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Sensex
crosses 5,500 Markfed
proposes cotton export to Pak via Wagah Agilent
new centre in Gurgaon |
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ONGC
may buy stake in Angola Internet
firm sues Microsoft
Alto,
Indica, Bajaj bag BBC Wheels awards Raids
against misuse of ISI mark Bank
loan to SSIs at prime lending rates
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Sensex crosses 5,500
Mumbai, December 19 Dealers said the market opened on a sharply positive note and surged higher in the early trade on buying on counters of blue-chip technology companies following an overnight rally in the tech-laden Nasdaq stock exchange. The buying interest also spread to select old economy stocks in the intra-day trade on hopes most of the traditional companies would report robust earnings growth in the quarter ended December 31, 2003. Sensex closed at 5,541.35, representing a gain of 86.35 points or 1.58 per cent over its previous session's close. "The crossing of the 5,500 mark after nearly 45 months comes as a great boost for investors. There is a great deal of optimism in the market that the index will touch new heights in the days to come," said a market analyst. "Today's market rally was fuelled by hopes that foreign fund inflows into the Indian bourses will continue unabated in 2004 as well with foreign fund managers betting on a sharp economic rebound in the current fiscal." Foreign fund investors have made huge investments in the market in recent months on hopes of a sharply higher economic growth in the year ending March 31, 2004 boosted by improved agriculture production and industrial activity. Despite speculations that the foreign fund inflows would taper off towards the end of the year as majority of overseas equity managers go on yearend holidays, money is pouring into the trading ring unabated. Overseas funds have, so far, pumped in over $6 billion worth of investments in the Indian equity market in the current calendar, making the local stock markets one of the best performers in the Asian region. Dealers said buying was observed almost across the board today. Old economy stocks traded higher in anticipation of yet another impressive financial quarter, while tech shares rose following overnight gains in the US markets. In the old economy sector, Larsen and Toubro gained 8.3 per cent to touch Rs.498.25 on speculations that a proposed sell off of its cement division will get official approvals shortly. Shares of Grasim Industries rose 2.8 per cent to Rs.978 and ACC closed with a gain of 1.2 per cent at Rs.230.65 on fresh institutional buying interest. Other major gainers in the sector included Cipla, Ranbaxy Laboratories, ONGC, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Hero Honda Motors, and Hindustan Lever. In the technology sector, Infosys Technologies gained 2.6 per cent to touch Rs.5,255.85 after the company on Thursday acquired Australia-based Expert Information Services for $22.9 million. Satyam Computer ended nearly one per cent higher at Rs.354.65 and Wipro closed with a gain of 1.2 per cent at Rs.1,699.60 on selective buying
interest. — IANS
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Markfed proposes cotton export to Pak via Wagah Chandigarh, December 19 “A proposal is being sent to the Union Government to open the Wagah border for
transportation of cotton to Pakistan from Punjab because the route will be shorter and save transportation costs,’’ Markfed Managing Director S S Channey said here today. Pakistan is importing cotton this year due to less production as compared to previous years. The expected consumption in Pakistan is around 121 lakh bales whereas the estimated production is around 97 lakh bales which shows that the country has a gap of around 24 lakh bales, Mr Channey said. After a long time, Punjab had a good cotton crop this year. The production of cotton in the state is estimated at around 12.90 lakh bales as against 8.00 lakh (170 kg each). Punjab becomes uncompetitive on the export front solely due to freight and high transportation costs. The bales have to be first sent to Mumbai then Karachi before reaching the mills in northern Pakistan near Lahore, which is actually closer to the Wagah Border. The state can export cotton via the Wagah border at a very low transportation cost and taking little delivery time which is very important because the market for cotton remains fluctuating. As there is no ban on trade activities between the two
countries, export of cotton through the Wagah border will be more beneficial for Punjab farmers as well as for the traders and millers in Pakistan due to lower carrying charges, he said. To extend market support and more remunerative prices to the farmers, the exports by road will be very useful. This will help in providing better prices to the farmers and bring more area under cotton cultivation, encouraging crop
diversification, Mr Channey added. Many countries, including Pakistan, are showing keen interest in cotton import and they made enquiries even before the arrival of the crop in Gujarat and the northern belt. Mr Channey said this year cotton production in India is expected between 165 to 170 lakh bales against 136 lakh bales (approximately) during last year. The major contribution towards the increase will be from the Northern zone, which will produce around 28 lakh bales against last year’s production of 18 lakh bales.
