OnePlus 5T leak hints slim bezels, 18:9 screen: Here's speculations roundup

TECHNOLOGY NEWS - China-based smartphone maker OnePlus is reportedly working on the next iteration of its current year flagship OnePlus 5. Dubbed as ‘OnePlus 5T’, the upcoming smartphone’s image render has been leaked by Evan Blass on Twitter.
In a photo post uploaded on Twitter by Evan Blass, a famous tipster known for sharing inside information in the technology space, the upper front side of the still unconfirmed OnePlus 5T is revealed. Based on the image, it can be assumed that the phone will sport super slim bezels on sides and marginally slim bezels on top compared to its predecessor.
Based on earlier reports, the OnePlus 5T is also believed to sport a big 6-inch Optic AMOLED screen in 18:9 aspect ratio format with FHD+ resolution. Just like other smartphones with ultra-wide screens, the OnePlus 5T is reported to sport a fingerprint scanner on the back that will allow the phone to accommodate a big screen on the front with small bezels.
Recently, an online technology information portal, Android Authority, released OnePlus 5T’s purported picture render that showed the phone from an angle revealing the almost similar build but with a new widescreen and no fingerprint scanner on the front.

iPhone X debut: Will slow supply dampen Apple's hopes in India?

After facing a lacklustre response to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus globally, including in India, Apple has now placed its bet on successful delivery of "super premium" iPhone X that aims for a scheduled arrival on November 3.

In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and "off the charts" pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn't make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The scenario suggests that people will have to wait long before they can grab an iPhone X. Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.

The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256 GB variant.

According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, supply issues will have three main implications for Apple.

"Either the demand for iPhone X will shift to subsequent quarters or some part of the demand will be absorbed by iPhone 8 series if supply is delayed for long. In both the cases, it won't have much impact on Apple as its user base will remain within the iOS ecosystem," Pathak told IANS.

Infosys turns ex-date for share buyback and interim dividend

Infosys fell 2.5% at Rs 921 on the BSE intra-day trade after the stock turned ex-date for the proposed buyback and for interim dividend of Rs 13 per share.

On October 9, 2017, the Buyback Committee had approved and fixed Wednesday, November 1, 2017 to be the record date for determining the entitlement and the names of the equity shareholders, to whom the Letter of Offer will be sent and will be eligible to participate in the buyback which was approved in the board meeting on August 19, 2017.

The record date for the payment of interim dividend would also be November 1, 2017, subject to declaration of interim dividend by the board of directors of the Company in their meeting to be held on October 24, 2017, Infosys said in a regulatory filing. The board had declared an interim dividend of Rs 13 per equity share.

The board proposed to buyback equity shares from the eligible equity shareholders of the Company for an amount not exceeding Rs 13,000 crore. The Buyback offer comprises a purchase of up to 113 million equity shares aggregating up to 4.92% of the paid-up equity share capital of the Company at a price of Rs 1,150 per equity share. The buyback is proposed to be made from all eligible equity shareholders on a proportionate basis through the "Tender offer" route.

At 10:47 am, Infosys was trading 2% lower at Rs 927 on the BSE as compared to 0.21% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex and 0.48% fall in the sector index S&P BSE Information Technology.

21 stocks from BSE Smallcap index rally over 50% in October

GM Breweries, IFB Agro Industries, Sanwaria Consumer, HEG, Gujarat Borosil, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC), Saregama India, Balaji Amines and Bhansali Engineering Polymers were among 21 stocks from the S&P BSE Smallcap index, which rallied over 50% in the month of October.

The S&P BSE Smallcap index hit a new high of 17,625, surging 9% thus far in the current month. The index is set to post its biggest monthly gain in past 19 months. Earlier, in March 2016, the smallcap index had rallied 10% in a single month.

By comparison, the S&P BSE Midcap and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 8% and 6%, respectively during the current month.

Balaji Amines rallied 16% to Rs 515 on the BSE in intra-day trade today, after its board approved the investment in Balaji Speciality Chemicals Private Limited. The company said the said acquisition will help it expand its product portfolio and target domestic and export markets.

Meanwhile, Balaji Amines recorded 34% jump in net profit at Rs 29.16 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18) against Rs 21.73 crore in Q1FY17. The stock rallied 51% in past one month from Rs 337.

Sanwaria Consumer saw its market value appreciated by 220% from Rs 7.39 to Rs 23.69 on Tuesday. The company had reported three-fold jumped in its net profit at Rs 21.04 crore in Q2FY18. It had profit of Rs 6.59 crore in the same quarter last year.

GET ALL LIVE UPDATES ON MARKET

Mahindra Logistics IPO opens today: Should you invest?

STOCK MARKET - Mahindra & Mahindra subsidiary Mahindra Logistics (MLL), which will open its initial public offering on October 31, with a price band of Rs 425-429 per share, will be the first logistics firm to hit the market after the rollout of GST.  The offer will close for subscription on November 2, 2017.
The issue comprises sale of 1,93,32,346 shares, including offloading of 96,66,173 shares -- amounting to 13.74% stake -- by the parent firm Mahindra and Mahindra. Normandy Holdings would sell 92,71,180 shares, while Kedaara Capital would offloa 3,94,993 scrips. Normandy Holdings is a 100% subsidiary of Kedaara Capital.
The minimum bid lot for the offer is 34 equity shares and in multiples of 34 shares thereafter. The book running lead managers to the issue are Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and Axis Capital.

Here’s what the brokerages say about the issue:

Centrum Wealth Research
According to the brokerage, at the higher end of the price band of Rs 429, the issue is priced at P/E of 66.9x (post dilution) on FY17 basis, which appears to be expensive given the low financial performance (FY15-17 - revenue and PAT CAGR of 18% and 8%, respectively, with negative operating cash flows in the last 2 years).
“Even if money raised at such valuations was flowing into the company, it would have ultimately belonged to shareholders. But in this case 100% of the money raised is going to the selling shareholders and not into the company,” the brokerage added.
The issue looks expensive at the given valuation and clubbing that with the lackluster performance of other M&M group companies it becomes difficult to logically recommend subscribing to the issue, it said.

Jio effect: Airtel partners with Celkon, offers 4G smartphone at Rs 1349

India’s leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel on October 30 in partnership with Celkon launched a 4G Android smartphone for Rs 1,349. The phone comes bundled with Airtel's Rs 169 offer plan, which provides unlimited calls, and 500 MB data per day for 28 days.
The partnership is part of Airtel’s ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative, under which Airtel plans to collaborate with device manufacturers to launch smartphones at the price of a feature phone.

