The benchmark Sensex rose by over 470 points in opening trade today, breaking its six-session long losing streak on value-buying in select blue-chips by domestic investors triggered by a recovery in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index gained 470.39 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 34,666.33 in opening trade. Also, the NSE Nifty rose by 115.75 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 10,614.

All sectoral indices, including realty, metal, consumer durables and banking advanced up to 2.56 per cent.

The gauge had lost 2,087.31 points in the previous six sessions following a global rout in equities inflicted by inflation worries and imposition of a 10 per cent long-term capital gains tax on equities.

Emergence of buying at prevailing lower levels after recent losses and a better trend at other Asian markets, following overnight gains at the Wall Street helped both the key indices recover.

Caution prevailed as investors kept their positions at a low ebb amid expectations that the RBI may keep rates unchanged, brokers said.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 1,699.74 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Major gainers such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy&#39;s, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, M&amp;M, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and RIL rose up to 2.14 per cent.

Among the Asian bourses, Hong Kong&#39;s Hang Seng was up 1.59 per cent, Japan&#39;s Nikkei rose 3.06 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.65 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.33 per cent lower yesterday.

The 30-share BSE index gained 470.39 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 34,666.33 in opening trade. Also, the NSE Nifty rose by 115.75 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 10,614.

The benchmark Sensex rose by over 470 points in opening trade today, breaking its six-session long losing streak on value-buying in select blue-chips by domestic investors triggered by a recovery in global markets. The 30-share BSE index gained 470.39 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 34,666.33 in opening trade. Also, the NSE Nifty rose by 115.75 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 10,614. All sectoral indices, including realty, metal, consumer durables and banking advanced up to 2.56 per cent. The gauge had lost 2,087.31 points in the previous six sessions following a global rout in equities inflicted by inflation worries and imposition of a 10 per cent long-term capital gains tax on equities. Emergence of buying at prevailing lower levels after recent losses and a better trend at other Asian markets, following overnight gains at the Wall Street helped both the key indices recover. Caution prevailed as investors kept their positions at a low ebb amid expectations that the RBI may keep rates unchanged, brokers said. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 1,699.74 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Major gainers such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and RIL rose up to 2.14 per cent. Among the Asian bourses, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.59 per cent, Japan's Nikkei rose 3.06 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.65 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.33 per cent lower yesterday.

Sensex opens in green on value-buying, climbs 470 points

After closing at a record low, Sensex, Nifty recovered in opening trade on value buying in frontline stocks led by banking, auto and metal.

Sensex was up by 238.41 points trading at 34,434.35 and the Nifty was up 89.50 points at 10,587.75.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.58 percent lower at 10,498.25, while the BSE index fell 1.61 percent to 34,195.94. Both indexes had earlier fallen as much as 3.6 percent.

The markets had fallen over 1,000 in early morning trade on Tuesday as strong selling pressure dragged down all the Sensex and the Nifty components.

Tata Motors, India Bulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank and Hindalco were the biggest losers in the opening trade.

The rupee too fell to 64.38 against US dollar, as against Monday&#39;s close of 64.06, a fall of about 32 paisa.

The fall came as Wall Street stocks plunged leading to large-scale bloodbath in Asian stocks.

Tokyo led the collapse throughout the region in early trade, diving more than five per cent. Hong Kong was down almost four per cent at one point, Sydney 3 per cent on Tuesday morning.

Sensex was up by 238.41 points trading at 34,434.35 and the Nifty was up 89.50 points at 10,587.75

After closing at a record low, Sensex, Nifty recovered in opening trade on value buying in frontline stocks led by banking, auto and metal. Sensex was up by 238.41 points trading at 34,434.35 and the Nifty was up 89.50 points at 10,587.75. The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.58 percent lower at 10,498.25, while the BSE index fell 1.61 percent to 34,195.94. Both indexes had earlier fallen as much as 3.6 percent. The markets had fallen over 1,000 in early morning trade on Tuesday as strong selling pressure dragged down all the Sensex and the Nifty components. Tata Motors, India Bulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank and Hindalco were the biggest losers in the opening trade. The rupee too fell to 64.38 against US dollar, as against Monday's close of 64.06, a fall of about 32 paisa. The fall came as Wall Street stocks plunged leading to large-scale bloodbath in Asian stocks. Tokyo led the collapse throughout the region in early trade, diving more than five per cent. Hong Kong was down almost four per cent at one point, Sydney 3 per cent on Tuesday morning.

Sensex, Nifty recover after terrible Tuesday

Maruti Suzuki unveiled its first in-house developed crossover Concept Future-S, which is a cross between a hatchback and a sports utility vehicle, at the Auto Expo 2018.

Auto Expo 2018: Maruti Suzuki unveils compact car Concept Future-S

Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 15 percent on Monday to a nearly three-month low amid a slew of concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban on using credit cards to buy bitcoin by British and US&nbsp;banks.

On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin fell as low as $6,853.53 in early afternoon trading in New York. That marked a fall of more than half from a peak of almost $20,000 hit in December.

Bitcoin has fallen in six of the last eight trading session.

The currency, which surged more than 1,300 percent last year, has lost about half its value so far in 2018, as more governments and banks signal their intention for a regulatory crackdown. Last week bitcoin suffered its worst weekly performance since 2013.

&quot;We envisage this decline will continue, setting the next technical level at $5,000 a coin,&quot; said Miles Eakers, chief market analyst at Centtrip, which specializes in foreign exchange, worldwide payments and treasury management.

Other cryptocurrencies also suffered double-digit declines on Monday, according to industry tracker Coinmarketcap.com.

Ethereum, the second largest virtual currency, was last down nearly 19 percent at $703.40, while Ripple, the third largest, last traded at 71 cents, down 14.1 percent.

British bank Lloyds Banking Group said on Sunday it was banning customers from using credit cards to buy bitcoin. It joined U.S. banking giants JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co and Citigroup, which announced similar bans on concerns the lenders could be held liable when the volatile currencies plunge in value. [nL8N1PU10Y]

On Monday, India said it was planning steps to make virtual currencies illegal within its payments system and to regulate the trading of crypto assets.

&quot;Cryptocurrencies have seriously fallen out of favour since the middle of December, and constant negative news flow and speculation of increased regulation has exacerbated the move lower,&quot; Craig Erlam, an analyst at currency broker Oanda, said.

The cryptocurrency sector has also attracted the spotlight after news of hacks and scams, including the roughly 58 billion yen ($532.9 million) stolen in digital money from Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck two weeks ago.&nbsp;

But some investors were unfazed.

&quot;Bitcoin has bounced back from similar collapses before during its short but volatile history, and it would hardly be a shock if those claiming the bubble has burst are surprised by yet another change in fortunes,&quot; said Dennis de Jong, managing director at online FX brokerage firm UFX.com in Limassol, Cyprus.

Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin fell as low as $6,853.53 in early afternoon trading in New York.

Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 15 percent on Monday to a nearly three-month low amid a slew of concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban on using credit cards to buy bitcoin by British and US banks. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin fell as low as $6,853.53 in early afternoon trading in New York. That marked a fall of more than half from a peak of almost $20,000 hit in December. Bitcoin has fallen in six of the last eight trading session. The currency, which surged more than 1,300 percent last year, has lost about half its value so far in 2018, as more governments and banks signal their intention for a regulatory crackdown. Last week bitcoin suffered its worst weekly performance since 2013. "We envisage this decline will continue, setting the next technical level at $5,000 a coin," said Miles Eakers, chief market analyst at Centtrip, which specializes in foreign exchange, worldwide payments and treasury management. Other cryptocurrencies also suffered double-digit declines on Monday, according to industry tracker Coinmarketcap.com. Ethereum, the second largest virtual currency, was last down nearly 19 percent at $703.40, while Ripple, the third largest, last traded at 71 cents, down 14.1 percent. British bank Lloyds Banking Group said on Sunday it was banning customers from using credit cards to buy bitcoin. It joined U.S. banking giants JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup, which announced similar bans on concerns the lenders could be held liable when the volatile currencies plunge in value. [nL8N1PU10Y] On Monday, India said it was planning steps to make virtual currencies illegal within its payments system and to regulate the trading of crypto assets. "Cryptocurrencies have seriously fallen out of favour since the middle of December, and constant negative news flow and speculation of increased regulation has exacerbated the move lower," Craig Erlam, an analyst at currency broker Oanda, said. The cryptocurrency sector has also attracted the spotlight after news of hacks and scams, including the roughly 58 billion yen ($532.9 million) stolen in digital money from Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck two weeks ago. But some investors were unfazed. "Bitcoin has bounced back from similar collapses before during its short but volatile history, and it would hardly be a shock if those claiming the bubble has burst are surprised by yet another change in fortunes," said Dennis de Jong, managing director at online FX brokerage firm UFX.com in Limassol, Cyprus.

Bitcoin continues to slide, loses half its value in 2018

Indian shares fell for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, the longest losing streak since September, as the global market rout whacked sentiment, with lingering concerns of a tighter monetary policy ahead of a central bank meeting on Wednesday.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.58 percent lower at 10,498.25, while the BSE index fell 1.61 percent to 34,195.94. Both indexes had earlier fallen as much as 3.6 percent. 
 
Tata Motors Ltd shares lost 5.1 percent after the automaker posted a much-weaker-than-expected net profit on Monday.&nbsp;

Indian shares fell for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, the longest losing streak since September, as the global market rout whacked sentiment, with lingering concerns of a tighter monetary policy ahead of a central bank meeting on Wednesday. The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.58 percent lower at 10,498.25, while the BSE index fell 1.61 percent to 34,195.94. Both indexes had earlier fallen as much as 3.6 percent. Tata Motors Ltd shares lost 5.1 percent after the automaker posted a much-weaker-than-expected net profit on Monday.

Sensex drops for sixth straight session, closes at 34,195

In 2016, the figure stood at 6,000, while in 2015 as many as 4,000 millionaires shifted base.

Millionaire migration: 7,000 'super-rich' Indians shifted base last year

Stock markets fell off a cliff on Tuesday as panic in global markets triggered a sell-off at Dalal Street with Sensex crashing 1,003 points and Nifty erasing as much as 371.4 points in the opening trades.&nbsp;

Overnight, Dow Jones fell over 1,100 points, its biggest fall since six-and-half years after US wage data on Friday pointed to quickening inflation which may lead to higher rates by the US Federal Reserve.&nbsp;

Investors lost a whopping Rs 5,40,000 crore within a few seconds of the market opening.

Indian markets are already under pressure after the government presented the budget that focused on populist measures ahead of general elections in 2019 and imposed a long-term capital gains tax on equities.

