Higher revenue and better margins helped Hindustan Zinc’s net profit to rise 7 percent to Rs 1,723 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year from Rs 1,613 crore a year ago.
Profit of the company, with interests in zinc, lead and silver among others, would have been better but for lower other income and higher tax outgo during the quarter, it said in a BSE filing.
The rupee touched a one-month intra day high of 61.31 Friday, only to surrender the gains and end one paisa lower at 61.54 against the dollar amid weak local equities.
It was the third successive day of consolidation for the rupee around the 61.53 level against the dollar.
However, the local currency gained for the second straight week, adding 36 paise since last Friday.
India’s iron ore exports have gone down by 28.16 percent during April-December of the current fiscal to 11.17 million tonnes (MT) as gloom continues over the sector due to the present regulatory scenario, mineral industries body FIMI said today.
India, once the third largest exporter of iron ore, had exported 15.55 MT of the mineral in the corresponding period of last fiscal, data released by Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) showed.
India’s third largest software services exporter Wipro on Friday said its profits rose by 27 percent to Rs 2,010 crore for the third quarter ended December 31 on the back of growth in infrastructure services business and improved efficiency.
The city-headquartered firm’s revenues rose by 18 percent to Rs 11,330 crore in the October-December quarter of this fiscal compared to the year-ago period, it said in a release.
“Revenues from continuing operations were Rs 113.3 billion (USD 1.8 billion), an increase of 18 percent year-on-year,” Wipro said.
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading 129.50 points or 0.61 percent down in the pre-noon trade Friday.
Selling pressure was seen in the banking index (bankex) and the IT and capital goods sectors.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,236.65 points, was trading at 21,135.68 points in the pre-noon session, down 129.50 points or 0.61 percent from the previous day’s close at 21,265.18 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 21,270.11 points and a low of 21,131.66 points during the trade so far.
The benchmark Sensex fell over 37 points in early trade today due to sustained selling by funds and retail investors amid a weak trend in other Asian markets.
The 30-share barometer declined by 37.60 points, or 0.18 per cent, to trade at 21,227.58 points. The index had lost 24.31 points in the previous session.
IT, tech, banking and capital goods sector stocks led the fall.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shed 7.10 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 6,311.80 points.
The government has decided to deallocate all the captive coal blocks which have not obtained environment and in-principle forest clearances and has issued show-cause notice to allocatees of 61 such mines.
The move comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court posing some tough questions on allocation process for coal blocks and questioning the Centre over the functioning of the screening committee that made allotment recommendations.
IT services major Tata Consultancy Services on Thursday posted a better than expected growth of 50.3 percent in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,333 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, aided by sectors like life sciences, manufacturing and improved business in Europe.
The country’s largest software services exporter had reported a net profit of Rs 3,550 crore in the year-ago period, as per a BSE filing citing Indian GAAP figures.
In the first disinvestment through block deal this fiscal, a ministerial panel Thursday approved selling 10 percent government stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to ONGC and OIL to rake in Rs 4,800-5,000 crore.
With Oil Ministry continuing to be opposed to selling IOC shares on stock market like other disinvestments, an Empowered Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram today decided to sell 24.27 crore shares or 10 percent government stake in the company to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd.
India’s sugar production fell by 21 per cent to 85.5 lakh tonnes till January 15 of the current marketing year that started in October on account of delay in crushing operations, according to industry data.
Sugar output stood at 108 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Marketing year runs from October to September.
“Sugar production in the country is in full swing. Till 15th January 2014, the country has produced 85.50 lakh tonnes of sugar with 484 mills under crushing operations,” Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.
In volatile trade, the benchmark Sensex today slipped from five-week high levels and closed over 24 points lower on fag-end selling in bluechips including Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors and ONGC, amid mixed global trends.
After yesterday’s over 256-point surge, the BSE share index opened higher and gained nearly 90 points to touch day’s high of 21,379.29 but succumbed to late selling. It ended 24.31 points, or 0.11 per cent, lower at 21,265.18. The gauge had touched intra-day low of 21,199.65.
India’s growth is projected to rise to over six percent in fiscal 2014-15, increasing to 7.1 percent by fiscal 2016-17 with the world economy expected to strengthen this year, according to the World Bank.
Growth is picking up in developing countries and high-income economies appear to be finally turning the corner five years after the global financial crisis, says the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released Wednesday.
Attributing the decline in growth to global factors, Finance Minister P Chidambaram Wednesday exuded confidence that the economy will get gradually get back to high growth path in the next three years.
“It is true that there has been a slowdown in 2012-13 and in current year. The slowdown reflects the world wide trend. As global economy recovers and as new measures take effect, I am confident that Indian economy will also get back step by step to the high growth path in three years”, he said while delivering the valedictory address at Petrotech 2014.
A moderation in vegetable prices helped to pull down inflation to a five-month low of 6.16 percent in December, raising hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank later this month to boost sagging growth.
