Up to 1,000 feared dead as 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

Ankara:  An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey Sunday, with a seimological institute estimating up to 1,000 people could lie dead under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings.

The powerful quake, the strongest to hit the country in years, and its aftershocks struck Van, a large eastern city populated mainly by Kurds.

"500 to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told a news conference.

Earlier reports did not speak of casualties but many were feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and officials warned they were struggling to assess the extent of the damage.

At least 50 people were taken to hospital in Van, Anatolia news agency said.

"There is serious human and material loss," said a brief statement from the the national disaster body which is based in the prime minister's office.

"Many multi-floor buildings, hotels and a dormitory were collapsed," said Veysel Keser, a local official from Van.

"We can hear voices from the collapsed buildings," he said.

Television footage showed collapsed buildings and vehicles, with residents rushing in panic in the streets.

"People are panicked. The telecommunication services have collapsed. We cannot reach anybody," Van Mayor Bekir Kaya told the NTV television in an initial assessment.

The government is due to send satellite phones to the region, according to media reports. The army will also send search and rescue teams to the area.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.3 magnitude and said that an aftershock was of 5.6 magnitude had also been registered. The epicentre of the aftershock, which occurred at 1056 GMT, was located 19 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Van, the institute added.

The depth of the initial quake was 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles), according to the US seismologists. The depth of the aftershock was 20 kilometers, they added.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck around 1041 GMT, was at Tabanli in Van province, the Kandilli institute said.

The Turkish institute said that there were two aftershocks which in particular impacted on Ilikaynak and Gedikbulak villages.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled his official programme and was due to visit the quake region on Sunday, said NTV.

The city airport received damage from the quake, reported the Anatolia news agency but added it did not disrupt the air traffic, quoting civilian airflight authorities.

Van, a city of 380,000 inhabitants mostly Kurds, is located more than 1,200 kilometres from the capital Ankara.

The quake was also felt over the border in northwest Iran, causing some panic in major cities, Iranian media reported, but without any mention of casualties or damage.

The tremors were strong enough to cause 'scenes of panic among the population of the cities,' according to several Iranian media.

Turkey is earthquake-prone due to being crossed by several fault lines.

In 1999, two strong quakes in the heavily-populated and industrialised regions of northwest Turkey left some 20,000 dead.

And a powerful earthquake in the town of Caldiran in Van province killed 3,840 people in 1976

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/up-to-1-000-feared-dead-as-7-3-magnitude-earthquake-hits-turkey-143619?pfrom=home-lateststories&cp

Chopper row resolved: Indian Army helicopter and crew back in Kargil

New Delhi:  Just hours after four Indian Army personnel, onboard an Army helicopter, were detained in Pakistan after the chopper entered their airspace, reportedly due to bad weather, the issue has been resolved. Army sources say the chopper with the crew has returned to Kargil. (Read: India tells Pakistan: We appreciate speedy return of officers, helicopter)

The row was reportedly settled after the Director General of Military Operations on both sides spoke to each other.

Army sources say the pilots will be questioned and the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices of the chopper will be analysed for the exact location and time of the incident.

The Cheetah helicopter of the Army Aviation, which was flying from Leh to Bhimbat, was first reported to have gone missing and was then escorted down by Pakistani forces. Three Indian officers, including the pilot and co-pilot, and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) onboard were taken into custody.

The airspace violation happened at 1 pm PST in Olding in the Kargil sector in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sources say that the chopper strayed 20 kilometres inside the Pakistani territory, as claimed by the authorities there.

"The chopper strayed deep inside our territory. The crew is safe and investigations are on", General Athar Abbas, Spokesman of the Pakistan Military had said.

The Army, meanwhile, has said that the chopper's landing in Pakistan was not a deliberate intrusion.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/chopper-row-resolved-indian-army-helicopter-back-in-kargil-143595?pfrom=home-lateststories&cp

Corrupt forces, politics behind shoe attack

Speaking after he was attacked on Tuesday, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said that he appealed to the public to not fall into a political plot. He also said that the people should join the anti-corruption movement as it was a Gold' class='bD_15arlink' title='gold price'>golden opportunity to rid the country of the menace.

