Sensex Declines; Reliance Revises Gas Deal

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

Stocks in Mumbai traded lower. Reliance Natural signs revised gas supply deal with Reliance Industries. GMR Infrastructure gains after winning airport bid in Maldives. Fortis Healthcare drops as GIC defers investment.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai traded lower. Reliance Natural signs revised gas supply deal with Reliance Industries. GMR Infrastructure gains after winning airport bid in Maldives. Fortis Healthcare drops as GIC defers investment.[/R]

Stocks in India traded lower led by financial companies and the Sensex Index lost 155.71 or 0.88% to close at 17,574.53 and CNX Nifty index fell 25.65 or 0.48% to close at 5,297.50. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 9 rose and 21 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,362 stocks advanced, 1,413 declined and 114 were unchanged.

Shares of three state controlled oil marketing companies rose between 1.2% and 1.6% ahead of a meeting of an committee of ministers today to decide on fuel prices.

Rupee edged lower 4 paisa to Rs 46.53 against one dollar.

The central bank in India will sell bonds for Rs 15,000 crore today as part of the government’s record Rs 45,700 crore borrowing target for the current fiscal year. The bonds maturing in 2015, 2020, 2027, and 2032 may further tighten the liquidity in the market.

The yields on 10-year bonds reached to the high of the week as the government steps up its borrowing.

Reliance Natural Resources Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd signed a revised gas supply agreement today, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Uttar Pradesh Power Corp has floated a tender for offers to build power plants that use solar energy and fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Core K12, the U.S. education arm of Core Projects and Technologies received a contract covering 375 schools covering the Los Angeles Unified School District to design and implement a comprehensive formative assessment program for nearly seven hundred thousand students. The contract worth $24 million involves diagnostic key testing for all key subjects at all grade levels.

Alstom Power, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and BHEL entered into a tripartite agreement for supply of turbines to the 700 mw pressurized heavy water reactors that will be built in four locations in India.

“We have been retained to provide turbines for the 700 mw reactors for India’s nuclear power program. The first order is for Kakrapar in Gujarat,” Guy Chardon, Senior Vice President, Thermal Products, Alstom Power, said from Chattanooga, Tennessee, while addressing visiting journalists from India and France yesterday.

Nine companies have submitted bids to be the book running lead managers for the proposed share sale by Hindustan Copper Ltd.

The Chairman and Managing Director, Shakeel Ahmed said Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities, UBS, Kotak Mahindra, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, IDBI Capital Markets, Enam Securities, Avendus Capital, and IDFC-SSKI Securities have submitted bids.

“The selection process will be completed in a month,” Ahmed said.

Gainers & Losers

Alstom Projects India Limited increased 5.1% to Rs 661.00 after the French industrial engineering major Alstom’s Indian arm will form a joint venture to supply turbines to nuclear power projects of Nuclear Power Corporation of India.

Fortis Healthcare Limited fell 1.1% to Rs 154.65 after the company said Singapore''s GIC has decided to defer preferential investment in the company, but will evaluate participation in a broader fund raising by Fortis.

GMR Infrastructure Limited added 2.3% to Rs 58.05 after the consortium of the company with Malaysia Airports Holdings won a bid to build operate and transfer, Male International airport in Maldives.

Maytas Infra Limited dropped 0.05% to Rs 212.00 after the company reached an agreement with lenders on its corporate debt restructuring scheme.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited rose 1.4% to Rs 65.10 after the company denied recent media reports that it is in talks for Reliance Industries Ltd. to become a franchisee, marketing the state-run company''s third generation mobile services.

MMTC Limited fell 1.4% to Rs 32,595.00 after the stock rose 8.46% in the preceding two trading sessions.

Pfizer rose 2.8% to Rs 1,109.25 after the company''s managing director Kewal Handa told the media that the firm expects double-digit sales growth in 2010.