Continuing its record-setting spree, the Nifty climbed over the 9,200-mark for the first time and the benchmark Sensex surged 239 points in early hours today, with foreign investors continuing to pump up money.

The broader NSE Nifty crossed the key 9,200-mark by surging 64.70 points, or 0.70 per cent, to trade at an all-time high of 9,218.40.

Shares of cigarette companies are in focus with ITC rallying over 5% in morning deals, after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Thursday cleared a proposal to cap the cess on tobacco and cigarettes.

ITC surged 7.5% to Rs 288 on BSE in intra-day trade. The stock was trading close to its lifetime high of Rs 292, touched on February 7, 2017.

Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party legislators on Thursday stormed the State Bank of India's corporate office at the Nariman Point demanding an apology from SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya for her statement that crop loan waiver disrupts credit discipline among borrowers as they expect future loans to be waived as well. Agitated Congress and NCP legislators led by the leader of opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil shouted slogans for over half-an-hour and threatened to table privilege motion in the state legislature. Opposition members left the SBI office after learning that Bhattacharya is out of Mumbai.

State-owned ONGC will invest over Rs 21,500 crore to develop India's deepest gas discovery by 2022-23, helping it more than double output from its prime KG basin block.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which had last year firmed up an investment of Rs 34,012 crore ($5.076.37 billion) in bringing to production 10 oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5), plans to invest another Rs 21,528.10 crore ($3.2 billion) in developing the ultra-deepsea UD-1 find.

State-owned Air India has opposed changes to guidelines of ownership and control that will make it easier for a foreign entity to fully own an airline in India. Private airlines have already opposed the proposed changes.

Two Air India executives that Business Standard spoke to confirmed the airline had conveyed its opposition to the proposed changes to the civil aviation and commerce ministries. The development could dampen the government’s zeal to relax norms in order to attract foreign direct investment.

New Delhi: To counter threat from Reliance Jio, state-run telecom firm BSNL on Thursday launched a new plan that offers 2 GB of 3G data per day and unlimited calling within its network for Rs339.

“The benefits customer will get under the Combo STV (special tariff voucher) of Rs339 are unlimited calls in BSNL network and unlimited data with fair use policy of 2 GB per day with validity of 28 days,” BSNL said in a statement. The offer is limited for 90 days.

New Delhi: Waaree Energies Ltd, one of India’s largest solar module manufacturers, has appointed consulting firm EY to raise around $100 million.

The fundraising effort comes in the backdrop of falling solar power tariffs because of plunging prices of solar modules. Module prices are expected to extend their drop in 2017 as global supply exceeds demand.

Telecommunication major Idea Cellular has reportedly sought higher valuation for its equity at above Rs 134 per share in the proposed merger with Vodafone India, even as the negotiation between the two to unite their businesses are close to finalisation, CNBC TV18 reported on Thursday citing unidentified sources. The price sought by Idea is at about 19% premium to its Wednesday’s closing price of Rs 112.9.

Idea is reportedly insisting on valuing its equity at base price of Rs 134 per share for further negotiations, since it was the price at which it last issues shares in a qualified institutional placement in 2014, CNBC TV18 reported.

Indian Oil Corp became India’s first refiner to buy light sweet Hibernia crude from Canada’s largest oil company, doing the deal after the opening of the arbitrage for Canadian oil to flow to Asia. A decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output strengthened Middle East benchmark Dubai against other regional markers, allowing oil from the Americas and Europe to be shipped to Asia at competitive prices. Production in North America, led by U.S. shale output, is increasing after supply cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries pushed oil prices to above $50 a barrel.

GUWAHATI: State-owned ONGC may shift its proposed new basin to Cachar in Assam from Agartala, where initial work had already begun last year.

The ONGC board is likely to take a decision on the upcoming second basin of North East in the next six months.

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