FII investments lift market sentiment
Mumbai: The stock markets were fairly steady, with foreign institutional investors chipping in funds and resuming their purchases. Total purchases were in the range of Rs 103 crore on 29 July. FIIs had recorded net sales of Rs 35 crore on 28 July and Rs 19 crore on 27 July.

Total investments by FIIs in Indian stocks have reached the $10 billion mark.

Coupled with the infusion of funds by FIIs, the fairly encouraging Q1 results announced by companies also contributed to a firming up of the markets. The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange showed a marginal increase of 5.24 points to reach 4,603.42 points.

Software stocks were again the focus, with Mastek adding to the list, in view of the proposed a bonus issue.
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3 brokers suspended
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India suspended three stock brokers for violating the provisions of the Sebi Act 1992. The three stock brokers are alleged to have manipulated the prices of BPL, Videocon International and Sterlite Industries stocks during April-June 1998.

Stockbrokers Mefcom Securities and Lalkar Securities have been suspended for 18 months and PR Shah Share and Stock Broker has been suspended for 24 months. Mefcom is a member of both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, while PR Shah and Lalkar are members of the BSE.

Sebi said the three brokers dealt for a common set of clients, the Damayanti group, who did not have any professional expertise in the securities market and lacked financial soundness to deal on such a large scale. The brokers did not charge any upfront margins from these clients and the common set of clients were acting as a front for Harshad S. Mehta, an accused in the securities scam of 1992.
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Panel to study depository transfer charge
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has set up a five-member committee for studying inter-depository transfer charges.

Justice S.N. Jhunjunwala, D.B. Pathak, who heads the information technology school at the Indian Institute of Technology at Mumbai, S. P. Chajjed, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Pratip Kar, and O.P. Gahrotra, both executive directors of Sebi, are members of the committee.

The panel will ascertain whether it is fair to levy a charge on inter-depository transfer of shares and if it is, what should the the fee be.
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Wipro announces share split
Mumbai: Wipro has announced that its shares will be split -- in the ratio of five shares for every one held -- resulting in the face value of a share changing from Rs 10 to Rs 2 per share.

The share split was formally announced at the company's annual general meeting. The split will lead to increased liquidity and affordability.

The shareholders of the company also approved the introduction of an employee stock option plan for 5 million equity shares of Rs 2 for issue to permanent employees. The authorised share capital of the company will be increased by Rs 1 crore from the present Rs 71 crore to create 5 million shares for the ESOP.
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Syndicate Bank ISO at par
Mumbai: The Manipal, Karnataka, based Syndicate Bank has decided to make an at-par initial public offering of Rs 125 crore. The bank will come out with the issue after announcing its results for the first half of 1999-2000.

Syndicate Bank will be the first bank in the public sector to make an IPO at par. The bank says it is aware of the fact that almost all the shares of public sector banks are currently quoting below their offer prices.
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Charter Communications plans largest IPO
Chicago: Charter Communications, the cable company owned by Microsoft Corporation's co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen, has said it plans to raise about $3.45 billion in an initial public offering. The proposed offer from the No 4 cable operator in the US could be one of the nation's largest.
Currently Conoco holds the top spot, having raised $3.96 billion domestically in its IPO in October 1998.
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Surge in Asian markets predicted
Hong Kong: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter says the Asian share markets will surge and forecast at least 30 per cent increase in MSCI Asia ex-Japan index in the next few months.

Rising Asian liquidity promises further overshooting by regional stocks, the analysis said. They also said that India, Indonesia and Thailand are moderately overweighted, and Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Taiwan are underweighted.
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