Indian rupee leads Asia forex gains against dollar

Singapore: The rupee led gains among emerging Asian currencies on Monday as investors cut bearish bets on regional units, with the dollar softer amid uncertainty over how long the US Federal Reserve will keep up its policy stimulus.

The rupee rose nearly 1 percent on demand from foreign banks.

The won strengthened to 1,057.8 per dollar in the local trade, its strongest since October 24. Against the yen, the won touched 10.5603, its highest since September 2008.

Exporters` bids led offshore and onshore investors to cover short positions to stop losses in the South Korean currency. The positions had been built up on caution over possible intervention, traders said.

The Malaysian ringgit gained as the economy picked up pace in the third quarter on resilient domestic demand and a recovery in exports.

The ringgit found more support from demand by oil exporters demand and stop-loss dollar selling.

The Indonesian rupiah, however, eased on month-end dollar demand from local corporates. The rupiah is the worst performing Asian currency this year.

Tata Steel shares gain over 3% on earnings, China reforms

Mumbai: Shares of Tata Steel on Monday gained over 3 percent after the company last week posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 916.77 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.

Tata Steel's scrip settled for the day 2.86 percent higher at Rs 386.05 on the BSE, adding to Thursday's 4.58 percent gain. In intra-day, the stock rallied 3.25 percent to Rs 387.50.

At the NSE, the stock climbed 3.29 percent to close at Rs 387.70.

In terms of volume, 12.13 lakh shares of the steel major changed hands on the BSE, while over 73 lakh scrips were traded at the NSE during the day.

The turnaround, from a Rs 363.93 crore net loss in the same quarter last fiscal, was driven by steady ramp-up of Indian operations and improved performance at the European and South East Asian operations, the company had said on Wednesday.

Besides, sentiment also got a boost from expectations of a higher demand for steel after China's government said it would carry out broad reforms.

Meanwhile, the broader market was also strong with the benchmark Sensex surging 451.32 points to close at 20,850.74.

Fund raising via debt placement dips 25% to Rs 1.22 lakh cr

 
New Delhi: Fund-raising by Indian companies through private placement of debt securities or bonds dropped 25 percent to Rs 1.22 lakh crore in the first half of the current fiscal (2013-14).

According to a report by Prime Database, firms garnered a total of Rs 1,22,091 crore during April-September period of the current fiscal, a slump from Rs 1,62,352 crore mobilised in the same period of 2012-13.

The report attributed slump in funds mop-up to less capital raised by the financial institutions and banks.

In debt private placements, firms issue debt securities or bonds to institutional investors to raise capital.

In the entire 2012-13, Indian companies had raked in a staggering Rs 3.5 lakh crore, the highest in 12 years.

As per Prime Database, financial Institutions and banks mobilised Rs 58,744 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2013, a plunge of 31 percent from the year-ago period.

Funds garnered by private sector firms also declined 14 percent to Rs 51,271 crore.

"Mobilisation by State Financial Institutions also went down by 39 percent to Rs 1,251 crore, mobilisation by PSUs was also lesser by 12 percent at Rs 9,692 crore and mobilisation by State Level Undertakings saw a major fall by 75 percent to Rs 1,133 crore," the report said.

Sector-wise, financial services segment continued to dominate the market, collectively raising Rs 84,879 crore or 69 percent of the total amount; power ranked second with a 10 percent share (Rs 12,025 crore).

The highest mobilisation through debt private placements during the period was by Power Finance Corp (Rs 12,158 crore), followed by LIC Housing Finance(Rs 9,822 crore), HDFC (Rs 9,610 crore), Rural Electrification Corp (Rs 8,150 crore) and Power Grid (Rs 7,092 crore).

Nikkei off 0.5%, retreats from 6-month high

Tokyo: Japan's Nikkei share average stepped back from six-month highs on Tuesday morning, with a bounce in the yen denting exporters while financials retreated after their recent earnings-led rally.

The Nikkei dropped 0.5 percent to 15,082.35 in mid-morning trade, moving away from 15,273.61 hit on the previous day, the highest since May 23 when it reached a 5-1/2 year high of 15,942.60.

The broader Topix shed 0.5 percent to 1,236.06.

"Investors have started becoming risk on, but the market has risen too fast so they are staying cautious until there are more cues about Fed's tapering," said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Markets continue to watch out for any clues as to when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start unwinding its $85 billion-a-month stimulus programme, although many in the markets now see any move unlikely until March.

Financials lost ground after rising on Monday on their recent strong earnings. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) shed 1.7 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) declined 0.9 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) slid 0.5 percent.

Exporters were weaker after the dollar pulled back against the yen, reflecting expectations the Fed will maintain its easy-money policy for a while longer after dovish comments last week from incoming Fed chief Janet Yellen.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) dropped 0.5 percent and Advantest Corp (6857.T) fell 1.7 percent.

The yen was up 0.1 percent at 99.925 yen to the dollar, adding to a 0.2 percent rise overnight to end a two-day run of losses.

Last week, the yen hit a two-month low of 100.315 yen to the dollar, driven by a risk-on mode in global markets and comments from Finance Minister Taro Aso that Tokyo should retain currency intervention as a policy tool. The Nikkei gained 7.7 percent last week, it's biggest weekly rise in four years.

A weaker yen sharpens Japanese exporters' competitiveness overseas and bumps up their dollar earnings when repatriated.

The Nikkei has rallied 45 percent this year, driven by the government's expansionary fiscal and monetary policies.

Ratan Tata elected to East-West Centre board

Washington: Noted Indian business leader Ratan N. Tata has been elected to the Board of Governors of the East-West Centre, a US think tank promoting better relations and understanding among people of US and Asia Pacific.

Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, is returning to the board after serving several terms between 1993 and 2004, the Honolulu, Hawaii-based centre announced Monday. He takes the place of Tarun Das, former chief mentor of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Tata was elected with Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Japan`s Lawson, Inc. Both will serve three-year terms.

Tata, who headed the Indian industrial powerhouse the Tata Group until his retirement in 2012, chairs two of the largest private-sector philanthropic trusts in India and is a member of the Indian Prime Minister`s Council on Trade and Industry.

He also serves on the board of trustees of Cornell University and the University of Southern California, as well as the board of directors of Alcoa, among numerous other board positions.

Established by the US Congress in 1960, the East West Centre serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options.