After trading in the negative territory for most of the trading session, the Indian equity markets closed the day deep in the red. While the BSE Sensex today closed lower by 499 points, the NSE-Nifty closed lower by 143 points. Midcaps and Smallcaps too closed the day in the red. While the BSE Mid Cap index closed lower by 0.3% the BSE Small Cap index closed lower by 0.4%. Banking and consumer durables stocks were the biggest losers today.
Asian stocks closed mixed today. European stock markets too were trading mixed at the time of writing. The rupee was trading at Rs 61.98 to the dollar.
As per a recent report by the United Nations (UN), India's FDI inflow increased by 26% YoY in 2014 to US$ 35 bn. The services sector was the main contributor to the growth. The manufacturing sector however recorded a fall in FDI in 2014 to US$ 4.1 bn from US$ 4.6 bn in 2013. The total amount of US$ 35 bn is the third highest for India in a calendar year; the top two years being 2008 (US$ 47 bn) followed by 2009 (US$ 35.6 bn).
As per early news reports, the disinvestment of Coal India today has been a success. The initial offer for sale (OFS) for 5% stake was fully subscribed by 9:03 A.M. The government had a green shoe option to sell another 5% stake. The full details will be out later today. However, the initial 5% stake comprising of 315.8 m shares received bids for 328.7 m shares within the first three minutes of the OFS opening. Coal India closed down 3.8% today.
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