News highlights of the day: New York mayor says explosion at bus terminal was attempted terror attack

21:55 New York mayor says explosion at bus terminal was attempted terror attack

An ISIS-inspired Bangladeshi- origin man, wearing a homemade device, today triggered a blast at a metro station in New York City during rush hours, injuring four persons and causing chaos in one of the busiest commuter hubs in the metropolis, US media reports said.

Akayed Ullah, the 27-year-old suspected bomber, had wires attached to him. He was armed with a pipe bomb and a battery pack, CNN reported, according to which he was taken into custody after the device partially detonated.

Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton told MSNBC that the man was inspired by the Islamic State terror group and originally came from Bangladesh.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the device that exploded in the New York City subway was an attempted "terrorist attack".

"At this point in time, all we know of is one individual who, thank God, was unsuccessful in his aims," Mayor de Blasio said.

21:45 PIL in SC to restrain persons from contesting from more than 1 seat

The Supreme Court on Monday directed that copies of a petition seeking to restrict a candidate from contesting from more than one constituency simultaneously in an election be served on the Attorney General and the Election Commission.

The petitioner sought directions to authorities to take appropriate steps to discourage the independent candidates from contesting the Parliament and State Assembly election as suggested by National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) and Election Commission of India.

The petition said the question of independent candidates is often connected with the issue of fragmented voting and instability in the electoral system.

21:20 Fukrey makes a welcome box office return, gathers Rs 31.65 crore in opening weekend

It was a bolt from the blue for Bollywood this weekend as the Fukrey franchise returned with a bang. Against all odds, Fukrey Returns did a business of Rs 8.10 crore on Friday, which is three times more than the opening day collection of the first instalment.

While trade pundits expected the film to garner around Rs 3-4 crore on day one, Fukrey Returns beat all expectations and emerged as a hit.

21:09 Gujarat polls: Rare row between PM and predecessor; Manmohan tears into Narendra Modi

A rare row between a sitting and a former premier broke out on Monday after Narendra Modi insinuated that Manmohan Singh colluded with Pakistan in the Gujarat polls with the Congress leader accusing his successor of setting a “dangerous precedent” and asking his apology.

Launching a sharp counteroffensive, Singh tore into Modi over what he called the prime minister’s “ill-thought transgression” and rejected his charge as “innuendos and falsehoods”.

In uncharacteristically strong words, a usually reticent Singh crossed swords with his predecessor to say the Gujarat polls was never raised by anyone present at a dinner hosted by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for a visiting Pakistani leader at his house on December 6 and that the discussion was confined to India-Pakistan ties.

21:02 Vijay Mallya’s defence questions impartiality of Indian judicial system

Vijay Mallya’s extradition trial to face fraud and money laundering charges of Rs 9,000 crore in India resumed today, with his defence fielding a legal expert to question the impartiality of India’s judicial system.

The 61-year-old was back in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London for day four of the hearing when his barrister, Clare Montgomery, deposed Dr Martin Lau to give his views on the evidence presented by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Indian Supreme Court rulings.

“I hold the Supreme Court in the highest respect but it is equally not disrespectful to indicate that some doubts are voiced about particular patterns [in judgments],” Dr Lau, an expert on South Asian law, told the court.

20:58 14% of candidates in Gujarat polls have criminal cases against them: Report

Fourteen percent of the 1,815 candidates contesting the ongoing Gujarat Assembly polls were facing criminal charges, according to a report.

A study of the affidavits submitted by the candidates to the Election Commission showed that of the 253 such nominees, 154 had serious criminal cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crime against women against them.

The study was carried out by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-governmental organisation which works in the area of electoral and political reforms, and the Gujarat Election Watch.

20:53 Govt considering developing own civilian aircraft: Civil Aviation 

The government is considering manufacturing civilian aircraft and would like to move ahead with the plan “very fast”, a civil aviation ministry official said on Monday.

The country’s domestic aviation market is one of the fastest growing in the world and has registered high double-digit growth for more than two years. Many airlines are embarking on ambitious expansion plans and authorities are working on developing new airports to cater to the rising demand as well as boosting regional air connectivity.

“We are considering manufacturing our own civilian aircraft… definitely, the concept is there and we are looking for smaller aircraft like a 20-seater which can be used within the country and this also is supported by our policy of Make in India,” said Shefali Juneja, Director at the Civil Aviation ministry.

20:49 "The incident was frightening and disturbing. It was a low tech device. Situation was handled extraordinarily well. A sweep is being done. The service at the subway is being restored," Andrew Mark Cuomo, New York Governor said on New York subway pipe bombing, reports ANI.

20:48 PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Pakistan conspiracy’ remark worrisome in a democracy: Left

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “conspiracy with Pakistan” remark against his predecessor Manmohan Singh creates ripples, the Left and JD(U) called the development “worrisome and not proper” in a democracy.

They said the prime minister should take action based on evidence if there was any “seriousness” in his allegations, and not raise the same in Gujarat poll campaign.

“He is dragging Pakistan into a domestic poll…if he is serious, he should have taken up the issue with the Congress. As the head of the government, he could have taken appropriate action. Instead of that, he is making it a poll issue. I think it is not proper in a democracy,” senior CPI leader D Raja said.

20:41 DR Reddy's say that they have received establishment inspection report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Bachupally unit, reports CNBC TV-18.

20:36 Farm loan waiver gets thumbs-down from former central bankers

With the farm loan waiver pitch getting shriller by the day, former RBI governor Y V Reddy today said the practice is not good for “economic or credit culture” and insisted that ultimately it is a political decision and cannot be justified in the longer run.

Even former RBI governor C Rangarajan took a similar line, saying the alternative is to offer farmers a longer window to pay off.

Reddy noted that every political party in India has offered such waiver in some state or the other or at an all- India level.

20:34 BSE launches five new market cap-based indices

Asia Index, the equal joint venture between BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices, on Monday launched five size-based indices to measure the performance of the large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap companies.

This would better represent the market capitalisation and help meet the regulatory requirements, according to a statement.

20:31 Meet Modi's mentor, who scripted the first chapter of the 'Chaiwala to PM' story

When you first meet Ambalal Koshti, he comes across as just another elderly man who has seen his share of ups and downs in life. Koshti is as unassuming as the next person and certainly conducts himself in a manner befitting that image. And yet, this inconspicuous senior citizen can claim credit for the deeds of the India's most visible man.

