Sensex Gyrates; Reliance in Focus

Mayank Mehta, Chandrasekhar Atreya and Sanjay Barot
18 Jun, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai fluctuated and traded marginally lower. Cognizant acquires Galileo Performance. Ahluwalia Contracts India receives 11 new projects worth $110 million. Brigade Enterprises surges on fund raising plan.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai fluctuated and traded marginally lower. Cognizant acquires Galileo Performance. Ahluwalia Contracts India receives 11 new projects worth $110 million. Brigade Enterprises surges on fund raising plan.[/R]

The Sensex index in India moved sideways and marginally decreased 0.26% or 45.97 to close at 17,570.82 and CNX Nifty index fell 8.55 or 0.16% to 5,266.30. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 14 rose and 16 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,112 stocks advanced, 1,631 declined and 96 were unchanged. Auto stocks gained on hopes a normal monsoon will boost rural sales. Reliance Communications reversed early gains, halting a four-day rally.

Rupee edged higher 9 paisa to Rs 46.21 against one dollar.

HR Consultancy firm Ma Foi Randstad on Thursday said over 500,000 new jobs would be created in the first half of the current year indicating that the economy was back on track.

“Revival of economy has brought back positive sentiments and the organized sector is back on the hiring mode. In addition to job creation and rise in salary levels, we expect intra-sector movement of skilled workforce,” CEO K. Pandia Rajan told journalists in New Delhi.

Cognizant, a provider of information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing has acquired Galileo Performance, a Paris-based provider of information technology testing consultancy services.

“Galileo will expand and compliment Cognizant’s fast-growing global testing practice with more than 10,000 testing professionals, while strengthening Cognizant’s existing business presence in France,” said President & CEO Francisco D’Souza in Chennai on Thursday.

The boards of Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd and Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar and Industries Ltd, have approved the merger of the two companies. The boards have recommended an exchange ratio of one share of BHL for every five shares of BHSIL.

Punjab National Bank is likely to fix its base rate in place of the prime lending rate, somewhere between 8% and 8.5%, according to the Bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, K.R. Kamath.

“Once the base rate is stabilized, it is expected to bring in a sort of equilibrium in lending rates by the bank,” he said while speaking to reporters in Hyderabad on Thursday.

South Africa and Colombia are both boosting supplies of thermal coal to India. As India is planning to nearly double electricity generation by 2012, at least 200 million tons of thermal coal will have to be imported to meet the requirements.

Colombian coal suppliers may have an advantage with prices of $92 a ton compared to $110 a ton for supplies from South Africa, according to details from a trader mjunction Services Ltd.

Gainers & Losers

Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd rose 0.1% to Rs 205.40 after the company obtained 11 new projects worth Rs 505 crore from various companies.

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar and Industries Limited fell 8.2% to Rs 21.25, extending losses for the second consecutive day, after the stock soared more than 43% in the preceding two trading sessions.

Brigade Enterprises Limited rose 1.0% to Rs 139.50 after the company''s board approved raising up to Rs 750 crore.

ITC Limited rose 0.2% to Rs 294.65 after the company''s board recommended a 1-to-1 bonus.

Larsen & Toubro Limited rose 1.5% to Rs 1,802.25 after the engineering contractor today announced that a subsidiary of its construction division secured orders of Rs 1,440 crore for the construction of residential towers, township and factory buildings.

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited rose 0.05% to Rs 631.15 after the company signed a pact with Arabia Holdings and Ras Al-Khaimah Transport Investments LLC to set up a joint venture company in UAE for manufacturing armored vehicles.

Suven Life Sciences Limited dropped 4.9% to Rs 29.80 after the stock surged 10% in the preceding two trading sessions.

TTK Prestige Limited dropped 4.5% to Rs 878.00 after turning ex-dividend of Rs 10 per share.

Triton Valves Limited added 1.4% to Rs 2,405.00 after the company fixed record date for 2-to-1 bonus issue.

Uflex Limited rose 1.7% to Rs 113.15 after the company said a committee of directors will meet on June 21 to evaluate various options available to raise up to Rs 750 crore.

Unity Infraprojects Limited rose 3.9% to Rs 107.95 after the company secured four orders aggregating Rs 412 crore from four different companies for construction works.