RIL slips post earnings

Indian equity benchmarks were flat in the opening trade. Fall in heavyweight Reliance Industries post disappointing fourth quarter earnings was offsetting the rally in SBI.

Apart from rising oil prices, end of QE2, fears of Fed tightening and dollar rebound, earnings momentum slowing is an additional worry for EM investors. However, we do not expect earnings downgrades to derail the bull market in EMs in the near-term. Axis Bank lost 3.5% on margin pressure though its fourth quarter numbers were strong. Reliance Industries fell 2.5% as the company's fourth quarter bottomline and GRM came in below the street estimates. Topline was above estimates.For more: RIL slips post earnings

Gold make a record in sixth straight session

Spot gold surged to a lifetime high on Friday in holiday-thinned trade, hitting a record for a sixth consecutive session on a weak dollar and factors ranging from geopolitical uncertainty to inflation concerns.

Silver also raced to its loftiest in 31 years, notching the milestone for a seventh straight day and outstripping gold's weekly gains by a huge margin.

A prolonged euro zone sovereign debt crisis, unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, rising global inflation, and most recently worries over the fiscal stability of the United States and a sharply weaker dollar have fueled the record-breaking rally in these precious metals.

Change in the Home Loan Structure

India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday said it will withdraw its teaser home loan rates effective from May 1. The change in the home loan structure was done keeping the Reserve Bank of India’s norms in mind, said SBI's new chief Pratip Chaudhuri.

There will also be no pre-payment penalty on car loans, Chaudhuri informed. Read full story

Global cues pushing Nifty towards 5900

Indian equity benchmarks continued its upmove on Thursday morning following strong global cues, tracking earnings season. The Nifty was inching towards the 5900 level. Market Trend is on the upside, says Gautam Shah of JM Financial. "There is good possibility of market moving beyond 5900, so break above 5930 could lead to 200 points upside," he said. However, 5600 is the formidable base for the market, according to him.

Among frontliners, TCS gained 2% and Reliance Industries rose 1% ahead of earnings for the quarter ended January-March 2011 today evening.

HDFC Life may delay IPO to next year

HDFC Standard Life is planning to push its initial public offering to next year as current valuations are not attractive. This comes even as the insurance regulator is expected to announce IPO guidelines by the month-end.
With growth in the sector slowing down in the second half of 2010-11 after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) announced stricter guidelines for Unit-Linked Insurance Plans in September last year, valuations of life insurers have taken a hit.Read Full Story