How was this day, 15th Jan. 2013 (Tuesday)

January 16, 2013  Tuesday 

END-SESSION

Sensex, Nifty attain over 2-year closing high

Key benchmark indices edged higher for the second straight day after the government on Monday, 14 January 2013, announced its decision to defer the implementation the General Anti Avoidance Rules or GAAR by two years until 1 April 2016. Gains in European stocks aided gains on the domestic bourses. The market was volatile as the barometer index, BSE Sensex, fell below the psychological 20,000 mark after piercing that level in intraday trade. The Sensex advanced 80.41 points or 0.40%, off about 50 points from the day's high and up about 105 points from the day's low. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher. Other FMCG stocks declined.

The Sensex has risen 323.18 points or 1.64% in two trading sessions from its close of 19,663.64 on Friday, 11 January 2013. The BSE Sensex has risen 560.11 points or 2.88% in this month so far (till 14 January 2013). From a 52-week low of 15,748.98 on 4 June 2012, the Sensex has risen 4,237.84 points or 26.91%.

Coming back to today's trade, index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in choppy trade. Telecom stocks rose after telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said that that Union Cabinet will take a final decision on the base price for an upcoming auction of telecom bandwidth by 4 February 2013. Axis Bank scaled 52-week high after strong Q3 results.

Interest rate sensitive realty stocks rose for the second straight day as December's softer headline inflation print along with recent data showing contraction in industrial production in November 2012 and decline in exports in December 2012 would bolster expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will shift its attention to supporting economic growth by lowering interest rates at its monetary policy review on 29 January 2013. The market breadth was negative.

The market pared gains after a firm start took key benchmark indices to their highest level in more than two years. The Sensex fell below the psychological 20,000 mark after moving past that level at the onset of the trading session. The market further trimmed intraday gains in morning trade. The market retained positive zone in early afternoon trade. The market surged in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex moved past the psychological 20,000 mark. The market trimmed gains in late trade.

The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained buyers of Indian stocks on Monday, 14 January 2013. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 611.10 crore on Monday, 14 January 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The BSE Sensex rose 80.41 points or 0.40% to 19,986.82, its highest closing level since 6 January 2011. The index jumped 130.41 points at the day's high of 20,036.82 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 24.63 points at the day's low of 19,881.78 in early afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 32.55 points or 0.54% to 6,056.60, its highest closing level since 5 January 2011. The index hit high of 6,068.50 and low of 6,018.60 in intraday trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.27%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.06%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,550 shares fell and 1,425 shares rose. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2403 crore, higher than Rs 2266 crore on Monday, 14 January 2013.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 15 rose, 13 fell and 2 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.11% to Rs 845.85. The stock hit high of Rs 851.45 and low of Rs 838.10. The company announces Q3 results on Friday, 18 January 2013. RIL on 10 January 2013 said it has bought back 4.62 crore shares for about of Rs 3359.76 crore till 8 January 2013 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set maximum buyback price of Rs 870 per share. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013.

Hardy Oil and Gas plc on 10 January 2013 said it is in negotiations with RIL, the operator of GS-01 exploration block located offshore the west coast of India, for increasing its interest in the block. Hardy Oil currently has 10% participating interest in this offshore exploration licence. Hardy Oil said that no agreement has been reached yet with RIL and any such agreement would be subject to Government of India's approval. Hardy Oil and Gas plc is an upstream oil and gas company focused on India.

Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose 1.98% to Rs 283.40. The stock high of Rs 284.80 and low of Rs 274.85. The company announces Q3 results on Friday, 18 January 2013. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in October 2012 notified new pictorial health warnings to be depicted on tobacco product packs which will come into effect from 1 April 2013. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement on 22 October 2012 that three sets of warnings each have been notified for smoking as well as smokeless forms of tobacco product packages. The well-designed health warnings and messages are part of a range of measures to communicate health risks due to tobacco use. Pictorial health warnings communicate health risks in a visible way, provoke a greater emotional response and increase the motivation of tobacco users to quit and to decrease their tobacco consumption, the ministry's statement said. Graphic warning labels have a greater impact than text-only labels and can be recognized by low-literacy audiences and children, the statement added.

