CBSE reiterates ambiguous stand on school-based exam in HC

CBSE reiterates ambiguous stand on school-based exam in HC
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday made it clear that it had introduced the school-based exam in Class X for students who don't want to change the board. However, it also clarified that both school and board-based exams are equivalent and should be treated at par by other boards. It also said that in the long term it plans to do away with board-based exam.

With these contrasting statements, CBSE thus maintained its ambiguity that has caused the bitter dispute with Maharashtra state board. The Maharashtra board has barred entry of students opting for school-based exam into state-run junior colleges. The CBSE ambiguity invited the wrath of parents from all over the state and many of them approached the judiciary at Bombay and Nagpur to get justice.

The Delhi-based board's assertion came through an affidavit filed in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court by its assistant secretary (legal) S Dharini Arun. A division bench comprising justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Pramod Kode then adjourned the plea till Monday after the petitioner's counsel Nitin Lalwani sought time to reply.

The CBSE's reply came while hearing a plea by Aggrieved Parents' Forum (APF), which had challenged state's decision to prohibit CBSE school-assessment students from getting admission. The petitioners have made state education department, deputy director of education in Nagpur, and Centre Point School as respondents, besides the state and CBSE.

The CBSE further informed that it had introduced school-assessment pattern with internal evaluation last year to de-stress students. Accordingly, it introduced Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation ( CCE) in its affiliated schools from October 2009 while it decided to progressively implement the scheme all over the country.

Even while evaluation was to be done internally by school teachers, control over the entire process of school-based exam has been retained by CBSE. The board sets the question papers, provides marking scheme for evaluation, appoints moderators for checking papers and also introduced a mentoring system in schools.

The CBSE categorically stated that internal evaluation did not undermine the legitimacy, standardization and authenticity of school-based examination. Moreover, the results of both exams were declared simultaneously and even the marklists are the same.

Taking a dig at the state, CBSE strongly argued that no other board in the country has denied admission to students who opted for school-based exam. It further contended that CBSE Class X exam is valid, legal and duly recognized by the Maharashtra government.

The affidavit further said that CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi had met state principal secretary and chief protocol officer of General Administration Department (GAD) on July 5, where it was agreed that CBSE school-based exam students would be allowed to apply for Class XI admission in state junior colleges.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Bharti’s $10.7 bn bid for Zain Africa too expensive?

India's largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel Limited has revived its African safari once again. The company has started exclusive talks for buying out Kuwait based Zain's African operations after Zain's board accepted a $10.7 billion offer for the business.
But the big question is whether the deal is worth the money Bharti group CMD Sunil Mittal will have to fork out.
At first look it seems the right move for Mittal as Zain will provide Bharti the much needed presence in Africa.
The average penetration in Zain's African markets is only 36 per cent and this acquisition gives Bharti an additional 42 million subscribers.
But a closer look brings a totally different picture.
The deal may leave out high Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) markets of ZAIN like Morocco and West Asia. Zain's ARPU in this market is only $6, much lower than that of MTN.
Zain is fighting legal disputes in Nigeria which could also make things tricky. Mroeover, company’s African operations carry a debt of $2 billion.
These concerns explain why the stock took a beating on Monday as Bharti shares tumbled 9.2 per cent, their biggest fall in four and a half months, to Rs 285.40.
What seems to be scaring investors more is the possibility of an all cash deal adding a mountain of debt on the company's books which can crowd out the money  needed for the very competitive 3G auctions next fiscal.
Morever, this deal is coming at a time when its margins from india are wafer thin thus hitting its overall profitability.
However, Bharti management sees big benefits in the deal.
Even as Bharti and Zain are engaged in exclusive talks till March 25.
Zain's biggest shareholders, the Kharafi family, have made their keenness to sell apparent but  Bharti may soon find that going by past experience the path to closing this deal may yet be full of many unforseen twists and turns.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Hathway Cable IPO fully subscribed; retail demand tepid

MUMBAI: The initial share sale offer of Hathway Cable & Datacom managed to get fully subscribed on the final day of offer on Thursday, even
as retail investors stayed away from putting in bids for the issue.

The issue received bids for over 3.08 crore shares representing 1.36 times the offer size of 2.27 crore shares, as per the data available with the National Stock Exchange.

The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers was subscribed 1.5 times, while the non-institutional investors bid for 4.22 times the shares reserved for them.

However, retail demand remained tepid as investors bid for only 0.19 times the shares reserved for them, NSE data shows.

"... At the lower and the upper end of the price band respectively the issue price factors in the entire expected improvement in the operating matrix and does not leave much of an upside," domestic brokerage Sharekhan said in a note.

The company offered 2.77 crore shares in the IPO at a price band of Rs 240-265 a piece, aiming to mop up between Rs 666-737 crore in total.

The issue had received commitment worth Rs 120 crore from as many as 13 anchor investors, including Franklin India Funds, DSP Blackrock Funds, Reliance Capital Trustee, Copthall Mauritius Investment.

The company had finalised allocation of 49.95 lakh equity shares to 13 anchor investors at Rs 240 a piece -- the lower band of the IPO.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Some banks ask for PCR deadline extension

Some banks have requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend the deadline for meeting the new provision coverage ratio (PCR) norm.
In a meeting with RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat, though most banks said they had achieved the norm, some said they might need more time.
“Most banks have met the provision coverage ratio norm, except for one or two. In the case of the latter, RBI may take a call on a case-to-case basis and give some relief. RBI may give them more time to reach the 70 per cent PCR level,” GS Vedi, chairman and managing director of Punjab & Sind Bank, told reporters after coming out of the meeting.
The central bank has mandated 70 per cent PCR and given banks time till September 2010 to comply. While most banks have already crossed the 70 per cent level or are closer to that, as their December quarter results showed, State Bank of India (SBI) is far from that. Its PCR at the end of December was 59.19 per cent. SBI Chairman OP Bhatt had said the bank would need to made an addition provision of Rs 3,000 crore to meet the norm.
RBI has allowed banks to include technical writeoffs while calculating the ratio.
RBI, which has been expressing concern over teaser loans, raised the issue in the meeting. Bankers explained that such schemes were launched to provide a stimulus to the housing sector and were not permanent in nature. “The scheme was launched when interest rates were low and the sector needed a stimulus. But we have told RBI that these schemes cannot go on indefinitely,” said a bank chief who attended the meeting. Union Bank of India has announced that it will prematurely withdraw the scheme from February 15 as against the original deadline of March 31.
Banks again requested RBI to cut the savings banks rate to 2.5 per cent, which is currently at 3.5 per cent. “We requested RBI to either reduce the savings bank rate or postpone the implementation. It will affect our margins and profit,” MV Nair, chairman and managing director, Union Bank of India, said after the meeting.
According to bankers, transaction costs are becoming high in case of savings accounts in cases where the balance is less and transaction volumes are high.
The banks’ wish may not be fulfiled by the regulator. “It looks like it (RBI) is not in favour (of the request),” said a banker.
RBI has asked all banks to offer interest to savings bank customers on a daily basis from April 1.
Currently, the return on savings accounts is determined on the basis of the minimum balance on the 11th day to the last day of the month.
There was also a detailed discussion on infrastructure funding by banks, bankers said. Though banks demanded exemption from cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio for their lending to the core sector, RBI seemed not very much in favour for this, bankers said.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Sensex gains 230 points in broad rally

