Mumbai - Improvement in asset quality and high interest income pushed State Bank of India's net profit in December quarter by 30 percent to Rs 2,910 crore, boosting the shares of country's largest lender by 6.8 percent.

The bank had reported a net profit of Rs 2,234 crore in the October-December quarter of previous fiscal, SBI said in a statement.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of total advances came down to 4.90 percent at the end of third quarter from 5.73 percent in the year-ago period while net NPAs stood at 2.80 percent.

During the quarter, the net interest income increased by 9.20 percent to Rs 13,777 crore as against Rs 12,616 crore in the October-December period of last fiscal.

Mumbai: Shares of budget airline SpiceJet today fell by 4 percent after the company reported widening of net loss by a steep 59 percent during the third-quarter at Rs 275 crore.

The stock went down by 3.99 per cent to Rs 19.25 at the BSE.

The company announced its results post market hours yesterday.

In the middle of an ownership change, SpiceJet had yesterday reported a steep 59 percent rise in third-quarter net loss at Rs 275 crore on lower passenger numbers and a one-time cost of Rs 295 crore.

Mumbai: Continuing its rising streak for the fourth consecutive session, the benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 110 points in early trade Friday on the back of a firming trend in global market.

However, discouraging IIP and retail inflation data, limited the gains.

The 30-share barometer moved up by 110.17 points, or 0.38 percent, to 28,915.27 with healthcare, realty, metal, consumer durables, FMCG and banking sector stocks, leading the rally. The gauge had gained 577.71 points in past three sessions.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 39 points, or 0.45 percent, to 8,750.55.

Mumbai: The rupee strengthened by 26 paise to 62.05 against the dollar in early trade Friday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Forex dealers said besides selling of the American currency by exporters and banks, a higher opening in domestic stock market, supported the rupee.

The rupee had shed six paise to hit a fresh one-month low of 62.31 in yesterday's trade on persistent demand for the American currency from banks and importers in view of sustained foreign capital outflows.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 110.17 points, or 0.38 percent, to trade at 28,915.27 in early trade.--PTI

Mumbai: Extending losses for the fourth straight session, the rupee fell by 17 paise to 62.42 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the American currency strengthened overseas amid persistent foreign capital outflows.

Forex dealers said besides the dollar's gain against other currencies overseas, increased demand for the American unit from importers put pressure on the rupee but a higher opening in the domestic equity markets, capped the losses.

The rupee had declined by six paise to close at a fresh one-month low of 62.25 in yesterday's trade on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by 151.91 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 28,685.88 in early trade.--PTI

Mumbai: Rising for the third straight session, the benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 151 points in early trade on Thursday as participants engaged in enlarging positions ahead of IIP and retail inflation data to be released later in the day.

Besides, expectations of faster economic reforms by the government and optimism over the forthcoming Budget, buoyed trading sentiments.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 151.91 points, or 0.53 percent, at 28,685.88 with stocks of auto, consumer durables, power, realty and capital goods sectors, leading the rise.

The gauge had gained 306.58 points in the previous two sessions.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 36.30 points, or 0.42 percent, at 8,663.70.

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 134 points in early trade Wednesday on value-buying by investors in selective stocks amidst optimism over the upcoming Budget.

The 30-share index gained 134.85 points, or 0.48 percent, to 28,490.47 with capital goods, consumer durables, banking, healthcare, power, auto and metal sector stocks, leading the rise.

The index had gained 128.23 points in the previous session.

Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty reclaimed the 8,600-mark by rising 47.10 points, 0.55 percent, to 8,612.65.

Brokers said value-based buying by investors as select shares turned attractive after recent losses and optimism over the upcoming Budget, influenced trading sentiments here.

Mumbai: RBI Deputy Governor H R Khan on Tuesday said though the country's forex kitty was at an all time high of USD 330 billion, there should be no complacency as no amount of reserves may be enough to fight extreme volatility.

"Foreign currency reserves have improved. Right now we're at USD 330 billion, highest ever. But there is also a view that no amount of foreign exchange reserves can cushion when there is extreme volatility or external shocks," Khan said, days after weekly data showed an over USD 6 billion jump in forex to an all-time high.

"We are much better placed. In terms of fool proofing our balance sheet we have done quite a few things," Khan said, referring to the jump in reserves.

Mumbai: After negative opening, the benchmark BSE Sensex bounced back smartly by 264.57 points and Nifty reclaimed 8,600-level on bouts of value buying in most sectors led by banking, auto, consumer durables, metal, power and FMCG in late morning deals.

Positive macro-outlook overlapped the market sentiment and Delhi election results where the Aam Aadmi Party was heading towards a landslide victory in Delhi Assembly polls, a broker said.

Shares from Midcap and SmallCap companies also supported the market gain.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net Rs 660.30 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

The Sensex opened at 28,122.48 and drifted to 28,044.49 before rebounding to a high of 28,522.71, quoting 28,491.96 at 1040hrs.

Mumbai: Recovering from nearly four-week low, the rupee on Tuesday rose by seven paise to 62.10 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on fresh selling of dollars by exporters.

Forex dealers said besides selling of the American currency by exporters and banks, dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas also supported the rupee.

They said, however, a lower opening of the domestic equity market capped the gains.

