Technical snag hits NSE trading
Mumbai: A technical snag since morning hit the trading on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday. Stock brokers said the exchange closed its trading between 11.25 a.m. and 12.45 p.m. But brokers said there was technical problem since morning with most of the brokers not able to log-on to their trading system when the market opened.

The technical snag resulted in fall in turnover on the NSE's cash and derivatives market segment. On the cash segment, the turnover was Rs 2,531 crore compared to BSE turnover of Rs 2,489 crore. Normally turnover on NSE is more than double of BSE. Similarly, the turnover on derivatives segment was Rs 6,205 crore compared to average turnover of over Rs 10,000 crore.

Despite technical snag, the exchange did not extend the trading hours and the market closed at its usual time at 3.30 p.m.
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Apollo Hospitals hits new intra-day high
Chennai: The stock of Apollo Hospitals gained sharply on Monday to hit a new intra-day high on the bourses on the back of sustained investment-based buying.

Apart from market perception of a pick-up in the healthcare segment, brokers attribute the upside to a run up preceding the company's announcement of its financial performance before or on November 30. "The stock should easily touch Rs 200 levels in the near term,'' sources said.

As per market talk, fund interest apart, a leading bull operator has been mopping up shares at this counter. The stock has appreciated by 86 per cent from its low of Rs 90.95 as on April 1 on the BSE. It witnessed an intra-day high of Rs 179.80 on the BSE and Rs 175 on the NSE on Monday.
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Eveready on a high
Kolkata: The Eveready Industries' stock on Monday remained in the upper freeze of 20 per cent at close on the major bourses. There were a few block deals in the counter on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. On the BSE, the stock recorded five block deals involving a total of 63,220 shares and on the NSE, it had one block deal of 38,136 shares.

During the July-September quarter, though the sales of the company declined by 1.1 per cent, the net profit improved by 6 per cent. After adjustment for exceptional items, the net profit was up by 43.5 per cent. The stock on Monday closed at its 52-week high at Rs 36.05 (Rs 30.05). The Eveready counter attracted a traded quantity of 5.65 lakh shares on the BSE and 4.66 lakh shares on the NSE. Some 59.37 per cent of the traded shares on the NSE were presented for delivery.
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BPCL mulls IPO for Numaligarh Refinery
Mumbai: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is considering a public issue of equity shares of its subsidiary, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), a company source has said. The plan is to dilute part of the 61.5 per cent equity of BPCL in the company.

"BPCL is looking at a public offering of NRL equity in the market to encourage investors in the North-East to invest in the refinery," the source said.He did not give details of the size of the IPO but said the issue was one of the routes being considered for funding NRL's upcoming projects. The 3-million-tonne refinery has seen an improved throughput this year, with higher availability of crude from the Ravva field.

NRL will require monies to fund a number of projects such as setting up a naphtha hydrotreating plant for converting naphtha into petrol at an investment of around Rs 300-350 crore. It also plans an entry into marketing of transport fuels by setting up retail outlets (ROs); it has Government approval for 510 ROs.

In addition, the company is also setting up its Rs 650-crore 165-km Numaligarh-Siliguri product pipeline for moving fuels to the target markets. The refinery will see funds flow in through another source, Oil India Ltd (OIL). The upstream major plans to increase its presence in the downstream sector by raising its stake in NRL from 12.5 per cent to 26 per cent.

NRL is referred to as the "Assam accord" refinery since it was the result of a political decision to promote industrialisation in the State. The refinery has suffered in the past because of lower crude supplies coupled with lower demand for petroleum products in the North-East.
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Sweetening up
Mumbai: Sugar company stocks were attracting investors on Monday, reportedly on the news that oil companies have opened a new tender for supply of ethanol. Besides, petroleum retailers have begun supplying ethanol-mixed petrol all over Maharashtra and Goa since last month.

Until now, the supply was restricted to a few towns and cities. Ethanol is produced from molasses, a by-product of sugar mills that usually went waste. Mandatory introduction of ethanol-blended petrol, which is said to be environment-friendly, in nine States, has opened up a new market and a source of more revenue for sugar mills.

At present ethanol prices are ruling near Rs 22-23 per litre. According to market sources, sugar companies are likely to immensely benefit in the current quarter from ethanol sales. Stocks of major producers such as Bannariamman Sugar, Balrampur Chini, Rajshree Sugar, Dhampur Sugar, and Sakthi Sugar all rose between 10 and 20 per cent today. Volumes too surged in these counters.
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Rupee a tad lower; gilts range-bound
Mumbai: The rupee closed about two paise lower on Monday at 45.2850/2950 in its value against the dollar. On Friday, the domestic currency has closed at 45.2600/2650.
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