Rupee gains
Mumbai: The rupee moved up against the dollar by around seven paise on strong FII inflows into the stock markets and opened at 45.22 to close at 45.19.

On Thursday, the rupee ended at 45.26.

In forwards, the six-month closed at 1.65 per cent (1.61 per cent) and the 12-month was unchanged at 1.55 per cent.

Bonds: Bond prices rose 20 paise on news of inflation data. A few long-dated securities moved up by as much as 30 paise. The total traded volume on the order matching system was Rs2,750 crore (Rs2,345 crore).

Dealers said inflation, which moved up to 5.26 per cent for the week ended October 14, was not significantly higher than expected. They expect the RBI to leave interest rates unchanged on October 31.

Foreign banks were aggressively seen buying in the bond market.

G-secs: The 7.59 per cent-10 year-2016 paper opened at Rs99.79 (7.62 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs99.87 (7.61 per cent YTM) against Rs99.70 (7.63 per cent YTM) on Thursday. The 8.07 per cent-11 year-2017 paper opened at Rs102.95 (7.64 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs102.98 (7.64 per cent YTM).

Call rates: Mumbai: Call closed at 6.8-6.9 per cent (7-7.1 per cent).

Reverse Repo: In the first three-day reverse-repo auction under LAF, the Reserve Bank of India received and accepted six bids for Rs4,160 crore. In the second three-day reverse repo auction, the RBI accepted and received 19 bids for Rs8,440 crore. There was one repo bid for Rs330 crore.

CBLO: The CBLO market saw 301 trades aggregating Rs14,841.80 crore in the 5-6.5 per cent range.
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DCB lists at 36 pc premium
Mumbai: The Development Credit Bank (DCB) stock debuted on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs35.35, a premium of 36 per cent over its initial public offer price of Rs26 a share.

The stock listed at Rs35.35 on the National Stock Exchange and hit a high of Rs48.65 in early trade.

According to senior officials in the bank DCB plans to improve profitability by targeting a net interest margin of 3 per cent by March 2009 from 2.47 per cent in June this year.

It also plans to reduce its net bad loans to 2.5 per cent by March 2007 from 4 per cent in June.

The issue, which was open from September 29 to October 6 this year, was oversubscribed 35.68 times. The qualified institutional buyer portion was oversubscribed 38 times that of high net worth individuals 84 times and retail investors' 15 times.
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Morgan, Fidelity pick up stake in DCB
Mumbai: Morgan Stanley and Fidelity have acquired a 10 per cent stake in Development Credit Bank (DCB), which listed on the bourses today.

Morgan Stanley & Co International bought 9.94 million shares, representing a 6.73 per cent stake, in DCB for Rs44.32 crore. This assumes significance because going by the acquisition norms in listed banks outlined by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), no entity can buy more than 5 per cent stake in any bank without the banking regulator's approval.

Sources close to the central bank said Morgan Stanley would need to move the RBI for permission for the 6.73 per cent acquisition in DCB.

Morgan Stanley acquired 6.46 million shares on the NSE and 3.48 million shares on the BSE. Its average purchase price was Rs44.40 a share on the NSE and Rs44.87 on the BSE.

Fidelity Far East Fund bought 6 million shares, or a 4.06 per cent stake, for Rs25.39 crore. It acquired 2.05 million shares on the BSE and 3.95 million shares on the NSE.

ABN Amro also bought 780,000 shares for Rs3.54 crore, according to data released by the BSE and the NSE.
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LIC Housing net rises 30 pc to Rs76-crore
Mumbai: LIC Housing Finance has reported a 30 per cent y-o-y rise in net profit for the September quarter. Its net profit in the second quarter of 2006-07 was Rs75.93 crore up from Rs58.36 crore a year earlier. Compared with the first quarter of 2006, net profit was up by 102.69 per cent from Rs37.46 crore at the end of June 2006.

Net interest margin (NIM) increased to 2.66 per cent from 1.73 per cent in the previous quarter, despite cost of funds standing at 7.71 per cent.

Interest income for the quarter ended September 2006 was Rs377.26 crore against Rs301.23 crore a year earlier, up 25.23 per cent. Interest expenses for the second quarter was Rs260.74 crore, up from Rs205.69 crore a year earlier.
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IndusInd Bank launches Gold Debit Card'
Mumbai: IndusInd Bank has launched "Indus Gold Debit Card" in association with VISA at an annual fee of Rs350 (plus service tax). The card has a daily withdrawal limit up to Rs50,000 from ATMs, said a press release from the bank.

The card has a daily POS (point of sale) limit of Rs1 lakh, personal accidental insurance of Rs 1 lakh and lost card liability up to Rs1 lakh. The customers will receive free transactions on any VISA ATMs in India and mobile alerts on every transaction.
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Forex reserves up $1.2bn
Mumbai: Forex reserves rose by $1.202 billion to $166.153 billion for the week ended October 20, due to a rise in foreign currency assets. In the previous week, reserves fell by $324 million to $164.95 billion. Foreign currency assets increased by $1.199 billion to touch $159.304 billion during the week, according to RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement.

The reserves with IMF rose by $3 million to $646 million. Major currencies such as the euro and the yen gained against the dollar during the week. The euro traded in the range of $1.2531 to $1.2613. Gold reserves were unchanged at $6.202 billion and Special Drawing Rights remained at $1 million. Dealers said the outlook on rupee is bullish and the home currency could touch 45.05.
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