Market may open higher

The market may extend Monday (9 December 2013)'s gains after foreign funds made heavy purchases of Indian stocks on Monday, 9 December 2013 triggered by strong performance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in assembly elections. Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 27 points at the opening bell.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) turns ex-dividend today, 10 December 2013, for interim dividend of Rs 5 per share for the financial year ending March 2014 (FY 2013-14).

State Bank of India (SBI) after market hours on Monday, 9 December 2013 said that the Government of India (GoI), on Monday, 9 December 2013, has accorded its approval to SBI to raise Rs 9576 crore of equity during the financial year (FY) 2013-14 from the market by way of Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) as per law with the condition that the Gol holding shall not come down below 58%. The GoI has also accorded its approval to SBI to increase its Issued Capital by Rs 11576 crore [Rs. 2000 crores (including premium) towards preferential allotment of equity shares in favour of Gol and Rs 9576 crore (including premium) towards raising of equity from the market] in accordance with Section 5(2) of SBI Act, 1955, subject to requisite approvals.

NMDC announced after market hours on Monday, 9 December 2013 about the details of production / despatches achieved upto November, 2013 & prices of iron ore fixed for the month of December, 2013. The company achieved production and despatches of iron ore of 173.44 lakh tonnes and 185.46 lakh tonnes respectively (Provisional) upto November 2013. The prices of iron ore for December 2013 were fixed with lumps at Rs 4500 Rs/WMT and fines at Rs 2810 Rs/WMT.

Telecom stocks will be in focus as the Union Cabinet on Monday, 9 December 2013, approved the finalization of the reserve price for auction of spectrum in 1800 MHz band for all service areas and for 900 MHz band in Metro service areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. As recommended by the Empowered Group of Ministers, the Cabinet approved the reserve price for 1800 MHz band of Rs 1765 crore per MHz Pan India, which works out to be Rs 8825 crore for 5 MHz Pan India; and the reserve price for 900 MHz band of Rs 360 crore, Rs 328 crore and Rs 125 crore per MHz in Metro service areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata respectively. The decisions will result in further efficient utilization of the scarce natural resource of spectrum facilitating expansion of telecom services in the country.

The board of directors of Strides Arcolab holds a meeting today, 10 December 2013, to consider declaration of special dividend. The board is considering payment of special dividend after the company last week said it has completed sale of its Agila Specialties Division to Mylan Inc. for a total consideration of up to $1.75 billion.

The Congress has retained power in Mizoram with a landslide victory in the Assembly elections held on November 25, the results of which were declared on Monday, 9 December 2013. In the elections to the 40-member Assembly, the Congress has won 33 of the 39 seats declared so far. Chief Electoral Officer of Mizoram Ashwani Kumar told to media reporters that the results of Lawngtlai East constituency would be announced only on December 12 as re-polling would be held on December 11 in one polling booth where the Electronic Voting Machine failed.

Earlier, the Congress had performed poorly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) securing emphatic victory in assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, a narrower one in Chhattisgarh and emerged as the single largest party in a hung Delhi assembly, giving the party and its leader Narendra Modi confidence and momentum going into next year's general elections. Counting of votes for assembly elections in Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh took place on Sunday, 8 December 2013.

On macro front, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announces next Mid-Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 18 December 2013. The Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled 28 January 2014.

Trading for the week began on a positive note on Monday, 9 December 2013, with investors giving thumbs up to a strong performance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in assembly elections. The S&P BSE Sensex garnered 329.89 points or 1.57% to settle at 21,326.42 on that day, a record closing high.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2473.17 crore on Monday, 9 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Most Asian stocks edged lower on Tuesday after the biggest rally in three weeks, as investors await data on Chinese industrial production. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong shed 0.14% to 0.36%. Key benchmark indices in China and Indonesia rose 0.03% to 0.76%.

US stocks rose on Monday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a fresh record, as investors weighed the timing of any cuts to Federal Reserve monetary support amid budget negotiations in Washington. Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who votes on policy this year, said in a speech the odds of tapering bond purchases have risen along with gains in the labor market, and any reduction should be modest to account for low inflation. His Dallas counterpart, Richard Fisher, said in a Chicago speech that the Fed needs to begin tapering at the earliest opportunity, as the current pace of stimulus comes at a cost that far exceeds its purported benefits.

Investors are keeping a close watch on economic data in the United States as the Federal Reserve monitors the pace of recovery to gauge when it will begin to reduce monetary stimulus for the US economy, which has been aimed at encouraging growth. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day policy meeting on interest rates in the United States on 17-18 December 2013. The US central bank currently buys bonds worth $85 billion a month in a bid to hold interest rates low and encourage economic growth in the world's biggest economy. Minutes of the Fed's October meeting released on 20 November 2013 showed officials may reduce their $85 billion a month of bond buying if the economy improves as anticipated.

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