The key benchmark surged as firm Asian stocks and gains in US index futures boosted sentiment. The government's decision to ease foreign investment rules also underpinned sentiment. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 230.42 points or 1.45%, up close to 225 from the day's low and off close to 50 points from the day's high. The barometer index regained the psychological 16000 mark. Metal, realty, auto and banking stocks vaulted. The market breadth was strong.
The market pared gains in early afternoon trade after a rousing start triggered by firm Asian stocks. However, buying at lower levels once again propelled stocks higher in afternoon trade. The Sensex hit a fresh intraday high in late trade. The stock market remains closed on Friday, 12 February 2010, on account of Mahashivratri.
Exports in January rose 11.5% to $14.3 billion, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said today. He also said foreign direct investment in December went up an annual 13% to $1.5 billion.
The Union Cabinet today eased foreign investment rules. Foreign Investment promotion Board (FIPB) can approve investments of up to Rs 1200 crore, Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters after a cabinet meeting. Earlier, the FIPB, an arm of the finance ministry, had power to approve foreign investments of up to Rs 600 crore.
Meanwhile, the data released by the government today showed that annual food inflation rose for the third straight week. The food price index rose 17.94% in the 12 months to 30 January 2010, higher than an annual rise of 17.56% in the previous week. The fuel price index rose 10.44 % and primary articles price index rose 15.75 %.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said on Thursday there would be no policy decision until April 2010 unless situation demands it. Gokarn also said there is no proposal to bring down interest rates on saving accounts.
European shares reversed early gains ahead of a key EU summit which could lay the groundwork for a rescue package of debt-stricken Greece. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany fell by between 0.13% to 0.47%. But UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.39%.
Asian stocks rose for the third day in a row on Thursday, powered by strong economic data from Australia and China, and ahead of a key summit that could lay out a rescue plan for debt-stricken Greece. The key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore and were up by between 0.1% to 1.85%. Markets in Japan and Taiwan were shut for a public holiday.
South Korea's central bank kept the benchmark interest rate at a record low at 2% after unemployment surged to a 10-year high, increasing political pressure on the bank to support a recovery.
Trading in US index futures indicated Dow could gain 38 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 11 February 2010.
Wall Street ended in the negative zone but off intra-day lows on Wednesday, 10 February 2010. Traders mulled a possible bailout of Greece. Reports suggest that France and Germany are expected to present a bailout plan at an EU summit today. Speculation about the Federal Reserve's exit strategy after comments from Fed Chief Ben Bernanke also weighed on the market. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 20.26 points, or 0.20%, at 10,038.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.39 points, or 0.22%, at 1,068.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.00 points, or 0.14%, at 2,147.87
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday detailed how the US central bank will begin to wean the economy off its extraordinary monetary stimulus, even as he stressed it was not yet time to do so. Bernanke said the Fed would likely begin tightening monetary policy by removing some of the cash from the financial system before it turns to raise benchmark short-term interest rates.
The US financial system averted a meltdown but it is not yet back up to full strength, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.
European Union leaders will lay the groundwork for a financial rescue of Greece at a summit on Thursday, but any support is likely to require a big commitment from Athens on getting its economy in order. Germany and possibly France are expected to take the lead in any aid package the EU draws up to help Greece weather its mounting debt and deficit crisis, although the structure, size, nature and any conditions attached to a deal remain unclear.
Greece's ballooning deficit and debt have reverberated across financial markets in recent months, hitting the euro , regional banking stocks and some government bonds, and prompting many investors to pull back from riskier assets worldwide.
Closer home, government's gross market borrowing in the fiscal year 2010/11 may reportedly be within the current year's target, allaying market fears of higher borrowing. The government has completed record gross borrowing of Rs 451000 crore ($97 billion) for the current fiscal year to fund a 16-year high fiscal deficit of 6.8% of gross domestic product (GDP). Earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said the government's gross market borrowing in the fiscal year to end-March 2011 might be slightly higher than the current fiscal year because of the redemptions. The government has said it hopes to return to the path of fiscal consolidation and intends to bring down the deficit to 5.5 percent of the GDP.
The economy will grow faster in 2009/10 than the government has forecast, the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday, adding to expectations that a strong recovery would lead to tighter fiscal and monetary policy.
A top economic adviser C Rangarajan said plans for an exit from stimulus policies may be in the national budget on 26 February 2010, and the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Subir Gokarn said reforms were needed to sustain growth in a weaker global environment.
Mukherjee said the economy would grow 7.75% in 2009/10, slightly above the central bank's view and higher than a forecast of 7.2 % issued by the government's statistical office on Monday. Earlier this moth, the International Monetary Fund forecast growth in 2009/10 of 6.75%. Asia's third-largest economy has been picking up momentum since mid-2009, and data on Friday 12 February 2010 is expected to show industrial output grew an annual 12 % in December. At a policy review last month, the RBI increased banks' reserve requirements but held key interest rates steady.
A first step towards withdrawing the post-crisis fiscal stimulus may reportedly be taken in the Union Budget for 2010-11, with an increase in the Cenvat (Central value added tax) rate for excise duty by 2 percentage points. Encouraged by signs of growth revival and desperate to reduce the fiscal deficit, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to take this step when he presents his Budget to parliament on 26 February 2010. The government had reduced the Cenvat rate for excise duty from 14 to 8% - in two rounds, by four percentage points in December 2008 and two percentage points in February 2009.
The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 230.42 points or 1.45% to 16,152.59. The Sensex gained 280.70 points at the day's high of 16202.87 in late trade. The Sensex rose 6.11 points at the day's low of 15,928.28 in early trade.
The S&P CNX Nifty rose 69.65 points or 1.46% to 4826.85.
BSE clocked turnover of Rs 3951 crore, sharply lower than Rs 5123.04 crore on Wednesday, 10 February 2010.
The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.78% and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.82%. Both the indices underperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Auto index (up 2.14%), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 2.06%), BSE Realty index (up 1.98%) and BSE Metal index (up 1.59%), outperformed the Sensex.
The BSE HealthCare index (up 0.24%), PSU index (up 0.38%), BSE Power index (up 0.46%), BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.62%), BSE Teck index (up 0.9%), BSE Consumer Durables index (up 1.06%), BSE FMCG index (up 1.17%), BSE IT index (up 1.17%), BSE BSE Bankex (up 1.31%), underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1593 shares advanced as compared with 1191 that declined. A total of 97 shares remained unchanged.
From the 30-member Sensex pack, 28 rose and two fell.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.98%. RIL recently submitted a $2 billion expression of interest for Value Creation Inc, a Canada-based private firm which holds oil sands assets.
Oil exploration firms rose, after the crude oil prices gained more than 1% on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on Wednesday, 10 February 2010. India's biggest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 1.14%. Cairn India advanced 1.23%. But, India's second biggest oil and gas exploration firm by revenue, Oil India, fell 0.27%.
Rise in crude oil prices would result in higher realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms. Light, sweet crude oil gained 77 cents, or 1.04%, to $74.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 lifted by an upbeat global oil demand growth estimate for this year and hopes of a rescue plan for Greece.
PSU OMCs fell after a senior government official said finance and oil ministers will meet on 14 February 2010 to discuss fuel pricing and subsidies. BPCL and Indian Oil Corporation fell by between 0.79% to 1.29%. But HPCL rose 0.09%.
Rate sensitive banking shares rose after the central bank said on Wednesday it will introduce from 1 April 2010 a new base rate to price credit more transparently, replacing the existing benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR). The Reserve Bank of India said the base rate will be the new reference rate for determining lending rates.
India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 3.22%. Its ADR fell 0.54% on Wednesday. India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India rose 0.43%. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 0.07%. Its ADR rose 1.25% on Wednesday.
According to draft guidelines, the RBI has proposed that the actual lending rate charged to borrowers would be the base rate plus borrower-specific charges including product-specific operating cost, credit-risk premium and tenure premium said. The base rate will be applicable for all new loans as well as for old loans that come for renewal. Existing borrowers who want to switch to the new system before the expiry of their contracts should agree on the revised rate structure with the banker, it said. The base rate could also serve as the reference benchmark rate for floating rate loan products, apart from the other external market benchmark rates, it said.
Rate sensitive realty shares rose on bargain hunting after a recent fall. India's largest realty firm by sales DLF rose 1.74%. Among other realty stocks, Indiabulls Real Estate, Peninsula Land and Housing Development and Infrastructure rose by between 0.81% to 4.67%.
Unitech rose 3.67%, extending gains for the second consecutive day, after Telenor bought a further 7.15% stake in telecom joint venture Unitech Wireless by pumping in additional Rs 2022 crore of fresh equity.
Rate sensitive auto stocks rose on strong vehicle sales in the month of January 2010. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose 2.67%. India's top small car manufacturer by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.54%. As per reports the company expects a 20% growth in sales and hopes to double its exports to around 1.6 lakh units this fiscal ended March 2010. India's biggest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 3.17%.
Two wheeler stocks rose. Hero Honda Motors, TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto rose by between 0.65% to 4.13%.
Metal stocks rose on strong domestic demand. Hindalco Industries rose 1.28% on reports the company hopes to complete raising Rs 4900 crore of debt in the next two weeks to achieve financial closure for Utkal Alumina Refinery, a 15 lakh tonne per annum project in Orissa.
JSW Steel rose 2.66% on reports the company is close to buying two coal mines in the US
Among other metal stocks, Steel Authority of India, Tata Steel, National Aluminum Company, Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel & Power rose by between 0.28% to 2.85%.
Shares of firms whose fortunes are linked to orders from Indian Railways rose, following a strong response to the initial public offer of ARSS Infrastructure Projects. Container Corporation of Indaia, BEML, Kalindee Rail Nirman, Stone India, Texmaco and Titagarh Wagons rose by between 2.27% to 16.19%. The initial public offer (IPO) ARSS Infrastructure Projects was subscribed nearly 46.34 times by 16:00 IST on the last day of the issue today, 11 February 2010.
India's largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 1.75%. Daiichi Sankyo said it will launch new innovative products in Mexico through the marketing division of Ranbaxy's Mexican subsidiary Ranbaxy Mexico.
Among other healthcare stocks, Fortis HealthCare, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Wockhardt rose by between 0.16% to 5.75%.
India's largest power utility firm by sales NTPC rose 1.07% on bargain hunting after recent fall. The company's follow on public offer managed to scrape through with the issue getting subscribed 1.2 times. The issue, through which the government is divesting 5% of its stake, at a floor price of Rs 201 a share, opened on 3 February 2010 and closed on 5 February 2010. At the floor price, the follow-on-public offer (FPO) is valued at Rs 8,286 crore.
Among other power stocks, Torrent Power, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power rose by between 0.36% to 0.79%.
Consumer durables stocks rose on hopes of higher consumer spending as disposable income increases. Rajesh Exports, Titan Industries, Videocon Industries, Gitanjali Gems rose by between 0.48% to 4.08%.
Infrastructure stocks rose on recent reports the government is considering new guidelines for private equity investment in infrastructure companies in an attempt to open new sources of equity funding for the sector. The move comes in the backdrop of the poor response from private companies and banks in financing projects, especially those in sectors like highways and urban transport and infrastructure. Gayatri Projects, Nagarjuna Construction Company, Valecha Engineering and Hindustan Construction Company rose by between 0.16% to 3.83%.
IT stocks rose on a possible financial rescue plan for debt ridden Greece's economy. Europe is the second largest market for Indian IT firms. India's second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys rose 1.05%. Its ADR fell 0.28% on Wednesday.
India's third largest software services exporter Wipro rose 1.2%. Its ADR rose 0.1% on Wednesday. As per recent reports, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, the FMCG arm of Wipro, is in advanced talks to buy Nigeria-based skincare company, Tura International. India's largest IT exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services rose 1.44%. Reportedly TCS' Passport Seva Project, which aims to issue passports in flat three days, is all set to be launched in a week or two.
India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 0.76%. The company on Monday secured a contract for the electro-mechanical equipment package for a 1,200 megawatt hydroelectric project in Bhutan valued at Rs 1,016 crore.
India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 0.82%. The company said on Tuesday it won orders worth Rs 582 crore.
FMCG stocks rose on bargain hunting. ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Tea rose by between 1.37% to 2.24%.
Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 5.19 crore shares on BSE. Indiabulls Power (1.23 crore shares), KRBL (0.98 crore shares), Unitech (0.97 crore shares) and Radhe Developers (0.63 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.
Titagarh Wagons clocked the highest turnover of Rs 154.68 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 124.95 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 104.95 crore), Thinksoft Global (Rs 102.21 crore) and Hindustan Oil Exploration (Rs 85.51 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-European parliament vetoes banking data share with United States

