The Indian market opened in the red following negative start to SGX Nifty and major Asian Indices amid concerns that Cyprus’s bank restructuring plan will be used as a template for other European nations, imperiling bondholders and depositors. The US markets failed to sustain an early upward move and turned lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. The downturn came as traders digested news of a new bailout agreement for Cyprus and its potential ramifications for other debt plagued nations. The global markets reversed direction following comments made by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch Finance Minister, who stated that the Cyprus deal could become a template for resolving euro zone banking problems going forward. As a part of the bailout package, Cyprus has secured a EUR10bn bailout from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The terms of the bailout call for major reforms of the Cypriot banking system, including winding down of the nation's second largest bank Laiki. Meanwhile, Indian markets ended in the red for a seventh consecutive session as political uncertainty continued to weigh on the markets. Going ahead, traders are likely to keep an eye on developments on the global front including the release of US reports on durable goods orders, new home sales, and home prices.
The BSE Sensex fell for a seventh consecutive session on Monday to its lowest close in four months as blue chips, such as ICICI Bank, were hit by worries that other allies would remove support from the ruling coalition after the DMK party withdrew last week. Investors booked profits, mainly in capital goods, auto and metal stocks, ahead of the monthly expiry of the derivatives contract on Thursday. The BSE Sensex closed at 18,681.42, down 54.18 points, or 0.29 per cent. The broader 50-share NSE Nifty ended the day at 5,633.85, down 17.50 points, or 0.31 per cent. The Nifty has now posted its longest losing streak since November 2011 and is hovering just above its 200-day moving average, even as Asian markets rallied on Monday after Cyprus clinched a last minute bailout deal. Domestic factors continue to remain crucial for shares after the Reserve Bank of India last week stuck to its cautious stance on future rate cuts and key ally DMK withdrew from the ruling UPA coalition. The twin developments raised fears about economic growth and about the government's fiscal reforms agenda and are further weighing on the Nifty which is already down 4.6 per cent for the year. On the 30-share Sensex, 20 ended in the red. Auto stocks led the losses with Hero MotoCorp falling 2.42 per cent. Maruti fell 1.36 per cent, while M&M was down 1 per cent and Bajaj Auto fell 1.13 per cent. Tata Steel (2.28 per cent), L&T (2.19 per cent), Bharti Airtel (1.95 per cent) and GAIL (1.94 per cent) were the other top losers on the index. Wipro too extended loses to end 1.33 per cent lower. Banking stocks, which had rallied earlier in trade, slumped towards the end. ICICI Bank fell 1.5 per cent, while SBI ended down 1.22 per cent. However, HDFC Bank bucked the trend, gaining 0.7 per cent. State-owned ONGC was the biggest gainer on the Sensex, jumping over 4 per cent in intraday trade. It ended 2.96 per cent higher. NTPC, which jumped over 3 per cent in early trade, pared gains to end 2.04 per cent higher. HDIL (1.16 per cent), Dr Reddy's (0.77 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (0.72 per cent) were the other top gainers on the index. Sector-wise, capital goods suffered the most by losing 1.44 per cent to 8,992 followed by auto (0.78 per cent) to 10,036.25. The metal index lost 0.71 per cent at 8,564.01 and banking index fell 0.66 per cent to 12,781.91. The total market breadth continued its negative trend as 1,884 counters finished with losses while 1,028 closed with gains. The total market turnover declined further to Rs. 2,144.58 crore from Rs. 2,189.84 crore last Friday. The markets began the week on a positive note taking cues from Asian peers after Cyprus reached a 10-billion-euro bailout deal with international lenders. Back home, banking stocks rallied after the government announced easier norms for foreign investment in government debt. Oil stock also made gains after state-owned oil marketing company IndianOil announced a hike in diesel prices late Friday. However, political uncertainties in the UPA hit market sentiment and they headed lower in the second half of the trading day. Most analysts expect the markets to remain range-bound in the two remaining trading days of the week. There will be no trading on Wednesday (Holi) and Friday (Good Friday). Brokers said investors and funds reduced their holdings in a brief trading sessions this week, before the ending of monthly expiry in derivatives segment on Thursday. The selling pressure was strong enough to reduce the impact of a firming global trend as an overnight rescue deal between Cyprus and euro zone finance ministers lowered the nation's risk of default. Source: NDTV
TCS wins US$43mn contract from Norway Post
Software giant TCS today concluded a six-year, multi-million dollar deal to beef up postal services in Norway. The company did not specify the size of the deal with Norway Post. TCS said the contract would involve delivery of a wide range of application development and support services across Norway Post’s core portfolio of 55 applications. Norway Post delivers over 36 million packages and 2.2 billion letters every year. TCS has also been entrusted to co-ordinate and drive the overall transition and transformation programme across multiple vendors. The services will be delivered through its travel, transportation and hospitality group, which has developed significant capability in the post and parcel segments. “TCS is pleased to have been selected as a strategic partner,” said Amit Bajaj, head of North Europe at TCS. Meanwhile, Capgemini Norge AS, part of the Capgemini group, has also won an agreement with Norway Post for the delivery of application management and development of core applications. It said the agreement had a value of 34 million euros and would last throughout 2019. The contract builds on an innovative “as-a-service” commercial model where the costs will be adjusted based on the services that are provided. Capgemini will leverage its right shore approach using its delivery centres in Oslo in Norway, Helsingborg in Sweden, and Mumbai. Capgemini, which has already been working with Norway Post for more than 10 years, will act as its strategic partner to support Norway Post with its modernisation moves. Source: Calcutta Telegraph