"I just want to appeal to the public to not fall into any political plot and to join hands with us in this moment. This is a golden opportunity to get rid of corruption from our country," Kejriwal said.

The attacker, who tried to throw a shoe at Kejriwal, has been identified as Jitendra Pathak, from Jalon, Uttar Pradesh. He accused Kejriwal of misleading people on the issue of corruption. On this allegation, Kejriwal said that some of the youth were being misguided, adding that he was ready to answer any questions the people might have.

"All I have to say is that some of the youth are misguided. We can sort the situations by talking to them. If they have questions, we are willing to answer them. In the Hisar campaign we answered many questions related to the issue. Violence is not an answer to any issue," he said.

He also blamed political motives and influence for the attack on Prashant Bhushan and himself, saying that the corrupt are against them.

He said, "Corrupt forces are against us. Attack on Prashant Bhushan was not because of his comments on Kashmir. This is a plot. There is some political influence involved. People are criticising our strategy in Hisar. if the strategy was wrong then the people of Hisar would not have implemented it."

Kejriwal refused to say whether Team Anna was breaking up after news of two members leaving the group came to the fore. He said that the core committee will take a decision on the matter.

He was attacked and heckled on Tuesday as he was preparing for a meeting in Lucknow. The attempted attack came a day after the drubbing Congress party got in Hisar by-poll and a few days after the attack on Prashant Bhushan and Anna's supporters.

Rupee to retreat from 1-wk low; shares watched

The rupee should pull back on Wednesday from the one-week low reached in the previous session, supported by expectations for foreign fund inflows and the dollar's losses overseas.

* Asian shares were higher, but gains were capped by a cut to Spain's sovereign credit rating from Moody's Investors Service that kept investors' risk appetite in check.

* At 0230 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was up 0.7% while the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were 0.3% higher, suggesting a higher start to the local market.

* The rupee is affected by foreign fund flows into and out of the domestic sharemarket which will be watched for cues during the day.

* Traders forecast the rupee to open around 49.15 per dollar and move in a 49.10 to 49.40 range. It had ended 0.7% weaker on Tuesday at 49.29/30, after dropping to 49.36, its weakest since Oct. 12.

* The euro inched lower on Wednesday after Moody's cut Spain's government debt rating by two notches, giving up some gains made on a report that France and Germany have reached a deal to bolster the euro zone's bailout fund.

* The euro was trading at USD 1.3763, compared with USD 1.3699 when the rupee closed on Tuesday. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was at 77.023 points, sharply below 77.314 on Tuesday.

Sensex opens with 150 pts gap up

The BSE Sensex bounced back with 150 points gap up following positive global cues, reacting to good US economic data. Rescue fund announcement from France and Germany too improved the market sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 150.03 points to 16898.32 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 45 points to 5083.10.

Hero Motocorp jumped 5% on strong numbers; company reported a rise of 19.4% in Q2 net profit of Rs 604 crore. Its net sales jumped 28% to Rs 5,784 crore (YoY).

JSPL gained 2% post second quarter results. HCL Tech and TCS, which lost 8% yesterday post results, gained 1-2% in early trade.

Buying was also seen in SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, DLF, Sterlite, Sesa Goa, Coal India, Hindalco, BHEL, L&T, Jaiprakash Associates and Tata Motors.

However, HUL and ITC were marginally lower.

The CNX Midcap moved up 52 points to 7,099. About four shares gained for every share falling on National Stock Exchange.

New listing:

Flexituff International was trading at Rs 155.70 as against issue price of Rs 155 a share. 

Taksheel Solutions rose 3% to Rs 154 as against issue price of Rs 150 a share.

Ahead of numbers: Zee News gained 4% and Crompton Greaves rose 2%.