Asian stocks also plunged&nbsp;because of the record-breaking loss on Wall Street. Tokyo led the collapse throughout the region in early trade, diving more than five per cent. Hong Kong was down almost four per cent at one point,&nbsp;Sydney 3 per cent, Singapore 2.3 per cent, Seoul 3 per cent, Taipei 3.7 per cent, and Shanghai 2.1 per cent.

Media reports quoted market observers as saying that besides negative global cues, heavy selling pressure in banking, capital goods, auto and oil and gas stocks, pulled the stocks lower.

The morning crash knocked off Rs 5.4 lakh crore investor wealth within seconds

Stock markets fell off a cliff on Tuesday as panic in global markets triggered a sell-off at Dalal Street with Sensex crashing 1,003 points and Nifty erasing as much as 371.4 points in the opening trades. Overnight, Dow Jones fell over 1,100 points, its biggest fall since six-and-half years after US wage data on Friday pointed to quickening inflation which may lead to higher rates by the US Federal Reserve. Investors lost a whopping Rs 5,40,000 crore within a few seconds of the market opening. Indian markets are already under pressure after the government presented the budget that focused on populist measures ahead of general elections in 2019 and imposed a long-term capital gains tax on equities. Asian stocks also plunged because of the record-breaking loss on Wall Street. Tokyo led the collapse throughout the region in early trade, diving more than five per cent. Hong Kong was down almost four per cent at one point, Sydney 3 per cent, Singapore 2.3 per cent, Seoul 3 per cent, Taipei 3.7 per cent, and Shanghai 2.1 per cent. Media reports quoted market observers as saying that besides negative global cues, heavy selling pressure in banking, capital goods, auto and oil and gas stocks, pulled the stocks lower.

Sensex bloodbath: In 24 hours, investors lost Rs 5.4 lakh crore

Bitcoin plunged 20 per cent to a three-month low today, its latest sharp loss following a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency that, with a collapse across global mainstream markets adding to the selling.

The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November, according to Bloomberg News, and represents the latest hammering for a unit that saw a stratospheric 26-fold rise last year.

Today&#39;s collapse comes just six weeks after bitcoin hit a record high of $19,511, fuelled by a flood of speculators looking to make a quick buck, with warnings it could fall another 50 per cent.

Since those heady days the cryptomarket -- which includes dozens of other units -- has been pounded by news of crackdowns by governments including in China, Russia and South Korea, one of the biggest markets for the sector.

On Thursday, India said it would &quot;take all measures to eliminate&quot; cryptocurrencies&#39; use as part of a payment system and in funding illegitimate activities, while Japanese authorities raided a virtual currency exchange after it lost $530 million to hackers.

The central bank in Europe, Japan and the United States have also flagged concerns about the unit and this week saw several commercial lenders say they would stop allowing their customers to buy bitcoin through their credit cards owing to debt concerns.

Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda, said &quot;the dynamics behind the moves are regulatory clampdowns and investors losing confidence in crypto&quot;.

The sell-off on Tuesday was exacerbated by crushing losses on world stock markets, with the Dow on Wall Street suffering its biggest one-day points loss and wiping out all its 2018 gains.

The global rout comes as panicked investors fret over rising US borrowing costs, leading them to cash in profits after a stellar couple of months that have seen many indexes hit record or all-time highs.

Equities have enjoyed months of surges fuelled by optimism over the US economy, corporate earnings and the global outlook.

But while traders have been piling into equities, pushing many global indexes to record or multi-year highs, there has been growing concern on trading floors about elevated US Treasury bond yields -- at four-year highs -- and the likelihood of fresh Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

&quot;The risk-off tone is hitting Bitcoin almost as hard as a global regulator and bank scrutiny,&quot; said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader. &quot;The latest dent to the Cryptospace has been banks saying they are shutting down the ability of clients to buy bitcoin with their cards.&quot;

&quot;This could end up a full round trip back into the $1,850/$2,966 region.&nbsp;

The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November

Bitcoin plunged 20 per cent to a three-month low today, its latest sharp loss following a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency that, with a collapse across global mainstream markets adding to the selling. The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November, according to Bloomberg News, and represents the latest hammering for a unit that saw a stratospheric 26-fold rise last year. Today's collapse comes just six weeks after bitcoin hit a record high of $19,511, fuelled by a flood of speculators looking to make a quick buck, with warnings it could fall another 50 per cent. Since those heady days the cryptomarket -- which includes dozens of other units -- has been pounded by news of crackdowns by governments including in China, Russia and South Korea, one of the biggest markets for the sector. On Thursday, India said it would "take all measures to eliminate" cryptocurrencies' use as part of a payment system and in funding illegitimate activities, while Japanese authorities raided a virtual currency exchange after it lost $530 million to hackers. The central bank in Europe, Japan and the United States have also flagged concerns about the unit and this week saw several commercial lenders say they would stop allowing their customers to buy bitcoin through their credit cards owing to debt concerns. Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda, said "the dynamics behind the moves are regulatory clampdowns and investors losing confidence in crypto". The sell-off on Tuesday was exacerbated by crushing losses on world stock markets, with the Dow on Wall Street suffering its biggest one-day points loss and wiping out all its 2018 gains. The global rout comes as panicked investors fret over rising US borrowing costs, leading them to cash in profits after a stellar couple of months that have seen many indexes hit record or all-time highs. Equities have enjoyed months of surges fuelled by optimism over the US economy, corporate earnings and the global outlook. But while traders have been piling into equities, pushing many global indexes to record or multi-year highs, there has been growing concern on trading floors about elevated US Treasury bond yields -- at four-year highs -- and the likelihood of fresh Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. "The risk-off tone is hitting Bitcoin almost as hard as a global regulator and bank scrutiny," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader. "The latest dent to the Cryptospace has been banks saying they are shutting down the ability of clients to buy bitcoin with their cards." "This could end up a full round trip back into the $1,850/$2,966 region.

Bitcoin drops below $6,200 for first time in three months

The rupee on Tuesday dropped by 29 paise to trade at 64.36 against the US dollar on frenetic dollar demand from importers and banks.

Dealers said early losses in domestic equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows weighed on the rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee had ended with a mere fall of one paisa at Rs 64.07 against the American currency.

The benchmark BSE Sensex crashed by 1,274.35 points, or 3.66 per cent, to 33,482.81, while Nifty tanked by 390.25 points, or 3.65 per cent, to 10,276.30 in opening trade.&nbsp;

Yesterday, the rupee had ended with a mere fall of one paisa at Rs 64.07 against the American currency

The rupee on Tuesday dropped by 29 paise to trade at 64.36 against the US dollar on frenetic dollar demand from importers and banks. Dealers said early losses in domestic equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows weighed on the rupee. Yesterday, the rupee had ended with a mere fall of one paisa at Rs 64.07 against the American currency. The benchmark BSE Sensex crashed by 1,274.35 points, or 3.66 per cent, to 33,482.81, while Nifty tanked by 390.25 points, or 3.65 per cent, to 10,276.30 in opening trade.

Rupee drops 29 paise against dollar at 64.36

In the biggest fall in its history, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asian-markets-plunge-as-wall-street-rout-spreads-31927">the &nbsp;Dow Jones Industrial Average</a> fell nearly 1,600 points at one point as Wall Street experienced a bloodbath on Monday.

The Dow&#39;s gains for 2018 were erased in a matter of hours as 4.6 per cent was wiped off the value of America&#39;s 30 largest companies as it closed at 24,345.75 ending down 1,175.21 points down.

The Dow fell over fears of Treasury bond yields and the likelihood of &nbsp;Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year as the US economy strengthens.

The benchmark S&amp;P 500 index also saw selling pressure as all sectors, were hit. It was down 5.0 per cent which was the biggest daily percentage decline, followed by healthcare, down 4.6 per cent.

The S&amp;P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.10 per cent, to end at 2,648.94 on Monday.&nbsp;

&quot;It looks to me like a typical type of scenario when you see a single stock flash crash where you&#39;ll see bids just disappear, stop orders get kicked,&quot; said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading told Reuters.

The Nasdaq Composite also dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78 per cent to 6,967.53.

The Dow fell over fears of Treasury bond yields and the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year as the US economy strengthens.

In the biggest fall in its history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,600 points at one point as Wall Street experienced a bloodbath on Monday. The Dow's gains for 2018 were erased in a matter of hours as 4.6 per cent was wiped off the value of America's 30 largest companies as it closed at 24,345.75 ending down 1,175.21 points down. The Dow fell over fears of Treasury bond yields and the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year as the US economy strengthens. The benchmark S&P 500 index also saw selling pressure as all sectors, were hit. It was down 5.0 per cent which was the biggest daily percentage decline, followed by healthcare, down 4.6 per cent. The S&P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.10 per cent, to end at 2,648.94 on Monday. "It looks to me like a typical type of scenario when you see a single stock flash crash where you'll see bids just disappear, stop orders get kicked," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading told Reuters. The Nasdaq Composite also dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78 per cent to 6,967.53.

Wall Street crash: Dow Jones plunges to historic low, S&P 500 & Nasdaq hit

Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu expressed his opinion on today&#39;s Sensex bloodbath which led to an estimated&nbsp;loss of a whopping Rs 5.4 lakh crore to the investors.&nbsp;

In an interview with Zee Group Prabhu noted that the drop in the markets does not attribute to any domestic phenomenon.&nbsp;

&quot;Markets are linked globally and it is the after-effect of whatever happens in the international market,&quot; he noted.&nbsp;

He also noted that the proposed long-term capital gains tax was not responsible for the drop in markets as it didn&#39;t reflect any changes in the markets on the day of the budget as well.&nbsp;

&quot;Global markets are showing weaker trends, something that trickled down to our domestic market as well,&quot; the minister shared.&nbsp;

He also shared that the fundamentals of our economy are strong due to which the markets will bounce back to normal again.&nbsp;

&quot;I would like to ensure that the market is going to improve in the next few days,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

He further added that the consultation for the new industrial policy has begun, the policy will be futuristic in nature. &quot;Keeping global trade in mind, we will be formulating a separate export policy as well which will enable us to achieve an economy worth 5 trillion dollars in the next 8 years,&quot; Prabhu concluded.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/sensex-bloodbath-in-24-hours-investors-lost-rs-54-lakh-crore-31955">Stock markets plummeted on Tuesday</a> as panic in global markets triggered a sell-off at Dalal Street with Sensex crashing 1,003 points and Nifty dropping as much as 371.4 points in the opening trades.

