Funds buys up Sensex 81,Nifty 20 pts

The market remained closed yesterday on account of ‘Eid-ul-fitr’.

All the sectoral indices,led by IT and auto,were trading with gains of up to 1.13 per cent.

Similarly,the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 20.75 points,or 0.38 per cent,to 5,387.05.

Brokers said trading sentiment buoyed after Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked banks to cut interest rates and keep EMIs at affordable levels to encourage sale of consumer durables to restart the engine of manufacturing.

Besides,a firming trend in Asian region too supported the upside in stock prices,they said.

In Asia,Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.03 per cent,while the Japan’s Nikkei by 0.10 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average,however,ended 0.03 per cent lower in yesterday’s trade.

Stocks More on Maruti Suzuki

Company INFO More on State Bank of India

STOCKS/PRE-OPEN: Indian stocks to watch-Aug 21

GLOBAL MARKETS

* The Nifty futures in Singapore Exchange fell 0.1 percent,while the MSCI-Asia Pacific index excluding Japan rose 0.7 percent.

* U.S. stocks were flat on Monday on signs of fatigue after a six-week run of gains as the European Central Bank quelled speculation about the form of market intervention that may be taken to stem the region’s debt crisis.

* Shares edged up on Tuesday as investors held on to hopes the European Central Bank will act to soothe borrowing costs.

FACTORS TO WATCH

* Maruti Suzuki restarts production at its Manesar factory after sacking 500 workers over a deadly riot that shut the plant,costing tens of millions of dollars in lost output.

* July consumer price index data (1100 India time; 0530GMT).

INDIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

FINANCIAL/REGULATORY

* India’s finance minister urged state-run banks to increase lending for consumer durables on Saturday,saying this would help boost the manufacturing sector which has been caught up in the slowdown of the economy.

* State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are among those that would be affected if RBI implements its proposed guidelines on banks’ exposure to their group entities,Moody’s said on Monday.

Last week,the Reserve Bank released draft guidelines to limit banks’ exposure to their own group non-financial and financial entities.

* The private equity arm of Citigroup is set to invest $125 million in Prometheon,a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by holiday and travel firm Cox & Kings for the acquisition of U.K.’s Holidaybreak in 2011,two people familiar with the matter said.

* Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is close to providing a 4 billion rupees loan to Chennai-based Sanmar Group to ease its cash position,a person close to the development said.

ENERGY/COMMODITIES

* The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to begin filing formal cases against companies involved in the coal mine allocation controversy by the end of August,a senior official in the agency told ET on condition of anonymity.

* The petroleum ministry and state oil firms plan to raise diesel and petrol prices next month as crude oil rose to a three-month high last week and diesel consumption has soared because of the weak monsoon and poor power supply,government and industry officials said.

Diesel is expected to be costly by 4-5 a litre and petrol rates could be raised by 3 a litre,officials said. Price hike is inevitable,but the timing and quantum of hike would be politically decided after the monsoon session,an official said,requesting anonymity.

* BP is preparing to invest $4-5 billion in Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 block over the next few years after the partners scaled up the estimate of recoverable gas reserves,sources close to the British company said.

* Reliance and BP are in talks to supply LNG to power projects in Andhra Pradesh via its JV,India Gas Solutions,according to industry sources.

* ONGC Videsh Ltd,the overseas arm of state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp,is eyeing a stake in Russia’s ambitious Arctic Ocean oil and gas projects with ExxonMobil and ENI.

OVL on May 4 wrote to Russian state oil company Rosneft expressing interest in taking stake in one of the three joint ventures announced to explore for oil and gas beneath Arctic Ocean,sources privy to the development said.

* Lanco Infratech has said the long drawn A$3.5 billion legal battle with Australia’s Perdaman Industries over coal supplies is expected to be resolved by March next year.

Stating that the company does not foresee any risk from the case,Lanco’s Chief Operating Officer T Adibabu said there was no need for an out of court settlement.

* Odisha’s pollution control board has ordered Hindalco Industries to shut its captive power plant near Hirakud after chemicals from its breached ash pond damaged crops in the adjoining areas.

* Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has issued a rare tender to import high sulphur crude for loading in October,a document showed on Monday,a purchase that may be motivated by a need to replace Iranian oil imports.

* Northern states,including Delhi,could face power cuts as three hydro-power plants that together supply about 3,000 MW of electricity to the region have been shut down.

* Ferro Alloys and Mineral Division (FAMD),the non-steel business unit of Tata Steel,is planning to add 55,000 tonnes of ferro chrome and silico manganese production capacity each in Gopalpur and Nayagarh of Odisha by 2014.

IT

* Infosys won a harassment case filed by its employee Jack Palmer,after a U.S. judge dismissed his claims and threw out the case on Monday.

* India will seek U.S. help in tracking down the origins of offensive web pages hosted on U.S. servers which have been used to inflame Muslim sentiments.

* Tulip Telecom today said it has received firm commitments of $ 50 million towards subscription of its foreign currency convertible bonds issue.

TELECOM

* Telenor said Monday it has ‘directly settled’ $1.75 billion in loans its Indian joint venture operation Uninor.

* Bharti Airtel is once again exploring the option of listing its tower arm,Bharti Infratel,to raise funds for itself and provide an exit option to private equity firms, said said a person directly involved in the process,requesting anonymity as the process is underway.

PHARMAS

* India’s highest court will hear final arguments over a case that pits Novartis AG against India’s patent office,which has refused to grant a patent on the company’s cancer drug Glivec on the grounds that it is not a new medicine but an amended version of a known compound.

* Indian drugmaker Wockhardt Ltd said on Monday it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell Entacapone tablets,which are used in treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

* Bilcare Ltd said it will sell its global clinical supplies business in the U.S. and U.K. for $61 million to Ireland-based United Drug.

* An inter-ministerial group has asked the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to consider allowing foreign direct investment of up to 49 percent through automatic route in existing Indian pharmaceutical firms.

AIRLINES

* Aviation minister Ajit Singh is learnt to be reviewing the controversial current rule that an airline must be five years old and have a fleet of at least 20 aircraft to become eligible to fly overseas.

OTHER FACTORS TO WATCH

* Euro listless on ECB doubts; Aussie looks at RBA

* Oil lower in choppy trading; Euro zone issues weigh

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