What Koshti is known for, especially within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is finding a an 18-year-old Narendra Modi at a tea stall and bringing him into the RSS to work and further himself. As fate would have it, the youth that Ambalal had brought into the RSS shakha at Maninagar in Ahmedabad would go on to become a three-time chief minister of Gujarat and an iconic Prime Minister of India.

Read the full story here.

20:30 DLF partners Uber to offer subsidised rates for malls visit in NCR

Realty major DLF has tied up with Uber to offer subsidised rides to and fro for customers visiting its malls in the national capital region.

Till February 15 next year, Uber will charge only Rs 69 for 9 km ride to its shopping malls DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj and DLF ‘The Place’, Saket as well as DLF CyberHub, Gurgaon.

For DLF Mall of India, Noida, Uber will charge Rs 109 for 15km. This offer will be available from 11 am to 5 pm every day.

20:26 President Kovind meets China, Russia foreign ministers

The CBI has questioned the Director (finance) of the state-run power utility NTPC Limited for over two days in connection with an alleged bribery case, the agency officials said here on Monday.

CBI sources said Kulamani Biswal, Director (finance) NTPC, was questioned at the agency headquarters here along with Umapathi Reddy, the father of another accused Rohit Reddy, Director of BGR Mining and Infra Private Limited.

Meanwhile, arrested accused Prabhat Kumar, an alleged confidant of Reddy, has been sent to judicial custody, they said.

20:20 Manhattan explosion update: 

New York mayor says the explosion at bus terminal was attempted terror attack.

According to a Reuters reports, police were not yet identifying the device used. Local television channel WABC cited police sources as saying a possible pipe bomb detonated in a passageway below ground and WPIX cited sources as saying a man with a “possible second device” has been detained in the subway tunnel.

The fire department tweeted there were four injuries, all non-life threatening. One of the injured was a Port Authority police officer.

The bus terminal was temporarily closed, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a Twitter statement.

20:07 Trade setup for Tuesday: Top 10 things you should know before Opening Bell

The 50-share NSE Nifty, which started on a buoyant note on Monday, reclaimed the 10,300 level in the opening tick but failed to build on the momentum, witnessing wild swings on either side.

The Nifty made a bullish candle that looked like a ‘Hanging Man’ kind of pattern. The index has been making higher highs and higher lows over the last three trading sessions.

A Hanging Man is a bearish reversal candlestick pattern, which is usually formed at the end of an uptrend or at the top. In a perfect 'Hanging Man' pattern, there will either be a small upper shadow or no upper shadow at all, a small body and long lower shadow.

Read the full story here.

20:00 FM Arun Jaitley attacks Congress, former PM Manmohan Singh

Attacking the Congress party and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union ministers Arun Jaitley said, "Former PM Manmohan Singh has issued a statement asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it."

"The Congress party and its leadership should come out with facts about what happened in the meeting" and added that the Congress should state "what was the necessity of such the meeting," he added.

19:52 India's fuel demand jumps 6.2% in November as diesel use recovers

India's fuel demand went up by 6.2 percent in November as diesel consumption showed signs of recovery.

Fuel consumption totalled 17.4 million tonnes (mt) in November against 16.4 mt in the year-ago period, according to the latest data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.

This mirrors a recovery from 0.9 percent growth in October but pales before 10.4 percent expansion in November last year. (With PTI inputs)

19:33 Manhattan explosion update:

A law enforcement official has reportedly told Associated Press that the suspect had explosive device strapped on when it exploded in New York City subway.

New York Police Department have confirmed that one person has been taken into custody but have not issued any confirmation regarding the type of device that was used, according to media reports.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has said that President Donald Trump has been briefed regarding the explosion.

19:13 India, Russia, China resolve to step up counter-terror co-operation

India, China and Russia have said that they have resolved to step up cooperation to counter terrorism, including choking terror funding and dismantling terrorist infrastructure, as the Indian side flagged concerns over increasing acts of terrorism by Pakistan-based terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

19:01 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished Rahul Gandhi on being named President-elect of the party.

PM Modi has tweeted, "I congratulate Rahul Ji on his election as Congress President. My best wishes for a fruitful tenure."

18:50 Bitcoin futures steal spotlight, momentum keeps pushing stocks up

World stocks climbed and equity volatility neared a record low on Monday as investors focused on strong economic growth signs ahead of a slew of interest rate decisions, while the launch of bitcoin futures fed the market's cryptocurrency obsession.

European stocks drew strength from a positive Asian session to trade higher in early deals. The rally dissipated after the open but Germany's cyclicals-heavy DAX and the index of leading European companies held onto gains.

Strong banks and mining stocks supported benchmarks, and Britain's FTSE climbed 0.7 percent, helped by a weaker pound.

Read the full story here.

18:45 Explosion heard in Manhattan, New York: New York Police Dept.

The New York Police Department was responding to reports of an explosion of unknown origin on Monday morning in midtown Manhattan at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, according to the police department's official Twitter feed. The New York fire department said it was responding to an incident at the Port Authority bus terminal in midtown Manhattan.

18:25 Terrorists attacked a J&K Bank cash vehicle in Shopian's Kralchak. Two security guards were killed and shots were fired in the air, according to news agency ANI.

18:04 'Punjab to save Rs 2,000 crore by rationalisation of expenditure' 

The Punjab government is hoping to save Rs 2,000 crore by rationalising the expenditure of various departments and plugging revenue leakage as it looks to become a revenue surplus state in the next three years.

"We are expecting to save Rs 2,000 crore in the current financial year with the rationalisation of expenditure of government departments. We are asking the departments to plug in loopholes and any revenue leakage to reduce fiscal burden," state Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal said here today. (With PTI inputs)

17:22 Maharashtra tables supplementary demand of Rs 26,402 crore, including that for farm loan waiver

The Maharashtra government tabled a supplementary demand of Rs 26,402.32 crore in the Legislative Assembly on the first day of the winter session today.

Out of the Rs 26,402.32 crore, Rs 15,000 crore is for its flagship farm loan waiver scheme.

