Markets see final hour surge

Thu, 7 Mar Closing

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The Indian stock markets initially opened the day on a weak note. The key indices continued to trade range-bound till the afternoon session. Post this, indices moved higher and continued on their upward trajectory. Ultimately the indices finished well in the positive backed by buying interest in auto and tech stocks. The BSE-Sensex closed positive, higher by around 161 points (0.84%). The NSE-Nifty closed higher by around 45 points (0.77%). The smaller indices also had a positive day on the bourses. The BSE Mid Cap closed 0.48% higher and the BSE Small Cap index closed 0.85% higher. consumer durables and metal stocks witnessed profit booking.

As regards global markets, Asian indices had a mixed outing today. European indices also opened the day mixed. The rupee was trading at Rs 54.60 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Telecom operator, Bharti Airtel has started a process to sell up to 25% stake in its DTH (direct to home) TV. The company is expecting a valuation of US$ 800 m. If it sells a 1/4th stake this will amount to US$ 200 m. Bharti Airtel has already signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with at least seven strategic and private equity players for the stake sale, according to a leading business daily. This includes American DTH players such as Comcast and Liberty Global. Private equity players such as KKR, Providence and Bain Capital also seem to be in the running. Bharti's DTH business has pan India operations and 7.9 m customers. The market leader Dish TV has almost double the subscriber base of 15 m while Tata Sky has 10 m subscribers. In 3QFY13 the revenues of the DTH arm of Bharti Aitrtel was at Rs 4.3 bn, EBITDA stood at Rs 147 m with 3.4% EBITDA Margin, average ARPU of US$ 3.4/month for the quarter.

According to provisional data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), credit growth for banks was sluggish at the end of 10 months in FY13. So far this fiscal; banks' advances grew around 9.2% YoY, compared with 11.8% in the same period last year. Deposit growth was also around 7.6% YoY compared with 11.7% in the same period a year ago. The RBI has projected deposit growth at 15% and credit growth at 16% for FY13. With regards to new banking licenses, the RBI has said that it would publish clarifications regarding the revised rules on banking licenses on its website. All queries would need to be sent by April 10th 2013, post which clarifications would be issued by the central bank. If everything goes according to plan 2013 could usher in the first set of new banks into India since Yes Bank in 2004.