Mumbai, November 4
Helped by rally in the market value of Coal India Ltd and Bharti Airtel, top-eight Sensex companies saw their total market valuation climb by a cumulative Rs 47,381 crore last week.

While TCS, RIL, ONGC, CIL, HDFC Bank, Bharti, HDFC and HUL saw rise in their market capitalisation (m-cap), ITC and Infosys suffered losses.

The m-cap of Bharti spurted by Rs 8,675 crore to Rs 1,46,045 crore, making the telecom major the biggest gainer among the top-10 firms.

After Bharti, state-run CIL was the star performer as its valuation surged Rs 8,274 crore to Rs 1,84,532 crore.

RIL's market cap jumped Rs 7,318 crore to Rs 2,93,534 crore, while HDFC added Rs 6,680 crore to its value reaching Rs 1,32,867-crore mark and TCS saw its valuation zoom by Rs 6,312 crore to Rs 4,11,234 crore.

The market value of ONGC rose by Rs 5,091 crore to Rs 2,47,938 crore, while HUL saw its m-cap climb Rs 3,058 crore to Rs 1,31,559 crore and HDFC Bank's valuation soared by Rs 1,973 crore to Rs 1,62,810 crore.

On the other hand, ITC lost Rs 7,453 crore to Rs 2,62,048 crore from its m-cap, while Infosys' value dipped by Rs 2,959 crore to Rs 1,88,320 crore.

In the list of top-10 companies, TCS continued to rule the chart, followed by RIL, ITC, ONGC, Infosys, CIL, HDFC Bank, Bharti, HDFC and HUL.

For the week October 25-November 3, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 2.68% or 555.84 points. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 4
The Finance Ministry has sought from the Power Ministry details of fuel allocation to gas-based plants before giving its nod to pool prices of imported and domestically produced natural gas.

"Ministry of Finance has asked us to provide the gas allocation list of power plants and also the ones which have signed PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements)," a Power Ministry official said.

The ministry has proposed to pool prices of imported and domestically produced natural gas to be supplied to power plants stranded due to drop in production of the fuel from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 block.

The ministry floated a Cabinet note last month to seek approval to pool imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) with the fuel available from the KG-D6 block after meeting the requirements of fertiliser units. The move is aimed at helping gas-starved power plants.

As per the ministry's proposal, during 2014-15, around 3,000 MW capacity power plants will get gas under the gas-pooling mechanism. The electricity produced from these plants is likely to be sold at a tariff of Rs 7 per unit.

The proposed electricity tariff was derived after pooling the prices of imported and domestic gas and deducting government subsidy, which requires approval, the official said.

The tariff may increase to Rs 7.50 per unit in 2015-16, when gas will be made available to additional power plants.

And in the financial year 2015-16, the remaining 4,800 MW capacity plants will also be able to get gas.

Currently, 7,800 MW of gas-based power generation is stuck due to scarcity of natural gas.

The proposal will be finalised once the Finance Ministry agrees to provide the subsidy. State-run GAIL India will be the facilitator for the price-pooling
mechanism. — PTI

New Delhi, November 4
Foreign direct investment inflows into the services sector declined by 47.5% to $1.19 billion during the April-August period.

The services sector, which includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing, had received FDI (foreign direct investment) worth $2.28 billion in the same period last year, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Industry experts say the government needs to further relax FDI norms to attract investors to the sector.

"Although the government has liberalised norms in the financial sectors, more needs to be done. The outsourcing business of India was impacted due to restrictions by developed economies," said Krishan Malhotra, Head of Tax and expert on FDI at corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas.

The services sector contributes over 60% to India’s GDP. In 2012-13, foreign investment in the segment fell to $4.83 billion from $5.21 billion in 2011-12.

Malhotra said the RBI would soon come out with guidelines on foreign banks, a move which will help in boosting FDI in the sector.

The government is also considering raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector to 49% from 26%.

The other sectors where foreign inflows dipped during the first five months of this fiscal as compared to the previous year include construction development (township and housing), power and metallurgical industries. — PTI

New Delhi, November 4
With bulk of the speculative activity around the rupee over, the dollar value is not likely to go beyond 62-63 even after RBI withdraws the temporary measures like direct sale of dollar to the oil importing companies and FCNR swap facility, according to an Assocham note.

Also, FIIs are buying heavily in the Indian market and the sentiment has changed since August when they were selling.

According to the note, exports have made an impressive rebound - a trend which is very much expected to continue with Indian exporters becoming more competitive with currency appreciating from Rs 55/56 to a dollar to Rs 61-62 to a dollar. However, the speculation-led rally to Rs 68.85 to a dollar, as witnessed in August would not have been sustainable.

