All Asian stock markets have opened the day on in the red with stock markets in Hong Kong (down 2.4%), South Korea (down 2.7%), Taiwan (down 3.0%) and Japan (down 2.0%) leading the losses in the region. The Indian equity market indices have also opened the day on a negative note. All sectoral indices are trading in the red with stocks in the Consumer Durables and Capital Goods space leading the pack of losers.
The Sensex today is down by around 192 points (1.2%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 52 points (1.1%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the red with the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices down by around 1.1% and 0.6% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 55.49 to the US dollar.
IT stocks have opened the day on a negative note. Barring Mphasis Ltd. and InfoEdge, all the stocks are trading in the red led by HCL Technologies Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. The government's e-governance programme MCA21 for Indian corporates is set for a revamp. In a bid to counter the increasing risks of corporate frauds, the ministry of corporate affairs is working on the next-generation version of the e-governance programme. Corporate affairs minister Veerappa Moily has said that bids for the second phase of MCA21 have been already called for. The decision on the same will be taken soon. As per a leading daily, major IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are vying for this prestigious project. It must be noted that the MCA21 programme was commenced in 2006. The main highlight of the e-governance programme was initiate adoption of secure electronic filing (e-Filing) for all the services provided by the Registrar of Companies (ROC), including incorporation of a company, annual filing, registration of charges and other event-based filings.
Cement sector stocks have been trading in the red led by Shree Cement and Heidelberg Cement. Some of the leading domestic cement companies have announced the monthly cement production and dispatch data for the month of May. Ambuja Cements reported an increase of 8.8% in cement production in May on a year on year (YoY) basis. The company's dispatches for the month were also up by 11.9% YoY. For the first five months (January 2012 - May 2012), the growth in the cement production and dispatches stood at 8.3% YoY and 8.5% YoY respectively. Ultratech Cement has also announced the monthly data for cement production and dispatches. The growth in monthly production and dispatches came at 7.7% YoY and 10.6% YoY respectively. For the first five months, the company's cement production and dispatches registered an increase of 4.7% YoY and 3.5% YoY respectively. Considering the disappointing GDP growth, the robust sales growth reported by the companies is positive for the cement sector.
