Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities to open for subscription on Dec 23

The subscription can be closed earlier than December 31, 2013 with prior notice.

The issue of India’s Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C) for retail investors will open for subscription on December 23, 2013 and close on December 31, 2013.
The subscription can be closed earlier than December 31, 2013 with prior notice.

It may be recalled that the Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with Government of India, on November 29, 2013 announced issuance of Government of India’s Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C) for retail investors.
Interest rate on these securities would be linked to final combined Consumer Price Index [CPI (Base: 2010=100)]. Interest rate would comprise two parts, i.e., fixed rate (1.5% per annum) and inflation rate based on CPI and the same will be compounded in the principal on half-yearly basis and paid at the time of maturity. The final combined CPI will be used with a lag of three months, i.e., final combined CPI for September 2013 will be used as reference CPI for all days of December 2013.

Early redemptions will be allowed after one year from the date of issue for senior citizens (i.e., 65 years and above of age) and 3 years for all others, subject to penalty charges at the rate of 50% of the last coupon payable for early redemption. Early redemptions, however, can be made only on coupon dates.
The eligible investors would include individuals, Hindu Undivided Family, Charitable Institutions registered under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act and Universities incorporated by Central, State or Provincial Act or declared to be a university under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956).

As distribution/ sale of IINSS-C would be through banks, eligible investors may approach the branches of State Bank of India, Associate Banks, Nationalised Banks, three private sector banks (viz. HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.) and Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. during working hours.

Stunning session...Sensex ends above 21,000

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 21,080 up 371 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,277 up 111 points over the previous close.

A spectacular trading session ended on a high on Friday. The BSE Sensex once again hit the 21,000 mark while the NSE Nifty came in striking distance of the 6300 mark. Today’s rally was led by the index heavyweight Reliance Industries, the stock shot up over 5% after the government allowed the company to charge higher prices for gas from April.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed Reliance Industries to sell KG-D6 block gas at a higher price with effect from April 2014. The CCEA also decided against putting any cap/floor price on the gas rates and to maintain the gas price formula approved earlier.

Amar Ambani, Head of Research at IIFL said, “CCEA approval for gas price hike with no cap is a sentiment booster for the E&P sector. For RIL, it can add 8-10% to its FY15E earnings. RIL will have to place bank guarantees, which will worry investors till the decision on its arbitration with government is out. RIL continues to be one of our top picks in Oil & Gas sector.”

Today’s rally was a broad based one as almost all the sectoral indices on the BSE ended with gains.

The oil and gas index was the top gainer, up 3.8% followed by BSE Realty index up 2.8%, BSE Auto index up 2% and BSE Banking index up 1.8%. Even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks were in demand. Both the indices ended higher by 1.7% and 1.2% respectively.

However, only the BSE consumer durables index ended in the red, down 1.4%.

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 21,080 up 371 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,277 up 111 points over the previous close.

Reliance Industries, ONGC, Wipro, Cairn India, HDFC, JP Associates, M&M and DLF were among the top gainers in the Nifty.

On the other hand, SSLT, Grasim, Sun Pharma, Jindal Steel and L&T were among the top losers.

The advance-decline ratio favoured the bulls. On the BSE, 1522 stocks advanced against 991 declining stocks, while 158 remained unchanged.

The INDIA VIX was down 3.6% at 15.97 It hit a day’s high of 16.72 and low of 15.51.

Stock News

Maruti Suzuki was up 1.6% to close at Rs. 1,809, on reports that the company’s foreign promoter is planning to increase its holding in the company.

Alstom T&D gained by 3% to close a Rs. 190 after the company was awarded two contracts with a total value of Rs2.98bn to supply two gas-insulated substations (GIS) at Wangtoo and Gumma in Himachal Pradesh.

SBI cut home loan rates by up to 0.4% for new borrowers, a day after RBI kept its key policy rates on hold. The stock was up by 1.3% to close at Rs. 1754.

Subrahmanyam Goparaju, Senior Vice-President and head of Infosys Labs, the R&D arm of Infosys, quit after rendering 25 years of service to the company. The stock was up 1.5% to close at Rs. 3564.

Nifty above 6,200 levels

At 12:39 pm (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 20,903, up 195  points over the previous close, while NSE Nifty was quoting at 6,223 up 56 points over the previous close.

The BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid- Cap index was trading flat.
RIL, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, ONGC, Tata Power, Cipla, Coal India, Gail India, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, are among gainers in Sensex and Nifty.
NTPC,Sun Pharma, ITC, HUL, Bharti Airtel,Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, are among losers in Sensex and Nifty.

