Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday strengthened against the US dollar, tracking the gains in Asian currencies markets.

Rupee closed at 64.06 a dollar, up 0.39% from its Friday’s close of 64.31. The rupee opened at 64.11 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.03 and 64.16, respectively. It closed to a 9 month closing high, a level seen 10 August 2016.

The Reserve Bank is expected to keep rates on hold this year as near-term inflation outlook is benign, but a cumulative 50 bps hike in 2018 is likely as growth accelerates, says a report. According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, the RBI is looking through the current low inflation prints and may keep policy rates unchanged in 2017. However, as growth and inflation pick up, a move towards tightening the policy bias with a cumulative 50 bps repo rate hike in 2018, starting next April, is expected.

Country's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will commence its Rs 16,000-crore mega buyback offer from May 18.

The buyback programme, which received shareholder approval last month, will open on May 18 and close on May 31, the company said in a regulatory filing.

New Delhi: ICICI Bank Ltd, India’s largest private sector bank, on Monday slashed interest rates by up to 30 basis points for borrowers availing home loans up to Rs30 lakh.

ICICI’s decision comes close on the heels of the State Bank of India and LIC Housing Finance reducing their home loan interest rates.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class range will now come with a smartphone-based digital key. Gemalto is providing its Trusted Services Hub (TSH) to support Daimler AG's new smartphone-based 'digital vehicle key'. With this new key, drivers will have freedom to lock or unlock their car using nothing more than an NFC smartphone. Gemalto's TSH enables seamless and secure over-the-air deployment of the digital keys to any type of phone that supports the solution.

The ‘ransomware’ cyberattack that has hit as many as 200,000 victims in over 150 countries should be treated by governments around the world as a “wake- up call”, IT giant Microsoft has said. The virus exploits a flaw in a version of Microsoft Windows first identified by US intelligence. The attacks exploited the computers because they were running outdated versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance) is planning to raise up to Rs 29,000 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and seeking shareholders’ nod for the same. In a notice to shareholders, the company said it “proposed to offer or invite subscriptions for secured or unsecured redeemable NCDs, including subordinated debentures in domestic and/or international market in one or more series or tranches, aggregating up to Rs 29,000 crore on a private placement basis”.

Idea Cellular shares fell over 8 per cent on Monday after the company announced its fourth quarter results on Saturday and posted a consolidated loss of Rs 325.6 crore in the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 as compared to a profit of Rs 449.2 crore in the same period a year ago. Idea Cellular said that the company’s poor performance was due to Reliance Jio’e entry into the telecom sector. Reliance Jio made its disruptive entry into the Indian mobile market space in September last year by making voice calls and 4G data free as part of its promotional offer that continued till March this year.

Markets regulator Sebi has penalised Rushil Decor, Corporate Strategic Allianz and six others for disclosure lapses in their IPO documents. Sebi has imposed a total penalty of Rs 7 lakh on Rushil Decor and signatories of the IPO prospectus — Vipul Vora, Ghanshyam Ambalal Thakkar, Krupesh Ghanshyambhai Thakkar, Harshadbhai Navnitlal Doshi, Shankar Prasad Bhagat and Hasmukh Kanubhai Modi.

Just six months ago, Indian companies and policy makers were grappling with a record-low exchange rate. Now, the rupee’s unexpected rebound is causing fresh problems. While the currency’s 5.6 percent jump against the dollar so far this year will help tamp down inflation, it’s posing a challenge for the earnings of India’s exporters. For information technology and drug companies already contending with an American clampdown on working visas and a wave of unfavorable inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it’s another headache.

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