The BSE Sensex plummeted over 424 points while the Nifty finished below the 11,000-mark on Friday, led by a sharp selloff in auto and metal stocks amid renewed concerns over the US-China trade conflict.

Investors preferred to book profits following robust gains over the previous few days, even as the risk appetite was tempered by valuation and macroeconomic concerns, traders said.

Exporters body FIEO Friday said the rate cut by the Reserve Bank would help exports as it will increase flow of credit.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said the move would particularly benefit MSME sector of exports.

Tennis star Sania Mirza Friday announced that a biopic on her will be made by Bollywood film-maker Ronnie Screwvala.

Sania said she has signed a contract for the biopic and the initial work has already begun.

Mumbai: Home loan borrowers waiting for lower interest rates may be disappointed. State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, on Friday announced a marginal reduction in home loan rates of 5 basis points for loans up to Rs 30 lakh up to Rs 30 lakh, effective February 7.

One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

The National Stock Exchange Friday said it will introduce a dynamic price band for futures contracts in order to prevent erroneous order entries.

There are no fixed price band applicable for stock futures contracts.

Some of the world’s first electric mobile libraries will enter into traffic in Gothenburg, Sweden, next summer. When Gothenburg City Library decided to invest in modern mobile libraries the choice was electric buses from Volvo.

Gothenburg City Library currently has two mobile libraries operating in and around the city, visiting about 70 mobile library stops and 110 preschools.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Friday reported a 12% year-on-year (yo-y) rise in consolidated net profits to Rs 1,504.5 crore for the three months to December supported by an increase in other income to Rs 342.28 crore.

Profitability at the automaker took a hit with the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins falling by 150 basis points year-on-year to 13.2%. The operating profit was marginally up by 0.7% y-o-y at Rs 1,702.85 crore.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) doesn’t have anything to argue as its loan is not secured with project assets but it is still delaying the case using arm-twisting and blackmailing tactics, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) counsel told the Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday during the hearing of Essar Steel insolvency case.

Mid-sized and large manufacturing industries, infrastructure and other core sector companies in India are facing strong headwinds owing to the current economic situation and global macro factors. The stress on various businesses is despite the fact that the fundamentals of these companies are strong and the promoters are fully committed to reviving their companies.

The struggles of India’s beleaguered real estate sector might end soon. A group of ministers on Friday batted for a cut in the goods and services tax (GST) rates on under-construction houses.

At its first meeting here, the panel, headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, favoured lowering of GST rates on under-construction houses, from 12 per cent with input tax credit (ITC) to 5 per cent without ITC.

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