The European parliament defied intense pressure from Washington and ditched an extensive data-sharing programme enabling the United States to track millions of European personal financial transactions to counter terrorism.
An overwhelming majority of MEPs in Strasbourg voted to bin the Swift agreement, which has been operating on a provisional basis, enabling the US to comb millions of personal banking transfers and transactions to try to trace terrorist finance.
The MEPs voted down the EU-US pact by almost 2-1, by 378 to 196 votes, mainly on grounds of privacy and civil liberties, meaning that the Americans and the Europeans need to try to craft a different pact.
"This is a serious setback in the fight against terrorism," said a British government spokesman. "The agreement has supplied vital leads against those terrorists responsible for planning or committing attacks against EU citizens."
But senior MEPs argued that the interim deal with the US was inadequate and blamed politicians on both sides of the Atlantic for agreeing to a flawed arrangement.
"Our laws are being broken and under this agreement they would continue to be broken. Parliament should not be complicit in this," said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, a Dutch liberal MEP. "The security of European citizens is not being compromised. Targeted transatlantic data-exchange will remain possible through other legal instruments. If the US administration would propose to the US Congress something equivalent to this – to transfer in bulk bank data of American citizens to a foreign power – we all know what the US Congress would say."
Washington had applied intense pressure on the parliament to agree to the pact, with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Timothy Geithner, US Treasury chief, appealing to Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European parliament.
The parliament veto applies to data from Swift – the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications – which is based outside Brussels and coordinates millions of financial transfers and transactions every day on behalf of thousands of banks.
The transatlantic pact is part of Washington's terrorist finance tracking programme inaugurated after the 9/11 attacks. EU member state governments and the European Commission were keen to make the interim agreement permanent.
"The safety and security of our citizens will be put at risk by the European parliament's decision today," said an EU diplomat. " It's only by negotiating directly with the US that we've secured the stronger data safeguards that the parliament wanted. Now the US can walk away, ignore any concerns we have and stop providing the vital leads we need to help to prevent terrorist attacks."
Washington argues that the contentious arrangement has been "instrumental" in preventing terrorist attacks and said before yesterday's vote that a veto "would be a deeply regrettable and potentially tragic mistake".

