EMBOLDENED, GOVT TO DIVEST MINORITY STAKE IN 10 PSUS
The government on Thursday said it has decided to divest its stake in 10 companies, including Oil India Ltd (OIL), SAIL and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The government has decided to disinvest its stake in some of the public sector undertakings, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
'The realisation would depend upon prevailing market conditions and investor interest at the time of actual disinvestment,' he elaborated.
According to the plan, the government will sell 10 per cent stake each in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd , Oil India Ltd and NMDC.
Besides, it plans to offload 12.15 per cent in NALCO, 10.82 per cent in SAIL, 9.5 per cent in NTPC and 9.33 per cent in MMTC.
Also, a 5 per cent stake sale in Bhel and another 4.01 per cent in Hindustan Copper Ltd is in the pipeline. During the current financial year (2012-13), the government has disinvested 10 per cent in NBCC and 5.58 per cent in Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) out of its shareholding and realised an amount of Rs 124.97 crore and Rs 807.02 crore respectively, totaling Rs 932 crore.
The Finance Ministry has already said that the government is taking necessary measures to achieve the budgetary target of Rs 30,000 crore set for the financial year 2012-13. Last month the government sold 5.58 per cent stake in HCL for about Rs 807 crore at an average price of Rs 156.56 apiece, with bulk of the bids coming from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and public sector banks (PSBs).
The government has already initiated the process of disinvestment of 10 per cent of its stake in NMDC, 9.3 per cent in MMTC, and 9.5 per cent in NTPC.
Besides, the Cabinet has also approved the disinvestment of 12.1 per cent in National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco).
BSP’S FDI MAYA LIFTS ` BY 40 P TO ONE-MONTH HIGH AGAINST $
Hopes of more foreign funds inflows after BSP Chief Mayawati decided to lend support ti the debatable FDI issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday pushed the rupee up by 40 paise to close at a one-month high of 54.14 against the greenback, completing a three-day gaining string. Firm local equities, consistent capital inflows and sustained dollar selling by exporters also enhanced the rupee sentiment. Dollar was also nearly stable with downward bias in overseas market.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced higher at 54.38 a dollar from the previous close of 54.54 but turned negative and dipped to a low of 54.58 in line with fall in local stocks. However, fag-end recovery in stocks after the news of support by BSP Chief Mayawati on FDI issue to the government filtered in helped the rupee to bounce back to a high of 54.04 before ending at 54.14, showing a rise of 40 paise (0.73 per cent). Previously, it had ended at 53.81 on November 2, 2012. On Thursday foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused $175.41 mln yesterday as per Sebi data. The dollar index was down by a mere 0.008 per cent against a basket of six major currencies.
Alpari Financial Services (India) CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, ‘The rupee edged weaker in the first hour of session after the Credit Suisse lowered the GDP forecasts citing inaction from RBI and other policy measures from government. But it recovered later in line with domestic equity markets after BSP chief Ms Mayawati's statement to support the government in Friday's vote battle on FDI.
‘The equity markets advanced sharply supported by the political support to government, pushing the rupee towards the 54 level. If the government wins the RS vote, then 53.75-53.50 levels can be eyed.’ he added.
RETAIL SCRIPS CHEER FDI VERDICT, SOAR 6.7%
Retail stocks on Thursday settled with as much as 6.7 per cent gain after the BSP announced its decision to vote in favour of government on the issue of FDI in retail in Rajya Saba on Friday. Shares of Provogue India closed 6.67 per cent higher at Rs 18.40 while Koutons Retail India was up 4.94 per cent to Rs 9.98 on the BSE. Shoppers Stop too ended 0.95 per cent higher while Pantaloon Retail rose by 0.55 per cent. Shares of Trent, however, fell by 0.08 per cent. In morning trade, these stocks had gained up to over 10 per cent. Brokers said that buying activity in the broader market picked up momentum after the BSP announced support for FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha.
LATE ‘FDI’ RALLY PUSHES SENSEX UP BY 95 POINTS
The BSE Sensex on Thursday wiped out early losses to close with a 95-point gain, extending its winning run to the third day, on late buying triggered by BSP throwing its weight behind government on FDI issue in Rajya Sabha. After dipping to 19,186.24 intra-day on heavy profit booking, the Sensex rebounded about 300 points to end at 19,486.80 — a rise of 94.94 points (0.49 per cent).The gauge has gained 182 points in three days to close at over 19-month high on Thursday.
The NSE index climbed 30.40 points (0.52 per cent) to a 23-month high of 5,930.90 led by stocks of realty, power and banking. Thursday's closing is the highest since Nifty closed at 6,048.25 on January 6, 2011.
Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum after BSP decided to support FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha. 'With government winning vote on FDI, the positive momentum is likely to accelerate further and Nifty could test levels of 6100 on move past 5950,' said IIFL Head of Research Amar Ambani.
