Stock market slips in mid-day trading
Mumbai--After opening higher on the back of positive Nasdaq news the Sensex slipped into the red and now stands 4.21 points lower at 3,279.96.
NIIT advanced 6.13 per cent (Rs 9.65) to Rs 167. Satyam was up 3.43 per cent (Rs 4.70) to Rs 141.60. Infosys climbed 1.67 per cent (Rs 60.35) to Rs 3,678. Grasim was up 3.33 per cent (Rs 10.20) higher at Rs 316.05. ACC, Gujarat Ambuja and L&T are also in positive zone.
Zee is down 1.06 per cent (Rs 1.05) at Rs 98.25. Balaji Tele, Mukta Arts and Tips are also in negative zone while Sri Adhikari is unchanged at Rs 59. Sterlite Optical spurted 7.3 per cent (Rs 13.35) to Rs 196.20. Aksh Optifibre was up 1.67 per cent (Rs 1.50) to Rs 91.55. Britannia fall 1.51 per cent (Rs 8.95) to Rs 585. ITC is 1.72 per cent (Rs 13.55) lower at Rs 773.15. Nestle, HLL, Nirma and Colgate are also in the red.

At 1100 hrs the Sensex had opened 10 points higher at 3,294, following a two per cent rise on the Nasdaq yesterday, tech counters registered gains, causing the Sensex to cross the 3,300 mark and touch a high of 3,310.80. However, with profit booking at higher levels, it has come off its high and is now at 3,286 - a gain of 2 points. Infosys, Satyam and NIIT are in positive zone while Zee is in the red.
Cement counter gained ground while pharma pivotals displayed divergent trends. Bajaj Auto, BHEL, HLL, HPCL, ICICI, MTNL, Telco, Tisco, M&M and Castrol are in the green. Reliance, Reliance Petro, Hindalco, SBI and BSES are lower.
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Low US-64 redemption pressure on first day
Mumbai—On the first day when the special repurchase window for redemption of US-64 units opened, the expected rush of investors, intent of redeeming their units in US-64 scheme, did not happen and at the end of the day, only 3,865 applications were received covering 56.39 lakh units, the UTI said in a late evening press release.

The window opened today with a special price of Rs 10 per unit. UTI had decided to freeze sales and repurchases in US-64 on July 2. Meanwhile the US-64 units closed Rs 0.50 higher on the NSE, at Rs 9.25, with traded volumes of 45,710 units. Though the closing price still represents a 7.5 per cent discount over the official redemption price of Rs 10, dealers said the lack of redemption pressure reflected in the US-64 price inching up higher.
On August 1 last year, 2,306 requests were received covering 45.66 lakh units. Similarly on July 3, 2000, 1,571 requests were received covering 22.68 lakh units.
Unit Trust of India chairman M Damodaran said there was no redemption pressure. Earlier there was fear over the possible surge in redemptions following UTI having paid out Rs 4,151 crore in April and May just prior to the month-long book closure.
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Proposal for 5-year lock-in period for VSNL strategic partner
New Delhi—According to the draft shareholders agreement for Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) a five-year lock-in period for the strategic partner has been proposed. During this period, the partner cannot sell its 25 per cent stake in VSNL.
The partner will have a 25 per cent shareholding and an equal representation on the board of the company as that of the government, which will have 26 per cent stake in the company.
The board will have 12 members, of which the government and the strategic partner will appoint four each.
There will be four independent directors to be nominated by both the government and the strategic partner. The managing director will be a nominee of the strategic partner, as long as it has the 25 per cent stake in the company. The board will have at least 10 Indian nationals.
After the expiry of the five-year lock-in period, the government can sell all or a part of its stake to the strategic partner at the higher of the fair value or original purchase price and in case, any equity holder wants to offload his stake, the existing shareholders will have the first right of refusal. In case of default, the government reserves the right to buy back shares at 50 per cent of the sale price or at a price specified by law.
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Mauritius firms to pick up stake in Bharti Tele
New Delhi—The Bharti group promoted by the Mittals is lining up more equity investors in its holding company, Bharti Televentures.
Two Mauritius-based investment funds — Indian Continent Investments and Russel AIF India — are reported to acquire equity investments in Televentures.
Unconfirmed reports say that the Mauritian funds are picking up less than five per cent of the stake in the company.
Besides these two funds, Seejay Cellular, a partner of Bharti group in its overseas telecom service providing operations in Mauritius and Seychelles, is also acquiring equity stake in Bharti Televentures.
Seejay Cellular’s stake acquisition is learnt to be in the form of an equity swap with its original equity holding in Bharti Enterprises Ltd, the earlier group holding company.
Bharti Televentures is learnt to be issuing fresh shares to Indian Continent Investments, Russel AIF and Seejay to accommodate them as equity partners in the company.
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