Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1915 hours:DEL58 BIZ-LD STOCKSSensex, Nifty snap 6-session rally, end marginally lower Mumbai: Snapping their six-session winning streak, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Tuesday following fag-end profit-booking in IT, FMCG, finance and auto stocks.

DEL18 BIZ-TWITTERTwitter seeks dialogue with IT Min after order to block a/cs, says safety of staff top priority New Delhi: Twitter on Tuesday said it is seeking formal dialogue with the Information Technology Minister after the government ordered it to take down 1,178 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation around farmers' protests.

DCM24 BIZ-BANK-STRIKEBanks unions call for two-day strike against proposed privatisation of PSBs New Delhi: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, on Tuesday gave a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.

DEL15 BIZ-PETROL-PRICEPetrol, diesel prices at fresh highs; petrol crosses Rs 87 mark in DelhiNew Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday climbed to fresh highs in the country as rates were hiked after a three-day hiatus.

DCM63 BIZ-VACCINES-ORDERGovt places orders for 1.45 cr doses of COVID-19 vaccinesNew Delhi: The government has placed orders for 1 crore additional doses of Covishield from Serum Institute of India and 45 lakh more doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, officials of the two vaccine makers said on Tuesday.

DCM56 BIZ-LD IEA-INDIAIndia energy demand set to grow fastest in the world; to overtake EUNew Delhi: India's energy demand will increase more than that of any other country over the next two decades, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday forecasting India overtaking the European Union as the world's third-largest energy consumer by 2030.

DCM54 BIZ-LD EQUITY-MFEquity MFs see outflow for seventh straight month in Jan on profit bookingNew Delhi: Equity mutual funds witnessed an outflow of Rs 9,253 crore in January, making it the seventh consecutive monthly withdrawal, primarily due to profit booking and portfolio rebalancing amid markets touching new highs.

DCM42 BIZ-FM-BUDGETStock markets received FY'22 Budget with positivity: FMNew Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the stock markets have received the Union Budget 2021-22 with ''positivity'' with an 11 per cent increase in equity indices over the past week. DEL64 BIZ-GOLD-PRICEGold jumps Rs 495; silver falls by Rs 99New Delhi: Gold prices in the national capital jumped Rs 495 to Rs 47,559 per 10 grams on Tuesday, in line with a rally in the international market, according to HDFC Securities.

DCM41 BIZ-RESULTS-LD-ADANI PORTSAdani Ports & SEZ Q3 consolidated profit up 16% to Rs 1,576 crNew Delhi: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Tuesday reported a 16.22 per cent increase in its consolidated profit to Rs 1,576.53 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2020.

DCM40 BIZ-BPCL-SALEBPCL's Oman Oil stake buy in Bina refinery in 10 days; NRL stake sale by Mar 31New Delhi: Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will buy out Oman Oil Company's shares in Bina refinery project in the next 10 days, and is hoping to complete a separate sale of its stake in Numaligarh Refinery by the next month-end, its director-finance said on Tuesday.

DCM15 RSQ-NPA-PSBGross NPAs of PSBs decline to Rs 6.09 lakh cr in Sep 2020: ThakurNew Delhi: Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks (PSBs) declined from Rs 8.96 lakh crore in March 2018 to Rs 6.09 lakh crore in September 2020 due to various measures taken by the government, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

DCM35 RSQ-LIC-IPOUp to 10 pc of LIC IPO issue size to be reserved for policyholders: MoS FinanceNew Delhi: Up to 10 per cent of the LIC IPO issue size would be reserved for policyholders, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday.

DEL49 BIZ-RUPEE-CLOSERupee gains 10 paise to close at 72.87 against US dollarMumbai: The rupee gained 10 paise to settle at 72.87 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows and weak American currency.

DCM7 BIZ-VEHICLE SAFETY-ARAMANEGovt asks automakers to stop selling vehicles with purposefully downgraded safety standardsNew Delhi: The government on Tuesday expressed concern over reports that automobile manufacturers are selling vehicles with purposefully downgraded safety standards in India and asked them to stop the 'unpardonable' practice.