'I would like to ensure that the market is going to improve in the next few days,' Suresh Prabhu

Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu expressed his opinion on today's Sensex bloodbath which led to an estimated loss of a whopping Rs 5.4 lakh crore to the investors. In an interview with Zee Group Prabhu noted that the drop in the markets does not attribute to any domestic phenomenon. "Markets are linked globally and it is the after-effect of whatever happens in the international market," he noted. He also noted that the proposed long-term capital gains tax was not responsible for the drop in markets as it didn't reflect any changes in the markets on the day of the budget as well. "Global markets are showing weaker trends, something that trickled down to our domestic market as well," the minister shared. He also shared that the fundamentals of our economy are strong due to which the markets will bounce back to normal again. "I would like to ensure that the market is going to improve in the next few days," he added. He further added that the consultation for the new industrial policy has begun, the policy will be futuristic in nature. "Keeping global trade in mind, we will be formulating a separate export policy as well which will enable us to achieve an economy worth 5 trillion dollars in the next 8 years," Prabhu concluded. Stock markets plummeted on Tuesday as panic in global markets triggered a sell-off at Dalal Street with Sensex crashing 1,003 points and Nifty dropping as much as 371.4 points in the opening trades.

Long-term capital gains tax not responsible for stock market drop: Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu

Indian shares fell for a fifth straight session on Monday, with the broader NSE index hitting its lowest in a month, as Asian shares slumped, while worries remained that the Reserve Bank of India would turn more hawkish at its policy meeting later this week.

Investors remained concerned that the government widened its fiscal deficit target for the year starting in April to help finance higher spending in rural sectors and healthcare.

The government also imposed a 10 percent long-term capital gains tax for equity investments of more than one year, raising concerns about investors` risk appetite after Indian shares went on a record-setting spree last month.

Government officials have tried to downplay the impact of the tax. Finance and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told a post-budget conference organised by an industry lobby group that the rate was &quot;nominal&quot; and India remained a favourable market. He instead attributed the recent selloff in the markets to global cues.

&quot;It is very unfortunate that our move came at a very wrong time because of global markets also going down,&quot; he said.

Asian shares fell the most in more than a year on Monday as fears of resurgent inflation battered bonds globally, and toppled Wall Street from record highs. The MSCI`s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed as much as 2 percent in its largest intraday drop since late 2016.&nbsp;

But bonds in India turned relatively more stable, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield rising 2 basis points to 7.58 percent after posting its biggest weekly rise since February 2017 last week.&nbsp;

The rupee was trading at 64.0325/0375 per dollar, compared with Friday`s close of 64.07.

&quot;Disappointments include budget provisions and lack of buying on small- and mid-caps, even at lower levels. Expect RBI to maintain the rates and its cautious tone during the policy meet this week,&quot; said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.&nbsp;

The NSE Nifty was down 0.84 percent at 10,670.20 as of 0746 GMT, after declining as much as 1.62 percent to its lowest level since Jan 5.

The benchmark BSE index was 0.86 percent lower at 34,766.63, after dropping as much as 1.56 percent.

Both indexes were down for a fifth straight session, in what could be their longest losing streak since September 2017.

The losses were led by index heavyweight Housing Development Finance Corp, which was trading 3 percent lower.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel Ltd climbed as much as 5 percent after Singapore Telecommunications Ltd said it would raise stake in Bharti Telecom, the holding company for India`s biggest mobile carrier.

The Sensex has been in free fall ever since Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an increased fiscal deficit target of 3.3% and a 10% LTCG tax on the sale of shares

Indian shares fell for a fifth straight session on Monday, with the broader NSE index hitting its lowest in a month, as Asian shares slumped, while worries remained that the Reserve Bank of India would turn more hawkish at its policy meeting later this week. Investors remained concerned that the government widened its fiscal deficit target for the year starting in April to help finance higher spending in rural sectors and healthcare. The government also imposed a 10 percent long-term capital gains tax for equity investments of more than one year, raising concerns about investors` risk appetite after Indian shares went on a record-setting spree last month. Government officials have tried to downplay the impact of the tax. Finance and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told a post-budget conference organised by an industry lobby group that the rate was "nominal" and India remained a favourable market. He instead attributed the recent selloff in the markets to global cues. "It is very unfortunate that our move came at a very wrong time because of global markets also going down," he said. Asian shares fell the most in more than a year on Monday as fears of resurgent inflation battered bonds globally, and toppled Wall Street from record highs. The MSCI`s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed as much as 2 percent in its largest intraday drop since late 2016. But bonds in India turned relatively more stable, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield rising 2 basis points to 7.58 percent after posting its biggest weekly rise since February 2017 last week. The rupee was trading at 64.0325/0375 per dollar, compared with Friday`s close of 64.07. "Disappointments include budget provisions and lack of buying on small- and mid-caps, even at lower levels. Expect RBI to maintain the rates and its cautious tone during the policy meet this week," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities. The NSE Nifty was down 0.84 percent at 10,670.20 as of 0746 GMT, after declining as much as 1.62 percent to its lowest level since Jan 5. The benchmark BSE index was 0.86 percent lower at 34,766.63, after dropping as much as 1.56 percent. Both indexes were down for a fifth straight session, in what could be their longest losing streak since September 2017. The losses were led by index heavyweight Housing Development Finance Corp, which was trading 3 percent lower. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel Ltd climbed as much as 5 percent after Singapore Telecommunications Ltd said it would raise stake in Bharti Telecom, the holding company for India`s biggest mobile carrier.

Sensex falls for fifth day in a row, closes at 34,757

The national <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/dont-know-about-obamacare-but-modicare-can-definitely-become-successful-jaitley-31525">health protection scheme announced </a>in the Union Budget 2018 on Thursday will be implemented from October 2, reports said.

A Niti Ayog official said the health insurance scheme proposed in the Budget will cost Rs 10,000-12,000 crore.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/stress-in-farm-sector-is-real-jaitley-says-day-after-budget-31551">Also Read: Stress in farm sector is real, Jaitley says day after Budget</a>

The annual<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/live-union-budget-2018-finance-minister-arun-jaitley-presents-budget-in-parliament-31380"> premium will range between</a> Rs 1,000-1,200 per family, the official added.

The national health care policy announced in the Union Budget by finance minister aims to be the &quot;world&#39;s largest publicly-funded healthcare programme&quot;.

The plan is expected to cover around 50 crore people.

The newly unveiled policy offers Rs 5 lakh cover per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

The finance minister had committed Rs 1,200 crore for the National Health Policy which would be used towards bringing up 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres.

&nbsp;

The plan is expected to cover around 50 crore people.

The national health protection scheme announced in the Union Budget 2018 on Thursday will be implemented from October 2, reports said. A Niti Ayog official said the health insurance scheme proposed in the Budget will cost Rs 10,000-12,000 crore. Also Read: Stress in farm sector is real, Jaitley says day after Budget The annual premium will range between Rs 1,000-1,200 per family, the official added. The national health care policy announced in the Union Budget by finance minister aims to be the "world's largest publicly-funded healthcare programme". The plan is expected to cover around 50 crore people. The newly unveiled policy offers Rs 5 lakh cover per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The finance minister had committed Rs 1,200 crore for the National Health Policy which would be used towards bringing up 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres.

Budget 2018: Govt's landmark national health scheme to be implemented from October 2

A day after the Budget, the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sensex-nosedives-over-600-points-post-jaitleys-10-tax-on-sale-of-shares-31579">BSE Sensex dived 839 points </a>today barely holding on to the 35K mark. The Nifty too nosedived plunging over 250 points.

Sensex crashed 839.91 points to end at 35,066.75 and the Nifty&nbsp;sank 256.30 points to 10,760.60 today.

This is the fifth steepest fall in ten years. The Bank Nifty was down around 3 per cent with the Nifty Midcap and BSE small cap also at a low, down 4-5 per cent.

The markets had given&nbsp;a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/no-budget-cheer-markets-close-down-in-2017-markets-ended-over-400-points-up-31480">lukewarm response to the government&#39;s </a>Budget on Thursday with the Sensex closing 58 points down at 35,906.66 while the Nifty slipped 10.80 points to end at 11,016.90 on Budget day.

Sunil Shah, Stock market expert told Reuters: &quot;As far as capital markets are concerned, the budget turned out to be a non event. So there was nothing much in the budget.&quot;&nbsp;

The 30-share index had plunged over 460 points on Budget day in afternoon trade after finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.

Today&#39;s poor run was fuelled by investors worried over government&#39;s move to raise the minimum support price(MSP) for crops this year which could lead to higher retail price with inflation hitting a 17-month high.

Today's poor run was fuelled by investors worried over government's move to raise the minimum support price for crops

A day after the Budget, the BSE Sensex dived 839 points today barely holding on to the 35K mark. The Nifty too nosedived plunging over 250 points. Sensex crashed 839.91 points to end at 35,066.75 and the Nifty sank 256.30 points to 10,760.60 today. This is the fifth steepest fall in ten years. The Bank Nifty was down around 3 per cent with the Nifty Midcap and BSE small cap also at a low, down 4-5 per cent. The markets had given a lukewarm response to the government's Budget on Thursday with the Sensex closing 58 points down at 35,906.66 while the Nifty slipped 10.80 points to end at 11,016.90 on Budget day. Sunil Shah, Stock market expert told Reuters: "As far as capital markets are concerned, the budget turned out to be a non event. So there was nothing much in the budget." The 30-share index had plunged over 460 points on Budget day in afternoon trade after finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh. Today's poor run was fuelled by investors worried over government's move to raise the minimum support price(MSP) for crops this year which could lead to higher retail price with inflation hitting a 17-month high.

Sensex ends 800 points down day after Budget, LTCG tax hurts market sentiments

Stronger<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/apple-says-it-sold-fewer-iphones-but-made-record-profit-31535"> iPhone prices and hints by Apple Inc</a> on Thursday that it could return more than half of its $285 billion in cash to shareholders eased concerns among investors, even as the world`s biggest technology company gave a disappointing revenue outlook for the current quarter.

 
Apple also reported it sold fewer iPhones over the holiday quarter than Wall Street had expected.&nbsp;

 
But the revenue outlook for the first three months of 2018 &quot;was not as bad as some feared,&quot; said Jun Zhang of Rosenblatt Securities Inc. Apple&#39;s comments about plans for its $163 billion in net cash helped boost shares 3.3 percent to $173.48 in after-the-bell trading.

 
&ldquo;Over time, we are trying to target a capital structure that is approximately net neutral. We will have approximately the same level of cash and debt on the balance sheet,&rdquo; Apple`s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, told Reuters in an interview.

