Indian share markets open in green

Thu, 2 May 09:30 am

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   11:30 am   

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The major Asian stock markets have opened on a mixed note with Singapore (up 0.3%) and Taiwan (up 0.9%) leading the pack of gainers. However, Japan (down 0.6%) and South Korea (down 0.4%) were leading the losses. The Indian share markets indices have opened the day on a positive note. While stocks from the software and capital goods sectors are leading the gains, those form the FMCG and auto spaces are leading the losses.

The Sensex today is up by around 66 points (0.3%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 23 points (0.4%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices up by around 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 53.68 to the US dollar.

Energy stocks have opened the day in the green with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Essar Oil Ltd leading the gains. As per a leading financial daily, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) US$ 5 bn deal to acquire ConocoPhillips' stake in a Kazakhstan oil field may fall through as India has not been able to convince the Central Asian nation to approve the deal. Kashagan is a Caspian Sea field set to produce 370,000 barrels of oil a day. It is likely to start output by September, eight years later than initially planned and with costs nearing US$ 46 bn, double the earlier estimates. As per the industry sources, ONGC may lose this opportunity since the Indian government has not put in enough efforts to push the deal through, unlike that in China. As such, Kazakhstan is considering exercising its pre-emption rights to buy ConocoPhillips's 8.4 % stake in the country's biggest oilfield, Kashagan, before selling it to a Chinese firm. It is important to note here that while the deal was struck in the end of November, 2012, the Cabinet has not yet approved the transaction.

Stocks of Private sector banks have also opened the day mainly in the green with Dhanlaxmi Bank and HDFC Bank leading the gains. ING Vysya Bank Ltd has announced the financial results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2013. The total income for the quarter saw a growth of 15.6% on a year on year (YoY) basis. The net profits for the quarter were up 33.7% YoY. The growth in the bottomline was mainly on account of healthy improvement in asset quality. As for the full year (FY13), the total income and net profits were up 23.5% YoY and 34.3% YoY respectively. For FY13, the net was boosted by fee income. The bank's net interest income rose 27 % YoY. For the full year, the net interest margin stood at 3.52 %, up from 3.30% in FY12. As per the management, the bank has focused on optimising its asset mix in the March quarter to meet the new priority sector lending norm.