Indian stock markets open firm

Mon, 30 Apr 09:30 am

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   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

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Asian stock markets have opened the day on a mixed note with stock markets in Indonesia (down 0.4%) and Singapore (down 0.1%) leading the losses. However, markets in Hong Kong (up 1.1%) and Malaysia (up 0.3%) are trading firm. The Indian stock markets have also opened the day on a firm note. Stocks in the realty and IT space are leading the gains.

The BSE-Sensex is up by 119 points (0.7%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 35 points (0.7%). Mid cap and small cap stocks are also trading in the green, with the BSE Mid cap and BSE Small cap indices up by 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 52.53 to the US dollar.

Telecom stocks have opened the day on a firm note with Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices leading the gains. Idea Cellular has declared its fourth quarter (4QFY12) and full year (FY12) results for financial year 2011-2012. The company saw its net sales increase by 26% YoY during the quarter. The growth was driven by the growth in total minutes of usage (MOU) on an absolute basis. Total minutes on the network increased by 21.9% YoY during the quarter. The realized rate per minute stood at 42.2 paise per minute. This was higher than the 40.6 paise realized during the same period last year but lower than the 43.3 paise realized during the previous quarter (3QFY12). Operating margins improved marginally to 21.8% during the quarter as compared to 21.4% during the same period last year. This was on account of lower network operating expenses which offset the increase in license and WPC charges as well as higher roaming and access charges during the quarter (all as a percentage of sales). Net profits for the quarter declined by 25.8% YoY. This was on account of higher tax expenses as well as higher interest costs during the quarter. For FY12, net sales grew by 25.6% YoY while net profits declined by 31.7% YoY.

Auto stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) and Ashok Leyland leading the losses. Maruti Suzuki has announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 2012 (4QFY12). Net sales for the quarter rose by 17.5% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 114.9 bn. The growth was led by 5% YoY rise in number of cars sold, while realisations were higher by 12% YoY. However, operating margins dropped by 2.8% YoY to 7.5% in 4QFY12. Other income was higher by 46.4% YoY at close to Rs 3 bn. At the bottomline level, net profits dropped by 3% YoY to Rs 6.4 bn.