Sensex in India Edged Lower, Strong Auto Sales

Chandrasekhar Atreya
03 Dec, 2010
New York City

The benchmark index Sensex declined after rising more than 3% in the last four sessions. Auto sales rose in November on the strength in small car sales. Maruti Suzuki unit sales surged 28% and Mahindra and Mahindra sales rose 18%.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai – The benchmark index Sensex declined after rising more than 3% in the last four sessions. Auto sales rose in November on the strength in small car sales. Maruti Suzuki unit sales surged 28% and Mahindra and Mahindra sales rose 18%.[/R]

Mumbai Stocks ended the lackluster sessions on Friday with negative bias on profit booking following more than 3% gains in the last four sessions.

The BSE Sensex dropped 25.77 points to close at 19,966.93 and the CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange closed 18.9 points down at 5,992.80.

The rupee fell 34 cents and closed in Mumbai at 45.42 to a dollar.

Osaka-based Panasonic Welding Systems Co will establish a production unit in Gurgaon on December 20 to meet growing demand at local factories for automobiles and other products.

The unit will have an annual production capacity of 25,000 units of welding equipment and will commence production in August 2012. The plant will eventually develop equipment as well as handle imports and sale of welding robots in India.

HCL Technologies Ltd, India’s IT services provider, said today it has finalized and signed a contract with Finland’s OP Pohjola for implementation and support maintenance of a claims management solution.

The scope of this long-term contract is for delivery of a turn-key centralized claims management software solution, HCL Tech said in its statement.

A study conducted by a research firm shows that India is slowly emerging as the new destination for global manufacturing. A study by Deloitte and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness revealed that India is ranked second behind China in manufacturing competitiveness and will narrow the gap over the next few years.

The Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, based on the views of more than 400 senior manufacturing executives from all over the world, rated 26 countries worldwide.

The Indian banking industry is set to grow as much as 20% a year as well as improve its profitability with over 18% return on equity, according to a survey done by McKinsey for the Indian Banks’ Association.

Favorable demographics, rising aspirations of corporate India, strong regulatory push along with rising productiveness and economies of scale are the drivers behind this expected growth, the report said.

ITC and Godfrey Phillips India have stopped production of cigarettes on the uncertainty over the requirement to carry pictorial warnings on the packages starting this month.

State-run National Aluminum Co Ltd sold 30,000 tons of alumina at $371.88 per ton free on board to Hong Kong-based Noble Resources, a company source said today.

Coal Ministry has sought Cabinet approval for its proposal that mining be allowed in 90% of coal blocks labeled as no-mining areas by the environment ministry.

Most Indian automakers posted strong sales in November fueled by strong domestic demand despite drops in exports.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest auto maker by sales reported a jump of 28% in November sales to 112,554 vehicles from a year ago and domestic sales of 102,503 units, up 34% from a year earlier.

Tata Motors Ltd reported a marginal rise in sales of 1% for cars, sport utility vehicles, trucks and buses to 54,622 units from 54,108 a year ago.

Mahindra & Mahindra reported a jump of 18% in sales of utility vehicles to 26,666 units. Exports rose 25% to 1,500 vehicles.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd posted sales of 31,540 units in the local markets, up 12% from 28,162 units a year earlier.