 
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to take that balance down from $163 billion to zero,&quot; Maestri said, referring to Apple`s current level of cash net of debt.

 
He did not say whether the reduction in net cash would come in the form of returning capital to shareholders, capital expenditures or acquisitions.

 
The cash plans are a &quot;pleasant surprise,&quot; Brian Colello, an analyst at Morningstar Inc, said. &quot;This goes a bit against Apple&rsquo;s historically conservative capital structure.&quot;

 
Trip Miller, managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners and an Apple investor, said the move to a level balance sheet was good news. &quot;Let`s face it, this cash has been doing nothing for us over the last six years,&quot; he said.

 
Apple forecast revenue of $60 billion to $62 billion and gross margins of between 38 percent and 38.5 percent for its fiscal second quarter ending in March. Analysts were expecting $65.7 billion in sales and a gross margin of 38.9 percent for the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, though some had forecast sales as low as $60 billion.

 
Thrivent Financial analyst Peter Karazeris said the low revenue forecast had been expected by many analysts and investors following a string of &ldquo;credible reports&rdquo; that Apple had cut parts orders.

 
&quot;I&rsquo;m happy we&rsquo;ve gotten the bad news that I was expecting guided into the stock. It was probably a little overbaked,&quot; he said. &quot;Now we`re focusing on metrics that really matter like free-cash generation and shareholder returns.&quot; Thrivent holds Apple shares.

 
Bright spots in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 30 included average selling prices for the iPhone that topped Wall Street predictions, at $796 versus expectations of $756. The strong prices offset unit sales of iPhones that missed Wall Street expectations, coming in at 77.3 million units versus estimates of 80 million.

 
&ldquo;It was really driven by the success of the iPhone X and also the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus,&rdquo; Maestri told Reuters of the pricing strength. &ldquo;The new lineup has done incredibly well.&quot;

 
The company posted revenue of $88.3 billion and profit of $3.89 per share, from $78.4 billion and $3.36 per share a year earlier. The results beat analyst expectations of revenue of $87.3 billion and profits of $3.86 per share.

 
Apple`s services business, which includes Apple Music, the App Store and iCloud, grew 18 per cent to $8.4 billion, missing analyst expectations of $8.6 billion. Maestri said the lower services revenue was because the holiday quarter was only 13 weeks rather than 14 weeks.

 
The services revenue was down slightly from $8.5 billion the quarter before.

 
&quot;That`s something to watch as we roll further into 2018,&quot; said Miller of Gullane Capital. &quot;Does that continue to stagnate, or was that a one-time bump in the road?&quot; 
Maestri also said Apple`s installed base of active devices reached 1.3 billion, 30 per cent higher than two years ago and representing an expansion of potential customers for the services business.

 
Apple said it expected its tax rate for the March quarter to be 15 per cent following changes in US&nbsp;tax law. The company said last month it plans to make a one-time tax payment of $38 billion on its overseas cash and has a five-year, $30 billion US&nbsp;capital expenditure plan.&nbsp;

 
The company did not say how much of its overseas cash it would bring back to the United States in the short term and gave no new information about its capital return program, which it typically updates each April.

Apple reported it sold fewer iPhones over the holiday quarter than Wall Street had expected.

Stronger iPhone prices and hints by Apple Inc on Thursday that it could return more than half of its $285 billion in cash to shareholders eased concerns among investors, even as the world`s biggest technology company gave a disappointing revenue outlook for the current quarter. Apple also reported it sold fewer iPhones over the holiday quarter than Wall Street had expected. But the revenue outlook for the first three months of 2018 "was not as bad as some feared," said Jun Zhang of Rosenblatt Securities Inc. Apple's comments about plans for its $163 billion in net cash helped boost shares 3.3 percent to $173.48 in after-the-bell trading. “Over time, we are trying to target a capital structure that is approximately net neutral. We will have approximately the same level of cash and debt on the balance sheet,” Apple`s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, told Reuters in an interview. “We’re going to take that balance down from $163 billion to zero," Maestri said, referring to Apple`s current level of cash net of debt. He did not say whether the reduction in net cash would come in the form of returning capital to shareholders, capital expenditures or acquisitions. The cash plans are a "pleasant surprise," Brian Colello, an analyst at Morningstar Inc, said. "This goes a bit against Apple’s historically conservative capital structure." Trip Miller, managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners and an Apple investor, said the move to a level balance sheet was good news. "Let`s face it, this cash has been doing nothing for us over the last six years," he said. Apple forecast revenue of $60 billion to $62 billion and gross margins of between 38 percent and 38.5 percent for its fiscal second quarter ending in March. Analysts were expecting $65.7 billion in sales and a gross margin of 38.9 percent for the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, though some had forecast sales as low as $60 billion. Thrivent Financial analyst Peter Karazeris said the low revenue forecast had been expected by many analysts and investors following a string of “credible reports” that Apple had cut parts orders. "I’m happy we’ve gotten the bad news that I was expecting guided into the stock. It was probably a little overbaked," he said. "Now we`re focusing on metrics that really matter like free-cash generation and shareholder returns." Thrivent holds Apple shares. Bright spots in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 30 included average selling prices for the iPhone that topped Wall Street predictions, at $796 versus expectations of $756. The strong prices offset unit sales of iPhones that missed Wall Street expectations, coming in at 77.3 million units versus estimates of 80 million. “It was really driven by the success of the iPhone X and also the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus,” Maestri told Reuters of the pricing strength. “The new lineup has done incredibly well." The company posted revenue of $88.3 billion and profit of $3.89 per share, from $78.4 billion and $3.36 per share a year earlier. The results beat analyst expectations of revenue of $87.3 billion and profits of $3.86 per share. Apple`s services business, which includes Apple Music, the App Store and iCloud, grew 18 per cent to $8.4 billion, missing analyst expectations of $8.6 billion. Maestri said the lower services revenue was because the holiday quarter was only 13 weeks rather than 14 weeks. The services revenue was down slightly from $8.5 billion the quarter before. "That`s something to watch as we roll further into 2018," said Miller of Gullane Capital. "Does that continue to stagnate, or was that a one-time bump in the road?" Maestri also said Apple`s installed base of active devices reached 1.3 billion, 30 per cent higher than two years ago and representing an expansion of potential customers for the services business. Apple said it expected its tax rate for the March quarter to be 15 per cent following changes in US tax law. The company said last month it plans to make a one-time tax payment of $38 billion on its overseas cash and has a five-year, $30 billion US capital expenditure plan. The company did not say how much of its overseas cash it would bring back to the United States in the short term and gave no new information about its capital return program, which it typically updates each April.

Apple's revenue outlook not as bad as some feared: Analysts

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met with industry heavyweights Friday morning <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/as-expected-budget-2018-friendly-to-farmers-big-on-health-stocks-fall-31454" target="_blank">a day after releasing his Budget</a>.&nbsp;

There are sections of the economy which need government aid, Jaitley told the CEOs, taking off from where he had left off in his Budget. Jaitley&#39;s last full year Budget before the general elections in 2019 has been called pro-poor, populist, and aimed at the elections next year.&nbsp;

The stress in the farm sector is real, Jaitley said Friday. (Critics of his government have been saying the same thing for some time now.)

On Thursday, Jaitley had announced in his Budget that farmers would be paid 1.5 times the cost of production of their kharif crops.&nbsp;

The MSP has to be reasonable, Jaitley said Friday. And that the agriculture ministry, state governments, and NITI Aayog would work out the details.&nbsp;

Jaitley added Friday that the government was concentrating on targeting the welfare of individual rural homes, providing interest subventions, and aid for irrigation to rural areas.&nbsp;

Jaitley&#39;s biggest announcement on Thursday however had been the creation of the world&#39;s largest health insurance programme. The programme, Jaitley said, would cover 500 million people -- close to half of the country&#39;s population -- with 50 million families insured for up to Rs 5 lakh a year.&nbsp;

The &quot;health scheme is a major target for the government&quot;, Jaitley said Friday.&nbsp;

Jaitley said the health insurance programme too was first envisaged by the NITI Aayog. He added that the programme could be built on a trust or insurance model, and that the scheme would kick off on April 1, 2018.&nbsp;

Jaitley said Friday the MSP and healthcareprogrammes were &quot;ambitious&quot;&nbsp;and that the real success would lie in implementing it.

&ldquo;We were concerned this year on account of various global and domestic factors that this had to be a &lsquo;spend-more&rsquo; and not a &lsquo;save-more&rsquo; budget,&quot; Jaitley added.&nbsp;

Jaitley&#39;s Buget had offered a number of other sops to the poor, especially the rural poor -- including the distribution of eight million free gas connections, and four million free electricity connections.&nbsp;

The sops however mean the governnment will breach its fiscal deficit target. Jaitley said Thursday that the target this year was&nbsp;3.3%, up from the earlier 3%.&nbsp;

The stock markets did not respond well to the announcement. They dove further after Jaitley announced long-term capital gains on the sale of shares above Rs 1 lakh would be taxed at 10%. Jaitley said Friday that that had been a &quot;tough call&quot;.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/day-after-union-budget-sensex-drops-324-points-nifty-below-11000-on-ltcg-jitters-31550" target="_blank">Sensex drops 324 points, Nifty below 11,000 on LTCG jitters</a>

He added Friday that the &quot;manufacturing sector has picked up in the last few months&quot;. But that India has a serious challenge ahead of it when it comes to tax compliance and increasing the tax base. He added that tax rates in India are low. That no other country has a five per cent tax slab and that you cannot get slabs any lower than the ones we already have.&nbsp;

The finance minister met Friday with industry heavyweights

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met with industry heavyweights Friday morning a day after releasing his Budget. There are sections of the economy which need government aid, Jaitley told the CEOs, taking off from where he had left off in his Budget. Jaitley's last full year Budget before the general elections in 2019 has been called pro-poor, populist, and aimed at the elections next year. The stress in the farm sector is real, Jaitley said Friday. (Critics of his government have been saying the same thing for some time now.) On Thursday, Jaitley had announced in his Budget that farmers would be paid 1.5 times the cost of production of their kharif crops. The MSP has to be reasonable, Jaitley said Friday. And that the agriculture ministry, state governments, and NITI Aayog would work out the details. Jaitley added Friday that the government was concentrating on targeting the welfare of individual rural homes, providing interest subventions, and aid for irrigation to rural areas. Jaitley's biggest announcement on Thursday however had been the creation of the world's largest health insurance programme. The programme, Jaitley said, would cover 500 million people -- close to half of the country's population -- with 50 million families insured for up to Rs 5 lakh a year. The "health scheme is a major target for the government", Jaitley said Friday. Jaitley said the health insurance programme too was first envisaged by the NITI Aayog. He added that the programme could be built on a trust or insurance model, and that the scheme would kick off on April 1, 2018. Jaitley said Friday the MSP and healthcareprogrammes were "ambitious" and that the real success would lie in implementing it. “We were concerned this year on account of various global and domestic factors that this had to be a ‘spend-more’ and not a ‘save-more’ budget," Jaitley added. Jaitley's Buget had offered a number of other sops to the poor, especially the rural poor -- including the distribution of eight million free gas connections, and four million free electricity connections. The sops however mean the governnment will breach its fiscal deficit target. Jaitley said Thursday that the target this year was 3.3%, up from the earlier 3%. The stock markets did not respond well to the announcement. They dove further after Jaitley announced long-term capital gains on the sale of shares above Rs 1 lakh would be taxed at 10%. Jaitley said Friday that that had been a "tough call". Also read: Sensex drops 324 points, Nifty below 11,000 on LTCG jitters He added Friday that the "manufacturing sector has picked up in the last few months". But that India has a serious challenge ahead of it when it comes to tax compliance and increasing the tax base. He added that tax rates in India are low. That no other country has a five per cent tax slab and that you cannot get slabs any lower than the ones we already have.