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Sensex sell-off continues on weak global cues

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended deep in the red Friday as bears came out in the open following unexpected rise in jobless claims in the US and deficit scare in Europe. All the sectoral indices closed in the red, with realty, metals and capital goods being the worst hit.

Indices opened gap-down in line with other Asian peers and drifted lower. Attempts by bulls at a pullback near crucial support levels failed, as the selling continued. Analysts are of the view that in the short term indices may bounce back but the bearish phase will continue in the medium term.

“Market may have bottomed out for the day or for a few more days. However, it looks like we are in a bear market,” said Deepak Mohoni while speaking to ET Now.

PA Rajan, technical analyst, MF Global, speaking to ET Now, said the correction is not over and Nifty may slip to 3900 levels. “The correction is not over yet. Nifty is more volatile than other indices as its high-beta index. Nifty may find support at 4600 in the short-term but it may hit 3900 in the medium term,” Rajan added.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended the day at 15790.93, down 434.02 points or 2.68 per cent. The index fell to touch an intraday low of 15725.43.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 4718.65, down 126.70 points or 2.61 per cent. The index fell below the psychological support of 4700 to touch an intraday low of 4692.35.

“Till we don’t see consolidation around support levels of 4540, Nifty is likely to slip lower and lower depending on the global economic situation. For positive momentum, Nifty should hold above 4960 levels,” said Bhavin Mehta, technical analyst, Reliance Money.

BSE Midcap Index was down 2.60 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 3.25 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 4.36 per cent, BSE Metal Index fell 4.26 per cent and BSE PSU Index slipped 3.52 per cent.

Biggest Sensex losers were Hindalco Industries (-5.51%), Tata Steel (-4.65%), ONGC (-4.54%), Jaiprakash Associates (-4.46%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (-3.93%).

Tata Power (0.80%) was the lone index gainer.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 2368 declines and 487 advances.

Note: Indian markets will have a special 90-minute trading session Saturday, to enable the National Stock Exchange test an upgraded trading system. The trading in the cash and futures market will open at 11:00 am and close at 12:30 pm.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Govt may price future public issues of PSUs more attractively

MUMBAI: Disappointed over poor investor participation in the follow-on public offer of power giant NTPC, the government may consider pricing

future public issues of state-run companies more attractively.

Corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said there were a lot of "complicating views" on pricing of the issue when the government had announced its decision to offload 5 per cent equity in the company.

"This is an area for the Public Enterprises Department. There are several views on that (pricing future issues in a more attractive fashion), but we are not directly involved so I don't know what the final view will emerge. Certainly, this is something that is being kept in mind," he told reporters here.

The largest power generating company in India hit the primary market on February 3 to raise over Rs 8,200 crore with its follow-on public offer (FPO).

The issue, which closed today, has been subscribed 1.19 times on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the National Stock Exchange, according to data from NSE website.

The FPO received bids 48.9 crore bids for over 41 crore equity shares, the website showed.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-China hits back at US over trade and currency

China has hit back at the US a day after President Barack Obama promised to take a tougher line with Beijing over currency and trade.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the value of the Chinese yuan was not the main reason for the country's trade surplus with the US.
Mr Obama vowed to ensure countries were not giving their currencies an unfair advantage against the dollar.
Ties between the US and China have been strained over an arms deal with Taiwan.
Tensions have also risen over reports of Chinese cyber attacks on US-run websites and a planned visit to the US by the Dalai Lama.
Trade agreements
US companies have long complained that China keeps its currency artificially undervalued, giving its industries an unfair price advantage.
At a meeting with Senate Democrats, Mr Obama was asked whether the US would cut ties with Beijing over continuing trade disputes.
He said he would continue to make sure that China and other countries abided by trade agreements, but warned it would be a mistake for the US to become protectionist.
"The approach that we're taking is to try to get much tougher about the enforcement of existing rules, putting constant pressure on China and other countries to open up their markets in reciprocal ways," he said.
"But what I don't want to do is for us as a country or as a party, to shy away from the prospects of international competition."
Mr Obama also said foreign exchange rates would be monitored.
"One of the challenges that we've got to address internationally is currency rates and how they match up to make sure that our goods are not artificially inflated in price and their goods are artificially deflated in price," he explained.
But Mr Ma said on Thursday that the value of the Chinese yuan was at a reasonable level and that China was not pursuing a trade surplus with the US.
"At the moment... the level of the yuan is close to reasonable and balanced," he said.
"Accusations and pressure do not help to solve the problem."
On Wednesday, Mr Ma told President Obama meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader would further erode ties between Beijing and Washington.
"We urge the US to fully grasp the high sensitivity of the Tibetan issues, to prudently and appropriately deal with related matters, and avoid bringing further damage to China-US relations," he said.
China, which took over Tibet in 1950, considers the Dalai Lama a separatist.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Sensex ends 300 points up led by metals, realty

MUMBAI: Equities witnessed a short covering-led pullback rally on Wednesday as sentiments turned bullish with some encouraging US economic data.
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Benchmark indices outperformed the broader markets after a sharp correction in the past few sessions.