In terms of specifications, the Celkon Smart 4G smartphone sports a 4-inch screen, dual-SIM slots and FM radio. The Android powered 4G smartphone offers access to several apps on Google Play Store, including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The device will also come preloaded with apps from Airtel -- MyAirtel app, Wynk music and Airtel TV.

The phone comes bundled with Airtel Rs 169 offer plan, which provides unlimited calls, and 500 MB data per day for 28 days. Also, there is a cashback offer that entails to terms and conditions.


To avail a cashback offer, ancustomer needs to make a down payment of Rs 2,849 for the 4G smartphone and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169. The customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1,000 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1500.

In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, she/he has the flexibility of doing recharges of any denomination and validity as per individual requirements. However, to claim the cash refund benefit, recharges worth Rs 3,000 must be done within the first 18 months (to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500) and another Rs 3,000 over the next 18 months (to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1000).     

New Year disruption plan: Now, Reliance Jio moves to broadband, TV space

After its success in mobile telephony, Reliance Jio is preparing to disrupt the market once again. This time in the fixed broadband and television (TV) space.

The Mukesh Ambani-led company will launch high-speed fibre to the home (FTTH) broadband in more than 30 cities early next year, to offer TV as well as internet to subscribers, it is learnt.

Jio has mapped out a plan to address over 100 million TV households across these cities, including Tier II and III, by ensuring dense fibre presence for last-mile connectivity to homes. In the first phase itself, at least 50 million households will be offered the service, according to sources in the know.

Jio has already spread out over 300,000 kilometres of optic fibre (half of which is through a long-term contract with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications).

In fact, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, in his annual general meeting speech this year, indicated that Jio was on track to offer high-speed broadband services. The infrastructure was in place and it would be the next big monetisation opportunity for the company, he had said.
READ MORE

Offshore India funds, ETFs pump in $6 bn in Jan-Sep

STOCK MARKET - Optimistic of the country's long-term growth prospects, India-focussed offshore funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have pumped in nearly $6 billion in the first nine months of the year.

In contrast, these funds had pulled out $1.73 billion in January-September of 2016, according to a Morningstar report.


The offshore India fund -- not domiciled in India -- receives flow from overseas investors and in turn, invests the money in Indian markets.

India-focussed offshore funds and ETFs are a subset of the overall foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows.

According to the report, India-focused offshore funds invested $4.96 billion during January-September of the year while those of ETFs witnessed an infusion of $747 million, taking the total to $5.7 billion.

On a positive note, the money largely came into offshore funds which signify long-term money as against offshore ETF, where the money is largely short-term.

"I still feel that the long-term story is intact and solid and we will continue to get long-term money through the fund route," said Himanshu Srivastava, Senior Analyst Manager Research at Morningstar India.

During the July-September quarter, offshore funds and ETFs together witnessed an inflow of $935 million, which was lower than $2.77 billion seen in the preceding three months.

"One of the major reasons which is working against emerging markets is the increased tension on the Korean peninsula due to the stand-off between the US and North Korea," Srivastava said.

Besides, India is more impacted largely due to the delay in the pick-up of economic growth. This, coupled with expensive valuations, makes it a tricky situation, he added.

Market check: Buy Cipla, Apollo Tyres and Raymond

Few trading ideas by Vaishali Parekh, Research Analyst - Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher:
NIFTY VIEW:
The daily and weekly trend in Nifty continues to be up while the monthly trend would turn up with a close above 9,950. The support for the week is seen at 10,150 while resistance is seen at 10,500. Nifty would now have near term resistance at 10,500.

BUY CIPLA  
CMP: Rs 625.05    
TARGET: Rs 680    
STOP LOSS: Rs 600
The stock has made a higher bottom formation pattern in the daily chart signifying a positive bias in the upward direction and also the sentiment in the pharma sector has improved, thus supporting our view of a pullback. The RSI has also been on the rise and recently has shown a trend reversal signaling a buy. Overall the trend has been on the rise and with volume activity looking decent, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of Rs 680 keeping a stop loss of Rs 600.

BUY APOLLO TYRES  
CMP: Rs 243.50    
TARGET: Rs 265  
STOP LOSS: Rs 230
The stock has been in consolidation phase for quite some time at around Rs 240, and now has shown a positive candle pattern in the daily chart indicating strength and potential to gain further upside to scale around Rs 265 levels. The RSI has indicated a trend reversal signaling a buy and showing a positive bias. With good volume participation witnessed, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of Rs 265 keeping a stop loss of Rs 230.

GET LIVE UPDATES ON MARKET

ONGC hits 5-month high as Q2 profit beats estimates

STOCK MARKET - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) hit a five-month high of Rs 190, up 3% on the BSE in early morning trade after the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, reported a 3.1% increase in second-quarter profit at Rs 5,131 crore, on back of higher oil prices. The net profit in September 2017 quarter (Q2FY18) was better than expected against an average analysts estimates of Rs 4,543 crore. The stock was trading at its highest level since May 11, 2017.

Revenue was up 3.1% at Rs 18,966 crore in Q2FY18 against Rs 18,395 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.
ONGC said oil production was up almost 1% to 6.45 million tonnes in Q2 while natural gas output was up 7.7% at 6.25 billion cubic metres.

“The company notified 9 discoveries so far in FY’18 out of which 4 discoveries have been made since last press release on 27th July, 2017 (1 new prospect and 3 new pool discoveries). Out of the four discoveries, two discoveries each have been made in offshore blocks and onshore blocks,” ONGC said in a press release.

The board has approved an interim dividend of 60%, i.e. Rs 3 on each equity share of Rs 5.

Antique Stock Broking maintain BUY rating on the stock as marginal EBITDA miss aside,  analyst feel earnings otherwise are largely in-line and even as crude price environment has gradually improved to USD 60/bbl (Brent) vs an average of USD 53/bbl YTD, trading at just 8.3x FY19e, the stock is not fully factoring in the same.

In addition incremental gas production coupled with a higher gas price (revised upward for Oct'17-Apr'18) should further aid earnings, the brokerage firm said in Q2FY18 result review.

WhatsApp's 'Delete for All' feature for photos, text, GIFs: Learn to use it

Are you guilty of ever sending a text message to a person it wasn't meant for? These mistakes are followed by embarrassment and waste of the receiver's time. The moment you hit enter, you are met with this sinking feeling of doom, knowing that you can't revoke the message. WhatsApp, however, has now come up with a feature that may come to your rescue. Starting today, iOS, Android and Windows phone users can recall the wrongly sent messages or messages that are mistakenly sent to the other chats, through WhatsApp's newly developed feature. According to wabetainfo.com, the messaging application owned by social media giant Facebook had been working on this feature since 2016.

