Sensex near day's high...Small-Caps, Mid-Caps underperform

BSE Sensex was trading at 19,440, up 150 points over the previous close. It had earlier tocuhed a day's high of 19,443 and opened at the day's low of 19,339.

The Indian stock benchmarks have extended the morning's gains with no let up in fresh buying in the Large-Cap stocks as traders remain upbeat on the final day of the March derivative contracts. The Indian market is actually outperforming the rivals in Asia where the trend is mixed today. Stock indices in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia are just marginally positive while the Chinese market is under pressure. The Shanghai Composite is down over 1%. Stock benchmarks in the US and Europe gained overnight. At 11:04 am (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 19,440, up 150 points over the previous close. It had earlier tocuhed a day's high of 19,443 and opened at the day's low of 19,339. NSE Nifty was trading at 5,830, up 42 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 5,830 and opened at the day's low of 5,803. However, the Small-Cap and the Mid-Cap shares seem to have run out of steam and are under-performing the main indices.The BSE Small Cap index and the BSE Mid Cap index were up 0.6% and 0.2% respectively. Most sectoral indices on the BSE are in the positive terrain. Only the Auto index is in the red. Hero Honda, Grasim, TCS, ONGC, Infosys, L&T, Bajaj Auto, Jindal Steel, BHEL, Dr. Reddy's, ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, NTPC, GAIL, Tata Power, DLF, HDFC, Cairn India and RIL were among the winners in the main indices. M&M, Cipla, RCOM, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Ambuja Cement, Tata Motors and IDFC were among the losers in the main indices. Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills is locked in 20% upper circuit for the second day running after announcing the sale of majority stake to US-based International Paper. Others like Malu Paper, Star Paper, JK Paper, ABC Paper, Yash Papers, Orient Paper, Ruchira Papers and Kalpataru Papers are also up smartly. The market breadth is positive with 1,390 shares rising and 950 shares falling.

India Infoline

India-Pakistan Match - double victory for India

Talks between the two Prime ministers to continue

The most expected World cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan got over yesterday 30 March 2011, with India ending on the winning side. Cricket has never been just a sport for everyone. That too, whenever there is a match between India and Pakistan, it has created more enthusiasm and speculations. This time, the India-Pakistan semi-final match created more expectations not only on the cricket side but also on the political side. The initiative of Manmohan Singh to invite Gilani to watch the match was complimented by various political personalities including the Opposition leader LK Advani. The talks between the two Prime ministers on the eve of the match are expected to continue and make a progress in maintaining smooth bilateral relations between the two countries. The Mohali match, even though Pakistan lost it, is considered important for both India and Pakistan, as it has helped to create better relationship between the two countries. Manmohan Singh's government, which has been facing a tough time due to the various scams accusations, the visit of Pakistan Prime minister has given the party a new turn. www.indiainfoline.com

Realty stocks lead the mkts higher

Led by gains in the realty and healthcare sectors, the Indian stock markets opened the day on a strong note. The BSE Sensex is trading higher by around 151 points.

Asian stock markets have opened the day on a strong note. Singapore (up 1.4%), Hong Kong (up 1.3%) and Japan (up 1.2%) are leading the pack of gainers. However, China (down 0.4%) is facing selling pressure. The Indian stock markets have opened the day on a strong note. Stocks in the realty and healthcare space are the main gainers.

The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by around 150 points (0.8%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 35 points (0.6%). Midcap and small cap stocks are trading in the positive as well, with the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices up by about 0.7% and 0.9% respectively. The rupee is trading at 44.74 to the US dollar.

Auto stocks have opened the day on a good note. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors are the leading gainers. India's two-wheeler majors Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda are all geared up for grabbing a larger share in the profitable premium segment. Hero Honda has seen its market share in this segment dwindling in recent times. As a result, the management has decided to rollout strategic initiatives to recapture the lost share. Due to the intense competition, Bajaj Auto would have no other choice but to follow suit or else they would be at a risk of losing their market share in the segment. As per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Hero Honda's overall market share is down to 54% as at the end of Feb 2011. This is down from 75% as at the end of FY09. To help boost its market share, Hero Honda plans to take on several initiatives that include setting up special dealer networks for the different categories in two-wheelers, offering better facilities for the mass market bike segment, and starting a used motorcycle business, which would be the first of its kind in the country. It is also looking at additional efforts like revamping its research facilities and creating different marketing verticals.

