Stocks In News:
Reliance Industries Ltd: RIL has made drastic changes in gas supply contracts that will jack up its KG-D6 gas price by 10 per cent over and above the new rate of USD 8.3 coming into effect from next month.
Federal Bank: The government approved increasing foreign investment in Federal Bank from 49 per cent to 74 per cent for its paid up equity share capital.
State Bank of India: Country's largest lender the State Bank of India will sell bad loans amounting to Rs 3,000 crore in the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the top official of the bank said here today.
PNB: State-owned Punjab National Bank may raise capital through rights issue next fiscal to enhance its capital base. During the current fiscal, the bank got capital infusion of Rs 500 crore from the government. The fund infusion was done through preferential allotment of shares to the government.
IDBI Bank Ltd: Public sector IDBI Bank Ltd will sell its entire 18.95% stake in Stock Holding Corp. of India Ltd (SHCIL), a custodial and depository services provider, to IFCI Ltd.
Axis Bank Ltd: The government's offer to sell a 9% stake in Axis Bank held by Specified Undertaking of UTI (SUUTI) was largely subscribed to by state owned Life Insurance Corporation and a number of foreign institutions, raising Rs 5,500 crore and helping the finance ministry meet the disinvestment target for the current fiscal.
Novartis India Ltd: Swiss drug maker Novartis is likely to face legal action for allegedly faking documents to seek registration of its veterinary product Tiamulin Hydrogen Fumarate (80 per cent granules) in India. The drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has already cancelled the company's import licences as well as existing registration certificate for the product, said reports.
Nifty News:
Indian markets are expected to trade in a range on Monday following positive trend seen in other Asian markets. The key support for the index is around 6,430 levels.
"The Nifty is expected to trend up till 6575 in the next couple of days. In this period the key support will be at 6430 and resistance will be at 6575," said Somil Mehta, Senior Tech Analyst (Equity) at Sharekhan.
"The Nifty has been forming higher tops and higher bottoms; it has also closed above the previous swing's high which is a positive sign for the market," he added.
Mehta is of the view that the short-term bias remains positive for a target of 6600 with reversal at 6430. The medium-term outlook remains positive as the index has started forming higher tops and higher bottoms on the weekly charts.
Pre-market: Nifty seen opening higher; may reclaim 6500 levels
(Source: Economic Times)
The 50-share Nifty index is expected to open higher on Monday following positive trend seen in other Asian markets. Tracking the momentum, the index is expected to reclaim its crucial level of 6500 in trade today.
At 07:30 a.m., Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were trading 32 point higher at 6546.50, indicating a higher opening on the domestic market.
The 50-share Nifty index ended the special trading session on Saturday on a positive note held by the stock exchanges. Healthcare, capital goods and oil & gas sectors led the upmove while metals, realty and tech stocks closed lower.
However, benchmark indices maintained the South journey after recording all-time intraday highs during the week on subdued global scenario. The Sensex shut shop 0.25 per cent lower while the Nifty fell 0.14 per cent for the week ended March 22, 2014.
In the coming week, the markets may remain volatile as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month March 2014 series to April 2014 series.
The near-month March 2014 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, March 27, 2014.
Trend in investment by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), trend in global markets, trend in other global emerging markets, the movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil price movement hold key, Sharekhan said in a report.
Foreign investors have poured in a whopping Rs 9,600 crore in the stock market so far this month, mainly on the hopes of a strong, pro-growth, stable government in general elections.
On Friday, US stocks ended lower as investors preferred to book profits wiping out early gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to an intraday record high.
"Investors continued to monitor geopolitical issues after President Vladimir Putin signed laws completing Russia's annexation of Crimea. Russia's MICEX stock index fell 1 percent after a U.S. decision to slap sanctions on Putin's inner circle," Reuters reported.
Markets to be volatile this week as derivative contracts expire: Experts
(Source: Economic Times)
Indian benchmark indices may witness bouts of volatility this week as traders roll over positions in the derivative segment on expiry of near-month contracts, say experts.
Rate-sensitive sectors are likely to see activity in the run up to RBI's monetary policy review on April 1. Besides, buzz around the much-awaited Lok Sabha elections will keep traders busy and sharp upswings in benchmarks may lead to demand for defensive sector scrips, they added.
Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities Ltd said: "Volatility will come into play due to derivative expiry of March month. We expect banking, FMCG and IT to perform better alongside with selective midcap and smallcap counters."
The BSE benchmark Sensex over the course of the week shed 54.48 points to end at 21,755.32. The NSE Nifty index settled at 6,494.90, a tad below the key 6,500-mark.
"Market may witness volatility ahead of RBI monetary policy and upcoming Lok Sabha elections too in April. Going ahead, global cues and Q4 FY'14 results will also impact market trend," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.
This week, 6,475 shall be crucial deciding level in near term for Nifty and the index is likely to witness further selling below this level, he added.
While Lok Sabha elections will be held from April 7 to May 12, stock market participants are seen betting on the next government getting a strong mandate. This has triggered chunky FII inflows and major indices have gained over 5 per cent in past one-month period.
Trends in investment by foreign institutional investors ( FIIs), the movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil price movements also hold key, said brokerage Sharekhan.
Last week, the US Federal Reserve signalled it would raise interest rates by the middle of 2015. The Fed also voted to cut its monthly bond purchases by USD 10 billion to USD 55 billion. Market participants feel the sooner-than-expected signal in hike in rates by the Fed might affect fund flows.
According to Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services said: "The Federal Reserve gave indication that it may raise US interest rates from the middle of next year. If rates rise, then we could see capital outflows from emerging markets."