This is the slowest pace of price rise, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, since July 2013, when inflation was 5.8 percent. In November, wholesale price inflation increased at the fastest pace in 14 months at 7.52 percent.
The moderation in December WPI figures comes on the back of easing prices of essential food items, including vegetables, cereals and protein-rich items.
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday closed 256 points or 1.22 percent higher on fall in headline inflation in December.
Markets were upbeat after official data showed a decline in wholesale price index (WPI) at 6.16 percent in December, the lowest in five months, on the back of slower rise in food prices.
The decline in headline inflation is expected to help the Reserve Bank of India not to raise the policy rates in its next monetary policy review later this month.
The stock markets have been volatile over the last few months due to a slew of factors. Investment has softened and data is pointing to a fall in manufacturing and service-sector output.
At the same time, the current account deficit is at a record high, a persistent fiscal deficit has raised the threat of sovereign rating downgrades and the central bank’s current cash-draining steps presage a rise in borrowing costs across the economy. Indeed, the 4.4 percent GDP growth in the the April-June 2013 quarter points to the stark reality of the fundamental deterioration.
India’s headline inflation based on wholesale prices eased to five-month low of 6.16 percent in December as the vegetable prices softened, government data showed here Wednesday .
The country’s main inflation measure based on the wholesale price index (WPI) rose to 7.52 percent in November due to high fuel and food prices, which was 14-month high.
The data showed the index for ‘Food Articles’ group declined by 6.4 percent to 240.1 from 256.4 for the previous month due to lower price of fruits & vegetables.
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets gained 230.80 points or 1.10 percent in the pre-noon trade Wednesday.
The rally was led by banking index (bankex), capital goods, metal and auto sectors.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,091.46 points, was trading at 21,263.68 points in the pre-noon session, up 230.80 points or 1.10 percent from the previous day’s close at 21,032.88 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 21,284.62 points and a low of 21,091.46 points during the trade so far.
Global private equity major KKR has ranked India second among the emerging markets on external risks, citing the high fiscal and current account deficits.
“Our emerging market framework takes the view of avoiding twin-deficits countries at this point,” the global fund said in its 2014 macro/asset allocation outlook.
The country ended FY13 with an all-time high current account deficit of 4.8 per cent of GDP, which is slated to have improved significantly to 3.05 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal and may even be lower for full fiscal.
The benchmark BSE Sensex today recovered nearly 123 points in early trade on emergence of buying by funds and retail investors amid a firming Asian trend.
The 30-share barometer, which had lost 101.33 points in yesterday’s trade, recovered by 122.79 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 21,155.67 with Metal, PSU, IT and realty sector stocks leading the recovery.
The National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up 40.40 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 6,282.25.
The rupee today depreciated by 13 paise to 61.65 a dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the US currency strengthened overseas.
Forex dealers said besides dollar’s gains against other currencies overseas on the back of strong retail data, demand for the American currency from importers put pressure on the rupee but a higher opening the domestic equity market capped the losses.
The rupee had gained 38 paise to close at one-month high of 61.52 against the dollar on Monday. The forex market remained closed yesterday on account of ‘Id-E-Milad’.
India’s growth rate is expected to slip to 4.9 percent in the current fiscal but will improve significantly to 5.6 percent in 2014-15, India Ratings said Tuesday.
“Our expectation for improved growth in FY’15 is based on a partial recovery in the industrial and services sector growth, and an uptick in investment due to project clearances by the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI),” said India Ratings, a Fitch group company.
India’s growth rate plummeted to decade’s low level of 5 percent in 2012-13.
Setting a rule of sorts, Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily has made it clear that green nod will not be given to a project that is opposed by local panchayats.
He made this clear against the backdrop of rejection of clearance to London-based Vedanta’s USD 1.7 billion bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri in Odisha.
“I have rejected the Niyamgiri because all the panchayats have rejected the proposal…..When the panchayats reject, we cannot go ahead with it. We have made a rule that if the Panchayats (reject), we cannot (grant clearance),” Moily told PTI in an interview.
The benchmark BSE Sensex today fell by nearly 24 points in early trade as funds and retail investors booked profits after two sessions of gains.
The 30-share barometer, which gained 417.84 points in the previous two sessions, moved down by 23.85 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 21,110.36, with auto, power and realty sector stocks falling the most.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, moved down 3.15 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 6,269.60.
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Monday notched up 375 points as information technology (IT) and bank stocks gained.
The markets were upbeat on the hope that low food prices will cool off the wholesale inflation for December, the data for which is expected on Tuesday.
India’s headline inflation based on wholesale prices rose to 7.52 percent in November due to high fuel and food prices.
Dipen Shah of Kotak Securities said markets rose sharply due to weak payroll data in the US, which re-ignited optimism that the withdrawal of stimulus would be delayed.