Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, but fresh batch of data suggesting the US economy may be picking up momentum underpinned investor sentiment.
The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was barely changed and Japan's Nikkei opened down 0.1 per cent after rising to an 8-month high on Thursday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index on Thursday closed above 1,400 for the first time since June 2008, having risen about 11.5 per cent this year without a major pullback. Some analysts have called for a consolidation while others see ongoing momentum.
The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was barely changed and Japan's Nikkei opened down 0.1 per cent after rising to an 8-month high on Thursday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index on Thursday closed above 1,400 for the first time since June 2008, having risen about 11.5 per cent this year without a major pullback. Some analysts have called for a consolidation while others see ongoing momentum.
The Sensex could see much more foreign inflows this year as most foreign institutional investors, or FIIs, are still underweight on India, said a senior official of Deutsche Bank's India equities team.
FIIs have pumped in over $5 billion into Indian equities so far this year, as central banks in the West eased liquidity in a bid to protect their economies from recession.
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The Parliamentary standing committee on finance has recommended an increase in basic tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh and another Rs 3.20 lakh rebate for eligible investments and spending in its report on the direct taxes code, or DTC. The panel is not for any relief for corporate tax payers and has recommended retaining the corporate tax rate at 30% as against 25% proposed.
MUMBAI: Banks and stock broking firms are beginning to carry out business on Facebook, an important step as they try to build deeper customer relationships through social media platforms. With nearly 45 million users in India and growing rapidly, Facebook's popularity is making banks test the waters with a few basic services to discover how comfortable customers are carrying out transactions on the social networking site.
ICICI Bank, India's largest private bank, is one of the early movers. Its application lets customers check the balance in accounts; request statements and cheque books; or even upgrade debit cards right from their Facebook home page. "Social media is not a fringe channel and has become an important tool to interact with consumers," said Sujit Ganguly, a general manager at the bank.
ICICI Bank, India's largest private bank, is one of the early movers. Its application lets customers check the balance in accounts; request statements and cheque books; or even upgrade debit cards right from their Facebook home page. "Social media is not a fringe channel and has become an important tool to interact with consumers," said Sujit Ganguly, a general manager at the bank.
A decline in arbitrage activity and a falling equity market have widened the premium between the Nifty spot index and futures to record highs.
Arbitrageurs, who crack deals on borrowed money to profit from such price differences, have kept away this time as they find it difficult to access cheap money. In addition, funding of primary market issuances such as Multi Commodity Exchange has temporarily sucked out cash from the system.
Arbitrageurs, who crack deals on borrowed money to profit from such price differences, have kept away this time as they find it difficult to access cheap money. In addition, funding of primary market issuances such as Multi Commodity Exchange has temporarily sucked out cash from the system.
Insurance sector regulator IRDA slapped a fine of Rs 12 lakh on Sahara Life Insurance Company promoted by Subrata Roy-led Sahara Group for violation of various regulations, including delay in death claim settlement.
"Accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me under the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, I hereby direct the insurer to remit the penalty of Rs 12 lakh," IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan said in an order against insurer.
The company, set up in 2004, has been directed to pay the fine within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the order, it said.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) observed that the insurer allowed unlicensed entities to solicit business through dummy codes and paid commission to such entities.
"Taking into account, the seriousness of the violation a penalty of Rs 5 lakh is imposed on the insurer under Section 102(b) of the Insurance Act, 1938," IRDA said in the order.
Besides, Sahara Group promoted life insurance company also allowed ineligible person to act as specified person, the order observed.
The insurance regulator also found Sahara Life guilty of licensing ineligible entities as corporate agent.
In its order the regulator said, "it is observed that the corporate agent D K Associates has solicited business through unlicensed persons as evident from the six sample proposal forms obtained during the course of inspection."
"Accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me under the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, I hereby direct the insurer to remit the penalty of Rs 12 lakh," IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan said in an order against insurer.
The company, set up in 2004, has been directed to pay the fine within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the order, it said.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) observed that the insurer allowed unlicensed entities to solicit business through dummy codes and paid commission to such entities.
