Asian stocks little changed in morning trade

Asian markets outside Japan are little changed. While stocks in Japan edged higher, overnight, the US markets extended gains. S&P 500 at 2,534 is up 0.22%.

Half of RCom’s spectrum in two bands set to expire in 2021: CLSA

Reliance Communications Ltd’s (RCom) plan to monetize its spectrum assets and pare debt has little chance of succeeding as about 50% of the company’s 800MHz and 1800MHz spectrum is set to expire in 2021, reports Mint, citing a note from CLSA.

In another report, lenders to RCom are reluctant to convert their debt into equity if the company doesn’t provide strong visibility on how it plans to reduce debt before December.

Reliance Jio to gain big from IUC cut: HSBC

The telecom regulator’s call to cut interconnect usage charge (IUC) by as much as 57% and scrap it altogether from January 2020, is likely to trigger a sharp jump in Reliance Jio Infocomm’s operating margins over the next one year, brokerage HSBC said, reports The Economic Times.

Prabhat Dairy aims to double consumer business by FY20

Prabhat Dairy Ltd is aiming to double its consumer business of packaged milk and value-added dairy products by FY2020, reports Mint. The company estimates its consumer business to be worth Rs2,000 crore by financial year 2019-2020, the report adds.

GMDC, NALCO drop alumina refinery project in Kutch

After years of negotiations and feasibility studies, Gujarat Mineral Development Corp. Ltd (GMDC) and National Aluminium Co. Ltd (NALCO) have decided to drop the Rs5,400 crore alumina refinery, reports Business Standard.

Late rain spells trouble for kharif crop, improves rabi prospects

Even as the south-west monsoon withdraws from North-West India, continuing rains to the south of the Vindhyas are seen spoiling the harvest of kharif crops such as maize, pulses and cotton, while boosting the prospects for the upcoming rabi season, reports The Hindu Business Line.

Two-wheeler sales rise 9% in September

Domestic sales of two-wheelers has perked up by 9% in September due to festive demand, reports Business Standard. India’s biggest two-wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp Ltd breached the monthly mark of 700,000 units to sell 720,739 units in September, the report adds.

Excise duty cut on petrol, diesel by Rs2 per litre

Keep an eye on shares of oil marketing companies. The central government cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs2 a litre to tame rising inflation and to shield consumers from the surging price of auto fuels.

World cotton output may rise 10% in 2017-18

Global cotton output is likely to rise 10% to 25.4 million tonnes in 2017-18 marketing year on expected production increase in India and the US, a global body has said.

Source:livemint.com