Maggi's Brand Value Set to Fall by $200 Million Following India Ban: Report

Sharemasterindia.com: Nestle shares fell 2 per cent in early trade on Wednesday after consultancy firm Brand Finance said Maggi will lose over $200 million or nearly Rs 1,300 crore in brand value following the ban of the popular noodles brand in India.

Nestle withdrew all varieties of Maggi noodles on June 5, hours before the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the snack, ruling it "unsafe and hazardous". The withdrawal came amid country-wide scrutiny on Maggi for high content of monosodium glutamate (a taste enhancer) and lead in some samples.

Reliance Industries Jumps 4%, On Track for Fourth Straight Gain

Sharemasterindia.com: Reliance Industries, on track for a fourth straight session of gains, jumped 4 per cent on Wednesday. Since its 41st AGM on Friday, RIL shares are up 7.5 per cent as compared to 2.1 per cent gain in the broader Nifty.

Global investment bank UBS on Wednesday retained its "buy" rating on RIL with a 1-year target price of Rs 1,154. The brokerage expects RIL to post strong Q1 earnings on the back of strong gross refining margins.

Earlier, Kotak Institutional Equities had also retained its "buy" on Reliance Industries (target Rs 1,050) noting (1) robust earnings accretion from core-business projects and (2) recent strength in Asian refining as well as petrochemical margins.

Sensex Gains for Fourth Day, Jumps 119 Points

Sharemasterindia.com: 3:30 p.m.: Sensex provisionally ended 119 points higher at 26,805 and Nifty gains 42 points to settle at 8,090.

3:27 p.m.: Torrent Pharma up nearly 2%; Cabinet approves hike in FII investment limit and Kotak Mahindra Bank off day's high, up 0.24%; Cabinet defers proposal for increase in foreign investment limit.

3:26 p.m.: Cipla Ltd, India's fourth-largest drugmaker by sales, is planning to enter Latin America and Eastern Europe to tap into growing demand for generic drugs in emerging markets, Chief Executive Subhanu Saxena said.

3:18 p.m.: Reliance Industries, on track for a fourth straight session of gains, jumped 4 per cent on Wednesday. Since its 41st AGM on Friday, RIL shares are up 7.5 per cent as compared to 2.1 per cent gain in the broader Nifty.

3:10 p.m.: Banking and power stocks are witnessing some profit-booking. The Bank Nifty was down 0.12 per cent and the power index slipped 0.35 per cent.

3:05 p.m.: The markets have come off the intraday highs. The Sensex which touched high of 26,983.48 was up 132 points at 26,818 and the Nifty advanced 41 points to 8,088.

Nifty Gainers/ Losers

Nifty Gainers/ Losers

Gainers
Symbol	LTP	% chng	Volume
CIPLA HINDUNILVR HINDALCO RELIANCE TATASTEEL	614.50 864.00 118.65 930.70 302.40	4.09 3.48 3.17 2.96 2.70	32,22,793 25,72,631 51,07,116 59,87,153 82,82,298

Losers
Symbol	LTP	% chng	Volume
VEDL POWERGRID BHEL TATAPOWER CAIRN	172.20 141.10 240.90 72.70 179.00	-3.53 -2.08 -1.91 -1.89 -1.59	70,73,811 17,01,987 30,15,003 21,79,906 35,26,760

Do visit for: NSE Top Gainers & Losers

Asian Stocks Off 3-Month Lows as China Bounces, Fed Eyed

Sharemasterindia.com: Hong Kong: Asian shares rose from three-month lows on Wednesday as Chinese shares staged a comeback, and the dollar stayed static as investors waited for clues from a Federal Reserve meeting on when US interest rates are likely to rise.

Financial spread-betters expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open 13 to 17 points higher, or as much as 0.25 per cent, Germany's DAX to gain 33 to 39 points, or as much as 0.35 per cent, and France's CAC 40 to rise 11 to 12 points, or as much as 0.25 per cent, on Wednesday.

MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8 per cent, moving away from a three-month low on Tuesday as Chinese stocks rallied by more than 2 per cent from the day's lows.

Endless wrangling over the Greek debt crisis also kept broader sentiment leaning towards safe haven assets. Both Japan's Nikkei and Taiwan flipped into negative territory.

Monsoon Concerns Weigh on Gold Demand

Sharemasterindia.com: Mumbai/Singapore: Indian gold demand remained sluggish this week as concerns over a weak monsoon forced farmers, key to the country's bullion demand, to cut back spending.

Indian prices are at a discount of around $1 an ounce to the global benchmark, said traders.

Nearly two-thirds of India's gold demand comes from rural areas where jewellery is a traditional store of wealth for millions who have no access to the formal banking system.

"Demand is quite weak compared to last month," said Mangesh Devi, a jeweller from Maharashtra whose customers are mainly sugar cane and vegetable growers.

Adani Power Gains Amid Acquisition Buzz

Sharemasterindia.com: Shares of Adani Power were in focus on Wednesday after reports said that it is in talks to acquire Avantha Power's 1,260-MW power project in Madhya Pradesh. If the deal materialises, it would be second such deal between the two companies.

Adani Power had earlier acquired Gautam Thapar-led Avantha group's 600-MW Korba West unit.

Another report said that Adani Power is also in talks to buy Essar Power Transmission. Essar Power Transmission is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Essar Power.