Top Stories
Sensex surges at open
India Infoline News Service / Mumbai Oct 31, 2008 10:00
At 10:00 am (IST), the BSE 30-share Sensex rose 544 points at 9,600 and the NSE Nifty was up 151 points at 2,848.
Markets have opened with a positive gap as bulls cheered the Fed decision of cutting key interest rates by 50bps. The early rally is come despite weak cues from the Asian markets.
All the 30-components of the Sensex are in the green with index pivotal like Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank and HDFC among the major gainers. At 10:00 am (IST), the BSE 30-share Sensex rose 544 points at 9,600 and the NSE Nifty was up 151 points at 2,848.
US stocks gained as easier credit and a report showing the economy shrank at a slower pace than expected in the third quarter brought some cheer.
The Dow Jones added 190 points, or 2.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.6% and the Nasdaq was up 2.5%.
In other global news, the US Gross domestic product, fell at an annual rate of 0.3% in the third quarter after growing at a 2.8% rate in the second quarter. The drop was not as bad as expected bringing some relief to the market. Exxon Mobil reported a profit of $14.83 billion, the biggest quarterly profit in US history.
American Express announced that it will cut 7,000 jobs, or more than 10% of its staff, amid the ongoing credit crisis. The dollar fell against the euro and gained versus the yen.
US light crude oil for December delivery fell $1.54 to close at $65.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $15.50 to settle at $738.50 an ounce.
Asian stocks retreated in the morning trades snapping three day rally after companies slashed profit forecasts and metals prices tumbled.
The Nikkei 225 Index was down 245 points or 2.7% at 8,784.The Hang Seng index slipped 601 points or 4.1% at 13,742. Shanghai Index was down 31 points or 1.4% at 1,737.
However, the Taiwan Taiex index gained 85 points or 2% at 4,768, Straits Times was flat at 1,799. While, Australia's S&P/ASX slipped 31 points or 0.8% at 3,968.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 2% to 86.4 as of 11:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge jumped 17 percent in the previous three days as the U.S. and China cut interest rates and the Federal Reserve agreed to provide emerging markets with $120 billion.
Japan's inflation slowed in September and employment prospects worsened. Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.3% from a year earlier, after rising 2.4% in August.
The yen rose for the first day in four against the euro. It also gained against the Australian and New Zealand dollars.