HCL Technologies' market capitalisation (market-cap) touched Rs 3 trillion for the first time on Friday, becoming the fourth Indian information technology (IT) firm to achieve this milestone after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro.

Shares of HCL Tech hit a fresh record high of Rs 1,118.55, up 2 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade, surpassing its previous high of Rs 1,101 touched on Thursday in intra-day deal.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) hit a record high of Rs 1,648.40, up 1.6 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday, after the company’s heavy engineering arm won an order for Oxidation Reactor from Technip Energies-India. However, the company has not yet disclosed order size. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,647 hit on July 22, 2021.

The order, according to the company, is for the technologically critical Titanium Clad Reactor is for a public sector petrochemical project for purified Terephthalic Acid plant.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched vehicle scrappage policy and said that the policy is a significant milestone in India's development journey.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi informed about the launch and urged youth and start-ups to join this programme.

US regulators on Thursday said transplant recipients and others with weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge.

The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who are especially vulnerable because of organ transplants, certain cancers or other disorders. Several other countries, including France and Israel, have similar recommendations.

A Covid outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares.

The Port of Los Angeles, which saw its volumes dip because of a June Covid outbreak at the Yantian port in China, is bracing for another potential decline because of the latest shutdown at the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China, a spokesman said.

Canada is suffering a fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as variants of the virus continue to spread in the country, said Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam on Thursday.

Tam told a press conference that the country's national case count has taken a turn for the worse since late July, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the next step in the search of the origins of COVID-19 will be the creation of a new advisory group that will develop a global framework to study pathogens with pandemic potential.

The International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, is a new advisory group for WHO, which will be responsible for advising WHO on the development of a global framework to systematically study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential.

Shares of Aurobindo Pharma dipped 5 per cent at Rs 781 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday after the company reported a disappointing operational performance in June 2021 quarter (Q1FY22), amid decline across US market & antiretroviral (ARVs).

In Q1FY22, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) was down 1.7 per cent year on year (YoY) and 4 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) at Rs 770 crore.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has cited earlier Supreme Court (SC) judgments in its petition, urging the apex court to set aside its order of July 23 and re-hear the company's plea for rectification of error in the adju­sted gross revenue (AGR). Vi urged the SC to allow the Department of Telecommu­nications (DoT) to recalculate the AGR dues.

Vi's counsel Mukul Rohatgi has requested the SC to take cognisance of the matter and give the company another hearing.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Wednesday announced a new feature that will allow users to take their WhatsApp chat history with them when they change mobile operating systems.

The company said it will be introducing the ability to move the entire WhatsApp chat history -- including voice notes, photos and conversations -- seamlessly and securely if users choose to switch mobile operating systems.

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