Stress in farm sector is real, Jaitley says day after Budget

Google parent Alphabet Inc missed quarterly profit forecasts as steady ad sales growth was offset by increased spending to promote its consumer gadgets, YouTube video app and cloud computing services, the U.S. technology company said on Thursday.

Shares of Alphabet dipped more than 5 percent after-hours, before steadying with a 2.7 percent loss at $1,149.93.

Though growing demand for pricey ads on mobile apps has kept Google&#39;s core ad business surging, the company has moved aggressively to maintain dominance and diversify sales. Expenses jumped 27 percent to $24.7 billion in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period.

Google bought ads during major sports events to market its new Pixel 2 smartphone and YouTube television service. It slashed prices on other hardware in the race to get online search and media streaming devices into people&#39;s homes. Google continued to quickly add staff to its enterprise sales unit.

A growing portion of revenue has been spent on having the Google search engine set as the default option on products and services such as Apple Inc&#39;s iPhone and Mozilla&#39;s Firefox browser.

Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts in a post-earnings conference call that higher marketing costs coincided with holidays and that payments to partners such as Apple and Mozilla would steady in coming quarters.

Investments are paying off, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said, noting that cloud computing is generating $1 billion in quarterly sales. He said Google&#39;s G Suite workplace software package had doubled its customers to 4 million in two years, as Reuters first reported earlier on Thursday.

&quot;Overall, it was a good quarter. Advertising revenue is still up significantly,&quot; Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial Partners said in an email.

Fourth-quarter sales increased 24 percent to $32.3 billion, above the average analysts&#39; estimate of $31.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Adjusted quarterly profit of $6.8 billion, or $9.70 per share, missed estimates of $7 billion, or $10 per share.

The profit figure excludes a $9.9 billion tax charge as Alphabet joined much of corporate America in reporting large one-time expenses in the fourth quarter due to U.S. legislation enacted in December that lowers corporate rates.

The tax law has given companies more affordable access to overseas profits, and Porat said Alphabet would make a &quot;modest increase&quot; in share buybacks with an additional allocation of $8.6 billion.

The growing use of smartphones worldwide has been a bonanza for social media company Facebook Inc and Google, which research firm EMarketer estimates together account for nearly 60 percent of mobile ad sales.

Google sells ad space on its search engine, its fast-growing YouTube video streaming service and a network of third-party websites and apps.

The company&#39;s computer algorithms have become more effective at delivering mobile ads likely to make customers sit through commercials, install an app or visit a website.

Led by such ads, Alphabet generated $110.9 billion in full-year revenue, up 23 percent from 2016 and topping $100 billion for the first time. Profit fell 35 percent to $12.6 billion because of the tax bill and a separate charge last summer for a $2.7 billion European Union antitrust fine, which is under appeal.

&quot;The company&#39;s continued strong top-line growth and myriad new opportunities to drive future growth remain the keys to the stock,&quot; MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said in an email.

Alphabet is attempting to maintain sales growth through new businesses, experimenting with operating a fleet of self-driving taxis through Waymo and licensing medical technology at Verily.

Non-advertising revenue from Google combined with revenue from Verily and the other Alphabet companies was $15.5 billion in 2017, accounting for about 14 percent of total revenue, compared to $10.9 billion, or 12 percent, in 2016.

Alphabet also said on Thursday that veteran board member John Hennessy took over as chairman the day before from Eric Schmidt, a long-time Google executive who will remain a board member and technical adviser. The potential for further regulation on privacy, monopolistic business practices or content vetting is among investors&#39; top concerns about tech companies such as Alphabet and Amazon.com Inc&nbsp;that are tapping their unrivalled consumer behaviour data to branch beyond their core businesses.

MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson said in a note to clients last month that Google had &quot;the most unrecognized value&quot; of big publicly traded tech companies despite some concerns about regulatory issues. 
&nbsp;

A growing portion of revenue has been spent on having the Google search engine set as the default option on products and services such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Mozilla's Firefox browser.

Google parent Alphabet Inc missed quarterly profit forecasts as steady ad sales growth was offset by increased spending to promote its consumer gadgets, YouTube video app and cloud computing services, the U.S. technology company said on Thursday. Shares of Alphabet dipped more than 5 percent after-hours, before steadying with a 2.7 percent loss at $1,149.93. Though growing demand for pricey ads on mobile apps has kept Google's core ad business surging, the company has moved aggressively to maintain dominance and diversify sales. Expenses jumped 27 percent to $24.7 billion in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period. Google bought ads during major sports events to market its new Pixel 2 smartphone and YouTube television service. It slashed prices on other hardware in the race to get online search and media streaming devices into people's homes. Google continued to quickly add staff to its enterprise sales unit. A growing portion of revenue has been spent on having the Google search engine set as the default option on products and services such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Mozilla's Firefox browser. Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts in a post-earnings conference call that higher marketing costs coincided with holidays and that payments to partners such as Apple and Mozilla would steady in coming quarters. Investments are paying off, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said, noting that cloud computing is generating $1 billion in quarterly sales. He said Google's G Suite workplace software package had doubled its customers to 4 million in two years, as Reuters first reported earlier on Thursday. "Overall, it was a good quarter. Advertising revenue is still up significantly," Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial Partners said in an email. Fourth-quarter sales increased 24 percent to $32.3 billion, above the average analysts' estimate of $31.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Adjusted quarterly profit of $6.8 billion, or $9.70 per share, missed estimates of $7 billion, or $10 per share. The profit figure excludes a $9.9 billion tax charge as Alphabet joined much of corporate America in reporting large one-time expenses in the fourth quarter due to U.S. legislation enacted in December that lowers corporate rates. The tax law has given companies more affordable access to overseas profits, and Porat said Alphabet would make a "modest increase" in share buybacks with an additional allocation of $8.6 billion. The growing use of smartphones worldwide has been a bonanza for social media company Facebook Inc and Google, which research firm EMarketer estimates together account for nearly 60 percent of mobile ad sales. Google sells ad space on its search engine, its fast-growing YouTube video streaming service and a network of third-party websites and apps. The company's computer algorithms have become more effective at delivering mobile ads likely to make customers sit through commercials, install an app or visit a website. Led by such ads, Alphabet generated $110.9 billion in full-year revenue, up 23 percent from 2016 and topping $100 billion for the first time. Profit fell 35 percent to $12.6 billion because of the tax bill and a separate charge last summer for a $2.7 billion European Union antitrust fine, which is under appeal. "The company's continued strong top-line growth and myriad new opportunities to drive future growth remain the keys to the stock," MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said in an email. Alphabet is attempting to maintain sales growth through new businesses, experimenting with operating a fleet of self-driving taxis through Waymo and licensing medical technology at Verily. Non-advertising revenue from Google combined with revenue from Verily and the other Alphabet companies was $15.5 billion in 2017, accounting for about 14 percent of total revenue, compared to $10.9 billion, or 12 percent, in 2016. Alphabet also said on Thursday that veteran board member John Hennessy took over as chairman the day before from Eric Schmidt, a long-time Google executive who will remain a board member and technical adviser. The potential for further regulation on privacy, monopolistic business practices or content vetting is among investors' top concerns about tech companies such as Alphabet and Amazon.com Inc that are tapping their unrivalled consumer behaviour data to branch beyond their core businesses. MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson said in a note to clients last month that Google had "the most unrecognized value" of big publicly traded tech companies despite some concerns about regulatory issues.

Alphabet's earnings miss profit estimates as spending grows

The benchmark stock indices dropped nearly 1 per cent in morning trade due to selling in banking, auto, financial and telecom stocks after the budget proposal to impose a long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equity gains of more than Rs 1 lakh.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 328.24 points or 0.91 per cent to 35,578.42 in morning trade as 25 of its constituents declined.

The NSE Nifty fell below the key 11,000-mark as 38 of its components dropped. The 50-issue Nifty was trading down by 96.35 or 0.87 per cent at 10,920.55 at 1000hrs.

Among major losers, private banks Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank Yes bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell up to 2.9 per cent.

Adani Ports, HDFC, L&amp;T and Reliance Industries, Maruti, SBI, Bajaj Auto, M&amp;M, Coal India and NTPC also declined up to 2 per cent.

IT major TCS and Infosys and drug makers Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy&#39;s, however, posted gains of up to 1.20 per cent on a weaker rupee.

Sentiment took a hit after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.

A weak trend in Asia also came as a dampener, traders said.

With the Budget out of the way, the focus turns to RBI&#39;s monetary policy to be released later this month.

Japan&#39;s Nikkei was down 1.30 per cent while Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.40 per cent in early trade today. Hong Kong&#39;s Hang Seng, however, up 0.20 per cent.

Most of the US stock indices dropped overnight after concerns over political crisis and rising US Treasury yields.&nbsp;

Among major losers, private banks Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank Yes bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell up to 2.9 per cent.

