Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1815 hours:

DEL58 BIZ-INFLATION-RETAIL Retail inflation rises to 3.99 pc in Sep on costlier food items

New Delhi: Retail inflation spiked to 3.99 per cent in September mainly due to higher prices of food items, government data showed on Monday.

DEL23 BIZ-LOANS-FINMIN Over Rs 81,700 cr disbursed by banks during 9-day loan mela: FinMin

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Monday said loans worth Rs 81,781 crore were disbursed during the nine-day outreach programme or loan mela organised by banks that began on October 1.

DCM46 BIZ-LD TOTAL-ADANI Total to buy 37.4 pc stake in Adani Gas

New Delhi: A year after stitching an alliance with billionaire Gautam Adani for foray into lucrative Indian market, French energy giant Total SA on Monday announced buying a 37.4 per cent stake in Adani Gas Ltd - the firm that retails gas to automobiles and households, for an estimated Rs 5,700 crore.

DEL59 BIZ-RUPEE-CLOSE Rupee drops 21 paise to 3-week low on fading US-China deal optimism

Mumbai: The rupee declined by 21 paise to close at a three-week low of 71.23 against the US currency on Monday as investors rushed to safe haven bets on fading hopes of an initial trade deal between the US and China.

DEL29 BIZ-INDIA-US-TRADE US lists rise of China as challenge before India; wants free flow of goods, capital, data

New Delhi: As India and the US negotiate a free trade agreement, Washington on Monday said it wants free and fair trade along with free flow of goods, services, capital, and data as it went on to list rise of China alongside dealing with terrorism and promoting economic growth as challenges before India.

DEL21 BIZ-LD FM India will honour energy contractual commitments, investors need not worry: FM

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that India will honour contractual commitments under various energy agreements especially in renewables and investors need not worry about this issue.

DEL36 BIZ-LD INFLATION-WPI Wholesale inflation eases to over 3-year low in Sep on cheaper fuel, food items

New Delhi: Wholesale inflation eased to more than three-year low of 0.33 per cent in September mainly due to falling prices of fuel and certain food articles, according to official data.

BCM7 2NLD-IRCTC-LISTING IRCTC zooms on market debut, to develop budget hotels

Mumbai, Oct 14 (PTI) In a boost to the divestment process, the shares of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Monday made a stellar debut on the bourses, zooming 127 percent to close at Rs 728.60 over the issue price of Rs 320.

DEL55 BIZ-LD STOCKS Indian equities finish higher, join Asian markets in trade deal rally

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty managed to close with gains after a volatile session on Monday as positive sentiment reflected on domestic bourses after a breakthrough in US-China trade talks.

DCM21 BIZ-PASWAN-BIS BIS to rank state capitals, smart cities for quality tap water in next 3 months: Paswan

New Delhi: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will rank state capitals and 100 smart cities in the next three months for quality tap water, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Monday.

DCM22 BIZ-ONGC-HPCL ONGC free to sell stake in HPCL: Pradhan

New Delhi: Amid reports of ONGC's inability to derive any benefit out of its HPCL acquisition, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said the state-owned firm was free to sell its stake in the oil refining and marketing company.