Indian share markets continued to trade in the green during the previous two hours of trade. Sectoral indices traded mixed with FMCG and healthcare stocks as top gainers while energy and capital goods stocks were the top losers.
The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by 124 points and NSE-Nifty is trading up by 22 points. BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are trading up by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. The rupee is trading at 54.16 to the US dollar.
Mining stocks are trading strong led by Sesa Goa Limited and Coal India (CIL). As per a leading daily, Coal India has stated that it will continue to provide coal to power projects commissioned before 2009 at domestic prices. The Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) recently decided that CIL would supply domestic coal at 90% of the annual contracted quantity for pre-2009 projects. The plants commissioned after 2009 would receive coal on cost plus basis. These include the plants that have been commissioned or will be commissioned by March 31, 2015. These will receive 65% of the promised annual quantity on cost plus basis if these have signed power purchase agreements. We may note here that pre-2009 projects have a capacity of 65,185 megawatt and the post 2009 ones of 36,000 megawatt. This is expected to resolve the pricing issue which affects power generation in the country.
FMCG stocks are trading strong led by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Colgate. As per a leading daily, the parent company of HUL, Unilever Plc is planning to raise its stake in the Indian unit. Unilever plans to increase its stake to 75% by acquiring up to 487 m shares equaling 22.52% of the total equity of HUL. For this it would pay around US$ 5.4 bn. This would be the largest equity offer ever in the country. As per the management of Unilever, this is in line with their strategy to invest in emerging markets. India is Asia's third largest economy and spending power is on a rise here. Unilever wants to make the most of this opportunity. HUL makes popular brands including skin creams Fair and Lovely, Sunsilk shampoo, Lux soap and Kissan ketchup. The HUL stock is currently trading up by 15%.
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