Industrial growth plunges to 1.6% in December

NEW DELHI: Industrial growth slowed even further to a dismal 1.6 per cent in December, 2010, from 18 per cent in the same period a year ago due to the poor performance of the manufacturing sector.

In November, 2010, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had expanded by a meagre 2.7 per cent.

Industrial growth during April-December this fiscal stood at 8.6 per cent, unchanged in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year, official data released here on Friday showed.

In December, 2010, manufacturing growth plummeted to 1 per cent from 19.6 per cent a year ago.

Consumer non-durables production declined by 1.1 per cent during the month under review, in sharp contrast to 3 per cent growth in the same period a year ago.

The capital goods sector also contracted by 13.7 per cent in December, 2010. The sector had expanded by 42.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Besides manufacturing, mining growth also fell to 3.8 per cent in the month under review from 11.1 per cent in the same period of the previous year. However, electricity generation expanded by 6 per cent in December, 2010, compared to 5.4 per cent in December, 2009.

In terms of industries, 12 out of 17 industry groups achieved positive growth in the last month of 2010.

TOI

Sensex gains 63 points in opening trade

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by over 63 points in opening trade on Friday on bargain buying by funds and retail investors, triggered by a firming trend on other Asian bourses.

The Sensex, which has lost nearly 575 points during the past three sessions, rose by 63.60 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 17,526.64 points today. Auto, FMCG, capital goods and oil and gas sector stocks led the recovery.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index moved up by 22.30 points to 5,248.10 points.

Marketmen said bargain buying at selective counters by funds and retail investors at attractive levels and gains in other Asian markets helped the domestic equity market to stage a moderate comeback.

However, fears of disappointing industrial output data for the month of December, to be released later today, kept participants cautious.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up by 0.43 per cent in early trade on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial average ended 0.09 per cent lower in Thursday's trade.

TOI

Sensex dips for the 3rd day; falls another 130 points

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark sensex fell for the third straight day today, losing 130 points to 17,463.04, despite a dip in food inflation as investors remained unsure of strong corporate earnings in the face of high interest rates.

Besides, high oil prices and a widening probe in the spectrum scam kept the investor sentiment damp.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark sensex, which had lost nearly 445 points in last two trading session, rolled down further by 129.73 points, or 0.74%, to 17,463.04, a level last seen on July 7, last year.

The barometer touched the day's low of 17,362.59 before recovering a bit following an upsurge in the hard hit Anil Ambani group companies -- Reliance Infra, Reliance Com, Reliance Broadcast, Reliance Capital and Reliance Mediaworks.

The gauge has fallen 7.5% since the Reserve Bank of India raised key interest rates on January 25 for the seventh time since March and indicated more hikes in futures to curb overall inflation.

The food inflation, however, dipped to 7-week low of 13.07% for the week ended January 29, but failed to influence the trading sentiment as reports of the third quarter earnings by the Indian Oil failed to meet market expectations.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 27.75 points, or 0.53% to 5,225.80. It touched the day's low of 5,196.80.

The tech sector index suffered the most by falling 1.54% to 3,596.07, followed by IT index -- 1.53% to 6,147.54. The realty sector fell 1.03% to 2,063.16 and oil and gas index by 0.81% to 9,138.95.

The oil major and most index heaviest Reliance Industries fell by Rs 12.10 to Rs 899.75 and second-heaviest software major Infosys by Rs 70.95 to Rs 3,056.05. The two carry nearly 23% weightage on the Sensex.

The banking index fell by 0.31% to 11,442.33 as the heavy-weight State Bank of India dropped Rs 94.25 to Rs 2,496.65, the most in a month.

Food inflation at 7-week low of 13.07%

NEW DELHI: Food inflation fell to a seven week low 13.07% for the week ended January 29 as pulses turned cheaper, even as vegetables remain costly.

Snapping the two week rising trend, food inflation fell nearly 4 percentage points in the week from 17.05% in the week ended January 22.

On an annual basis, prices of potatoes declined 8.87%, while pulses fell 8.63% and wheat by 3.58%, data released by the government showed.

Prices on onion, which had more than doubled in the week ended January 22, eased in the subsequent week. However, onions continued to remain dearer by 78.64% for the week ended January 29.

Vegetables as a whole have turned costlier by 44.34% on an annual basis.

Fruits and milk became costlier by 10.46% and 11.66% on a year on year basis respectively.

TOI