Most major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a weak note with stock markets in Taiwan (down 1.1%), South Korea (down 1%) and Hong Kong (down 0.8%) leading the losses in the region. The Indian share market indices have opened the day on a weak note. Stocks in the oil & gas and FMCG space are leading the pack of losers. However, information technology (IT) stocks are trading firm.
The Sensex today is down by around 118 points (0.6%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 39 points (0.7%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the red with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices down by around 0.3% each. The rupee is trading at Rs 55.15 to the US dollar.
Information technology stocks have opened the day on a firm note with Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro leading the gains. Leading Indian IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced that its new software development campus at Rajarhat, West Bengal will be functional by the end of the financial year 2014-15 (FY15). Spread over an area of 40 acres, the construction of the campus will require an investment of about Rs 13.5 bn. It is said that the campus will be built in two phases. The first phase is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014, whereas the second phase will be completed by the fourth quarter of the year. In all, the campus will house about 16,500 seats. This new campus at Rajarhat will feature a world-class and holistic work environment. The company plans to build the centre as an eco-friendly building to cut down on its carbon footprint.
Auto stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Maharashtra Scooters and Tata Motors trading in the red. As per a leading financial leading, the board of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has given its loss making truck subsidiary, Mahindra Navistar Automotive Ltd (MNAL), three years to turn around. This development follows the US joint venture partner Navistar's decision to sell off its stake in MNAL for Rs 1.75 bn. It must be noted that MNAL entered the market close to two and half years ago. But the entity has managed to sell just over 6,000 units in the highly competitive commercial vehicle space. So far, about Rs 10.66 bn have been invested in the joint venture (Rs 5.2 bn by M&M and Rs 5.46 bn by Navistar) and accumulated losses stand at Rs 6.92 bn. M&M has said that it will invest another Rs 2-3 bn in the entity to turn it around.
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