Stake sale talk: J&K Bank hits an all-time high
Mumbai: Talks that J&K Bank is close to finalising a stake sale with a strategic partner saw the stock of the Srinagar-based private sector bank, hit an all-time high of Rs 487 on the BSE on Wednesday.

The stock has appreciated by 341 per cent from a low of Rs 108 on March 25, 2003 to its current levels. The stock ended the day at Rs 477, up 16.31 per cent, with around 8.15 lakh shares traded on the NSE. On the BSE, the stock closed at Rs 477, up 16.30 per cent, with around 3.18 lakh shares traded.
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Sundaram MF to launch Leadership Fund
Kolkata: Sundaram Mutual Fund has worked out its first thematic scheme, one that will invest in companies that have emerged as `leaders' in their respective businesses. The proposed Sundaram India Leadership Fund will invest in equities, equity futures & options and money market instruments. Up to 100 per cent of its assets may be allocated to equities, including ADRs and GDRs.

The scheme, the offer document sent to SEBI has mentioned, will have a diversified set of companies in its portfolio, made up of stocks of companies commanding leadership positions in their sectors/sub-sectors. Such players are expected to fare better than their peers, which are placed lower in terms of revenue growth and profitability during economic upswings. However, profits and stock prices of these entities may not always rise at a pace faster than that of firms occupying the lower positions.
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Tata Mutual to monitor agents' ways of functioning
Chennai: Tata Mutual Fund's employees will pose as ordinary investors when they visit agents who are promoting and selling the fund's current public issue, the MIP Plus scheme. The aim is to find out if the agents make false promises about guaranteed returns on the scheme. "We are conscious of our brand," said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, CEO of Tata Mutual. He added that the checking is carried out in smaller towns, and in a "small way." He emphasised on the need to promote the MIP Plus ethically.

Tata Mutual's decision comes in the wake of allegations about unethical selling that have surrounded recent public issues in the industry. Industry sources were quoted as saying that the Association of Mutual Funds of India had sent people who posed as ordinary investors to visit agents during promotions for the issues. A few agents had made false promises.
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Alliance Capital recasts MF plans
Kolkata: Alliance Capital Mutual Fund, which has slipped from its once-premier position to hold only a little over Rs 2,000 crore at the end of December, has introduced critical modifications to some of its better-known schemes. For starters, investments under `automatic investment plan' of schemes like Alliance Equity Fund have been freed from entry loads. This will combine with the removal of sales load on investment in another equity scheme, Alliance Capital Tax Relief '96. The latter earlier had an entry load of one per cent.

The other schemes to which the revision relates are Alliance '95, Alliance Frontline Equity and Alliance Sector Select Series (comprising three schemes: New Millennium, Buy India and Basic Industries). In the earlier system, the relevant entry/sales load was two per cent. The MF has, according to sources, has now pointed out that redemptions under such plans will attract exit loads equivalent to the usual sales/entry loads if units are redeemed within 30 days.
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Sensex gains 136 points
Mumbai: Equities bounced back on Wednesday regaining a part of the losses suffered over the last four trading sessions. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the day with a gain of 136 points. Hectic buying by some FIIs in index heavy weights also aided to bullish sentiment. The finance minister's decision to extend long term capital gains tax on equities for three years was taken well by the market players and this brought interest in several mid-cap stocks.

But the volatility in the market continued. After moving in a range of nearly 200 points, BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 135.78 points (2.42 per cent), to end at 5,756.76. On NSE, S&P CNX Nifty gained 53.2 points (3.01 per cent) to close at 1822.20. Sensex had lost 375 points in the previous four trading sessions.
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Rupee remains steady
Mumbai: The rupee closed at 45.2875/2975 in its value against the dollar comparable to Tuesday's close of 45.29/30 in its value against the dollar. The rupee opened at Tuesday's closing leve,l touched an intra-day high of 45.28 and an intra-day low of 45.3250. In the spot market, there were fresh supplies of the dollar amidst subdued demand for it.

In the forward market there was little trading and premia closed almost unchanged. The six months forward closed at 0.93 per cent (0.90 per cent) and the one-year forward closed at 0.78 per cent (0.75 per cent).
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