Other FMCG stocks declined. Colgate(down Palmolive (India) (down 1.4%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 1.18%), Nestle India (down 1.1%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.85%), Marico (down 0.77%), Bata India (down 0.51%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 0.48%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.43%), Britannia Industries (down 0.3%), Bajaj Corp (down 0.18%) and Dabur India (down 0.08%), edged lower.

Interest rate sensitive realty stocks rose for the second straight day as December's softer headline inflation print along with recent data showing contraction in industrial production in November 2012 and decline in exports in December 2012 would bolster expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will shift its attention to supporting economic growth by lowering interest rates at its monetary policy review on 29 January 2013. Lower interest rates may help revive demand for properties. Purchases of both residential and commercial property are largely driven by finance. Sobha Developers (up 5.38%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.83%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 2.68%), DLF (up 1.90%), Godrej Properties (up 1.33%), Peninsula Land (up 0.74%) and D B Realty (up 0.10%), edged higher.

Axis Bank rose 2.64% to Rs 1422.45 after good Q3 results. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1427.60 in intraday trade today, 15 January 2013. The bank today, 15 January 2013, said its net profit jumped 22.22% to Rs 1347.22 crore on 19.05% growth in total income to Rs 8580.30 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q3 December 2011. The bank's net provisions and contingencies declined 8.4% to Rs 386.83 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q3 December 2011.

The bank's ratio of gross non-performing assets to gross assets stood at 1.1% at end December 2012, with the ratio remaining unchanged from end September 2012 and also from end December 2011. The bank's ratio of net non-performing assets to net advances stood at 0.33%, unchanged from end September 2012 and lower than 0.39% at end December 2011.

Telecom stocks rose after telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said that that Union Cabinet will take a final decision on the base price for an upcoming auction of telecom bandwidth by 4 February 2013. Idea Cellular (up 8.27%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 5.24%), Reliance Communications (up 2.68%) and MTNL (up 1.3%), edged higher.

The government plans to conduct the next round of auction starting 11 March 2013, including for airwaves in the 800-megahertz frequency band used for providing services on the code-division-multiple-access (CDMA) platform. In November, no company had bid for bandwidth to provide CDMA-based services. An Empowered Group of Ministers recently recommended the cabinet to set a lower base price for the auction in March, compared with what it had set for the first round in November, so as to ensure better participation from companies.

Bharti Airtel jumped 4.81%. The company today, 15 January 2013, announced senior level organizational changes that will be effective March 1, 2013. After almost 15 years of illustrious innings at Bharti Group, Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, CEO -- India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel, has decided to pursue his future aspirations outside of Bhart, the company said in a statement. He will continue in his current role until 28 February 2013, and will be available to assist on key matters until March 31 2013 ensuring a smooth transition process. Mr. Kapoor will continue his association with the Bharti Group and be on the board of Indus Towers and Bharti Global.

Gopal Vittal, who rejoined Airtel in April 2012 as Group Director, Special Projects, will take over as CEO -- India, Bharti Airtel. He will report to the Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel. South Asia operations i.e. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would report into the CEO (International) effective 1 March 2013. However, various business leaders and functions from Airtel India would continue to support South Asia operations in this revised arrangement.

TCS ended flat at Rs 1,334.30 after hitting an intraday high of Rs 1,400. The company after trading hours on Monday, 14 January 2013, said its consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 1.1% to Rs 3552 crore on 2.9% growth in revenue to Rs 16070 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q2 September 2012. Operating income rose 4.8% to Rs 4381 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q2 September 2012.

Net profit rose 1.4% to $652 million on 3.3% growth in revenue to $2.948 billion in Q3 December 2012 over Q2 September 2012. Operating income rose 5.3% to $804 million in Q3 December 2012 over Q2 September 2012.

