Sensex climbs 350 points; Nifty regains 8,000-mark

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied over 350 points to 26,582.13 in early trade on Friday on continued buying by investors as the September series in the derivatives segment began on a strong note. 

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The Nifty of National of Stock Exchange regained the 8,000-mark by rising 113 points. 

The 30-share Sensex, which had gained 516.53 points in Thursday's session, rose further by 350.94 points or 1.33 per cent to 26,582.13 points. Led by realty, metal, IT and oil & gas, all the sectoral indices of BSE were in the positive zone. 

The NSE Nifty reclaimed 8,000-mark by climbing 113.00 points, or 1.42 per cent at 8,061.95. 

Brokers said widening of positions by participants, following beginning of the September month F&O series and a firming trend at other Asian markets following overnight gains on the US markets after strong economic data, buoyed trading sentiments. 

Besides, sustained buying by domestic financial institutions also supported the rally, they said. 

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei gained 2.77 per cent,Shanghai Composite index rose 2.17 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.66 per cent in early trade. 

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.27 per cent higher in Thursday's trade.

Source - TOI 

Bandaru miffed with 'illegal' building

HYDERABAD: Until now it was only the common man who was irked by the illegal construction of buildings. The issue has now starting to give sleepless nights to even the Union ministers.

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Only to exemplify the situation, the minister of state for labour and employment (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatraya shot off a strong letter to the commissioner of police, asking officials to curb illegal construction in front of his residence at Ramnagar.

The letter which is in possession with TOI says that the building in question has permission for two floors only, but the owner has constructed three additional floors.

According to the letter, the owner has illegally constructed the building by influencing the concerned GHMC officials. "The municipal authorities have also promised him that they will clear the property by way of BRS (building regularisation scheme), which is said to be launched next year," Dattatraya said.

The minister has further questioned how the building never came under the scrutiny of the GHMC. "If the police cannot provide security for the only Union minister from the state, then how can it promise security for the common citizens," he stated.

Taking cognisance of the rampant irregularities in the construction of buildings in the city, the chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, also convened a high-level meeting with officials from the GHMC, HMDA and other line departments to chalk out an action plan to curb the menace.

"When we acquired the separate state of Telangana, we acquired all the misdeeds of the previous government's as well. One of them, being illegal constructions in the capital city. The situation has only worsened, it is time for all the departments to initiate action against such constructions," said the CM. He also opined that the GHMC and HMDA must take assistance from legal advisors.

"It would serve the city better if the departments have a flying squad to inspect all constructions," he said.

He further specified that there must be a proper system in place to curb such instances, while adding that plans of regularising illegal construction and land, would be taken up after due talks with the concerted civic departments.

According to the GHMC officials there are as many as 67,000 illegal domestic constructions within its limits. If the government plans to initiate the regularisation of these buildings, it would stand to earn as much as Rs 1,000 crore as penalties. But there might be legal tangles in the matter since in 2008, the former Congress chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had told the Hyderabad High Court that there would be no more BRS provisions in the city.

If the police cannot provide security for the only Union minister from the state, then how can it promise security for the common citizens

Bandaru Dattatraya, Minister of state for labour and employment

Source - TOI 

Construction slowdown hits PM Modi's jobs promise

NOIDA: After a decade labouring on building sites around New Delhi Akhilesh Kumar lost his scaffolding job last month when his employer halted work on an array of 30 residential towers.

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He joins more than half a million workers let go from sites around India's capital in the last 18 months, in a stark sign that the ground reality in Asia's third-largest economy is far from as rosy as official data suggests.

"If I don't get another job, I have no other choice but to go back to my village and work as a farm labourer," said Kumar, who is in his twenties.

The lack of jobs is already being felt in the poor northern state of Bihar, source of many of the labourers toiling near Delhi.

In Patna, the state capital, eight out of 20 labourers contacted by Reuters had this year made the 1,000 kilometre (600 mile) trip back from Delhi because they could not find work - pressuring salaries in a region where wages are already low.

According to brokerage Ambit Capital, rural wages may now be falling after growing 4 percent in the year to March - a far cry from the double-digit annual rises between 2010 and 2014.

"Labourers are starving and are ready to work even at lower wages as there are fewer or just no jobs in the construction markets," said Navendu Kumar Thakur, Patna chairman of the Builders Association of India.

The squeeze comes at a bad time for Modi.

Bihar heads to the polls this year, in an election his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must win to gain seats in the upper house of parliament where he lacks a majority to pass economic reforms.

Economists say that lower interest rates and a government splurge on infrastructure should eventually help revive construction, which contributes a tenth of Indian GDP.

Modi's party also wants to regulate property markets and tie investor money to specific projects to stop developers diverting cash elsewhere.

The slowdown around Delhi, where unsold inventory is highest, shows no sign of abating, however.

Noida, a city of 640,000, has grown rapidly in the last decade, expanding to a point where its middle-class housing complexes now meld into Delhi's urban sprawl on one side and rustic villages on the other.

Around the site where Kumar worked, half-built high-rises now dot the skyline. Cranes and diggers stand idle. His former employer, The 3C Company, has cut staff on the 3,000-unit "Lotus Boulevard" by more than half, employing some elsewhere.

Sales staff at two nearby sites reported a 30 to 50 percent decline in bookings in the last year.