IT stocks have opened the day on a positive note as well with TCS, Mphasis and Infosys heading the list of gainers. According to TCS, the country's largest software services provider, the economic recovery of the US is faster than that of Europe. It expects strong growth in the US to offset the impact of any disruption elsewhere. Though Europe is lagging behind, it still remains a key strategic market from a business perspective. The European market accounts for about 27% of TCS's revenue, while the US market contributes about 55%. The Indian market contributes about 8-10% of the total revenues. However, the company does not expect any substantial growth in the domestic market. TCS has also confirmed that Japan's disaster has had a small impact on company.

TCS raised prices in the last quarter of FY11 as demand for IT services picked up in segments such as retail and banking, financial services and insurance. The company's margins have improved over the past six to seven quarters in a row by at least 500 basis points (5%).

By Equitymaster – India's leading 'independent' equity research initiative. Trusted by over a million members all over the world, Equitymaster is known for its well-researched, unbiased and honest opinions on the Indian stock markets.

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Sensex, Nifty strike 9-week highs on revival of FII inflow

The key benchmark indices surged extending rally into the seven days on revival in foreign equity inflows and on firm Asian stocks. The barometer index BSE Sensex and the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty struck 9-week highs. The market breadth was strong. Shares of PTC India Financial Services were trading at about 10% discount to its initial public offer price on debut.

As per provisional figures, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs.1291.54 crore on Tuesday, 29 March 2011. FII inflow totaled Rs. 4483.95 crore in six trading sessions from 22 March 2011 to 29 March 2011 as per data from the stock exchanges.

Cooling of oil prices from recent 2-1/2-year high has helped ease inflation worries, aiding rally in Indian stocks. Oil declined as signs of rising US crude supplies stoked speculation that demand may falter in the world's biggest consumer of the commodity. US crude futures were down 43 cents a barrel or 0.41% to $104.36 a barrel. Oil rose in New York on Tuesday, 29 March 2011, as troops loyal to Muammar Qaddafi dug in to block rebels advancing on his hometown of Sirte. Prices have climbed 23 percent since anti-government protests began on 15 February 2011 in Libya, cutting output in Africa's third-largest producer by two-thirds.

India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and a surge in crude oil prices to 2-1/2-year highs recently had sparked inflation and interest rates worries.

At 09:20 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 126.29 points or 0.66% to 19,247.09. The Sensex gained 152.80 points at the day's high of 19,273.60 in early trade, its highest level since 25 January 2011. The index rose 57.97 points at the day's low of 19,178.77 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 38.20 points or 0.67% to 5,774.55. The Nifty a high of 5,779.95, its highest level since 25 January 2011.

The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 950 shares advanced while 252 shares declined. A total of 36 shares remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs. 153 crore by 09:25 IST.

All the 30 members from the Sensex pack logged gains. DLF (up 1.44%), TCS (up 1.22%), and Hero Honda Motors (up 1.14%), edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.49% to Rs. 1027.70 on reports the firm was awarded two blocks in the ninth round of oil and gas block auctions closed on Monday, 28 March 2011.

India's largest oil exploration firm ONGC rose 1.31% on reports a consortia led by ONGC won 10 blocks in the ninth round of oil and gas block auctions closed on Monday.

India's largest power utility firm by capacity NTPC rose 0.72%. After market hours on Tuesday, 29 March 2011, NTPC said that the unit number 3 of 500 megawatt of Simhadri Super Thermal Power Project has been successfully synchronised with grid on 29 March 2011 on coal firing.

Shares of PTC India Financial Services were trading at Rs. 25.25, a 9.82% discount to the initial public offer price of Rs. 28 on their debut.