This is the second time that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led government has placed supplementary demands of such high amount before the House after the last monsoon session. The demand will be discussed subsequently during the session.

When grants, authorised by the legislature, fall short of the required expenditure, an estimate is presented before the House for additional funds. (With PTI inputs)

17:09 BCCI lifts Rajasthan Cricket Association’s suspension, asks Lalit Modi to stay away

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced that it had lifted suspension of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). The decision was taken during the Special General Meeting in New Delhi.

The suspension on RCA will be lifted on the condition that former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi stays away from its functioning.

The RCA had been suspended in 2014 after Lalit Modi won the association's election. BCCI had taken charge of all domestic and age-group competitions in the interim period.

16:55 Sensex rallies 205 pts, Midcap at record close; all eyes on Fed meet, Gujarat polls

The market started off the week on a positive note Monday as the Sensex rallied more than 200 points, taking the total three-day gains to 850 points. The rally was driven by positive global cues, taking lead from Wall Street after stronger-than-expected jobs report.

All sectoral indices ended in green barring realty. Nifty IT, FMCG, Pharma and PSU Bank gained around 1 percent each; followed by bank, auto, metal that settled trade with mild gains.

Read the full report here.

16:44 Ford India to hike prices by up to 4 percent from January 2018

Ford India has said that it will increase prices of its models by up to four percent from January 2018 to partially offset the impact of rising input costs.

Vinay Raina, Ford India Executive Director - Marketing, Sales and Service said, "The price increase is necessary due to several external factors, such as frequent fluctuations in commodity prices and rising input and freight costs".

The company has tried to minimise the impact on its customers by absorbing a large part of these incremental costs and capping the price hike to 4 percent, Raina added.

The company said the price hike would apply to all Ford products, including the recently launched new Ford EcoSport. (With PTI inputs)

16:15 India's economy expected to grow at 7.5 percent in 2018: Nomura

Global investment bank Nomura has predicted India's economy to register a growth rate of 7.5 percent in 2018 and has said that it is on the cusp of a cyclical recovery.

Nomura has forecast 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter and a full-year growth of 6.2 percent this year before rising to 7.5 percent in 2018.

India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth bottomed-out in the second quarter of 2017 at 5.7 percent year-on-year, rising to 6.3 percent in the third quarter, it said.

15:57 Apple, India wrangle over import tax on mobile parts, say sources
Apple has asked India to defer a planned increase in import taxes on mobile phone parts so it can expand its iPhone manufacturing in the country, but the government is unlikely to accede, sources told Reuters. The US. technology giant has been in talks with Indian officials for months, seeking “pre-requisites” - government tax breaks and incentives - for expanding its operations in one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets. During those talks, Apple has conveyed it wants India to defer an existing policy that plans to levy taxes on more imported mobile components in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” drive to boost domestic manufacturing.

While India’s government has been keen to get Apple to manufacture in India as a showpiece investment, it has told the US firm there would be no policy exemptions, so there will be no tax breaks on parts imports, sources said. “Apple wants duty-free imports of components. India wants indigenisation,” sources said. Apple has expressed willingness to increase local value addition over time, but has stuck to its demand for immediate import tax relief to expand its iPhone manufacturing, they added.

15:48 Rahul Gandhi officially named Congress president, to take over on December 16
Ending years of speculation, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was on Monday officially declared as party President in Delhi. The announcement was made by Congress’ Central Election Authority (CEA) chairperson Mullapally Ramachandran. The party CEA said that Gandhi will officially take over the duties of the Congress President from December 16, after being given the certificate at the All India Congress Committee office in Delhi.

The announcement came after the deadline to withdraw nomination papers ended at 3 pm on Monday. Rahul has now become the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to take over the party's top post after Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Former Union Minister and senior party leader M Veerappa Moily said outgoing Congress President Sonia Gandhi will continue to play an effective role and guide the destiny of the party.

15:37 Tower stake sales may pare up to 90,000cr telecom debt, says Icra
The telecom industry could pare as much as Rs 90,000 crore debt if stake sale deals of mobile tower assets, currently being discussed, materialise, credit rating firm Icra said. It predicted structural and material changes for the telecom tower industry in the medium-term.

Icra also anticipated some headwinds in the short-term, as consolidation of telecom operators leads to rationalisation of tenancies, but remained confident about the growth prospects in coming years. This growth would be fuelled by the network expansion of telecom operators, keen to meet the data needs of consumers, it said.

"As per Icra estimates, debt to the tune of Rs 80,000-90,000 crore can be pruned from the telecom industry if the stake sale transactions of tower assets currently under discussions materialise," it stated.

15:17 Tata Comm’s 15yr wait to spin off land assets worth Rs 75bn nears endTata Communications will soon hive its property holdings into a separate company, which will subsequently be listed, capping a 15-year effort by the unit of India’s largest conglomerate, reports Bloomberg. The value of the company’s 773 acres of land parcels may be about Rs 263 per share, or about Rs 75 billion, according to ICICI Securities. The spinoff should take less than a few months as there is in-principle agreement among the parties involved, said Tata Communications’ Chief Executive Officer Vinod Kumar said in an interview.

“Around the corner is probably a better description,” Kumar said. “The government is supportive and they are keen to do it. So it’s really paperwork.” The company, which in October reported worse-than-estimated quarterly earnings, has been shedding non-core assets while bolstering its enterprise offerings. Analysts said that hiving off the property holdings should help its stock performance, which has trailed the benchmark gauge since early June and is near the bottom of a sectoral index.

Existing shareholders, including the Indian government, which holds 26% in Tata Communications, will get shares in the new listed entity. The new entity will receive land earmarked as surplus when Videsh Sanchar Nigam was divested by the government in 2002 and sold to the Tata group. “Any quick resolution in the land monetisation process would be an upside,” Bhupendra Tiwary and Sameer Pardikar, analysts with ICICI Securities, wrote in a November 2 note.

Tata Communications’ shares have dropped 11.6% in the past six months, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has climbed 6.7%.

14:56 Wonderla Holidays upbeat on non-ticket revenues, plans IT initiativesWonderla Holidays' non-ticket business is growing fast and expected to contribute as much as 40% to its total revenues in the next 4-5 years, a top company official told PTI. This business includes food and beverage, resort, ride photos and souvenir, the amusement park operator's Managing Director Arun K Chittilappilly said. Non-ticket revenues of the company, which owns and operates amusement parks in Kochi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, currently contributes 25% of its topline, he said.

