Snapping its six-session falling streak, equity benchmark BSE Sensex ended 51.81 points higher on Friday, led by select finance and private bank stocks.

While subdued corporate earnings, foreign fund outflows and weak global cues continue to weigh on the markets, hopes of above-average rainfall in the next two weeks buoyed investor sentiment to some extent, traders said.

Telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday told WhatsApp’s global head Will Cathcart to enable traceability of messages to prevent untoward incidents. The WhatsApp chief assured the minister of all possible help, reports Kiran Rathee in New Delhi.

“I have conveyed to them that traceability shall be their job. A mechanism should be developed by them and the request for that will also come from appropriately high level so that there is no tinkering in-between.

Bajaj Auto on Friday reported a 1% Y-o-Y increase in its profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 1,126 crore for the quarter ended June 30. There was a 27% Y-o-Y rise in other income to Rs 441.25 crore that aided the growth in PAT. Bajaj Auto’s profit before tax fell 2% to Rs 1,579 crore. Total turnover grew 5% to Rs 8,197 crore while revenue from operations was up 4% to Rs 7,756 crore. The Ebitda got reduced by 9% to Rs 1,250 crore while the Ebitda margin contracted by 250 basis points Y-o-Y to 16.1%.

Vodafone Idea continues to be under competitive pressure with its net loss during the April-June quarter widening to Rs 4,908 crore compared to Rs 4,882 crore in the preceding quarter. The company, which had narrowed its losses during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal on the back of lower operating costs due to realisation of merger synergies,

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, on Friday posted a 27.3 per cent drop in net profit for the April-June quarter amid an industry-wide slowdown in demand, even as it beat analysts’ estimates. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1,435 crore in Q1FY20, compared to Rs 1,975 crore in the year-ago period.

Rain in August will play a crucial role in determining the final output of kharif crops this year.

The southwest monsoon has picked up over central and western India, but it is still below last year’s average. The average acreage of kharif sowing was below the past five years in several crops.

A unit of Reliance Communications Ltd., tycoon Anil Ambani’s distressed telecom firm, is seeking an extension from holders of its dollar-denominated bonds maturing Aug. 1, the company’s spokesman said.

Global Cloud Xchange is in discussions with holders of its 7% $350 million notes for a deal that would provide the issuer more time to discuss options on the maturity of the senior secured notes, the spokesman said in a statement.

New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday said it will revise export transactions related service charges to provide clear visibility of cost structures to traders.

The revised charges will be applicable from September 1, the country's largest bank said in a statement.

South Korean auto major Kia Motors is all set to roll out its first made in India mid- SUV, Kia Seltos, from its plant located in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh on July 31, according to company sources. "Kia Motors will roll out the first car from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Anantapur, in the state of Andhra Pradesh on July 31.

Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened on a cautious note on Friday tracking weak global cues, amid sustained foreign fund outflow.

The 30-share index was trading 3.11 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 37,834.09 at 0945 hours; and the broader Nifty was also quoting flat at 11,252.15.

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