Metal, Consumer Durables, IT, Teck  indices are the gainers.
FMCG, Metal,  PSU, Capital Goods , Realty, Oil and gas, Power indices are the losers.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved giving higher price for Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) for natural gas from April next, according to reports.According to the proposal, the bank guarantee will be encashed if it is proved that RIL hoarded gas or deliberately suppressed production at the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) main gas fields in its eastern offshore KG-D6 block.

AstraZeneca announced an agreement under which AstraZeneca will acquire the entirety of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s interests in the companies’ diabetes alliance for an initial consideration of $2.7 billion on completion and up to $1.4 billion in regulatory, launch and sales-related payments.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Department of Commerce to continue export of sugar, without any quantitative restriction, in view of the surplus availability of sugar in the domestic market.
Japanese drug-maker Daiichi Sankyo has reportedly said it will help Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) norms to overcome sanctions.

Government to divest 10% stake in IOC via open offer

Government is planning to divest 10% stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) via open offer of sale in second week of January 2014. As on September 30, 2013, the promoters' holding in the company stood at 78.92% while institutions and non-institutions held 6.56% and 14.52% stake in the company, respectively.

The Budget had projected divestment proceeds of Rs 54,000 crore in 2013-14, including Rs 14,000 crore from divestment in non-government companies. The government has so far raised only about Rs 3,000 crore from divestment.

The government is finding it difficult to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of gross domestic product in 2013-14, mainly on account of slow tax collections.

IOC is the largest oil refining company in India with 65.7mtpa capacity (out of a total of 215mtpa in India). It operates 10 of the 22 refineries in the country.

SEBI relaxes guidelines for FIIs using complex models to invest in India

In a move to enhance the capital inflows into the country, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed the overseas entities to use complex multi-fund structures such as multi-class share vehicle (MCV) or protected cell companies (PCCs) in order to invest in India. SEBI has noted that overseas entities can use complex multi-fund structures, if they want such models owing to the regulations in their home country and are ready to provide details of actual beneficiary of funds.

The market regulator has taken the initiative to relax the rules after representations made by the investors that necessary safeguards can be put in place against any abuse of such structures. SEBI in its circular highlighted that an FII seeking registration in India with MCV and PCCs structures would not be considered to have an 'opaque' structure if it is required by its regulator. This would be subject to certain conditions, including entities being regulated by their home jurisdiction, each fund/sub-fund of the entity satisfying broad based criteria and the entity should provide information regarding its beneficial owners as and when sought by SEBI.

Amid rising fears over the possible round-tripping or money laundering activities, SEBI, in 2010, had prohibited foreign entities using complex structures like PCCs and MTV. PCCs designed entities might comprise of various cells, having funds of various investors, in such a manner that there is legal segregation and protection of assets and liabilities for each cell.

Maruti Suzuki soars on talk of promoter stake hike plan

The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.21% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.02% and 8.78% respectively.

Suzuki Motor Corporation is reportedly planning to hike its stake in Maruti Suzuki India as company generates 30% of global revenue. In this regard, the company is mulling various option like open offer, issue of preference share.

At present, Suzuki Motor owns 56.20% stake in Maruti Suzuki, while institutions and non-institutions held 35.02% and 8.78% stake in the company, respectively.

Maruti Suzuki reported over 3-fold jump in its net profit after tax at Rs 670.23 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 227.45 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income from operation of the company increased by 24.90% at Rs 10569.08 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 8461.75 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Bank of Baroda shines on raising Rs 1,000 crore through bonds

Bank of Baroda is currently trading at Rs. 654.00, up by 15.65 points or 2.45% from its previous closing of Rs. 638.35 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 640.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 655.80 and Rs. 633.25 respectively. So far 96,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 899.65 on 03-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 429.25 on 20-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 674.00 and Rs. 634.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 27,554 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 55.41% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 35.12% and 9.48% respectively. Bank of Baroda has privately placed non convertible, redeemable, un-secured Basel III compliant Tier-II Bonds (Series XVII Coupon 9.73% per annum) aggregating Rs 1,000 crore for which allotment process has been completed.

Bank of Baroda is among the top five banks in India, with total assets of Rs.5.5 trillion as on March 31, 2013. The bank had a domestic network of 4289 branches, with around 61 per cent of its branches in the semi-urban and rural areas, as of June 30, 2013.