TCS said in a post result statement that growth in Q3 December 2012 was broad-based. Among mature markets, USA and UK led the growth story, the company said. Amongst growth markets, Latin America showed double digit growth sequentially, followed by India. Amongst industries, growth was led by Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing & Retail & Distribution. In terms of services, TCS' full services capabilities continue to be leveraged by customers with newer service lines like Enterprise Solutions, Infrastructure Services and Global Consulting driving growth, TCS said. Asset Leveraged Solutions and Engineering and Industrial Services also showed higher growth, TCS said.

Commenting on the Q3 performance, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, N Chandrasekaran said: "We have had an excellent quarter of well rounded performance and have driven a higher quality of revenue and increased profitability through focus on productivity and innovation. We had good revenue growth, balanced across service-lines, industries and geographies. Our agile, customer-centric organization is delivering an increasing number of larger and deeper client relationships. We believe that clients are going to invest in making their operations digital-ready in 2013 and drive business growth. TCS is well positioned to help our clients in this journey."

S. Mahalingam, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, said: "The overall performance has been in line with what we had outlined at the beginning of the year. Our superior execution in this seasonally weak quarter has delivered productivity gains and an expanded operating margin. Our business model of delivering growth with the desired profitability requires us to invest in the front-end and in new capabilities and we will continue to make those investments."

As of 31 December 2012, the company has applied for 1,088 patents including 71 applied for in Q3 December 2012. Till date, the company has been granted 76 patents.

Ajoy Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Head, Global Human Resources, TCS said that the company has hired almost 50,000 professionals in the first three quarters of this financial year to support business growth and that the company continues to forecast a healthy growth in the workforce numbers going forward.

Interest rate sensitive auto stocks rose as December's softer headline inflation print along with recent data showing contraction in industrial production in November 2012 and decline in exports in December 2012 would bolster expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will shift its attention to supporting economic growth by lowering interest rates at its monetary policy review on 29 January 2013. Purchases of automobiles, including that of cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles are substantially driven by financing.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.45% to Rs 1,546. The stock had hit 52-week high of Rs 1,599.90 in intraday trade on 7 January 2013. As per reports, the company increase the prices of its vehicle models by up to Rs 20,000 from Wednesday, 16 January 2013, to offset higher cost. Maruti on 3 January 2013 said its total sales rose 3.2% to 95,145 units in December 2012 over December 2011. Domestic sales rose 5.9% to 82,073 units in December 2012 over December 2011. Export sales fell 11% to 13,072 units in December 2012 over December 2011.

Tata Motors gained 0.84% to Rs 330.75. The stock had hit record high of Rs 337.05 in intraday trade on 10 January 2013. The company announced after market hours today, 15 January 2013, that the Group's global wholesales, including Jaguar Land Rover, totaled 98,968 units, in December 2012. Global wholesales of all commercial vehicles -- Tata, Tata Daewoo and the Tata Hispano Carrocera range -- were 52,043 units in December 2012.

Global wholesales of all passenger vehicles were at 46,925 units in December 2012. Global wholesales of Tata passenger vehicles were at 14,643 units for the month. Global wholesales for Jaguar Land Rover in the month of December 2012 were 32,282 vehicles. Jaguar wholesales for the month were 5,444, while Land Rover wholesales for the month were 26,838.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) fell 0.61% to Rs 929.55. The company after market hours on Monday, 14 January 2013, announced that it has hiked the capacities of its three best selling brands viz. the Quanto, XUV5oo and Rexton with immediate effect. This has been necessitated due to the overwhelming demand for the Quanto, XUV500 and Rexton across the country, M&M said. With the increase in capacity for these three products, Mahindra hopes to bring down the waiting period for these popular products and thereby facilitate its customers in getting early deliveries of their products, M&M said. In addition, the bookings for these brands have been opened across more centres in India, M&M said.

Quanto has garnered bookings of more than 12,000 units within the first two months of its launch while deliveries for the XUV500 areas per schedule, M&M said. The company's premium SUV, the SsangYong Rexton which has over 1,500 bookings across 9 cities is now poised to be launched in additional cities starting this month, M&M said. The capacity for the Quanto has been raised to 3,500 units, XUV500 to 4,500 units and the Rexton to 500 units per month, respectively so as to effectively deliver the vehicles in the shortest Possible time to customers, M&M said.

