Indian stock markets indices are trading strong over the last two hours of trade. Capital goods and consumer durables stocks witnessed maximum buying interest while realty and FMCG stocks witnessed maximum selling pressure.
The BSE-Sensex is up by 70 points, while the NSE-Nifty is up 15 points. BSE Mid cap index and the BSE Small cap index are up by 0.55% and 0.76% respectively. The rupee is trading at 52.82 to the US dollar.
Aditya Birla Group stocks are trading in the red led by Idea Cellular and Grasim industries. According to a leading financial daily, Aditya Birla Group is planning to bid for a strategic stake in Indonesian coal miner PT Bumi Resources. This will enable the group to secure assured coal supplies for its expanding cement and aluminum smelter operations. The Birla group is planning to bid for about 10 to 15% of the equity of PT Bumi along with an offtake arrangement. The transaction could be valued at over Rs 10 bn. PT Bumi is the world's largest exporter of thermal grade coal and has been talking to interested companies to offload its equity and raise funds for prepaying debt. The group would look for a position on the board but not be directly involved in the day to day running of the company.
Auto stocks are mainly trading in the green led by Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto. As per a leading daily, Maruti Suzuki has recently unveiled a concept compact SUV (sports utility vehicle) XA Alpha. As per the management, this model is an inspiration from the traditional Indian martial art form. The new SUV was launched at the ongoing Auto Expo 2012. It combines ruggedness with elegance and finesse and compactness. It is targeted at the youth of the country.Meanwhile, the auto company is of the view that the slowdown in the sales of cars in India is a short term phenomenon. The factors largely responsible for these are high interest rates and rising input costs. It maybe be noted that Maruti's sales in December were down by 7.1%.
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