The government on Thursday said it has decided to divest its stake in 10 companies, including Oil India Ltd (OIL), SAIL and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The government has decided to disinvest its stake in some of the public sector undertakings, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
'The realisation would depend upon prevailing market conditions and investor interest at the time of actual disinvestment,' he elaborated.
According to the plan, the government will sell 10 per cent stake each in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd , Oil India Ltd and NMDC.
Besides, it plans to offload 12.15 per cent in NALCO, 10.82 per cent in SAIL, 9.5 per cent in NTPC and 9.33 per cent in MMTC.
Also, a 5 per cent stake sale in Bhel and another 4.01 per cent in Hindustan Copper Ltd is in the pipeline. During the current financial year (2012-13), the government has disinvested 10 per cent in NBCC and 5.58 per cent in Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) out of its shareholding and realised an amount of Rs 124.97 crore and Rs 807.02 crore respectively, totaling Rs 932 crore.
The Finance Ministry has already said that the government is taking necessary measures to achieve the budgetary target of Rs 30,000 crore set for the financial year 2012-13. Last month the government sold 5.58 per cent stake in HCL for about Rs 807 crore at an average price of Rs 156.56 apiece, with bulk of the bids coming from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and public sector banks (PSBs).
The government has already initiated the process of disinvestment of 10 per cent of its stake in NMDC, 9.3 per cent in MMTC, and 9.5 per cent in NTPC.
Besides, the Cabinet has also approved the disinvestment of 12.1 per cent in National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco).
BSP’S FDI MAYA LIFTS ` BY 40 P TO ONE-MONTH HIGH AGAINST $
Hopes of more foreign funds inflows after BSP Chief Mayawati decided to lend support ti the debatable FDI issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday pushed the rupee up by 40 paise to close at a one-month high of 54.14 against the greenback, completing a three-day gaining string. Firm local equities, consistent capital inflows and sustained dollar selling by exporters also enhanced the rupee sentiment. Dollar was also nearly stable with downward bias in overseas market.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced higher at 54.38 a dollar from the previous close of 54.54 but turned negative and dipped to a low of 54.58 in line with fall in local stocks. However, fag-end recovery in stocks after the news of support by BSP Chief Mayawati on FDI issue to the government filtered in helped the rupee to bounce back to a high of 54.04 before ending at 54.14, showing a rise of 40 paise (0.73 per cent). Previously, it had ended at 53.81 on November 2, 2012. On Thursday foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused $175.41 mln yesterday as per Sebi data. The dollar index was down by a mere 0.008 per cent against a basket of six major currencies.
Alpari Financial Services (India) CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, ‘The rupee edged weaker in the first hour of session after the Credit Suisse lowered the GDP forecasts citing inaction from RBI and other policy measures from government. But it recovered later in line with domestic equity markets after BSP chief Ms Mayawati's statement to support the government in Friday's vote battle on FDI.
‘The equity markets advanced sharply supported by the political support to government, pushing the rupee towards the 54 level. If the government wins the RS vote, then 53.75-53.50 levels can be eyed.’ he added.
RETAIL SCRIPS CHEER FDI VERDICT, SOAR 6.7%
Retail stocks on Thursday settled with as much as 6.7 per cent gain after the BSP announced its decision to vote in favour of government on the issue of FDI in retail in Rajya Saba on Friday. Shares of Provogue India closed 6.67 per cent higher at Rs 18.40 while Koutons Retail India was up 4.94 per cent to Rs 9.98 on the BSE. Shoppers Stop too ended 0.95 per cent higher while Pantaloon Retail rose by 0.55 per cent. Shares of Trent, however, fell by 0.08 per cent. In morning trade, these stocks had gained up to over 10 per cent. Brokers said that buying activity in the broader market picked up momentum after the BSP announced support for FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha.
LATE ‘FDI’ RALLY PUSHES SENSEX UP BY 95 POINTS
The BSE Sensex on Thursday wiped out early losses to close with a 95-point gain, extending its winning run to the third day, on late buying triggered by BSP throwing its weight behind government on FDI issue in Rajya Sabha. After dipping to 19,186.24 intra-day on heavy profit booking, the Sensex rebounded about 300 points to end at 19,486.80 — a rise of 94.94 points (0.49 per cent).The gauge has gained 182 points in three days to close at over 19-month high on Thursday.
The NSE index climbed 30.40 points (0.52 per cent) to a 23-month high of 5,930.90 led by stocks of realty, power and banking. Thursday's closing is the highest since Nifty closed at 6,048.25 on January 6, 2011.
Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum after BSP decided to support FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha. 'With government winning vote on FDI, the positive momentum is likely to accelerate further and Nifty could test levels of 6100 on move past 5950,' said IIFL Head of Research Amar Ambani.