Ratan Tata invest in Infinite Analytics

Report says that the existing investors including Nikhil Vora of Sixth Sense Ventures and new investors from Silicon Valley and India participated in this funding round.

Infinite Analytics has raised an undisclosed bridge round of funding from Ratan Tata to expand its predictive analytics technology, according to reports.

Report says that the existing investors including Nikhil Vora of Sixth Sense Ventures and new investors from Silicon Valley and India participated in this funding round. 

Since its inception in 2012, Infinite Analytics has raised a seed funding round from various investors.

Motherson sumi systems stock down 4%

The stock has hit a high of Rs. 319 and a low of Rs.301.40

Shares of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd was down 3.56% to Rs.305 on reports that Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com recently told CNBC-TV18, " Motherson Sumi Systems is coming down and I wouldn’t buy it. It is a short sell but that is a different matter."

The stock has hit a high of Rs. 319 and a low of Rs.301.40.

Total traded quantity on the counter stood at around 2 lk shares.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has gained over 59 points at 26,451.42. 

Dishman Pharma Q1 net profit at Rs. 37.7 crore

The company's consolidated net profit for the quarter stood at Rs. 37.7 crore up by 58.8% against Rs 23.8 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Dishman Pharma Ltd has posted results for the first quarter ended 30th June, 2015.

The company's consolidated  net profit for the quarter stood at Rs. 37.7 crore up by 58.8% against Rs. 23.8 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Sales has risen by 11% at Rs. 400 crore compared to Rs 360 crore resulted in the similar quarter of 2014.

Dishman is the global outsourcing partner for the pharmaceutical industry offering a portfolio of development, scale-up and manufacturing services.

BHEL lowers around 2%; appoint Amitabh Mathur as Director

The stock has hit a high of Rs.233.25 and a low of Rs.227.25.

Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd was down around 2% to Rs.231. Recently, the Government has approved the appointment of Amitabh Mathur as Director, BHEL for a period of five years.

The stock has hit a high of Rs.233.25 and a low of Rs.227.25.

Total traded quantity on the counter stood at 1.37 lk shares.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has gained 47 points at 26, 439.

Airtel, Idea, Vodafone hike data tariffs

According to reports, Airtel and Idea have increased post-paid charges by 20%. The customers of both telecom operators will have to pay Rs. 300 for 1GB 3G data usage, as against Rs. 250 earlier.

Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have raised pre-paid and post-paid data tariffs for various circles.

According to reports, Airtel and Idea have increased post-paid charges by 20%. The customers of both telecom operators will have to pay Rs. 300 for 1GB 3G data usage, as against Rs. 250 earlier.

Airtel has raised the data charges in Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P. East and U.P. West circles while Idea has hiked tariffs in Delhi, Punjab and U.P. West.

Although Vodafone has not increased rates for post-paid services, it joins Airtel and Idea in price-hike for pre-paid category.

All three telcos had raised pre-paid data tariffs for 2G and 3G services in Delhi and Mumbai following the spectrum auctions in March.

Reliance Mutual Fund introduces Fixed Horizon Fund XXIX-Series 5

Reliance Mutual Fund has launched the Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund XXIX-Series 5, a close ended income scheme.

Reliance Mutual Fund has launched the Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund XXIX-Series 5, a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on August 31, 2015 and closes on September 07, 2015. No entry load and exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter.

The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index and its fund manager is Amit Tripath.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of the following securities maturing on or before the date of maturity of the scheme with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility of Central and State Government securities and other fixed income/ debt securities. 

Savlon and more! ITC to take on Reckitt?

ITC is also planning to bring nearly 100 different packs across variants within these categories by the end of next year, each competing directly with Reckitt Benckiser brands, says report.

ITC is planning to extend its recently acquired antiseptic brand Savlon to half-a-dozen new categories, according to reports.,

The company entered the health and home care segments to take on Reckitt Benckiser.

ITC is also planning to bring nearly 100 different packs across variants within these categories by the end of next year, each competing directly with Reckitt Benckiser brands, says a report.

Reckitt Benckiser is popular for its antiseptic brand Dettol in India.

Barclays, Macquarie Trim Nifty Target, Citi Remains Bullish

Two global investment banks have trimmed the targets of domestic benchmark indices following the global upheaval in stock markets last week.

