Key benchmark indices registered marginal gains after witnessing wild intraday gyrations in the latter part of the trading session. Reliance Industries (RIL), which is controlled by Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group shares advanced on reports that the Ambani brothers -- Mukesh and Anil -- will hold a joint press conference later in the day to announce a strategic tie-up. RIL and Reliance ADA group reportedly denied the media reports. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, rose 10.65 points or 0.07%, up close to 200 points from the day's low and off about 135 points from the day's high. The market breadth turned positive from negative in late trade. The Sensex has jumped 412.81 points or 2.67% this month so far. From a 52-week high of 20,210.62 on 7 January 2011, the Sensex has lost 4342.89 points or 21.48%. From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 731.87 points or 4.83%. Coming back to today's trade, capital goods stocks fell on worries slowing economy could adversely affect new order flows. Realty major DLF extended recent losses. Auto stocks were mixed. Shares of organised retailers jumped after Industry Secretary, P.K. Chaudhary said the government is soon expected to issue the notification allowing 100% foreign direct investment in single brand retail. FMCG and pharma stocks gained. The market edged lower amid initial volatility on weak Asian stocks. The market trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in morning trade. The market once again pared losses after weakening to hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. Weakness continued in early afternoon trade. Trading was range bound in afternoon trade. The market came off lows later. The intraday recovery proved short-lived as the market weakened again in mid-afternoon trade. Wild intraday gyrations were witnessed in the latter part of the trading session as the market staged a strong intraday rebound, with the Sensex moving past the psychological 16,000 mark for a short while. The market soon slipped into the red again before regaining positive zone. The BSE Sensex rose 10.65 points or 0.07% to settle at 15,867.73, its highest closing level since 4 January 2012. The index declined 192.17 points at the day's low of 15,664.91 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 3 January 2012. The S&P CNX Nifty rose 4.15 points or 0.09% to settle at 4,754.10, its highest closing level since 3 January 2012. The index hit a low of 4,686.85 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 3 January 2012. The index hit a high of 4,794.90 in intraday trade, its highest level since 27 December 2011. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.09% and underperformed the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.02% and underperformed the Sensex. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 1961 crore, slightly higher than Rs 1948.54 crore on Thursday, 5 January 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned positive from negative in late trade. On BSE, 1,429 shares rose and 1,309 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged. Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 16 fell while rest of them rose. Reliance Industries (RIL) which is controlled by Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group shares rose on reports that Ambani the brothers -- Mukesh and Anil -- will hold a joint press conference later in the day to announce a strategic tie-up. RIL and Reliance ADA group reportedly denied the media reports. Among Reliance ADA Group shares, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance MediaWorks and Reliance Power gained by between 3.45% to 7.49%. Index heavyweight RIL rose 2.52%, with the stock snapping a two-day losing streak. The stock was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. RIL on Wednesday, 4 January 2012, said it has scheduled a planned maintenance turnaround of one of the crude distillation unit of its SEZ Refinery at Jamnagar complex for a period of approximately three weeks starting mid February 2012. This maintenance turnaround is planned for the first time after its commissioning during the Financial Year 2008-09, RIL said. This opportunity would also be utilised to take up productivity improvement related jobs in other secondary processing units as necessary, RIL said. During this period, other three crude distillation units at Jamnagar refining complex are expected to sustain normal operations, RIL added. RIL had announced early this week that it is divesting a part of the interest in ETV channels in favour of TV18 Broadcast, a Network18 Group firm. RIL said that as a part of the deal with TV18 Broadcast, Infotel Broad Band Services (Infotel), a subsidiary of RIL, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with TV18 Broadcast and Network18 Media and Investments for preferential access to all content of the latter for distribution through the 4G Broadband Network being set up by RIL. RIL has reportedly stated that natural gas output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields has dipped below 39 million cubic meters a day as it shut five wells because of high water ingress. Reports stated that the natural gas production from