Indices opened on a higher note in line with positive Asian markets and gained momentum as the session progressed, only to retreat from crucial resistance levels. Positive response to NTPC follow-on public issue and gains in European market boosted sentiments.

However, analysts are not convinced with the rally. They expect the market to remain volatile with negative bias till the Union Budget is announced later this month.

“We are bearish on the market and see Nifty slipping to 3800-4200 in next three-six months time. Investors should book profits and stay in cash while traders should go short on the market,” said Sarvendra Srivastava, technical strategist, Emkay Global Financial Services.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 4931.85, up 101.75 points or 2.11 per cent. The index touched an intra-day high of 4949.15 and low of 4831.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 16,496.05, higher by 332.61 points or 2.06 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 16,552.99 and low of 16,210.25.

BSE Midcap Index ended 1.50 per cent higher and BSE Smallcap Index advanced 1.06 per cent.

The BSE Metal Index ended 4.01 per cent higher, BSE Realty Index gained 2.81 per cent and BSE Bankex Index moved 2.07 per cent higher.

Biggest Sensex gainers were Sterlite Industries (5.97%), Tata Steel (4.91%), Larsen & Toubro (3.8%), HDFC (3.76%) and Hindalco Industries (3.27%).

Sun Pharmaceuticals, down 1 per cent, was the lone laggard in the 30-share index.

The follow-on public offer of state-run NTPC was subscribed 61 per cent in the first two hours of its opening today. The issue received bids for over 25 crore shares against 41.22 crore equities on offer, according to the data available with the NSE.

Shares of Multiplex operators INOX Leisure and Fame India surged after the former acquired 43.28 per cent stake in Fame India for Rs 44 crore. It will soon make open offer to acquire additional 20 per cent stake. Shares of INOX Leisure closed 10.19 per cent higher and Fame India ended 5 per cent up.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1775 advances and 1046 declines.

European markets were in the green and the US markets were likely to open higher on expectations of positive jobs data. At 4:35 pm, Dow Jones stock futures was up 0.10 per cent, S&P 500 moved 0.10 per cent higher and Nasdaq 100 gained 0.11 per cent.

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BUSINESS NEWS:-India Panel Says Government Should Free Fuel Prices (Update1)

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- India must free gasoline and diesel prices from government control to help develop a viable fuel pricing policy that will ease revenue losses for state-owned refiners, a panel set up by the government said.
Prices of kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas must be increased, Kirit Parikh, a former member of the nation’s Planning Commission, said today in New Delhi after submitting his report to the oil ministry. Prices of kerosene should be raised by 67 percent to 15 rupees a liter and LPG by 100 rupees a 14.2 kilogram bottle, he said. The recommendation may be put up for the cabinet’s approval in a week, Oil Minister Murli Deora said.
“This is a good time to free prices because petrol and diesel price increases will be very low,” Parikh said. “You wouldn’t wait for crude to touch $120 a barrel again.”
The panel, proposed in the federal budget presented in July, is the third attempt by the government since 2002 to align fuel prices with crude costs, a step that will help the nation’s state refiners. Refiners in China are assured of profits because they can adjust gasoline and diesel prices when oil changes by 4 percent over 22 working days. Indian refiners depend on subsidies as compensation for selling fuels below cost to curb inflation.
Shares of Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s largest state-run refiner, fell 0.6 percent to 315.85 rupees in Mumbai trading today, compared with a 2.1 percent increase in the benchmark Sensitive Index. Bharat Petroleum Corp. rose 2.6 percent to 580.05 rupees and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. climbed 1.2 percent to 356.15 rupees. The report was submitted after the market closed.
‘Cushioned Economy’
“A quick and immediate freeing of fuel prices may not be possible,” Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank Ltd., India’s third largest, said in a phone interview. “Price control has cushioned the economy from the shocks of extreme volatility in commodity prices. The transition will have to be very slow.”
Prices of gasoline may increase by about 3 rupees a liter and diesel by about 4 rupees a liter if the government were to increase prices now, Parikh said. Gasoline costs 44.63 rupees a liter in New Delhi and diesel 32.87 a liter, according to Indian Oil’s Web site.
Tax Structure
The panel was asked to examine the current taxation structure of fuels, especially gasoline and diesel, and suggest how state refiners can be reimbursed if the government doesn’t allow them to charge market prices, the oil ministry said in a statement in September.
“We are very keen, not just to discuss, but see what best can be done for both consumers and the government,” Minister Deora told reporters today.
India dismantled the so-called administered-pricing mechanism in April 2002, allowing oil refiners to set fuel prices for a few months. Panels headed by C. Rangarajan, chairman of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s economic advisory council, recommended in 2006 that the government link fuel prices to crude. The same advice was repeated in a report by Planning Commission member B.K. Chaturvedi in 2008.
State-run oil producers Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Oil India Ltd. have been asked to pay a part of their profit from selling crude as subsidy. The companies will share profit from fields they won before the government started auction of these areas in 1999, Parikh said.

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business news|Divide within govt over 3G auction delay

What’s causing the delay in the auction of third-generation wireless telephone technology or 3G?  Government sources tell NDTV that in addition to the technical issues, which have already affected the auction, now the government has to deal with political differences as well. 
3G allows telecom operators to provide high-speed services to customers for downloading data on mobile phones. Auctioning this will bring the government 3000 crores, but NDTV has learnt that there are serious divisions within the group of ministers, led by Pranab Mukherjee, who’re handling the issue. This group includes some of the government’s most senior ministers, including P Chidambaram and Sharad Pawar.
The last meeting to discuss a possible auction was held on January 12.  Here, some ministers suggested that the auction take place as quickly as possible.  However, the minutes released earlier this week show a delayed auction was the consensus. This has upset some of the ministers involved. 
Now, the Prime Minister along with Mukherjee, has decided that instead of next month, the auctions will take place in August.
The Law Minister, Veerappa Moily, in fact, wants to delay the auction even further.  Here’s why. The government has approved the auction of 4 slots.  But the 3G spectrum is controlled by the Defence Ministry.  Currently, the government only has enough spectrum for 2 slots. The Defence Ministry is expected to vacate enough spectrum  for a third slot by September this year, and the fourth slot only by 2011.
Moily doesn’t want the auction to take place till the government has got enough spectrum for all the slots it’s selling.
Otherwise, if the government sells these now, and accepts payment, it will be open to legal action by the buyers if the Defence Ministry doesn’t vacate the 3G spectrum on schedule.

