Pune-based Bajaj Auto plans to increase prices of its Discover and Platina motorcycle models in January to offset the cost rise of the last few months.

The company will toe the line of peers Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, which increased their prices by Rs 250-550. Bajaj Auto had increased the prices of its Pulsar range by Rs 1,000 a few weeks ago but had left its economy range untouched.

Bajaj Auto today reported 6% decline in motorcycle sales at 2,61,94 units in November 2014.

The company had sold 2,78,703 units in the corresponding month of previous year, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.

BAL said exports were up 23.93% during the month at 1,65,733 units as compared to 1,33,731 units in November 2013.

Markets continued to trade flat with stock specific action seen ahead of the expiry of November derivative contracts today.

At 1:15PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 41 points at 28,345 and the 50-share Nifty was down 10 points at 8,466.

Bajaj Auto, the country’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, will launch a series of products over the next 12 months with the aim of not only regaining market share in the very competitive motorcycle segment but to push it higher.

In addition to launching new motorcycles under its premier Pulsar and Discover brands, the Pune-based company will revive its neglected entry-level brand, Platina.

The benchmark BSE Sensex breached 28,000-mark for the first time and the NSE Nifty hit a new peak of 8,363.65 in early trade today on sustained fund inflows amidst optimism over encouraging corporate earnings.

The 30-share index flared up by 141.57 points, or 0.50 per cent, to hit a new peak of 28,001.95, surpassing previous intra-day record of 27,969.82 reached on Monday. The gauge had shed 5.45 points in the previous session. Markets remained closed yesterday on account of “Muharram”.

Bajaj Auto today reported 3.27 per cent decline in motorcycle sales at 3,36,923 units in October 2014.

The company had sold 3,48,323 units in the corresponding month of previous year, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.

Bajaj Auto, India’s third-largest two-wheeler manufacturer, posted a 29 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit for the quarter ended September. The Pune-based company reported a net profit of Rs 591 crore, compared with Rs 837 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The fall in profit was primarily due to a penalty imposed by the Uttarakhand High Court over non-payment of duties. Bajaj Auto said following the judgment, it was liable to pay Rs 340 crore as a one-time penalty and interest.

Bajaj Auto has gained around 3% after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded its stocks from "underperform" to "buy", citing higher volume and average selling prices, and increased contribution from dirt-bike making affiliate KTM.

Bajaj Auto, which is going to announce its Q2 earnings later Tuesday, is expected to see its net profit grow by 3% on an annual basis, according to market analysts.

Benchmark share indices continued to trade weak as selling by foreign funds continued to weigh on market sentiment. Further, data suggests that Nifty roll-overs to the October series stood at 40% so far.

At 11.45 Hrs, Sensex was trading at 27,139.04 with a 67.77 points loss while NIfty shows a decline of 21.50 points at 8,124.80.

Markets edged lower in morning trades as selling in index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and L&T weighed on the indices. At 1040 hrs, the Sensex was down 70 points at 27,137 and the Nifty was down 22 points to trade at 8,124.

The broader markets too gave up all of its early gains and were in red with the midcap index down 0.2% and the smallcap index down 0.04%.

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