Alstom T&D trades jubilantly on bagging two orders worth Rs 298.30 crore

Alstom T&D India has been awarded two contracts with a total value of Rs 298.30 crore (38 million euros) to supply two 400/220/66 kV gas-insulated substations (GIS) at Wangtoo and Gumma in Himachal Pradesh. The projects respectively received from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and HP Power Transmission Corporation (HPPTCL), respectively, aim to improve the transmission capacity of H PPTCL for the transport of electricity generated by hydropower sources across the state.

The scope of the Wangtoo project, worth approximately  Rs 155.00 crore (18 million euros), covers the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, testing, and commissioning of 400 kV, 220 kV and 66 kV gas-insulated switchgear, power transformers, instrument transformers and substation automation system.

The Gumma project, worth Rs 143.30 crore (20 million euros), includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing, commissioning and covers civil works of 400 kV and 220 kV GIS substation on a turnkey basis. All key equipment for both the projects will be produced by Alstom’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across India.

Broader market outperform; Welspun up 5%, MCX zooms

Broader markets outrun bechmarks at this hour with both BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices trading 0.8% higher.

After opening higher,key indices maintained early gains led by buying in heavyweight stocks. The upmove came as market participants confirm their view that India is way better prepared to tackle the tapering of US Federal Reserve's easy money policy also known as Quantitative easing-3 (QE-3).

US Fed announced that it will taper its 85-billion-a-month bond buying program by by $10-billion-a-month starting January and vowed to keep interest rates at historic lows for a even longer duration as anticipated earlier.

The rupee fell for a fourth session, driven by weak Asian FX a day after US announced tapering of its stimulus. The unit is trading at 62.28 versus Thursday's close of 62.14/15.

Despite today's upmove marketmen however expect trades to be directionless in the short-term in lack of any clear trend on technical parameters.

At 1030hrs, the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex was 87.50 points higher at 20796.12 and the 50-share Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 6,186 levels, up 22.30 points.

Broader markets outrun bechmarks at this hour with both BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices trading 0.8% higher.

Key indices are trading higher led by buying in heavyweights; RIL gained 1.6% on CCEA decision to double the price of gas produced from its KG-D6 block to $8.4 a million British thermal unit (mBtu) from April 1, 2014.

Other heavyweights that are pulling key indices higher at this hour include TCS, ICICI Bank and ONGC which are 0.8-2.2% up, Infosys and Tata Motors are other top gainers.

Welspun Corp has rallied 12% to Rs 49.40 on back of heavy volumes on the BSE after promoter bought more than 50,000 shares through open market.

Shares in Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has surged over 7% to Rs 445 on back of heavy volumes on the bourses.

Rupee down 15 paise against dollar

Extending its losses for the fourth straight day, the rupee fell by another 15 paise to 62.29 against the dollar in early trade on Friday on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to strengthening of American unit overseas.

Dealers attributed the rupee’s fall to dollar rising to five-year high against the yen overseas after the US Federal Reserve’s decision to start tapering its monetary stimulus programme.

They said, however, a higher opening in the domestic equity market capped the fall.

The rupee had lost five paise in Thursday’s trade to close at 62.14, the lowest level in more than two weeks, amid weakness in local stocks after the US Federal Reserve said it would cut its bond purchases.

RIL surges on getting CCEA’s nod to sell D6 gas at higher price

Reliance Industries is currently trading at Rs. 866.70, up by 12.15 points or 1.42 % from its previous closing of Rs. 854.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 874.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 878.00 and Rs. 864.70 respectively. So far 102529 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 954.80 on 21-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 765.00 on 28-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 867.80 and Rs. 836.25 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 276126.24 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.31 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 29.53 % and 21.74 % respectively.

Reliance Industries (RIL) has received approval from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to sell D6 gas at higher price. The new rate will come into effect from April 1, 2014. RIL will have to give a bank guarantee, which will be encashed if it is proved that the company hoarded gas or deliberately suppressed production at the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) main gas fields in its eastern offshore KG-D6 block.

Moreover, the bank guarantee will cover the difference between the current gas price of $4.2 per million British thermal unit (mBtu).

Welspun Corp rallies as promoter ups holding

The stock has zoomed 41% in past three trading sessions compared to less than 1% rise in S&P BSE Sensex.

Welspun Corp has rallied 12% to Rs 49.40 on back of heavy volumes on the BSE after promoter bought more than 50,000 shares through open market.

A combined around one million shares have already changed hands on the counter till 0930 hours against an average sub 500,000 shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on the BSE and NSE.

