Infy, ICICI drag Sensex by seventy five points

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, closed 75 points down, with bluechip stocks such as Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank

acting as drag.

The Sensex, which opened at 17,603.87 points and ended at 17,540.29 points, closed 75.43 points, or 0.43% down from its previous close at 17,615.72 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,244.75 points against the previous close of 5,263.1 points, a loss of 0.35%. Broader market indices performed only a tad better, with the BSE midcap index ending flat and the BSE small-cap index ruling 0.44% higher. The market breadth was positive, with as many as 1,725 stocks advancing compared to 1,172 on the decline, while 68 remained unchanged.

Among major gainers on the Sensex were DLF, up 4.26% at Rs 390.20; Grasim, up 3.02% at Rs 2,754.50; Sunpharma, up 2.11% at Rs 1,574.55; and Jaiprakash Associates, up 1.8% at Rs 161.55.

Major losers included Infosys, down 2.41% at Rs 2,464.45; TCS, down 1.98% at Rs 700.50; HDFC, down 1.7% at Rs 2,600.35; and Reliance Communications, down 1.5% at Rs 180.70. Other Asian markets ended in the green, with a key Japanese index, the Nikkei, ending 1.09% higher at 10,798.32 points, while the Korean Kospi, was up 0.7% at 1,695.26 points.

In China, the Shanghai composite index managed to end up with slender gains, closing 0.1% higher at 3,196 points, while the Hang Seng, a benchmark index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, closed a meagre 0.12% up at 22,296.75 points.

Key European markets were trading flat, with benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 index ruling 0.04% up at 5,529.13 points. Among real estate companies, India’s biggest developer DLF soared 4.1% to Rs 389.9 after Goldman Sachs raised it to “buy” from “sell”, citing a potential recovery in office real property and steady growth in key residential markets.

Developer Indiabulls Real Estate advanced 3.4% to Rs 227.4 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’. Overseas funds bought a net $184 million of domestic equities on January 6, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India website.

Gold Prices Fall for a Second Day in London as the Dollar Rises

Aug. 25 -- Gold fell in London for a second day as a rally in the dollar eroded the appeal of the precious metals as an alternative asset. Silver was little changed.

Gold, priced in dollars, often moves in the opposite direction to the U.S. currency. Bullion jumped 4.5 percent last week, the biggest weekly gain in six months, while the dollar index fell 0.5 percent. Oil dropped by more than $6 a barrel on Aug. 22, the most in percentage terms for more than three years.

``Gold is following the movement in oil, which fell sharply in New York last Friday,'' K.C. Wong, trader at Standard Bank Asia Ltd., said by telephone from Singapore today.

Bullion for immediate-delivery fell as much as 0.7 percent to $817.58 an ounce and was at $822.85 at 11:24 a.m. in London. Silver for immediate delivery traded at $13.39 an ounce, up 0.2 percent.

The dollar also rose for a second day against the euro on speculation a drop in oil prices will support the U.S. economy.

The dollar gained to $1.4767 per euro in London from $1.4793 in New York on Aug. 22. The U.S. currency advanced to 109.93 yen from 110.07 yen.

Gold has been supported in the first half by low levels of sales by central banks, Dan Smith, a metals analyst at Standard Chartered Plc in London, said in a report on Aug. 22.

``Latest figures show that in the 10 months to July sales were just 317 tons, which is equivalent to annualized total 380 tons,'' Smith said. ``This is well below the agreed ceiling of 500 tons per year under the Central Bank Gold Agreement and compares to sales of 476 tons in the previous CBGA year.''

Euro May Stall

Gold may rise for a second straight week on speculation the dollar's rally against the euro will stall, boosting the precious metal's appeal as an alternative investment, according to a Bloomberg News survey on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22.

Twenty-two of 28 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago advised buying gold. Five respondents said to sell and one was neutral.

