Indian Business News – Selected Extracts 11/04/08)

1. The markets closed weak on Thursday with the bench mark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSC) sensex, the 30-share index losing 95 points. The sensex closed at 15,695 points after reaching the intra-day high of 15,953. Reliance Energy share jumped 6.5%. Other gainers were Cairn, RPL and TCS. The Ranbaxy was down by 4.5%. Other losers were Suzlon, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. In bullion market, gold closed higher at Rs.12,125/10gm and silver closed at Rs.24,245/kg.
2. Apart from the 3G spectrum auction guidelines, the telecom department (DoT) is preparing to auction spectrum for broadband wireless access services in the 2.5 ghz and 2.3ghz bands.
3. Thousands of recession-weary US small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are looking for outsourcing engagements with Indian companies.
4. Indian auto industry’s overall sales were down 4.7% due to high interest rates, poor availability of retail finance and economic slowdown.
5. Rules for commodity bourses soon, says Forward Market Commission, the Commodity Market Regulator.
6. Inflation rate in India has soared to 30-month of high of just over 7%.
7. India Inc raised a record Rs.52,253 Cr through public issues, initial public offers (IPOs) and follow-on public offers (FPOs) in the fiscal year 2007-08.