the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields and the MA oilfield in Block KG-DWN-98/3, or KG-D6, in the Krishna-Godavari Basin of the Bay of Bengal was 38.43 mmcmd in the week ended 25 December 2011. The output comprised 31.58 mmcmd from the D1 and D3 gas fields and 6.85 mmcmd from the MA oilfield, reports said. The KG-D6 production is lower than 61.5-mmscmd rate achieved in March, 2010, says report. The report also stated that of the 18 wells drilled, completed and put on production in the D1 and D3 fields, five wells- A2, A10, B1, B2 and B13, were kept closed due to high water cut/sanding issues. Pharma stocks extended recent gains. Cipla, Ipca Laboratories and Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose by between 0.19% to 1.23%. FMCG stocks reversed initial losses. ITC, Marico and Hindustan Unilever rose by between 0.95% to 1.23%. Shares of organised retailers jumped after Industry Secretary, P.K. Chaudhary said on Friday that the government is soon expected to issue the notification allowing 100% foreign direct investment in single brand retail. Pantaloon Retail, Shoppers Stop, Provogue India, V2 Retail, Brandhouse Retail and Koutons Retail rose by between 4.96% to 13.37%. The Union Cabinet late last year decided to allow 100% foreign investment in single-brand retail, removing an earlier 51% cap. The government, however, had succumbed to political pressure and reversed a decision to allow 51% FDI in the multi-brand retail segment, and said a further decision would only be taken after political consensus. The government is in talks with farmers and small traders over the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail and consultations with these stakeholders are likely to be completed by the month end, Mr. Chaudhary told reporters. Metal stocks reversed initial losses. Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc, Sail, Nalco, Sesa Goa, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries rose by between 0.25% to 2.02%. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) fell 3%. The company announced during market hours today that the 3rd unit of 135 megawatts (MW) has started commercial generation of power from 1 January 2012 at Dongamahua, Raigarh (Chhattisgarh). JSPL is, in total, setting up 10 units of 135 MW each power generation capacity [6 units of 135 MW each at Angul in Odisha and 4 units of 135 MW each at Dongamahua in Raigarh (Chhattisgarh)]. With the commissioning of this unit, total 4 units of 135 MW each are in commercial operations (3 units in Chhattisgarh and 1 unit in Odisha) out of 10 units and the total power generation capacity of the company has increased to 917 MW. Coal India declined 0.83%. The company's Chairman Nirmal Chandra Jha on Thursday said that the state-run coal giant is considering acquiring stakes in mines in South Africa in a joint venture with the provincial government of Limpopo. The proposal is likely to be considered by the company's board in a meeting later this month, Jha said. Capital goods stocks fell on worries slowing economy could adversely affect new order flows. Thermax, Punj Lloyd, Bhel, Crompton Greaves, ABB, Alstom Projects, Suzlon Energy, and Usha Martin declined by between 0.08% to 3.66%. L&T fell 0.81%, with the stock snapping a four-day winning streak triggered by announcement of new orders. L&T early this week said its construction division bagged new orders worth over Rs 2056 crore across various business segments in December 2011. The Water and Affluent Treatment business has won two major orders totaling Rs. Rs 1262 crore. The Building and Factories segment has bagged a new order valued at Rs. 388 crore while the Rail Infrastructure segment has won orders aggregating to Rs. 406 crore. Realty major DLF fell 2.65%, with the stock declining for the third straight day on reports that the Supreme Court has stayed the Punjab and Haryana High Court's judgment that directed the DLF to demolish structures at its upcoming Cyber City project in Gurgaon township and return around 20 acre of prime estate to villagers. Credit rating agency CRISIL recently downgraded short-term and long-term debt rating of DLF on an assessment that debt levels of the company may continue to remain high due to a delay in disposal of non-core assets and weakness in operating cash flows due to the weak macro economic environment. DLF, however, said that the company is firmly committed to its target of raising Rs 6000-7000 crore from divestment of non-strategic assets over 3 years starting from 2011-12 to help prune debt. DLF said it expects that its operating cash flow will strength following the launch of new projects in Mullapur, Panchkula, Lucknow, Jalandhar, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gurgaon over the next 3-4 months. Auto stocks were mixed. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.98%, reversing initial losses. M&M's total automobile sales jumped 26% to 42,761 units in December 2011 over December 2010. M&M's president for automotive and farm equipment Pawan Goenka Thursday, 5 January 2012, said that the company plans to start assembling SsangYong vehicles in China, Brazil and Russia in the next two years. M&M last year picked up a 70.03% stake in South Korean auto maker SsangYong Motor Co. for 522.5 billion Korean won. It is slated to launch SsangYong's sport-utility vehicle Rexton in India in the second half of 2012 and the Korando C SUV in 2013. Ashok Leyland declined 2.29%. The company reported sales of 9,088 units for December 2011 including 1,099 units of the recently launched LCV for cargo transportation -- Dost. Adjusting for Dost which was launched in October 2011, sales came in at 7,989 units, up 6% year-on-year. Tata Motors gained 0.79%. The company's total sales of commercial and passenger vehicles jumped 22% to 82,278 units in December 2011 over December 2010. The domestic sales of the vehicles in both categories for the month stood at 76,663 cars, a 24% jump compared to 61,685 in December 2010, the company said in a statement. However, exports declined 3% to 5,615 units compared to 5,809 in December 2010. Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.76%. Maruti today unveiled India's first compact multi purpose vehicle Ertiga at the auto expo. Ertiga's compact dimensions make it easy to park ad maneuver, Maruti said. Maruti had on Thursday unveiled XA Alpha -- a concept for a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV). Maruti's total vehicle sales fell 7.1% to 92,161 units in December 2011 over December 2010. Domestic sales dropped 13.4% to 77,475 units. Exports surged by 50.5% to 14,686 units. Fiat India Automobiles said early this week that it expects to conclude shortly discussions with Maruti Suzuki India for the supply of diesel engines for cars, a step that will allow the local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. cut the waiting period on its Swift model. Maruti currently sources all its diesel engines from Suzuki Powertrain, a joint venture between Maruti and Suzuki. These engines are made using Fiat's technology. Two-wheeler makers dropped on concerns of increased competition as global two-wheeler makers on Thursday launched new models and announced expansion plans at the ongoing India auto show to attract more buyers in the world's second-largest market for motorcycles and scooters. Bajaj Auto shed 0.38%. The firm unveiled an ultra-low-cost car early this week, its first foray into the four-wheel market. The compact RE60 boasts of high fuel efficiency and low carbon dioxide emissions, but the firm did not release a price tag. Shares of Bajaj Auto had tumbled recently on reported comments by a company official that the company does not expect to meet its vehicle sales target for this financial year through March. The company's total sales rose 10% to 3.05 lakh units in December 2011 over December 2010. Motorcycle sales rose 8% to 2.63 lakh units and commercial vehicle sales rose 27% to 41,991 units. Exports jumped 25% to 1.19 lakh units. The company announced the monthly sales data early this week. India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp declined 5.12%. Hero MotoCorp expects double-digit percentage growth in sales for the fiscal year starting in April, Managing Director Pawan Munjal said at the New Delhi Auto Expo. The company today unveiled its first concept hybrid scooter. The company on Wednesday launched two motorcycle models and one scooter model. The company will start retail sales of the 110-cubic-centimeter scooter model Maestro later this month, while that of the 110cc motorcycle model Passion X Pro and 125cc motorcycle Ignitor will happen in the remainder of the year. TVS Motor Company fell 2.09%. The stock had been under selling pressure recently after the company said its total sales declined 0.79% to 1.70 lakh units in December 2011 over December 2010. Bharti Airtel fell 4.11% extending recent losses triggered by reports that the telecom department plans to impose penalties totaling Rs 1594 crore on five mobile phone companies for allegedly understating revenues and hence paying lower revenue share during 2006-07 and 2007-08. Cement stocks dropped on reports some companies have on Thursday reportedly agreed to slash prices by Rs 25 per bag of 50 kg in Himachal Pradesh with immediate effect. ACC, Ambuja Cement, and Jaiprakash Associates fell by between 0.39% to 4.56%. IT stocks fell on worries about the ongoing European debt crisis. Europe is the second biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms after US. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro fell 2.14%. India's largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shed 0.13%. India's second largest software services exporter by revenue Infosys declined 0.29%. The company announces Q3 December 2011 results on 12 January 2012. A firm rupee also weighed on IT stocks. The rupee rose on Friday as some banks sold dollars. The partially convertible rupee was at 52.74/75 to the dollar, stronger than Thursday's close of 52.98/99. A firm rupee adversely affects operating profit margins of IT firms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. Kingfisher Airlines plunged 4.89% on reports that Directorate General of Civil Aviation has given the private airline three days time till Monday, 9 January 2012, to come back with a detailed plan of financial recovery and for resolving safety issues. Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) has reportedly classified Kingfisher Airlines' debt as a non-performing asset. SBI reportedly has an exposure of Rs 1500 crore to the airline. SBI has reportedly given 90 days to Kingfisher to get its account back on track. Among other airline stocks, SpiceJet rose 1.23% and Jet Airways gained 0.17%. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said that the government will not cancel licences of cash-strapped carriers on safety concerns. The comments come even as aviation regulator on Thursday demanded assurances from Kingfisher Airlines and the budget arm of Air India that their financial problems would not affect safety. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also told airlines to offer a timeline to put in place measures to tackle their financial problems. A government report last month said the total debt of India's airlines is expected to rise to $20 billion in 2011/12 ending March as they struggle with rising oil prices, high sales taxes on jet fuel and below-cost pricing driven by fierce competition. Bank stocks recovered. India's largest private sector bank by branch network ICICI Bank gained 0.55%, reversing initial losses. ICICI Bank has raised the interest rate for NRE deposits. ICICI Bank is now offering up to 9.25% on non-resident external (NRE) deposits. India's second largest private sector bank by branch network HDFC Bank rose 2.25%, reversing initial losses. The bank raised interest rates on non-resident savings deposits to 9% from 3.82% from Friday, 23 December 2011, taking advantage of recent deregulation to attract dollars. India's largest commercial bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India (SBI) fell 0.92% to Rs 1676.15, off the day's low of Rs 1658.10. The bank early this week said it has cancelled the negotiations for establishing a joint venture entity with Visa Inc and Elavon Inc for conducting the merchant acquiring business. In terms of the bank's earlier letter dated 4 May 2010, a joint venture was proposed between SBI Payment Services, the wholly owned subsidiary of SBI and Visa Inc and Elavon Inc. The government will infuse Rs 5000 crore ($942 million) to Rs 6000 crore ($1.13 billion) in State Bank of India by the end of the current fiscal year in March, the bank's chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said on Thursday. After the capital infusion, the government's share [in the bank] will increase to 64%, Chaudhuri told media reporters. The government currently owns 59% of India's largest lender by assets. Mr. Chaudhuri also said that the bank may raise further capital next fiscal year through a follow-on share sale or a private sale of shares to institutional investors. In its draft guidelines on Basel III capital regulation norms for banks unveiled recently, the RBI has suggested that Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital must be at least 5.5% of risk-weighted assets (RWAs). Tier 1 capital must be at least 7% of RWAs and total capital must be at least 9% of RWAs, according to the draft guidelines. RBI has suggested capital conservation buffer in the form of Common Equity of 2.5% of RWAs. The RBI said the implementation period of minimum capital requirements and deductions from Common Equity will begin from January 1, 2013 and be fully implemented as on March 31, 2017. Capital conservation buffer requirement is proposed to be implemented between March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2017. Instruments which no longer qualify as regulatory capital instruments will be phased-out during the period beginning from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2022. For OTC derivatives, in addition to the capital charge for counterparty default risk under Current Exposure Method, banks will be required to compute an additional credit value adjustments (CVA) risk capital charge. The parallel run for the leverage ratio will be from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2017, during which banks would be expected to strive to operate at a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 5%. The leverage ratio requirement will be finalized taking into account the final proposal of the Basel Committee. ONGC lost 2.48% after the stock turned ex-dividend today, 6 January 2012, for an interim dividend of Rs 6.25 per share for the year ending March 2012. Reliance Communications clocked highest volume of 49.23 lakh shares on BSE. Resurgence Mines (49.02 lakh shares), Suzlon Energy (46.50 lakh shares), Dazzel Confindive (45.49 lakh shares) and Cals Refineries (39.79 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order. MMTC clocked highest turnover of Rs 127.86 crore on BSE. SBI (Rs 82.55 crore), RIL (Rs 73.83 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 61.96 crore) and Infosys (Rs 56.31 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 381.42 crore on Thursday, 5 January 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. FII inflow totaled Rs 775.78 crore in three trading sessions on 3 to 5 January 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Earlier, FIIs had offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1287.84 crore in three trading sessions from 29 December 2011 to 2 January 2012. Stock markets in India are open for trading for a short period of time tomorrow, 7 January 2012. A special trading session is being held tomorrow, 7 January 2012, as the National Stock Exchange is upgrading the capacity of its futures and options trading system hardware and software. Trading will take place from 11:15 IST to 12:45 IST on that day. Trades done on Saturday, January 07, 2012, will be settled on Tuesday, 10 January 10, 2012, as a separate settlement, NSE said in a circular. