Indian Equity markets remain firm

Tue, 7 May 11:30 am

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

   Closing   

Indian equity markets have remained firm during the previous two hours of trade. Realty and healthcare are leading the pack of winners while metals and consumer durables have faced the maximum selling pressures.

The BSE-Sensex is up by 104 points and NSE-Nifty is up by 32 points. BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.61% while BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.54%. The rupee is trading at 54.25 to the US dollar.

IT shares are trading in the green with the exceptions of Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd. According to a leading financial news medium, Tech Mahindra has launched Tech Mahindra South Africa in partnership with Falcorp. The newly formed company will be a Level 3 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowered (B-BBEE) company. Tech Mahindra South Africa will help create local job opportunities and invest heavily in skills development and employment equity over a period of 6-12 months. A dedicated Talent Exchange Program for the transfer of skills between India and South Africa will also be initiated. Building on its commitment to bring the latest solution to the market, Tech Mahindra will bring its full range of Network and Mobility offerings to the African ICT sector. The offering of analytics for any business application including mobility, cloud and security solutions also forms part of its strategy. Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry with a majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra. Tech Mahindra's share is trading up by 1.22%.

Mining shares are trading in the red with the exceptions of Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India Ltd. (MMTC) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC). According to a leading financial news daily, the government is looking to launch a Rs 200 bn share sale by divesting 10% equity in Coal India, which would single-handedly meet half of this year's disinvestment target and is expected to be complete by September 2013. An inter-ministerial group (IMG) of secretaries would meet on Wednesday to finalise the terms for appointment of merchant bankers and legal advisors. The government is going to appoint intermediaries by this month-end and expects to complete the sale process by September. The government is looking at divesting a small part of the 10% stake through buyback of shares, in case Coal India initiates the process. Under the existing buyback norms, a company can buy back shares equivalent to 25% of its own net worth on a standalone basis. In case Coal India opts for a buyback, it can only do so up to Rs 45bn, which would be enough to purchase a tad over 2% of its equity. Coal India's share is trading down by 1.5%.