The benchmark stock indices dropped nearly 1 per cent in morning trade due to selling in banking, auto, financial and telecom stocks after the budget proposal to impose a long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equity gains of more than Rs 1 lakh. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped by 328.24 points or 0.91 per cent to 35,578.42 in morning trade as 25 of its constituents declined. The NSE Nifty fell below the key 11,000-mark as 38 of its components dropped. The 50-issue Nifty was trading down by 96.35 or 0.87 per cent at 10,920.55 at 1000hrs. Among major losers, private banks Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank Yes bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell up to 2.9 per cent. Adani Ports, HDFC, L&T and Reliance Industries, Maruti, SBI, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Coal India and NTPC also declined up to 2 per cent. IT major TCS and Infosys and drug makers Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's, however, posted gains of up to 1.20 per cent on a weaker rupee. Sentiment took a hit after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh. A weak trend in Asia also came as a dampener, traders said. With the Budget out of the way, the focus turns to RBI's monetary policy to be released later this month. Japan's Nikkei was down 1.30 per cent while Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.40 per cent in early trade today. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, however, up 0.20 per cent. Most of the US stock indices dropped overnight after concerns over political crisis and rising US Treasury yields.

Budget aftermath: Sensex drops 324 points, Nifty below 11,000 on LTCG jitters

Apple on Thursday said its earnings in the final three months of last year set new records, with sales of its flagship iPhone X topping its expectations.

The California-based technology giant reported that profit climbed to $20 billion on revenue that increased 13 percent to $88.3 billion during the period.

&quot;We&#39;re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple&#39;s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup,&quot; said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

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<h5>However, Apple reported that overall iPhone sales in the quarter of 77.3 million were about a million fewer than the same period a year earlier</h5>
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&quot;iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November.&quot;

However, Apple reported that overall iPhone sales in the quarter of 77.3 million were about a million fewer than the same period a year earlier.&nbsp;

But iPhone revenues rose 13 percent from a year ago, suggesting its newer models were gaining traction.

The earnings -- for the first quarter of Apple&#39;s financial year -- come amid concerns over weak demand for the newest and most expensive iPhone X, the 10th anniversary edition of the iconic smartphone.

Revenue growth from iPhone sales rose in all regions, and it was the top-selling smartphone overall in mainland China, according to Cook.

&quot;It was a stellar quarter for iPhone,&quot; Cook said.

&quot;iPhone X was the most popular.&quot;

Apple also forecast revenue of between $60 billion and $62 billion in the current quarter, an outlook less rosy than analysts had expected.

Apple shares dipped and then rose more than three percent to $173.40 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures.

Spotlight off iPhone 
Despite Apple&#39;s spectacular trajectory in the decade since the introduction of the iPhone, the California technology titan is facing challenges on whether it can continue growth.

Apple&#39;s image has been bruised by revelations that it updated its mobile software to slow the performance of old iPhones as batteries weaken from age.

While the iPhone delivered the bulk of revenues, $61.6 billion in the quarter, the key segment of services saw revenue growth of 18 percent to $8.5 billion.

The &quot;other product&quot; segment which includes the Apple Watch and Apple TV, increased 36 percent to $5.5 billion.

Cook spent much of an earnings call with analysts playing up increasing revenue from Apple services, digital content, subscriptions, and products other than iPhones.

The number of Apple devices being used in the world as of January is at an all-time high of 1.3 billion, the ranks having grown 30 percent during the past two years, according to Apple.

&quot;That number speaks to the strength of the product; the loyalty of the customer, the strength of the ecosystem; it also obviously fuels the services business,&quot; Cook said.

While iPhone sales are at the heart of Apple&#39;s money-making machine, the company has taken to spotlighting revenue from the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, iTunes and other content and services people tap into using its devices.

Where&#39;s the wow? 
Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail, saw &quot;worrying trends&quot; behind Apple&#39;s record-breaking quarterly earnings.

The number of iPhones sold declined, and people overall seem to be waiting longer to upgrade to new smartphones, the analyst noted. He saw the slowdown in iPhone sales as a sign that Apple isn&#39;t coming up with the kind of innovations that &quot;wow&quot; consumers.

&quot;We believe that the clear blue water that once existed between Apple and rivals is much diminished,&quot; Saunders said.

&quot;The company has time to reopen the gap, but to do so, it needs to pull something new and unique out of its hat sooner, rather than later.&quot;

Apple said its cash pile grew to $285 billion, with much of that stashed overseas.

The company said last month it would bring back most of its profits from abroad to take advantage of a favorable tax rate in legislation approved by Congress last year.

The repatriation will result in a tax bill of about $38 billion, but also would free up big chunks of money for investment.

The tech giant reported that profit climbed to $20 billion in the final three months of last year

Apple on Thursday said its earnings in the final three months of last year set new records, with sales of its flagship iPhone X topping its expectations. The California-based technology giant reported that profit climbed to $20 billion on revenue that increased 13 percent to $88.3 billion during the period. "We're thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple's history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook. However, Apple reported that overall iPhone sales in the quarter of 77.3 million were about a million fewer than the same period a year earlier × "iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November." However, Apple reported that overall iPhone sales in the quarter of 77.3 million were about a million fewer than the same period a year earlier. But iPhone revenues rose 13 percent from a year ago, suggesting its newer models were gaining traction. The earnings -- for the first quarter of Apple's financial year -- come amid concerns over weak demand for the newest and most expensive iPhone X, the 10th anniversary edition of the iconic smartphone. Revenue growth from iPhone sales rose in all regions, and it was the top-selling smartphone overall in mainland China, according to Cook. "It was a stellar quarter for iPhone," Cook said. "iPhone X was the most popular." Apple also forecast revenue of between $60 billion and $62 billion in the current quarter, an outlook less rosy than analysts had expected. Apple shares dipped and then rose more than three percent to $173.40 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures. Spotlight off iPhone Despite Apple's spectacular trajectory in the decade since the introduction of the iPhone, the California technology titan is facing challenges on whether it can continue growth. Apple's image has been bruised by revelations that it updated its mobile software to slow the performance of old iPhones as batteries weaken from age. While the iPhone delivered the bulk of revenues, $61.6 billion in the quarter, the key segment of services saw revenue growth of 18 percent to $8.5 billion. The "other product" segment which includes the Apple Watch and Apple TV, increased 36 percent to $5.5 billion. Cook spent much of an earnings call with analysts playing up increasing revenue from Apple services, digital content, subscriptions, and products other than iPhones. The number of Apple devices being used in the world as of January is at an all-time high of 1.3 billion, the ranks having grown 30 percent during the past two years, according to Apple. "That number speaks to the strength of the product; the loyalty of the customer, the strength of the ecosystem; it also obviously fuels the services business," Cook said. While iPhone sales are at the heart of Apple's money-making machine, the company has taken to spotlighting revenue from the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, iTunes and other content and services people tap into using its devices. Where's the wow? Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail, saw "worrying trends" behind Apple's record-breaking quarterly earnings. The number of iPhones sold declined, and people overall seem to be waiting longer to upgrade to new smartphones, the analyst noted. He saw the slowdown in iPhone sales as a sign that Apple isn't coming up with the kind of innovations that "wow" consumers. "We believe that the clear blue water that once existed between Apple and rivals is much diminished," Saunders said. "The company has time to reopen the gap, but to do so, it needs to pull something new and unique out of its hat sooner, rather than later." Apple said its cash pile grew to $285 billion, with much of that stashed overseas. The company said last month it would bring back most of its profits from abroad to take advantage of a favorable tax rate in legislation approved by Congress last year. The repatriation will result in a tax bill of about $38 billion, but also would free up big chunks of money for investment.

Apple says it sold fewer iPhones but made record profit

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed.

The company said in an earnings report that quarterly revenue jumped 47 per cent from a year earlier, and executives said on a conference call that they saw more chances to make money even if people spend less time on Facebook.

Analysts had wondered about the resilience of the world&#39;s largest social media network, which is making changes to its products to deter foreign influence campaigns like ones that it says Russia has carried out and to stem the spread of sensationalism.

Facebook added to jitters after the bell on Wednesday when, in its earnings report, it said that at the end of last year time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day. Shares fell more than 4 per cent in after-hours trading.

Shortly afterward, though, Facebook executives expressed optimism on the call with analysts, saying the changes they were making in response to criticism would be healthy for the business in the long term and might not even hurt much in the short term.

&quot;I want to be clear: The most important driver of our business has never been time spent by itself. It&#39;s the quality of the conversations and connections,&quot; Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the call.

The upbeat forecast led to a rebound in shares, which in late after-hours trading were up 1.4 per cent at $189.50.

Facebook management &quot;acknowledged things that maybe most investors weren&#39;t thinking about before - the reduction of users and usage - but at the same time they pointed to a lot of positive trends on their other platforms,&quot; Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said.

Although Facebook usage is down, he said, &quot;One shouldn&#39;t be reflectively negative on this.&quot;

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to reduce disinformation on Facebook could create &quot;more monetization opportunities.&quot;

Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on &quot;stories&quot; on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 per cent in quarter.

&quot;They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful,&quot; Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

&quot;In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that,&quot; he said.

Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day due to changes that it said reduced viral videos, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement.

Facebook&#39;s 1.40 billion daily active users was up 14 per cent from a year earlier, but below analysts&#39; estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook&#39;s history, dipping in the company&#39;s home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would &quot;fluctuate&quot; in the future.

Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 per cent to $12.97 billion and beating analysts&#39; estimate of $12.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Wehner reiterated Facebook&#39;s earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 per cent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes thousands of new workers to review content posted by users.

The overhaul of Facebook&#39;s New Feed was prompted in part by its disclosure last year that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts.

In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts&#39; estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing US tax changes.

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed. The company said in an earnings report that quarterly revenue jumped 47 per cent from a year earlier, and executives said on a conference call that they saw more chances to make money even if people spend less time on Facebook. Analysts had wondered about the resilience of the world's largest social media network, which is making changes to its products to deter foreign influence campaigns like ones that it says Russia has carried out and to stem the spread of sensationalism. Facebook added to jitters after the bell on Wednesday when, in its earnings report, it said that at the end of last year time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day. Shares fell more than 4 per cent in after-hours trading. Shortly afterward, though, Facebook executives expressed optimism on the call with analysts, saying the changes they were making in response to criticism would be healthy for the business in the long term and might not even hurt much in the short term. "I want to be clear: The most important driver of our business has never been time spent by itself. It's the quality of the conversations and connections," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the call. The upbeat forecast led to a rebound in shares, which in late after-hours trading were up 1.4 per cent at $189.50. Facebook management "acknowledged things that maybe most investors weren't thinking about before - the reduction of users and usage - but at the same time they pointed to a lot of positive trends on their other platforms," Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said. Although Facebook usage is down, he said, "One shouldn't be reflectively negative on this." Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to reduce disinformation on Facebook could create "more monetization opportunities." Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on "stories" on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 per cent in quarter. "They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. "In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that," he said. Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day due to changes that it said reduced viral videos, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement. Facebook's 1.40 billion daily active users was up 14 per cent from a year earlier, but below analysts' estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook's history, dipping in the company's home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would "fluctuate" in the future. Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 per cent to $12.97 billion and beating analysts' estimate of $12.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wehner reiterated Facebook's earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 per cent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes thousands of new workers to review content posted by users. The overhaul of Facebook's New Feed was prompted in part by its disclosure last year that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts. In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts' estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing US tax changes.