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday raised the annual limit of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) for companies to $750 million under the automatic route from $500 million earlier. The increase in the ceiling for FCCBs under automatic route will not only help Indian corporates across all segments access higher quantum of overseas funds but also encourage greater inflow of foreign exchange. Corporates in specified service sectors like hotels, hospitals and software, can raise FCCBs up to $200 million subject to the condition that the proceeds would not be used for acquisition of land. It also said henceforth ECBs of up to $20 million or equivalent in a financial year will have a minimum average maturity of three years, while for ECBs of $20-750 million the average maturity would be of five years. Market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has allowed auctioning of securities through stock exchanges and introduced a new method for institutional placement of stocks. As per the auctioning route, a special window can be used by promoter stakeholders to sell at least 1% of the paid-up capital of a company. This will be similar to the block-deal mechanism for secondary stock market transactions, but with lesser restrictions. Under the institutional placement programme (IPP), shares can be sold only to qualified institutional buyers. Exchanges will provide a separate window for the offer for sale of shares which will co-exist with the normal trading hours. But, promoter or promoter group of companies will not be allowed to bid for the shares. Sebi also said the auction method can be only used by promoters of top 100 companies based on average market capitalisation for sale of their stakes. The regulator said the IPP method can be used to increase public holding by 10% and could be offered to only qualified institutional buyers with 25% being reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies. Issuers will have to announce an indicative floor price or price band at least one day before the opening of the offer. Starting off the New Year on a liberalisation note, the government on Sunday, 1 January 2012, announced its decision to allow Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) to directly invest in the Indian equity market from 15 January 2012. A QFI is an individual, group or association resident in a foreign country that is compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. QFIs include pension funds which normally tend to stay invested for a longer period of time. QFIs do not include FIIs/sub accounts. In August last year, the government allowed foreign investors to directly invest up to $13 billion in equity and debt schemes of mutual funds. Qualified foreign investors, or QFIs, will now be able to invest individually up to 5% of the capital of the Indian company. Cumulatively, QFIs can invest up to 10% of the capital of the company being invested in. These limits are over and above the FII and NRI investment ceilings prescribed under the PIS route for foreign investment in India, a government statement said. The next major trigger for the market is Q3 December 2011 corporate earnings, which will start tricking from the second week of January 2012. The focus will be on guidance from the company managements on outlook for the remaining part of the year and for the next year. Analysts expect weak Q3 December 2011 results due to lower volume growth in a slowing economy, higher raw material costs and higher interest charges. IT bellwether Infosys and housing finance major HDFC report Q3 results on 12 January 2012. HCL Tech unveils Q2 results on 17 January 2012. HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto unveil Q3 results on 19 January 2012. Axis Bank unveils Q3 results on 20 January 2012. JSW Steel reports its Q3 standalone results on 20 January 2012. Asian Paints and Zee Entertainment Enterprises unveil Q3 results on 21 January 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank announces Q3 results on 23 January 2012. Biotech major Biocon unveils Q3 results on 24 January 2012. Dabur India unveils Q3 results on 31 January 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra unveils Q3 results on 7 February 2012. Food inflation plunged into the negative territory in the fourth week of December mainly due to base effect, data released by the Government showed on Thursday, 5 January 2011. Fuel inflation edged up though. Food inflation shrank by 3.36% in the week ended December 24, after rising by 0.42% in the preceding week. Inflation in the Primary Articles group fell to 0.1% in the week under review, from 2.7% in the week ended December 17. Inflation in the Fuel & Power group stood at 14.60% in the week ended December 24, versus 14.37% in the previous week. The RBI is likely to begin easing monetary policy