Moneycontrol Bureau12:59 pm Market update: Benchmark indices remained rangebound with the Nifty hovering around 8500.The Sensex was down 5.21 points at 27453.78 and the Nifty fell 1.55 points to 8495.50. About 1546 shares declined against 1119 advancing shares on the BSE.12:50 pm Agreement: GMR Airports (GAL), a subsidiary of GMR InfrastructureLimited, today signed the concession agreement with Government of Goa for thedevelopment and operation of north Goa’s Greenfield International Airport at Mopa.As per the concession agreement, GMR will design, build, finance and operate theinternational airport for 40 years with extension option for another 20 years. The construction period for the first phase of the project is three years from the date of financial closure and is expected to be operational by mid of 2020.12:45 pm Poll: Ashok Leyland 's net profit may slip 10.5 percent at Rs 257.4 crore in July-September quarter from Rs 286.8 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, the auto major's revenue may also fall 8 percent at Rs 4538 crore against Rs 4939.7 crore in year-ago period.
During the period, its EBITDA is seen down 18 percent at Rs 490 crore against Rs 596.4 crore while operating profit margin may stand at 10.7 percent versus 12.1 percent year-on-year.12:30 pm Gold demand: India's gold demand could fall as much as 24 percent in 2016 to the lowest level in seven years due to higher prices and increased smuggling as the government seeks to bring transparency to bullion purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.
Lower demand from the world's No.2 gold consumer could hurt global spot prices that have risen a fifth so far in 2016, but help the South Asian country to reduce its trade deficit. Gold is one of India's biggest expenses on its import bill.
India's gold demand in the first three quarters of 2016 fell 29 percent from a year ago to 441.2 tonnes, hit by price rises and government moves such as the mandatory disclose of tax code for high-value jewellery purchases, Somasundaram PR, managing director of the WGC's Indian operations, said on Tuesday.
He estimates in 2016 demand to fall to between 650 to 750 tonnes, the lowest since 2009 and far lower than last year's 858.1 tonnes.12:15 pm LIC on Tata Group: Sources tell CNBC-TV18’s Kritika Saxena that Life Insurance Company, possibly the second biggest owner of stakes in Tata Group companies, will not exit the group.
There will be no snap exit from Tata companies, say sources on behalf of LIC.
The channel has been able to confirm that LIC is backing Tata Sons and has assured the promoters that the insurer won’t exit.
LIC is not taking any sides now, and doesn’t see any reason to question the operations or working of the companies, finds the channel. LIC has said that the spat between Cyrus Mistry and Ratan Tata is a management issue.
In Tata Steel, LIC owns 13.62 percent at the end of September as against 15 percent at the end of December 2012. It halved its investments in Tata Chemicals to 3.33 percent from 6.82 percent, in Tata Elxsi to 1.24 percent from 6.5 percent and in Voltas to 7 percent from 9 percent.Also read - Varun Beverages lists at 3% discount over issue price of Rs 445
12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets were rangebound in noon trade as investors turned cautious ahead of US presidential elections.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 12.98 points at 27446.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 0.45 points at 8497.50. The market breadth was negative as about 1395 shares declined against 1195 advancing shares on the BSE.
In US, Hillary Clinton continues to be the favourite, said Keith Parker of Barclays. The Republicans will control the House, which reduces chances of aggressive change in policies like taxes and regulations.
A further upside is expected in case of Clinton win. However, if Donald Trump wins, a 10 percent downside is expected, Parker told CNBC-TV18. Barclays is overweight on emerging markets (EMs).
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