Shares of Microsoft Corp were set to open at a record high on Friday, after the company reported another blockbuster quarter, backed by growth in its legacy software business and Azure cloud computing services.

Shares of one of the technology world's oldest and best-known names rose 4 per cent to $108.50 in trading before the bell, potentially adding nearly $32 billion to a market capitalisation that was already $802 billion at close on Thursday.

Domestic bourses recovered after falling for two straight sessions in early trade on Friday as the benchmark Sensex recovered over 150 points driven by a fresh round of buying ahead of the no-confidence debate in Lok Sabha on Friday.

Besides, persistent buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) too influenced sentiment.

Microsoft has said its revenue and profit climbed in the recently ended quarter, getting results from its bets on cloud computing services and artificial intelligence.

The US tech giant reported its net income increased 10 per cent to $8.8 billion on revenue that was up 17 percent to $30.1 billion when compared with the same period last year.

The rupee recovered from its all-time low, rising 9 paise to 68.96 against the American currency in late morning deals on bouts of dollar-selling from banks and exporters amid higher domestic equities. The rupee rose to 69.01 from yesterday’s record closing level of 69.05 at the interbank foreign exchange here. The volatile domestic unit later slid to a fresh life-time low of 69.13 before recovering to 68.94 in morning trade; it was quoting at 68.96 at 1030 hrs.

Bajaj Auto Ltd on Friday reported 24.5 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 10.41 billion for the first quarter ended June 30, 2018 riding on robust sales.

The company had posted consolidated net profit of Rs 8.36 billion in the same quarter of the last financial year, Bajaj Auto said in a BSE filing.

India’s government is holding up Facebook Inc.’s plans for a nationwide launch of its WhatsApp payments service over concerns about how users’ data will be stored and other issues, according to people familiar with the matter.

The country’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MEITY, has asked WhatsApp and its partner banks to supply more details about the payments system, said ministry officials, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday reported a 12% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended June at Rs 1,025 crore on the back of healthy net interest income (NII) and improved asset quality. NII, or the difference between interest earned and interest expended by a bank, rose 15% to Rs 2,583 crore for the quarter.

The government has exempted state-owned explorer ONGC from the twin obligations of buying back its own shares and issuing bonus shares in the current fiscal, a move that would help the upstream hydrocarbon to not cut back on its capex plan of Rs 32,000 crore for the year.

Hyundai India, which turns 20 this year, is looking to ride on nostalgia to reconnect with consumers. From the launch of ‘family car’ Santro in 1998 that redefined the compact hatchback segment with its tallboy design, to its current portfolio of vehicles, the OEM is looking to transition from a mass brand to a modern, premium one.

BENGALURU: Infosys chief executive Salil Parekh cannot join a rival company for six months if he decides to leave the IT services firm.

Infosys has handed him an employment contract with strict and detailed terms, after facing flak over what critics called an overly generous agreement with his predecessor, Vishal Sikka, who had left the company after an ugly public spat with its founders.

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.