract is approximately Rs 580 million and upon extension of the contract the total potential contract value would go up to Rs 1450 million over a period of 30 months.
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) (DOEIL) is a leading provider of underwater services to the Indian oil and gas industry. Over the years, it has developed a diversified portfolio for undertaking turnkey projects involving sub-sea and marine services and as an EPC contractor.

Dolphin Offshore Enterprises bags contract from SCI

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has appointed Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) as a subcontractor for providing diving services on board ONGC's two Multi Support Vessels (MSVs). In a letter bearing no. SCI/D0LPHIN/DIVSUBCON/2011-12/N0A dated March 16, 2011 received by Dolphin, SCI has subcontracted diving services of ONGC's two Multi Support Vessels (MSVs), Samudra Sevak and Samudra Prabha and one Geo Technical Vessel (GTV) Samudra Sarvekshak to Dolphin Offshore.
This contract starting from March 24, 2011 is for a firm period of one year with SCI having option to extend it for further 18 months on the same terms and conditions. The value of the contract is approximately Rs 580 million and upon extension of the contract the total potential contract value would go up to Rs 1450 million over a period of 30 months.
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) (DOEIL) is a leading provider of underwater services to the Indian oil and gas industry. Over the years, it has developed a diversified portfolio for undertaking turnkey projects involving sub-sea and marine services and as an EPC contractor

Voltas planning to hike prices of its air-conditioners by 3% in April

Voltas, India’s premier air conditioning and engineering services company from the house of Tata, is planning to hike prices of its air-conditioners by another 3% in April, the second this year, to set-back the rise in metal prices it consumes. Recently, it had increased prices of its air- conditioners by 5-7 %, thus passing on the burden of increased input costs to customers.
On the other hand, prices of raw materials such as copper, aluminium and steel, has gone up drastically, thus affecting both its margins and customers. Hence, it has already started using alternatives for the same.
Recently, it has introduced its new, powerful range of air conditioners in the capacity band of 0.75 tons to 3 tons. The company this year has planned to penetrate the market with a varied set of 70 air conditioners

CARE assigns BB+ and PR4+ ratings to Glory Polyfilms bank facilities

Credit rating agency, CARE has assigned ‘CARE BB+’ to Glory Polyfilms (GPL) long-term bank facilities for Rs 88.55 crore. The agency has also assigned ‘PR4+’ ratings to the company’s short-term bank facilities for Rs 21.00 crore.

GPL’s ability to maintain its profit margin amidst volatile raw material prices as well as adequately manage its working capital is the key rating sensitivities.

The ratings are constrained by volatile raw material prices, exposure to a single supplier for raw material supply, significantly high working capital utilization and diversion of short-term funds for long-term purposes in FY10.

Glory Polyfilms’ main object is to carry on the business of manufacturing of co extruded multi layer barrier film for packing of various food and non-food products. The company mainly caters to the food industry and the FMCG sectors as well as some industrial sectors.

Power Finance Corporation gets approval for the proposed FPO

Power Finance Corporation’s (PFC) board has approved the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the proposed Further Public Offer (FPO) comprising of a fresh issue of 17,21,65,005 equity shares (constituting 15% of the pre issue paid up capital) by the company and an offer for sale of 5,73,88,335 equity shares (constituting 5% of the pre issue paid up capital) by the President of India, acting through the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

The approval was granted at its board meeting held on March 17, 2011.

PFC is also planning to raise Rs 5,300 crore through the public issue of tax saving infrastructure bond that opened on February 24. The issue closes on March 22, 2011. It is also planning to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary under the name PFC Green Energy for the renewable energy sector, in a couple of weeks.

PFC provides large range of financial products and services like project term loan, lease financing, direct discounting of bills, short term loan, and consultancy services for various power projects in generation, transmission, distribution sector as well as for renovation and modernization of existing power projects.

ICRA assigns A4 rating to bank facilities of Yarn Syndicate

Credit rating agency, ICRA has assigned an A4 rating to the existing fund based bank facilities of Rs 9 crore and proposed fund based bank facilities of Rs 3 crore of Yarn Syndicate.

The rating takes into account the long experience of the promoters in the cotton yarn trading business and the resumption of import of cotton yarn from Bangladesh which gives YSL an access to the textile industry based in the country.

Yarn Syndicate is largely involved in the export of various types of yarn such as cotton, polyester, viscose, and jute yarns to countries like Brazil, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, U.K, and other European Union countries.

