Indian share markets remain in green

Mon, 22 Jul 11:30 am

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Indian share markets have remained in green during the previous two hours of trade. The most noticeable upward movements have been witnessed in auto and banks' shares while oil and gas and consumer durables have witnessed some selling pressures.

The BSE-Sensex is up by 82 points and NSE-Nifty is up by 24 points. BSE Mid Cap is up by 0.6% and BSE Small Cap is up by 0.2%. The rupee is trading at 59.38 to the US dollar.

Except few, such as United Bank of India, UCO Bank and Union Bank, all PSU banks shares are trading in green with Bank of Baroda and Syndicate Bank leading the gains. According to a leading financial news medium, State Bank of India (SBI), the nation's largest lender, requires Rs 2300 bn as additional capital to meet the stringent BASEL III norms till 2018. Out of this amount, Rs 1500 bn is required for Tier I capital and Rs 800 bn as Tier II capital. BASEL III norms lay greater emphasis on buffers that can be utilised in times of difficulty. This will save the markets that are highly interconnected from any spill-over effects. At present, SBI is comfortable on the capital front but needs to beef up the capital base going ahead. According to the management, the capital raising should be timed appropriately as other banks too will be looking for capital raise. For FY14, SBI plans to mop up Rs 200 bn through government infusion, capital markets and internal accruals. Out of the Rs 1400 bn planned towards recapitalising nationalised banks this fiscal, SBI is likely to receive Rs 40 bn from the government. Currently, the government holding in the bank stands at 62% and there remains further scope to bring it down to 58% for the additional capital raise. SBI's capital adequacy stood at 12.9% as at the end of March 31st, 2013. Government has infused Rs 79 bn into the bank last fiscal. SBI's share is up by 0.4%.

Telecom shares are trading on a mixed note with ADC India Com and Himachal Futuristic leading the gains while AGC Networks and Reliance Communications are facing the maximum selling pressures. According to a leading financial news daily, Bharti Airtel, the telecom major, is set to launch an international fibre-optic cable link to boost internet speeds in Bangladesh. The company is also preparing to pitch for 3G airwaves that will be auctioned by the neighbouring country in early September. The Company has invested certain sums in a terrestrial fibre-optic cable link between India and Bangladesh to have the bandwidth in place. This will enable handling expected surge in data traffic in Bangladesh post the roll-out of 3G services. This new fibre-optic cable link will serve as a second international gateway to reinforce connectivity to Bangladesh. Besides, it is also expected to help route bilateral global voice and data traffic. Bangladesh market is home to some 103 mn mobile customers. Hence, the Company's wholly-owned Bangladesh arm, Airtel Bangladesh is likely to take 3G route to boost the Company's market share that is currently below 8%. This latest development comes at the right time and Bharti Airtel is expected to largely benefit. Bharti Airtel's share is down by 0.4%.