Delete for All feature
The Delete for Everyone feature works for any message type in WhatsApp: text messages, images, videos, GIFs, voice messages, stickers (in future), contact cards, files, locations, quoted messages and status replies.

WhatsApp's Delete for Everyone feature doesn't work for in every circumstance:
— Message contained in a quoted message cannot be revoked
— Users can delete messages sent in a Broadcast List
— Messages can be recalled only within 5 minutes of time frame
— The feature works only if both sender and receiver are using the updated version of WhatsApp
— The feature does not work for Symbian OS

Learn to use this feature

Apple iPhone X pre-booking starts today; base model priced at Rs 89,000

After launching iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple is gearing up to bring its anniversary edition iPhone X to India on November 3. The smartphone will be available for pre-registration through e-commerce platforms starting today.

Apple iPhone X will be available in two colour variants – silver and space grey – and both the variants will come with two storage options – 64 GB and 256 GB. The price of iPhone X will start at Rs 89,000 for the base model.

In terms of design and features, the iPhone X sports glossy stainless steel frame body covered on the front and back by a glass design. It has a wide 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display. The glassy back is accentuated by a vertically placed 12-megapixel dual camera set-up, which supports optical image stabilisation (OIS).

On the front, a new 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera enables auto image stabilisation and precise exposure control, and brings the portrait mode to the front camera for stunning selfies with a depth-of-field (Bokeh) effect.

The iPhone X dual camera set-up boasts a f/1.8 aperture on the wide-angle camera and an improved f/2.4 aperture on the telephoto camera for better photos and videos. A new quad LED True Tone Flash offers twice the uniformity of light and includes Slow Sync, which brings more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds.

The cameras on the iPhone X are custom-tuned for the augmented reality (AR) experience. Each camera is individually calibrated with new gyroscopes and accelerometers for accurate motion tracking.

Pharma shares in focus; Sun Pharma gains 4% in intra-day deals

STOCK MARKET - Shares of pharmaceutical companies were in focus, trading higher by up to 7% on the bourses in otherwise range-bound market. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Unichem Laboratories, Ipca Laboratories, Wockhardt, Marksans Pharma, Cadila Healthcare and Aurobindo Pharma were up in the range of 3% to 8%.

At 12:18 PM; Nifty Pharma index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 2.6% as compared to 0.02% decline in the Nifty 50 index. The S&P BSE Healthcare index too up 2% against 0.22% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Sun Pharma was up 4.5% to Rs 555 in intra-day trade, extending its Thursday’s 1.5% gain on the BSE, after the company said its subsidiary has received approval from the US health regulator to market generic version of GSK's Coreg CR, extended release capsules in the American market.

Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical companies are expected to post better results in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter of the current fiscal, following recovery in the domestic business and several launches in the US market, a report says.

“Pharma companies would report a sequential respite in earnings as domestic business stages a rebound after Goods and Service Tax (GST)-led woes dampened what was already a bruising US operating environment in the previous quarter. YoY we still expect pain to linger as an elevated 10-12% price erosion and high base of F17 lead to unfavourable comparison,” analyst at IIFL Wealth Management said in Q2FY18 result preview.

Bharti Infratel, Bharti Airtel down over 4%

Shares of Bharti Infratel and Bharti Airtel slipped up to 7% on the BSE in an other wise range-bound market.

Bharti Infratel dipped 7.5% to Rs 422 on the BSE in early morning trade. The counter reported a huge block with around 6.42 million equity shares representing 0.34% of total equity of Bharti Infratel exchanging hands on the BSE at 10:42 am, the exchange data shows.

The name of the buyers and sellers were not ascertained immediately.

At 11:29 am; Bharti Infratel was down 6% at Rs 428, while Bharti Airtel was trading 4% lower at Rs 489 on the BSE. By comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.11% at 33,183 points.

In the past one month, Bharti Airtel (up 32%) and Bharti Infratel (up 21%) had outperformed the market by gaining more than 20%, against 5% rise in the benchmark index till Thursday.

GET LIVE UPDATES ON MARKET

YES Bank dips 10% on weak asset quality performance in Q2

STOCK MARKET - YES Bank dipped 10% to Rs 299 on the BSE in early morning trade after the private sector lender saw significant weakening of its asset quality in September 2017 quarter (Q2FY18).

The bank’s gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio rose to 1.82% in Q2FY18 from 0.97% in June quarter (Q1FY18), while Net NPA rose to 1.04% from 0.39% in previous quarter. It saw a rise in NPAs by Rs 6,355 crore as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked it to restate bad loan figures for FY17.

However, Yes Bank posted a strong operating performance with a 25% year on year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 1,002 crore, backed by growth in net interest income and fees. Its net interest income (NII) grew by 33.5% YoY to Rs 1,885 crore driven by robust 34.9% YoY increase in advances and strong expansion 30 BPS YoY (flat sequentially) in net interest margin (NIM) which was at 3.70%.

While the business growth of Yes Bank continues to be enthusing, the brokerage firm Sharekhan believes that the markets and investors will be worried over the large divergence amount reported by the bank.

“Notwithstanding the fact that in past, the bank management have been fairly successful in ring-fencing, enforcing collaterals and effect recovery in GNPA assets, we believe, that the recent developments raise concerns which will weigh heavy on the stock performance in the near term,” the brokerage firm said in stock update.

At 09:45 AM; the stock was down 6.5% to Rs 310 on the BSE, as compared to 0.13% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter more than doubled with a combined 32.16 million shares changed hands on the BSE and NSE so far.

In past seven trading days, YES Bank has dipped 20% from Rs 373 on October 17, 2017, against 1.8% rise in the benchmark index.

Watch Samsung hand out free Galaxy Note 8 to 200 flight passengers

After several incidents of its handsets catching fire, Samsung distributed Galaxy Note 8 smartphones to 200 passengers in a flight in Spain. This comes a year after the previous model, Note7, had to be recalled and prohibited from being carried in flights after several reports of its batteries catching fire.

On a Coruna-bound plane from Madrid, the company distributed the device for free along with the text: “(translated) A year ago we asked you to turn it off, we welcome you today on board”.

Te dejamos un resumen de lo que hemos vivido con @iberia y #note8abordo  200 caras de felicidad

Samsung Galazy Note 8 was launched after the flurry of complaints Galaxy Note 7 catching fire. Post the announcement of several safety measures, Samsung launched a few flagship devices: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and the Galaxy Note 8 on 15 September, 2018.