According to Assocham, worries on account of Current Account Deficit (CAD) have also gone away largely with the global markets getting convinced that the CAD would come down. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has already said the CAD for the current fiscal would not be more than $60 billion.

All these events now set the stage for the RBI for a possible withdrawal of the measures which were taken to quell the storm which had swept the Indian markets when the rupee was witnessing almost free fall. FIIs were pulling out of the emerging markets following chaos triggered by the May 22 statement from the US Federal Reserve which indicated withdrawal of $85 billion a month stimulus to the American economy. Part of the quantitative easing resulted in a rally in the emerging markets, which got punctured after the Fed statement. 

New Delhi, November 4
FMCG major Dabur India today said it has forayed into the packaged milk fruit-shake market in the country under its Real brand.

The company said it has test launched the new product in select markets of Delhi and Punjab and plans to roll out in other parts of the country soon.

"With the launch of Real Fruit Shakes, we aim to not only extend brand Real to give our consumers more choices but also make the experience of having milk more enjoyable and nutritious for kids," Dabur India General Manager-Marketing (Foods) Praveen Jaipuriar said.

The brand has been test launched with a single variant, Mango Shake and will be offered to consumers in two packings, 200 ml for Rs 25 and 1 litre for Rs 105.

The company plans to extend the Real Fruit Shakes range shortly with the addition of other fruit and milk combinations, Jaipuriar added.

The milk shake market in the country is estimated to be around Rs 900-1,000 crore per annum. — PTI

Chandigarh, November 4
Lingaraj Mahapatra today took charge as the Chief General Manager (CGM), State Bank of India, Chandigarh Circle, replacing NK Chari, who has been promoted as Deputy Managing Director. The Chandigarh Circle comprises four states i.e. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and UT of Chandigarh.

He has held various assignments during 35 years of his career in diverse operational fields. Prior to assuming the charge of CGM, Chandigarh Circle, Mahapatra was General Manager, Zonal Inspection Office, Hyderabad.

New Delhi, November 4
Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has cleared a proposal to allow the sale of non-subsidised 5-kg cooking gas (LPG) cylinders at petrol pumps throughout the country.

The scheme was launched in October in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru and petrol pumps owned and operated by oil companies were allowed to sell the 5-kg cylinders.

Company-owned and operated outlets make up for 3% of the 47,000 petrol pumps in the country.

However, in today’s announcement, the Petroleum Minister has allowed the sale of these smaller cylinders at all petrol pumps across the country.

The 5 kg cylinders are not subsidised and therefore sold at market rates which is more than double the subsidised price of Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.

However, according to a Petroleum Ministry statement, the scheme is subject to the election code of conduct. It is being deferred in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where Assembly elections are being held in November and December.

According to the statement, this decision is expected to benefit the common man as sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders at market price with minimal documentation would facilitate easier availability of cooking gas at more selling points.

Retail outlets not owned and operated by the oil companies may be included in the scheme, subject to statutory clearances, it said. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum own and operate a combined 1,440 outlets across the country.

Traditionally, oil marketing companies have been marketing LPG filled cylinders to various customers through their distributor network all over India.

There is an emerging segment of new consumers like IT professionals, BPO employees who want LPG but in the absence of proper proof of address (POA) cannot access the same. This initiative allows sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders at market price with merely any Proof of Identity (POI) through petrol stations to attend to demand of such consumers.

According to the statement, the scheme will be a boon for the migratory population such as students, IT professionals and BPO employees, as well as people with odd work hours. It offers them the flexibility to pick up cylinders and obtain refills at the time of their choice because petrol stations are open for longer hours than LPG dealers.

For some consumers, the need is in small parcels or arises at odd times of the day when distributors may be closed.

New Delhi, November 4
Investment trend by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the main drivers of the Indian stock market, the ongoing second quarter earnings and global cues will drive trading sentiment on the bourses this week, experts said.

"At this moment all one can say is liquidity is driving the markets. And what is creating the liquidity surge? It is the expectation over the elections results, no tapering in the Fed's bond buying programme and finally the expectation that interest rates may have peaked," said Milan Bavishi, Head Research, Inventure Growth and Securities.

The zone of 6,300-6,400 can act as resistance for Nifty.

However, as of now there are no signs of weakness in the markets, so the broader trend remains up, Bavishi added.

Market experts said the US Federal Reserve's decision to continue with its bond-buying stimulus programme for now has eased concerns about foreign funds pulling out capital from emerging markets.

Overseas investors have been net buyers for the 21st straight session, purchasing Rs 2,062.82 crore of shares, as of Friday (November 1), according to provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Stock markets are closed today for 'Balipratipada'. It would resume regular trading tomorrow.

Besides, investors would also eye the next batch of quarterly earnings from blue chips like Bharat Heavy Electricals, Tata Motors and Punjab National Bank.

