Cement stocks pare early gains in weak broader market

Cement stocks pared their early sharp gains in an overall weak broader market even as the Competition Appellate Tribunal set aside Rs 6,316.59 crore penalty imposed on 11 cement firms by CCI on cartelisation charges.
Those on the gainers side were JK Cement and Shree Cement that rose by 1.02 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively, on the BSE.
On the other hand, Jaiprakash Associates declined by 2.53 per cent, UltraTech Cement dipped by 1.29 per cent, ACC was down 0.59 per cent and Ambuja Cements fell by 0.53 per cent.
During the day, these stocks had gained up to 4.5 per cent.

In a major ruling, the Competition Appellate Tribunal today set aside Rs 6,316.59 crore penalty imposed on 11 cement manufacturers by CCI for cartelisation and directed the fair trade regulator to pass a fresh order in three months.
The tribunal also allowed the cement companies to withdraw the 10 per cent of the penalty amount already deposited with the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The judgement follows appeals filed by the cement firms and their industry body Cement Manufacturers Association against the two CCI orders passed in June-July 2012, wherein the watchdog had slapped a cumulative penalty of Rs 6,316.59 crore on cartelisation charges.

The companies included ACC, Ambuja Cements, Binani Cements, Century Textiles Ltd, India Cements, JK Cements, Lafarge India, Madras Cements, Ultratech, JP Associates and Shree Cements.
Meanwhile, in the broader market, the Sensex ended at 25,044.43, down 207.89 points.