BSE Sensex wipes off early gains, down over 100 points

 
After rising over 40 points in early trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex wiped off its inital gains and was trading over 100 points down in late morning trade on Wednesday.

At 11.09 am, Sensex was down 104.98 points at 20759.99. Similarly, Nifty was down 30.80 points at 6172.00 during the same time.

The 30-share index gained 40.13 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 20,905.10 in early trade with consumer durables, realty, metal and power sector stocks leading the recovery. The Sensex had shed 28.92 points in Monday's volatile session.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 11.45 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 6,214.25.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.48 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.60 per cent in early trade.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.49 per cent higher in previous session.

Wipro shares fall over 8 pc on bourses post Q2 results

Wipro shares fell by more than 8 per cent in morning trade on Wednesday after the company reported a 28 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 30.

The stock, however, discounted the second quarter numbers and fell 8.41 per cent on the BSE to Rs 471.55.

On the National Stock Exchange as well, the stock opened weak and slumped 6.33 per cent to Rs 482.20.

The India's third largest IT exporter announced its second quarter results after market hours on Tuesday. Wipro posted a net profit from continuing operations at Rs 1,932.1 crore for the second quarter against Rs 1,510.5 crore in the year-ago period.

Market experts said the decline in the counter was largely because the company's second quarter revenue in terms of dollars lagged behind its peer group companies.

Meanwhile, the broader market was also trading in the negative territory with the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading at 20,736.49 points, down 128.48 points in morning trade.

In dollar terms, Wipro's net profit stood at $309 million in the second quarter this fiscal, while consolidated revenues were at $1.76 billion during the quarter.

IT services revenue rose 20 per cent to Rs 10,068 crore in the second quarter. In dollar terms, IT revenues rose 5.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $1.63 billion, whereas, sequential growth stood at 2.7 per cent.

Banks replace IT as key drivers of Indian shares

Banks are becoming the main drivers of Indian shares, with the NSE Bank index up 11.8 per cent in October as of Friday's close, compared with a 7.7 per cent gain for the broader NSE index.
That marks a second consecutive month of gains: the banking sub-index gained 6.3 per cent in September after the central bank's move to ease short-term rates offset the impact from its hike in the repo rate last month.
Analysts say gains in banking shares have also been spurred by an initial batch of earnings results in the sector showing stable margins and asset quality that met expectations.
By contrast, gains in IT shares have been slower recently. The sector had been the key driver in markets.
The NSE IT Index has gained 8.1 per cent so far this month, although the sub-index is still up 46.2 per cent for the year compared with the 13.5 per cent fall for banks.

Gold price reclaims Rs 31,000 mark on festive demand

 
Gold price spiked to near one-and-a half-month high and reclaimed the key psychological Rs 31,000 per 10/gm mark at the bullion market here today owing to heavy jewellery stockists demand supported by robust seasonal offtake.
Silver price also surged on the back of aggressive speculative as well as industrial buying.
Price of standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity climbed by Rs 165 to finish at Rs 31,130 per 10 grams from Saturday's closing level of Rs 30,965.

Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity also spurted by a similar margin to end at Rs 31,280 per 10 grams from Rs 31,115 previously.
Silver ready (.999 fineness) jumped by Rs 700 to conclude at Rs 49,750 per kg as compared to Rs 49,050 last weekend.
Globally, the shiny metal continued its momentum on easing concerns over an imminent withdrawal of the Fed's bullion friendly quantitative-easing measures amid sliding dollar value.
Spot gold was bid higher at USD 1,320 an ounce in early European trade and silver was up at USD 22.18 an ounce. 

RJD chief Lalu Yadav, JD(U) leader Jagdish Sharma disqualified from Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U) leader Jagdish Sharma were on Tuesday disqualified from Lok Sabha after being convicted in fodder scam case. Prasad is serving five years rigorous imprisonment after the special CBI court of Pravas Kumar Singh found him and 44 others guilty in the case.

Yesterday, Rashid Masood was formally disqualified after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.

Lalu has moved the Jharkhand High Court for bail and staying of the sentence and the Rs 25 lakh fine.

The single bench of Justice R R Prasad has asked for the lower court's records in the case.