The Galaxy Note 8 price in India is Rs 67,900. During the launch, the company reiterated that the device is totally safe to use.

The move to distribute the phones for free is can be seen as an attempt to rebuild the brand trust after Galaxy Note 7 debacle. It was a surprise gesture  for the passengers who had no idea that they would be getting a phone that costs nearly $1000 in Spain for free. 

Apple offers international warranty on iPhones in India: Report

Apple has introduced international warranty on iPhones in India, according to a report in GSMArena – a technology portal. The new warranty clauses allow iPhone users to get their devices diagnosed, repaired and checked around the globe and will be covered under Apple’s warranty terms and conditions.

Apple offers international warranty on almost all its product. iPhones were kept out of international warranty till now. With new warranty terms at place, the company is expected to honour the warranty terms irrespective of the geography or the country of origin.

However, only the factory-unlocked versions of the iPhones are eligible for international warranty. Carrier-locked models still does not get international warranty, even if the user manages to unlock them.

The move might significantly spike the imports of iPhones in India from abroad as the devices cost significantly cheaper in other markets such as the US, than in India.

RCom shares fall 5% as the company plans to shut down 2G operations

Continuing to fall for the second straight session, shares of Reliance Communications today fell by nearly 5 per cent amid buzz that the debt-ridden company is planning to shut down its wireless telephony business.

After a weak opening, shares of the company further lost 4.55 per cent to Rs 15.70 - 52-week low - on BSE.

On NSE, the stock lost 4.86 per cent to hit a one-year low of Rs 15.65.

The stock had fallen by over 3 per cent yesterday. On Tuesday it had declined by 3.95 per cent.

RCom plans to shut down its loss-making wireless telephony business by November 30 and concentrate only on 4G Internet services, according to sources.

"As already announced on October 1, 2017, RCom has decided to adopt a 4G-focused strategy for profitable growth of its wireless business. Accordingly, RCom will be optimising its 2G and 3G footprint, and related infrastructure and human resources, with effect from November 30, 2017," the company said in a statement yesterday.

RCom said its "4G-led strategy will be executed, as at present, on the back of capital-light access to Indias most extensive 4G mobile network, through already operational spectrum-sharing and ICR arrangements with Reliance Jio".

Market view: Nifty faces resistance at 10,350 levels

MARKET VIEW
The trend of all periodicities are in green for Nifty, market once again sees participation from many sectors, as we are approaching the expiry of October future contracts. The support for the day is seen at 10240 while resistance is seen at 10350.

BUY INDIA CEMENTS     CMP : 189.95        TARGET : 215       STOP LOSS : 177
The stock has been in consolidation phase for some time at around 180 – 183 levels and now it has given a breakout that level and is regaining strength and has potential to rise from here on to scale the level of 215 and above. The RSI has shown a trend reversal recently and has signaled a buy in this stock. The stock has maintained above the 200 DMA and is showing a positive bias to gain further. We recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 215 keeping a stop loss of 177.

BUY JP ASSOCIATES       CMP : 20.20       TARGET : 23      STOP LOSS : 18.50
The stock has been in a consolidation period for some time and now has produced a positive candle pattern in the daily chart which signifies strength and with the RSI showing a strong trend reversal, we anticipate further gain in the stock to rise to 23-24 levels in the coming days. With decent volume participation witnessed, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 23 keeping a stop loss of 18.50.

BUY  NAVKAR CORP      CMP : 197.65       TARGET : 220      STOP LOSS : 188
The stock has recently made a double bottom formation in the daily chart and has recovered significantly to give a breakout above the previous peak level of 202. The stock has now got potential to carry on with this rally to scale the level of 220 and further higher with strength. We recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 220 keeping a stop loss of 188.

L&T up 3% on order win of Rs 3,551 crore

STOCK MARKET - Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up 3% at Rs 1,243 on the BSE after the company announced that its construction arm has won orders worth Rs 3,551 crore across various segment. The stock had rallied 6% on Wednesday.

“The company’s transportation infrastructure & water effluent treatment business have jointly bagged an order worth Rs 1,123 crore from a prestigious government client for design and construction of smart trunk infrastructure with roads, storm water drains, water supply network, sewerage network and others,” L&T said in a press release.

The company’s transportation infrastructure business has won engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) order worth Rs 777 crore from the Public Works Department, Delhi for the construction of integrated transit corridor development plan in and around Pragati Maidan, it added.

Water & effluent treatment business has received EPC orders worth of Rs 572 crore, while building & factories business has secured an order worth of Rs 866 crore and smart world & communication business has bagged an order amounting of Rs 213 crore, the company said.

At 10:40 AM; the stock was trading at Rs 1,236, up 2.6% on the BSE, as compared to 0.31% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 2.2 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.

New Instagram update allows you to go 'live' with a friend

Photo and video sharing social networking platform Instagram on Wednesday announced a fun feature to go live with a friend.

The platform introduced live broadcast with a friend feature, which will help one share new updates through video in an authentic way.

Whether one is just doing homework or is out on a trip, they can go live with a friend with Instagram's new rollout feature.

This new feature is extremely easy to use and one can add a guest while broadcasting.

It allows a simple tap on the new icon on the bottom right of the app and tap "Add" to invite anyone who's currently watching the live stream. Once your friend joins, the screen will split into two and your friend will pop up right below you.

One can also remove the guest and add someone else at any time, or the guest can choose to exit on their own.

Share your live video to stories when your broadcast has ended, or choose "Discard" and your live video will disappear from the app as usual.

Earlier, Instagram introduced live video in November 2016.

These updates are available as part of Instagram version 2.0 available for iOS in the Apple App Store and for Android in Google Play.

Micromax Bharat-2 vs Karbonn A40: Voda, Airtel offer affordable smartphones

Vodafone India on October 24 announced inked a pact with Micromax to roll out a 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 999. Dubbed as Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra, the smartphone will go on sale in November. Recently, Bharti Airtel also collaborated with Karbonn Mobiles to offer a 4G smartphone – the Karbonn A40 Indian -- at an effective price of Rs 1,399.
The launch of budget smartphones seems to be the incumbents answer to Reliance JioPhone, which is a 4G LTE-enabled feature phone bundled with Jio connection for free data, voice calls, roaming, SMS and access to Jio apps.

