12 March 2008 : Indian Stock Market and Business News roundup

MoneyControl
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Relief rally may continue for few more days: Religare Sec
Nifty may re-test Jan lows of 4448: CLSA Tech
Rally to be more broad-based this time: HSBC AMC
Next 3-6 months to be painful: Rada Adv
Brokerage biz to see earnings revision
Investors seem cautious on mkts: Karvy

Sify
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'No terror outfits in stock market'
Market regulator SEBI has ruled out participation of terror outfits in the Indian stock markets, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

India looking at more relief sops for exporters
The government is looking at more steps to help exporters hit by a rise in rupee value, the trade minister said on Tuesday as he admitted the annual export target of $160 billion could not be met this year.

Rupee gains as local equities erase losses

The Financial Express
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Steelmakers may keep capacity idle
Indian steelmakers facing higher input prices may be forced to keep some capacity idle as their working capital is being squeezed, according to Bipin Kumar Vohra, chairman and managing director of SPS Steels group.

Tata Motors to raise $1 bn in long-term funds
Tata Motors is revving up for the last lap in its bid to buy Ford Motor Co's luxury brands, Land Rover and Jaguar, which could cost it around $2.7-3 billion. On Tuesday, the company said it plans to raise additional long-term funds of up to Rs 4,000 crore, equivalent to $1 billion.

Yellow metal price may remain high: World Gold Council
Gold prices will remain high in the short term globally mainly due to continued demand from India and China, the weakening dollar and falling global mining supplies, according to James Burton, chief executive officer, World Gold Council.

Rupee rises a second day; bonds advance
The rupee rose for a second day as a rebound in the nation's stocks spurred speculation overseas investors will return to buy equities. The currency extended gains as the benchmark stock index gained 1.3%, the most since February 25, ending two days of losses.

Indian crude oil basket touches $100 a barrel
The price of Indian basket of crude oil touched a record high of $100.17 a barrel during the Monday trade in the oil market. This has resulted in putting further pressure on fuel retailers, which are loosing Rs 360 crore per day on auto and cooking fuel sale.

Finmin finds no foul play in Reliance IPO trading
Stock prices of Reliance group companies rose by up to 37% in about a month before the opening of Reliance Power IPO, but subsequent examination of trading of these shares on exchanges did not reveal any foul play, the government said on Tuesday.

SBI, SBS merger may be postponed till elections
The State Bank of India and State Bank of Saurashtra merger is unlikely to take off at least till the general elections to be held in 2009. The reason is that the State Bank of Saurashtra Act needs to be repealed to carry on with the merger of SBS with the parent bank.

Business Standard
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Worse is yet to come in forex derivative losses
The $50 million hit L&T took due to hedging losses in a subsidiary may just be the tip of the iceberg. Losses by Indian companies as a result of their exposure to the foreign exchange derivatives market may hog the headlines for next few quarters since many of the currency swaps are likely to mature after March, said foreign exchange experts.

LIC Housing to roll out Rs 350 cr fund
In order to cash in on the real estate boom, Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance (LICHF) is set to launch a new venture capital fund for realty projects. The size of the fund, which is awaiting regulator approval, is likely to be Rs 300-350 crore, Director and Chief Executive S K Mitter said.


RK
http://yourmitra.wordpress.com