Indian stocks to watch-Jan 8

GLOBAL MARKETS ROUNDUP     
    * Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange was flat.
The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan was
down 0.3 percent.       
    * Asian shares steadied on Tuesday but prices were capped by
investor caution ahead of corporate earnings season for the last
quarter of 2012 and the European Central Bank's policy meeting
later in the week.    
    * U.S. stocks lost ground on Monday, as investors drew back
from recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year
high, in anticipation of sluggish growth in corporate profits.
   
       
    EVENTS TO WATCH   
    * The Supreme Court is likely to order more mining after it
allowed eight iron ore mines to re-start operations in the
southern Indian state in early September
       
    INDIAN STOCKS TO WATCH
For additional press items double click 
NOTE: Reuters has not verified third-party stories and does not
vouch for their accuracy.
    
    FINANCIAL/REGULATORY
    * The Indian government is likely to approach parliament
next month to water down retrospective tax rules that damaged
investor confidence, two finance ministry officials said on
Monday, a move that may help settle British-based Vodafone Group
Plc's long-running $2 billion tax dispute. (Reuters)
 
    * Finance minister P Chidambaram has said that the difficult
phase for the economy is over and that the focus should now
shift to higher growth. (Economic Times)
here
    * The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday it has relaxed
overseas borrowing limits for infrastructure finance companies,
a move that will enable companies in the investment-hungry
sector to raise funds more easily. (Reuters) 
    * India's central bank allowed less than one-year debt
securities to be included as underlying securities for repo in
corporate bonds and credit default swaps (CDS), a measure aimed
at boosting the corporate bond market. (Reuters) 
    * The government may opt to sell stake in the now
state-owned financial institution IFCI Ltd  after it
revamps the company's board, a ministry official source said.
(Economic Times)
here
    * The Central Board of Excise and Customs has issued an
order making it mandatory for companies to pay indirect taxes
even if a stay plea is pending before an appellate body, a move
some industry representatives describe as "draconian". (Economic
Times)
here
    
    ENERGY/COMMODITIES
    * The KG-D6 block operated by Reliance Industries Ltd
  may not be able to produce more than 40-50 million
standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) natural gas without new
discoveries, a significant drop from earlier estimates, company
sources said. (Business Line)
here
    * Reliance Industries (chairman Mukesh Ambani and his close
friend Anand Jain, co-promoters of Navi Mumbai Special Economic
Zone (NMSEZ), plan to denotify the 2,140-hectares SEZ land and
develop the same as an IT park and an integrated township, an
unidentified source told Times of India. (Times of India)
toi.in/nsWW1a
  
    TECH
    * American Express Co, which outsources projects
worth nearly $1 billion a year to India, has stopped giving
fresh work to its software vendors in the country, said
executives at the software exporters who declined to be
identified. (Mint)
here
    
    TELECOMS
    * An appeal by Russian conglomerate Sistema's 
Indian mobile phone unit challenging a Supreme Court order last
year to revoke its cellular permits awarded in a scandal-tainted
sale is due to come up for hearing on Thursday, the court's
website showed. (Reuters) 
    
    PHARMA
    * The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the government on
a plea that licences for sale and marketing of Gardasil and
Crevarix, vaccines for prevention of cervical cancer, should be
revoked as the drugs are "unsafe" and the permits were granted
without adequate research. 
    Gardasil and Crevarix are being marketed in India by MSD
Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline Plc
, respectively. (Economic Times)
here
    * Financial institutions, led by Life Insurance Corporation,
have declined to participate in the open offer made by
GlaxoSmithKline for its Indian subsidiary GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Healthcare, terming the 3900 rupees-a-share
offer unattractive, institutional sources said. (Business
Standard)
    
    RETAIL
    * Diageo's mandatory tender offer to buy up to 26
percent of shares in India's United Spirits has been
postponed as the deal has yet to receive local regulatory
approvals, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on
Monday. (Reuters) 
    * Marico Ltd  plans to split its services business
Kaya into a separate listed firm,  chairman Harsh Mariwala said,
in a move that could help improve valuations of the parent
company that has been weighed down by the weak performance of
its services arm. (Economic Times)
here
    
    AUTOS
    * Bajaj Auto Ltd  on Monday launched yet another
100 cc motorcycle, the Discover 100 T, at the upper end of the
mass market segment, pricing at 50,500 rupees in New Delhi.
(Economic Times)
here
    
    AIRLINES
    * Lenders to bankrupt Kingfisher Airlines have decided to
take legal action against the airline company for its failure to
repay over 70 billion rupees debt despite repeated reminders,
banking sources said. (Economic Times)
here
    
    DEFENCE
    Europe's Airbus said on Monday it had beaten
Russian competition to be selected as the preferred bidder to
supply six A330 aerial refueling tankers to India. (Reuters)

Posted in: STOCKS TO WATCH