Index Trends & Stocks In Action For 13th March 2013

The Indian markets saw a volatile trading session on Tuesday. Indices slipped to the lowest level intraday during the afternoon session as higher-than-expected February retail inflation numbers let down traders and investors. Though a mild recovery was seen, the Nifty closed at 5914, down by 0.48%. Going forward, the Nifty has an immediate resistance at around 5955. A second hurdle comes in at 5975-5980. Support levels for the Nifty stand at 5880-5830.

Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported its February 2013 global sales figures at 26855 units. This marks a robust 3% rise as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Sales saw an increase in the markets of Asia Pacific, North America, UK and Europe. Chinese markets saw a slump as the Chinese New Year fell in February this year and in January in 2012. This is likely to result in upward movement in the stock price of Tata Motors.

NMDC is looking to garner about Rs 8000 crore to Rs 10000 crore from a 50% sale in its upcoming three million tonne per annum plant in Chhattisgarh. India currently depends on imports for high-end steel products like CRGO and CRNO. To be able to manufacture these grades, NMDC has been looking for a strategic partner. The process for selecting a strategic partner has begun and is expected to progress soon. This is likely to result in volatility in the stock prices of NMDC.

Tata Steel, through its subsidiary Tata Steel Minerals Canada (TSMC), has entered into a 30 million Canadian dollar pact with Labrador Iron Mines Holdings that includes the transfer of 51% stake in one of the deposits owned by the latter. TSMC would further have the option to increase stake to 70% for an additional consideration of Canadian dollar 25 million. The Labrador Trough is a 1100 km long, 160 km wide iron ore bed in the Labrador Quebec region in Canada, which has delivered over two billion tonnes of ore in last 50 years and has attracted mining investments of USD 15 billion from leading global companies, said Business Standard. Stock prices of Tata Steel are expected to see volatility today.

ONGC will sign an agreement to conduct feasibility of setting up an LNG terminal at Mangalore with an initial capacity of 2-3 million tonnes and expandable to 5 million tonnes. While the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has given a nod to carry out the feasibility studies, the MoU would be signed by ONGC, BPCL, Mitsui of Japan and NMPT. The commissioning is expected to take place in around 2018. Stock prices of ONGC are likely to see some upward movement today.