— UNI |
Agilent new centre in Gurgaon New Delhi, December 19 Agilent Technologies International, which is the first IT-enabled services organisation of the NYSE-listed company, already has a centre in Gurgaon with over 700 professionals working on back-end financial processing, intranet development, engineering support, IT support and R and D. The second centre will provide additional support to Agilent businesses worldwide. The new centre will house the software development team involved in the development of software products that are either embedded in or supplied with the company’s technology equipment in the areas of communication and electronics. Agilent Technologies Inc Vice-President and General Manager, Global Sourcing, Anita Manwani said at the inaugural function, “Based on our first services centre in Gurgaon, we are expanding our operations here. India is increasingly becoming an important location on our global map and with the availability of a large pool of high-skill professionals, more and more work is expected to come to India.”
— UNI |
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ONGC may buy stake in Angola
New Delhi, December 19 “OVL is talking to Shell Development Angola, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch/Shell, for acquiring stake in the British oil major BP-operated 2,00,000 barrels per day Greater Plutonio project (also known as Block 18) off Angola,” industry sources said. BP holds the remaining 50 per cent stake in the block which has six fields — Plutonio, Cobalto, Paladio, Cromio, Galio and Platina. Block 18 is estimated to hold between 750
million and 1 billion barrels of oil. In addition, two recent exploration wells — Cesio and Chumbo — are estimated to hold 60 million barrels of oil. The sources said Shell had opened data rooms in Houston and Rijswijk in the Netherlands for companies interested in picking up its stake in Angola. Besides OVL, Petronas of Malaysia too is reported to be interested in the oil field. Shell, which holds 15 per cent stake in
deep-sea block 34 and 10 per cent in block 21, has called for price bids by January 16, 2004, from interested companies. First oil from Block 18 is targeted for 2007. OVL is also in talks with Gulf Petroleum Corp and the al-Thani group for acquiring their 11 per cent stake in Block 3 and 7 in Sudan. Besides, the company is also talking to CNCP of China for a stake in its Block 6, which is estimated to hold one billion barrels of oil reserves.
— PTI |
| Internet firm sues Microsoft Seattle, December 19 In an antitrust complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, California, RealNetworks claimed that Microsoft “pursued a broad course of predatory conduct over a period of years by abusing its monopoly power, resulting in substantial loss of revenue and business for RealNetworks.’’ RealNetworks is seeking more than a billion dollars in damages and unspecified injunctive relief measures. RealNetworks said its lawsuit was complementary to an ongoing European Commission investigation into Microsoft’s activity involving media-playing software and that it was cooperating with the EC.
Windows 2000 Server software to retire Los Angeles: Microsoft, the developer of the Windows 2000 Server, has decided to gradually phase out the software almost four years after its was launched, reports Xinhua. Effective April 1, 2006, the products will no longer be available, according to a posting on Microsoft Website. The phase-out schedule does not change support plans for Windows Server 2000. Microsoft will end mainstream support on March 31, 2005, and extended support on March 31, 2007. Windows Server 2003, the successor to Windows 2000 Server, was introduced eight months ago.