Results reaction: Petronet LNG was up 1.5% and Patni rallied 2%.

Kingfisher Airlines surged 4% and Jubilant Foodworks rose 2%.

Chambal Fertiliers fell 2.5% as company called off demerger of shipping biz.

Global cues

Asian markets were trading higher. Hang Seng rose 1.5%. Nikkei, Shanghai and Straits Times moved up 0.3-0.55%. Kospi and Taiwan were flat.

SEBI order against Sahara to refund money

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has upheld the SEBI order against Sahara to refund money to investors in the companies optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD) scheme.

The SAT has ordered Sahara to repay within six-weeks, reports CNBC-TV18.

The issue relates to SEBI's finding in November, 2010 indicting two Sahara Group firms — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation now known as Sahara Commodity Services Corporation Ltd and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation — for raising funds from the public through OFCD scheme without conforming to prudent disclosure and other investor protection norms, which govern such public issues.

The Sahara entities had raised nearly Rs 24,029 crore via the OFCD scheme.

The SAT had also earlier observed that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has wider powers under the SEBI Act to issue directions to even unlisted firms to protect interest of investors in the securities market.

The observation came in response to a Sahara Group argument that the jurisdiction to regulate an unlisted public company lies with the Central government and not with SEBI.

Nifty, Europe crash 2%, BSE IT sinks 3.5%

Sell-off across globe continues unabated following a statement by German authorities yesterday that a resolution to euro zone debt crisis may not come quickly. Mirroring global sentiments, the BSE Sensexfell 323 points to 16,701.7 and the NSE Nifty crashed 96 points to 5,022.

European markets fell 1.5-2% in the opening trade. Richard Gibbs, global head of Macquarie Securities believes that more clarity on the situation (measures to solve European debt crisis) will come only on November 4 at the Cannes meet.

In context of global markets, Gibbs believes that volatility will remain high till the year-end and capital preservation will be foremost thought on everyone’s minds. “Policy resolution is vital to reduce global market volatility,” he adds.

Back home, the BSE IT Index tumbled over 3.5%. Realty, Metal, Bank, Auto and Capital Goods indices were down 2-3%.

The fall in technology players like TCS and HCL Tech post their quarterly numbers, was neck-to-neck; both plunged nearly 8%. Wipro was down 3.7% and Infosys down 1.4%.

Tata Motors wiped out all yesterday's gains, losing 5%. Heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI and L&T tumbled 2-3%. ONGC too turned red, falling over 1%.

Metal stocks like Hindalco, Tata Steel, SAIL, JSPL and Sterlite dropped 2.5-4.5%.

However, Coal India continued to attract buyers, rising 1.8%. NTPC, Hero Motocorp, BPCL, GAIL, Power Grid and Tata Power were other gainers with moderate gains.

The broader indices were down 1% and about four shares declined for every share gaining.

At 11:42 hours IST : Sensex sheds 300 pts; TCS, HCL Tech fall over 7%

The BSE Sensex shed nearly 300 points led by fall in heavyweights like TCS, Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank and L&T. Weak global cues dented investors' sentiment today post German Finance Minister said European governments will not resolve the crisis at the EU meeting scheduled for October 23. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 88 points to 5,030 and the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 295 points to 16,729.

Meanwhile, Asian markets like Nikkei, Straits Times, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai were down 1.4-1.9%. Hang Seng slipped further - was down nearly 4%.

It is a very bad market for trading and volatility will continue to remain at elevated levels, reiterated Sandeep Bhatia, executive director and head of sales, Kotak Institutional Equities. “This is not a trending market where one can make easy money,” he said.

TCS and HCL Tech were not showing any sign of recovery, both falling over 7.5% post their second quarter numbers. Wipro and Infosys fell 3% and 1.4%, respectively.

Major largecaps like Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank and L&T plunged 2-3%. ADAG stocks like Reliance Power, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure dropped 3%.

