After starting firmly in the positive, the benchmark indices in the Indian stock market shed most of the early gains and ended the session in the negative today. The BSE-Sensex closed with a decline of around 140 points (0.7%). The NSE-Nifty lost 41 points (0.7%). The smaller indices lost some momentum, after seeing gains over the past few days. The BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap both closed lower by 1.3% and 1.4% respectively. The overall market breadth was also negative, with almost 2 stocks declining for every one that advanced.

FMCG and consumer goods stocks managed to stay afloat. But, stocks in the realty and auto space drove markets lower. Most major Asian stock markets closed in the positive today, with Japan also being the top gainer despite another earthquake scare last night. Europe is trading positive. The rupee was seen trading at Rs 44.1 to the dollar at

Although the Indian stock markets did go into the positive during the closing stages, they could not hold on to the gains for long and eventually ended the day marginally in the negative. Thus, while BSE-Sensex closed with a decline in the region of 20 points, NSE-Nifty lost a meager 6 points. BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices hogged the limelight yet again, going up by 1% each. On the Sensex, three stocks fell for every two that ended in the positive.

While most Asian stock markets closed in the positive today, Europe is trading largely in the negative currently. The rupee was seen trading at Rs 44.2 to the dollar at the time of writing.

With investors lapping up most of the cheap large cap stocks over the past couple of months, the attention seems to have now shifted to mid and small caps. It should be noted

By Eric Wesoff

In light of the presumed slowdown of the European solar markets due to declining feed-in tariffs, the global solar industry is training its gaze on other growth markets: the U.S., China and India, as well as Ontario, Canada and Gainesville, Florida.

The U.S. is a prime target today. With a healthy utility sector and regional policies that make the country more than just a two-state game (those two states being California, and New Jersey), the U.S. could double to two gigawatts in 2011. There is a large pipeline of solar projects in the

The benchmark indices in the Indian stock market opened in the positive today. However as the session progressed, they moved into negative territory. Mid-session, the indices managed to come off their day's lows. However, a negative closing could not be avoided and the markets ended the trading session in the red. The BSE-Sensex traded lower by around 106 points (0.5%) whereas NSE-Nifty closed lower by 20 points (0.4%). BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices on the other hand had a better outing, bucking the trend and closing higher by 0.4% and 0.8% respectively. The market breadth still remained positive with the advance to decline ratio on the Sensex being in favor of the former.

Asian indices closed mixed today, with China seeing some strong gains while Europe is trading in the green currently. Rupee was trading at Rs 44.2 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Bank stocks

A lot has been made of India’s demographic divide. In short, the theory is that with a younger working population of approximately 700 million, India has a low dependency ratio of 0.6. By 2030, the ratio will be just 0.4, which means that there will be ten workers for every four dependent on them. The low dependency ratio increases productivity while decreasing expenses such as medical care, retirement expenses, etc of the elderly.

While there is some truth to that theory, there are also plenty of pitfalls. To illustrate the pitfalls, India released the results of its census last week. India added 181 million people over the past decade, a growth rate of 17% . While the growth rate is slowing down, the fact remains that India added the equivalent of the population of Brazil in just 10 years. Are all these people a blessing or a curse?

A lot

The Indian stock markets had a strong opening to the new year on the occasion of 'Gudi Padva'. The benchmark indices opening in the positive zone, and continue to trade strongly in the green for most of the day. Buying was led by stocks from the capital goods and IT sectors, possibly on the expectation of good yearly numbers. Realty and pharma stocks however did not see much gains.

The BSE-Sensex closed up by around 281 points (1.5%), while the NSE-Nifty was up around 82 points (1.4%). Smallcap stocks however were on a winning streak with the BSE Small cap index seeing gains of around 2.8%. The BSE Midcap Index was also trading strong, seeing gains of around 1.7% respectively. The rupee was trading at 44.43 against the US dollar at the time of writing this.

BHEL was among one of the top gainers in the Sensex on announcing its

The Indian stock markets had a dull opening to the new fiscal (FY12) today. The benchmark indices were marginally in the red at the time of writing this. Today's selling was largely led by stocks from the banking and IT sectors. The overall market breadth was however positive, with the number of gainers outnumbering losers by a ratio of 3 to 1.

The BSE-Sensex closed with losses of around 25 points (0.1%), while the NSE-Nifty was down around 6 points (0.1%). Mid and smallcap stocks however bucked the trend, as the BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices closed with gains of around 1.6% and 2.2% respectively. The rupee was trading at 44.53 against the US dollar at the time of writing this.

Auto stocks closed today on a mixed note. While gains were seen in TVS Motor and Hero Honda, selling pressure marked trading in Tata Motors (TTM) and

By Ethan Messenger

Which tech companies will dominate India in the 21^st century? Below are eight stocks we think will be the big winners. Can you think of any other names to add to the list below?

