Gold near two-month low; set for weekly drop on interest rate fears

 Gold ticked up slightly on Friday after a five-day losing streak but held near a two-month low and was headed for its worst week in five, hurt by strong U.S. economic data and fears that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates sooner than expected.

Bullion was hit hard after minutes from the Fed's July meeting on Wednesday showed policymakers debated whether interest rates should be raised earlier given a surprisingly strong job market recovery.

The metal came under particular pressure on Thursday when a break below the 200-day moving average of $1,284 an ounce triggered stops and sent prices tumbling over 1 percent.

Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent at $1,279.74 an ounce by 0626 GMT, near a two-month low of $1,273.06 hit on Thursday.

The metal is down nearly 2 percent for the week, the biggest drop since the week ended July 18.

The dollar hovered just below its 2014 peak against a basket of major currencies early on Friday, with any further strengthening likely to add pressure to gold. [USD/]

Bonds fail to budge despite RBI liquidity tweaks

10-year bond yield steady at 8.50 per cent. Does not budge even after RBI announces revised framework for liquidity management. Traders say measures will not lead to more liquidity injections. 

"This a slight improvement on the previous system, exactly what the market had recommended, but only marginally positive for short-end bonds. Still largely neutral," says a trader. Foreign funds bought debt worth $2.65 billion in a single session on Wednesday, regulatory data showed. 

Results of the Rs 12000 crore (1.99 billion US dollar) debt sale later in the day will be watched for cues. 

Suzlon Seeks Japanese Partner to Tap Offshore Wind Market

India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd. (SUEL) may seek a Japanese partner to make offshore wind turbines, attracted by access to cheap yen loans as projects at sea get costlier and more complex.

Suzlon, whose German unit Senvion SE is the third-biggest supplier of offshore turbines, is in talks with Japanese companies about forming a potential joint venture, Suzlon Chairman Tulsi Tanti said in an interview in Mumbai this week.

The pressures of costly investments and high technology risks are prodding companies into partnerships as global offshore capacity expands six-fold to 42 gigawatts by 2020, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011) and Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) teamed up last year, followed by Areva SA (AREVA) and Spain’s Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA (GAM) in January. General Electric Co. (GE)’s acquisition of Alstom SA (ALO)’s power assets is expected to reinvigorate its offshore activities, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Evans.

Tanti declined to name the Japanese companies Suzlon has approached. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (7270), Hitachi Ltd. (6501) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. have supplied turbines for about 20 megawatts of the world’s 7,110 megawatts of offshore projects as of 2013.

Crude oil futures down on weak Asian cues

Crude oil futures today fell by Rs 42 to Rs 5,703 per barrel as speculators trimmed positions, tracking a weak trend in Asian trade. 

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in September traded Rs 42, or 0.73 per cent down at Rs 5703 per barrel in 4,911 lots. 

Besides, oil for for-month October delivery moved down by Rs 35, or 0.61 per cent, to Rs 5,714 per barrel in 112 lots. 

 the fall in crude prices at futures trade was primarily after it fell in the Asian trade as dealers digested downbeat Chinese manufacturing data and tracked the ebbing likelihood of supply disruptions in conflict-hit Iraq, Ukraine and Libya. 

IDFC Equity Opportunity - Series 1 announces dividend

IDFC Equity Opportunity - Series 1 announces dividend, the record date for dividend is August 25, 2014.

IDFC Mutual Fund has announced dividend under regular plan - dividend option & direct plan - dividend option of IDFC Equity Opportunity Series 1. The record date for declaration of dividend is August 25, 2014. The amount of dividend will be Rs 3.00 per unit under each plan on the face value of Rs 10 per unit. 

Union KBC Equity Fund announces dividend

Union KBC Equity Fund announces dividend, the record date for dividend is August 25, 2014.

Union KBC Mutual Fund has announced dividend under the dividend option of Union KBC Equity Fund, an open ended equity scheme. The record date for declaration of dividend is August 25, 2014. The amount of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit will be Rs. 1.00 per unit as on the record date.

Asian Development Bank raises Rs 300 crore via maiden offshore rupee bond sale

The Asian Development Bank raised Rs 300 crore ($49.6 million) from its first-ever sale of rupee-linked bonds abroad, the Manila-based lender said, becoming the second major multilateral agency to issue such debt within the past year. 

The bonds will be denominated in Indian rupees but settle in US dollars, and will carry a coupon of 6.35 per cent, and mature in August 2016, the agency said. JP Morgan was the underwriter. 

The rupee has gained around 2.3 per cent this year, thanks to a surge in overseas investments into India. Foreign institutional investors have bought a net $29.16 billion in both debt and shares so far this year. 

ADB's sale comes after International Finance Corp (IFC), a unit of the World Bank, set up a $1 billion offshore rupee-linked bond in October last year, completing the fundraising in April. 

On Wednesday, IFC launched $2.5 billion in rupee-denominated, bonds in the Indian market to fund infrastructure projects.

Kotak Opportunities Fund announces dividend

Kotak Opportunities Fund announces dividend, the record date for dividend is August 25, 2014.

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced dividend under dividend option & direct plan - dividend option of Kotak Opportunities Fund, an open ended equity growth scheme.  The record date for declaration of dividend is August 25, 2014. The quantum of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit will be Rs 1.00 per unit under both plans.

Rupee hits three-week high at open

The rupee is trading at 60.52/53 versus the dollar after hitting 60.49, its highest since July 31 and higher than Thursday's close of 60.67/68. The pair is seen in a range of 60.40 to 60.80 during the session.

Traders to monitor debt market flows after foreign funds bought $2.65 billion in a single session on Wednesday.

The index of dollar versus six majors is marginally lower.

Asian shares rise in early trading after upbeat U.S. data sparked another record close on Wall Street.

Local shares to be watched for cues on fund flows. The Nifty rises 0.4 percent in early trade.