Business

The rupee opened at 75.53 against the US dollar, then advanced to touch 75.44 against the US dollar, up 11 paise over its previous close.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have significant presence within the ancillary industry, IPA said in a statement.

After surging over 640 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index settled 83.34 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 34,370.58.

The liquidity package of Rs 90,000 crore announced by the government last month offers a breather, but structural reforms have become critical to sustainability of discoms, the rating agency said in a statement.

Axis Mutual Fund (MF), Mirae Asset MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Fidelity Investment, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Societe Generale are among the buyers who picked up shares of the insurance firm.

Proceeds from the issue, also ranked as one of the world's biggest by a non-financial company based on Dealogic data, will aid Reliance's plan to slash net debt to zero this year.

On May 26, the top court had asked the Centre and the RBI to respond to a plea challenging levy of interest on loans during the moratorium period.

PSBs have sanctioned loans worth Rs 10,361.75 crore under the 100 per cent ECLGS starting June 1.

It also downgraded seven Indian infrastructure issuers, including NTPC, NHAI, GAIL and Adani Green Energy Restricted Group, by one notch. Issuer ratings of IRFC and HUDCO have also been lowered.

Forex traders said, while firm start of the equity market and foreign fund inflows supported the rupee, factors like strong dollar, US-China tensions dragged down the local unit.

The ratings cut was not driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but amplifies vulnerabilities in India's credit profile that were present and building prior to the shock, the agency added.

The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 12,126.75 per kilolitre (kl), or 56.5 per cent, to Rs 33,575.37 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by state-owned oil marketing companies.

Both US and European business groups are lobbying China to allow foreign workers back into the country after it shut its borders in late March to non-Chinese nationals to curb the coronavirus.

The median forecast from a Reuters poll of economists put annual economic growth at 2.1% in the March quarter, lower than 4.7% in the December quarter.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that with the migrants having gone to various parts of the country without any controls, there is no point trying to extend lockdown any further.