Here is everything you need to know about the new offers and budget 4G smartphone
Vodafone
Smartphone: Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra

Specifications: The smartphone is powered by Spreadtrum SC9832 1.3 Ghz quad core processor coupled with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA display, a 2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 MP front camera. The handset runs on Android Marshmallow operating system and houses a 1,300 mAh battery.

Offers: As per the company's offer, one will have to buy the smartphone at Rs 2,899 and will have to recharge their new or existing Vodafone numbers with a minimum denomination of Rs 150 every month for three years.The buyer will get a cash back of Rs 900 at the end of 18 months and another cash back of Rs 1,000 after the next 18 months (36 months after purchase) in Vodafone "M-Pesa" wallet.

Reliance Nippon IPO oversubscribed within five minutes on first day

STOCK MARKET - The initial public offer (IPO) of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) got oversubscribed 2.45 times soon after opening of bids, making it the first ever IPO to get full subscription within five minutes.

The IPO to raise an estimated Rs 1,542.42 crore opened on Wednesday morning and received bids for 10,48,57,278 shares against the total issue size of 4,28,40,000 shares (excluding anchor portion), as per data available with the NSE till 1130 hours.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's asset management arm on Tuesday raised a little over Rs 462 crore from anchor investors.

The public issue will close on October 27. The company has fixed the price band at Rs 247-252 per equity share.

It is the first initial share sale by a major asset management company (AMC) in India though smaller rival UTI Mutual Fund's IPO plans have been in the works for a long time.

Also, it is the first IPO from the Reliance Group after Reliance Power in 2008. Other listed firms of the group included Reliance Capital, Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Communications, Reliance Naval & Engineering and Reliance Infra.

RCom nears record low on talk of closure of DTH business

Reliance Communications (RCom) dipped 5% to Rs 16.15 on the BSE in intra-day trade in an otherwise strong market after media reports suggested that the telecom company shutting down its direct-to-home (DTH) business. The stock was trading close to its record low of Rs 15.90 touched on October 12, 2017 in intra-day trade.

According to a Business Standard report, RCom, which is in the midst of a debt restructuring, is shutting down its direct-to-home television business from next month after it failed to find any buyer for the business.

RCom earlier tried to sell the company to rivals including the Sun group but later backed out citing low valuation. The company claims 5 million subscriber base as compared to Dish-Videocon merged entity which has close to 28 million subscribers, added report.

The BSE said the Exchange has sought clarification from Reliance Communications on October 25, 2017 with reference to news appeared in www.business-standard.com dated October 25, 2017 quoting "RCom to shut down DTH business next month". The reply is awaited.

At 11:31 AM; the stock was trading 2.3% lower at Rs 16.60 on BSE, as compared to 0.95% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 23.63 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE.

In past three months, the stock tanked 35% from Rs 25.50 against 2% gain in the benchmark index. It touched a 52-week high of Rs 47.75 on October 25 last year and an all-time high of Rs 844 on January 10, 2008 in intra-day trade.

Infosys trades firm post September-quarter earnings

Infosys was trading firm at Rs 938, up 1% on BSE at 10:25 AM; after the company delivered in-line financial performance for the quarter ended September, 2017 (Q2FY18).

The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 944, bouncing back 3% from its early morning low of Rs 915 on the BSE. A combined 3.63 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.

Infosys said second-quarter profit grew 7% to Rs 3,726 crore on quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, beating average analysts estimates of Rs 3,491 crore in Q2FY18. Revenue grew 2.9% to Rs 17,567 crore on sequential basis.

Infosys however, cut its growth forecast for the year ahead by 200 basis points, much steeper than estimates, citing a weak second half of the financial year.

Analyst at Antique Stock Broking recommends buying on the stock in any correction driven by guidance cut.

“Infosys 2QFY18 performance was broadly in-line but the cut in FY18 guidance was higher than expected. The constant currency (CC) revenue growth of 2.2% QoQ is in-line with our estimates but below consensus expectations of 2.7%. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins at 24.2% were 80bps ahead of consensus estimates,” the brokerage firm said in Q2FY18 result preview..

GET LIVE UPDATES ON MARKET

OnePlus 5T leaks hint 18:9 screen, fingerprint scanner on back: Know more

China-based smartphone maker OnePlus is reportedly working on the next iteration of its current year flagship. Dubbed as ‘OnePlus 5T’, the upcoming smartphone recently appeared in the tech forums.

Going by the purported report that confirms the existence of 5T model, it is believed that the device would sport a bigger screen in 18:9 aspect ratio format with FHD+ resolution. Also, OnePlus would shift the fingerprint sensor on the back side to accommodate a bigger screen on the front with small bezels.

An image shared by Android Authority, an online technology portal,  gave a glimpse of the upcoming flagship model from OnePlus. In the picture, the phone is shown from an angle revealing the speaker at the bottom, same chassis as that of OnePlus 5 and a new wider format screen.

is speculated that the smartphone would sport similar specifications as that of OnePlus 5 except for a potentially bigger battery.

OnePlus 3T was launched in 2016 and appeared almost identical to OnePlus 3 but with an improved processor, front and back cameras and sapphire glass protected lens cover.

Recently, GSMArena stated that the company would launch the OnePlus 5T on November 5 but the report was later corrected after the company issued a statement denying any such plans.

Vodafone, Micromax offer 4G LTE Android smartphone at Rs 999: Details here

Telecom major Vodafone has inked a pact with Micromax to roll out a 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 999. Dubbed as Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra, the smartphone will go on sale in November.

As per the company's offer, one will have to buy the smartphone at Rs 2,899 and will have to recharge their new or existing Vodafone numbers with a minimum denomination of Rs 150 every month for three years.The buyer will get a cash back of Rs 900 at the end of 18 months and a cash back or Rs 1,000 after the next 18 months in Vodafone "M-Pesa" wallet, thereby making the effective price of the handset Rs 999.

The smartphone is powered by Spreadtrum SC9832 1.3 Ghz quad core processor coupled with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA display, a 2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 MP front camera. The handset runs on Android Marshmallow operating system and houses a 1,300 mAh battery.

step 1: The customers can buy the Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra smartphone by making a down payment of Rs 2,899

Step 2: To avail the cashback, which is valid only for existing and new Vodafone subscribers, customers need to make a recharge of any denomination that sums up to minimum of Rs 150 per month for 36 months

Step 3: After 18 successful recharges per month for 18 months, users will receive a cashback amounting to Rs 900 in their Vodafone M-Pesa wallet, and another Rs 1,000 after completing 36 months
Other details of the offer

GHCL dips 9% on disappointing Q2 results

GHCL dipped 9% to Rs 228 on the BSE after the company reported 41% year on year (YoY) decline in its standalone net profit at Rs 53.32 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18), due to higher raw material and fuel cost. The company engaged in commodity chemicals business had profit of Rs 90.28 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue from operations (net of excise duty) during the quarter under review grew 8.4% at Rs 714 crore against Rs 659 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Total expenditure rose 10% to Rs 638 crore from Rs 580 crore.