Volatility may remain high on the bourses in the near term ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts for the near-month March 2011 series on Thursday, 31 March 2011. The near term major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2011 results which will start trickling in from about mid-April 2011

Billionaire investor and international investment icon Warren Buffett who was in his maiden visit to India last week said that he hopes to spend some money in India. His firm Berkshire Hathaway is looking to park funds in large investment destinations and India fits the bill perfectly, he said. India, according to him, is not an emerging market but a very big country with a large number of significant businesses. He said that Berkshire Hathaway would look at possible acquisitions in India as and when there were opportunities.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as Japanese companies resumed production following the 11 March 2011 earthquake and on speculation economic recovery in the US will boost earnings. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea Singapore, Japan and Indonesia were up by between 0.64% to 1.37%. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.45%.

US markets closed higher on Tuesday on gains in telecom and energy companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a gain of 81.13 points, or 0.67%, to 12279.01, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 9.25 points, or 0.71%, to finish at 1319.44 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 26.21 points, or 0.96%, to 2756.89.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 10 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 30 March 2011.

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Rupee gains 6 paise against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to Rs 44.72 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today, supported by a higher opening in the stock market.

However, the dollar's rise against other major currency rivals capped the rupee gains.

The rupee had appreciated by 5 paise to close at Rs 44.78/79 against the US currency in yesterday's trade amid bullish local equity markets and easing crude oil prices.

Forex dealers said a higher opening in the stock market helped the rupee gain some ground, but the dollar's strength against other currencies limited the gains.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex was up by 152.80 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 19,273.60 in opening trade today.

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Nifty inches towards 5800; all sectoral indices in green

Bulls have consistently been backing the Indian equity benchmarks since Tuesday of previous week, supported by leading sectors. TheNifty was inching up towards the 5800 level - the Nifty March and April futures were already started trading above that level at 10:45 hours.

Dilip Bhat, Joint MD, Prabhudas Lilladher feels that the market is poised for a breakout. According to him, the Nifty may even touch 6000 to 6200 by June-July. Bhat reasons that the market has already factored in lot of negatives so from hereon any small positive will act as a good trigger for markets to really go up and react very positively.

However, Bhat adds, “I think possibly maybe 5,350-5,400 possibly is the base for the Nifty at the moment.”

The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 190 points to 19,311 and the 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 53 points to 5,789. The broader indices too were rallying in line with benchmarks - the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1% each.

Only Bharti Airtel was in the red while rest of 29 stocks out of 30 onSensex gained. Overall market breadth was strong - about 1821 shares advanced as against 516 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

All sectoral indices were in the green. The most beaten down BSE Realty Index gained nearly 2%. Healthcare, Auto, Capital Goods, Metal, IT and Oil & Gas indices went up 1% each. Bank, Power and FMCG indices were up 0.5-0.9%.

TCS, ONGC, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Wipro, L&T, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and Infosys were leading the markets.

Ambuja Cements, M&M, Dr Reddys Labs, DLF, Jaiprakash Associates and Cipla were the top gainers.

In midcap space, Kirloskar Oil, IVRCL Assets, Motilal Oswal and Prakash Industries rallied 7-11% while Shree Global, KGN Industries, Sunteck Realty, Rei Agro and Parsvnath fell 2.5-5%.

In smallcap space, Ushdev Intl, R M Mohite, Fame India, Parrys Sugar and Infinite Comp lost 3-5%.

Traders and investors looked bullish on paper stocks after AP Paper Mills deal with International Paper.

US based International Paper is going to acquire 53.5% stake in AP Paper Mills for USD 257 million + 21.5% stake in open offer for USD 104 million. AP Paper Mills was locked at 20% upper circuit.

West Coast Paper, NR Agarwal, Pudumjee Pulp too jumped 20% each. JK Paper, Seshasayee Paper, Emami Paper, Ballarpur Industries and TNPL were up 13-16%. Orient Paper gained 7%.

New Listing - PTC India Financial Services was trading at Rs 24.6, down 12% from issue price of Rs 28 a share.

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Sensex, Nifty hit two-month highs as FIIs step up buying

The key benchmark indices surged to two month highs as investors extended their buying spree for sixth straight session on easing inflation worries following a fall in crude oil prices. Data showing stepping up of buying by foreign funds recently also underpinned sentiment. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 129.29 points or 0.69% to 19,072.43. The market breadth was strong.

As per provisional figures, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs.890.02 crore on Monday, 28 March 2011. FII inflow totaled Rs. 3192.41 crore in five trading sessions from 22 March 2011 to 28 March 2011 as per data from the stock exchanges.