The company, Chittilappilly said, has just completed acquisition of 60 acres of land in Chennai, where it plans to begin construction of a park early next financial year. The Rs 350-crore plus park is slated to be operational in 2019-2020. Wonderla is working on rolling out information technology initiatives, including introduction of RFID bands, to enhance customer experience, he said.

After the Chennai park, Wonderla would "concentrate" on the Western region and is currently exploring options on setting up facilities in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Goa, he said. Wonderla does not have overseas plans, Chittilappilly said, noting that India is still a largely untapped market.

14:36 GAIL to import 5MT LNG from US in FY19GAIL India will import about 5 million tonne (MT) of LNG from the US next fiscal, replacing the volumes the state-owned utility buys from the spot market, a senior company official told PTI. GAIL has contracted 5.8MT per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, some of which it has swapped – either by exchanging the gas with someone having it nearer to India or by time-swapping it.

"We expect to receive about 5 million tonne of LNG from US next fiscal (2018-19)," the official said. This will be used for replacing the LNG that GAIL currently buys from the spot or current market as well as on short-term contracts. "Out of our LNG buying of about 33 million standard cubic meters per day (8.25MT per annum), only 17-18 mmscmd comes from long-term contract with RasGas of Qatar. The rest is all spot or short term contract volumes, which we hope to replace with US LNG," he said.

The official said the company sold a "major chunk" of the US LNG via time swaps, destination swaps and shipping optimisation. Under the time-swap deals, the company will buy LNG from international companies this year and sell equivalent amount of Henry Hub-indexed volumes during 2018-19. Besides, to cut shipping costs, it has entered into deals to take deliveries of gas from a nearer location and in exchange given its US volumes to company closer to the origin.

14:26 Mallya trial resumes, more defence witnesses to depose today
The trial to prove a prima facie case of fraud against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya resumes in London today to determine if he can be extradited to India to face charges over his erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines, reports PTI. The 61-year-old will be back in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London for day four of the hearing when his defence led by barrister Clare Montgomery, is set to depose two further witnesses in its attempt to prove that the airline's alleged default of around Rs 9,000 crore worth of bank loans was the result of business failure rather than "dishonest" and "fraudulent" activity by its owner.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the businessman is also facing a parallel litigation in the Queen's Bench Division of the commercial court in England's High Court of Justice brought by a consortium of Indian banks to freeze his global assets. The State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co Pvt are listed as applicants of that claim against Mallya and related concerns named as Ladywalk, Rose Capital Ventures and Orange India Holdings.

Lawyers for Mallya have been granted an extension to respond to that case due to his ongoing extradition trial, expected to conclude on Thursday. Margaret Sweeney, from the accounts team of Force India - Mallya's Formula 1 racing team, and legal expert Martin Lau are set to be deposed by his defence team at the extradition hearing today. (

14:20 Talaipalli coal block may start commercial production from 2019-20: NCC
Infra major NCC expects to start development and operation of Talaipalli coal block from 2019-20 onwards and contribute about Rs 190 crore to topline during the first year of its commercial operation, reports PTI. The company is also betting big on infrastructure and housing projects from Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh which is under development stage.

The Talaipalli coal block is located in Chhattisgarh. "The work (on the project) will start in FY18. Commercial production may start from 2019-20. In the first year of commercial operations, we are aiming at 4 million tonne of coal extraction and supply," YD Murthy, Executive President (Finance), NCC, said. "We are looking at a topline of Rs 380 crore (from the block), in which our share will be Rs 190 crore," he said.

On the order book, Murthy said during the last seven months of the current fiscal, NCC got nearly Rs 15,000 crore worth of orders and expects that the total order value to reach around Rs 28,000 crore by the end of FY18. Murthy said the company's building and construction, water pipelines and roads verticals, put together, will constitute 75-80% of the total order book as well as topline of NCC.

14:03 Colgate Palmolive to pay Rs 4/share as dividend for FY18FMCG firm Colgate Palmolive India has declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per equity share for FY18, which will see a total payout of Rs 131 crore, including dividend distribution tax. The company said in a regulatory filing that its board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per equity share, with face value Re 1 each, for the financial year ending March 31, 2018.

It will be on the paid up equity share capital of Rs 27.20 crore involving a total payout of Rs 131 crore, including dividend distribution tax, it added. The record date for payment of the dividend is December 19, 2017.

13:57 Centre favours petcoke import ban, US would be biggest loser
The government is in favour of banning imports of petroleum coke on environmental grounds, according to a government affidavit filed with the Supreme Court, which could be a big blow to US refiners who export heavily to the country, reports Reuters. The apex court, which in October banned the use of petroleum coke in and around New Delhi in a bid to clean the air in one of the world’s most polluted cities, is scheduled to hear a case on its use across the country later on Monday.

India is the world’s biggest consumer of petroleum coke, better known as petcoke, which is a dark solid carbon material that emits 11% more greenhouse gases than coal, according to the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Burning it also emits several times more sulphur dioxide, which causes lung diseases and acid rain. Local producers include Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

The Oil Ministry has also told the Supreme Court that petcoke should only be used as feedstock, like in the cement industry, and not as fuel. A country-wide import ban would require replacing 14 million tonne of petcoke a year with 24 million to 31 million tonne of coal, according to industry calculations, most of which has to be imported.

13:32 Fund-raising via debt placement up 32% to Rs 51,000cr in Nov
Indian companies raised close to Rs 51,000 crore through private placement of corporate bonds in November, a surge of 32% from the year-ago level, for business expansion and propping up working capital needs, reports PTI. With the latest mobilisation, the total fund-raising through private placement of debt securities reached Rs 4.2 lakh crore in the April-November period of FY18, as per the latest data by markets regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

In FY17, the capital raked in through the route stood at Rs 6.4 lakh crore. In private placement of bonds, firms issue securities or bonds to institutional investors to raise capital. Companies garnered Rs 50,855 crore from debt on a private placement basis last month, much higher than Rs 38,645 crore raised in November 2016.

