Sensex Rallies; NMDC in $5 B Expansion

Chandrasekhar Atreya
21 Jul, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai gained for the first time in three days. NMDC plans to invest $5 billion in capacity expansion. Hindustan Media ventures closed 8% higher on its first day of trading. MMTC rises after fixing record date for stock-split and bonus.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai gained for the first time in three days. NMDC plans to invest $5 billion in capacity expansion. Hindustan Media ventures closed 8% higher on its first day of trading. MMTC rises after fixing record date for stock-split and bonus.[/R]

Stocks in India rose for the first time in three days. The Sensex index has hovered near 18,000 and crossed several times the level in yesterday’s trading. Strong foreign funds flow in anticipation of rising earnings has bolstered investors’ sentiment.

Overseas investors bought a net Rs 204 crore of equities on July 19, raising total investments in stocks this year to Rs 40,320 crore, according to India’s market regulator.

The Sensex index in India increased 99.09 or 0.55% to 17,977.23 and CNX Nifty index rose 26.05 or 0.49% to 5,392.80. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 20 rose and 10 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,538 stocks advanced, 1,313 declined and 114 were unchanged. Realty, metal and auto stocks rose.

Hindustan Media Ventures closed at Rs 179.50 a premium of 8.13% over the initial public offer price of Rs 166 per share.

Rupee edged higher 11 paisa to Rs 47.23 against one dollar.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd plans to introduce its first motorcycle in India within the next two months.

The company intends to add motorbikes ranging from low cost entry models to premium models, said Anoop Mathur, the head of the company’s two-wheeler business in an interview in Mumbai.

NMDC said it is working on projects worth Rs 24,000 crore to be completed over the next five years. It is planning to expand its iron ore mining capacity to 51 million tons from 27 million now, besides setting up steel, pellet and iron ore nugget plants and beneficiation facilities.

Rs 3,000 crore will be spent to replace a pipeline damaged by the Maoists blasts in 2009.

Chairman Rana Som told reporters on Tuesday, the cost of a proposed 2 million ton steel plant in Karnataka is not finalized. He said that NMDC was in talks with Japanese companies for the technology.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced that a framework for infrastructure financing is finalized between the Insurance Regulatory Authority and the Planning Commission.

Inaugurating the IRDA’s Grievance Call Center and Insurance Information Bureau Web site in Hyderabad on Tuesday Mukherjee noted that the insurance sector contributed immensely to the infrastructure development in the country.

Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd won Rs 300 crore order to power the computers in about 10,000 panchayat samities of Rajasthan as part of the government’s initiative to introduce e-governance in India’s rural areas.

The order is part-funded by the Ministry of Renewable Energy under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a major initiative in renewable energy conceived and promoted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The project is expected to be completed in 24 months according to a release.

Crop area under cultivation will increase as farmers shift from crops such as oilseeds to cotton to take advantage of the higher price they get for cotton.

“Farmers are very happy with the price they have got and there is an expectation that prices will remain steady. The crop area will increase from last year’s 10.2 million hectares as there’s a shift to cotton from crops such as oilseeds in some parts and good weather will ensure we’ve a good crop,” said Subhash Grover, Managing Director of Cotton Corporation of India in an interview.

Gainers & Losers

Jindal Hotels Limited rose 0.7% to Rs 64.45 after the company reported first quarter net profit rose 41.1% to Rs 0.48 crore.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited fell 1.8% to Rs 766.50 after the lender reported first quarter net profit surged 27.4% to Rs 327.7 crore compared to net profit of Rs 257.3 crore a year ago.

Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Limited climbed 3.9% to Rs 79.40 after the company reported first quarter net profit surged 224.5% to Rs 46.15 crore compared to net profit of Rs 14.2 crore a year ago.

Mangalam Cement Ltd dropped 2.8% to Rs 165.50 after the stock turned ex-dividend of Rs 6 a share of the year ended March 2010.

MMTC Limited advanced 3.3% to Rs 29,199.70 after the international trading company fixed July 30 as the record date for a 10-for-1 stock-split and 1-to-1 bonus issue.

Monsanto India Limited added 3.9% to Rs 1,731.00 after the company reported a first quarter net profit of Rs 58.6 crore compared to Rs 52.1 crore a year ago.

Panacea Biotec Limited added 2.6% to Rs 198.00 after the biotechnology company reported first quarter net profit rose 149.8% to Rs 32.55 crore.

PTC India Limited added 4.1% to Rs 112.20 and the company is in talks with private equity firms to dilute stake in its unit PTC India Financial Services.

SKF India Limited gained 4.1% to Rs 535.35 after the services and lubrication company reported second quarter net profit rose 174.2% to Rs 48.5 crore compared to net profit of Rs 17.7 crore a year ago.

Sterlite Industries (India) Limited increased 3.2% to Rs 171.45 after the company''s American depository receipt, or ADR rose 3.48% to $14.29 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Seamec Ltd declined 6.5% to Rs 156.25 after the company reported first quarter net loss of Rs 22.69 crore compared to net profit of Rs 59.89 crore a year ago.

Thermax Ltd rose 1.9% to Rs 784.35 after the company reported first quarter net profit increased 43.5% to Rs 66 crore compared to Rs 46 crore a year ago.

TVS Motor Company Limited gained 5.5% to Rs 128.25 after the automotive vehicles firm reported first quarter net profit surged 122.7% to Rs 40.37 crore.

Vishal Retail Limited rose 1.3% to Rs 52.65 after Shriram Group said it was likely to take over the cash-strapped front-end retail arm of Vishal, after private equity investor Texas Pacific Group took charge of its wholesale division.

Yes Bank Limited rose 0.07% to Rs 297.50 after the bank reported first quarter net profit surged 56.3% to Rs 156.40 crore.