Sharp fall in HPCL, BPCL stock prices
Kochi: The share price of HPCL and BPCL dipped sharply on reports that privatisation of the oil companies in the year 2003 is practically impossible due to an unidentified legal tangle in the disinvestment process. Rumours that Arun Shourie — widely regarded as the architect of disinvestment — may be divested of "a" portfolio in the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle on May 24 just added to the general nervousness in the market. The share price of HPCL closed at Rs 292.45, down 5.26 per cent with around 9.15 lakh shares traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange. On the National Stock Exchange, the share closed at Rs 294 down 4.72 per cent with around 22.6 lakh shares traded. BPCL ended the day at Rs 235.40 on the BSE, down 2.63 per cent with around 1.34 lakh shares traded. On the NSE, the stock closed at Rs 235.25 down 2.81 lakh shares traded.
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ALF may become Ashok Leyland arm
Chennai: Ashok Leyland Ltd on Monday informed BSE that the company had subscribed to the Cumulative Preference Shares of Ashok Leyland Finance Ltd (ALF) against the rights issue offer made in April/May 2000. Upon such conversion and hence ALF is expected to become a subsidiary of the company.
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Open interest slips on Nifty, SBI May futures
Mumbai: Turnover at the derivative segment on the NSE on Monday improved ahead of settlement week to Rs 2958 crore as against the previous day's turnover of Rs 2631 crore. More than 50 per cent trading was done in stock futures, which accounted for about Rs 1700 crore worth transactions.Both the May and the June contracts closed the day at 965.25 and in discount to the Nifty spot close of 966.55. While the open interest in May futures slipped by over 12 per cent to 12126 contracts, June futures saw an increase of over two per cent to 3640 contracts. The less active July contract also closed the day in discount to the Nifty spot close at 966 while open interest improved by over 5 per cent to 201 contracts. The unmatched order book of the NSE suggests traders were willing to take more short positions as sell side orders outnumbered the buy side.
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Talk of billing rate cut pulls Infy down
Kolkata: The Infosys Technologies stock on Monday witnessed a sharp fall in prices because of massive selling spree triggered by the reported decision by one of its major US clients asking for a substantial billing rate cut. The stock dropped by 6.82 per cent to close at Rs 2,788.95 (Rs 2,993.15) on the BSE and 6.60 per cent on the NSE. The 52-week low of the stock on the BSE is Rs 2,420 and on the NSE it was Rs 2,300 recorded on April 10.The stock clocked a volume of 5.93 lakh shares on the BSE and 15.23 lakh shares on the NSE. The last week's daily average traded quantity in the counter on the BSE was 3.19 lakh shares and on the NSE 9.98 lakh shares. In the derivatives segment of NSE, on Monday it recorded a turnover of Rs 353.69 crore.
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L&T rules above Grasim offer price
Mumbai: The stock price of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) continues to rule above the open offer price of Rs 190 by Grasim Industries.
What is more interesting is that the volume and delivery ratio has also been high since the offer opened on May 7, indicating active buying interest. Analysts and brokers said that there is anticipation that Grasim might increase the open offer price; they expect the revised price to be around Rs 225. The open offer by Grasim opened on May 7 and closes on June 5. The last day of revising the open offer price is May 27. On Monday, the scrip's price gained 2.31 per cent to close at Rs 212.35 with a volume of 5.72 lakh shares on the BSE. On the NSE, it closed at Rs 212.65, up 2.26 per cent with a volume of 14.21 lakh shares. Of the total shares traded, 47.47 per cent were from delivery on the BSE, while on the NSE, the figure was 46.69 per cent. Since the beginning of this month, the stock's price has gained around five per cent.
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Inter-connected SE members join Indonext
Chennai: Indonext, an initiative to create a single trading platform by South-based stock exchanges, has increased its reach following ndonexta decision by the members of the Inter-connected Stock Exchange of India (ISE) to join up. At a meeting held in Mumbai last week, regional stock exchanges that make up ISE decided to participate in the Indonext initiative, said P.J. Mathew, executive director, Madras Stock Exchange (MSE). He added that following the decision, 13 out 22 stock exchanges in India would be part of the venture, and "ISE will host the Indonext platform". The next milestone for the Indonext project will be a meeting of the Federation of Indian Stock Exchanges (FISE) next month wherein the future course of action will be decided, Mathew said. He indicated that a formal presentation to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would be made after the meeting.
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Rupee climbs, breaches 47
Mumbai: With the global weakening of the dollar and the bunched up supplies of the greenback, the Indian rupee on Monday continued its ascent against it, breaching the 47-mark, while forward premia fell by 25 to 50 basis points. The rupee on Monday closed over 14 paise higher, at 46.99/47.00 against the dollar, as compared to its levels on Thursday, the last working day.
The Indian currency markets had been closed starting Thursday for a string of holidays clubbed with the weekend. When the markets opened today, there were bunched up supplies of the dollar, leading to the rupee vaulting by 14 paise. On Thursday, the currency had closed at 47.1450/1500.
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