Facebook forecasts rising ad sales despite dip in usage

Amid tensions along the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/as-expected-budget-2018-friendly-to-farmers-big-on-health-stocks-fall-31454"> border with Pakistan, the finance minister</a> today announced an increase of 7.81 per cent in India&#39;s defence budget in 2018.

During his speech, the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/union-budget-2018-govt-imposes-10-per-cent-surcharge-on-income-above-rs-50-lakh-31470"> finance minister lauded the </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/union-budget-2018-govt-imposes-10-per-cent-surcharge-on-income-above-rs-50-lakh-31470">defence</a> forces in the country for their contribution towards protecting India&#39;s border in the west and the east including in J&amp;K.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/union-budget-2018-full-text-of-finance-minister-arun-jaitleys-speech-to-parliament-31464">Also Read:&nbsp;Full text of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s speech to Parliament&nbsp;</a>

&quot;The government will take measures to develop two defence industrial production corridors in the country,&quot; Jaitley said during his budget speech.

The government has set 2.95 lakh crore for the defence budget in the next fiscal, out of the total allocation the outlay for the three defence services - Army, Navy and Air Force - &nbsp;for the purchase of new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware has been pegged at Rs 99,947 crore.

In effect, the defence outlay has been raised to Rs 2.95 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 2.74 lakh crore in current year.

During his Budget speech, Jaitley said modernising and enhancing the operational capability has become the focal point for the defence forces.

The finance minister also&nbsp;emphasised that the government would be moving towards &quot;self reliance&quot; in defence production adding that private investment in defence production had been opened up, including liberalising foreign direct investment. &nbsp;

In a move to placate the ex-officers, Jaitley announced Rs 1,08,853 crore allocation for pension payments which is an increase of over 26 per cent from last year.

 
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Jaitley announced Rs 1,08,853 crore allocation for pension payments which is an increase of over 26 per cent from last year.

Amid tensions along the border with Pakistan, the finance minister today announced an increase of 7.81 per cent in India's defence budget in 2018. During his speech, the finance minister lauded the defence forces in the country for their contribution towards protecting India's border in the west and the east including in J&K. Also Read: Full text of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's speech to Parliament "The government will take measures to develop two defence industrial production corridors in the country," Jaitley said during his budget speech. The government has set 2.95 lakh crore for the defence budget in the next fiscal, out of the total allocation the outlay for the three defence services - Army, Navy and Air Force - for the purchase of new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware has been pegged at Rs 99,947 crore. In effect, the defence outlay has been raised to Rs 2.95 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 2.74 lakh crore in current year. During his Budget speech, Jaitley said modernising and enhancing the operational capability has become the focal point for the defence forces. The finance minister also emphasised that the government would be moving towards "self reliance" in defence production adding that private investment in defence production had been opened up, including liberalising foreign direct investment. In a move to placate the ex-officers, Jaitley announced Rs 1,08,853 crore allocation for pension payments which is an increase of over 26 per cent from last year.

Budget 2018: Jaitley bets on defence forces, increases pension allocation

Arun Jaitley said Thursday while presenting the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/budget-2018-finance-minister-arun-jaitley-announces-no-change-in-personal-income-tax-slabs-31449">annual Budget that the NDA</a> government would set up the world&#39;s largest healthcare programme.&nbsp;

The scheme, he said, would insure 10 crore families or approximately 50 crore people.&nbsp;

Each person, Jaitley said, would be given insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh a year.

<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NHW_Bu6f2yg" width="560"></iframe>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/live-union-budget-2018-finance-minister-arun-jaitley-presents-budget-in-parliament-31380">Jaitley added</a> that the government was going to add 24 government medical colleges or hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals.&nbsp;

The additional hospitals&nbsp;would mean there will be at least one government medical college or hospital in each state and every three parliamentary constituencies.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/budget-2018-government-to-launch-operation-green-allots-rs-500-crore-31437">Budget 2018: Government to launch &#39;Operation Green&#39;, allots Rs 500 crore</a>

&nbsp;

The scheme will insure 10 crore families or approximately 50 crore people, Jaitley said

Arun Jaitley said Thursday while presenting the annual Budget that the NDA government would set up the world's largest healthcare programme. The scheme, he said, would insure 10 crore families or approximately 50 crore people. Each person, Jaitley said, would be given insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh a year. Jaitley added that the government was going to add 24 government medical colleges or hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals. The additional hospitals would mean there will be at least one government medical college or hospital in each state and every three parliamentary constituencies. Also read: Budget 2018: Government to launch 'Operation Green', allots Rs 500 crore

Budget 2018: Government to set up world's largest healthcare programme, says Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley concluded his budget speech a short while ago. The budget 2018-19 focussed primarily on the rural and agricultural economy and promised a brighter future for the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/budget-2018-government-to-set-up-worlds-largest-healthcare-programme-says-jaitley-31435">healthcare sector</a>.&nbsp;

No change has been proposed in personal Income tax slab rates.

This year&#39;s budget is likely to make electronic items like laptops, mobile phones and television sets expensive.

The finance minister decided to keep the tax rates of most of the products unchanged. However, the government has decided to rationalise customs duty for several products, a move that will impact the final price of many products.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RdBpQMXPUwg" width="560"></iframe>

In a bid to promote PM Modi&#39;s flagship programme, &#39;Make in India&#39;, the government has decided to tweak customs duty of some products. Prices of imported goods will get impacted.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/as-expected-budget-2018-friendly-to-farmers-big-on-health-stocks-fall-31454">Budget 2018 friendly to farmers, big on health; stocks fall</a>

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The government today proposed to double the customs duty on imported panels to 15 per cent from existing 7.5 per cent with an aim to encourage local manufacturing.

A hike in customs duty is likely to make luxury cars dearer.&nbsp;

&quot;I propose to increase customs duty on mobile phones from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, on some of their parts and accessories to 15 per cent, and on certain parts of TVs to 15 per cent,&quot; Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/top-takeaways-from-union-budget-2018-31457">Top takeaways from Union Budget 2018</a>

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There is substantial potential for domestic value addition in certain sectors, like food processing, electronics, auto components, footwear and furniture, he added.

&quot;This measure will promote the creation of more jobs in the country,&quot; Jaitley said.

Cashews, fuel, machine tools, solar panels, footwear are items that are likely to cost less.&nbsp;

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Customs duty for cashews has been slashed by 2.5%. Imported machine tools and accessories used in the manufacturing sector have seen a drop in the customs duty from 7.5% to 2.5%. Solar panels and green technology enjoy zero customs duty now.

Customs duty on perfumes, dental hygiene, after-shave, deodorants, room deodorizers, haircare products doubled to 20 per cent.

Processed foods, beauty products, cars and motorbikes, silk clothing, footwear, jewellery, furniture that have been imported will be more expensive.

Other items to cost more would include silver, gold, fruit juices, miscellaneous food preparations other than soy protein; sunscreen, oral dental hygiene products, denture fixative pastes and powders, dental floss, shaving items, toiletries, diamonds, watches and clocks, scooters, video game consoles, cigarettes, vegetable oils, among others.&nbsp;

Last year&#39;s budget saw items like LED lamps, solar panels, printed circuit boards for mobiles, micro ATMs, finger-print machines and Iris scanners becoming cheaper.

Items like silver coins and commodities like cigarettes and tobacco, bidis, pan masala, goods imported through parcels, water filter membranes and cashew nuts became more expensive.

A hike in customs duty is likely to make luxury cars dearer.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley concluded his budget speech a short while ago. The budget 2018-19 focussed primarily on the rural and agricultural economy and promised a brighter future for the healthcare sector. No change has been proposed in personal Income tax slab rates. This year's budget is likely to make electronic items like laptops, mobile phones and television sets expensive. The finance minister decided to keep the tax rates of most of the products unchanged. However, the government has decided to rationalise customs duty for several products, a move that will impact the final price of many products. In a bid to promote PM Modi's flagship programme, 'Make in India', the government has decided to tweak customs duty of some products. Prices of imported goods will get impacted. Also read: Budget 2018 friendly to farmers, big on health; stocks fall A hike in customs duty is likely to make luxury cars dearer. × The government today proposed to double the customs duty on imported panels to 15 per cent from existing 7.5 per cent with an aim to encourage local manufacturing. A hike in customs duty is likely to make luxury cars dearer. "I propose to increase customs duty on mobile phones from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, on some of their parts and accessories to 15 per cent, and on certain parts of TVs to 15 per cent," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech. Also read: Top takeaways from Union Budget 2018 Cashews, fuel, machine tools, solar panels, footwear are items that are likely to cost less. × There is substantial potential for domestic value addition in certain sectors, like food processing, electronics, auto components, footwear and furniture, he added. "This measure will promote the creation of more jobs in the country," Jaitley said. Cashews, fuel, machine tools, solar panels, footwear are items that are likely to cost less. Imported products will cost more; green technology will be cheaper. × Customs duty for cashews has been slashed by 2.5%. Imported machine tools and accessories used in the manufacturing sector have seen a drop in the customs duty from 7.5% to 2.5%. Solar panels and green technology enjoy zero customs duty now. Customs duty on perfumes, dental hygiene, after-shave, deodorants, room deodorizers, haircare products doubled to 20 per cent. Processed foods, beauty products, cars and motorbikes, silk clothing, footwear, jewellery, furniture that have been imported will be more expensive. Other items to cost more would include silver, gold, fruit juices, miscellaneous food preparations other than soy protein; sunscreen, oral dental hygiene products, denture fixative pastes and powders, dental floss, shaving items, toiletries, diamonds, watches and clocks, scooters, video game consoles, cigarettes, vegetable oils, among others. Last year's budget saw items like LED lamps, solar panels, printed circuit boards for mobiles, micro ATMs, finger-print machines and Iris scanners becoming cheaper. Items like silver coins and commodities like cigarettes and tobacco, bidis, pan masala, goods imported through parcels, water filter membranes and cashew nuts became more expensive.

Union budget 2018: Electronic items like mobile phones, television sets to get expensive 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech announced a flagship national health insurance scheme that will cover about 50 crore people in India. That is the first step in India achieving universal healthcare.

