A look at the headlines in the sector right now:

  1. Sensex ends 262 points down, Nifty falls below 8,000 mark: Factors including the effects of demonetisation on quarterly earnings and the outcome of a two-day Goods and Services Tax Council meeting impacted indices.
  2. People can now order cash on Snapdeal in parts of Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Surat: The online marketplace will deliver Rs 2,000 to customers, though one can avail the service only once in a day.
  3. Government requests for user data rose 27% in the first half of 2016, says Facebook: More than half the submissions included non-disclosure orders, prohibiting the social media giant from informing users about the information handover.
  4. Tata Steel shareholders vote out independent director Nusli Wadia: The company submitted a statement to the stock exchanges announcing his removal on Thursday.
  5. Two-day GST Council meeting begins today: Leaders aim to iron out differences in the implementation of the new tax regime at the meeting, chaired by Arun Jaitley.
  6. Rs 30 lakh in new notes and other assets found during raids at TN chief secretary’s home, office: A major part of the cash and gold seized were recovered from P Ramamohan Rao’s son Vivek’s house and his in-laws’ residence in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.
  7. Volkswagen to buy back or fix 80,000 diesel cars affected by emissions scandal for $1-billion: The owners of the vehicles will also be compensated, though the company and consumers’ lawyers are still negotiating the exact terms of the settlement.