Barring Malaysia, the Asian equity markets have opened the day on a negative note with stock markets in Hong Kong (down 1.6%) and Japan (down 1.4%) leading the losses in the region. The Indian share markets have opened the day on a weak note as well. Stocks in the software and consumer durables space are leading the pack of losers. However, healthcare and oil and gas stocks have opened in the green.
The Sensex today is down by around 54 points (0.3%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 15 point (0.3%). BSE Mid Cap stocks have opened on a flat note while small cap stocks have opened in the green with BSE Small Cap index up by around 0.2%. The rupee is trading at Rs 54.74 to the US dollar.
Engineering stocks have opened the day on a mixed note with the stock of Tata Robins Fraser (TRF Ltd) and Welspun Corporation leading the losses. However, Emco Ltd and Elecon Engineering have opened on a positive note. As per a leading financial daily, Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has recently announced that it will acquire Komatsu Ltd.'s stake in their equally owned joint venture that manufactures construction equipment. As such, L&T will acquire 50% stake in L&T-Komatsu (LTK) held by Komatsu Asia & Pacific, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Komatsu, Japan. The joint venture company posted gross sales of Rs 16.2 bn in FY13. Post the buyout, LTK will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T. As of now, the financial details have not been disclosed. As per the company release, LTK will continue to manufacture construction equipment and hydraulic components and Komatsu will take care of the production of equipment, including hydraulic excavators.
Auto stocks have also opened the day mainly in the red with Eicher Motors and Maharashtra Scooters Ltd leading the losses. However, Bajaj Auto Ltd and TVS Motors have opened in the green. As per a leading financial daily, the country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd has announced a warranty of five years on all its models. As per the company's statement, the warranty will be for a period of five years or 70,000 km on motorcycles, whichever is earlier. On scooters, the warranty has been offered for five years or 50,000 km whichever is earlier. As per the management, the company is the first manufacturer in the country to makes such an offer. With this, the management aims to strengthen the company's place the market-place as the undisputed leader.
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