Metal space was getting hammered quite sharply - Sterlite and Hindalco crashed 4% each. Tata Steel, SAIL and JSPL slipped 2.5%.

However, Coal India, NTPC, GAIL, Hero Motocorp, BPCL and Sun Pharma were only gainers on Nifty.

About four shares slipped for every share rising on National Stock Exchange.

Nifty slips over 1.5%; metals, banks, tech nosedive

Equity benchmarks slipped more than 1.5% led by a fall in technology, telecom, financial, capital goods and metal stocks. Asian markets have remained under pressure, falling between 1.5% and 3% post downward move in US markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 16,752.55, down 272.5 points. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 83 points to 5,035.15 led by fall in 40 stocks.

TCS and HCL Tech turned biggest losers post their numbers for the July-September quarter; both crashed 7% each. Wipro was down 3% and Infosys fell 1%.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped another 2% today and L&T dipped 2.5%. From the financial space, ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank were down 2-3%; HDFC Bank slipped just 0.8%.

From the telecom space, Bharti Airtel declined 1.7% and Reliance Communications plunged 3%.

Tata Motors was witnessing profit booking after yesterday's 4.5% rally, falling 3.6%. However, Hero Motocorp and Maruti gained over 0.5%.

Metals and mining space too were on sellers' radar - Sterlite, JSPL, Tata Steel, Hindalco and SAIL tumbled 2-4%. However, Coal India gained nearly 2% as company solved bonus issue with workers.

Cong downplays Anna factor in Hisar by-poll

Hisar by-poll have been strike one to Team Anna in its battle against the UPA, at least that's what they would like to believe. With the Congress candidate losing his deposit in the crucial by-poll Anna and company are now turning more aggressive. Observing a 'maun vrat', Anna Hazare wrote a blog post the verdict.

In an ominous warning, Anna said, "If the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session, then I will campaign against the Congress in five states."

In the crucial stages of campaigning in Hisar, core group members of Team Anna like Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi had appealed to the people to vote against the Congress. The Congress itself though doesn't see to much of an Anna factor in these polls.

Congress Spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said, "There is no Anna factor. We will look into what's gone wrong."

Underestimating Team Anna could well turn out to be a big mistake for the Congress. It's Hisar today, Team Anna is now threatening to take its battle to other parts of the country.

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said, "We will take our message to other places." To everyone's surprise, INLD's Ajay Chautala written off by many, gave a scare to Kuldeep Bishnoi. But the real story was the Congress' candidate Jai Prakash, who lost his deposit, got votes less than 1.5 lakhs, less than half the votes individually polled by Bishnoi and Chutala.

Kuldeep Bishnoi (42) got 3,55,941 votes, Ajay Chautala (50) was second with 3,49,618 while Jai Prakash could manage only 1,49,785 votes.

Anna already announced that he will go to all election bound states including UP, if Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in Winter Session of Parliament. UPA's managers will have to do some quick thinking to control Team Anna.

Germany's caution on debt plan sinks Wall Street

US stocks suffered their worst loss in two weeks on Monday after comments from Germany's finance minister caused investors to fear Europe's solution to its debt crisis may not come fast enough.

The S&P index had risen for two straight weeks for the first time since July, riding a wave of euphoria built on optimism that European leaders had a newfound commitment to tackle a crisis that threatened financial stability and global growth.

The rapid rally left the market susceptible to swift declines. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, speaking of an Oct. 23 European Union summit on the debt crisis, tempered enthusiasm, saying, "we won't have a definitive solution this weekend."

US bank earnings also contributed to the selling pressure. Wells Fargo & Co shares fell 8.4% to USD 24.42 after the US lender financial results fell short of expectations.

The KBW Bank index lost 3.9%.

"The German Finance Minister basically came out and sort of ruined the expectation that a grand plan was coming along, that some sizable fund was being put together to recapitalize European banks," said Stephen Massocca, fund manager with Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"Depending on the development there, we could technically get back down to the low end of the trading range, which is about 1,100 on the S&P."

