Gold sets new record of Rs 30,400

Gold today hit a fresh all-time high by adding Rs 100 to Rs 30,400 per 10 grams on brisk buying by traders triggered by a firming global trend.

The precious metal had hit an all-time high of Rs 30,300 on Saturday.

Silver followed suit and shot up by Rs 1,200 to Rs 55,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said the trading sentiment bolstered as gold rose to a four-week high in London on weaker dollar after officials from the world's leading economies said they will collaborate to respond to Europe's crisis, boosting demand for metal as an alternate investment.

In London, gold rose by 1.3 per cent to $1,637.40 an ounce, the highest since May 8 and silver by 2.7 per cent to 29.31 dollar an ounce, the highest since May 10.

Besides, traders buying ahead of the marriage season from June 16 further fuelled the uptrend.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity rose by Rs 100 each to set all-time high levels of Rs 30,400 and Rs 30,200 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereigns rose by Rs 150 to Rs 24,250 per piece of eight grams.

Similarly, silver ready spurted by Rs 1,200 to Rs 55,500 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 1,090 to Rs 55,170 per kg. Silver coins also jumped up by Rs 3,000 to Rs 67,000 for buying and Rs 68,000 for selling of 100 pieces. 

Biggest rally in 2012

The BSE Sensex soared over 470 points and the Nifty index took out the 5,000 mark as Indian markets witnessed a dramatic rebound Wednesday. This was the biggest point gain for the Sensex since December 21, 2011.

Global cues supported sentiments. European stocks opened in the green and gained strength. Markets in France and Britain traded 1-2% higher. At 3.45 p.m., Spain's IBEX index traded 3% higher.

European stocks rose despite negative news flow around Spain, where the government said it is losing access to credit markets. The European Central Bank is likely hold interest rates unchanged at 1 per cent in a meeting today.

Asian markets rose for a second straight day. The rupee, too, held on to the gains, helping sentiments on the Street. It traded 22 paise higher against the dollar at 55.42.

The Sensex closed 433.66 points or 2.7% higher at 16,454, while the Nifty gained 134 points to 4,997. The Sensex made an intraday high of 16,494, while the Nifty hit the 5,010 mark.

Audi launches Q3 in India at Rs 26.71 lakh

German car maker Audi on Wednesday launched the Audi Q3 in India.

The smaller cousin to the Q5 and Q7, the Q3 comes in two variants—both 2.0 TDI engines—at an entry price Rs 26.71 lakh. The higher version will set you back by Rs 32.10 lakh.
The Q3’s primary competition will be the BMW X1, and it will also look to give the Toyota Fortuner, the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Chevrolet Captiva a run for their money.

"The launch of the Audi Q3 is in line with our top-down strategy for India. At present, only 500 Audi Q3s will be available for initial booking," Audi India head Michael Perschke said.

"We are confident that Audi Q3 will repeat the success of Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 and further consolidate our leadership position in the luxury SUV segment," he added.

The vehicle seems to have met with instant success, with most dealers saying they have already sold out their stock within few hours of the launch, pointing to pre-booking.

The five-door coupe crossover, Audi’s smallest SUV, was launched globally in 2011.

Audi India grew by 37 per cent during January to May of 2012, delivering 3,281 vehicles as compared to 2,394 vehicles delivered during the same period last year. It recorded sales of 450 cars in May 2012, a growth of 10 per cent over the same period last year.

The car maker is looking to expand its network to 25 dealerships by the end of 2012 from its existing 19 centres.

"In 2012, we will continue our strategic course of product expansion and launch attractive vehicles in the market for sustainable and profitable growth," Perschke had said last week.

Commenting on the outlook, he had said: "The overall market scenario is challenging. The rising fuel prices, depreciating rupee, changing registration taxes in various states as well as reduction in retail loans have severely impacted the automobile industry."

In spite of these challenges the company is confident of its growth in India, he added.

Pantaloon Retail up 4-5%

Future Capital Holdings and Pantaloon Retail rallied 4-5% on Tuesday and gained 5-7% yesterday after Kishore Biyani, CEO, Pantaloon said Future Group had decided to sell its stake of 54% in Future Capital Holdings.

The sale will be conducted in two tranches. In the first tranche 40% will be sold followed by an open offer of 26% by private equity investor Warburg Pincus at a price of Rs 162 a share. This will give Future Group an equity value of Rs 1,050 crore and helped to reduce debt burden.

At 10:32 hours IST, Future Capital Holdings was trading at Rs 151, up 5.19% and its market capitalisation currently stands at Rs 978.46 crore. 
 
Pantaloon Retail was trading at Rs 154.65, up 4.18% with market capitalisation of Rs 3,455.18 crore.

Monsoon rains arrive in Kerala

India's annual monsoon rains have arrived at the southern Kerala coast, a top weather official said on Tuesday, brightening prospects of higher farm output by aiding farmers to plant summer-sown crops such as rice, soybean and cotton on time.

"It's been raining in Kerala for the past few days, but the parameters suggest that the monsoon has arrived today," B.P. Yadav, a director at the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) told Reuters.

The annual rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55 percent of the south Asian nation's arable land is rain-fed, and farm sector accounts for about 15 percent of a nearly $2-trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest.


India is the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton and also one of the largest consumers, with a population of about 1.2 billion.

Another senior weather office official, who declined to be named, said he expected monsoon rains to make good progress in the western Indian coast - in coffee, tea, rubber and cane areas - in next 2-3 days.

The IMD has forecast average rains in 2012, for the third straight year.

"We are sticking to our forecast of a normal monsoon," Mr Yadav said, adding, the IMD would review its forecast around June 25 after the rains cover half of the country.

The June-September rainy season starts over the Kerala coast and covers the rest of India and neighbouring countries Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal by mid-July.

Last week, weather officials said a cyclonic pressure over the Arabian Sea has delayed the rains, give or take 4 days, from its expected June 1 arrival date.

In 2011, the IMD had forecast the onset of monsoon on May 31, but the rains arrived two days ahead of the estimate.