STOCK TO WATCH - FEB 18

GLOBAL MARKETS ROUNDUP  
    * Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.05 
percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan  
 fell 0.21 percent.        
    * Japanese shares rallied and the yen fell on
Monday after Tokyo escaped direct criticism from its G20 peers
on its aggressive reflationary plans that have weakened the
currency. 
    * The S&P 500 dipped in a late decline on Friday as
Wal-Mart Stores Inc dropped following a report of a weak
start to February sales, though the index just barely extended
its streak of weekly gains to seven. 
  
    FACTORS TO WATCH  
    * UK Prime Minister David Cameron arrives in India for
official visit
    
    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
    * India's central bank chief struck a hawkish note on
Saturday and said there are upside risks to inflation from food
and commodity prices, while room for monetary easing is limited.
(Reuters) 
    * India's finance minister is planning to cut the public
spending target for fiscal 2013/14 by up to 10 percent from this
year's original target, in what would be the most austere budget
unveiled in recent history as he tries to avert a sovereign
credit downgrade. (Reuters) 
    * Investors are betting Indian bonds are set for their
biggest rally since the global financial crisis, wagering that a
government at risk of losing its investment-grade rating will
put fiscal discipline ahead of election largesse.
 
    * India is aggressively pursuing tax claims against
multinational firms operating in the country as the government
seeks to rein in its budget deficit, taking particular aim at IT
and back-office functions, tax officials say. 
    
    ENERGY/COMMODITIES
    * India's gold imports in January surged 23 percent from a
year ago to their highest in 18 months as traders snapped up
supplies ahead of a hike in duty, undermining the government's
efforts to control a ballooning current account deficit.
(Reuters) 
    * Faced with stiff opposition from power utilities over the
Centre's move to introduce coal price pooling, the coal ministry
may restrict the mechanism only to power projects getting
commissioned after March 2009, The Financial Express reported
citing unidentified sources. (Financial Express)
here
    * Indian customs authorities have started denying coal
importers a duty concession they were granted in last year's
budget and have issued notices to them, said several people
aware of the development, raising the possibility of worsening
electricity supply in the country. (Mint)
here
    
    INFRASTRUCTURE
    * Equipment manufacturers and contractors will count on
state firms for large orders next fiscal year as NTPC Ltd
 and Power Grid Corp of India  plan to invest
400 billion rupees in various projects and the government will
pump in additional 100 billion rupees, according to government
sources. (Economic Times)
here
    * National Highway Authority of India is seeking to push for
a "relief package" for road developers as several of them are
"under stress" and are finding it tough to raise debt and equity
to finance projects they had bagged by offering to pay a
premium, sources close to the matter said. (Times of India)
here
      
    TELECOMS
    * Telenor's India unit said on Saturday it would
close down its mobile phone services in Mumbai zone immediately
after a court ordered that carriers whose permits were revoked
and did not win fresh rights to airwaves must stop services.
(Reuters) 
    * Operators offering 4G services with 2,300-MHz spectrum are
likely to get the option of switching to the more efficient 700-
MHz band, with the Department of Telecommunications working
considering offering the latter in the next round of auction,
DoT officials close to the development said. (Business Standard)
here
  
    AIRLINES
    * Etihad Airways needs to revise its deal to buy a stake in
India's Jet Airways India Ltd and it is too soon to say
when a final agreement will be struck, the Abu Dhabi airline's
chairman told Reuters on Sunday. (Reuters) 
    
    PHARMA
    * Unichem Laboratories Ltd said on Friday it plans
to sell a drug manufacturing plant located in central India to a
unit of U.S.-based Mylan for 1.6 billion rupees ($29.7
million). (Reuters)

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