The company’s home textiles segment recorded loss before interest and tax of Rs 6 crore during the quarter. It had posted profit before interest and tax of Rs 40 crore in previous year quarter.

The stock has fallen 13% in past two trading sessions from Rs 261 October 19, 2017. In October month, it outperformed the market, rallied 24% against 3.5% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex till Thursday.

Havells India falls 6% post September-quarter earnings

Havells India dipped 6% to Rs 512 on the BSE in intra-day trade in otherwise firm market after the company reported single digit growth in standalone net revenue (excluding Lloyd) at Rs 1,508 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18).  It had net revenue of Rs 1,452 crore in Q2FY17.

Net profit of the company during the quarter under review grew 9% to Rs 159 crore against Rs 146 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

“The transition to Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime which led to the decline in primary off take starting May 2017, continued its impact on the business during the quarter,” Havells India said in a press release.

We believe that GST would render long term benefits though currently it is disruptive in impact. We are experiencing slowdown in demand due to perceived higher pricing of electrical products and slower primary re-stocking post GST de-stocking in June, it added.

ONGC hits over four-month high; stock up 3% on heavy volumes

.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gained 3% to hit over four-month high of Rs 177 on the BSE in early morning trade on heavy volumes. The stock is trading at its highest level since June 5, 2017.

In the first 10 minutes of trade, a combined 2.62 million shares have already changed hands on the counter, as against an average 4.8 million shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on the BSE and NSE.

The state-owned oil exploration & production company has fixed November 06, 2017 as the record date for the purpose of payment of first interim dividend for the financial year 2017-18 (FY18). The board of directors of ONGC scheduled to meet on October 28, 2017, to consider un-audited financial results of the company for the quarter/half year ended on September 30, 2017 (Q2) and declaration of ‘First Interim’ dividend for F.Y. 2017-18.

Edelweiss Securities expect a strong Q2FY18 for ONGC, with profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 5,200 crore, up 34% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

“We estimate oil and gas production to rise 2%/11% year-on-year (YoY). We also estimate oil realisation to increase 4% QoQ,” the brokerage firm said in result preview Q2FY18.

GET LIVE UPDATES ON MARKET

RJio's 4G feature phone faces stiff competition from Micromax Bharat-1

Micromax on October 17 launched Bharat-1, a 4G LTE-enabled feature phone with multimedia playback capabilities, in partnership with BSNL. With Bharat-1, the home-grown electronics company targets 500 million feature phone users in India who do not have access to internet or are restricted to slow 2G speeds.

Priced at Rs 2,200, the Bharat-1 feature phone costs a tad higher than Reliance JioPhone, but the effective ownership cost of the phone after 3 years of use is lower than that of JioPhone.

Bundled with a BSNL connection, the Bharat-1 offers unlimited internet access, calling and SMS, along with free roaming, for a monthly recharge of Rs 97. According to Micromax, the effective cost of ownership will be Rs 3,364 after a year, against Rs 3,336 for Reliance Jio's 4G feature phone. After two years, the cost of ownership for BSNL will be Rs 4,528, compared with Rs 5,172 for JioPhone. And after three years, as the claim goes, BSNL's ownership cost will be Rs 5,692 if kept by the user, against JioPhone's Rs 6,008.

Also, unlike JioPhone, the Bharat-1 does not come with a long list of terms and conditions of use or return clauses. The phone supports most network bands for 2G, 3G or 4G LTE connectivity, so it can be used with any network. Whereas, the Reliance JioPhone has in-build Jio connection and cannot be used with any other telecom operator.

The Bharat-1 phone also supports VoLTE which allows it to be used on Reliance Jio network as well.

Reliance JioPhone 'explodes'; intentional sabotage to malign us, says co

A JipPhone customer from Kashmir has alleged that the device exploded while it was on charging mode. Soon, the photos of the exploded phone were shared on Twitter by PhoneRadar.

Responding to the allegations, Jio’s spokesperson said in a statement to Financial Express that the issue is a case of “intentional sabotage”. The Twitter handle that shared the picture of the burned device has now deleted the post.

“JioPhones are designed and manufactured with global standards, and each phone goes through stringent quality control process. The said incident has been reported to us. Our initial investigation suggests that this is a case of intentional sabotage,” said the company in a statement.

JioPhone Photo: PhoneRadar The statement further added that the damage to the device seems to have been intentionally caused to malign the brand and the company will take appropriate action based on further investigations.

The Reliance JioPhone is India’s first 4G LTE-enabled


feature with VoLTE capability. The pre-booking of the phone began recently. The first batch is already out and the second batch is promised by the company to reach by Diwali.

Recently, Micromax also joined the 4G feature phone bandwagon with the launch of Bharat-1 in partnership with BSNL.

Top trading calls for today's session: Buy REC, IB Real Estate

STOCK MARKET - Nifty outlook and few trading ideas by Vaishali Parekh, Research Analyst - Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher:

NIFTY VIEW:
Nifty has the level of 10,250 as a strong hurdle to cross; market continues to move sideways with near term support at 10,140. Not much can be expected ahead of long weekend. The support for the day is seen at 10,160 while resistance is seen at 10,250.

BUY RECL    
CMP: Rs 159.55      
TARGET: Rs 176  
STOP LOSS: Rs 148
The stock has witnessed a steady correction from the levels of 224 and now has been consolidating at around 150 -155 levels for quite some time and has maintained a strong support at 150 level. With a positive candle pattern formation, it is now showing potential and strength to rise further significantly in the coming days and along with RSI showing a trend reversal accompanied by good volume activity, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 176 keeping a stop loss of 148

BUY BEL    
CMP: Rs 172.65    
TARGET: Rs 192    
STOP LOSS: Rs 164
The stock has made a higher bottom formation in the daily chart recently and has recovered significantly from thereon to show strength and potential to rise further. The stock is anticipated to give a breakout above the previous peak of 180 and technically is in a upward trending mode. With RSI also on the rise and decent volume participation, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 192 keeping a stop loss of 164

Realty shares in focus; Sobha, Kolte-Patil, Puravankara touch 52-wk high

STOCK MARKET - Shares of real estate companies were trading higher by up to 14% on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market in noon deal trade on expectation of uptick in residential new sales in ensuing quarters across key markets.