In volume terms, however, just 145 issues were made last month compared with 221 in the year-ago period. The funds have been raised mainly for business expansion, to support working capital requirements and retire their existing debt.

13:21 Fuel demand rose 6.2% YoY to 17:41MT in Nov
India’s fuel demand rose 6.2% in November compared with the same month last year, reports Reuters. Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 17.41 million tonne, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 4.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.12 million tonne. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 6.7% to 2.00 million tonne, while naphtha sales fell 6.1% to 1.01 million tonne. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 16.4% up, while fuel oil use edged unchanged in November.

13:13 Modi wishes Pranab Mukherjee on 82nd birthday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished former President Pranab Mukherjee on his birthday and said he prayed for his long and healthy life, reports PTI. Mukherjee turned 82 today. "Spoke to Pranab Da and wished him on his birthday. His impeccable service endears him to every Indian. I pray for Pranab Da's long and healthy life," the prime minister tweeted. Mukherjee was born this day in 1935 in Mirati, a village in the Bengal Presidency of  British India (now in Birbhum district, West Bengal).

12:30 Quake of 4.7 magnitude hits Meghalaya
A moderate intensity quake measuring 4.7 on the Richter Scale shook Meghalaya but there was no report of any casualty, reports PTI. Officials at the Regional Seismological Centre in Shillong said the epicentre was at a depth of 60 km in remote East Garo Hills district. The quake, which lasted for a few seconds, occurred at around 9.05 am. Meghalaya and the seven other north eastern states fall in Zone 5 of the country's earthquake zoning map. According to the zoning map, Zone 5 is associated with the highest level of seismicity.

12:29 Pradeep Singh Kharola takes over as Air India CMD
Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India today. Kharola assumed charge from Rajiv Bansal. A 1985-batch Karnataka cadre officer, Kharola would be steering the national carrier at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic disinvestment. He was the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation since February 2015.

Among others, Kharola has worked in various posts in Karnataka, including as the chairman of Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation. He has also served as principal secretary to the Karnataka chief minister. As part of efforts to revive the fortunes of Air India - which is staying afloat on taxpayers' money - the government has decided on selling stake in the airline.

The carrier, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, managed to eke out operational profit for the first time in a decade in 2015-16.

12:22 Tata Motors to hike passenger vehicle prices by up to Rs 25,000Tata Motors said it will increase prices of its passenger vehicles by up to Rs 25,000 from January to offset the impact of rising input costs, reports PTI. "The changing market conditions, rising input costs and various external economic factors have compelled us to consider the price increase," Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicle Business, Tata Motors said in a statement. The introductory prices of the recently launched compact SUV Nexon will be ending by December 31 and this entire range will also witness a price hike from January 2018 by up to Rs 25,000, the company said.

12:19 Sexual assault case against airline passenger for alleged molestation of actress Zaira Wasim
Police have filed a sexual assault case against an airline passenger after a 17-year-old Bollywood actress said the male passenger had molested her during a late New Delhi-Mumbai flight, police said on Monday. Zaira Wasim was seen sobbing in a video she posted to her Instagram site after getting off a Vistara flight during which, she has alleged, the passenger sitting on the seat behind her attacked her, reports Reuters.

“He kept nudging my shoulder and continued to move his foot up and down my back and neck,” Wasim said in the post. “Is this how we are going to take care of girls?”. The video sparked outrage on social media, where fans came out in support of the actress, who shot to fame through her role as a child wrestler in the 2016 blockbuster Bollywood drama ‘Dangal’.

Police have registered a case against a man identified as Vikas Sachdeva, under Section 354 -- for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty -- and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, a Mumbai police control room official said. “We are investigating fully and will support Zaira in every way required,” said Vistara Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor. “We have zero tolerance for this kind of thing.”

12:15 Suven Life Sciences gets product patents from India, USSuven Life Sciences has secured a product patent each from India and the US for treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases. These patents are valid through 2029 and 2033 respectively, the company said in a BSE filing.

"We are pleased by the grant of these patents to Suven for our pipeline of molecules in the CNS (central nervous

system) arena, which are being developed for cognitive disorders with high unmet medical need with a huge market potential globally," Suven Life CEO Venkat Jasti said.

Suven Life said the granted claims of the patents are being developed as therapeutic agents and useful in treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia.

12:13 Rhizen receives USFDA fast track designation for cancer drug
Drug firm Alembic Pharmaceuticals said the US health regulator has granted fast track designation to its associate company Rhizen Pharmaceuticals SA's RP6530 (tenalisib), used in treatment of cancer. "The US Food &  Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for RP6530 (tenalisib)...for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL)," Alembic Pharmaceuticals said in a BSE filing. Fast track designation is awarded to drugs that treat a serious condition and fill an unmet medical need, it added.

12:11 Unitech stock jumps 20% as NCLT allows govt to appoint 10 nominees
Shares of Unitech surged as much as 20% in trade today after the NCLT authorised the government to appoint its 10 nominees on the board of the realty firm. On December 8, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) suspended all the eight directors of Unitech over allegations of mismanagement and siphoning of funds, while authorising the government to appoint its 10 nominees on the board. Today's rally is the fourth consecutive one for the stock. On December 8, the Unitech scrip had jumped 20%.

In a rare move, the government approached the NCLT to take over the management with a view to protecting the interest of nearly 20,000 home buyers. The tribunal's order came after the government filed a petition arguing that Unitech was a fit case for winding up but considering the interest of thousands of home buyers and small depositors, it wanted to take over company management. The company has over Rs 6,000 crore debt with more than 16,000 undelivered units from a total of nearly 70 projects.

12:06 Infosys severance pay plea: Matter of legality for Sebi, not emotions, says former CFO
Former Infosys Chief Financial Officer V Balakrishnan said it was not a matter of whistleblower's emotions, but of legality for Sebi to decide on denying company's consent plea in connection with former-CFO Rajiv Bansal's severance payment case, reports PTI. "The whistleblower has said whatever he wants to say as per his viewpoint. These are legal issues decided based on merits and not individual's emotions.. What Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a regulator thinks and decides is all that matters," Balakrishnan said.

