On Wednesday, the equity benchmarks- Sensex and Nifty rallied heavily on back of strong global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 321.86 points to close on 31,770.89 while the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 103.15 points to end trading on 9,897.30. Both the indices gained more than a per cent uring the day.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is set to cut the interconnection usage charge (IUC) levied by telecom companies, according to a 13 August report in The Times of India. Trai chairman R.S. Sharma has said IUC recommendations will be framed by the end of the month, suggesting a final decision is yet to be taken.

But if IUC is indeed cut, it will be a double whammy of sorts for large incumbents.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is aiming to double its oil production in the next five to six years, revealed Dinesh K. Sarraf, Chairman and Managing Director, while addressing a gathering during the Independence Day celebrations here. In the past three years, despite oil prices tumbling to record lows, there has been a sustained production through incremental inputs, and new investment decisions that were taken ensured sustained volumes and financial growth. “Share of gas in India’s energy basket is set to increase from 6.5 per cent to 15 per cent. The government is focussed on making our economy gas-based”, said Saraf. Talking about the ONGC’s plans, Sarraf said many of the new projects are gas-based.

The two IT majors TCS and Infosys are on the radar of Sandip Bhatia, Head – India Equities, Macquarie Capital Securities. In conversation with ET Now, the expert said that the investors should look to buying these stocks from the IT space on dips. The year hasn’t been great for the these two majors, as both of them have underperformed the equity benchmark Sensex by a huge margin. While TCS has returned a paltry 4.39% in the year, Infosys has given negative returns of 2.8% since January this year. According to Bhatia, the markets are still offering buying opportunities at every dip.

Markets regulator Sebi has given nod for extension of Samir Shah’s tenure as NCDEX CEO and MD for six months even as advertisement has been issued by the commodity bourse for selection of a new candidate. Shah was appointed in 2013 as per the regulatory framework of erstwhile Forward Markets Commission (FMC) for three years till 2016. Later, his tenure was extended for an year till August 20, 2017. “The Sebi has extended the tenure for only six months and not two years because the regulator wanted the Board to ratify my appointment through a transparent Sebi-approved selection process,” Shah told PTI.

KOLKATA: Coal India Ltd (CIL), which produces 84 per cent of the country's total output of the mineral, has planned to invest Rs 8,500 crore as capital expenditure in 2017-18, its latest annual report said.

"The capital expenditure for the year 2017-18 has been set at (Rs) 8,500 crore," the miner said in its annual report.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL), India's largest healthcare provider by market value, is considering the acquisition of small hospitals in northern and western parts of India.

The company, which has been pursuing plans for the rights issue of around Rs 750 crore, said that it would look at other modes of fund raising also if the approvals for the rights issue is not coming by in next six months.

HDFC Bank plans to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore through infrastructure bonds. The proceeds could be deployed to finance projects in various infrastructure segments like power and affordable housing.

CRISIL has assigned “AAA” rating to the bonds. The overall rating continues to reflect the bank’s established market position and healthy capitalisation. It is supported by a strong asset quality, comfortable resource profile, and a robust earnings performance, the rating agency said in a statement.

TVS Motor, maker of two-wheelers and three-wheelers, plans to invest Rs 450-500 crore this financial year, mostly on new products.

Despite the impact created by demonetisation, the goods and services tax and higher emission norms, TVS says it is confident of a double-digit operating earnings margin.

The government has imposed a new penalty of $264 million (about Rs 1,700 crore) on Reliance Industries Ltd and its partners for producing less than the targeted natural gas from eastern offshore KG-D6 fields in 2015-16.

The total penalty now, which is in the form of disallowing recovery of cost incurred for missing the target during six years beginning April 1, 2010, stands at $3.02 billion, an oil ministry official said.

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