Profit cues: Asian shares mixed as Greece fears worry traders

Asian shares steadied on Thursday from the previous day's sell-off, but investors found no reason to bet on risk amid deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion to other stressed euro zone economies. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.1 percent, after sliding more than 3 percent for its biggest one-day drop in six months on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei stock average opened down 0.1 percent.

Indian markets may witness a bounce back today. The SGX Nifty, indicative of early trade, was up 23.50 points or 0.49 per cent at 4,868 at 08.33 am.

Risk assets across the board took a further beating on Wednesday on news that some Greek banks face emergency funding needs. U.S. stocks and the euro slid on Wednesday on news that some Greek banks face emergency funding needs, while minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting showed U.S. economic prospects remain sobering. Major US indices fell on Wednesday.

Bastia quits Reliance Industries

Ravi Narayan Bastia, the man who discovered the gigantic Krishna-Godavari basin D6 field for Reliance Industries, has quit the company. Bastia, who was in 2007 conferred the Padma Shri for finding the energy-hungry nation's second biggest gas find to date, resigned from RIL last week, industry sources said. In 2002, RIL made a giant natural gas discovery in the very first well it drilled some 200-km off the east coast in the Bay of Bengal, and Bastia is said to be the man behind the success.

Pranab wants India to reduce oil imports or raise prices

Amid rising global crude oil prices, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday warned of "disastrous consequences" if corrective steps were not taken to deal with the problem as India cannot afford import of large quantities at high prices. India imports about 170 million tonnes, while domestic production is about 37-38 million tonnes. Mukherjee said he has asked oil experts and the chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) to find out if the country can reduce its oil import requirement.

RBI clarifies on conversion of foreign currency in export accounts

The Reserve Bank of India said on Wednesday the conversion of exchange earner's foreign currency (EEFC) account balances into rupees will be applicable to available balances after netting off amounts on account of outstanding forward or option contracts booked before May 10. On May 10, the RBI had asked exporters to sell half the foreign currency in their accounts, taking further measures to prop up the rupee. The rupee slumped to a life low of 54.52 to the dollar on Wednesday.

Bharti Airtel talking to buy out Qualcomm Indian partners

Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest mobile phone carrier, is in advanced talks to buy out the Indian partners of Qualcomm in a fourth-generation (4G) broadband venture in the country, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks said on Wednesday. Qualcomm, which spent nearly $1 billion to buy 4G radio airwaves in a 2010 government auction, had sold a total 26 percent stake to Indian companies Global Holding Corp and Tulip Telecom for about $58 million to comply with the sector's foreign holding rules. The venture's equity value was about $223 million and enterprise value, which includes debt, was more than $1 billion in 2010 when it entered into the stake sale agreements with the two Indian companies.

Posco could scale down Odisha steel plant capacity

After a 90-minute long discussion with chief minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior state government officials on Wednesday, Yung Won Yoon, chairman and MD of POSCO India said that the company would now consider setting up a plant with an annual capacity of 8 million tons in place of the 12 million ton steel plant they had originally planned. This was due to problems of the limited land available to them.

Coal India signs fuel supply pacts with 14 power plants

Coal India has signed fuel supply agreement with 14 power plants. NTPC, a state-owned power producer, has refused to sign due to objections on clauses in the FSA. Reliance Power, Lanco and Bajaj Hindustan have signed the agreement with Coal India.