Oil extended recent losses after Libyan rebels advanced against Muammar Qaddafi's troops, raising speculation the conflict may be resolved soon.US crude futures were down 56 cents a barrel or 0.54% to $103.42 a barrel. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and a surge in crude oil prices to 2-1/2-year highs recently has sparked inflation and interest rates worries.

At 09:28 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 129.29 points or 0.69% to 19,072.43. The Sensex gained 132.56 points at the day's high of 19,075.70 in early trade, its highest level since 27 January 2011. The index rose 1.68 points at the day's low of 18,944.82 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 24.45 points or 0.43% to 5,711.70. The Nifty a high of 5,715.75, its highest level since 27 January 2011.

The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 818 shares advanced while 452 shares declined. A total of 48 shares remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs. 186 crore by 09:25 IST.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 19 gained while the rest declined. Reliance Communications (up 2.89%), Hero Honda Motors (up 2.01%), and HDFC (up 1.02%), edged higher from the Sensex pack.

India's largest listed cellular services provider by sales Bharti Airtel surged 3.09% to Rs.358.50 and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. The stock extended four-day rally after a report showed the company has acquired up to 6-lakh 3G subscribers since the launch of the next generation telephony service in end-January 2011.

Oil & gas stocks were in action after the ninth round of oil and gas block auctions closed on Monday. India's largest oil exploration firm ONGC rose 1.54% on reports a consortia led by ONGC won 10 blocks in the latest round of bidding.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.09% to Rs. 1024.30 on reports the firm was awarded two blocks in the latest round of bidding for oil & gas blocks in India.

RIL on Sunday, 27 March 2011, agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) with D.E. Shaw Group to build a leading financial services business in India. The JV will incorporate the D. E. Shaw group's investment and technology expertise with RIL's operational knowledge and extensive presence across India to offer a comprehensive array of financial services to the Indian market place, the two companies said in a joint press release.

India's largest realty firm by sales DLF lost 0.99% to Rs. 244.60 and was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

ACC fell 1.46% after the stock turned ex-dividend today, 29 March 2011, for a final dividend of Rs. 13 per share and one time special dividend Rs. 7.50 per share.

Volatility may remain high on the bourses in the near term ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts for the near-month March 2011 series on Thursday, 31 March 2011. Year-end reshuffling of positions by traders may add to volatility.

The near term major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2011 results which will start trickling in from about mid-April 2011.

Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 amid concerns arising from muted earnings in Japan as the nation struggled to contain a meltdown at a nuclear plant. The key benchmark indices in Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, and Hong Kong fell by between 0.01% to 1.28%. The key benchmark indices in China, South Korea and Taiwan were up 0.12% and 0.23%.

US stocks edged lower on Monday, 28 March 2011, after a late tumble undercut advances from earlier in the day, and as investors cautiously retreated ahead of key data reports later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 22.71 points, or 0.2%, at 12197.88. The Nasdaq Composite fell 12.38, or 0.5%, to 2730.68 and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 3.61, or 0.3%, to 1310.19.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in February 2011, increased 2.1% to 90.8. The index had declined 2.8% in January 2011.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 7 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 29 March 2011.

Billionaire investor and international investment icon Warren Buffett who was in his maiden visit to India last week said that he hopes to spend some money in India. His firm Berkshire Hathaway is looking to park funds in large investment destinations and India fits the bill perfectly, he said. India, according to him, is not an emerging market but a very big country with a large number of significant businesses. He said that Berkshire Hathaway would look at possible acquisitions in India as and when there were opportunities.

Indian business tycoons Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani will appear before a parliamentary committee that is probing a multi-billion-dollar telecoms licencing scandal. The parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is investigating alleged corruption in the sale of 2G telecoms licences in 2007-08, which a state auditor said cost the government up to $39 billion in lost revenue, and led to the sacking of a former telecoms minister.

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Asia Stocks Fall, Japan Bonds Gain on Growth, Nuclear Concerns

Asian stocks fell for a second day as Japan struggled to contain a meltdown at a nuclear power plant. Japanese government bonds advanced and crude oil declined on concern growth will cool in the world’s third-largest economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was 0.2 percent lower at 133.34 as of 1:14 p.m. in Tokyo, having earlier retreated as much as 0.9 percent. The Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average fell 0.4 percent. The yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year debt dropped from a one-week high. The S&P GSCI Index of 24 raw materials slid for a third day as oil slid to a one-week low in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent.