Speaking on the capacity expansion, Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said: "While we have been overwhelmed at the response from our customers to all the three products which are at different price points, we thought it best to expand capacities so that prospective customers are not inconvenienced with long waiting periods. Being a customer centric company, we have always wanted our products to be conveniently available to our customers with a minimum waiting period. In addition, with their launch across more centres in India, we are sure that that our products will continue to offer a unique value proposition for buyers".

Bajaj Auto rose 1.07% to Rs 2115.25. The stock had hit record high of Rs 2,228.95 in intraday trade on 3 January 2013. Bajaj Auto's total sales rose 13% to 3.43 lakh shares in December 2012 over December 2011. Motorcycle sales rose 13% to 2.98 lakh units in December 2012 over December 2011. Three-wheeler sales rose 9% to 45,596 units in December 2012 over December 2011. Bajaj Auto's exports rose 5% to 1.26 lakh units in December 2012 over December 2011.

Hero MotoCorp fell 0.08% to Rs 1,844.80. The company after market hours on Monday, 14 January 2013, said it has commenced construction of its fourth manufacturing plant and a new global parts centre (GPC) at Neemrana in Rajasthan. The Neemrana plant will have an installed capacity of 7.5 lakh units per annum. The state-of-the-art GPC will have automated storage and retrieval system, automated packaging and sorting system, on-line tracking of parts through Warehouse Management System (WMS), lean manufacturing systems and the Green Building Concept, Hero MotoCorp said. The company will invest a total of Rs 550 crore in setting up the fourth manufacturing plant and the GPC. Both the facilities are expected to be operational towards the end of the Financial Year 2013-14.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Hero MotoCorp said: "The commencement of work on the new plant is clearly indicative of our intention and strategy for the future. Thanks to overwhelming demand for our products, we have been consistently clocking in excess of five lakh unit monthly sales on an average. We foresee a revival in market sentiments sooner than later, and when it happens, we will be ready to meet the upsurge in demand. At the same time, we will be setting-up a state-of-the-art Global Parts Centre spread over 35 acres at Neemrana. The highly-mechanised, technologically-superior GPC will be a new industry benchmark once it becomes fully-operational"

Metal shares were mixed. Sesa Goa (down 1.5%), Sterlite Industries (down 1.31%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.74%) and Bhushan Steel (down 0.53%), edged lower. JSW Steel (up 1.49%), Nalco (up 0.71%), NMDC (up 0.68%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.62%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.37%), Tata Steel (up 0.13%) and Sail (up 0.11%), edged higher.

TCS clocked a highest turnover of Rs 80.67 crore on BSE. State Bank of India (Rs 66.65 crore), Infosys (Rs 59.89 crore), United Spirits (Rs 58.23 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 55.14 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

FCS Software Solutions reported highest volumes of 3.06 crore shares on BSE. SpiceJet (89.30 lakh shares), Unitech (85.76 lakh shares), Kirloskar Ferrous Industries (80.83 lakh shares) and Sybly Industries (78.02 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

The Ministry of Finance on Monday, 14 January 2013, said that the government has decided to defer the implementation of the General Anti Avoidance Rules or GAAR by two years until 1 April 2016 and that it has accepted major recommendations of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee on GAAR with some modifications. The provisions of GAAR will apply to only those foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who seek to take advantage of the double taxation avoidance treaties India has with different countries. The rules won't apply to the non-resident individual investors who put money with the FIIs. Any investments made before 30 August 2010 won't be examined under GAAR. Finance Minister Mr. Chidambaram said that the GAAR provisions strike a balance between the government's need for revenue generation and investors' interests.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram early this month said attracting foreign funds to India has become an economic imperative.

Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Mr. Anand Sharma on 9 January 2013 said that the Joint Working Group on Indo-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC), which is scheduled to meet in February 2013, would be able to take the deliberations forward.

