Sensex gains 101 points, Re weak
Mumbai: After recording a fall of 15 per cent since terror strikes on the US, the stock market barometer BSE Sensex for the first time closed on a positive note gaining 101 points at close on Tuesday.

Sensex closed the day at 2,782.47 (up 101.49 points), while the NSE Nifty ended at 902 (up 29 points). The rupee, however, headed lower and was trading at 47.98 to a dollar.

The surge in sentiment was on account of three primary reasons.

Firstly, the Reserve Bank of India's decision to allow banks to finance stock brokers for the purpose of margin trading in shares is expected to impart liquidity in the uncertain market.

Secondly, the fact that the Dow Jones index fell by over 7 per cent on Monday night - which was lower than the expected 10 per cent slump in the US markets - was interpreted as a good sign by brokers.

Thirdly, the market reacted positively to the news that the RBI has called for a meeting with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to discuss the modalities of liberalising the rules on creeping acquisitions by companies.

The other positive factor which influenced the Indian markets was the early gains in the other key Asian markets; both Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei were up handsomely.

Major gains for the bourses came from two old economy heavyweights - HLL and Reliance Petroleum. Together they contributed almost 73 points to the Sensex's gains.

Tech stocks, barring Hughes Software and NIIT, were among the key gainers. Pharma counters, too, were in good demand.

The rupee, meanwhile, was slightly weaker, but the sentiment was less bearish after a sharp recovery the previous day. In early deals, the rupee was quoted at 47.94/97 per dollar, slightly weaker than Monday's record closing low of 47.83/88. On Monday the rupee had tumbled more than 1 per cent to a record intra-day low of 48.43 before recovering on dollar sales by state-run banks, believed to be acting on behalf of the RBI.
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NSE to change trading timings
Mumbai: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will change trading time from September 24 to October 9 due to shifts in the sun movements.

The market would open for trading at 9.55 am and close at 11.30 am for 35 minutes till 12.05 pm and after a five-minute pre-open period, trading would reopen at 12.10 pm, NSE said in a release here on Tuesday.

The market would close at 4.05 pm.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had informed that there would be 'sun outage' from September 24 to October 9 between 11.30 am and 12.05 pm, NSE said, adding, trading members might lose the connectivity during the period.
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SEBI to allow foreign funds in all derivatives
Mumbai: SEBI will permit foreign institutional investors to participate in all equity derivative products after it frames norms in consultation with the government, a senior official said on Tuesday.

N Parakh, head of derivatives segment at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), said the RBI had already given its approval.

Currently, foreign funds are allowed only in the index futures segment of the derivatives market to the extent of their equity exposure in the cash market.

Parakh said the RBI has asked SEBI and the Center to decide on the overall exposure limit for foreign funds in all derivative products.

India launched index-based futures in July 2000 and a year later it commenced options trading on individual stocks, but activity has been sluggish.
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RBI okays finance margin trading
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that it would allow banks to finance stock brokers for the purpose of margin trading in shares.

It said that the permission would be granted for financing margin trading in actively traded shares comprising the benchmark indices - the NSE and the BSE Sensex.

The exposure would be limited to the existing overall ceiling for exposure to the capital market, it said.

The RBI further said that a minimum margin of 40 per cent would be required to be maintained by banks and that a detailed guideline would be issued later, which would be valid for an initial period of 60 days.
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US stocks slide slower
New York: Wall Street found some stability on Tuesday as investors curtailed their selling and did some buying.

The market gave up earlier gains that had sent the Dow back above the 9,000 level, as investors turned their attention late in the day to the political uncertainty following last week's terrorist attacks.

The Dow fell 17.30, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,903.40.

However, the downturn in the Dow paled in comparison with the decline on Monday - the first day of trading since the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked- when the blue chips lost a record 684.81 points and fell below 9,000 for the first time since December 1998.

The broader market also gave back its earlier gains as the Nasdaq composite index fell 24.47 to 1,555.08 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 6.03 to 1,032.74.

Tuesday's losers included sectors, such as travel services and insurance, that were weak Monday. Online travel agent Expedia dropped $4.49 to $19.51.

Insurers again traded lower as the industry faces big losses following last week's attacks.
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