Profit Briefing: Markets touch new highs; Banking sees PE exits

If you missed our coverage today, here is a summary for a quick read.

MARKETS: Nifty ends above 5,400 after 6-months, Sensex up 123 points

India's benchmark Nifty index closed at the highest mark in over six months Thursday. The Nifty advanced 44.20 points or 0.82% to end at 5,412.35. It had last closed above the 5,400 mark on 3 August, 2011. The 30-stock Sensex index closed at 17,830.75, gaining 123.43 points or 0.7%. Stocks made a sharp recovery in the last hour of trade. (Read More) 

TELECOM: Etisalat writes off India investment

UAE-based Etisalat Group on Thursday announced that it will write off about $820 million, or 3,044 AED (Emirati Dirham) as part losses incurred from its India operations. It was the second company to post losses after Norway-based Telenor, that has stake in Uninor (Read More)

However, Vodafone, which was not named in the 2G verdict, posted a 6.3 per cent growth in its India business revenue to 1.02 billion pounds for the third fiscal quarter. (Read More)

OIL & GAS: OPEC cuts 2012 oil demand forecast, Oil below $99 as US crude demand lags economy

Economic weakness in Europe and the United States and higher oil prices led Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut its 2012 forecast for growth in global oil demand. It now expects daily demand this year of 88.76 million barrels per day, down from its forecast a month ago of 88.90 million bpd. (Read More)

Meanwhile, oil prices hovered below $99 a barrel Thursday in Asia as U.S. crude demand lags the overall improvement in the world's biggest economy. (Read More)

IT: TCS, Infosys stocks underperform

IT stocks declined after industry lobby Nasscom projected a slowdown in IT exports. TCS (-1.6%) and Infosys (-1.1%) were among the top losers on early trade in the Nifty index. (Read More)

Fiscal 2012 promises to be a watershed year for the industry, as Nasscom, the IT industry body, had said Wednesday. It estimated that aggregate revenues from the sector are likely to cross $100 billion this year. (Read More)

BANKING: Deutsche Bank exits Lodha Developers, ICICI Ventures to follow

Lodha Developers on Thursday said that Deutsche Bank has exited the firm and that ICICI Ventures will also exit soon. (Read More)

RBI issues guidelines on accepting foreign contribution

The RBI on Thursday issued guidelines, which stipulate that entities have to get themselves registered with the central government before accepting any foreign contribution and banks will have to forward the report of receipts of such transfers to the government. (Read More)

ECB, Bank of England leave key rates unchanged

The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 1 percent on Thursday while it waits to see whether the economy needs more help as the 17 countries that use the euro struggle with a debt crisis and likely recession. (Read More)

The Bank of England also left rates unchanged but announced it would buy 50 billion pounds ($79 billion) more in bonds to stimulate the lagging British economy. (Read More)

AUTO: Maruti crosses 1 crore mark in domestic car sales

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday said that it has crossed the one crore units milestone of cumulative sales in the domestic market since it started selling cars 29 years back. While it took the company over 20 years to achieve 5 million in cumulative sales, it reached the 10 million in just six years. (Read More)

In Pics: Maruti scales 10 million sales mark

INFRASTRUCTURE: Sahara to forms new JV; Tata Steel posts Q3 loss

Sahara India Pariwar announced Thursday that it has formed a joint venture (JV) with two overseas firms, Turner Construction and Acropolis Capital Group. The JV will be called Sahara Turner Construction Ltd and will provide integrated construction services. (Read More)

Tata Steel, meanwhile, posted a Q3 loss of Rs 602.67 crore vs profit of Rs 1003.2 crore on year on year basis. Its net sales, however, expanded to Rs 32,964.15 crore from Rs 28,606.15 crore in the same period last year. (Read More)

FMCG: Jubiliant Foodworks shares surge 8%

Jubilant Foodworks', a listed company that sells Domino’s Pizza, shares jumped over 8 per cent on Thursday on the back of strong earnings data. The BSE Sensex shed about 0.4 per cent. Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks told NDTV Profit that the company is confident about ending the financial year 2011-12 with a 25 per cent revenue growth and an operating profit margin of about 18 per cent. (Read why)