Barclays has reduced its Nifty target from 10,219 to 9,642 saying June quarter earnings performance was weak. It noted that operating performance (EBITDA) was better than topline, but added that earnings are likely to bounce-back in second half of this fiscal in several sectors.

Macquarie cut its December 2015 Nifty target from 9,600 to 8,700 to factor in lower earnings. It expects earnings weakness to continue in the September quarter.

However, Goldman Sachs retained its "overweight" call on India. The brokerage has a 12-month Nifty target of 9,300. Citi too retained its positive outlook on Indian equities. The global investment bank expects the BSE Sensex to hit 32,200 by December end. Citi expects Sensex to 35,000 levels in June 2016.

Among stocks, Macquarie retained its "buy" rating on Asian Paints, Coal India, DLF, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, TCS and HDFC Bank.         

Gold Slips as US Rate Hike Expectations Drag

Manila: Gold edged lower on Monday, stretching last week's losses on concern that the Federal Reserve is on course to raise interest rates this year despite recent market turmoil.

Fundamentals

Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,131.30 an ounce by 0107 GMT, after dropping more than 2 per cent last week in its steepest decline in five weeks.

U.S. gold for December delivery eased 0.3 per cent to $1,131.10 an ounce.

The Fed left the door open to a September interest rate hike even while several U.S. central bank officials acknowledged that turmoil in financial markets, if prolonged, could delay the first policy tightening in nearly a decade.

Some top policymakers, including Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, said recent volatility in global markets could quickly ease and possibly pave the way for the U.S. rate hike, for which investors, governments and central banks around the world are bracing.

But hedge funds and money managers hiked a bullish bet in COMEX gold and raised their net long position in silver futures and options in the week ended Aug. 25, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.

A stronger U.S. dollar is helping drive Australian gold production and buffeting local prospectors from the effects of a global sell-off in bullion, according to a sector survey released on Sunday.

Oil Prices Fall on Profit Taking, Rate Hike Uncertainty

Singapore: Oil prices fell in Asia on Monday as traders took profits, snapping three days of gains last week that saw the biggest two-day rally in six years.

"There is definitely a lot of profit taking going on," said Daniel Ang, an analyst at Singapore's Phillip Futures.

"There is some readjustment in the positions taken by traders," he said.

That came after Brent climbed 10 per cent last week, while U.S. crude finished the week up 12 percent.

Brent crude futures for October delivery fell 86 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to $49.19 per barrel as 0156 GMT after ending up $2.49, or 5 per cent, in the previous session. The contract slipped as low as $49.10 in early trade.

U.S. crude for October delivery fell 70 cents to $44.52 per barrel after settling up $2.66, or 6.3 per cent, in the previous session. It fell as low as $44.40 in early trade.

Mixed signals by U.S. financial policymakers last week on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates next month was weighing on sentiment, Ang said.

Some Fed policymakers left the door open to a September interest rate hike at an annual central bankers meeting on Friday in comments that appeared to contradict those by the New York Fed president earlier in the week who said a rate increase seemed "less compelling".

The comment came after turmoil in global markets in recent weeks following China's currency devaluation and concerns over its slowing economy.

Investors are eyeing a slew of economic data, including key U.S. non-farm payroll data, later this week that could give direction on a possible U.S. rate hike when Fed policy makers meet on Sept. 16-17.

A rate hike is expected to support the U.S. dollar, making commodities including oil more expensive for users of other currencies.

The market is also watching the outcome of planned United Nations-brokered talks later this week between Libya's warring factions aimed at forming a unity government.

Libya posted a budget deficit of 4.5 billion dinars ($3.3 billion) in the first seven months of 2015 as oil production fell and weak oil prices weighed, the Tripoli-based central bank said on Sunday.

Asian Stocks Set for Worst Monthly Drop in Three Years on Global Rout

Hong Kong: Asian shares fell on Monday and looked set for their worst monthly performance in three years after top Federal Reserve officials kept the door open for an interest rate hike in September and Chinese stock markets took a fresh tumble.

Global markets are bracing for Chinese data on Tuesday which is expected to show the world's second-largest economy is continuing to lose momentum.

A Reuters poll showed China's official factory sector activity likely fell to a 3-year low.

U.S. business surveys, factory orders, trade data and nonfarm payrolls will also be released this week, keeping investors on edge after one of the wildest trading weeks of the year.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.8 per cent and is set to fall 10 per cent this month, its worst monthly drop since May 2012.