Tamil Nadu blocks GAIL’s Kochi-Bengaluru pipeline
The Tamil Nadu Government is against GAIL running its Kochi-Bangalore natural gas pipeline across agricultural land in the State, said Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the Assembly on Monday. Responding to a calling-attention motion on the Central public sector enterprise’s project, she said the farmers in the seven districts the pipeline will traverse have expressed concern on the loss of livelihood. GAIL should align the pipeline along highways to avoid farmland and habitations, remove pipeline-related structures from the fields and restore them to original condition, and compensate farmers for the loss, said the Chief Minister. The pipeline runs for over 310 km in Tamil Nadu, covering Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri districts. Fair minded persons will not accept industrial growth coming at the expense of farmers being affected, the Chief Minister said. If a project will have an impact, then the impact, benefit and national good have to be assessed before a decision can be taken. It is on this basis that the State Government had thought deeply on the issue and decided that the pipeline should be aligned along the highways. This will make available the Liquefied Natural Gas to the industry and other consumers without affecting the farmers, she said. The Government’s announcement follows a series of Madras High Court-ordered public hearings it conducted following a petition by a farmers’ organisation. According to farmers’ representatives, in the court today, the Advocate General represented the State Government’s stand on the issue. The court has given time till April 2 for the Government to file its stand in writing. A GAIL spokesperson said, “We will not be able to comment” on the issue. A source familiar with the project, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the State Government’s stand stalls the Rs 3,263-crore project, with a planned length of 6,126 km of pipeline, carrying 16 mmscmd of gas. CROSS-COUNTRY The project has been aligned as a cross-country line under vacant and agricultural land taking the ‘shortest possible route’ as provided by the Petroleum and Minerals Pipeline Act, 1962, a Central legislation. In India, of the 12,000 km of pipeline for various projects, just about 25 km is aligned along highways as a ‘last resort,’ the source said. Globally too, this is the approach to gas pipelines as a highway alignment will mean more populated areas will be impacted. Such `high pressure’ pipelines `are never taken along the highway,’ the source added. In Tamil Nadu itself over 270 km of gas pipeline have been laid under other projects under agricultural land in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and other areas, the source said. Regarding the GAIL pipeline, the source said, as provided under the Act, the company acquired the Right-of-Use of a 20 metre breadth of land along the pipeline alignment under the Act. Once the line is laid the farmers get their land back with minimal restrictions. They are only not allowed to construct any permanent structures along the 20-m breadth of the pipeline. On the status of the project in Tamil Nadu, the source said about 20 km length has been graded and 10 per cent of the pipes transported to the sites and pipeline materials have been procured. Each pipe is about three tonnes and 11 metres long. The pipeline laying contract has also been awarded. A change in the alignment will mean the cost will treble as the project will need to be redesigned to bring in a different class of pipes. Also, the project planned to be completed in about a year will be delayed by more than three years, the source said. Also, the consumers – essentially industry which needs the fuel – will end up bearing the costs, the source said. It is a clean fuel and feedstock in demand across range of industries. The project had met with some resistance in Kerala and parts of Karnataka where compensation was hiked as appropriate. For instance, in Karnataka Gail has hiked the compensation for land six times as compared with its initial estimate particularly in urban centres like Tumkur. In Kerala there are issues in Calicut and Kannur which are being tackled. The gas pipeline project can only proceed with the cooperation of State Governments. Gail is worried that Tamil Nadu’s stand could set a precedent in other States. The Tamil Nadu Government’s stand has “very much surprised GAIL.” The company will now explore other legal options once the High Court passes an order, the source said. FARMERS WELCOME Farmers in the western districts of Tamil Nadu affected by the pipeline project have hailed the stand of the Chief Minister asking GAIL to take the pipeline along the highways instead of through agricultural land. Speaking to Business Line, V.T. Balasubramaniam, Coimbatore District President of the Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangham, said the Chief Minister had taken a ‘just decision’, which was welcome. Source: hindubusinessline
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