Earlier this year, a whistleblower had written to the market regulator over alleged lapses in the Panaya deal and Bansal's severance pay. The letter had stated that the package was decided by the then CEO Vishal Sikka and then general counsel David Kennedy. The whistle-blower had asked why Infosys was reluctant in disclosing answers surrounding the "hush money."

The letter has brought allegations of poor corporate governance to the fore again after Infosys filed an application for settlement. This has spurred Balakrishnan and another former CFO TV Mohandas Pai to launch an attack against the company, whose board is now led by co-founder Nandan Nilekani. Balakrishnan has demanded the resignation of board members, Roopa Kudva and Ravi Venkatesan in the matter.

On Sunday, board member Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw had exchanged barbs with Pai on twitter, saying, "The matters were reinvestigated (a)n(d) no wrong doings were found by new Chairman.. Let's bring this to a closure and move on.. It helps no one."

11:59 SC dismisses plea against bail to trustees of Ryan International Group
The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the anticipatory bail granted to three trustees of the Ryan International Group in connection with the killing of a student in the school premises, reports PTI. A bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre said the "petition is dismissed."

The court had earlier reserved the order on the plea of the father of 7-year-old boy, who was found dead in Ryan International School in Gurgaon, challenging the anticipatory bail granted to the trustees of the group. Pradhuman, a Class II student, was found with his throat slit in the school washroom in Gurgaon on September 8.

11:55 Passenger vehicle sales rise 14.29% in Nov; car sales up 4.49%
Domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 14.29% to 2,75,417 units in November from 2,40,983 units in the same month last year. Domestic car sales were up 4.49% to 1,81,395 units as against 1,73,607 units in November last year, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Motorcycle sales last month rose 23.25% to 9,59,122 units as against 7,78,173 units a year earlier.

Total two-wheeler sales in November rose 23.49% to 15,35,277 units compared to 12,43,246 units in the year-ago month. Sales of commercial vehicles were up 50.43% to 68,846 units in November, SIAM said. Vehicle sales across categories registered a rise of 24.05% to 19,39,671 units from 15,63,658 units in November 2016, it added.

11:41 Govt seeks stay on Rs 20,000cr Vodafone tax arbitration case
The Centre has moved the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the Rs 20,000 crore Vodafone tax arbitration case, reports CNBC-TV18. The apex court will hear the government plea on December 12. The government has told the court that Vodafone cannot be allowed to invoke arbitration in the same case in two forums.

11:35 Biryani, vanilla ice cream for Dilip Kumar on 95th birthday
As legendary actor Dilip Kumar turns 95 today, his wife Saira Banu plans to treat him to his favourite delicacies - biryani and vanilla ice cream – on the occasion, reports PTI. Banu says she is not planning to throw a birthday party this time as Kumar is still recovering from pneumonia. "He loves biryani and that will be made for him but I will give him only little as he is unwell. He is also fond of vanilla ice cream, I will ask the doctors if we can give him a little bit of that too. Then we will have a birthday cake," Banu said in an interview.

"We will not have a grand birthday party as he is not keeping well. The immune system is not so good after he was down with pneumonia. I cannot let him exert now," she added. Banu also plans to buy Kumar a new pair of shirt and trousers. "Dilip Sahab is fond of good and simple clothes. He likes cotton shirts and trousers and matching shoes and socks. He has a huge collection of shoes, which he has from world over. Every year I order things of his choice. He is not a materialistic man. He doesn't like expensive gifts. My one consistent gift to him every year is my love, which keeps intensifying," she said.

11:06 Public sector banks gear up to list MF arms, says report
After offloading stakes in insurance companies, cash-strapped public sector banks are gearing up to raise money by diluting their stakes in mutual funds through initial public offerings, reports Hindu Business Line. The government, which announced a Rs 2.11 lakh crore bailout for NPA-hit state-run banks, had instructed them to mop up capital by selling stakes in non-core assets before seeking financial support.

The seven public sector bank-sponsored mutual funds include Baroda Pioneer Mutual Fund, BOI Axa Mutual Fund, Canara Robeco Mutual Fund, IDBI Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund, Union Mutual Fund and Principal (Punjab National Bank) Mutual Fund. Some of these mutual funds have already sounded out investment banks to ascertain the market potential and prepare the groundwork for an IPO, sources said.

Led by SBI Mutual Fund, the assets under management (AUM) of these seven mutual funds were up 11% in the September quarter at Rs 2.34 lakh crore against Rs 2.10 lakh crore in the June quarter. The average AUM of the mutual fund industry was up 7% at Rs 20.94 lakh crore (Rs 19.51 lakh crore) during the same period.

10:52 Chasing stiff rev targets, sudden surge seen in I-T prosecution notices
As tax officials chase to meet stiff revenue targets amid sluggish growth, there is a sudden surge in prosecution notices slapped by the Income Tax (I-T) Department, reports The Economic Times. Till now prosecution provision was invoked sparingly and primarily on wilful tax evaders. Now, prosecution proceedings are being initiated for not filing tax returns or for short or even delayed remittance of tax deducted at source (TDS) by business entities.

"A list of 8,000-odd non-filers (of tax return) with a past record of earnings has been compiled (by the tax department). Many in that list have been issued prosecution notices. While this may come across as somewhat harsh, notices have also gone to companies which even after deducting TDS (from salaries, rent, or other heads) have failed to submit it to the government," a senior tax official in Mumbai, which accounts for the highest income tax collection, said.

10:36 Three militants killed in north Kashmir encounter
Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Handwara area of north Kashmir, police told PTI. Director General of Police (DGP) SP Vaid said the slain militants were ‘apparently Pakistanis’. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the early hours in Unisoo village of Handwara following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter as the hiding militants fired upon the forces conducting the searches. During the gunfight, three militants were killed, the official said. He said their bodies along with three weapons have been recovered from the encounter site.

10:27 Bitcoin futures surge past $18,000
The craze for cryptocurrencies entered a new chapter on Monday as bitcoin futures rocketed by one-fifth of their value at a closely-watched launch, reports Reuters. The most-traded contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets exchange XBTc1 opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $18,700 - a gain of 21%. They were last quoted at $17,550 a premium of more than $1,600 to the price on Gemini Exchange.