The focus on the stock market is currently on Q3 December 2012 results. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the result which could cause revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the current year and or next year. Bajaj Auto unveils Q3 results on tomorrow, 16 January 2013. Hero MotoCorp announces Q3 results on Thursday, 17 January 2013. HCL Technologies announces its Q2 December 2012 results on the same day.

Reliance Industries, Wipro, HDFC Bank and ITC unveil Q3 results on Friday, 18 January 2013. UltraTech Cement unveils Q3 results on Saturday, 19 January 2013. HDFC, NTPC, Asian Paints and Cairn India unveil Q3 results on 21 January 2013. Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Mahindra Bank will unveil Q3 results on 22 January 2013. L&T unveils Q3 results on 24 January 2013. Maruti Suzuki India unveils Q3 results on 25 January 2013. ICICI Bank and Grasim Industries unveil Q3 results on 31 January 2013. Siemens will unveil its Q1 December 2012 results on 31 January 2013. IDFC announces Q3 results on 1 February 2013. ACC announces Q4 December 2012 results on 7 February 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindalco Industries unveil Q3 results on 8 February 2013.

With a view to further enhancing the flow of credit to the export sector, the Reserve Bank of India has introduced a US Dollar-Rupee swap facility to support incremental Pre-shipment Export Credit in Foreign Currency (PCFC) by banks. Scheduled banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)) will have the option to access rupee refinance to the extent of the swap with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under a special export credit refinance facility, RBI said in a statement on Monday, 14 January 2013. The new facility comes into effect on 21 January 2013, RBI said.

The annual rate of inflation based on the monthly wholesale price index (WPI) declined to 7.18% in December 2012 from 7.24% in November 2012, data released by the government on Monday, 14 January 2013, showed. Build up inflation in the financial year so far was 4.72% compared to a build up of 5.22% in the corresponding period of the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement on 14 January 2013. Within WPI inflation, the non-food manufacturing inflation or core inflation, eased to 4.24% in December 2012 from 4.5% in November 2012.

Meanwhile, the government revised downward WPI inflation for October 2012 to 7.32% from 7.45% reported on 14 November 2012.

Inflation based on the combined consumer price index for urban and rural India edged up to 10.56% in December 2012 from 9.9% in November 2012, data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 14 January 2013, showed. Within the consumer price index, inflation with respect to food and beverages stood at 13.04% in December 2012.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) undertakes Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2012-13 on 29 January 2013. RBI kept its key policy rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8% after mid-quarter monetary policy review on 18 December 2012. The central bank said that in view of inflation pressures ebbing, monetary policy has to increasingly shift focus and respond to the threats to growth from this point onwards. Liquidity conditions will be managed with a view to supporting growth as stated in the Second Quarter Review (SQR) of Monetary Policy 2012-13 on 30 October 2012, thereby preparing the ground for further shifting the policy stance to support growth, RBI said. Overall, recent inflation patterns and projections provide a basis for reinforcing October guidance about policy easing in the fourth quarter, RBI said. However, risks to inflation remain and accordingly, even as the policy emphasis shifts towards growth, the policy stance will remain sensitive to these risks, RBI said.

RBI said it is closely monitoring the evolving growth-inflation dynamic and will update the formal numerical assessment of its growth and inflation projections for 2012-13 as part of the third quarter review in January 2013.

The Election Commission on 11 January 2013 said that assembly polls will be held in Tripura on 14 February 2013. Assembly polls in two other states viz. Meghalaya and Nagaland will be held on 23 February 2013. The counting of votes for assembly elections held in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland will take place on the same day on 28 February 2013.

The Ministry of Railways on 9 January 2013 said it has decided to increase passenger fares ranging from 2 paise per kilometer (km) to 10 paise per km with effective from the midnight of 21 January 2013 and 22 January 2013. The railways has decided to do away with the present practice of levying Development Charge on passenger tickets. It has also decided to have all chargeable fares in multiples of Rs 5.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on 10 January 2013 said that the government's decision to raise passenger rail fares was against the common man. Demanding a rollback, Mayawati said hike in railway fares was one of the many anti-common man policies of the government. BSP provides outside support to the Congress led UPA government which has already been reduced to a minority government after Trinamool Congress withdrew support to the government in September last year.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance on 10 January 2013 said that it would take up the latest railway fare increase issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Party chief M Karunanidhi said that he would not support any hike that would hit the poor.