Gold for December delivery was down 0.7 percent to $828.20 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange in London. Bullion for December delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 2.4 percent to 182.17 yuan a gram ($827.26 an ounce).

In Japan, gold for June delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 0.7 percent to at 2,916 yen a gram ($825.08 an ounce).

US STOCKS-Wall Street dips on GM loss, oil, jobs data

* Oil rises on tension about Iran's nuclear work

* Hefty loss at GM adds to U.S. auto sector woes

* Biogen sinks biotechs, pulls down Nasdaq

* Dow down 0.5 percent; Nasdaq, S&P off about 0.6 pct (Updates to close, changes byline)

NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as a $15.5 billion quarterly loss from General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and a rise in oil prices added to fears the economy could slip into recession and concerns about corporate earnings.

A government report showing U.S. employers cut jobs for the seventh straight month in July added to market worries, though the decline in payrolls was not as severe as had been feared. The report also showed the jobless rate jumped to its highest level in four years. For more see [ID:nN01429062].

General Motors' (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) second-quarter loss was the latest example of how rising oil prices are hurting consumer spending. Its shares slumped 7.6 percent to $10.23 and weighed on the Dow and S&P.[ID:nN01288721].

Sliding global metal prices and weak manufacturing data around the world knocked the shares of aluminum maker Alcoa (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) nearly 5 percent lower. Shares of Caterpillar (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the mining and heavy equipment maker, fell 2 percent. The two were the top drags on the Dow

Fall in oil inspires gains in Asia stocks

HONG KONG -- Oil prices Wednesday slipped $20 below an all-time high hit two weeks ago, helping to lift Asian stocks and weigh on government bonds as investors cautiously reached for higher returns as well as more risk.

Crude was trading around $128.38 a barrel after having closed Tuesday at its lowest since June 5 partly on fears about waning US demand. That helped ease immediate concerns about high energy costs, though soft consumer demand continues to be a worry.

On the earnings front, results from some Wall Street banks were not as dire as analysts had predicted. Investors then broadened their focus to other sectors, with announcements on Friday expected from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Honda Motor Co.

"We're just seeing a temporary bright patch," said Yoku Ihara, manager of the investment information department at Retela Crea Securities. "It's still far too early to let down our guard."

Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.3 percent to the highest in two weeks. If the index keeps its gains on the day, it will be the first time since April that the Nikkei has had back-to-back gains of at least 1.0 percent.

Outside of Japan, shares in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 1.0 percent to the highest in three weeks.

South Korea's KOSPI was up 1.6 percent, led by gains in the world's fourth-largest steel maker POSCO.

Despite investors' increasing willingness to buy riskier assets lately, high inflation continues to dangle a sword over Asia.

The combination of rising price pressures and slowing growth was a big factor in the nearly $4.0 trillion in market capitalization that has evaporated since November, Morgan Stanley said.

NOT ONE-WAY RISE FOR DOLLAR

Underlying inflation in Australia was at the highest in almost 17 years in the second quarter, suggesting the central bank may have to keep interest rates where they are despite threats to growth.

Yields on safe-haven government bond yields, which move inversely to prices, edged higher as the MSCI all-country world equities index appeared poised for a sixth straight day of gains, the longest string since May.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield ticked up to 4.11 percent, up a basis point from late Tuesday in New York and 8 basis points higher on the year.

The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 1.64 percent.

The US dollar stayed firm, holding much of the ground gained against the euro and yen the previous day after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said a strong dollar was "really very important," a variation on his usual comments about the currency.

"The dollar broke through some key levels and has upside momentum," said Motonari Ogawa, director of forex trading at Barclays Bank in Tokyo. "But Japanese exporter selling could emerge at these levels, and it won't be a one-way rise for the dollar," said Ogawa.

The dollar was up 0.1 percent at 107.32 yen. The euro was little changed at $1.57832 and flat against the yen at 169.38, not far from a record high 169.91 yen hit on Monday.