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.

ICRA assigns A4 rating to bank facilities of Yarn Syndicate

Credit rating agency, ICRA has assigned an A4 rating to the existing fund based bank facilities of Rs 9 crore and proposed fund based bank facilities of Rs 3 crore of Yarn Syndicate.

The rating takes into account the long experience of the promoters in the cotton yarn trading business and the resumption of import of cotton yarn from Bangladesh which gives YSL an access to the textile industry based in the country.

Yarn Syndicate is largely involved in the export of various types of yarn such as cotton, polyester, viscose, and jute yarns to countries like Brazil, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, U.K, and other European Union countries.

Board Meetings As on Mar 18,2011

Acil Cotton Inds   inter alia, to consider the following: 1. Change of management of t ........ BalaTecGl   inter alia, to discuss and consider, allotment of 300000 Equity Shar ........ Control Print   to consider allotment of Equity shares on conversion of Warrants iss ........ Esaar India   Preferential Issue of shares inter alia to consider the proposal for ........ Globus Cons & Devp.   for the issue of fresh Equity Shares on Preferential basis as well t  IITL Projects   inter alia, to discuss and consider the proposal for acquiring 50%  MahLifeSc   inter-alia, the redemption of 10.50% 10,00,000 Non Cumulative Redeem  Monotona Securities   Bonus issue To consider the option to issue bonus shares to the shar Pondy Oxides   inter alia, to reconsider the following subjects : 1. Adoption of t  Shree Nath Comm&Fin   for the allotment of Bonus Shares (in the Ratio of 1:1) as on Record

HCL Technologies announces expansion of Smart Grid Partner Ecosystemc

HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services provider, has announced a significant expansion of its smart grid partner ecosystem by forging strategic alliances with two leading data management software firms focused on the smart grid market “eMeter” and “Tridium”. The creation of smart grids includes the modernization and digitization of aging power grids.

These partnerships enable the integration of real-time data management and analytical software with the company’s comprehensive suite of services to help utilities transform their existing infrastructure from traditional power grids to smart grids more efficiently. Additionally, the partnerships will further accelerate the company’s strategy to become an end-to-end integration services provider to the utilities companies.

The company reported net profit of Rs 285.97 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 255.44 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, up by 11.95%. Its total income also increased by 34.02% from Rs 1,259.22 crore for the December quarter last year to Rs 1,687.59 crore for the quarter under review

ABG Shipyard fixes its foreign investment at 21.91%

ABG Shipyard has fixed its foreign equity limit at the current level if 21.91% in order to be eligible to undertake defence production. The company has also applied for issuance of Industrial Licence for defence production as the defence sector has been opened up by the Ministry of Defence.

In the said process, the company had applied for FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approval to take up defence contracts and also for the foreign equity holding upto 26% which is a procedural requirement. At the time of making application, the foreign equity holding in the company was 21.91%.

Vide their letter dated March 03, 2011, FIPB has accorded their approval for the company’s request. However, while granting the said approval, FIPB has fixed the foreign equity holding at 21.91% as the maximum ceiling.

ABG Shipyard is engaged in the business of carrying shipbuilding and ship repair business. The company has emerged as the largest private sector shipbuilding yard in India with satisfied customer base all around the world.

Power Grid Corporation gains on getting nod for three investment proposals

Power Grid Corporation is currently trading at Rs. 98.65, up by 0.50 points or 0.51% from its previous closing of Rs. 98.15 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 98.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 98.80 and Rs. 98.30 respectively. So far 4,924 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 120.20 on 16-Jun-2010 and a 52 week low of Rs. 91.80 on 30-Nov-2010.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 99.25 and Rs. 97.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 45440.75 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 69.42% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 19.24% and 11.33% respectively.

Power Grid Corporation of India’s board of directors granted their nod for three investment approvals. Out of which first is for 'Transmission System for Phase-I Generation Projects in Orissa-Part-C' at an estimated cost of Rs 2569.25 crore, with commissioning schedule of 36 months from the date of investment approval.

While, the second is for ‘Transmission System for transfer of power from Generation Projects in Sikkim to NR/WR - Part-B’ at an estimated cost of Rs 1585.12 crore, with commissioning schedule of 32 months from the date of investment approval. Finally the third approval is for 'Establishment of National Transmission Asset Management Centre (NTAMC)' at an estimated cost of Rs 195.39 crore, with commissioning schedule of 36 months from the date of investment approval.

