Indian share markets remain volatile

Thu, 7 Mar 01:30 pm

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Indian share markets fluctuated around the dotted line in the post-noon trading session. Majority of the sectoral indices are trading negative with metal, oil and gas and consumer and durables stocks being the biggest losers. IT, capital goods and realty are among the major gainers.

BSE-Sensex is down 18 points and NSE-Nifty is trading down by 10 points. While BSE Mid Cap is flat, BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%. The rupee is trading at 54.7 to the US dollar.

Power stocks are trading mixed with India Bulls Power and CESC leading in gains. However, Reliance Infra and PTC Indiaare trading in red. As per a leading financial daily, Tata Power's 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Mundra has become fully operational after the fifth unit of 800 MW capacity was synchronized recently. The first four units of similar capacities were commissioned between March 2012 and February 2013. With the 4,000 MW plant based on super critical fully operational, the company's total capacity scaled up to 8,500 MW, out of which the thermal generation capacity stands at 7,647 MW. The company had earlier entered into an agreement to source coal supplies for its Mundra UMMP from Indonesia at below market prices. But its coal pricing has run into rough weather after Indonesia benchmarked all its coal exports to international prices. Consequently, Tata Power has been demanding an increase of 80 paise on the power purchase agreement tariff of Rs 2.55 entered by it previously. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will come out with a decision on the company's petition for hiking tariff on the electricity generated at the Mundra plant. Tata Power stock is marginally up.

Real estate stocks are trading mixed, with Wellspun Projects and Gammon India being the major gainers and Phonenix Mill and Housing Dev Infra being the top losers. As per a leading financial daily, DLF announced that its board has approved issuance of fresh equity shares. This step was taken to meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms which require minimum 25% of public share holding. Thus promoters will dilute their share holding, which currently stands at 78.6%. Reportedly DLF is likely to offer over 80 m shares, which will be worth Rs 21 bn at current market price. The raised funds would be utilized to bring down the debt that stood at Rs 213 bn as at the end of December 2012. Further, the board has approved to offer the equity shares by way of Institutional Placement Programme (IPP) and/or any method prescribed and approved by SEBI. However this is subject to shareholders' approval. The stock of DLF was trading up by 1.9%