Meanwhile, for the week ended October 25-November 3, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 2.68 per cent or 555.84 points. — PTI

Mumbai, November 4
The first trading session of Samvat 2070 year ended on a positive note today with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty settling at new all-time closing high of 21,239.36 and 6,317.35, respectively, extending gains for the fifth straight session.

Buying was mainly seen across-the-board as 12 out of BSE 13 sectoral indices closed in the green locking gains of between 0.1% and 0.78% . The BSE Bankex, however, ended with a fall of 0.12%.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed strong at 21,278.08. It hit a new intra-day record high of 21,321.53, before paring some gains to settle at an historic closing high of 21,239.36 — a rise of 42.55 points.

The 50-share Nifty of the NSE also recorded its an all-time closing high of 6,317.35, surpassing its previous closing high of 6,312.45 registered on November 5, 2010.

The Nifty, however, failed to cross its an all-time intra-day high of 6,357.10 logged on January 1, 2008. Today, it touched a high of 6,342.95.

Though there was no usual trading yesterday, a special 75-minute 'Muhurat' trading session is permitted on the stock markets.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought shares worth a net Rs 186.95 crore on Friday (November 1) as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 22 stocks closed with gains while eight of them fell. Tata Motors led the Sensex gainers with a rise of 1.74%, followed by Jindal Steel (1.13%), Sun Pharma (0.95%), Maruti Suzuki (0.86%), Tata Power (0.85%) and BHEL (0.84%). Among notable losers, ICICI Bank eased by 0.65% and M&M 
by 0.52%.

Initial gains were minimised as some investors booked profits to write their first entry with gains on the first special Muhurat session of Hindu Samvat 2070 year, said brokers.

Reflecting smart rise in second-line stocks, 1,556 stocks closed in the green while only 473 lost ground. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap firmed up by 1.05% and 1.37%, outperforming the BSE Sensex.

Stock markets remained closed today on account of 'Balipratipada' and will resume regular trading tomorrow. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 4
Investors have pulled out nearly Rs 34,000 crore from various mutual funds in September as against high investments in such schemes in the preceding month.

The huge withdrawal of funds during September followed a net inflow of Rs 23,713 crore in August.

As per the latest data available with SEBI, investors have withdrawal a net amount of Rs 33,910 crore in September in various mutual fund (MF) schemes.

This takes the MFs' net mobilisation of funds from investors in the first-six months of the current fiscal at about Rs 35,342 crore.

Mutual fund is an investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.

At gross level, mutual funds mobilised Rs 8.67 lakh crore in September, but also witnessed redemption worth Rs 9 lakh crore - resulting into a net outflow of Rs 33,910 crore.

This has brought down the total assets under management of mutual funds to Rs 7.46 lakh crore as on September 30 from Rs 7.66 lakh crore in the previous month. — PTI

New Delhi, November 4
Indian minority shareholders in Vodafone India, including Analjit Singh, will have to pay 20% capital gains tax after selling their stake to the UK-based parent company, a Finance Ministry official said.

"There is a capital gain for the minority shareholders and it will be taxed," the official said when asked about the tax implications of Vodafone Plc's plan to buy out the minority shareholders in its Indian telecom venture.

The tax on gains made from financial transactions is levied at 20%.

Vodafone Plc last week applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for approval to increase its stake in Vodafone India to 100% from the current combined direct and indirect holding of 84.5%.

It proposed to buy the remaining stake in the company for Rs 10,141 crore.

Besides Singh, who is the non-executive chairman on the board of the Indian company, the minority shareholders of Vodafone India include Piramal Enterprises Ltd chairman Ajay Piramal holding an 11% stake.

Vodafone entered India in 2007 by buying Hutchison Whampoa in Hutchison-Essar Ltd in a $11 billion deal.

The company faces a tax liability of over Rs 11,200 crore, along with interest, for the acquisition and is in discussions with the government to resolve the issue.

Vodafone had offered to settle the dispute through conciliation and the government has agreed, but there are differences over the rules under which it would take place. — PTI

New York, November 4
Smartphone maker BlackBerry today scrapped a sale plan and said it would instead raise as much as $1.25 billion through convertible debentures.

The company will also replace Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins, while John Chen, a director in Wells Fargo and The Walt Disney Company, will serve as interim CEO, BlackBerry said in a statement.

Former director Prem Watsa, whose Fairfax Financial had bid for BlackBerry, will return as Lead Director.

Watsa-led Fairfax Financial, the firm that signed a tentative agreement in September to acquire BlackBerry for $4.7 billion, will invest $250 million in the convertible debentures, BlackBerry said. Fairfax holds 10 per cent in the company. — PTI