BOR: Market Outlook: Indian markets may open with a tinge of red as global markets turned negative.

Market Outlook: Indian markets may open with a tinge of red as global markets turned negative. Furthermore, with the F&O expiry for the April series due later this week, volatility is likely to be high. Among US markets, the Dow Industrials briefly turned negative in late afternoon trading on Monday and the S&P 500 extended losses as bank shares continued to slide, weighed by the uncertainty surrounding a financial regulation proposal. Nifty has supports at 5270- 5300 and resistance is at 5400.

Global Events to watch for today:

• FOMC Meeting Begins
• ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
• Consumer Confidence
• State Street Investor Confidence Index

Global indices Update @ 8:

Dow Jones : 11205 (+00.75)

NASDAQ : 2530 (- 07.20)

Nikkei 225 : 11118 (- 46.97)

Hang seng : 21321 (- 265.3)

SGX CNX Nifty : 5315 (- 05.00)

INR / 1 USD : 44.33

Stocks in action for the day : SAIL, M&M, GAIL, RCF, Cera, Jay Shree

Satluj Jal Vidyut price band fixed at Rs 23-26: The government has fixed a price band of Rs 23-26 a share for the initial public offer of public sector hydropower major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL). Retail investors and employees will get a 5% discount on the price fixed. The IPO will open on April 29 and will close on May 3. Through the IPO, SJVNL will divest 10%. At present, the Centre holds around 75% in SJVNL and the remaining is with the Himachal Pradesh government.

Posco may hold 74% in SAIL joint venture SAIL`s board may in its upcoming meet approve granting up to 74% equity to South Korean steel giant Posco in the proposed Rs 110 billion plant that will be built jointly in Jharkhand. A sub-committee of SAIL`s board had last month cleared the JV proposal, for setting up the plant on a piece of land at Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP), and forwarded it for approval. The board is expected to meet later this month. ``The board sub-committee has recommended Posco`s claim to 74% equity in the private joint venture company. Posco claimed the stake on the basis of its patented FINEX technology and funding bySouth Korean government to develop the same,`` a person in the know of the development said.

Mahindra looks to buy Korean auto company Mumbai-based utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is interested in buying stakes in beleaguered South Korean sports utility vehicle manufacturer SsangYong Motor Company (SMC). According to the Korea Economic Daily, M&M recently sent a letter to the management of SsangYong, expressing its desire of buying controlling rights in the cash-strapped firm. The paper did not cite the source of the news. WhileSsangYong officials were unavailable for comment, M&M officials declined to do so. M&M`s stock today closed 1.5% higher on the Bombay Stock Exchange, at Rs 528.40.

Tata Projects among 13 to certify city gas networks Soon, city gas players like Indraprastha Gas and Mahanagar Gas will have to seek certification for their infrastructure. Tata Projects (Hyderabad), Tractebel Engineers and Constructors (New Delhi), Germanischer Lloyd Industrial Services (Mumbai) and Bureau Veritas (India), (Mumbai) are among the 13 agencies which will perform technical audit of city gas projects. According to the regulations laid down by downstream oil regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, all these agencies are required to obtain accreditation from the Quality Council of India, an autonomous organization under the Planning Commission, within a six-month time frame, ending October 12. These agencies figure in the approved list of the board but if they fail to get accreditation they would be delisted.

Cera plans to acquire European brands Cera Sanitaryware (CSL), the third largest sanitary ware company in India, has plans to acquire some European sanitaryware brands. The company will invest about Rs 1 billion for expansion in India and abroad. ``We are planning to acquire some European sanitary brands that are facing a shutdown or tough times due to recession. The company is in talks with leading European faucets and sanitaryware players in order to acquiring two super-premium brands,`` said Vikram Somany, chairman and managing director, CSL. ``We have planned an invest of Rs 1 billion for expansion in India as well as abroad.Cera will invest about Rs 200-300 million for brand acquisition and Rs 350-400 million to expand capacity within a period of one and a half year.``

CIL, GAIL, RCF in pact for Rs 100 bn revival of Talcher fertilizer unit Three public sector units- Coal India (CIL), GAIL India and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) will form a consortium to revive the closed unit of Fertilizer Corporation of India at Talcher at a cost of Rs 100 billion. The fertilizer plant at Talcher which has been closed since 2002, will run on the coal gasification route instead of the natural gas route. ``We have decided to revive at least five out of seven fertilizer plants across the country including the Talcher plant in Orissa. About Rs 100 billion will be spent on revival of this plant and following revival, the plant will produce three million tonne of fertilizers per annum``, Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers Srikant Jena told.

