NEW DELHI, June 28: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets on Thursday closed flat, adding just 23 points in cautious trading on derivatives expiry and weak European cues.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,985.58 points in the morning, closed at 16,990.76 points, up 0.14 per cent or 23 points from its previous close of 16,967.76 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 17,033.85 points and a low of 16,918.87 points intra-day. The BSE midcap index rose 3.96 points while the smallcap index gained 14.46 points.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed 0.14 per cent higher at 5,149.15 points.

BSE FMCG index was up 39.83 points, power index was up 7.34 points, PSU index was up 21.94 points.

The major Sensex gainers were Tata Steel, up 1.83 per cent at Rs 428.40; Hero MotoCorp, up 1.58 per cent at Rs 2,087.80; NTPC, up 1.48 per cent at Rs 157.25; ITC, up 1.47 at Rs 251.45; and Coal India, up 1.43 per cent at Rs 347.90.

The main losers were Gail India, down 2.44 per cent at Rs 345.75; Sterlite Inds, down 1.86 per cent at Rs 97.85; Hindalco Inds, down 1.24 per cent at Rs 115.30; Sun Pharma, down 1.08 per cent at Rs 616.35; and SBI, down 0.85 per cent at Rs 2,095.45.

At the closing bell here, European markets were trading lower amid volatility ahead of the two-day European Union summit beginning on June 28 in Brussels that will deliberate on how to stop the Eurozone falling apart. Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE 100 were trading 1.58 and 0.88 per cent lower respectively, while France’s CAC was down 1.13 per cent. (IANS)

NEW DELHI, June 28: India’s financial system is robust despite the rise in global risks and domestic macro-economic conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday.

“The financial system of the country remains robust despite increase in risks to stability primarily due to global risks and domestic macroeconomic conditions,” the RBI said in its Financial Stability Report (FSR).

It said that risks to domestic growth were accentuated by fiscal and external sector imbalances and added that though inflationary pressures had moderated risks remained.

The report also said banks remained resilient to credit, market and liquidity risks and would be able to withstand macroeconomic shocks, given their comfortable capital adequacy positions.

Asset quality concerns, however, persist and liquidity pressures have intensified, it added.

“Credit deposit growth in the banking sector have decelerated while banks’ reliance on borrowed funds has increased. Banks in India will migrate to Basel III from a position of relative strength but there could be challenges in the form of higher cost of capital,” said RBI, suggesting a closer monitoring of the banks. (IANS)

PANAJI, June 28: Gearing up for the first state-endorsed investors’ meet to be hosted here on Saturday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that a sound, environment friendly investment proposal could be responded to ‘in principle’ at the day-long business session.

“If a particular project does not require much land and is in line with the green channel approved by the government, we may even say in-principle yes,” Parrikar said on Thursday.

The Goa Investors Forum 2012, which is being organized by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is expected to draw 55 potential investors in the field of IT, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, tourism and education sectors, among others, including foreign investors from Britain, Morocco and Australia.

The forum is also expected to unveil Essel Group’s plan to establish a theme-based entertainment park in the tourism oriented state.

Parrikar hoped that his presence at the investors’ forum would inspire confidence in the potential investors, that the government was serious about attracting genuine entrepreneurs into the state.

According to GCCI president Manguirish Pai Raikar, the Goa Investors Forum 2012 would greatly help in creating job opportunities in Goa and infuse a fresh dose of investment in the state after a seven-year spell of “policy and decision-making paralysis”.

“We chose these industries as they perfectly suit Goa’s needs. We want our youths to get employed but at the same time we do not want a reverse migration of workforce into Goa by seeking to attract industries which are not suitable,” Raikar said.

“Goa is endowed with important natural and human resources, and neighbouring Mumbai can attract investments. The objective of organizing the forum is to make the industry aware about the State Government’s initiatives so that they can benefit and expand their investments,” co-host of the meet and FICCI official Rashesh Shah said in a statement. (IANS)

NEW DELHI/RANCHI, June 28: Tata Motors on Thursday halted production at its Jamshedpur plant for three days to adjust production targets with shrinking demand.

“Production at the Jamshedpur plant is being suspended for three days under a block closure for aligning production with demand,” a Tata Motors spokesperson said in New Delhi.

The Jamshedpur plant of the automobile giant is known for producing commercial vehicles.

According to the official, the halt in production comes in the wake of a slowdown in the domestic economy.

As per the recent data released by the Central Statistics Office last week, India’s industrial output grew marginally by 0.1 per cent in April due to poor show of capital intensive mining and manufacturing sectors.

The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), declined by 3.5 per cent in March, the first such contraction in factory output since October 2011, when it shrank by 4.7 per cent.

This has in turn effected the sales of key economic activity indicator segment – medium and heavy commercial vehicles which include trucks and buses – fell by 10.58 per cent at 22,227 units in May 2012 from 24,858 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Earlier, the company had halted production at its Pune-based plant for three days starting on June 22, 2012.