On December 18, Krishiraj Trading Limited has purchased 30,572 shares on the BSE and 22,926 shares on the NSE, according to information filed by the company on the stock exchanges.

The promoter has acquired these shares at an average price of Rs 35.90, data shows.

Post acquisition, total holding of Krishiraj Trading Limited in the company increased to 31.59% from 31.57%.

Meanwhile, the stock has zoomed 41% in past three trading sessions from Rs 34.95 on December 17, compared to less than 1% rise in benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.

NSEL gets FMC’s permission to disburse Rs 11 cr received from Mohan India Group

Earlier on December 2, 2013, the MPID court had declared that the Mohan India Group agreement is legally valid

National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL) received permission of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) to disburse Rs 11 crore received from Mohan India Group as part of the settlement agreement. This amount received from Mohan India Group has been lying in the NSEL escrow account since November 2, 2013.
Earlier on December 2, 2013, the MPID court had declared that the Mohan India Group agreement is legally valid  and the Mohan India Group and NSEL shall proceed to act according to the settlement bonafide.
NSEL has also moved the Bombay High Court to modify its earlier order of October 7, 2013, for ensuring speedy implementation of settlement agreements with defaulting members, including Mohan India Group.

MCX board meets on Dec 26 to consider FMC order

The Multi Commodity Exchange has called a board meeting on December 26 to discuss the implication and future course of action to be taken following the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission declaring the promoters of MCX ‘not fit’ to operate a commodity exchange.

The 80-page order ruled that Financial Technologies, the promoter of MCX, should reduce its stake in the commodity exchange to 2 per cent from 26 per cent now. FTIL informed the stock exchanges on Thursday that the company was examining the FMC order and would take “appropriate steps” in due course of time.

Interestingly, the regulator has not prescribed a time frame for the dilution of stake.

To recruit MD, CEO
The recently formed selection committee is to meet on December 27 and 28 to appoint a Managing Director and CEO for the exchange from the short-listed candidates, according to people in the know.

“The board will also consider measures to bring down the MCX holding in the MCX Stock Exchange to 2.5 per cent from 5 per cent according to the capital market regulator SEBI’s direction,” they added.

Renewing the licence for MCX-SX in September, SEBI had ordered Financial Technologies and MCX to bring down their holding in the stock exchange collectively to 5 per cent by January 11 from 10 per cent now.

FMC, on Wednesday, said Jignesh Shah and his company Financial Technologies were not ‘fit and proper’ to run the commodity exchange. Shah is currently the Chairman of FTIL, which owns the National Spot Exchange. The exchange shut operations on August 1 and is now struggling to pay for trades worth Rs 5,600 crore entered into on its platform.

SEBI’s stand unclear
In this scenario, it is not clear whether SEBI will insist on FTIL offloading its entire stake in the stock exchange.

Moreover, even if MCX and FTIL bring down their stakes collectively to 5 per cent in the stock exchange according to the SEBI’s order, FTIL will have higher financial interest indirectly in the stock exchange as it holds 26 per cent in MCX. All these issues will be discussed threadbare at the board meeting, sources informed.

Meanwhile, NYSE Euronext has sold 5.65 lakh shares of MCX for about Rs 24 crore in the secondary market on Thursday. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 427.02 apiece, valuing the transaction at Rs 24.12 crore.

NYSE Euronext, which runs leading bourses in the US and Europe, had bought 5 per cent stake in MCX for about Rs 240 crore in June 2008. As of the September quarter, Euronext held 4.73 per cent stake in MCX.

MCX shares fell 1 per cent to Rs 415 on the BSE on Thursday.

TCS gains on launching Insurance Telematics Solution

TCS is currently trading at Rs. 2095.80, up by 14.45 points or 0.69% from its previous closing of Rs. 2081.35 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 2095.80 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2100.65 and Rs. 2055.00 respectively. So far 2,939 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2258.05 on 15-Oct-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1230.15 on 20-Dec-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2108.90 and Rs. 2005.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 4,10,745.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 73.96% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 21.67% and 4.37% respectively.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, has launched ‘TCS Insurance Telematics Solution’, a mobile application that turns consumers’ smartphones into mobile telematics devices. Facilitating usage-based insurance practices that more closely align consumer driving patterns and habits with auto insurance premiums, the TCS Insurance Telematics Solution minimizes the need for a separate, potentially expensive, telematics device provided by the insurer.

TCS Insurance Telematics Solution is the latest in a series of product innovations from the company’s insurance innovation lab - a state-of-the-art environment for customers to test new ideas and trial new solutions.