Stocks are retreating after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for economic growth in Japan, where radiation levels that can prove fatal were detected outside the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant’s reactor buildings. In the U.S., data is forecast to show consumer confidence fell this month for the first time since September. President Barack Obama defended his decision to commit U.S. forces in Libya as rebels advanced on leader Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte.

“The situation at the nuclear plant isn’t getting better,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees about $104 billion. “We still don’t know how much of a negative effect it’ll have on the economy. The uncertainty is very negative for stocks.”

Losses on MSCI’s Asian index were capped as companies including Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. (1114) and Anhui Conch Cement Co. reported profits that topped analyst estimates. Brilliance China, the Chinese partner of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, jumped 7.8 percent in Hong Kong trading, while Anhui Conch, China’s biggest cement maker, rallied 5.6 percent.

Japan’s Economy

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411), Japan’s third-largest bank by market value, sank 2.8 percent. Goldman Sachs said today the country’s economy will shrink next quarter and lowered its growth forecast for the fiscal year starting April 1 to 0.7 percent from 1.3 percent.

Japanese data released today showed unemployment fell and retail sales rose in February, before the nation’s biggest earthquake on record and an ensuing tsunami left 28,000 people dead or missing, flattened homes and crippled the nuclear plant. The ruling party may scrap a proposed corporate-tax cut and boost levies on individuals to pay for earthquake reconstruction and reduce the need to step up bond sales, officials said.

The yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year bond declined 1.5 basis points to 1.23 percent at Japan Bond Trading Co. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Government Spending

“It remains to be seen how the nuclear issue will affect stocks, and the extent of the earthquake damage is still unknown,” said Keiko Onogi, a Tokyo-based fixed-income strategist at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co. “We hear talk about how much the government may need to spend, but nothing has been finalized.”

The yen weakened against most of the 16 most actively traded currencies, slipping 0.1 percent to 115.15 per euro. It traded at 81.75 against the dollar, after yesterday touching 81.85, the weakest level since March 18.

Treasury five-year notes snapped an eight-day decline before the release of the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which is forecast to fall to 65 from 70.4 in February, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A separate survey showed the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 U.S. cities probably fell 3.2 percent in January from a year earlier.

U.S. index futures fluctuated after the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent yesterday, snapping a three-day gain. Halliburton Co. (HAL) dropped 2.1 percent in late trading after the world’s second- largest oilfield-services provider said disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa will “severely” affect first- quarter results, reducing earnings to a range of 3 cents to 4 cents a share.

Libya Offensive

Oil for May delivery slipped 0.6 percent to $103.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending a three- day, 1.7 percent slump. Brent crude oil declined 0.4 percent to $114.31 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

The advance by Libyan rebels on Sirte extends their offensive along the coast, where over the weekend they recaptured the oil ports of Brega and Ras Lanuf, helped by the U.S.-led aerial bombardment of government positions. Obama said the decision to take military action was necessary to avert “a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.”

The S&P GSCI index declined 0.4 percent. Immediate-delivery platinum declined 0.3 percent to $1,739.35 an ounce and gold slid 0.1 percent to $1,418.50 an ounce, after earlier dropping to $1.417. Silver lost 0.5 percent to $36.9450 an ounce.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Anna Kitanaka in Tokyo at akitanaka@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Regan at jregan19@bloomberg.net

bloomberg.com

IIFL launches lifetime pre-paid, will investors bite?

Brokerage house IIFL (formerly India Infoline) on Friday launched its prepaid brokerage product ‘lifetime prepaid, anytime money back’, starting from Rs 10,000. IIFL said customers opting for the prepaid product would pay 25-30% lower (depending on the trade size) brokerage, compared to its other customers who pay per transaction.

In addition, prepaid customers will enjoy free access to the ‘Trader Terminal’, IIFL’s proprietary trading platform which offers the facility to trade across equities, commodities, currency and mutual funds.