With that in mind, investors rushed to seek protection in the options market against losses. The CBOE Volatility index VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, rose 18.2% to 33.39, its highest one-day jump since August.

The VIX is a 30-day risk forecast of stock market volatility conveyed by S&P 500 index options; it generally moves inversely to the S&P benchmark.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 246.58 points, or 2.12%, at 11,397.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 23.72 points, or 1.94%, at 1,200.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 52.93 points, or 1.98%, at 2,614.92.

Trading volume was light, with just 6.87 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq for the day, well below the year's daily average so far of about 8 billion.

Events in Europe overshadowed a USD 21 billion deal by Kinder Morgan Inc to buy rival El Paso Corp, combining the two largest natural gas pipeline operators in North America in a huge bet on the fast-growing market for that fuel.

El Paso's shares surged 24.8% to USD 24.45 and Kinder Morgan shares jumped 4.8% to USD 28.19.

Shares of Citigroup Inc fell 1.7% to USD 27.93. The bank reported higher third-quarter earnings as it set aside less money to cover bad loans and recorded an accounting gain available to banks in turbulent markets.

After the closing bell, IBM reported third-quarter revenue that met expectations. The tech company ended 2% lower at USD 186.59 during regular trading, but in after-hours action IBM shares fell 3.6% more to USD 179.81 after reporting results.

Of the 45 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 62% have beaten analyst expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE and the Nasdaq by a ratio of about 5 to 1.

Citigroup shutting down prop trading unit

Citigroup Inc is shutting down a loss-making proprietary trading business, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said in a conference call on Monday.

"We're close to two-thirds done winding down that particular position, that business," Gerspach told analysts on the company's third quarter conference call. He earlier blamed weak third quarter trading performance in part on winding down Citi's principal strategies business.

Banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have already unwound similar businesses in preparation for stricter government regulation under the Volcker Rule.

The Volcker Rule, which goes into effect next year, is aiming to prevent banks from making risky trades by prohibiting short-term trading for their own profit.

Citi spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said Citi's Equity Principal Strategies unit, is a "de minimis part of Citi's overall trading operation."

"As it does not fit with Citi's business model under the impending Volcker rule, it is in the process of being wound down," Romero-Apsilos said in an emailed statement.

Thunuguntla's view on Reliance Industries

Jagannadham Thunuguntla of SMC Global Securities share his view on Reliance Industries .

Thunuguntla told CNBC-TV18, "Reliance Industries, yesterday’s results clearly reflect that out of the three segments one is the gross refining margins are surely under pressure. They are not up to the mark as market had expected. Even on the petchem side definitely the margins have got squeezed by about 3% point year in year. Whatever the problem that the company is having on the refining and petchem is getting compensated with the other income because other income is the company is getting about Rs 1100 crore per quarter thanks to the Rs 61,000 crore cash balance that company is having on the books. So treasury income is definitely compensating the slowdown on other front."

He further added, "Having said that the real kicker for the stock will come either because of these two reasons - either if the KG D6 technical problem will get resolved thanks to the BP joint venture or if the company uses this Rs 61,000 crore maybe for some big global acquisition and that acquisition adding some value to the company. But for either of this to happen it seems that at least almost 18 months wait is there, so until and unless that happens, I think it’s very difficult for the stock to get back into the four digits."

"I think the company is a very good bet for Rs 700-900 that kind of swing trade - buy at Rs 700, sell at Rs 900 and again short at Rs 900 for Rs 700. I think it is one of the swing trading candidates as of now. But the stock could get back to four digits, I think of these two things have to happen - either gas or acquisition."

Hisar by-poll: Bishnoi leads, Cong third

All eyes are on Hisar in Haryana where the results for the by-polls for the Lok Sabha seat will be announced on Monday. Stakes are high for both the Congress and Team Anna. The big question is whether the voters will respond to Anna Hazare's call to defeat the Congress, making Hisar a turning point.