The futures are cash-settled contracts based on the auction price of bitcoin in dollars on the Gemini Exchange, which is owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The cryptocurrency has boasted a gravity-defying 15-fold gain since the start of the year, attracting institutional interest and no small amount of question marks.

10:04 Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda sell part of Essar Steel loan at discount, says reportAxis Bank and Bank of Baroda disposed of a part of their foreign currency loans in Essar Steel, selling the debt at 30-40% discounts with a foreign hedge fund acquiring it, sources told The Economic Times. Essar Steel has Rs 49,000 crore of loans outstanding, including external commercial borrowings of Rs 6,000 crore. The loans that Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda sold were part of the external commercial borrowings (ECBs).

The two banks sold the debt to Deutsche Bank, which subsequently transferred it to a hedge fund owned by Davidson Kempner, sources said. The buyer will have a say in the bankruptcy proceedings of the metal maker, they added. Axis Bank was the first to sell, bankers said. It sold $90 million (approximately Rs 580 crore) at a little less than 60 cents to a dollar, they added.

State-run Bank of Baroda got a better deal at 71 cents to a dollar, but the amount of loan it sold wasn’t immediately known. Lenders, including IDBI Bank and ICICI Bank, are also contemplating to exit Essar Steel’s foreign currency loans and are evaluating a few proposals, sources said. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank had sold their domestic loans to Essar Steel to Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company.

10:02 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s roadshows in Ahmedabad have been denied permission by the police, reports NDTV. The police have cited law and order and public inconvenience as reasons for denial of permission.

09:25 South Korea imposes new sanctions on North Korea
South Korea says it has added several North Korean groups and individuals to its sanctions list as part of efforts to cut off funding for the North weapons programs. South Korea's government says the sanctions on 20 North Korean groups and 12 individuals took effect from today. Seoul is among the first to respond to North Korea's November 29 missile launch with fresh sanctions.

09:15 The Max India stock will be in focus today after the Delhi government on Friday cancelled the licence of Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh post market hours. Max India is the holding company for Max Healthcare. The Delhi government’s decision came nearly a week after one of the premature twins born on November 30 and declared dead was found alive by the parents while being taken for last rites.

09:07 Foreign airlines may be allowed to bid for Air India, says report
India is likely to change rules to allow foreign airlines to bid for Air India as long as they have a local joint venture with an Indian partner as the government seeks to increase the number of suitors for the debt-laden national carrier. “Foreign airlines will be allowed to bid as per the current policy that’s applicable on all domestic airlines. That much we can confirm,” an official told Mint. Existing rules allow foreign airlines to own as much as 49% in an Indian airline, with the exception of Air India.

With the change in rules, the government expects to make the sale of Air India, which has drawn interest from companies including the Tata group and InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo), more competitive. The Civil Aviation Ministry has conveyed the proposal to a Group of Ministers looking into Air India’s stake sale in a recent meeting. The panel led by finance minister Arun Jaitley also includes Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The government will have to make several changes to existing rules before foreign airlines can bid for the national carrier. First, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s Press Note No. 6 (2012 Series) has to be amended to remove a clause that bars foreign investment in Air India. Second, international flying rights negotiated between two governments require respective airlines to have local effective control to avail of these rights. A change in control to a foreign airline will invalidate these rights.

To ensure Air India does not face any issues, the government will retain a clause that says Air India cannot be 100% foreign-owned (even though foreign entities can own 100% of a private Indian airline, stakes of foreign airlines are capped at 49%). This, the Aviation Ministry believes, will allow “effective control” to be retained in India as the majority ownership will be with an Indian entity.

08:48 Firms, lenders ask RBI to extend Dec 13 insolvency deadline, says report
With time running out for a resolution of the second list of non-performing assets (NPAs) on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) list, lenders and corporate bodies have approached the central bank for extending the December 13 deadline, reports Business Standard. If debt resolution is not finalised by December 13 for the 28 companies on the list, insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will be initiated.

The debt exposure of these companies would be more than Rs 1 lakh crore. “No major progress has been made so far in debt resolution for the 28 accounts. Hence, some banks have sought an extension of the deadline,” said the head of a public sector bank. “If the deadline is not extended, most of the cases will go to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The kind of deadline being put on the table is not acceptable to the banks. So, decision-making is very difficult at this stage,” he said.

08:32 Suzuki’s electric vehicle tie-ups to aid Maruti Suzuki India, sans risks
Suzuki Motor Corporation is trying to insulate its Indian unit from the risks involved in developing electric vehicles even as the outcome of such efforts will benefit Maruti Suzuki India directly, reports Mint. Driven by a policy push in India and a desire to keep its market share intact, Suzuki has formed two crucial partnerships—one where it will produce lithium ion batteries in collaboration with Denso Corporation and Toshiba Corporation; and another with the world’s largest automaker Toyota Motor Corporation to introduce electric vehicles in India by 2020.

In both cases, while there is no direct involvement of Maruti in any manner, the fact that the Indian company does not have any equity participation means that it is unlikely to face any risk even if India’s electric vehicle drive fails to take off. The role of Maruti in these partnerships may best be limited to that of a procurer of lithium ion battery packs (from the tripartite joint venture) and of electric vehicle platforms from the Toyota-Suzuki partnership. It will, of course, sell those to Indian customers if the electric vehicle market takes off in the country.

“The whole tie-up between Suzuki and Toyota is specifically for the Indian market. Hence, it is solely going to benefit Maruti. The Gujarat plant is also operated (and owned) by Suzuki but it has benefitted only Maruti,” RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki, said.

08:25 Earthquake of 4.5 magnitude hits Jammu & Kashmir
A medium intensity earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale hit Jammu & Kashmir early on Monday, the IMD said. According to the National Seismology Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the earthquake occurred at 4:28 am at a depth of 33 km, reports PTI. There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

08:21 Japan big manufacturers' mood improves in Oct-Dec
Large Japanese manufacturers turned more optimistic about economic conditions in the October-December quarter, a government survey showed on Monday, in another upbeat sign for an economy on a record run of growth. The business survey index (BSI) of sentiment at large manufacturers stood at plus 9.7, up from plus 9.4 in July-September, according to the joint survey by the Ministry of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute, an arm of the Cabinet Office. The mood was brightened by a weaker yen and a 12% jump in the Nikkei stock average since the previous survey period, while sales and profits were up led by auto manufacturers and makers of electronic parts for smartphones, reports Reuters.