Japan's Nikkei was down more than 1 per cent and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.6 per cent. Australian shares lost 1.2 per cent.

Selling intensified as China markets extended declines. By midmorning, Shanghai stocks, the epicentre of this month's whip-saw action, were down 3 per cent. They have plunged more than 40 per cent since mid-June.

U.S. stock futures shed 1 per cent, pointing to weakness on Wall Street later in the day.

"Overall sentiment towards emerging markets continue to be quite cautious," said Frances Cheung, Asia strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

"Unless we see a decisive trend forward in the trajectory of U.S. interest rates, investors will continue to be wary of emerging market assets."

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, speaking at the central bank' conference in Wyoming, said recent volatility in global markets could ease and possibly pave the way for a rate hike.

"The release of U.S. ADP employment on Wednesday and non-farm payrolls on Friday will be key in analysing the quantum of a September rate hike," Angus Nicholson, market analyst at trading services provider IG in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients.

Prospects of higher interest rates and returns in the United States combined with China's slowdown have diminished the appeal of emerging markets as investors have dumped riskier assets.

Investors sold $5.9 billion of emerging market assets between Aug 20-26, a sharp increase from $1.5 billion the week earlier, according to Nomura fund flows data.

Credit markets, often a harbinger of things to come for equities, spelt further pain in store for emerging markets.

An index for Asian high-yield credit has fallen sharply compared to a relatively steady performance in the investment grade index, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The dollar eased 0.4 per cent to 121.15 yen after rising to the week's high of 121.76 on Friday following the Fed officials' comments that kept prospects of a September hike alive.

The euro was up 0.5 per cent at $1.12405 after touching an eight-day low of $1.1156 on Friday.

The market will watch Thursday's policy meeting to see if the European Central Bank will be inclined to ease monetary policy further in the wake of the recent global markets turmoil, though no imminent change is expected.

U.S. crude oil prices dipped early on Monday as their biggest two-day surge in quarter of a century ran its course.

U.S. crude was down 0.8 per cent at $44.86 a barrel after jumping more than 6 per cent on Friday on frenetic short-covering fuelled by violence in Yemen, a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and refinery outages.

The contract was still down nearly 5 per cent on the month, when it hit a 6-1/2-year low last week in the wake of China-led global growth fears.

BSE Sensex Likely to Open Lower Amid Weak Asian Markets: 10 Developments

Indian markets are likely to open lower today, tracking weak Asian markets. Uncertainty over Fed rate hike and concerns about China weighed on global markets today.

Here are top 10 developments

1) The SGX CNX Nifty was down 0.60 per cent at 7,973, indicating a weak start to Indian markets.

2) Stock markets in China were down nearly 3 per cent today, dragging down major Asian markets.

3) Asian stocks sagged on Monday after top Federal Reserve officials kept the door open for an interest rate hike in September and investors braced for China economic data this week.

4) Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, speaking at the central bank' conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said recent volatility in global markets could ease and possibly pave the way for a rate hike.

5) Global markets ended last week on a calmer note, however, helped by easing steps from the People's Bank of China and other government support measures, and hopes that the Fed would delay hiking rates following this month's tumult in financial markets.

6) Coming back to Indian markets, analysts say that unless selling pressure from foreign institutional investors abates, the gains in Indian markets may remain capped. Foreign institutional investors hold nearly 25 per cent of BSE 200 stocks.

7) Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth Rs 56 crore on Friday. In the previous seven sessions before Friday, they sold Indian shares worth nearly Rs 16,500 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors have been big buyers of Indian equities in the past few days, offering some support to Sensex and Nifty.

8) The value of the rupee would also be under focus with as it impacts the returns of foreign investors in dollar terms. During the previous week, the rupee pulled back from near two year lows of 66.76/dollar to end at 66.14/dollar on Friday. The rupee traded lower at 66.23/dollar in early trade today.

9) Market analysts would also be watching for the June-September gross domestic product (GDP) data which is due to be announced at 5:30 p.m. today. The median estimate from a Reuters poll of economists put GDP annual growth at 7.4 per cent in the quarter, just below 7.5 per cent in January-March.

10) Apart from the GDP data, monthly auto sales numbers and August services and manufacturing data will also be released during this week. Besides global cues, these domestic data could dictate the trend in Indian markets in the short term, analysts say.