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services.

Canara Bank receives licence to open a branch in New York

Canara Bank, a leading nationalized bank, has received licence from the US regulators to open a branch in New York, as it seeks to expand its global presence. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington DC, US, vide its communication dated December 13, 2013 has approved the proposal of the bank to open a branch in New York.

Canara Bank is India’s fifth largest Public Sector bank (PSB) in terms of assets. As on September 30, 2013, it had assets of around Rs 450200 crore and advances of around Rs 281100 crore. The bank’s strong market position is underpinned by its market share of around 5.0 per cent in deposits and 4.8 per cent in advances as on September 30, 2013.

Thomas Cook (India) expands its presence in Dubai

Thomas Cook (India)’s wholly owned subsidiary - Travel Corporation (India) (TCI) has appointed TravTips, as its franchisee partner for the market of Dubai. TravTips is a dynamic sales & marketing consultancy company in the Middle East market.

The franchise agreement that appoints TravTips as a Gold Circle Franchise Partner of TCI, permits it to market and sell the company’s wide range of travel products and services across Dubai, including: Group tours, personalized holidays, luxury packages, sports vacations, cruises and Corporate MICE programmes.

Thomas Cook is the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel, Insurance, Visa & Passport services and E-Business.

Markets to get a soft-to-cautious start lacking any supportive cues

The Indian markets returned to their gloom path after a day of rally and major indices lost around a percent in last session. Today, the start is likely to remain soft-to-cautious and traders will keep gauzing the impact of US Federal Reserve’s tapering of $10 billion in bond purchases starting January 2014. However, finance minister P Chidambaram has said that India is better prepared than in May to deal with any consequences of the US Federal Reserve’s move to wind down its economic stimulus. He also said that “Government is of the view that the markets had already factored in the US Federal Reserve's decisions and, therefore, is not likely to be surprised by these moderate changes.”  On the other hand there will be some cautiousness as the United Nations has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to 4.8 percent while warning that emerging markets should be prepared to deal with the impact of US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programme. The sugar stocks will be in limelight as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an interest-free loan of Rs 6,600 crore for the ailing sugar industry to pay off cane arrears. 

The US markets made a flat closing in last session with major indices giving up their gains in latter part of the trade. Traders were a bit cautious digesting the Fed's decision to scale back its stimulus program, while there was unexpected increase in initial jobless claims. The Asian markets have made a mixed start and the Japanese market was trading lower by over half a percent ahead of a Bank of Japan’s policy decision.

Back home, benchmarks resumed their southward journey after a day of pause and snapped the session below their crucial 6,200 (Nifty) and 20,750 (Sensex) levels, with a cut of around 3/ 4 of a percent. Although, markets made a gap-up opening supported by firm global cues, but soon the sentiments turned cautious and frontline gauges slipped into red amid fears that foreign institutional investor would reduce their allocations to emerging markets including India’s, thereby hurting incremental inflows after the US Federal Reserve Bank announced gradual reduction in its bond-buying program. Depreciation in rupee too weighed-down sentiments. On the currency front, the partially convertible rupee was at 62.16 to the dollar at the time of equity markets closing as against its close of 62.09 on Wednesday. However, markets witnessed some sort of recovery in afternoon trade on the back of optimistic statements made by Finance Minister, who in an attempt to shore-up investors’ confidence after US Federal Reserve announced to trim down its aggressive bond-buying program by $10 billion a month, reiterated that the government was committed to take all necessary steps to revive growth, boost investments and create conducive business environment. Some support also was rendered by positive global set-up. Both, Asian pacific shares and European shares were upbeat after the US Fed signaled that low interest rates would prevail even as tapers its $85 billion bond-buying program by $10 billion a month starting from January 2014, that too if US economy continues to show strength. Back home, the recovery proved short-lived as markets once again lost momentum in the dying hours of the trade. Selling in public sector undertaking viz. BPCL, HPCL and IOC too dampened the sentiments as crude oil futures moved higher on Wednesday closing near their one month high on getting a bullish inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that showed US crude oil stockpiles to have dropped last week, albeit less than expected. Moreover, banking counter remained the biggest loser on hopes that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would act in next policy meeting in January, if the expected softening of food inflation does not materialises and translates into a significant reduction in headline inflation in the next round of data. Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 151.24 points or 0.73%, to settle at 20708.62, while the CNX Nifty declined by 50.50 points or 0.81% to settle at 6,166.65.