Indian stock markets shed some initial gains but were still trading in the green over the last two hours of trade. Sectoral indices are trading mixed. FMCG and healthcare stocks are leading the gains while realty and banking stocks are on the losing end.
The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by 27 points and NSE-Nifty is trading flat. However, BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are trading lower by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. The rupee is trading at 56.02 to the US dollar.
Mining stocks are trading in the green led by NMDC Limited and MMTC Limited. According to a leading financial daily, Coal India has signed fuel supply agreements (FSA) with 27 power units. These include Adani's Mundra power plant in Gujarat, 6 units of Bajaj Hindustan, Lanco Anpara Power, Reliance Power's Rosa Power Project and CESC. We may recollect here that the government had issued a presidential directive to the coal company in April to supply coal to power companies. As per the directive, Coal India is supposed to supply fuel to 48 power units. Meanwhile, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is going to convene a meeting on Friday to discuss issues in the pact especially the penalty clause.
Steel stocks are trading in the red led by Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Jindal Saw. According to a leading financial daily, Tata Steel has once again shown interest in renewing the pact that it had signed with NMDC in 2010. The pact was for exploring possibilities of entering into a number of joint ventures for acquisition of mines and setting up steel plants. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Tata Steel and NMDC lapsed after two years on January 21 this year. The two companies plan to jointly address mining and steel-making opportunities. The agreement between NMDC and Tata Steel was supposed to be beneficial for both as the steel maker could get access to iron ore while NMDC would have benefited from the experience of Tata Steel's expertise in steel making.
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