08:00 FPIs net outflow from equities at Rs 4,000cr in Dec so far
Foreign investors have pulled out more than Rs 4,000 crore from the country's stock markets this month so far, mainly due to rising crude prices and widening fiscal deficit. The outflow comes following an eight month high inflow of Rs 19,728 crore in November, mainly due to the government's plan to recapitalise PSU banks and surge in India's ranking in the World Bank's ease of doing business.

This was the highest net investment by FPIs since March, when they had poured in Rs 30,906 crore in the equity market. According to the depositories’ data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) withdrew a net amount of Rs 4,089 crore ($634 million) from equities till December 8. However, such investors had put in over Rs 2,200 crore in the debt markets during the period under review.

"Rising crude prices and widening fiscal deficit prompted FPIs to adopt a cautious stance for now. As per the recently released data, India's fiscal deficit rose to 96.1% of the full-year target by the end of October. The fiscal deficit data, which was released on November 30 overshadowed a resounding GDP growth of 6.3% for September quarter, which was also released on the same day. In  addition to that, appreciating rupee and rising domestic markets too provide a good profit booking opportunity to FPIs, especially before Christmas and new year," Morningstar India's senior analyst manager (research) Himanshu Srivastava told PTI.

Even if there are net outflows in December, we will end the year with higher net inflows from FPIs compared to the last two years, he added.    Overall, FPIs have invested over Rs 53,000 crore in equities so far in 2017 and another Rs 1.5 lakh crore in debt markets.

07:47 MFs log Rs 1.26 lakh cr inflow in Nov, AUM at a record Rs 21.8 lakh cr
Investors have pumped in Rs 1.26 lakh crore into mutual funds in November, driving industry assets under management to an all-time high of Rs 21.8 lakh crore. With this latest inflow, total infusion in MF schemes reached Rs 3.8 lakh crore in the first eight months (April-November) of the current fiscal, latest data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.

According to the data, investors have poured in a net of Rs 1.26 lakh crore in MF schemes last month as compared to an investment of over Rs 51,000 crore in October. The latest inflow has been mainly driven by contributions from equity, equity linked saving schemes and liquid funds.

Individually, liquid funds or money market category - investments in cash assets such as Treasury Bills, certificates of deposit and commercial paper for shorter horizon - witnessed an inflow of over 77,000 crore. Besides, equity and equity linked schemes attracted over Rs 20,300 crore. In addition, more than Rs 7,600 crore was invested in balanced funds. Further, over Rs 9,300 crore was put in the debt funds. In contrast, gold ETFs continued to see net outflow of Rs 89 crore.

07:30 Top eight BSE companies add Rs 57,998cr to market valuation
The combined market valuation of eight of the top 10 valued firms soared by Rs 57,998.58 crore last week, driven by FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India. India's  largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HDFC Bank were the only losers among 10 most valued firms on BSE last week.

HUL's m-cap soared by Rs 16,092.90 crore to Rs 2,87,161.37 crore, while that of Maruti Suzuki India's surged by Rs 13,089.13 crore to Rs 2,73,106.05 crore. The valuation of Infosys, India's second-largest IT firm, jumped by Rs 9,888.56 crore to Rs 2,30,055.36 crore and that of diversified ITC rose by Rs 7,800.45 crore to Rs 3,18,965.41 crore.

The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) added Rs 7,029.70 crore to its market valuation at Rs 5,83,243.66 crore while HDFC m-cap moved up by Rs 2,874.09 crore to Rs 2,67,809.05 crore. ONGC, the biggest oil and gas producer of India, saw its valuation rising by Rs 705.83 crore to Rs 2,31,383.23 crore and the largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI) by Rs 517.92 crore to Rs 2,70,312.76 crore.

On the flip-side, TCS took a hit of Rs 5,656.72 crore as its market capitalisation slumped to Rs 4,97,906.20 crore and the valuation of HDFC Bank dropped by Rs 944.64 crore to Rs 4,76,190.86 crore. In ranking, RIL remained at the top followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC, HUL, Maruti Suzuki India, SBI, HDFC, ONGC and Infosys.

07:22 Bitcoin jumps higher as futures trading begins on CBOE; new futures rise
Bitcoin prices jumped on Monday as the CBOE Futures Exchange began trading futures on the cryptocurrency, reports CNBC. The digital currency was at $14,890 right at 4:30am and then surged about $600 to $15,500.13 as of 5:47 am on the Coinbase exchange.

The new futures were up 2.6% to $15,860 on the CBOE in very early trading. They also turned negative for a brief moment at about 5:25 am before bouncing back. The exchange launched the futures under the 'XBT' ticker symbol following a huge ramp-up in the digital currency's price this year.

Interest was so great in the new product, it appeared to be overloading CBOE's website. "Due to heavy traffic on our website, visitors to http://www.cboe.com may find that it is performing slower than usual and may at times be temporarily unavailable," the exchange said in a statement. "All trading systems are operating normally."

The launch lets institutional investors buy into the cryptocurrency space. Until now, bitcoin has been mostly owned and traded by a few entrepreneurs.

07:14 What the markets looked like this week
Reversing last week's bearishness, global stock markets ended on a positive note this week. The European stocks were the biggest gainers after Britain and the European Union announced a breakthrough in Brexit negotiations.

The US markets also ended in the positive territory on a stronger than expected pick-up in the US hiring. As per the Labour Department, US employers added 228,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.

Barring India, majority of the Asian indices ended weak. Although a softer yen and strong economic figures lifted stock sentiments, but the Japanese index ended flat in the week gone by. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5% in the three months to September. Chinese markets were down 0.8% for the week.

Even as world stock markets remain mixed, bitcoin surged by over 50% to a dizzying level of over $16,000 on frenzied speculative buying. However, experts remain divided over the sustainability of the rally.

Back home, the Indian markets posted its biggest weekly gain since early November. The rally was fuelled amid hopes that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would emerge victorious in the Gujarat state elections.

All the stocks ended in green. Telecom stocks were the biggest gainers during the week as the telecom index rose by 4.3%. Stocks in the consumer durable, FMCG and oil & gas were among the other gainers on the bourses.