Finance & Market

Life Insurance Corp (LIC), which holds 4.34 per cent in Satyam Computer Services, will soon take a decision on its holdings in the embattled software firm, a top official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Even as selling continues unabated at the Satyam Computer Services counter, a few blue chip stocks have come off their lower levels thanks to some modest buying support. The Sensex, which had crashed to a low of 9643.56 earlier this afternoon, is down with a huge loss of 589.72 points or 5.71% at 9746.21 now.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India said it is reviewing options after the chairman of No. 4 software services exporter Satyam Computer Services said its profits had been inflated and resigned.

The mood on the bourses remains extremely bearish this afternoon following the shocking disclosures made by Satyam Computer Services. The market, which was up with a modest gain after a positive start, is deep down in the negative territory now with stocks cutting across sectors succumbing to the pressure.

Nearly 11 million sq ft of expected mall supply slated for 2008 was deferred, as developers reeled under acute cash crunch and retailers went cautious on their expansion blueprint.

To expedite work on the dedicated freight corridor (DFC), the Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad, will undertake a week-long trip to Japan for a detailed discussion on the 450-billion yen Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan.

Following a massive sell-off in Satyam Computer Services and a few other blue chip stocks, the Sensex has plunged sharply into the red in mid morning trade today.

After a bright start and a subsequent fall from higher levels, the market has slipped into the red due to a strong round of selling in several large and mid cap stocks. Metal and information technology stocks continue to remain fairly well placed in the positive territory while realty and bank stocks have suffered sharp losses.

The truckers' strike, which entered the second day, can push inflation by 50 basis points on account of shortage of perishable goods and panic buying by traders, said economic think tank National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

Indian FY09 exports could fall short of the government's target of about $200 billion by over a tenth as the global downturn eases demand for domestic products overseas, the chief of an exporters' lobby group said on Tuesday.

Sanyo Electric Corp. is considering cutting up to 1,000 domestic workers in the next few months, as it scales back unprofitable businesses ahead of an expected buyout by Panasonic Corp., a press report said Tuesday.

After a negative start, the market rallied into the positive territory only to tumble again after an hour as lack of triggers kept the bulls away at the sidelines. However, after moving in a somewhat listless manner till a little before noon, the market moved up sharply into the positive zone once again and held on to its gains for around a couple of hours before it faltered on heavy selling across sectors.