Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices on Friday opened on a cautious note amid negative signals from other Asian markets, and mixed macro cues like weakening rupee and easing crude prices.

Breaking its three-day winning streak, the 30-share index turned choppy and was trading 25.93 points, or 0.07 per cent, lower at 35,903.71. The NSE Nifty saw similar movement, shedding 5.55 points, 0.05 per cent, to 10,786.00.

With borrowers delaying repayments on agri loans and delinquencies on the rise, State Bank of India (SBI) has been moving to limit losses in the agri segment by making loans backed by gold. Delinquencies follow announcements of farm-loan waivers by several states and resultant pressure on repayments. At the end of the September quarter, a fourth of the bank’s agri-loan book was backed by gold.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give more time to Reliance Communications (RCom) to clear dues of Rs 550 crore it owes to Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson India.

A bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman allowed RCom to withdraw its plea after it refused to entertain its senior counsel Kapil Sibal’s request for further extension of time.

Tech giant Google Thursday unveiled ‘Google Shopping’ in India that will allow users to easily filter through offers, review prices from multiple retailers and find products that they are looking for. The personalised experience will be available across various Google products — a Shopping home page, Shopping tab on Google Search and through Google Lens. Customers will be able to see trending products across different categories, various deals, and compare prices using the new offering.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Thursday set aside a regulation brought by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in February which prohibited incumbent operators from providing segmented offers (discounts which are not part of tariff package) to their high-Arpu subscribers.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will buy back 29.76 crore shares for about Rs4,435 crore and spend another Rs 6,556 crore on paying an interim dividend to shareholders as the government taps cash-rich PSUs to meet its budget deficit.

The board of the country’s largest oil firm on Thursday approved a buyback of up to 29.76 crore equity shares, or 3.06%, at Rs 149 per share, IOC said in a regulatory filing.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday said that he is the son of India, both physically and mentally.

Speaking at 'Silver Lecture Series' function of Mumbai's Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce, the Dalai Lama said: "Media from China and America asked what makes me a son of India.

The rupee on Friday opened 11 paise lower at 71.79 against the US dollar. The domestic unit snapped its three-day losing streak to end 33 paise higher at 71.68 Thursday amid a weak greenback and softening oil prices.

Newly-appointed RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das' comments that he will take all stakeholders along on key issues also bolstered sentiment on Thursday, analysts said.

Shares of telecom services provider such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have rallied by up to 6% on BSE in an otherwise subdued market after Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) quashes Trai's predatory pricing rule. Bharti Airtel has rallied 10% to Rs 333, while Vodafone Idea climbed 8% to Rs 37.60 on BSE in the intra-day trade.

Axis Bank, the country’s third largest private bank, today launched ‘QuikPay Home Loan’, a home loan offering that will let home buyers save the interest amount component of the loan. QuikPay Home Loan will offer an alternative repayment structure, wherein the customer repays an equal amount of principal every month along with interest on the outstanding balance.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.