Markets up
Mumbai: The major stock markets in the country were firm on 29 September 1999. The Bombay Stock Exchange index of 30 shares rose from 4,733  on 28 September to close at 4,797, a rise of 64 points on 29 September 1999. The National Stock Exchange index of 50 shares closed at 1,415, registering a gain of 36 points.

Stocks with the highest turnovers were Reliance Industries, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Zee Telefilms, Silverline Industries, Satyam Computers, Global Telesystems and Larsen & Toubro. Shares of Reliance Petroleum and DSQ Software were some of the prominent ones that hit the higher end of the circuit filter.

Polaris Software Lab, that made its debut on the BSE, opened at Rs.588 per share and closed at Rs.775 per share. The company had come out recently with a public issue at Rs.220 per share. HCL Technologies has decided to defer its idea of listing in the US by June 2000. It will come out with a domestic issue at a price of Rs.4 per share, at par.
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Hughes Software flooded with applications
Mumbai: Hughes Software Systems, which had concluded its public issue on 28 September 1999, has received Rs.6,000 crore as application money, against its target of Rs.250 crore. It had offered 39,37,500 shares through the book-building route. The price band had been fixed at Rs.480-Rs.630 per share.

The company will offer another ten per cent at a price of Rs.630 per share to the general public through an issue slated to open on 7 October and close on 12 October 1999.
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Peerless revamps portfolio
Calcutta: Peerless General Finance & Investment Company will reduce its exposure in equities. There will be a shift in its portfolio from equity to debt instruments. UTI Investor Advisory Services is advising Peerless in restructuring its portfolio mix. Peerless currently holds shares of about 215 companies, with a book value of Rs.350 crore.
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HCL Technologies IPO at par value of Rs 4
New Delhi: HCL Technologies, now called HCL Consulting, is making its initial public offer at a par value of Rs 4 per share. The company has postponed its plan for US listing till June 2000, when the management will evaluate whether it needs to do it.

The company had gained clearance for listing on the New York Stock Exchange during May 1999.
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Sebi seeks more transparency, to check discrepancy
Mumbai: Companies may be asked to reveal as much information to investors as they do to equity research analysts. There is a general feeling in the Securities and Exchange Board of India that analysts with privileged information may indulge in insider trading.

Sebi discussed the issue in a meeting with brokers, institutions, stock exchanges, chartered accountants, and law firms. The suggestions that came up in the meeting will be forwarded to the Kumaramangalam Birla committee on insider trading.

The Sebi is also reconciling its data on foreign institutional investors with Reserve Bank of India data. Net FII investments in the country are about $10 billion. But the figures are yet to be reconciled. Sebi and the RBI will begin the reconciliation process jointly.
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Birla’s newsletter causes discomfort
Mumbai: Birla Sun Life’s official newsletter, Investime, which has a circulation of about 7,000 copies, has created a controversy. The newsletter has allegedly not annualised the returns of some of the other mutual funds, which makes the table’s contents wrong. Mutual funds believe that since the newsletter has a wide circulation with brokers, high net worth individuals, and companies, such mistakes should be avoided.
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JM Mutual targets Rs 1,500 crore
Bangalore: By the financial year-ended 1999-2000, JM Mutual fund plans to collect about Rs.1,500 crore. In the next few months, it plans to launch two new schemes. One, an equity scheme and the other a short-term closed-ended debt scheme.
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Vatsa denied promoters’ shares listing
Mumbai: Vatsa Corporation, a ‘Z’ group company, has been denied permission by the Bombay Stock Exchange to list the preferential shares it had issued to its promoters. The governing board of the exchange decided to deny permission since they were suspicious about the genuineness of the issue.
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