"Taking into account, the seriousness of the violation a penalty of Rs 5 lakh is imposed on the insurer under Section 102(b) of the Insurance Act, 1938," IRDA said in the order.
Besides, Sahara Group promoted life insurance company also allowed ineligible person to act as specified person, the order observed.
The insurance regulator also found Sahara Life guilty of licensing ineligible entities as corporate agent.
In its order the regulator said, "it is observed that the corporate agent D K Associates has solicited business through unlicensed persons as evident from the six sample proposal forms obtained during the course of inspection."
Source: Indiatimes.com
The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 on Tuesday and the S&P 500 also hit a milestone, as buoyant US consumer confidence data and a sharp drop in oil prices nudged the nearly five-month rally forward.
The S&P 500 closed above 1,370, its May 2011 intraday high, a move that could invite momentum buying as money managers chase performance, though low volumes lately have raised concerns about the rally's longevity.
"No doubt (the market) has been overbought since the beginning of February, but in a powerful uptrend, price will continue higher for some time amid overbought conditions."
Technology shares ranked among the best performers, and the Nasdaq was trading at its highest since 2000. Micron Technology Inc shot up 3.7 per cent to $8.88 after Intel Corp said it will sell its stake in two wafer factories to Micron and buy chips from the company.
Intel advanced 1.3 per cent to $27.24. The PHLX semiconductor index .SOX rose 1.6 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 23.61 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 13,005.12 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.59 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,372.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 20.60 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 2,986.76.
The S&P 500 is up about 9 per cent since the start of the year, largely because of data showing stronger momentum in the economy and signs of progress in managing the euro zone's debt crisis, including a debt deal for Greece.
Consumer confidence in the world's largest economy jumped to a one-year high in February, according to a report from The Conference Board, a private business research group. This indicator is noted because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity.
The drop in oil prices from recent highs also relieved worries about the outlook for consumer spending. Brent crude oil futures fell more than $2 to settle at $121.55 a barrel.
Retailers got a lift from the earnings of Office Depot Inc, which surged 18.9 per cent to $3.59, and AutoZone Inc, which rose 2.9 per cent to $376.41.
With earnings season drawing to a close, 472 of the S&P 500 components have reported results through Tuesday. About 63 per cent beat analysts' expectations, below the average 70 per cent beat rate in the last four quarters, but slightly above the average of 62 per cent since 1994.
The S&P 500 closed above 1,370, its May 2011 intraday high, a move that could invite momentum buying as money managers chase performance, though low volumes lately have raised concerns about the rally's longevity.
"No doubt (the market) has been overbought since the beginning of February, but in a powerful uptrend, price will continue higher for some time amid overbought conditions."
Technology shares ranked among the best performers, and the Nasdaq was trading at its highest since 2000. Micron Technology Inc shot up 3.7 per cent to $8.88 after Intel Corp said it will sell its stake in two wafer factories to Micron and buy chips from the company.
Intel advanced 1.3 per cent to $27.24. The PHLX semiconductor index .SOX rose 1.6 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 23.61 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 13,005.12 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.59 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,372.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 20.60 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 2,986.76.
The S&P 500 is up about 9 per cent since the start of the year, largely because of data showing stronger momentum in the economy and signs of progress in managing the euro zone's debt crisis, including a debt deal for Greece.
Consumer confidence in the world's largest economy jumped to a one-year high in February, according to a report from The Conference Board, a private business research group. This indicator is noted because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity.
The drop in oil prices from recent highs also relieved worries about the outlook for consumer spending. Brent crude oil futures fell more than $2 to settle at $121.55 a barrel.
Retailers got a lift from the earnings of Office Depot Inc, which surged 18.9 per cent to $3.59, and AutoZone Inc, which rose 2.9 per cent to $376.41.
With earnings season drawing to a close, 472 of the S&P 500 components have reported results through Tuesday. About 63 per cent beat analysts' expectations, below the average 70 per cent beat rate in the last four quarters, but slightly above the average of 62 per cent since 1994.
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