Newsmakers: RBI to hold rates, rupee falls to 66.76 and more

Japan to provide Rs 5,536-cr loan for metro rail projects
India and Japan on 27 November, 2015 exchanged notes for Japan's Official Development Loan Assistance (ODA) worth Rs 5,536 crore for Chennai and Ahmedabad metro rail projects. The Japanese government has committed Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of an amount of about Rs 1,080 crore for the Chennai Metro Rail Project (IV phase) and Rs 4,456 crore for Ahmedabad Metro Project.

HSBC to shut down India private banking business
HSBC Holdings Plc will shut its private banking business in India, a spokesman said, marking the exit of another foreign bank from the cut-throat business in Asia's third-largest economy. "After a strategic review of the global private banking operations in India, we have decided to close the business," the Mumbai-based spokesman said. "This marks further progress in the HSBC group strategy to simplify business and deliver sustainable growth."

RBI to hold rates till Q1 next year: Reuters poll
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to hold its policy interest rate at 6.75 per cent next week to stifle inflation, while data is seen showing economic growth accelerated to 7.3 per cent in the September quarter, a Reuters poll of economists showed. All 45 economists surveyed expected the RBI to stand pat at its policy review on Tuesday, while the range of forecasts for gross domestic product growth for the latest quarter was between 6.9-7.6 per cent, with the median at 7.3 per cent.

Rupee falls to more than two-year low at 66.76
The rupee ended at more than two-year low at 66.76 against the American currency on month-end dollar demand from importers and some banks. Persistent foreign capital outflows also affected the market sentiment. They sold shares net $40.25 million on Thursday. The domestic currency opened lower by 66.66 per dollar as against Thursday's closing level of 66.57 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 66.8950 per dollar before ending at more than 2-year low at 66.76 per dollar, showing a loss of 19 paise or 0.29 per cent.

Sensex ends 169 pts up even as Asian mkts slump
The domestic markets ended higher as hopes the government would look for a compromise with opposition leaders to pass a key reform on a goods and services tax (GST) lifted sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day above its crucial psychological level of 26,000, up 169.57 points at 26,128.20, while the broader CNX Nifty ended at 7,942.70, up 58.90.