The health coverage of the scheme will be up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. &quot;We are slowly progressing towards universal health coverage,&quot; Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech, adding that the scheme will be the &quot;world&#39;s largest healthcare programme&quot;.

The government gives Rs 30,000 as health insurance for families in economically weaker sections of society under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) currently. This amount is grossly insufficient for any surgical procedures.

The government is also going to add 24 government medical colleges or hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals. The additional hospitals would mean there will be at least one government medical college or hospital in each state and every three parliamentary constituencies.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will be setting up 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres or community healthcare clinics across India under Bharat Ayushman Programme that will provide treatment for non-communicable diseases. Announcing an allocation of Rs 1200 crore based on the National Health Policy of 2017, the finance minister said: &quot;Only a Swastha Bharat (Healthy India) can be Smriddha Bharat (Prosperous India). Demographic dividend realisation impossible without proper healthcare. We propose to take healthcare protection to a new aspirational level.&quot;

A 600-crore rupee corpus has also been allocated for helping tuberculosis patients. Just as the then Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh&#39;s budget in 1991 was seen as the harbinger of economic reforms in India, Arun Jaitley&rsquo;s 110-minute budget speech in 2018 may go down as a shot-in-the-arm for health care in India.

Vinay Sethi, Head-Market Development, Tax &amp; Accounting, Thomson Reuters, South Asia expressed concerns on the implementation of the scheme and said: &quot;One of the key highlights of this budget is the launch of the flagship National Health Protection Scheme to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families and provide them up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year in secondary and tertiary care institutions. While this is a welcome development, the Government will have to plan the implementation well as it may cripple the existing limited medical infrastructure in the country. For this initiative to thrive, it is imperative for the Government to rapidly augment high quality medical facilities in the country.&quot;

Public sector accounts for only 30 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country, as compared to 42-58 per cent in Brazil, 58 per cent in China, 52 per cent in Russia, 50 per cent in South Africa, 48 per cent in USA and 83 per cent in UK as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports.

In a recent interview to Zee News Digital, eminent sociologist Dipankar Gupta said: &quot;If you have universal health delivery and education and you make the private sector work hard to match that standard, you will do so much for the poor. The best way to solve the problem of poverty is to forget the poor and think society. When you think of education for the poor or health for the poor, you end up with poor health and poor education where you and I will not participate because that is not for us. We&rsquo;re the ones who sign the papers and yet we have no interest in it. So until we get interested, unless it is our business as well and this is not something that is outlandish&hellip; most countries in Western Europe when they started their programmes on universal health and education was when they were at their poorest.&quot;

Perhaps the finance minister was listening in.

India&#39;s total public health spending outlay is around 1.5 per cent of GDP, but this year it has gone up to 54,666 crore rupees - a healthy increase of about 12 per cent over last year&#39;s allocation. This is expected rise to over 2.5% of the GDP by the year 2025.

(With inputs from agencies)

The government is also going to add 24 government medical colleges or hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech announced a flagship national health insurance scheme that will cover about 50 crore people in India. That is the first step in India achieving universal healthcare. The health coverage of the scheme will be up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. "We are slowly progressing towards universal health coverage," Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech, adding that the scheme will be the "world's largest healthcare programme". The government gives Rs 30,000 as health insurance for families in economically weaker sections of society under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) currently. This amount is grossly insufficient for any surgical procedures. The government is also going to add 24 government medical colleges or hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals. The additional hospitals would mean there will be at least one government medical college or hospital in each state and every three parliamentary constituencies. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will be setting up 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres or community healthcare clinics across India under Bharat Ayushman Programme that will provide treatment for non-communicable diseases. Announcing an allocation of Rs 1200 crore based on the National Health Policy of 2017, the finance minister said: "Only a Swastha Bharat (Healthy India) can be Smriddha Bharat (Prosperous India). Demographic dividend realisation impossible without proper healthcare. We propose to take healthcare protection to a new aspirational level." A 600-crore rupee corpus has also been allocated for helping tuberculosis patients. Just as the then Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's budget in 1991 was seen as the harbinger of economic reforms in India, Arun Jaitley’s 110-minute budget speech in 2018 may go down as a shot-in-the-arm for health care in India. Vinay Sethi, Head-Market Development, Tax & Accounting, Thomson Reuters, South Asia expressed concerns on the implementation of the scheme and said: "One of the key highlights of this budget is the launch of the flagship National Health Protection Scheme to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families and provide them up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year in secondary and tertiary care institutions. While this is a welcome development, the Government will have to plan the implementation well as it may cripple the existing limited medical infrastructure in the country. For this initiative to thrive, it is imperative for the Government to rapidly augment high quality medical facilities in the country." Public sector accounts for only 30 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country, as compared to 42-58 per cent in Brazil, 58 per cent in China, 52 per cent in Russia, 50 per cent in South Africa, 48 per cent in USA and 83 per cent in UK as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports. In a recent interview to Zee News Digital, eminent sociologist Dipankar Gupta said: "If you have universal health delivery and education and you make the private sector work hard to match that standard, you will do so much for the poor. The best way to solve the problem of poverty is to forget the poor and think society. When you think of education for the poor or health for the poor, you end up with poor health and poor education where you and I will not participate because that is not for us. We’re the ones who sign the papers and yet we have no interest in it. So until we get interested, unless it is our business as well and this is not something that is outlandish… most countries in Western Europe when they started their programmes on universal health and education was when they were at their poorest." Perhaps the finance minister was listening in. India's total public health spending outlay is around 1.5 per cent of GDP, but this year it has gone up to 54,666 crore rupees - a healthy increase of about 12 per cent over last year's allocation. This is expected rise to over 2.5% of the GDP by the year 2025. (With inputs from agencies)

Union Budget's 'aha' moment: India takes the first steps towards universal healthcare

The BSE <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/as-expected-budget-2018-friendly-to-farmers-big-on-health-stocks-fall-31454">Sensex crashed over 300 points</a> in the afternoon as finance minister Jaitley finished his budget presentation on Thursday.

The Nifty too sank below the 11,000 mark as Jaitley was unveiling the budget.

Sensex fell&nbsp;58&nbsp;points to close at 35,906.66 while Nifty slipped 10.80 points end at&nbsp;11,016.90 on Budget day.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/union-budget-2018-full-text-of-finance-minister-arun-jaitleys-speech-to-parliament-31464">Also Read:&nbsp;Union Budget 2018: Full text of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s speech to Parliament&nbsp;</a>

The 30-share index had plunged over 460 points in afternoon trade after finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.

The markets had opened slightly up in expectation of strong budget by the finance minister on Thursday morning. The BSE Sensex was up 0.45 per cent at 36,127.41 and the broader NSE Nifty was up 0.39 per cent at 11,070.80

The performance of the market is in&nbsp;stark contrast to last year when the Sensex closed 486 points up at 28,142. The Nifty closed 8,716.40 last year after touching the day&#39;s high of 8,722.40.

The market last year was buoyed by Jaitley&#39;s thrust on fiscal discipline and FPI taxation. Jaitley&#39;s decision to infuse Rs 10,000 crore in the public sector had also cheered the markets . The markets&nbsp;had closed at a&nbsp;3-month high in 2017.

This time, however, market sentiment was hit after the fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 was raised to 3.5 per cent of GDP as against 3.2 per cent earlier.

The Sensex had crashed to 35,590.17, falling 374.85 points, or 1.04 per cent during the day.

The performance of the market is in stark contrast to last year when the Sensex closed 486 points up at 28,142

The BSE Sensex crashed over 300 points in the afternoon as finance minister Jaitley finished his budget presentation on Thursday. The Nifty too sank below the 11,000 mark as Jaitley was unveiling the budget. Sensex fell 58 points to close at 35,906.66 while Nifty slipped 10.80 points end at 11,016.90 on Budget day. Also Read: Union Budget 2018: Full text of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's speech to Parliament The 30-share index had plunged over 460 points in afternoon trade after finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh. The markets had opened slightly up in expectation of strong budget by the finance minister on Thursday morning. The BSE Sensex was up 0.45 per cent at 36,127.41 and the broader NSE Nifty was up 0.39 per cent at 11,070.80 The performance of the market is in stark contrast to last year when the Sensex closed 486 points up at 28,142. The Nifty closed 8,716.40 last year after touching the day's high of 8,722.40. The market last year was buoyed by Jaitley's thrust on fiscal discipline and FPI taxation. Jaitley's decision to infuse Rs 10,000 crore in the public sector had also cheered the markets . The markets had closed at a 3-month high in 2017. This time, however, market sentiment was hit after the fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 was raised to 3.5 per cent of GDP as against 3.2 per cent earlier. The Sensex had crashed to 35,590.17, falling 374.85 points, or 1.04 per cent during the day.

No Budget cheer: Markets close down, in 2017 markets ended over 400 points up

Benchmark Sensex crashed over 300 points in afternoon trade today after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced 10 per cent tax on some long-term capital gains in his Budget speech.

The NSE Nifty also sank below the 11,000-mark during the Budget presentation.

Sentiment also took a hit after the fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 was raised to 3.5 per cent of GDP as against 3.2 per cent earlier.

The target for 2018-19 has been fixed at 3.3 per cent as against the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act target of 3 per cent.

In highly volatile trading, the Sensex crashed to 35,590.17, a steep fall of 374.85 points, or 1.04 per cent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 117.20 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 10,910.50.

All sectoral indices were weighed down by widespread selling, with consumer durables, metal, healthcare, realty and power falling by up to 3.20 per cent.

Laggards included Dr Reddy&#39;s, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries, declining by up to 2.58 per cent.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/key-highlights-from-union-budget-2018-31455">Key highlights of Budget 2018</a>

The NSE Nifty also sank below the 11,000-mark during the Budget presentation

Benchmark Sensex crashed over 300 points in afternoon trade today after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced 10 per cent tax on some long-term capital gains in his Budget speech. The NSE Nifty also sank below the 11,000-mark during the Budget presentation. Sentiment also took a hit after the fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 was raised to 3.5 per cent of GDP as against 3.2 per cent earlier. The target for 2018-19 has been fixed at 3.3 per cent as against the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act target of 3 per cent. In highly volatile trading, the Sensex crashed to 35,590.17, a steep fall of 374.85 points, or 1.04 per cent. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 117.20 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 10,910.50. All sectoral indices were weighed down by widespread selling, with consumer durables, metal, healthcare, realty and power falling by up to 3.20 per cent. Laggards included Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Industries, declining by up to 2.58 per cent. Also read: Key highlights of Budget 2018

Sensex crashes over 300 points on capital gains tax proposal