The major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a mixed note with stock markets in China (down 0.5%) and South Korea (down 0.1%) leading the losses. However, the stock markets in Hong Kong (up 0.9%) and Malaysia (up 0.6%) have opened in the green. The Indian share markets indices have also opened the day on a bleak note. The sectoral indices have opened on a mixed note with stocks in the auto and banking sector leading the losses. However, stocks in the metal and Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) sector are witnessing gains.
The Sensex today is down by around 55 points (0.3%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 23 points (0.4%). However, the mid and small cap stocks are trading in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices up by around 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 54.16 to the US dollar.
Telecom stocks have opened the day mainly in green with Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices leading the gains. Idea Cellular has announced its results for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2012-13 (4QFY13). The consolidated sales for the quarter witnessed a growth of 12.9% on a year on year (YoY) basis. The growth was mainly driven by growth in the subscriber base as well as by higher minutes on the network during the quarter. The operating margins for the quarter stood at 27.6%, as compared to 25.3% in 4QFY12. The net profits for the quarter were up 29% YoY with net margins at 5.1%. The growth was mainly on account of growth in voice minutes and high data usage. The company has recommended a dividend of Rs 0.3 per share. The company has ended the quarter with 121.6 million subscribers, compared with 112.7 million last year.
Auto stocks have also opened the day mainly in the red with TVS Motors and Hero Motocorp leading the losses. As per a leading financial daily, the country's second largest bike maker Bajaj Auto Ltd is in preliminary talks to get a controlling stake of 55-56% in Austrian sports bike company KTM. It plans to increase the stake within the current fiscal year. Bajaj Auto already has a 47% stake in KTM. The move is likely to give the company a larger global reach, especially in the higher margin premium bike markets of Europe. Bajaj will have to buy 956,529 shares for at least 51 m euro for the additional 8-9% stake, as per the share price of KTM at the Vienna stock exchange on Wednesday.
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