Mar. 13, 2009 (The Hindu Business Line) --
Banks, FMCG and realty stocks came under heavy selling pressure on Monday as FIIs continue to offload their holdings. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty fell close to two per cent as the weak Asian markets and the two day local holidays ahead dampened the market sentiment.
The Sensex closed at a three-year low of 8,160, with a loss of 165 points while the Nifty closed at 2,573 with a loss of 47 points.
Satyam (NYSE:SAY) Computer has set March 20 as the deadline for prospective investors to submit Expression of Interest (EoI) to pick 51 per cent equity in the company. Ending weeks of deliberations and uncertainty, the company also fixed 12th March, as the outer limit for investors to register to get Request-for-Proposal (RFP) comprising terms and conditions for the bid process.
Sterlite Industries has signed a new agreement with copper mining company Asarco of the US to buy its operating assets for $1.7 billion. This deal is viewed as an opportunity for geographic diversification in the US market by Sterlite, which is a subsidiary of London-based Vedanta Resources.
Earlier last year, the company made an offer for $2.6 billion which it subsequently withdrew in October due to drastic fall in copper prices at the London Metal Exchange.
As per the new bid, Sterlite will make an upfront payment of $1.1 billion in cash. The balance amount will be staggered over nine years and will be paid through the earnings generated by Asarco.
The $600 million will be paid with annual instalments of $20 million from the end of the second year for seven years and a terminal payment of $460 million.
Hundreds of sub-brokers are in a quandary. Tax authorities have served notices on them asking for payment of service tax for the last four years.
The arrears and penalty together run into crores of rupees and in the current market conditions, this could drive many of them out of business, said a stockbroker.
However, brokers say, since sub-brokers do not directly issue bills and collect payments from clients, they are not registered with the Service Tax Department. They are registered with the main broker and the service taxes on brokerages are collected and paid by the main broker.
The Indian bourses opened on Thursday with a positive gap on the back of strong US markets recovery. Although selling pressure emerged in the fag end of the session, the Sensex gained 183 points and closed at 8344, while the Nifty rose 44 points to finish at 2617.
The annual rate of inflation eased further to 2.43% for the week ended 28th February against 3.03% reported in the previous week.
With the deadline for registering ending on Thursday, L&T, Tech Mahindra (OOTC:TMHAF) and Spice Corp have announced their intention to join the race for majority stake in Satyam Computer Services.
Bharti Airtel's share price sheds 6.37 per cent on Thursday to close at Rs 550.30 on the BSE after the company's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Manoj Kohli, sold his entire personal stake.
Mr Kohli had sold 1.23 lakh shares in two tranches - on 6th March 6 and 9th March - for over Rs 7.20 crore. The move sparked off concerns about the company's health, adding to the prevailing negative sentiments, after the telecom regulator dropped termination charges.
The benchmark Sensex registered its highest gain in the current calendar year on Friday, up by a whopping 413 points and finished at 8757, on the back of fresh buying in blue-chips and short-covering by operators. The broad-based Nifty also closed higher by 102 points to 2,719.
Compiled by S Vasudevan
Podcast by M. J. Madhavan