— Reuters, IANS |
Alto, Indica, Bajaj bag BBC Wheels awards New Delhi, December
19 The Alto LX pipped home brands Maruti 800 models as well Fiat’s Uno to grab the top spot in the below Rs 3 lakh car while the best car award in the Rs 3-5 lakh category was taken by Tata’s Indica DLX which beat other contenders like the Zen, Fiat
Palio, Opel Corsa and Ford Ikon. According to Niret Alva, presenter and car reviewer on Wheels, extensive reviews, customer and viewer feedback as well as a model’s technological
advances were among the important criteria in selecting the winners. Ford’s higher-end model, the Ikon 1.6 NXT
SXI, was adjudged the best car in the Rs 5-8 lakh category where it performed better in the judging parameters than other models like Hyundai Accent
CRDi, Honda City and Tata Indigo LX. General Motors’ Chevorlet Optra won the award in the Rs 8-12 lakh section beating the likes of Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Sonata and Skoda Octavia while the Honda Accord was the winner in the Rs 12-20 lakh segment. In the luxurious Rs 20 lakh and above segment, Mercedes S 350L was
adjudged the best
car. Mahindra’s Scorpio Diesel 4WD was voted the best SUV under Rs 10 lakh by the Wheels team while the Ford Endeavour came out tops in the above Rs 10 lakh segment, beating models like Honda CRV and Grand
Vitara. The best bike in the Rs 30,000-40,000 range was TVS Victor GL while LML Freedom DLX was the best in the Rs 40,000-45,000 segment. Bajaj Pulsar was the best in the Rs 45,000-55,000 segment ahead of models like Yamaha Enticer, Hero Honda CBZ and Kinetic Laser while the Hero Honda Karizma was the best in the over Rs 70,000 segment, ahead of the Royal Enfield and Kinetic
Aquila. — UNI |
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Raids against misuse of ISI mark Chandigarh, December 19 Shiva Cementech was found engaged in illegal manufacturing of cement which was being sold under the brand names “AGC Cement”-35 MPA, “Birla Uttam”-43 Grade and “Laxmi Cement”-43 Grade. About 250 cement bags were seized. Himalaya Cement Corpn was found selling cement under the brand names “ACC” and “Shakti”. Eighty bags of cement of 50 kg each were seized. Also 50 bags of cement of J.K. Power with imitations of ISI mark along with 23 empty new cement bags were seized during the raids. The bureau also conducted raid against Manoj Electric Industries, Jalandhar. |
Bank loan to SSIs at prime lending rates New Delhi, December 19 “The banks have agreed to make credit available to the small and tiny sector entrepreneurs at prime lending rates as applicable from January 1,” Union Small Scale Industries Minister C P Thakur said after a meeting with country’s 30 bankers here. There would not be any sub-PLRs for the SSI sector, he said, adding that the banks had also agreed to set up a separate technical section to assist small entrepreneurs and spread awareness about the existing facilities for them. Thakur, quoting Banking Secretary S S Sisodia who was present at the meeting, said there is an urgent need to bring labour reforms as the present rules and inspector raj provisions hamper the growth of the sector.
— PTI |
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MRF payout at 200 pc
Mumbai, December 19 Informing the BSE, the company said the total income (net of excise) had increased from Rs 482.69 crore for SQ-02 to Rs 603.43 crore in SQ-03. It has posted a net profit of Rs 117.38 crore for the year ended September 30, 2003 (FY-03), as compared to Rs 78.46 crore for the year ended September 30, 2002 (FY-02). The total income (net of excise) has increased from Rs 1,836.76 crore in FY-02 to Rs 2,192.76 crore in FY-03. Meanwhile, the Board of Directors MRF at its meeting held today had re-designated Joint Managing Director Arun Mammen as Managing Director of the company from April 01, 2004. The Directors had recommended a final dividend of 140 per cent on the paid-up capital as on September 30, 2003. The company has
already declared and paid two interim dividends of 30 per cent each for the year, thus aggregating to a total dividend of 200 per cent for the year.
— UNI |
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Corpn Bank ties up with IndusInd Inflation rises IT man of 2003 Wi-Fi laptops M&M awarded Electrolux oven SAIL growth Jet the best HDFC branch |
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