The rupee had lost 48 paise to end at nearly four-week low of 62.17 against the dollar yesterday due to capital outflows and fresh dollar demand from banks and importers.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down by 161.87 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 28,065.52 in early trade today.--PTI

Mumbai - The benchmark BSE Sensex extended losses for the seventh straight day by plummeting over 286 points in early trade today on sustained selling by funds and retail investors amid exit polls showing that the BJP may not be able to form government in Delhi.

Besides, discouraging third quarter earnings by some bluechip companies and weakness in the rupee, dampened trading sentiments.

The 30-share index tumbled by 286.49 points, or 0.99 percent, to 28,431.42. The gauge had lost 963.86 points in the previous six sessions.

In a similar fashion, the National Stock Exchange Nifty dipped below the 8,600-mark by falling 77.85 points, or 0.90 percent, to 8,583.20.

Mumbai - India's World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten feels it would be premature to write off the defending champions and said the holders have a good chance of retaining the title with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the helm.

"They are a quality outfit and I wouldn't write them off.

They have got one of the most successful captains ever and in terms of closing off the events, let's not discount the Dhoni factor. A lot of things have changed and shifted in his life at the moment but when it comes to these events, he steps up and he is at his best," Kirsten told reporters here.

Mumbai - Shares of auto major Tata Motors slumped over six percent Friday after the company reported 25.5 percent drop in consolidated net profit for the December quarter.

The stock tanked 6.24 per cent to Rs 552.75 on the BSE.

On the NSE, it fell sharply by 6.27 per cent to Rs 552.20.

The scrip was the top loser among the frontline stocks on both Sensex and Nifty.

"Tata Motors' Q3 FY15 results were below our estimates due to higher losses in the standalone business and lower than expected margins at JLR," said Bharat Gianani, Senior Research Analyst - Automobile, Angel Broking.

Mumbai - Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium will host the final of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament next month while Kolkata and Bengaluru would conduct the two semi-finals, according to BCCI sources.

The national championship's summit clash is scheduled from March 8-12 while the semi-finals are to be held from February 27 to March 1.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has allotted the four quarter finals to Cuttack, Indore, Lahli and Jaipur, sources added. The quarter finals are slated from February 15 to 19.

The final group phase matches of the championship to spot the knock out qualifiers commenced today. PTI

Mumbai - Anushka Sharma's cricketer boyfriend Virat Kohli may have been the butt of jokes during the controversial comedy show 'AIB Roast' but the actress feels such humour should not be taken seriously.

"The way I look at it, I think it was in a good humour. Not meant to be taken very seriously. This is my opinion and someone else may have a different opinion about it and that is the beauty of a living in a democratic setup," she told reporters here.

The celebrity roast, the first of its kind in India which featured a panelist of AIB members with filmmaker Karan Johar taking over the role of 'roast master' to grill 'Gunday' stars Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor on their professional and personal lives, sparked a controversy for obscene language and content.

Mumbai: As Abhishek Bachchan turned 39 today, father and megastar Amitabh Bachchan recalled the 'joyous' moment when the 'Happy New Year' actor was born.

Bachchan, 72, who is a proud father of daughter Shweta and son Abhishek with wife Jaya, wrote on his blog how he celebrated the moment.

"The birthday has been brought in and Abhishek is another year older, 39 years... Strange but he was born just the other day... And the euphoria and the champagne opening at the Breach Candy Hospital, the traditional cigar smoked, general joy and celebration...

Mumbai: Country's largest lender by market value HDFC Bank on Thursday raised Rs 9,880 crore in the largest share sale in the secondary market by a private entity to overseas and domestic investors through a mix of qualified institutional placement and American depository shares.

Merchant bankers said the issue has been successfully closed and the final pricing is expected shortly.

According to merchant bankers who include Barclays, JM Financial, Citi, JP Morgan and BofA-ML among others, said the bank opened the QIP issue first and the ADR was launched a few hours later.

The bank has plans to raise Rs 2,400 crore from QIP and the rest from ADRs, but sources said the composition got changed after the sale began.

Mumbai - The benchmark BSE Sensex extended losses for the fifth straight day by falling over 58 points in early trade today on sustained selling by funds amid a mixed trend in other Asian markets.

The 30-share index, which has lost 798.66 points in the previous four sessions, fell further by 58.23 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 28,824.88.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 18.65 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,705.05.

Profit-booking in stocks of oil & gas, realty, capital goods, consumer durables and healthcare sectors, negatively impacted the sentiments.

Besides, the depreciation in the rupee dampened local equities, experts said.

Mumbai: Encouraged by foreign exchange reserves touching record levels, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday doubled the annual overseas investment ceiling for individuals to USD 2,50,000.

"On a review of the external sector outlook and as a further exercise in macro-prudential management, it has been decided to enhance the limit under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) to USD 2,50,000 per person per year," the RBI said in its Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement.

Mumbai - At least 113 entities, including top corporates such as RIL, Aditya Birla Group, Airtel, Vodafone and Future Group, have approached the RBI to seek licences for setting up payment or small finance banks.

"72 applications for Small Finance Banks and 41 applications for Payments Banks were received up to the deadline for submission yesterday," RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said during a bi-monthly monetary policy review.

Indicating that the final tally may increase, he said "this number excludes applications that might have been received at other venues".