Indian stock market indices traded strong over the last two hours of trade.Barring consumer durables, all sectors have been trading in the green led by banking.
The BSE-Sensex is up by 227 points, while the NSE-Nifty is up by 72 points. BSE Mid cap index is up by 0.63% while the BSE Small cap index is up by 0.47% respectively. The rupee is trading at 51.17 to the US dollar.
As per a recent news release, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) clarified that the observations made in the 'leaked' draft regarding the allotment of coal blocks are highly misleading . As of now, the discussions are at a very preliminary stage. In fact CAG is not even of the opinion that the allotment would have necessarily meant an equal loss to the exchequer. Earlier, The Government was accused of getting involved in a multi crore scandal.However, the findings are inconclusive . The coal minister has clarified that the government is almost ready to auction coal blocks through competitive bidding and the guidelines for this are likely in 2-4 months.
Food stocks are trading mixed with Agro Tech foods leading the gainers and Lakshmi Energy trading the weakest. As per a leading financial daily, ITC may go for a price hike on its filter cigarettes by around 10%-15%.The decision to hike prices seems to be inspired from a proposal to increase excise duties of cigarettes by 15 %. In the Union Budget, the Finance Minister has introduced an advalorem component in cigarette (length greater than 65mm) in addition to the existing specific duty. The hike is expected to get reflected in sales in a month's time. The company itself has declined to comment on future pricing strategies. The stock was trading in the green.
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