Duty cut on set-top boxes boosts broadcasters' stocks
Kochi: Shares of select broadcasters and multi-system operators surged ahead on the Finance Ministry's notification on cutting duty on set-top boxes. Brokers said shares of companies such as Zee Telefilms, Hinduja TMT and Hathway Bhawani rallied sharply on the bourses on Thursday. As per the notification, the total incidence of duties will fall from 50.8 per cent to 5 per cent. There will be no countervailing duty or additional duties. This should substantially reduce the prices of these boxes. For instance, the Zee Telefilms owned multi-system operator, Siti Cable has been able to procure set-top boxes abroad for around Rs 2,600. Inclusive of import duty, the landed price in India would have been Rs 4,000. But with the new customs rate it will be Rs 2,730.

According to analysts, the most crucial point that the industry is looking at is that the move will result in bettor acceptance ratios, which in turn will impact TRPs positively. "Once CAS happens, broadcasters and distributors are confident that the money will become channelised. It will also ensure TRPs are not tampered with. Post the duty cut, an analogue box will be available for Rs 3,000 or less while a digital one will be available for between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000. Thus in terms of buying power, the reach is magnified," a leading sector analyst said. Zee Telefilms closed at Rs 82.30, up 2.24 per cent with around 48.87 lakh shares traded on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock closed at Rs 83.05, up 3.36 per cent with around 93.16 lakh shares traded. Hinduja TMT ended the day at Rs 193.80, up 6.51 per cent with around 5.37 lakh shares traded on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock closed at Rs 193, up 6.07 per cent with around 9.2 lakh shares traded. Hathway Bhawani hit the upper circuit and the stock closed at Rs 8.50, up 19.72 per cent with around 21,972 shares traded.
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Old economy stocks push Sensex up
Kochi: After conceding some ground to the new economy stocks on Wednesday, the old economy stocks regained their sheen on Thursday's trading. Bolstered by a sharp rally in old economy heavyweights such as Hindustan Lever, Reliance Industries and State Bank of India, the BSE Sensex appreciated by 33.79 points (or 1.08 per cent) to 3,164.25 points. The banking stocks continued to rule the roost following the recent decision by the Centre not to charge premium on the equity capital returned by banks. The gross turnover at the Exchange jumped to Rs 1,451.83 crore, up from Rs 1,295.38 crore on Wednesday's trading. The advances to declines ratio stood at 1.27, with 911 stocks appreciating in value while 712 stocks registered declines. The list of significant gainers continued to be populated with banking stocks such as Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Vijaya Bank. Of these, Allahabad Bank was the biggest gainer , with the stock appreciating by Rs 2.75 (or 14.8 per cent) to settle at Rs 21.25. The uptrend was sparked off by a huge upsurge in trading volumes from 7.27 lakh shares on Wednesday's trading to 28.85 lakh shares during the day.
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Backwardation in Tata Steel
Mumbai: The Tata Steel spot closed on Thursday at Rs 153.15 higher by 6.45 points. The June future closed at Rs 146.85, a discount of Rs 6.30 to the spot. The open interest jumped by 94.35 per cent. The unmatched order book evinced more of shorting the futures. Trading interest was concentrated around the May 990 call, the June 1000 call (both in-the-money). With the spot increasing the May 990 call, turned expensive, as the call would be exercised and cash settled being ITM. The option closed the day at Rs 11.25, gaining Rs 7.40 on Thursday. Among the puts, the May 990 put and the June 980 put were active. The June 980 put closed at Rs 10.10, losing value, as it was OTM. It lost Rs 3.85 as compared to Wednesday's close of Rs 13.95. Open interest jumped by 50.34 per cent. The spot Tata Engg closed the day at Rs 170.85, appreciating by Rs 4.80.
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Jain Irrigation perks up on MF buys
Mumbai: The counter of Jain Irrigation Systems has been seeing a lot of action on the bourses off late. According to dealers, two mutual funds were seen buying into the counter a few days ago and the interest seems to be continuing with the market buzzing with expectations of a `big corporate development'. Dealers also indicated that there has been speculation in the market about the management off loading some of its stake in the market and using the funds to pay off debt. The stock gained close to five per cent on BSE on Thursday, ending the day at Rs 61.55 with 81,769 shares being traded. On the NSE, it gained 3.73 per cent to close at Rs 61.20 with 24,066 shares traded.
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FII buying spree lifts GAIL
Mumbai: The stock of natural gas distributor GAIL India was in the limelight on the exchanges on Thursday touching new highs. Hectic trading at the counter was reflected in a substantial increase in both price and volumes on bourses on Thursday. Dealers attributed the rise to consistent FII buying. On Thursday's trade, a large domestic mutual fund was seen selling the company's shares, a large chunk, which is said to have been picked up by a Gulf-based FII. GAIL's share price jumped 8.35 per cent on the BSE to close at Rs 101.90 with 49.75 lakh shares traded. On the NSE, the stock climbed 8.77 per cent, closing the day at Rs 102.30 with 47.07 lakh shares being traded.
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SBI touches all-time high
Mumbai: The stock price of the country's largest commercial bank State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday touched its all-time high on the stock exchanges on heavy buying from domestic investors. The SBI stock touched the day's high of Rs 361.85 on the BSE and closed marginally lower at Rs 357.20, up 3.13 per cent. On the NSE too the stock touched a new high and closed the day at Rs 355.90, up 3.01 per cent. The stock touched its previous highest of Rs 358 on July 7, 1997. The stock began to trade actively after its IPO in 1994 even though it was listed before that. The volume in the counter also increased sharply today. On the BSE the total shares traded were 32.86 lakh and on the NSE, the volume stood at 80.65 lakh shares. Out of this, 11.47 per cent shares were for delivery on the BSE and 12.79 per cent on the NSE. The rise in the SBI stock price in today's trading was also attributed to a statement from Finance Ministry spokesperson that the Government is considering a proposal of removing bank's GDRs from the foreign investment limit of 20 per cent.
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Maruti IPO process begins on June 12
New Delhi: The first disinvestment deal this fiscal has been firmed up with auto major Maruti Udyog Ltd opening the books on June 12 for its much-awaited public offer for sale of 7.2 crore shares. The books will remain open for a week till June 19. During the initial public offering, the Government will sell 25 per cent of its residual 45 per cent stake in the joint venture car maker, now majority-controlled by Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), Government sources said. Maruti has a green-shoe option of retaining up to 10 per cent in case there is an oversubscription during the IPO. In such an event, the total sale could be for 7.95 crore shares, each having a face value of Rs 5.
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Rupee slips further; gilts fall
Mumbai: The rupee closed at a two-week low on Thursday, slipping to 47.0550/0650 following heavy dollar demand in the forex market, as compared to Wednesday's close at 46.98/99. The domestic currency opened the day at 46.99 - 47.01 levels. Forex traders attributed the demand for the greenbacks to the usual panic covering by corporates and banks towards the end of the month. "Importers too are covering on a cash basis. The demand for dollars is genuine and seems to be overwhelming the supplies at the moment,'' said a forex dealer with a private sector bank.
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