Man Ind gains on order talk
Mumbai: Market players seem to have turned buyers on the sub-arc-welded (SAW) pipe maker Man Industries counter.

Dealers said over the last few days, several large investors and FIIs have started buying the shares of the company. Active buying has led to the stock rising by 25 per cent over the last one week. The active buying in the counter is due to a large order for SAW pipes expected by the company from GAIL in December.

Dealers said this would further add to the bottomline of the company. The stock is looking undervalued at current levels to the FIIs even after the rise in the stock price by over 300 per cent in the last six months. Another talk for the rise in the stock price is that the company is contemplating private placement of shares with some FIIs. On Friday, the stock gained 6.14 per cent on the BSE with volumes of 1.98 lakh shares.
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Heavy selling in Tata Motors
Mumbai: After a bout of heavy buying in the counter of Tata Motors from FIIs over the last few days, the stock saw some selling in the counter.

Dealers said the heavy selling in the counter from FIIs was by foreign investors who were also sellers in several Asian markets on Friday. The talk is that some US-based FIIs sold large quantity of Tata Motors shares. The stock has been continuously in the buy list of the FIIs and now they are booking profits ahead of the end of the year. Some of the FIIs had entered the stock in the early part of the year and now booking profit due to the end of their accounting period in December.

However, dealers said, the selling was part of the profit booking and nothing to do with the fundamentals . On Friday, the stock was down 2.17 per cent at Rs 370.10 on the BSE with volumes of 35.89 lakh shares. On the NSE it closed at Rs 372.55, down 1.64 per cent with 76.45 lakh shares traded.
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BHEL under selling pressure
Mumbai: The counter of BHEL was also among the list of stocks that saw selling from foreign investors. Dealers said the selling follows a report by a leading foreign broking firm that has put it in the top-five list of stocks in Asia to exit. Dealers said the recommendation was due to the stock already appreciating by over 50 per cent. This led to several FIIs exiting their positions on Friday. Talk is that some more selling is to be seen from the FIIs next week.

On Friday, the stock ended 3.35 per cent lower at Rs 454.60 on the BSE with volumes of 1.32 lakh shares and on the NSE it closed at Rs 460.15, down 2.36 per cent with volumes of 4.99 lakh shares.
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BgSE demutualisation plan hanging fire
Bangalore: The corporatisation and de-mutualisation plan of the Bangalore Stock Exchange (BgSE) hangs fire as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is yet to indicate any timeline for its approval and/or suggestion to the roadmap prepared by Delloitte Haskins and Sells.

In turn, SEBI is understood to have sought the Ministry of Finance's comments internally on the proposed report, sources said. "There is no timeline indicated by the SEBI... we do not know how long we have to wait," sources said.

SEBI might not accept the Delloitte suggestions in their original forms and may offer several riders to them, they said. A revised report incorporating the SEBI's suggestions have to be re-submitted to it for formal clearance. "This is likely to prolong the de-mutualisation process," they added.

The bourse has plans to initiate a reverse merger with its subsidiary, BgSE Financials, following SEBI's directive on corporatisation and demutualisation of stock exchanges. Earlier, SEBI had sought "certain clarifications on legal issues" on the proposed reverse merger of the subsidiary.

Meanwhile, the bourse is geared up to face the consequences of close to 30 per cent revenue loss following SEBI directive on abolition of mandatory listings on regional bourses of companies headquartered in such regions.

Shrinking volumes following the ban on short-selling coupled with T+3 payment regime have forced most of the brokers registered with the Bangalore bourse to migrate to its subsidiary institutional broking house, BgSE Financials. Trading has come almost to a standstill from an average of daily volume of Rs 50 to Rs 70 crore a year ago.

Most of the brokers registered with the regional exchange now trade through BgSE Financial, that is a registered member of the National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the bourse has started to act as a clearing member of the NSE for derivative trading and subsequently handles clearing operations for external agents nationally.

On November 29, 2002, SEBI laid a roadmap to convert all exchanges into companies limited by shares and changing their character to profit-motivated entity from the current non-profit structure.

The Income Tax Act will have to be amended, if necessary, so that the past profits of a stock exchange which were not taxed when it had the character of a non-profit entity, should not be taxed when the character of the entity changes. The reserves could be taxed in the hands of the shareholders, at the net applicable tax rates, when these are distributed as dividends. All future profits of the exchanges would be taxed.
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PruICICI launches new product under fund of funds plan
Mumbai: Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company has launched a new product `Pru ICICI Advisor Series' based on the concept of fund of funds. The product that offers structured plans to suit five different investor profiles, would invest only in the AMC's own schemes. The product, which is open for subscription from November 10 to 28, would have a minimum investment level of Rs 5,000.

According to Shailendra Bhandari, managing director, the product would help capture the varied advantages of different funds by dynamically moving the investment across them. The idea is to provide better returns than mutual funds. It would also help save short-term capital gains tax.
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Motilal Oswal launches PMS
Mumbai: Stock-broking firm Motilal Oswal Securities has launched a portfolio management service for high net worth individuals. The plan, called Trading Portfolio Management Service, has a minimum entry level of Rs 10 lakh. It would aim for high returns in a short time by investing in momentum scrips picked through technical analysis and by taking "calculated risks," the firm said.

Raamdeo Agarwal, joint managing director, Motilal Oswal Securities, said the company's first PMS launched in February 2003, has generated absolute return of 100 per cent up to October, and manages approximately Rs 20 crore of clients' funds. Agarwal hoped to collect Rs 100 crore in the new scheme.
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Forwards surge; gilts decline
Mumbai: The rupee closed marginally stronger at 45.26/2650 against the dollar on Friday buoyed by steady dollar inflows, compared to Thursday's closing of 45.31.
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