Sensex in red, Titan Indus falls 11% on RBI ban on gold coin import

Following global cues, the Indian markets opened in the red today.

The BSE Sensex opened at 19253.22 down 0.66 percent, while the Nifty opened at 5702, down 0.60 percent

Rupee opened at 61.35 per dollar compared to 61.43/44 at close on Wednesday. However, by 9.20 am, the rupee slipped to 61.51 against the dollar.

Globally, Wall Street slumped on Thursday. The Dow dropped more than 200 points and US bond yields jumped to two-year highs. European markets too ended in the red. Asian markets tracked Wall Street losses and were trading negative in morning trade today.

Meanwhile, foreign investors seem to be increasingly wary about investing in India as the Reserve Bank of India battles to stem the rupee’s plunge and stop capital outflows that are pushing India toward its biggest crisis in more than two decades.

On Wednesday, RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao tightened rules on overseas investments to prop up the rupee. He cut the amount Indian companies can invest overseas without seeking approval to 100 percent of their net worth, from 400 percent.

Our money markets will be in focus today as the RBI announces a slew of measures to curb rupee volatility.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 earlier the finance minister clarified that these steps by the government must not be viewed as capital controls but simply tweaking of limit in order to rein in the rupee depreciation.

Stocks in news:

Titan Industries was the biggest loser in the BSE Sensex, down 11 percent as the RBI has notified a ban on import of gold coins & medallions. Other gold stocks such as Muthoot Finance also fell more than 2 percent.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is trading 1818.00, down 0.67 percent. Orange County in California, US, has filed a lawsuit against TCS for delays and cost over-runs in a software project.

Bharti Airtel is trading 1.08 percent up. Reports indicate that Singapore Telecom will buy around 3.62 percent of Bharti Airtel shares for about s$383.6 million. The effective interest in Bharti Airtel will be 32.34 percent from 30.76 percent.

Wockhardtshares traded 2.31 percent down in the morning as the company’s Chikal-Thana plant in Aurangabad is under FDA scanner now. The USFDA & MHRA have found deficiencies and form 483 has been issued.