Fitch Ratings on 8 January 2013 reiterated its negative outlook on India's sovereign rating and said it is now worried more about the country's deteriorating fiscal outlook than a slowdown in economic growth and price pressures. Inflation and growth are likely to stabilize in the near term, but India's widening current-account and fiscal deficits have become a greater concern, it said.

The government on 2 January 2013 constituted the Fourteenth Finance Commission. Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr. Y. V. Reddy has been appointed as the Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission. The Commission will make recommendations to the Centre regarding the sharing of union taxes, principles governing Grants-in-aid to states and transfer of resources to local bodies.

The Planning Commission last month lowered its economic growth forecast for the country for the five years through 2017 to 8% from a previous estimate of 8.2%.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 3 January 2013 said that there is a need to revive investment in manufacturing and service sector in order to create higher job opportunities. The Finance Minister said that the economy is passing through a difficult phase mainly due to external factors and, therefore, there is immediate need to tide over the current situation and then move to the path of higher growth. The Finance Minister was making opening remarks during his second pre-budget meeting with the representatives of various Central Trade Unions on Thursday, 3 January 2013.

The Finance Minister said that there was a slowdown in investment in manufacturing sector and as a result not enough jobs were created. He added that due to the various steps and measures taken by the government in the last few months, there seems to be a change in the investment sentiments both in public and private sectors. He said trade unions can play an important role in reviving the manufacturing sector which in turn can lead to creation of more job opportunities in the sector.

European stocks reversed initial losses on Tuesday, 15 January 2013. Key benchmark indices in UK and France rose by 0.01% and 0.05%, respectively. Germany's DAX fell by 0.11%.

German economic growth slowed in 2012 as the sovereign debt crisis and weaker global growth damped exports and company investment. Gross domestic product increased 0.7% from 2011, when it gained 3%, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today.

Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, as US stocks ended Monday's session on a muted note. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea fell by 0.30% to 1.16%. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia and Japan rose by 0.42% to 0.72%.

Bank of Japan holds a two-day meeting on interest rates in Japan on 21 and 22 January 2013.

Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Tuesday, 15 January 2013. US stocks ended Monday's session on a muted note, weighed by losses for Apple Inc. triggered by concern about iPhone sales.

Fitch Ratings today, 15 January 2013, reiterated its warning that a delay in raising the US government's debt ceiling would lead to a formal review of the country's AAA sovereign credit rating. The ratings firm said it expects that Congress will raise the ceiling and that the risk of a US sovereign default "remains extremely low." Fitch said the debt ceiling, however, is an "ineffective and potentially dangerous mechanism" for enforcing fiscal discipline because it doesn't prevent tax and spending decisions that will push debt issuance above the ceiling, while the sanction for not raising the limit risks a sovereign default. Beyond the debt ceiling, Fitch warned that if policy makers fail to come up with a credible medium-term deficit reduction plan that can restore confidence in public finances, "the current negative outlook on the AAA rating is likely to be resolved with a downgrade later this year even if another debt ceiling crisis is averted."

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday, 14 January 2013, warned that the government could hit the debt ceiling between mid-February and early March unless Congress raises it. Geithner's estimate came in a letter to congressional leaders. The White House and congressional Republicans continue to wrangle over the debt-limit issue just weeks after taking steps to avert a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. Failure to raise the debt limit could result in a default.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged US lawmakers on Monday to lift the country's borrowing limit to avoid a potentially disastrous debt default, warning that the economy was still at risk from political gridlock over the deficit. In a wide-ranging question and answer session, Bernanke painted a cautiously optimistic outlook for US growth but gave no clear hints on when the Fed would curb its aggressive bond purchases, despite speculation that it will halt this year.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day meeting on interest rates in the United States on 29 and 30 January 2013.