Initial leads show Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress was leading. He said that Anna should have targeted all corrupt parties and not just the Congress.

Ajay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal has accused the Congress of running a smear campaign against him. He was following Bishnoi at the second spot in the initial leads.

Congress' Jai Prakash who claimed the Anna factor has failed was coming in third in the early counting.

It has been Team Anna's first brush with electoral politics with Kejriwal campaigning against the Congress in these elections making it a referendum on the Jan Lokpal Bill despite reservations by other members of the team like Santosh Hegde.

The Opposition seems to have benefited indirectly from the anti-Congress tirade. Kuldeep Bishnoi, the political heir of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal who before his death had defected from the Congress to launch his own outfit, is contesting these elections in alliance with the BJP. Kuldeep hopes to polarise the anti-incumbency and pro-Anna votes.

For the Congress which was on a weak wicket, the Hisar by-poll has turned into a high profile poll with Team Anna calling for its defeat. All eyes are now on the poll results to determine who the voters have decided to push to victory.

Zee Ent Q2 cons net profit up 23% at Rs 160 cr

Zee Entertainment has announced its second quarter results. The company's Q2 consolidated net profit was up 23% at Rs 160 crore versus Rs 130 crore.

Its consolidated net sales were up 2.86% at Rs 718 crore versus Rs 698 crore.

Advertising revenue down 4% to Rs 395 crore, YoY, and up 2% QoQ.

Subscription revenue up 6% to Rs 291 crore versus Rs 274 crore and down 4.6% QoQ

HDFC Q2 net profit up 20% at Rs 971 cr

Housing finance company HDFC has reported a rise of 20% YoY in net profit of Rs 971 crore for the quarter ended September 2011. The company had posted net profit of Rs 807.5 crore in same quarter the previous year.

Total income shot up 37% to Rs 4,077 crore from 2,970 crore year-on-year.

Profit from sale of investment increased 47.5% to Rs 87 crore from Rs 59 crore during the same period.

In a press conference, vice-chairman and CEO of HDFC, Keki Mistry said net interest margin in Q2 was 4.3%

Loan book growth was at 25% and disbursements growth stood at 19%.

Capital adequacy ratio in the July-September quarter was at 13.8% and spreads stood at 2.8% in same quarter.

"There is no impact on asset quality due to rising interest rates," he said.

Tijaria Polypipes surges 13% on debut

Shares of Tijaria Polypipes , a plastic pipes manufacturer, surged 13% in the opening trade to hit a high of Rs 67.75 on the National Stock Exchange. But, it could not hold those gains for long. It slipped to near its issue price of Rs 60 a share and was hovering around the same.

Total trade volume on both exchanges was nearly 72.6 lakh equity shares as against issue size of one crore shares.

Tijaria Polypipes manufactures high-grade HDPE, MDPE and LDPE plastic pipes and sprinkler systems under the brand names of Tijaria and Vikas. At present, the company has an installed manufacturing capacity of 20,664MT HDPE pipes, 7,392MT PVC pipes and 7,200MT of PET flakes & granules per year. Its products are used in irrigation, telecommunication, industrial, infrastructure and housing sectors.

The company now proposes to expand its current manufacturing capacity and diversify into the manufacturing of polyster zippers long chains, mink blankets & PET sheets and also proposes to manufacture the raw materials required for it. The company will manufacture partially oriented yarn (POY), draw texturised yarn (TY) and monofilament yarn all under one roof. The company plans to set up two new units at industrial areas of Rajasthan Industrial and Investment Corporation (RIICO) at Ramachandrapura and Sitapura Extension, close to Jaipur.

The total project cost is estimated at Rs 108.52 crore. For implementing the new project the promoter group has contributed Rs 8.52 crore as equity capital and the company has arranged a term loan of Rs 40 crore from banks. The company raised Rs 60 crore through the issue.