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business news|Toyota Is Unable to Hit the Brakes on Crisis

DETROIT—Toyota Motor Corp.'s problems continued to mount Friday, as the auto maker said it was recalling 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and dealers said they were starting to feel the pinch after the company halted U.S. sales of eight of its top-selling vehicles.
In response to growing concerns among customers, Toyota is gearing up to run an "open letter" in major newspapers Sunday and Monday in the top 25 markets in the U.S., according to people familiar with the plan.
The ad will be one of the first attempts by Toyota to publicly address the crisis. Analysts have already begun to measure the initial impact on Toyota's sales. The company is also planning "an informative announcement sometime next week," spokesman Brian Lyons said.
Edmunds.com, an automotive Web site, estimated Toyota's market share in the U.S. is likely to drop to 14.7% in January, its lowest level in four years. Toyota's market share stood at 18.2% in December.
Rivals Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., which have launched new initiatives targeting Toyota customers, said this week they expect a double-digit January U.S. sales increase.
On Friday, Toyota gave details of its European recall. It said its Aygo, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 models are all affected by the gas-pedal problem and the recall will affect some models made as far back as February 2005.
Including Friday's action in Europe, the Japanese company has now recalled 9.5 million vehicles since late last year over two issues—5.4 million for floor mat entrapment issues and 4.1 million for a sticky gas pedal problem. That is 22% more than the 7.8 million vehicles Toyota sold world-wide last year.
Toyota said late Thursday its engineers "have been working around the clock" to get a fix to the gas-pedal problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reviewed a proposed repair to the pedal Thursday, will provide an opinion on the repair that is crucial to getting the fix out to dealers and consumers, Mr. Lyons said.
Toyota is considering whether to repair the pedals of the 2.3 million vehicles that are on the road and in dealer lots or to replace the part entirely and could do a combination of both. "Our motivation is to get these vehicles fixed as soon as possible," Mr. Lyons said.
Restarting sales in the U.S.—its largest market—is key for Toyota. It is expected to report robust quarterly earnings next week thanks to its cost-cutting efforts, but analysts said extended troubles in the U.S. could derail its return to profits in the year ending March 31. Last year, Toyota posted its first annual loss in 59 years.
Toyota dealers in the U.S. say they are spending more time fielding calls from existing customers than tempting shoppers to buy unaffected vehicles. And that is hurting sales.
Earl Stewart, who owns a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla., expects to lose sales of about 50 vehicles—or 20% of his business—this month because of the recall. Eddie Triplett, general manager of a Toyota dealership in Cleveland, Tenn., says sales will be off 15%. And Adam Lee, president of Lee Auto Mall in Maine, expects to sell only four or five new Toyotas in the last four days of the month versus 20.
"Monday and Tuesday were great days and then the world came crashing down," said Bob Page, who owns a dealership in Southfield, Mich. Following Tuesday's recall, "we didn't see a customer the next day."
Brian Johnson, an automotive analyst at Barclays Capital, expects Toyota to see its market share decline each week the shut down is in effect and it will modestly erode overall industry sales numbers as some buyers may wait for the safety issue to be resolved rather than jump to a competitor. Many Toyota dealers reported increases in January sales from a year ago even with the recall.
"The lasting effect is going to depend on how quickly and competently the issue gets resolved," said Mr. Johnson. "If it takes a month to fix, this could become their Ford Pinto and Chevy Corvair event" leading to a gradual loss of market share as competitors scoop up new buyers.
Ford Friday said it is funneling more money to dealers in hopes they boost advertising to grab Toyota customers. Ford sales analyst George Pipas said traditionally Ford has had a hard time stealing away Toyota customers, adding that only about 6% of new Ford vehicle customers had traded-in a Toyota.
Mr. Pipas expects industry-wide U.S. retail sales in January to fall 5% to 10% compared with January 2009. Part of that decline will come from the loss of about 20,000 Toyota sales.
In the meantime, Toyota dealers who have had to corral about half their stock, are struggling to sell the portion of their stock that is still for sale.
Mr. Triplett in Cleveland, Tenn., said he has about 70 cars on his lot that aren't for sale, and is pushing the 85 he has that are unaffected. "Seasonally speaking, January is always a tough month. This just made it harder," he said.

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business news|RBI raises CRR by 75 basis pts

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday in its third quarter review of monetary policy 2009-10 increased mandatory cash reserve of banks held by it by 75 basis points.

The 75-bps increase in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to 5.75% will be implemented in two steps, starting February 13, to suck Rs 36,000 crore from banks. Although the central bank has left its key repurchase rate untouched at a record low of 4.75% and the reverse repo rate at 3.25%, it has promised to respond 'swiftly & effectively' to temper inflationary expectations.

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business: Edelweiss Capital in deal to buy Anagram Capital

MUMBAI: Broking services firm Edelweiss Capital Ltd said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire Anagram Capital for 1.64 billion
rupees in an all-cash deal.

Edelweiss plans to operate Anagram as a subsidiary with investments in research, products, training and technology, it said in a press release to the National Stock Exchange.

"This acquisition is in sync with Edelweiss' plan to expand the retail broking business. What makes this transaction exciting is the minimal overlap between the broking operations of both the companies," Rashesh Shah, chairman, Edelweiss Group said.

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business: Bank of Baroda Q3 net up 18%

Bank Of Baroda today reported a 17.5 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 832.49 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
The company had a net profit of Rs 708.37 crore in the December quarter of FY09, Bank Of Baroda said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Total income, however, decreased 2.3 per cent to Rs 4,836.62 crore in the third quarter from Rs 4,954.49 crore in the corresponding period a year-ago.

The stock is now trading with 1% loss at Rs 528 on the BSE.

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business:Worst is over; bumps, opportunity go together: Premji

Davos, Jan 27 (PTI) The outlook for global economy has turned positive this year and the worst is over even though the road ahead is full of challenges, Wipro Chairman and a co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Azim Premji has said.