For Dell (DELL), annual revenue in India is nearing $2 billion and the world's No. 2 maker of personal computers plans to add more staff in the country. "We are continuing to invest here and continuing to grow the business ... India for us is a critical part of our infrastructure globally," Michael Dell said at an event in the Indian capital on March 22^nd, 2011. Overall sales of personal computers in India rose 30 percent on a unit basis in 2010. The company is transforming itself to a services and storage company. It has ramped up service offerings and snapped up 12 companies to prepare for the cloud computing revolution. According to

India’s economy is growing at the second-fastest pace amongst the world’s major nations, and is likely to continue to do so, as the country is abundant with an intelligent and young labor force. Furthermore, this growth is shinning a ray of light on the nation’s infrastructure sector and boosting the appeal of the EGShares India Infrastructure ETF (INXX).

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, numerous private equity firms have recognized this appeal and have turned their attention to the emerging market sector. In fact, the article indicates that there were 48 private equity deals in infrastructure worth an estimated $3 billion last year, with another 38 infrastructure funds currently waiting to invest in India’s infrastructure.

From an overall macro standpoint, the case for Indian infrastructure relatively speaks for itself. India is already one of the world’s most populated nations and is expected to witness rapid population

For the second day in succession, the benchmark indices remained remarkably stable since the start of the session and helped the Indian stock market to lead the pack of gainers in Asia today. The BSE Sensex closed with gains of around 155 points (up 0.8%) whereas NSE Nifty gained around 46 points (up 0.8%). The BSE midcap and small cap indices trailed behind, gaining around 0.2% each. The realty, auto and infrastructure stocks garnered the maximum investor favour.

Most Asian indices closed the day in the positive whereas Europe too is trading in the positive currently. The rupee was poised at Rs 44.56 to the dollar at the time of writing.

The State Bank of India (SBI), which acts as the de facto banker to the government, will continue to manage the Rs 3.5 trillion retirement fund for EPFO. Amongst the erstwhile fund managers, SBI is the only one to

Indian stock market indices began on a strong note and maintained this momentum throughout the trading session yesterday. Sustained buying activity across heavyweights ensured that the markets closed well into the positive.

While the BSE-Sensex closed higher by around 169 points (up 1%), the NSE-Nifty closed higher by around 51 points (up 1%). The BSE Midcap and BSE Small Cap also closed higher by 2% each. Gains were largely seen in consumer durables, banking and auto stocks.

As regards global markets, Asian indices closed firm yesterday while European indices also opened on a strong note. The rupee was trading at Rs 44.77 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Engineering stocks closed mixed yesterday. While Voltas and Thermax found favour, BHEL and Siemens (SI) were at the receiving end. As per a leading business daily, engineering major BHEL has secured an order of Rs 54.5 bn from a Bajaj

Broad based buying across sectors helped the Indian stock market to stay ahead of its peers in Asia today. Led by buying interest in telecom, software, auto and realty stocks, the benchmark indices in India recorded the highest gains in the region. That said, it were primarily the largecap stocks that evinced investor interest. The mid and small cap stocks remained out of favour. While the BSE-Sensex closed higher by around 178 points (up 1%), the NSE-Nifty closed higher by around 49 points (up 1%). Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap index ended flat and the BSE Small cap index closed 0.4% lower.

As regards global markets, Asian indices closed mixed today while European indices have also opened on a mixed note. The rupee was trading at Rs 44.75 to the dollar at the time of writing.

As per a business daily, the second largest manufacturer of medium and heavy commercial vehicles

Volatility plagued the Indian stock market indices today as every attempt at profit booking was followed by buying across index heavyweights at lower levels. That said, the indices managed to stay above the dotted line throughout the session. The final trading hours especially saw markets consolidating their gains to close well into the positive. While the BSE-Sensex closed higher by around 128 points (up 0.7%), the NSE-Nifty closed higher by around 33 points (up 0.6%). The BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap also closed higher by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. While gains were seen in banking and auto stocks, IT and healthcare stocks were at the receiving end.

As regards global markets, Asian indices closed mixed today while European indices have also opened on a mixed note. The rupee was trading at Rs 44.89 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Auto stocks closed firm today and the key

IT stocks helped the indices to reach even higher levels during the final few hours of trade. As a result, the Indian stock market closed in the green once again today, ending the week on a positive note. The BSE-Sensex closed with gains of around 465 points (up 2.5%) whereas NSE-Nifty logged in gains to the tune of 132 points (up 2.4%). Gains were also seen in BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices as both closed higher by around 1% each. However, these smaller indices could not hold a candle against the large cap's performance today. Markets had a good trading week, with four days of straight gains.

Most Asian stock indices closed in the positive today, with Europe also opening in the green. Rupee was seen trading at Rs 44.65 to the dollar at the time of writing.

IT stocks had a field day today, with large-caps like

By Tony D’Altorio

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently highlighted something very important…

China and India’s economies are growing rapidly. By 2050, PwC expects China to be the world’s largest economy and India the third, while the U.S. takes second place.

But India is projected to emerge as the fastest growing economy over this time frame. Its share of global GDP should rise from 2% to 13%.

That’s because it has a younger demographic and lower economic base than China.

The former factor especially enhances India’s growth potential. And some forward-thinking companies are already capitalizing on the situation.

Fast-food businesses have already flocked to China. But now they’re beginning to realize similar potential in its nearby neighbor…

India Develops a Taste for Fast Food

Despite a slow start, India is beginning to develop a taste for western-style fast food.

During the mid-1990s, chains such as Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), McDonald’s (MCD) and KFC – owned