Rupee falls by 7 paise against US dollar

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee fell by 7 paise to 45.07 per US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on Thursday, weighed down by dollar gains against other currencies and a lower opening in the stock market.

Forex traders said dollar gains against other major currencies overseas and a weak start in the stock market mainly put pressure on the rupee.

The rupee rose by 8 paise to close at 45.00/01 against the US currency in yesterday's trade on the back of fresh dollars-selling by banks amid a firm trend in the equity market.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by 152.95 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 18,317.00 in opening trade.

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Over 38L subscribers opt for number portability

NEW DELHI: Over 38.33 lakh mobile users have opted to disconnect their telecom service providers within just five weeks of the launch of the number portability (MNP) facility that allows subscribers to retain their phone numbers while switching to another operator.

According to latest data on mobile porting requests released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), subscribers in Gujarat and Karnataka top the charts since the nationwide launch of MNP on January 21. The service was first launched in Haryana in late November before mobile number portability emerged as an all-India phenomenon.

Within the metros, if porting requests are an indicator of the situation, there are more disgruntled customers in Delhi (1.76 lakh) than Mumbai (1.36 lakh) or Kolkata (96,000). However, it may also be the case that there was more awareness in the national Capital compared to the other two state capitals.

Trai has so far refrained from providing service provider-wise porting requests.

As a proportion of the subscriber base, the proportion of subscribers opting for number portability in India so far is 0.5%. At the end of January 2011, there were 77.18 wireless phone users across India.

However, operators need not necessarily act upon all requests. As a result, the regulator said it was constantly monitoring the implementation of number portability, something that was held back for several years.

It is observed that the primary reasons for rejection of port request are Incorrect Unique Porting Code, non-completion of 90 days, existing contractual obligations and outstanding dues.

In view of the large number of rejections and complaints, Trai said it was in the process of verifying the accuracy of the port rejections done by service providers on sample basis.

Sensex opens 153 points lower on profit-booking, global cues

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by nearly 153 points in opening trade on Thursday as investors booked profits recorded during the previous two sessions amid a weak trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share barometer, which gained almost 247 points in the previous two sessions, declined by 152.95 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 18,317.00 in the first few minutes of trade today, with all the sectoral indices trading in the negative zone with losses of up to 1 per cent.

In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index slid by 45 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 5,486.00 points.

Brokers said in addition to profit-booking by market participants after two sessions of gains, a weakening trend on other Asian boures on concerns over higher oil prices and the unrest in Libya spreading to other Middle East countries also cast a shadow over the trading sentiment.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 0.60 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei fell by 1.29 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.01 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.

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Sensex up 143 pts in opening trade, banking & realty top picks

MUMBAI: The Sensex rose by over 143 points in opening trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday amid a firming trend on Asian bourses and easing political concerns.

The Sensex, which gained 216.98 points in the previous session, moved up by 143.65 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 18,583.30 in opening trade today, with banking, realty, metal and capital goods sector stocks leading the rise.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index gained 42.50 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 5,563.30 points.

A firming trend on other Asian bourses following overnight gains in the US market and easing political concerns after the DMK and Congress agreed on a seat-sharing formula for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections buoyed the trading sentiment, brokers said.

In addition, easing crude oil prices in the global market also supported early gains on the bourses, they said.

In the Asia region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.91 per cent and Japan's Nikkei index by 0.78 per cent in early trade on Wednesday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.03 per cent higher in Tuesday's trade.

TOI