Toyota Motor Corp.

International News:

Toyota Motor Corp. may recall its new Prius hybrid model in Japan after the government ordered the company to investigate brake-related complaints on the car.
The yen and dollar strengthened against higher-yielding currencies on speculation the Asia- Pacific region’s economic recovery will slow and European nations will struggle to reduce their deficits. Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell in December for the first time in five months as households, reeling from a record three interest-rate increases, cut spending at department stores and supermarkets.
Ben S. Bernanke vowed to defend the independence of the Federal Reserve, work harder to explain its decisions to the public and step up supervision of the nation’s banks during his second term. Visa Inc. said its profit rose 33 percent in the fiscal first-quarter on increased revenue, even as consumers pull back sharply on spending amid the recession. The Kirit Parikh panel has suggested freeing petrol and diesel prices and called for raising LPG rates by a steep Rs 100 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 6 a litre, recommendations that may not be acceptable to the government battling high inflation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to withdraw a short-term foreign currency funding facility provided to non-banking financial and home finance firms, with immediate effect. The government has approved the bill for auctioning of coal blocks for captive use by industries like steel and power. Pronab Sen, the country’s chief statistician has said that the government should wait till May to roll back stimulus.

Corporate news:

Inox Leisure has acquired 43.28% stake in the Shroff family promoted Fame India, which owns the chain of Fame Multiplexes. Open offer to follow soon. L&T has bagged orders worth Rs 1100 crore in the buildings and factories segment. Home appliances major Whirlpool India, an arm of the US-based Whirlpool Corp, aims to grab 15 per cent market share in the air-conditioning segment by the year 2012, from the current five per cent. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has hiked steel prices by Rs 500 a tonne, effective from February 1. Vedanta Resources plans to list its aluminum subsidiary, Vedanta Aluminum this year. Lupin plans a new research centre at Aurangabad. DSP’s Hemendra Kothari buys Gujarat Ambuja’s 12% stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company. UltraTech-Grasim combine will invest around Rs. 7000 cr to set up greenfield facilities over the next 3-4 years. Atlas Copco to step up global sourcing from India.

Derivative View:

Nifty near contracts ends the day up by 104.05 points at a discount of 6.35 points paring OI by 6.4% with indications of short covering. Nifty OI PCR in at 1.148 compared to 1.103 in the last trading session. Nifty puts sees addition of 31.19 Lakhs and calls sees addition of 8.2 Lakhs over the day. 4800, 4900 and 5000 Feb strike Nifty puts adds the most during the day and 4700 and 5000 Feb strike calls add the most during the day. Highest OI in Nifty calls seen at 5000 Feb strike and puts at 4800 Feb strike. Nifty VIX at 25.54 from 26.69 last day. Long build up seen over the day in BEL, YESBANK, UNIPHOS, HINDZINC, HDIL, ASHOKLEY, JINDALSAW, TITAN, TRIVENI, RNRL, TATASTEEL, AXISBANK, SAIL, DABUR, SIEMENS, SBIN, INDIANB, BANKBARODA, IDBI & ROLTA etc. Long unwinding seen in MPHASIS, IDFC, LT, NAGARCONST, TATATEA, MCDOWELL-N, M&M, HCC, INDIACEM, STER, DENABANK, KOTAKBANK & VOLTAS etc. FII side sees short covering in Nifty futures and long build up in stock futures over the day.