Oil marketing companies hiked the price of petrol by 14-15 paise and that of diesel by 16-18 paise a litre the major metros on Friday. In Delhi, petrol prices were hiked by 14 paise to Rs 71.29 a litre as against Rs 71.15 yesterday. One litre of diesel can be purchased for Rs 66.48 in the national capital. In case of Mumbai, one litre of petrol can be purchased for Rs 76.93 up from Rs 76.79 per litre, implying a 14 paise hike.

The diesel cost has been raised to 69.63 in the financial capital. In Kolkata, one litre of petrol is retailing at Rs 73.39, while diesel can be bought for Rs 68.27. In Chennai petrol prices have been hiked to Rs 74.02, while consumers will now have to pay Rs 70.25 in Chennai. The revised rates are applicable from 6 am on Friday morning.

Shares of Bata India hit a new high of Rs 1,301 apiece, up 1 per cent on the BSE, surging 50 per cent in past four months after it reported a strong earnings growth in December 2018 (Q3FY19) quarter and foreign portfolio investors buying. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 6 per cent during the same period.

Thus far in the calendar year 2019 (CY19), Bata India has outperformed the market by gaining 15 per cent, against unchanged benchmark index. In CY2018, it soared 52 per cent, as compared to a 6 per cent rise in the Sensex.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday issued a statement, which The Hindu had early access to, condemning the Pulwama attack and underlining the need to hold those responsible accountable. Significantly Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been named on the statement as having taken responsibility for the attack.

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility, the statement said.

The rupee on Friday opened 1 paisa lower at 71.25 against the US dollar. The domestic unit ended 11 paise lower at 71.24 on Thursday as rising oil prices and a strengthening greenback weighed on the market sentiment.

Rupee consolidated in the range of 70.70 and 71.40 levels for the fifth successive session on Thursday.

Reliance Capital has invited its joint venture partner Nippon Life Insurance Co to make an offer to acquire its entire 42.88% stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management.

On announcement of this development, the shares of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management surged as much as 20% to close at `187.05 on BSE.

A Japanese space probe named after a falcon, Hayabusa 2, has touched down on an asteroid more than 300 million km from Earth on a mission to seek clues about the origins of life, Japan's space agency said on Friday.

The spacecraft's landing on the asteroid Ryugu, just 900 metres in diameter, came after an initial attempt in October was delayed because it was difficult to pick a landing spot on the asteroid's rocky surface.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued lookout circulars (LOC) against former ICICI Bank chief executive and managing director Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon managing director Venugopal Dhoot, The development comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a criminal case against them for alleged money laundering .

At the behest of the CBI, lookout circulars were issued against Kochhar's husband and Dhoot for all airports last year. According to The Economics Times, this is the first time LOC has been issued against Chanda Kochhar.

Shares of TVS Motor Company slipped to a 20-month low of Rs 456 apiece, down 2 per cent on the BSE on concerns of a likely rural slowdown and lower exports.

The stock of the two-wheeler (2W) company was trading at its lowest level since April 7, 2017. It underperformed the market by falling 15 per cent in the past one month, as compared to a 2 per cent decline in the benchmark index S&P BSE Sensex.

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were trading higher for the fifth straight session, rising 2 per cent to Rs 146 apiece on the BSE in intra-day trade after the company reported a strong December 2018 (Q3FY19) result.

In past one week, the stock of state-owned oil exploration firm outperformed the market by gaining 11 per cent against 0.30 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. It recovered 13 per cent from its 52-week low of Rs 129 touched on February 14, 2019, on the BSE in intra-day trade.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, on Wednesday said it was in talks with Reliance Industries and other Indian firms to invest in petrochemicals and refinery projects in the country.

“India is an investment priority for Saudi Aramco. There is a lot of growth potential. We are looking at additional investments in India. We are in discussions with other companies as well, including Reliance Industries,” Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority’s Saudi Forum meet.

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