Other automobile companies too have been observing NPDs (no production day), as high fuel and interest cost have dampened the consumer sentiment in the auto sector, with nearly all categories except that of two-wheelers taking a hit due to these factors. (IANS)

LONDON, June 28: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation will be split into two companies for its newspaper business and entertainment operations, it was reported here.

News Corp’s board voted unanimously to approve the plan after the firm revealed it was considering the split earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

The move will see the group’s 39 per cent stake in broadcasting giant BSkyB separately listed from the embattled UK newspaper arm News International.

News International has been the focus of the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World tabloid.

News Corp’s film and television businesses - including 20th Century Fox and the Fox broadcasting network - will be grouped in one company.

The other company will hold all News Corp’s publishing interests, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Sun, The Australian, The New York Post and publisher HarperCollins, the Mail said.

On Tuesday, News Corp said it was “considering a restructuring to separate its business into two distinct publicly traded companies”. (IANS)

NEW DELHI, June 28: Jaiprakash Power Venture Ltd (JPVL) on Thursday said its 1,000 MW hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh has been registered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for clean development mechanism (CDM) benefits.

The Karcham Wangtoo Hydro Electric Project is situated on Sutlej river. Built with an investment of Rs 6,900 crore, it is the largest hydropower project to be commissioned in the 11th Five Year Plan.

The project comprises an 88-metre high dam with an underground power house at Wangtoo. It involves about 45 km of tunneling, including the largest underground desilting arrangements in the world.

According to the company, it will provide 3.54 million of carbon dioxide reductions in a year.

At current rates, JPVL is expected to get carbon credits worth Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore per annum, and the crediting period is from October 15, 2011, till October 14, 2021, the company said in a statement.

The Jaypee Group through its company JPVL currently owns and operates three hydro power projects, namely 300 MW Baspa-II, 400 MW Vishnuprayag HEP, and 1,000 MW Karcham Wangtoo HEP, making it the largest producer of hydro power in the private sector. (IANS)

NEW DELHI, June 28: India’s oil marketing companies have decided to cut back petrol prices by Rs 2.46 a litre with effect from midnight, it was announced here on Thursday.

“The downward revision shall vary from Rs 2.46 per litre to Rs 3.22 per litre including state levies, depending upon the state taxes,” Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) said in the statement.

In Delhi, the price decrease will be Rs 2.46 per litre.

The decrease in other states would vary depending upon the respective rates of state VAT or sales tax.

In Delhi, the revised price for a litre of petrol would be Rs 67.78, in Mumbai it would be Rs 73.35 while in Chennai it would be Rs 72.27.

The revised price in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore will be Rs 72.74, Rs 74.89 and Rs 76.39 a litre.

The statement said that during the current financial year, IOC has already accumulated losses of Rs 1,053 crore on petrol sales during the first two months.

The current under-recovery on high speed diesel had gone up from Rs 6.13 a litre to Rs 10.20 a litre, on kerosene from Rs 24.16 a litre to Rs 30.53 a litre and on cooking gas from Rs 331.13 a cylinder to Rs 396.00 a cylinder as on June 16, it said.

At these rates, it was estimated that the under-recovery on sale of these products during 2012-13 shall be around Rs 83,000 crore. (IANS)

MOSCOW, June 28: Russian energy giant Gazprom will offer West European consumers 20 billion rubles ($615 million) in price discounts this year.

“Retroactive payments will amount to 20 billion rubles in 2012,” Gazprom deputy CEO Yelena Vasilyeva said on Thursday. Retroactive payment implies gas price discounts granted to consumers retroactively.

Gazprom cut gas prices for long-term contracts with European energy firms from early 2012 to bring them in line with trends on spot markets. (IANS)

NEW DELHI, June 28: Dispelling security fears, Afghanistan on Thursday assured Indian investors a business-friendly environment and said there are 17 key sectors, including mines, cement, steel and agriculture, in which they can invest and reap good returns.

“Please don’t write off Afghanistan. We are willing to pay personal attention to facilitate your investment in our country,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady said at the Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan here.

“We allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of enterprises, easy repatriation of profits, treat foreign investors identical to domestic ones, and we allow accelerated depreciation,” said Ahady.

“In many ways our Company Law gives shareholders the same rights that they enjoy in the US.”

Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul reminded the participants how investments could play an important role in restoring peace and stability in the region.

It was widely recognised and noticed throughout history that greater wealth creation and prosperity had a direct impact on improving security in a country and in the region, he said, referring to the inter-linked relationship between economic growth and security.

“I believe greater investments results in increased economic national activities in any country including, but not limited to, additional revenues, job creation, income generation opportunities which in turn leads to increased prosperity and service delivery,” Rassoul said.

The day-long summit is organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the Governments of India and Afghanistan.

Ahady said Afghanistan offered very good returns on investment, substantially higher than the investors can get in other countries.

“Even though there are some security risks, I am very firmly of the view that even when you take into account the high level of risk, the return on investing in Afghanistan is much greater than most other parts of the world,” he said.

The minister urged Indian investors to help Afghanistan develop its infrastructure and industries.

“Twenty years of war destroyed the infrastructure supporting these industries and while they have restarted, they often lack the technology, expertise and scale to be truly competitive,” he said. (IANS)