Jaypee Group to bid for Federa airport`s infra projects The group`s Rs 16.5 billion IPO opens on April 29 As Jaypee Infratech (JIL), part of the Rs 70 billion Jaypee Group plans to hit the markets with an initial public offering (IPO) to part fund its Rs 97.39 billion Yamuna Expressway and integrated township project, Jaiprakash Associates (JAL), another group company, is all set to expand its presence in Gujarat. ``Around Rs 800 million worth infrastructure tenders are to be released for the proposed international airport at Federa coming up near Navagam village near Dholera special investment region (SIR). We are interested in entering the bidding``, said Manoj Gaur, executive chairman at JAL. He declined to give out further details.

Sun Pharma suffers second setback in US patent row Sun Pharmaceutical Industries suffered its second setback in the US litigation within four days after a New Jersey district court decided top-selling drug, pantoprazole, was infringing Wyeth`s patent. The Indian drug major has been selling the medicine for gastric problems since Jan. 30, 2008, at the risk of paying a penalty, if it loses its patent litigation against Wyeth, which has now been acquired by Pfizer. ``We have reduced our rating on the Sun Pharma stock from `Buy` to `Hold` because of this,`` said Ranjit Kapadia, vice-president, institutional research, HDFC Securities. Yet, the brokerage has not reduced its price target as it awaits the final outcome of the trial, he added.

Kotak Mahindra Financial Services gets DIFC licence Kotak Mahindra Financial Services, a part of the Kotak Mahindra Group, has got the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) licence enabling it to arrange credit or deals in investment, advice on financial products and credit, and arrange custody from its DIFC-based office. The licence has been awarded to Kotak by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) giving it a chance to expand its Middle-East operations.

EID Parry makes open offer for 20% in GMR Ind at Rs 110.69/share Sugar manufacturer EID Parry on Monday made an open offer to acquire 20% stake in GMR Industries at Rs 110.69 per share. Sugar major EID Parry has agreed to acquire 39.92 lakh shares, representing 20% holding in the company, at Rs 110.69 per share, aggregating to Rs 441.9 million, GMR Industries said in a filing to the BSE. On Sunday, EID Parry had entered into a definite agreement with GMR Holdings to acquire a minimum 65% equity in GMR Industries. As per the December quarter shareholding pattern available on the BSE, GMR Holdings held 1.49 crore shares or 74.84% shareholding in GMR Industries. Post the open offer, GMR Group would become a minority shareholder in the company.

Jay Shree Tea to acquire three firms in Africa K Birla-controlled Jay Shree Tea & Industries (JTIL) is snapping up tea companies in the dark continent. It will soon acquire 100% ownership in Uganda-based Kijura Tea through its investment arm, Birla Holdings, Dubai. It will also buy 60% in Rwanda-based Mata Tea and Gisakura Tea through Tea Group Investment, a 50:50 JV between Rwanda Mountain Tea-SARL and Birla Holdings, Dubai. Rwanda Mountain Tea is a privately-owned tea company headquartered in Kigali. It has two estates within its fold, Nyabihu and Rubaya. Today, the tea sector in Rwanda consists of six state-owned production units, Gisovu, Kitabi, Mata, Mulindi, Shagasha, Gisakura and four private owned production units, Cyohoha (SORWATHE), Pfunda (Pfunda Tea Company), Nyabihu and Rubaya (Rwanda Mountain Tea).

Govt plans to hike ONGC gas price to USD 4.20/mmBtu The government plans to more than double the price of natural gas produced by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to USD 4.20 per mmBtu, in a move that will help the state-run firm break even in gasbusiness . The oil ministry is likely to move a Cabinet note next month for raising price of the gas, produced by ONGC and Oil India from fields given to them on nomination basis (called APM gas), to rates equivalent to that produced from Reliance Industries` KG-D6 fields, official sources said.

NALCO installs new ash disposal system in Power Plant Almost a decade after the breaching of the National Aluminium Company [Nalco] ash-pond a serious havoc in 26 villages in Angul district, India`s leading producer and exporter of alumina and aluminium has commissioned latest eco-friendly High Concentration Slurry Disposal [HCSD] System in its 1080 MW captive power plant [CPP] at a cost of Rs 500 million. The HCSD System will take care of fly ash disposal from three unit`s i.e unit 7 to 10 of CPP.