Mahila Bank momentum

More than a year after it was formed the Bhartiya Manila Bank, the lender that predominantly caters to women, is looking to end this fiscal year with a total business of nearly Rs 2000 crore.
The public sector lender is also planning to ramp up its branch strength to 80 from the present number of 40.
BMB is among those few banks which offer an higher interest rate on savings bank deposits than most of the PSU lenders.
It has joined hands with Lakme Lever Pvt Ltd, a 100 percent subsidiary of Hindustan Unilever limited ( HUL) to bring easy financing options to fuel women entrepreneurship.

Equity high

Indian equities rose for the first time in five days ahead of a report tomorrow on the nation’s economic growth and a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman.

The BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX), or Sensex, increased 0.3 percent to 17,541.64, rebounding from an intraday drop of 0.7 percent, as investors closed bearish bets following the expiry of derivative contracts. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUVR), the biggest home products maker, ITC Ltd. (ITC), the largest cigarette company, and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), the top software  exporter, all rallied to a record.

In the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty Index futures were at 56.3 percent at 4:25 p.m., compared with 70 percent in July, this year, helped by the biggest overseas equity investments among 10 Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Foreign funds bought a net $30 million of stocks on Aug. 28, the 21st day of purchases, pushing up their investments this year to $11.8 billion, data from the regulator show. That’s the longest stretch of net buying since a record 41-day streak through Oct. 27, 2010, Bloomberg data show.