Real estate association CREDAI's Rohit Raj Modi estimates construction in Noida employed more than a million labourers at its peak in 2013, at least double today's number.

Even when the market recovers, a shift to mechanisation on larger sites would limit demand for new workers.

"From a labour point of view, the peak is over," he said.

Source - TOI 

Mumbai set to have India's tallest commercial building

NEW DELHI: India's tallest commercial building is set to come up in Mumbai, with the Nitin Gadkari-led Ministry of Shipping proposing to construct a towering 'business district' on Mumbai Port Trust land to monetise the asset and ease the space crunch in the country's financial capital.

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 "It will be a 130-storey building and will house mostly offices along with other amenities. We are working on the plan and it's still in initial stages," Gadkari told ET.

The project, which may cost more than .`10,000 crore, is likely to be developed without costing the government asingle penny, financed with funds raised from pre-booking of space from public sector units and private companies. The proposed building would be in the vicinity of Nariman Point, once considered Mumbai's leading business district, and the Fort area in south Mumbai.

Other business districts in the city include the Bandra Kurla Complex, which was set up in the suburbs to decongest the commercial areas of south Mumbai. Apart from the number of floors, little else is known about the building. The contours of the project, including the location of the building in the port trust premises, are yet to be finalised. The ministry is engaging an international consultant to prepare the blueprint for the project. "A separate master plan for the port land would be prepared and this building would be a part of it. We are yet to finalise the land parcel and the area for this building," a senior government official said.

The government is likely to undertake the project on its own — land won't be given to private builders for redevelopment. "If the logistics issues of evacuation of people without stressing the cargo-laden port roads are addressed, the proposed 130-storey building will have a demonstrative effect on a mechanism for monetising land assets owned by ports," said Jaijit Bhattacharya, Partner-Infrastructure at KPMG 

Source - ET

ICICI offers home loans with guarantee

MUMBAI: Those who have not managed to buy a house until middle age can now get a long-term loan with ICICI Bankintroducing a product for this segment. The home loan has been made possible with the help of a guarantee from a company promoted by National Housing Bank and US insurer Genworth Financial.

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Unlike standard loans which are not available beyond the retirement age of a borrower, ICICI Bank's 'Extraa Home Loan' allows loans that are repayable up to 67 years of age. In a first such deal, ICICI Bank has tied up with the newly promotedIndia Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC), which will guarantee the repayment of the loan. The fee for the guarantee, which will be around 1 per cent of the loan amount, will have to be paid by the borrower and will be built into the equated monthly instalments.

Borrowers up to 37 years of age can avail of a 30-year loan. The longer tenure of the loan would shrink the EMIs and increase the borrower's loan eligibility. According to ICICI Bank officials, loan eligibility will increase by up to 20 per cent depending on the age of the borrower.Speaking at the launch of the scheme, ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar said the home loan industry has been growing at 15 per cent for over 10 years and the government's focus on housing for all will push up demand for home loans and the new products will increase accessibility of mortgages. "The housing sector is of strategic importance to any economy. It is the key driver of growth with linkages to a number of sectors," she said.

To begin with, the loans will be available at the bank's branches in Greater Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru and Surat. Subsequently, it will be rolled out across the other cities in the country. The salaried as well as self-employed individuals seeking home loans of a maximum amount of Rs 75 lakh are eligible for this loan and the maximum age at entry is 48 years.

Mortgage guarantees with the intention to mitigate risk taken by lenders, banks and housing finance companies, over time make it easier for people to get access to home loans with lower down payment amounts (as prescribed by regulations) earlier in life than would have been possible without IMGC's involvement.

Source - TOI 

Sensex climbs 455 pts on F&O expiry, positive global cues

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered over 455 points to cross 26,000 level in early trade while NSE Nifty crossed the 7,900 mark on short covering by participants on expiry of derivatives contracts and strong global cues. 


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The 30-share barometer spurted by 455.73 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 26,170.39. Yesterday, it had lost 317.72 points. 

Besides, value-buying in realty, healthcare,, auto, metal, banking, PSUs capital goods and oil and gas stocks positively impacted trading sentiment. The NSE Nifty regained the 7,900-mark by surging 138.95 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 7,930.80 in early trade. 

Brokers said short covering by participants as today being the last trading session of August contracts in the derivatives space supported the market. 

A firming trend at other Asian bourses following overnight gains in the US market after hints the US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates next month sparked a rally on domestic bourses, they said. 

At 0945 hrs, the BSE Sensex was trading at 25,964.12 points, up by 249.46 points or 0.97 per cent over the previous close. 

The 50-share Nifty was up by 74.65 piints, or 0.96 per cent, at 7,866.50 with Vedanta Ltd and HDFC leading the rally. 

Among other Asian markets, Shanghai composite Index up 1.12 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng firmed up 2.45 per cent while Japan's Nikkei higher by 1.89 per cent in early trade today. 

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 3.95 per cent higher in Wednesday's trade.

Source - TOI 

Rupee higher 26 paise against dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee recovered by 26 paise to 65.88 against the US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade on Thursday on selling of the American currency. 

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

Further, domestic equity markets opening on strong note also influenced the rupee uptrend, they added. The rupee had lost 4 paise versus the dollar to end at 66.14 in the previous session on renewed dollar demand from importers amid global volatility. 

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 455.73 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 26,170.39 in early trade today.

Source - TOI