Finance & Market

Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), in its bid to attract investments from Middle East, would be showcasing properties of renowned builders from across India, at India Realty Expo 2008, to be held in Dubai from November 27-29.

The market snapped its seven session losing streak today as participants - many of them presumably big time operators in the F&O segment - shrugged off weak global markets and picked up blue chip stocks in a frenzied manner, first in mid morning trade and then during the closing minutes of the day.

The prime minister said a meeting of Group of 20 countries last week gave developing nations the kind of platform they sought but more work was needed to tackle the severe global downturn.

Faced with the threat of cheap imports, particularly from China, flooding the Indian market, the Commerce Ministry is mulling a temporary licensing regime for import of select items.

Amid plunging stock price, executives at troubled banking firm Citigroup are mulling the possibility of auctioning off all or parts of the financial giant, says a media report.

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed cola giant, PepsiCo India, to remove the picture of a snow-capped mountain from its packaged water product Aquafina.

Information technology, power, capital goods, oil, PSU and bank stocks, which appeared to have lost their way about an hour ago, have bounced back sharply amid high volatility now. Select pharma and auto stocks have posted sharp gains. Realty stocks continue to trade weak.

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on Friday said that it had become possible for him to realise his personal dreams because of the opportunities the nation had given him and said his "greatest ambition" was to see a fully-educated and knowledge-empowered India.

The market remains high up in the positive territory this afternoon with several blue chip stocks trading firm with most of their early gains intact. A smart recovery on the Asian bourses and rise of US index futures are also seen contributing significantly to the market's firm display now.

Shrugging off weak global sentiment and some early volatility, the market has moved up sharply today on sustained buying in blue chip stocks. Realty stocks have missed out on the rally while buying interest in consumer durables space remains quite selective.

The Group of Eight major industrialized countries should be doubled to include Brazil, China and India and other nations to better tackle global challenges like climate change and economic stability, a blue chip panel said on Thursday.

Singapore's economy is seen growing around 2.5 per cent this year and could shrink next year, as financial services and its exports are expected to be hit by a weaker global economy, the government said on Friday.