IIFL did not give the details of its broking structure, but said in an e-mail response to moneycontrol.com that “normal brokerage rates as prevailing in the market are 0.4 to 0.5% for delivery, 0.04% to 0.05% for futures and intra day and Rs 75 to Rs 100 per lot for options.”

Prepaid broking, first introduced by Reliance Money and then replicated in varying forms by others, has not been a big success. Such an arrangement is more beneficial to high volume traders in the equity derivatives segment, and they form a small portion of the trading community.

Also, brokers point out low brokerage in itself is not an incentive for traders to transact.

“No high volume trader transacts with a single broker; he keeps moving his business across firms which offer him competitive prices,” said a retail broker who did not want to be named.

But IIFL is confident that it can succeed where its rivals have been unable to make much headway.

“There are various versions of such products offered by all large and successful brokers. But always the benefit of low brokerage rate is limited for a short period of say 6 months to one year,” IIFL said in response to a query from moneycontrol.com.

“Secondly unutilized amounts are usually not refunded. Whereas in our new product, the benefit of low brokerage is for life time. Unutilized amounts are refunded whenever customer demands,” it said.

IIFL shares closed at Rs 71.65 on Friday, up 1.5% over their previous close.

Leading retail broking firms have been struggling to grow their brokerage revenues over the past few quarters, even as the stock market was on a roll in 2010. Industry people said most retail investors kept away from the market fearing that they may end up buying at higher levels.

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Buffett seeks higher FDI in Indian insurance sector

Keen to enter growing insurance sector, US billionaire Warren Buffett, who is here mainly to promote philanthropy, today wondered if India would raise the FDI limit in the sector to 49%.

The US based company is keenly watching the developments regarding further opening of the sector to foreign investment. Legendary investor Buffett, whose group recently entered Indian insurance market, called on Irda Chairman J Harinarayan here and wanted to know if the FDI cap would be raised to 49%. Irda is the insurance regulator.

"Buffett wondered whether the foreign direct investment limit for foreign insurers could go up to 49% (from the present 26%)," Harinarayan told PTI after meeting chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

"The discussions were very general and was good," he said. Buffett, known for his business acumen and choice of investments, said that India is an "an exciting market".

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 is pending in Parliament. The Bill, when enacted, would allow raising the FDI cap for the industry to 49%. However, it has been awaiting approval since 2008 as it was delayed by strong opposition from the Left parties.

Berkshire Hathaway had recently forayed into the Indian non-life insurance sector as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General. On his maiden visit to India, Buffett had said that an foreign investment cap of 26% in insurance sector here was a deterrent.

Earlier in the day, Berkshire Hathaway head re-insurance Ajit Jain said the question of larger investments in the sector in India, "depends on regulation." India-origin Jain, long rumoured to succeed Buffet, looks after the conglomerate's multi-billion dollar re-insurance business.

Yesterday Buffett along with Bill Gates, held a dinner meeting here with 70 business people, including Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and discussed a wide range of issues related to philanthropy. As part of its India entry, the American conglomerate has incorporated Berkshire India to sell and distribute general insurance products in India. It would directly sell insurance to consumers through the portal ''www.berkshireinsurance.com'' and by way of telemarketing.

Berkshire Hathaway is a sprawling conglomerate that has interests in various businesses, including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, finance, manufacturing, and retailing.

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Audi launches R8 Spyder at Rs. 1.47 crore

German luxury car-maker Audi on Friday launched its two-seater sports car R8 Spyder, which is priced at around Rs. 1.47 crore (ex-showroom Maharashtra).

Powered by a 5.2 litre, V10 engine delivering 525 HP, the car zooms from zero to 100 kmph in 4.1 seconds. Spyder will be available for customers from next month onwards. It weighs just 1.7 tonnes and has a top speed of 313 kmph.

The car, the second in the R8 series to be launched in India, has "immense power, eager response, powerful acceleration and free-revving," Audi India Head Michael Perschke said.

"It will add to the spurring demand for excellence in auto performance and will allow us to build upon our leadership position in the super sports car segment," he said.

At present, Audi sells its sedans A4, A6 and A8, sport utility vehicles Q5 and Q7, besides the original R8, in India, one of the largest auto markets in the world.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/audi-launches-r8-spyder-at-rs-1-47-crore-146363?cp