Sunteck Realty, Sobha, Kolte-Patil Developers, Unitech and Puravankara were up 5% to 14% on the BSE. The S&P BSE Realty index up 1% as compared to 0.19% decline in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex at 12:40 PM.

Kolte-Patil Developers, Puravankara and Sobha were trading at their respective 52-week highs while NBCC (India), Delta Corp and Sunteck Realty hit record highs on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday.

Sobha hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 553 today rallied 41% in past 10-trading days, after the company announced Q2 pre-sales numbers. The company said that it achieved new sales value of Rs 593 crore in July- September quarter (Q2FY18) was the highest in the past 10 quarters. The real estate developer had reported sales value of Rs 518 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

“With the onset of RERA and GST, we are already witnessing an increase in customer confidence and an improved market sentiment. We believe that credible players are likely to gain ground and unorganised players will be pushed out and we will witness consolidation in the sector,” Vikas Oberoi, Chairman & Managing Director, Oberoi Realty said while announcing Q2 results on October 16, 2017.

According to analyst at Edelweiss Securities, the key uncertainties (RERA & GST) appear to have largely settled. Despite near‐term sluggishness, we expect uptick in residential new sales in ensuing quarters across key markets.

Telecom shares rally; Idea, RCom up over 5%, Bharti Airtel hits 8-year high

Shares of telecom services providers rallied with Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications up more than 5% each, and Bharti Airtel at eight-year high on the BSE. MTNL, Tata Communications and Reliance Industries, too, were trading higher in the range of 1% to 3% as compared to 0.2% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex at 11:12 AM.

The S&P BSE Telecom index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1.6%, hitting record high of 1,624 points in intra-day trade on Monday.

Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio), a telecom arm of Reliance Industries, has decided to raise effective prices of most 4G tariff plans by 15-20% from October 19.

RJio’s revision of tariffs, which includes a reduction in the validity period, is a positive for the telecom sector and will ease some pressure off the incumbents, the Business Standard report suggests.
According to Financial Express report, the government will soon come out with regulations to allow telecom operators to enter into agreements for sharing of network-related infrastructure or Common Telecom Infrastructure (CTI), a move that will not only bring down operational cost of these companies, but also check the menace of call drops.

Bharti Airtel was up 3% at Rs 490, its highest level since May 2009 on the BSE. In past two weeks, the stock rallied 29% after the company said on October 12 that it will acquire the wireless business of the Tata Group.

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) too locked in upper circuit for the seventh straight trading sessions up 5% at Rs 6.47 on the BSE. The stock zoomed 61% from Rs 4.02 on October 11, as compared to 2% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

WhatsApp brings real-time location-sharing feature: Here is how it works

Sharing live location has its advantages as: It allows you to keep your family and friends informed about your location in real time. The feature has been available for a while on Google Maps, and Facebook Messenger brought it earlier this year. Now, the widely used instant messenger WhatsApp is rolling out the same feature for its users across the globe.

The live location-sharing feature is gradually rolling out with the latest app update through the Google Play store for Android and App Store for iOS devices. It allows you to share live location with a group or specific person within your WhatsApp contact’s list. Also, the location sharing feature is end-to-end encrypted which means the data are not stored anywhere on WhatsApp servers, so these cannot be viewed, tampered with, used or monitored by anyone else.

WhatsApp live location sharing featureWhatsApp live location sharing feature Photo: WhatsApp BlogHere is how to share your location in real time:

Step 1: Open a chat window with the person or group you want to share your location with.
Step 2: Under "Location" in the attach button, you will find a new option called "Share Live Location."
Step 3:  Choose for how long you want to share and tap send.
Step 4: Each person in the chat will be able to see your real-time location on a map. And, if more than one person shares their Live Location in the group, all locations will be visible on the same map.

You can choose to stop sharing at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expire.

JioPhone vs Bharat-1: Micromax challenges RJio's 4G feature phone monopoly

Targeting the 500 million feature phone users of India, Micromax on October 17 launched the Bharat-1, a 4G LTE-enabled feature phone with true smartphone like capabilities, in partnership with BSNL.

Priced at Rs 2,200, the Bharat-1 feature phone costs a tad higher than Reliance JioPhone, but the effective ownership cost of the phone after 3 years of use is lower than that of JioPhone.

Bundled with a BSNL connection, the Bharat-1 offers unlimited internet access, calling and SMS, along with free roaming, for a monthly recharge of Rs 97. According to Micromax, the effective cost of ownership will be Rs 3,364 after a year, against Rs 3,336 for Reliance Jio's 4G feature phone. After two years, the cost of ownership for BSNL will be Rs 4,528, compared with Rs 5,172 for JioPhone. And after three years, as the claim goes, BSNL's ownership cost will be Rs 5,692 if kept by the user, against JioPhone's Rs 6,008r.

Also, unlike JioPhone, the Bharat-1 does not come with a long list of terms and conditions of use or return clauses. The phone supports most network bands for 2G, 3G or 4G LTE connectivity, so it can be used with any network. Whereas, the Reliance JioPhone has in-build Jio connection and cannot be used with any other telecom operator.

Nucleus Software Exports surges 19% post Q2 results

Nucleus Software Exports surged 19% to Rs 389, also its 52-week high on the BSE in intra-day trade, after the company reported 36% quarter on quarter (q-o-q) growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 15.66 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18). The IT software products company had reported profit of Rs 11.51 crore in the June quarter (Q1FY18).

Income from software products and services grew 6.4% at Rs 100 crore on a q-o-q basis. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins improved to 13.6% in Q2FY18 from 10.8% in Q1FY18.

The company said it added 9 new customers and won 15 new product orders worldwide in Q2FY18.

At 10:18 AM; the STOCK MARKET was up 14% at Rs 373 on the BSE, as compared to 0.42% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 572,650 shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far against an average sub 100,000 shares were traded daily in past two weeks on both the exchanges.

Bullish on markets; Nifty may hit 10,540 in coming weeks: HDFC Securities

STOCK MARKET - Nifty outlook and few trading ideas by Devarsh Vakil & Vinay Rajani - PCG Desk, HDFC securities:

Nifty Outlook
Nifty has surpassed the crucial resistance of 10,178 and registered a new all-time high above 10,250. Peak and Trough, Moving averages and Momentum Oscillators all are indicating bullish trend for the Nifty. We maintain our bullish view on Nifty with potential upside target of 10,540 in the coming weeks. Short-term support for the Nifty is seen at 10,100 and long should be protected with that stoploss.

