Indraprastha Gas gets SEBI approval for IPO
New Delhi: Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), a leading producer and marketer of compressed natural gas (CNG) for the automotive sector as also marketer and distributor of piped natural gas for domestic and commercial use, has obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its proposed maiden public issue. IGL, promoted by the two energy sector leaders - GAIL (India) Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is expected to come out with its initial public offering (IPO) by the end of November.

JM Morgan Stanley, Enam Financial Consultants and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company are the book running lead managers for the IPO. This being a sale offer of equity shares, the shares on offer, according to an IGL statement here, will be those currently held by IL&FS Trust Company Ltd, Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDFC) and Unit Trust of India (UTI). Talking about the SEBI approval, the IGL managing director, A.K. De, said: "This takes us a step closer to the opening of the IPO. The issue will now hit the market after completion of all formalities".
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Bharat Forge scrip improves on bonus talk
Mumbai: Rumours of a bonus issue propelled the stock of Bharat Forge Ltd into higher ground on the bourses on Monday. The market grapevine was also abuzz with another probability, that of a stock split by the company being on the anvil to improve liquidity. However, senior company officials refused to comment on the issue, says a report.

The stock has been in the limelight of late, following talk of a revival in the US markets in the year 2004 and the announcement of the company having procured two new orders from Ford and Daimler Benz for machined crankshaft. However, market opinion remains divided over whether at these levels valuations are a bit `overstretched'. On the BSE, the stock ended the day at Rs 548.45 up 5.62 per cent with around 87,298 shares traded. The stock hit a new high of Rs 569.75 intra-day on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock ended the day at Rs 547.85 up 5.48 per cent with around 2.63 lakh shares traded.
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Graphite India hits 52-week high
Kolkata: The Graphite India stock made gains on the major bourses in anticipation of a robust growth in Q2 bottomline, to be announced on Wednesday. The stock went up by 2.16 per cent to close at Rs 73.45, its 52-week high, on the NSE. On the BSE, it closed at Rs 73.50, after touching a day's peak of Rs 75.40. Its volumes also shot up three fold. The stock traded at six times its trailing four quarters earnings per share of Rs 10.70. According to C V Desai of C D Equisearch, the conservative market estimates of Graphite India's net profit growth is around 50 per cent for the second quarter.

In the first quarter, it had reported a net of Rs 8.18 crore (30 per cent jump) and Rs 33.36 crore for 2002-03. The broking firm's client, Kolkata-based Patton group holds more than four per cent. Among the other positives for its fundamentals was a plan to launch aircraft nozzle and brake lining, he pointed out. With the revival in the global steel market, the company is showing better topline growth. Also a debt restructuring exercise has seen a reduction in annual outgo on repayment by Rs 7 crore.
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Sensex loses 104 points
Mumbai: Major stocks wilted under sustained selling pressure from speculators as well as cautious investors who booked profits wherever they could and refrained from taking new exposures at overstretched counters. Even though the indices decidedly suggested a bearish trend, Monday's trading may not be a good indicator as the Diwali weekend has extended to Monday for many. Even institutional investors were not very active, dealers said. Pivotal stocks were hammered shearing off 104 points or 2.17 per cent from the 30-share Sensex of the BSE, which closed at 4,698.28.

The biggest loser among the major BSE indices was BSETECk, which lost 3.23 per cent to close at 1,000. Another big loser was BSEPSU, which tracks the performance of PSU stocks on the exchange, which closed at 2,974.03, lower by 2.32 per cent. The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange lost 36.65 points to close the day at 1,485.30. The selling was so broad-based that in the BSE `A' group, for every advancing share, more than five others declined.
In the `B1' segment, for every advance more than three declined. A dealer with a domestic mutual fund said that he expected the stock market to stay range-bound for a while.
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Special margin on 75 stocks
Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday imposed special margins on 75 stocks, 21 of them belonging to the `A' group and including pivotal ones such as ACC, Satyam, Nalco and State Bank of India. The stock exchange said in an announcement that the special margins are being introduced keeping in view the closing price of the scrip on the last trading day.
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IndusInd Bank gets bourses' nod to list new shares
Mumbai: IndusInd Bank has received an `in principle' approval from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for the listing of new equity shares arising out of the merger of the erstwhile IndusInd Enterprises and Finance Ltd (IEFL). Subsequent to the scheme of amalgamation of IEFL with the bank being sanctioned by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai on June 5, 2003, the shareholders of IEFL were allotted one fully paid-up equity share of the bank of Rs 10 each for one fully paid-up equity share of IEFL, said a press release.

The physical share certificates have been dispatched to all the eligible shareholders of the erstwhile IEFL, who surrendered their physical valid share certificates of the erstwhile IEFL within stipulated period and not opted for equity shares of the bank in demat form. The process for credit of beneficiaries accounts for the equity shares in demat form to those of the shareholders of IEFL, who were holding shares in demat form as well as to those shareholders who have opted for this, and have given a valid DP ID and client ID number has already been completed.
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Rupee slips
Mumbai: The rupee closed weaker by around 8 paise on Monday at 45.39/40 against the dollar, as compared to Friday's close at 45.32/33. The domestic currency opened the day at 45.32/33 and almost immediately started slipping on account of substantial corporate demand for the greenbacks.
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