Sensex Ends Higher; Infosys & Bharti Airtel Top Gainers

After opening the day on a flat note, Indian share markets ended the day marginally higher. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex finished higher by 70 points. While, the NSE Nifty finished higher by 23 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap Index ended up by 0.3% while S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended up by 0.4% respectively.

Sectoral indices ended the day on a mixed note with realty stocks and information technology stocks leading the gainers. While, energy stocks and consumer durables stocks ended the day in red.

Overseas, Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 0.15% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.10%. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.33%. European markets are mixed. The CAC 40 is higher by 0.03%, while the DAX is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.13% and 0.12% respectively.

The rupee was trading at Rs 63.74 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

In the latest development, India’s securities regulator has banned the global accountancy firm PwC from auditing listed companies in the country for two years, after it failed to spot a US$1.7 billion fraud at the defunct Satyam Computer Services.

Reportedly, PwC had neglected to check “glaring anomalies” in the financial details reported by Satyam, whose downfall followed one of the worst financial scandals in Indian corporate history.

For about five years beginning in 2003, Satyam inflated its revenue by accounting for 7,561 fake invoices. The fraud persisted in part because PwC, Satyam’s auditor, did not independently check the veracity of the monthly bank statements.

As well as the auditing suspension, the regulator ordered PwC to disgorge wrongful gains of about Rs 130 million.

The order comes nine years after the scam at Satyam Computer Services first came to light and after two failed attempts by PwC to settle the case through the consent mechanism.