to address concerns about economic growth, Governor D Subbarao said in an interview to a foreign electronic media house, reiterating comments made by the RBI when it kept rates unchanged on 16 December 2011. At its mid-quarterly monetary policy review meet on 16 December 2011, the RBI left its main lending rate unchanged in order to support faltering economic growth as inflation shows signs of cooling. While inflation remains on its projected trajectory, downside risks to growth have clearly increased, RBI had said in a statement on 16 December 2011. From this point on, monetary policy actions are likely to reverse the cycle, responding to the risks to growth, RBI had said. RBI had said inflation risks remain high and inflation could quickly recur as a result of both supply and demand forces. RBI also said that the rupee remains under stress. The timing and magnitude of further actions will depend on a continuing assessment of how these factors shape up in the months ahead, RBI said. The RBI has raised rates 13 times since March 2010. Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service on 14 December 2011 said that the sharp decline in the value of the Indian rupee against the dollar over the past few months is generally exerting only a moderate impact on rated Indian companies. Risks for companies holding large amounts of dollar denominated debt are also manageable in the near term, given that debt maturities are limited for this time frame, Moody's said in a new report. This means Indian companies rated by Moody's do not have a significant dollar outflow at a time when the Indian rupee is losing ground. India may face the risk of stagflation if the government doesn't take urgent steps to tame inflation and stimulate growth, a parliamentary panel on finance warned on 22 December 2011. The Standing Committee on Finance blamed the Reserve Bank of India's 13 interest-rate increases over the past 21 months for stalling economic growth. Measures taken by the government and the RBI so far have squarely failed to rescue the economy from unabated inflation. Instead, monetary measures initiated for this purpose have only resulted in worsening the condition of the economy further, the report said. The budget for 2012/13 ending March will be presented after elections scheduled in five states, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday, 2 January 2012. State elections are scheduled between the end of January and early March. The annual budget is usually presented on the last working day of February. The Election Commission on 24 December 2011 announced the dates for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Uttar Pradesh will have polling on February 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 28, while Uttarakhand and Punjab will go to polls on January 30. Manipur will have polls on January 28 and Goa on March 3. European stocks rose slightly on Friday as investors awaited the all-important non-farm payrolls data in the US. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK rose by between 0.29% to 0.55%. France sold 7.96 billion euros ($10.2 billion) of debt yesterday, with borrowing costs rising in its first auction of the year. European industrial orders increased less than economists estimated in October, adding to signs of a deepening economic slump in the region. French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on 9 January 2012 for talks that are likely to centre on new rules to enforce budget discipline across the European Union (EU). The two leaders are anxious to flesh out a plan agreed at a December 2011 summit by all EU members except Britain for a new treaty to forge closer fiscal integration, as Europe battles to stem a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone. Finance ministers from the EU's 27 members will meet on 23 January 2012 before their leaders hold a summit a week later. They will be under intense pressure to find a definitive solution to the crisis which threatens the very survival of the single currency, 10 years after it came into circulation. Asian stocks dropped for the second day in a row on Friday, 6 January 2012, as higher borrowing costs in a French bond auction stoked concern Europe's debt crisis is deepening, overshadowing improving economic data in the US. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan fell by between 0.15% to 1.17%. Key benchmark indices in China and Singapore rose by between 0.09% to 0.7%. Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Friday, 6 January 2012. US stocks reversed early losses and mostly ended in the black on Thursday, 5 January 2012, helped by data showing solid improvement in the US jobs market in December 2011. The US private sector added 325,000 jobs in December, well above expectations, while weekly jobless claims fell by 15,000 last week. The reports offered more evidence the US labour market was improving. The US government will issue its non-farm payrolls report later in the global day today, and is expected to show the economy added 150,000 public and private sector jobs last month. December's US ISM non-manufacturing index will also be released later in the global day today. The index is seen at 53 versus 52. Powered by Capital Market - Live News | 