Recently, the company’s board gave its nod for the investing in 'Fibre OPTIC Communication System in lieu of existing Unified Load Despatch and Communication (ULDC) Microwave links at north eastern, eastern and southern region at an estimated cost of Rs 34.13 crore and Rs 57.43 crore and Rs 45.09 crore respectively, with commissioning schedule of 30 months from the date of investment approval.

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%.

M&M, Bharti Airtel, HCL Infosystem and Monnnet Ispat likely to witness some action today

Utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to focus on developing the Ssangyong brand. M&M plans to give the highest priority to product development as the Korean SUV majors' pipeline of products is not very strong.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has increased prices of 62 drugs, which are mainly based on indigenously manufactured insulin. The companies which would be affected by the price revision of drugs include Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi Aventis, GSK, Biocon, Wockhardt, Lupin and Cipla

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) today said it has increased prices of 62 drugs, which are mainly based on indigenously manufactured insulin

Tata Group's consumer durables firm, Voltas, plans to hike prices of its air-conditioners by another three per cent in April, the second this year, to offset the rise in metal prices it consumes.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) will add new facilities at its Vizag refinery to convert low-value heavy oils into premium products, which will significantly increase refining margins.

In a bid to end fuel woes of power plants in Andhra Pradesh, state-owned gas utility GAIL India will supply gas to the electricity generating units by swaping Reliance Industries' KG-D6 gas with LNG imported.

Monnet Ispat is close to acquiring a coal mine in Sumatra, Indonesia. Acquisition of the coal mine may be completed by this week.

Bangalore-based biotechnogy firm Biocon's drug development partner Optimer has received US patent for drug Fidaxomicin. The drug is used to treat diarrhea and intestinal diseases.

Retail food chain company McDonald's India has joined hands with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to increase its presence in petrol stations in West and South and aims to more than double its sales by 2014 from both these regions.

Bharti Airtel is likely to buy yet-to-be-launched Indian wireless broadband business of Qualcomm. The US-based chip maker is set to be in an advanced stage of discussions with the country's largest telecom operator to sell its BWA licenses in all four circles.

Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications has drawn the first tranche of Rs 3,000 crore ($665 million) from China Development Bank.

Jubilant FoodWorks that operates Dominos Pizza chain in India plans to diversify into new areas, including operating hotels and other non-food segments such as garments and fashion accessories.

FMCG player Jyothy Laboratories is eyeing a controlling stake in Henkel India after acquiring 14.9 per cent stake in the company from Tamil Nadu Petro Products (TNPL).

Sundram Fasteners, part of the TVS group, will make its biggest capital investment in 2011-12 in an attempt to target the wind energy and automotive segments with new products.

The coal assets of one of Australia's largest thermal coal explorers - Bandanna Energy - in a deal could be valued at $1.5 billion. GVK, state-owned consortium ICVL and Reliance Power have shown early interest in bidding for the assets estimated to have reserves of over 1.3 billion tonnes of thermal coal.

ONGC India is expected to face a 'hard' market when it approaches international underwriters next week to renew its $28.5 billion insurance policy. ONGC is the holder of the biggest insurance policy in India.

IT hardware firm HCL Infosystems has bagged an order from the Indian Air Force to deploy Wideband CDMA-based portable wireless network at a cost of over Rs 300 crore.

Banks have committed to refinance nearly half of the Rs 9,500-crore debt on the books of Ispat Industries.

In its first open-market transaction in India, Blackstone, the global private equity major, has bought a two per cent share in India’s largest travel wear manufacturer, VIP Industries, which is valued at Rs 36-40 crore.

United Phosphorus  (UPL), one of the leading agro chemical and seeds company in the country, has set the target of doubling its agro chemical business in India from the present Rs 900 crore to Rs 1,800 crores in the next three years time (by FY 2013-14).

Venus Remedies, an existing EU-GMP certified Pharmaceutical manufacturing company, has been awarded a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) registration. This approval holds significance and is prestigious since such registrations are obtained by the manufacturing facilities which meet world class standards and where quality is of the prime essence.

Allcargo Global Logistics plans to enter third-party logistics business in a few months and expand its warehousing capacity to 400,000 sq ft.

Power Grid Corporation of India’s board of directors granted their nod for three investment approvals.

Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) has secured a contract worth Rs 7,200 crore for 2,400 MW gas based combined cycle power project at Samalkot.

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has received two orders from Hindalco Industries for 6 x 150 MW Captive Power Plant - Aditya Aluminium Project at Sambalpur, Orissa.

Domestic markets likely to make positive start on good global cues

The Indian markets suffered sharp decline in previous session, the global cues weighed on the sentiments though there was a credit policy announcement too and the RBI on expected lines announced 25 basis point hike in key policy rates but the investors concentrated mainly on the global cues. Today the start is likely to be good as the global cues are indicating for a positive start. Rate sensitive too may stabilize as the rate hike was already discounted. Domestic pharma companies are likely to get a boost with the decision of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) increasing prices of 62 drugs, which are mainly based on indigenously manufactured insulin. The majority of the drugs, whose prices have been increased, are used in treatment of diabetes and tuberclosis. The companies which would be affected by the price revision of drugs include Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi Aventis, GSK, Biocon, Wockhardt, Lupin and Cipla. NPPA said that raw material cost and revision in the norms of conversion cost, packing charges and packaging materials as notified on December 16, 2010 necessitated the move.

However the rising international crude prices are likely to put pressure on the local PSU oil marketing companies and the markets too. The conflict in Libya and diplomatic efforts to forge a response has once again raised the crude prices.

The US markets made a good pullback effort on Thursday and all the major indices gained by 1-1.5 percent, it was the slew of good economic reports that helped the markets recover from steep fall of last two session and to put aside the fear of Japanese crisis. The Asian markets have made a good start and most of the indices are trading higher with Japanese Nikkei gaining around 2 percent as G7 industrial nations agreed on Friday to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem a sharp yen rise.

Back home, stock markets in India carried forward this week’s trend of closing in the negative territory after every positive close as they settled in the red after taking cuts of around a percent a day after garnering about a percentage points. Although RBI’s eighth hike in benchmark interest rates since March 2010 by 25 basis points was in line with market expectations, sentiments however went awry as marketmen feared that escalating domestic inflation would eat in to the overall growth of Indian economy. The RBI also hiked the forecast of inflation for the current fiscal year to around 8% from its previous estimate of 7% as it expected that economic growth will be impacted from surging global commodity prices, especially crude oil prices. While weakness in the Asian markets amid concerns of aggravating nuclear crisis in Japan too undermined local sentiments. The jump of around one and half a percent in crude oil prices also took sheen off the local bourses as traders shrugged the optimistic cues from the European counterparts. Meanwhile, marginal decline in food inflation to a three-and-a-half-month low of 9.42% for the week ended March 5 failed to enthuse the investor sentiment. The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty, managed to hold on to the crucial 5,450 support level while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, Sensex closed with a two hundred point cut around the psychological 18,150 mark. The broader markets traded with some resilience and finished with moderate losses thereby outperforming their larger peers by quite a margin. Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a gap down start as investors squared off positions tracking discouraging leads from the overnight US markets coupled with renewed fears that a partial meltdown may have occurred at a nuclear plant in Japan which undermined sentiments significantly. The markets gained some traction from thereon till the reports of marginal fall in inflation and hike in key policy rates hit the street. Thereafter, investors opted to take profits off the table from rate sensitive sectors like Banks, Auto and Realty as RBI’s raising of March-end inflation estimate to 8% from 7% projected earlier, had an adverse impact on the domestic sentiments. The bourses after touching intraday lows in the dying hours pared some portion of decline to eventually settle with losses of over a percent. Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 208.82 points or 1.14% to settle at 18149.87 while the S&P CNX Nifty fell by 64.50 points or 1.17% to end at 5,446.65.

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.

Crude prices surged on Thursday by about 4 percent edging back above $100 a barrel mark on escalating tensions between Libya and governments working on a response at the United Nations and on continuing unrest in the Middle East and Bahrain that kept investors worried about potential supply disruptions. The trading volume remained low and the expiration of the April contract added some volatility to the prices.

The United Nations Security Council authorized military strikes on Libya, and US and European officials said last night that air attacks against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces were possible 'within hours'.

Benchmark crude for April rose $3.40 to expire at $101.38 a barrel, after trading in a range from $96.60 to $101.99 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, ICE Brent crude for May rose $4.30, or 3.89 percent, to settle at $114.90 a barrel on the ICE.