Evening wrap: Top trending headlines on Thursday

Here are the key headlines of the day:

Rupee hits 65.56/$; Sensex sees 407 pts rally, metals up 8%
The market reversed all its previous day’s losses on Thursday with the Sensex gaining more than 400 points on sharp rally in metals and oil & gas shares, ignoring further steep fall in rupee. (Here’s an interesting take on rupee valuation)

PM nixes DTC hopes, super-rich tax not conducive
Government sources said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for the time being, has put an end to the hope of Direct Taxes Code getting approved.

Fitch warns India of downgrade if confidence falls further
Fitch currently rates both India and Indonesia BBB- with a stable outlook but the recent sell-off in emerging markets, sparked by worries of a scaling back of cheap US financial stimulus, has raised the pressure on the countries.

NSEL case: I-T raids NK Proteins premises, 24 others
CNBC-TV18 reports that the President of India is to issue an Executive Order on NSEL scam in two days as the income tax department raids warehouses of defaulters across the country.

2G case: Anil Ambani declared hostile witness
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani, who deposed in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case in a Delhi court on Thursday, has been declared a hostile witness by special public prosecutor UU Lalit.

ICICI Bank hikes base rate by 25 bps to 10%
India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank   on Thursday increased its base rate, the minimum benchmark rate below which a bank is not allowed to lend, by 25 basis points to 10 percent with effect from August 23, 2013.

Qatar Airways eyes minority stake in GoAir: Sources
Budget carrier GoAir is likely to get a foreign partner soon. Sources say that Qatar Airways is eyeing a minority stake in Wadia Group promoted GoAir. 

M&M to launch cheaper XUV 500 model in festive season: Srcs
Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra  plans to launch a scaled down and cheaper version of its premium sports utility vehicle (SUV) XUV500 by festive season, sources informed CNBC-TV18.

JSW Steel to hike price by 4-6% as coal gets costlier
Following a steep hike in raw material cost, (especially coal) JSW Steel has decided to raise steel price by 4-6 percent from September 1.

JP Assoc-UltraTech in final talks for Guj cement plant sale
CNBC-TV18's learns from sources that the cement maker is in final stages of its deal with UltraTech for stake sale.

Bajaj Corp acquires Nomarks brand from Ozone Ayurvedics
Bajaj Corp on Thursday said it has acquired the Nomarks brand from Ozone Ayurvedics, thus giving the maker of Almond Drops hair oil an entry into the Rs 8,500 crore large skin care category.

Fed's hawkish message a lever for rates
With the Fed on a path to taper, rising bond yields could act as a razor's edge against the stock market, cutting into gains with every tick higher.

Facebook-led project seeks Internet access for all
Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg has enlisted Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm Inc and other technology companies to help him in a project aimed at making Internet access affordable for the 5 billion people around the world who are not online.