Buy Bajaj Electricals
CMP: Rs 414.75
SL: Rs 390
Target: Rs 445
Stock price has recently surpassed the double top resistance placed at Rs 387 with healthy volumes. Stock has registered new all-time high at Rs 417-odd levels. Stock has been forming higher tops and higher bottoms on the weekly charts. Stock price has also formed bullish rounding bottom on the daily chart, indicating continuation of a primary uptrend. Oscillators like MACD, KST and DMI are indicating bullish momentum in the counter. Considering the technical evidences discussed above, we recommend buying the stock between Rs 415 and Rs 400 for the target of Rs 445, keeping stop loss at Rs 390.

Axis Bank tanks 7% as asset quality worsens in Q2

Axis Bank dipped 7% to Rs 475 on the BSE in early morning trade after the bank’s asset quality worsen in July-September 2017 quarter (Q2FY18).

The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs stood at 5.9% and 3.12% in Q2FY18 against 5.03% and 2.30% in Q1FY18, respectively. In the year-ago quarter, gross NPAs were at 4.17% and net NPA were at 2.02% of the loan book.

Asset quality numbers worsened significantly on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) assessment of its previous financial year numbers. According to rules, if the RBI’s assessment of bad debt numbers for a financial year differs from the bank’s assessment by more than 15%, the divergence should be disclosed.

However, the bank reported 36% year-on-year growth in its second-quarter net profit, aided by low provisioning. Profit for the quarter stood at Rs 432 crore, against Rs 319 crore in the year-ago quarter. Gross slippages or good assets turning bad, in the quarter rose significantly to Rs 8,936 crore, of which Rs 8,110 crore was in the corporate sector. Total slippages in the June quarter were at Rs 3,519 crore.

“High slippages in the quarter were driven by divergence assessment. Slippages largely from the low rated pool of stressed accounts. The sizeable reduction in stressed pool improves our confidence in the trajectory of the Bank’s credit costs,” Axis Bank said in a statement.

iPhone X debut: Should Apple worry as model 7 outsells 8 in US?

Apple Inc’s older iPhone 7 models are outselling the recently launched iPhone 8 ahead of the early November debut of the premium iPhone X, broker KeyBanc Capital Markets said, citing carrier store surveys.

Traditionally, new editions of the iPhone have sold quickly as fans queue for the latest upgrade, but early surveys have added to chatter that the iPhone 8 is not proving as popular as its predecessors.

US wireless carrier AT&T said last week its third-quarter postpaid handset upgrades were fewer by nearly 900,000 from a year ago, and brokerage Jefferies attributed it to weak iPhone 8 demand.

“Many respondents indicated that a meaningful portion of customers are buying iPhone 7 in lieu of the new iPhone 8, given the lack of significant enhancements in the new phone,” KeyBanc analyst John Vinh wrote in a client note.

Vinh also said feedback from stores indicated that customers were waiting to purchase the iPhone X or to compare the iPhone X with other models before buying the iPhone 8.

Apple last month introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which resemble the iPhone 7 but have a glass back for wireless charging. While iPhone 8 starts from $699 in the United States, iPhone 7 is retailing from $549 after a price cut.

Flipkart beats Amazon in festive season sales, captures 50% market share

Flipkart beat Amazon in sales during this year's festive season by a huge margin, reported the Economic Times. The Indian e-marketplace captured 50% of the festive market, while the American e-commerce behemoth trailed as the runner-up with a 35% share.

The Indian e-commerce market is reported to have grown by 40% in value over the last year. Online sales during the September-October festive season is estimated to have increased to $2.9 billion from $2 billion last year.

Amazon is said to have pocketed just Rs 2,500-2,700 cr during its Great Indian Festival Sale in September as compared to Flipkart's Big Billion day jackpot of Rs 5,000 cr, according to Livemint. (However, ET reports that Flipkart may have sold only Rs 4,300 cr worth of products, a number that is still way ahead of Amazon India's)

Livemint quotes Manish Tiwary, vice president (category management) at Amazon India as saying, “Amazon.in remains the largest marketplace and the fastest growing one in Indian e-commerce landscape. The recently concluded Great Indian Festival has been our biggest shopping event till date with a remarkable spike in customer acquisition from tier-II and tier-III cities across India, with 85% of new customers coming from these areas. We saw a tremendous customer response across categories—from high-value products such as smartphones and appliances to everyday essentials such as shampoos, biscuits and pet supplies.”

Sebi's one-scheme-per-category rule is harsh: Morningstar's Anthony Serhan

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said a mutual fund house can have only one scheme per category. The move will impact many fund houses, particularly the larger ones operating as many as a dozen schemes in some categories. Anthony Serhan, managing director (research strategy), Morningstar Asia-Pacific, calls the new rule harsh. In an interview with Samie Modak, Australia-based Serhan, an expert on investment themes and trends, says the Indian mutual fund industry has a lot of potential to grow.

Edited excerpts:
Indian equity mutual funds are getting over $3 billion every month. Do you think that is sustainable?

The record inflows that are coming into equity mutual funds (MFs) are on an incredibly small base. I still think there is more potential to grow. This is a secular change of moving away from gold and property to financial assets. That’s just part of any developing economy: As the rates of urbanisation and modernisation increase, you will see more money going into financial assets. Most Indian investors have not been anywhere near the equities market before. The first thing that you have to do is getting them to recognise equities as an investment. You can grow the number of people by educating them about returns, downturns and upturns. In Australia, the adult participation rate in equities is about 40 per cent; for India it is not even 10 per cent. In the next five years, the inflow number will be many time more. The industry is going to keep growing. If you look at the size of the Indian markets compared to other markets, it still doesn’t have the same economies of scale. Partly, this is because of the absolute size. Distribution-wise, the geographic spread of India is very wide.

Jaitley launches MCX gold options, says move will help formalise trade

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched gold options trading on the leading commodity bourse MCX and said this is one of the steps towards formalising trade in the yellow metal.

Options are derivatives which give a buyer the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specific price on or before a certain date.

"This marks a very important evolution in trading of yellow metal itself. It hedges all risks by giving them (traders) the option of futures," Jaitley said after launching the options trade on the auspicious day of Dhanteras.

ALSO READ: MCX to launch gold options on Dhanteras

Indians are great buyers of gold. This new product will be extremely successful, he said.

Emphasising that the government is taking efforts to formalise gold trade, Jaitley said, "I am sure more it formalises, better it is for consumers, jewellers and those trading in this. That's in consonance with the business environment for future that we see for us".