Sensex Falls On Global Jitters, Down 328 Pts; Gold Hits New High Of Rs 28,000; Tihar To Ramlila, Masses Rally Behind Anna

Friday, Aug 19, 2011 SPECIAL LEAD Click here for India Business Update Mobile Version SENSEX FALLS ON GLOBAL JITTERS; DOWN 328 PTS Shares fell nearly 2% on Friday to log their fourth straight weekly loss, their longest weekly losing streak since the Lehman collapse, as fears of the United States sliding into a recession triggered a global flight from risky assets. Infosys was the top loser, ending down 5.5% at Rs 2,224.70, its lowest closing level in 21 months. Sensex closed down at 16,141.67 points, with 21 components in the red, after having fallen as much as 2.9% to go below the 16,000-mark for the first time in about 15 months. The index dropped 5% this week, down almost 700 points, extending its losses to 14% in four straight weeks, its longest weekly losing streak since September 2008. read more GOLD HITS BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY GAIN TO CROSS RS 28K Gold climbed to an all-time high of Rs 28,150 per 10 gms posting its biggest-ever single day gain of Rs 1,310 amid frantic buying triggered by robust demand in global markets. read more TIHAR TO RAMLILA, MASSES RALLY BEHIND ANNA Thousands of people joined Anna Hazare's rally from Tihar Jail to Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi despite heavy rains as the anti-corruption crusader left prison after spending almost 70 hours there. The crowd swelled as Hazare's convoy passed through some of the important landmarks of the capital including Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi at the Rajghat. read more LOKPAL BILL IS NOT A MAGIC WAND: NANDAN NILEKANI Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India said that he finds Anna's protest naive and simplistic. He said, "I'm very much for removing corruption, but I think the statement that this is the only way to do it to the exclusion of all other things is... I mean, I find that very very impractical." read more TOP STORIES • One-fourth of market hits 52-wk low • IT shares hit 21-mth low on U.S. recession fears • U.S. Dow Jones slips in opening led by HP stock fall • HP to exit PC business, to buy Autonomy for $11.7 bn • 9 Oppn parties to hold nationwide protests on Aug 23 • Swiss banks info sharing to start from Sept: FM • Ratan Tata hits the road to push Nano sales • Mahindra topples Tata in market value • Now ONGC beats RIL to become 2nd most valued firm • Engineering exports jump 187% to $8.2 bn in July • Shipping Ministry plans SPVs to set up 7 major ports • Retrospective clause included in revised Land Bill • RComm puts tower unit on block for Rs 22,870 cr • RInfra challenges order to come under RTI ambit • Plan Panel sees 9% average growth for next 5 yrs • Higher tariff for power, water in 12th Plan: Montek • MCX-SX follows NSE, levies currency mkt charges • NSEL posts record increase in 'e-gold' turnover • Narayana Murthy logs last day as Infosys chairman • West Bengal renamed Pashchim Banga more stories TOP VIDEOS Let's Not Get Carried Away By The Idea That One Magic Bullet Is Going To Solve Corruption: Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI I Don't Think We Have Reached The Absolute Peak Of The Interest Rate Cycle: Keki Mistry, VC & CEO, HDFC Markets To Remain Volatile For The Next Couple Of Months: Shane Oliver, Head Investment Strategy, AMP Capital Investors We Have Been Relatively Pessimistic On India's Growth Outlook, Forecast GDP At 7.5% For FY12: Robert Prior-Wandesforde, Head of India & South East Asia Economics, Credit Suisse AT A GLANCE BSE 16141.67 -328.12 NSE 4845.65 -98.5 TURNOVER Rs. 206,269 cr BSE CASH Rs. 2,582 cr NSE CASH Rs. 12,750 cr NSE F&O Rs. 190,937 cr BULLION GOLD 27439 +265 SILVER 63367 +1677 CRUDE NYMEX 82.76 +0.38 BRENT 107.66 +0.67 FOREX $ / Re 45.66 -0.08 £ / Re 75.841 +0.36 € / Re 65.91 +0.38 EVENTS 23 August Karnataka To Hold Meeting With POSCO Officials Nine Opposition Parties To Hold Nationwide Protest On Corruption 24 August High Level Committee Under Textiles Ministry To Meet To Take Stock Of The Prevailing Situation, Tirupur, TamilNadu 25-26 August 2nd Annual Conference On Dredging In India, Needs & Requirements, Issues & Opportunities, Grand Hyatt, Mumbai 10th Oil & Gas HR Round Table, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai 26 August India SME Leadership Summit, Hyatt Regency, Mumbai EXPERT VIEWS "We will not leave this ground (Ramlila Maidan) till the Jan Lok Pal Bill is brought, you can sever my head but you cannot make me bow. Our protest is non-violent and the whole world will get inspiration from it. We will have to think how to ensure justice to the poor people of the country. The youth of the country is my strength and they have just woken up." Anna Hazare Social Activist "I would be called Chairman Emeritus. I will have a room which I can use if I want but as propriety demands, I will have no say in any matter, I will not be allowed to attend any board meetings or any meetings. I can meet anybody personally." NR Narayana Murthy Chairman Emeritus, Infosys "As the advanced economies grapple with their problems, India is better positioned than most other nations to meet its problems. The present crisis can be expected to encourage increase in the equity exposure by foreign pension funds and other long term institutional investors. India is well-positioned to capture this flow." Finance Ministry Statement WATCH OUT The Firm There's a perfect storm brewing in India's venture capital & private equity industry. New RBI regulations have hit them hard. And though a new Takeover Code may open up substantial investment opportunities, SEBI's most recent attempt to regulate Alternative Investment Funds could prove to be a big dampener! Will Private Equity survive this storm? 'The Firm' talks to Luis Miranda, Chairman - IDFC PE, Sameer Sain, Co-Founder & Managing Partner - Everstone Capital & Ashwath Rau, Partner - Amarchand Mangaldas. SHOW TIMINGS Fri 10.30pm Sun 9.30am & 11pm