India Stocks Rebound; DB Corp IPO

Mayank Mehta
16 Dec, 2009
New York City

Mumbai stocks edged higher after DB Corp IPO was oversubscribed nearly 40 times. National Stock Exchange will begin trading at 900 am from December 18. More and more Indian companies are looking to operate outside India. Bharti Airtel is looking to acquire a majority stake in a mobile carrier in Bangladesh.

[R]6:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Mumbai stocks edged higher after DB Corp IPO was oversubscribed nearly 40 times. National Stock Exchange will begin trading at 900 am from December 18. More and more Indian companies are looking to operate outside India.[/R]

Stocks in Mumbai increased for the first time after trading lower for the four days in a row. Infosys will provide finance and accounting services to Royal Philips Electronics NV in Brazil, Aptech Limited agreed to set up IT training unit in Philippines and Bharti Airtel is looking to acquire a mobile carrier in Bangladesh.

The Sensex index in India increased 35.61 or 0.2% to 16,912.77 and CNX Nifty index rose 9 or 0.1% to 5,042.05. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 14 rose and 16 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,410 stocks advanced, 1,390 declined and 90 were unchanged.

Reliance Industries cut intraday losses, IT and metal stocks rose. But, banking and realty stocks fell. After an initial slide, the market soon moved into positive zone following heavy bidding by foreign funds to the initial public offer of print media firm DB Corp.

The initial public offer of DB Corp, India''s second largest regional newspaper, was subscribed a massive 39.54 times. The issue closed on Tuesday.

Rupee edged lower 7 paisa to 46.78 against one dollar.

The National Stock Exchange extended its market opening at 9:00 am from December 18 after the rival Bombay Stock Exchange said it will begin trading at 9:45 am.

Gainers & Losers

Aptech Limited added 1.7% to Rs 182.70 after the global retail and corporate training solutions provider will set up Philippine unit next year. Company is expected to sign a joint- venture agreement with New Life Pharmaceutical, Inc. in Philippines.

Aurobindo Pharma Limited climbed 1.4% to Rs 879.35 said that its wholly owned subsidiary Aurobindo Pharma Australia Pty Ltd has received approval from the regulatory agency in Australia for the registration of Citalopram hydrobromide tablets.

Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd decreased 1.5% to Rs 206.60 after the sugar and ethanol manufacturing company said fourth quarter sales fell 10.3% to Rs 415.29 crore from Rs 463.11 crore a year ago. Net profit for the quarter was Rs 69.08 crore or Rs 4.20 per diluted share compared to net loss of Rs 87.46 crore or Rs 6.19 per share a year ago.

Bharti Airtel Limited increased 2.8% to Rs 325.75 is set to buy a 70% stake in Bangladesh''s mobile phone operator Warid from its Abu Dhabi-based owners according to Dow Jones.

Bhagyanagar India Limited closed unchanged at Rs 26.70 after the manufacturer of copper products said the company bought back 40 foreign currency convertible bonds aggregating $4 million at a discount.

Bharati Shipyard Limited dropped 3.0% to Rs 214.85 after LIC of India has sold 2.14% or 5,90,347 shares of the shipbuilding firm.

Gitanjali Gems Limited gained 2.1% to Rs 120.35 an integrated diamond and jewelry retailer said that it has acquired 76% stake in Salasar Retail through wholly owned subsidiary Gitanjali Lifestyle.

Ipca Laboratories Limited climbed 2.7% to Rs 999.15 after the pharmaceutical company received pre-qualified approval from the World Health Organization for its anti-malarial dose combination of Artemether and Lumefantrine.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited plunged 10.3% to Rs 197.85 has agreed to sell its injectables business to the US-based Hospira for around $400 million (Rs 1,850 crore), at a 20% premium. The stock sold off after investors worried that the prime driver of the company’s future growth is sold at a smaller than expected discount and the company may struggle with the future growth.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited gained 1.4% to Rs 1,140.30 after the company launched a generic version of over-the-counter drug omeprazole in the US.

Tata Steel Limited added 2.5% to Rs 560.00 after the steelmaker said Tuesday its European unit, Corus, will make an investment of €35 million in its steel mill at Hayange, France, to expand its capacity.

Union Bank of India advanced 1.9% to Rs 262.60 after The Reserve Bank of India permitted foreign investors to buy additional shares in the state-run bank.

Zensar Technologies Limited rose 0.8% to Rs 320.15 after one of the promoter group companies revoked a portion of shares it had pledged earlier.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 93.93 or 0.93% to 10,177.41, and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 202.18 or 0.93% to 21,611.74, and CSI 300 index in China lower 22.62 or 0.63% to 3,560.72. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 11.60 or 0.25% to 4,661.90. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia was lower 1.78 or 0.14% to 1,269.03.

The Kospi Index in South Korea decreased 1.61 or 0.10% to close at 1,664.24. SET index in Thailand closed higher 6.37 or 0.90% to 716.01. JSE Index in Indonesia increased 27.81 or 1.11% to 2,522.54. The Sensex index in India increased 35.61 or 0.21% to 16,912.77.