"Last 12-18 months have been very difficult for the global economy. However, I think the worst is over, 2010 looks positive," Premji said in his message to the global business and government leaders for the annual WEF meeting here.

The road to recovery, however, would vary in different economies, he said. "While the mature economies are taking time, the emerging economies like India, Brazil and China have already started to show smart growth recovery.

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business:Sensex down 400 pts; realty, metal, auto, banks down

At 13.10 hrs IST, Sensex was trading down close to 400 points. Heavy selling was seen in realty, metal, auto, banks, capital goods and pharma stocks. All BSE sectoral indices were trading in red. The broader market lost further ground. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index were down 3% and 3.54% respectively.
The BSE Sensex was down 396.82 points or 2.36% at 16383.64, and the Nifty down 133.25 points or 2.66% at 4874.65. About 498 shares advanced while 2,443 shares declined and 187 shares were unchanged.

In the largecap space, ITC, Power Grid Corp, Suzlon Energy and Tata Power were only gainers in the Nifty. On the losing side, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel, DLF, Unitech and Tata Motors were down 5-6%.
FMCG major Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 261.00 down 1.08% from its previous close of Rs 263.85. Index heavyweight Reliance was trading at Rs 1,025.70 down 1.54% from its previous close of Rs 1,041.70. Tech major Infosys was trading at Rs 2,510.15 down 1.09% from its previous close of Rs 2,537.85.op gainers on the BSE Midcap: Cadila Healthcare, Cummins, OnMobile Global, Torrent Pharma and GlaxoSmith Con were up 2.7-7%. Top losers on the BSE Midcap: Guj NRE Coke, Emami, Hind Oil Explor, Indiabulls Real and Kingfisher Airlines were down 7-8.5%.
Top gainers on the BSE Smallcap: Amtek India, Modern India, OCL Iron, Centrum Finance and Ahmednagar Forging were up 4-9%.
Top losers on the BSE Smallcap: VST Tillers, Nirlon, Orbit Corporation, Mount Everest and Kewal Kiran were down 9-10%. Nifty hits 4900; M&M, Tata Motors, Hindalco top losers
At 12:03 hours IST, the benchmark Nifty has tested the 4900 mark on the back of further sell-off in banking, realty, auto, technology and metal stocks. However, ITC, Power Grid, Suzlon Energy and Tata Power were the only losers. he Nifty touched an intraday low of 4899.15. It was trading at 4,900, down 108 points and the Sensex was at 16,443, down 336 points.
On the sectoral front, BSE Realty, Auto, Metal and Bank indices fell 3-4%. Healthcare, IT, Capital Goods, TECk and Power indices lost 1-2%.
Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking sees the Nifty heading to around 4,800-4,825. "If it consolidates there, then one can take it as a positive signal. But in case it does not stop there, then it could go deeper."
In the banking space, ICICI Bank was down 4.25% and SBI down 3.92%. Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra, PNB, HDFC Bank and Bank of Baroda fell 1.5-3.5%.
M&M tumbled 6% (top loser) in the auto segment. Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Hero Honda were down 4-4.6%. Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Forge and Bajaj Auto lost 2-3%.
In the realty space, Indiabulls Real slipped 6.64%. DLF, HDIL and Unitech declined 3-3.6%.
Tata Steel, Hindalco and Sesa Goa plunged 4-4.6% in the metal segment. SAIL, Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite Industries, Jindal Saw, NALCO and Jindal Steel lost 1.7-3.7%.
The broader indices also declined in-line with benchmark indices; the BSE Midcap was down 1.7% and Smallcap down 2.1%.
Sensex slips further; financials, metals, auto drag
At 10:29 hours IST - the benchmark Sensex remained under pressure, on the back of selling in banking & financial, realty, metal, auto, technology, capital goods and pharma stocks. L&T, HUL and ONGC were also the losers in trade. The Nifty was hovering around the 4950 level.
However, buying in power stocks along with Reliance Industries, ITC and Reliance Communications capped the losses to major extent.
The Sensex was trading at 16,607, down 172 points and the Nifty was at 4,952, down 55 points. The Nifty January future was trading with 5 points discount.
Shankar Sharma, Vice-Chairman and Joint Managing Director, First Global says the Sensex can touch 12,000-12,500 in the first half of 2010. "We expect markets to claw back before the budget. It can recover to 17,000 in the second-half."
Top losers in the largecaps - Hero Honda, M&M, SBI, Tata Steel and Tata Motors fell 3-4%. However, Suzlon Energy was up 1.9% and Power Grid Corp up 1.56%. Reliance Communications, ITC, Reliance Industries and Tata Power gained 0.2-1%.
The BSE broader indices were down 0.8% each, as about 980 shares advanced while 1897 shares declined. Nearly 251 shares were unchanged.
Lanco Infratech has bagged order of Rs 5,675 crore. The stock was up just 0.5%.
Edelweiss Capital rose 2.6%, as it is going to buy Anagram Capital for Rs 164 crore in cash.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures launched USD 200 million FCCB issue. The stock was down 1%.
Jai Corp, SBI, Tata Steel, Hindustan Copper, National Fertiliser, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries were the most active shares on the bourses.
In the midcap space, OnMobile Global, Cummins, Cadila Health, Jai Corp and Godrej Industries were up 4-6% while Voltas, Ipca Labs, Emami, KGN Industries and Oriental Bank lost 5-6%.
In the smallcap space, Sanwaria Agro, Hinduja Foundries, Centrum Finance, EIH Associated Hotel and Escorts went up 4-6.7% while Mount Everest, Gujarat Alkalies, Sundaram-Clayton, Nirlon and Lok Housing fell 5-6.7%.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed. Hang Seng was up 0.5% and Straits Times up 0.34%. However, Kospi fell 0.5%. Shanghai, Nikkei and Taiwan were marginally in the red.
Nifty tests 4950 on China & Japan worries; banks slip
The Nifty started the day lower reacting to the Tuesday's weak Asian markets. China closed at its lowest close in nearly three months yesterday after it implemented a previously ordered increase in reserve requirements for some banks. Yesterday, local markets were closed on account of Republic Day.
Asia is trading mixed today. China was trading below 3,000 for the first time since November 2, 2009.
The Nifty tested the 4950 in opening trade, but immediately retraced. The SGX Nifty was down over 1.5% in early trade.
At 9:02 hours IST, the Nifty was trading at 4,958, down 49 points and the Sensex was at 16,626, down 155 points. The CNX Midcap fell 38 points to 7,334 and the BSE Smallcap was down 24 points to 8,559. About 216 shares advanced while 543 shares declined on the NSE.
Among the frontliners, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Maruti, SAIL, Jaiprakash Associates, Unitech, DLF (ahead of numbers), L&T and BHEL were the losers in the early trade.
HUL, Hindalco, SBI and Sterlite Industries were down 1.5-2% on disappointing set of numbers.
However, ITC, Reliance Communications, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were the gainers.
Midcap & Smallcap space:
Gujarat NRE Coke was up 1.3%.
However, RCF and National Fertiliser declined.
Shree Renuka Sugar fell 0.5%.
TTML lost 2% on weak numbers
Pantaloon rose 2.5% and Cadila Healthcare gained 3%.
Global cues:
Asian markets were trading mixed. Shanghai was down 0.8% and Kospi fell 0.13%. However, Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times and Taiwan were up 0.2-0.7%.
The US markets ended off day's high on reports that Senate has scheduled a hearing on President Obama's bank proposal next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 2.5 points at 10,194, came off 90 points from day's high of 10,285. ((Dow Jones was up 23 points, NASDAQ up 5 points, S&P 500 up 5 points on Monday)).
The Nasdaq ended down 7 points at 2204, came off 24 points from day's high of 2228. The S&P 500 ended down 4.6 points at 1092, which came off 12 points from day's high of 1104.
Asian markets on Tuesday
Asian markets were down 2-4% on Tuesday on China & Japan worries.
China implemented a previously ordered increase in reserve requirements for some banks.
There were talks that policymakers may take more aggressive action soon.
Japan's sovereign debt was put on a negative outlook from Standard & Poor's.
Commodity:
Crude oil was down 0.7% at USD 74.7/bbl, hit a low of $73.82/bbl
Gold futures ended marginally higher at $1098.3/ounce, recovers from low of $1085.2.
March silver was down 1.7% at $16.86/ounce.
Market cues:
-FIIs net sell USD 446 million on January 25
-Turnover at Rs 92202 crore versus Rs 159,665 crore on Friday
-Total F&O Open Int up by Rs 1230 crore at Rs 1,26,162 crore
-FIIs net sell Rs 1002 crore in cash on January 25 (Prov)
-DIIs net buy Rs 716 crore in cash on January 25 (Prov)
-FIIs net buy Rs 15 crore in F&O on January 25 (Prov)
F&O cues:
-Total Futures Open Int up by Rs 103 crore
-Total Options Open Int up by Rs 1,127 crore
-Stock Futures add 56.7 lakh shrs in Open Int
-Nifty Calls add 17.1 lakh shrs
-Nifty Puts adds 4.2 lakh shrs in Open Int
-Nifty PCR at 1.01 versus 1.04
-Nifty Futures add 6.2 lakh shrs
-Nifty Futures at a 6-pt disc versus 17-pt disc
-Nifty 5000 Put adds 5.5 lakh shrs in Open Int
-Nifty Feb 5200 Call adds 4.6 lakh shrs in Open Int
-Nifty 5200 Call adds 4 lakh shrs in Open Int
-Nifty 5100 Put sheds 8.3 lakh shrs in Open Int