Sensex gains 100 pts

The Nifty jumped above 5100 level post announcement of September inflation numbers, which stand at very high levels, but have not risen from the August levels. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 105 points to 16,989.17 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 26.5 points at 5,104.30. Major buying was seen in technology, oil & gas, power, capital goods, auto (barring Maruti), FMCG and banks stocks were leading the market higher.

Inflation for the month of September came in at 9.72% as against 9.78% in previous month, which was on expected lines. CNBC-TV18 poll saw it at 9.7%.

TCS was the leader among largecaps, gaining over 2%. Other largecaps like Reliance Industries, NTPC, BHEL and Wipro gained more than 1.4%.

ONGC, ITC, Bharti, Infosys, SBI, ICICI Bank and HUL moved up 0.7-1%. Jindal Steel was top gainer, rising 4%.

However, the sell-off continued in Coal India, DLF, Tata Steel, Sesa Goa and Maruti, which fell 2-5%. SAIL, Cipla, Sterlite, Hindalco, JP Associates, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Communications slipped 0.5-1%. HDFC and HDFC Bank were marginally lower.

The market breadth was mixed; about 682 shares advanced as against 649 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

At 10:49 hours IST : Nifty hovers around 5078; Coal India, Sesa Goa plunge

The NSE benchmark was hovering around its previous closing value of 5078. Buying was seen in technology, FMCG, oil & gas and power stocks while metal, realty and HDFC group companies' shares were on sellers' radar. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 16,943.06, up 59 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty was trading up 14 points to 5,091.6.

Portfolio manager PN Vijay feels that Indian stocks look very attractive for the long-term, but the market sentiment needs to improve for a genuine bull rally.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC were trying to maintain positive trend on the market, gaining 0.5-0.7%.

JSPL surged nearly 3% after seeing sell-off in yesterday's trade. Technology space continued to trade higher for the third consecutive session after Infosys' Q2 results. TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech were up 0.5-1%.

Even FMCG space was quite supportive - ITC and HUL rose 0.7% each. From the power pack, NTPC and Tata Power moved up 1% each.

SBI, BHEL, L&T and ICICI Bank were flat in trade - these stocks were playing a part in today's volatility.

However, metal stocks were under pressure. Coal India, Tata Steel and Sesa Goa tanked 3-4.5%. SAIL, Sterlite and Hindalco were down 1-1.7%.

From the realty space, DLF plunged 3.5%. Maruti Suzuki has remained on bears' radar due to labour problems at its Manesar plant, falling 2%.

About 616 shares advanced as against 636 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST : Sensex volatile; metals & banks down, IT & FMCG gain

Indian equity benchmarks opened marginally lower, as they continue to consolidate for the second consecutive session. Benchmarks were hovering around their previous closing values. Metal and banking stocks were under pressure while technology and FMCG stocks were on buyers' radar.

Among frontliners, Sesa Goa, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Sterlite, SAIL, DLF, Coal India, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, L&T and Maruti were down.

However, ITC, HUL, Grasim, Reliance Industries, Tata Power, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, TCS, HCL Tech, Infosys and Wipro were supporting the market.

New listing - Tijaria Polypies rallied 5% to Rs 63 a share on Day 1.

WWIL gained 2%. Dish TV and Hathway Cable were up nearly 1%.

Balaji Tele gained 4% ahead of quarterly results. BILT surged 3%.

Century Textiles rose 3% as there were reports that company may merge its cement business with Ultratech.

However, AP Paper lost 3% post disappointing second quarter results.

Kingfisher Airlines lost 3% as HPCL said it has suspended fuel supplies to Kingfisher in Delhi.

Dhanlaxmi Bank and Jubilant Foodworks were down 1.5%.

CRISIL touches 52-week high

CRISIL touched a 52-week high of Rs 945. At 11:37 hrs the share was quoting at Rs 920, up Rs 98.40, or 11.98%. 
 
It was trading with volumes of 163,076 shares, compared to its 5-day average of 3,715 shares, an increase of 4,289.66%. 
 