Last week, the Attorney General G E Vahanvati had told the Lok Sabha secretariat to immediately issue the notification declaring the seats vacant. He had warned that any delay in issuing notification could mean non-compliance of a Supreme Court order.

The lower court had on September 30 found Lalu and 44 others guilty in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury during the RJD regime in the 1990s and pronounced varying prison sentences against them on October 3.

Eight of the convicts received bail from the CBI court on the day they were convicted.

Lalu was also facing charges in four other fodder scam cases.

Out of 53 cases lodged by the CBI in the Rs 950 crore AHD scam, popularly known as fodder scam, 45 cases ended in convictions by different CBI courts.

Manmohan Singh to hold bilateral talks with Putin today

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin here on Monday for robust discussions to boost the strategic relationship between the two countries.
Singh, who arrived here yesterday in the first leg of his two-nation visit, will be also conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
Singh after his arrival at Moscow yesterday said that India and Russia share a privileged, special partnership.
India and Russia are expected to sign several agreements in various fields including atomic energy, defence cooperation, space cooperation, science and technology, trade and investment.
In a statement prior to his departure on a two-nation five day official visit to Russia and China, Dr. Singh said: "I am confident that my visit will strengthen our relations with two of our most important partners and create new strategic opportunities for India's growth, prosperity and development in a stable external environment."
Dr. Singh, who will attend the 14th India-Russian Annual Summit in Russia, said the annual summit with Russia is an important feature of special and privileged strategic partnership between both the countries.
"The annual summit with Russia, which has been held since 2000, is an important feature of our special and privileged strategic partnership. The scope of our relationship with Russia is unique, encompassing strong and growing cooperation in areas such as defence, nuclear energy, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges," Dr. Singh said.
"I will convey to President Putin the importance we attach to our relations with Russia, and I will use this visit to strengthen our partnership in every possible way," he added.
Dr. Singh said that India and Russia have always had a convergence of views on global and regional issues, and we value Russia's perspective on international developments of mutual interest.
"I look forward to exchanging views with President Putin on a broad range of international developments, including the conflict and turbulence in West Asia as also closer to India, particularly in Afghanistan. I will convey to President Putin our interest in deepening our consultations and coordination on international issues," he added.
He further informed that the Moscow State Institute of International Relations has decided to confer upon him an Honorary Doctorate during his visit.
"I am honoured at this gesture, which is also testimony to the relations between our two countries," he added.
Following the visit to Russia, the Prime Minister will pay an official visit to Beijing from October 22 to 24.

Onion prices may ease in a week

Experts say onion prices, which have risen sharply in recent days, will begin softening in a week, provided it does not rain.

Retail rates in the national capital shot back up to Rs 80 a kilo, from Rs 60 earlier this month. The uptrend during the harvesting season was caused by heavy rain associated with Cyclone Phailin.

"This year, excess rains have played spoilsport," says Rajendra Sharma, General Secretary of the Azadpur Mandi Traders Association. "Excess water is an enemy of the onion. This year, harvesting has been affected in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka due to the downpour that accompanied the cyclone. Prices will come down in the next few days only if there are no rains." Arrivals from the onion-growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been affected.

Sharma said wholesale prices in Delhi have gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 30-45 per kilo over the past week. High onion prices in the country drove inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) to a seven-month high of 6.46 per cent in September. In the same month, WPI inflation for onions stood at 322 per cent.

In markets in Maharashtra, the country's biggest onion grower, wholesale prices are hovering around Rs 50 a kilo. However, R.P. Gupta, Director at the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation in Nashik, said it was only last year's stock that was commanding higher prices. "The old stock is almost exhausted, and the new crop from the kharif season is selling for Rs 30-40 a kilo wholesale. The harvest will only gain momentum, and the price should come down by the month-end." He added that the holding capacity of farmers has gone up with a rise in incomes and they slow down the harvest when prices come down.

India produces about 16 million tonnes of onions a year but consumes only 10 to 11 million. Higher domestic prices had led to the resumption of onion imports after a two-year gap, and onions from countries such as China, Egypt and Pakistan have found their way to Indian markets. Along with stepping up imports, efforts have also been made to discourage exports by raising the minimum export price.