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BUSINESS NEWS:-Cadbury buyout to help Kraft expand presence in developing mkts

Kraft Foods today said its proposed $19.6-billion acquisition of Cadbury will help the company expand its presence in the developing markets, including India, by leveraging the infrastructure the British candy maker has set up in these markets.
One of the "single biggest opportunities" the company gets from buying Cadbury is that it enables "us to fill out geographical white spaces and put our portfolio of products through Cadbury's infrastructure in markets like India", Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld said.
Yesterday, the Illinois-based firm had sealed a deal to buy Cadbury for about $19.6 billion (11.9 billion pounds), ending months of bitter wrangling over the price.
"Together, we will have over 40 brands with revenues of over $100 million," Rosenfeld said, adding the buyout would help Kraft, besides expanding its footprint in developing markets, capitalise on population growth trends and provide scale to invest in infrastructure in key geographies.
The percentage of Kraft's net revenue from developing markets will also increase from 20 per cent to 25 per cent when combined with Cadbury, she said.
"From Kraft Foods' perspective, Cadbury gives us meaningful entry into India," she added.
The deal would enhance Kraft's long-term revenue growth from 4 per cent to over 5 per cent.
The firm, which makes Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese, expects the deal to close in mid-February.

Through the deal, which would create the world's biggest confectioner, both the companies seek to have leading positions in Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico.
The percentage of Kraft Foods net revenue from developing markets will also increase from 20 per cent currently to 25 per cent when combined with Cadbury, she said.
"From a Kraft Foods' perspective Cadbury gives us meangingful entry into India," she added. The deal enhances Kraft's long-term revenue growth from four per cent to over five per cent.
Kraft, the maker of Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese, expects the deal to close in mid-February. "Kraft Foods and Cadbury have highly complementary geographic footprints," Rosenfeld said.
Importantly, a combination would increase scale for both companies in markets where the two do not have significant presence, she said.
The combined group would also benefit from an improved position across Europe, including in France and Spain.
The company said its strategy going forward would be to focus on becoming a leading snacks, confectionary and quick snacks company and to exit from the lower growth and lower margin businesses.

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BUSINESS NEWS:- Sensex volatile; ONGC, RIL, Wipro, Sterlite, DLF, SBI dip

At 14:23 hours IST, the Sensex was trading marginally lower amid volatility on the back of selling in oil & gas, realty, cement, select pharma, banking, technology and auto stocks. Weak European cues also weighed on the markets.
However, buying in telecom, metal and select capital goods stocks along with NTPC, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Maruti, HDFC, Hero Honda, HUL and Power Grid capped the gains to large extent.
The Nifty was trading at 5,213, down 13 points and the Sensex was at 17,464, down 21 points. The Nifty January future was trading with 8 points discount.
The broader indices were flat; about 1127 shares advanced while 1818 shares declined on the BSE. Nearly 169 shares were unchanged.
ONGC, Reliance Industries, Wipro, DLF, Sterlite, HDFC Bank, SBI and ITC were the negative contributors.
Hindustan Copper, Jai Corp, Havells India, Rashtriya Chemical, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC were the most active shares on the bourses.
Top percentage gainers - Jai Corp, Hind Rectifiers and Fresenius Kabi were locked at 20% upper circuit each. Vikas WSP, Action Financial, Cera Sanitary and Redington were up 17-19.9%.
In the midcap space, Havells India shot up 16.59%. Coromandel International and KGN Industries gained 5% each. However, MindTree, HMT, Polaris, Praj Industries and Chambal Fertiliser lost 4-7%.
In the smallcap space, Electrotherm, Mount Everest and Visa Steel were up 15% each. However, JK Lakshmi Cement, ABG Infralogistic, Zenith Infotech, Richa Industries and OCL Iron declined 5% each.

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