In the previous trading session, the share closed up 2.42% or Rs 19.45 at Rs 821.60.

Share Price Movement During The Last 12 Months
Period	Price	Latest Price	Gain/Loss (Rs.)	% Gain/Loss
3-Days	795.10	920.00	124.90	15.71
5-Days	791.90	920.00	128.10	16.18
7-Days	791.90	920.00	128.10	16.18
15-Days	840.05	920.00	79.95	9.52
1-Month	833.57	920.00	86.43	10.37
3-Month	728.12	920.00	191.88	26.35
6-Month	697.02	920.00	222.98	31.99
9-Month	602.20	920.00	317.80	52.77
1-Year	602.29	920.00	317.71	52.75

Dream park in Noida

The 33-acre Dalit Prerna Sthal or the Ambedkar Park in Noida, the pet project of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, will be inaugurated on Friday. Mayawati spent a staggering Rs 650 crores to put up the park.

Preparations are on for the grand ceremony that takes place on Friday evening. Mayawati will arrive by a helicopter.

The park has 24 pink sandstone elephants, the electoral symbol of BSP, 12 life-size statues of Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and the UP Chief Minister herself!

The estimated cost of each statue is over Rs 6 crore and each elephant statue Rs 70 lakh of public money. In fact Mayawati spent Rs 2500 crores on five such major parks across UP. But this memorial to Ambedkar has had a chequered history.

In September 2009, a Supreme Court committee recommended putting a halt on the constructions as the project did not have an environment clearance.

In December 2010, the Supreme Court gave a green signal to Ambedkar Park saying the park is not on forestland.

Environmentalists had alleged the project led to ravaging of Noida's green belt and the loss of 6000 trees. And to make matters worse the concrete park came up right next to Okhla Bird Sanctuary that caused the activists to cry foul.

Despite its troubled past, finishing touches are being given to the park before its grand inauguration.

And then there are those who argue that a poor state like Uttar Pradesh should not be spending public money on such opulent parks.

SC stays 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab's execution

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed 26/11 accused Ajmal Kasab's execution and issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on his plea. Kasab's execution has been stayed till amicus curae report is heard. The Supreme Court will hear Kasab's case regularly from January 31, 2012.

The apex court has asked the state government to reply to Kasab's plea. No specific time frame has been set for the Maharashtra government to reply, but the court stressed on the fact that the case would be dealt with expeditiously.

While passing the order, the judge said that the case has to be decided on a top priority basis, adding that after such acts Kasab does not deserve an appeal.

The case is in its preliminary stage in the Supreme Court. Around three to four months back, the court first heard Kasab's case in which most documents were in Marathi and it asked the governnment to come back with the documents translated in English.

Special Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said that since this was a judicial process no specific time frame can be set.

It has also appointed Raju Ramachandran as the amicus curae.

Kasab was convicted on the charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and murder. Kasab, the sole convict in the case, has filed the petition through jail authorities in the apex court which has appointed senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran as amicus curie to assist it in deciding the appeal.

On September 2, the apex court had agreed to hear the plea of Maharashtra government against the acquittal of two accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in the 26/11 case.

It, however, had refused to pass any order on Kasab when the state government pleaded that his letter to the Supreme Court challenging his death sentence should be tagged with this appeal.

"We are taking a step regarding this (Kasab's letter)," the bench had said.

The Bombay High Court had in its February 21 verdict upheld the trial court order of death sentence of Kasab for the 'brutal and diabolical' attacks aimed at 'destabilising' the government.

Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation, IPC section related to murder and under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The Bombay High Court had also upheld his conviction on 19 counts under IPC, Arms Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Railway Act.

The trial court had acquitted Faheem and Sabauddin.

Kasab, the sole 26/11 terrorist captured alive, had been sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6 last year.

He and his accomplices had landed at Budhwar Park in South Mumbai on November 26, 2008 night from Karachi by sea and went on a shooting spree at various city landmarks, leaving 166 people dead and many more wounded.