Market Briefing

BSE imposes special margin on 12 scrips: In view of the steep rise in the following stocks, the Bombay Stock Exchange has decided to impose additionalvolatility margins of 5 per cent on the purchase positions of the following stocks with effect from December 9: Bayar ABS, Eicher, Duphar Interfran, Fulford (India), Herbertsons, JL Morison (India), Modi Xerox, National Peroxide, Parke Davis (India), Pentafour Communications, Silverline Industries and Visualsoft (India).

Best & Crompton changes name: Best & Crompton Engineering has intimated the Bombay Stock Exchange that the name of the company has been changed to Best & Crompton Engg Ltd with effect from December 9.

OTC turnover toouches new high: The turnover on OTCEI touched a new high at Rs 3.44 crore (one side) on December 9. The exchange witnessed hectic trading in Reliance with close to 2 lakh shares being traded. After the change in settlement cycle to Saturday-Friday the exchange has seen trading pick up.

Shares end higher, late selling pares early gains on DSE: Led by Hindustan Lever, blue chips ended marginally higher on the Delhi Stock Exchange on Wednesday onpersistent buying by domestic financial institutions and other players coupled with short-covering. Stock brokers said, however, selling in some software and pharmaceutical counters by financial institutions put a brake on rising prices pulling stock prices down at close. The DSE sensitive index after crossing 657 points at mid-session fell back partially to close 2.78 points higher at 649.22 points.

MSE closes 11 points higher: Values of scrips improved and closed with modest gains on the Madras Stock Exchange on Wednesday on buying support. However, some of them finished with marginal losses. The MSE index regained by 11.25 points to close at 3264.08, against previous day’s level of 3252.83 points.

Demat turnover at Rs 11.82 crore: An increased number of 6.34 lakh shares worth Rs 11.82 crore were traded in the demat segments on the NSE and the BSE on Wednesday, a National Electronic Settlement and Transfer (NEST) release said. At NSE, VSNL traded 50,000 shares worth Rs 360.75 lakh in threetrades, TELCO traded 1,35,402 shares valued at Rs 182.34 lakh in 18 trades, MTNL traded 28,504 shares worth Rs 52.88 lakh in four trades and ACC traded 80 shares worth Rs 69,000 in nine trades. At BSE, Satyam Computers traded 40,000 shares valued at Rs 215.65 lakh in six trades, TELCO traded 15,500 shares valued at Rs 20.92 lakh in two trades and ACC traded 6,000 shares worth Rs 51.50 lakh in five trades.

NSE completes 211th settlement: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has successfully completed its 211th settlement number N1998047 on Wednesday. The total value of the settlement was Rs 536.27 crore for securities and Rs 123.02 crore in funds. The quantity of securities settled through dematerialised mode was 97.66 lakhs valued at Rs 119.05 crore, an NSE release said. The pay out was completed and all shortages to the extentof 0.86 per cent were successfully auctioned. Unrectified bad deliveries for the previous settlement to the extent of 0.19 per cent was also auctioned successfully.

Latebuying lifts Tokyo stocks marginally higher: Tokyo stocks closed 0.8 per cent higher as late buying with public funds more than offset earlier declines, brokers said. The late gains were due to "public funds, aimed at paving the way for a smooth completion of the sales of a fourth tranche of NTT shares," a Tokyo Securities broker said. The 225-issue Nikkei average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 123.70 points to end at the day’s high of 14,931.90, pulled firmly into positive territory in closing trading.

HK closes barely higher in want of fresh incentive: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.1 per cent higher in late selective buying amid a lack of fresh incentives, dealers said. Michael Ng, associate director at Sassoon Securities, said the market rose on late selective buying of financial stocks, mainly HSBC Holdings. The key Hang Seng index gained 10.21 points to close at 10,361.29. Turnover was HK$ 4.581 billion ($ 592 million), against the previous day’s HK$ 4.98 billion.

Singapore closes2.2% higher on foreign support: Singapore share prices closed 2.2 per cent higher as foreign buyers snapped up bank stocks and blue chips. "Apparently there is some programmed buying by some foreign institutions," said a dealer with a listed brokerage, adding that the market was quiet in morning trade. The Straits Times Index rose 30.98 points to 1,424.59, while the broader All-Singapore index rose 7.71 points to 390.05.

Kuala Lumpur higher on institutional support: Prices closed 2.2 per cent higher as institutional investors stepped Up buying in anticipation of prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s meeting with fund managers on Friday. The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange’s composite index rose 11.33 points to finish at 522.18 while the lesser second board index gained 6.71 points or 3.8 per cent to 182.46.

Bangkok up 2.6% on speculative buying: Bangkok Shares closed up 2.6 per cent on speculative buying of big banking issues amid an easing of concerns over capital write-downs in thesector, analysts said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 9.27 points to close the day at 359.54 points. The select SET 50 index added 0.85 to 26.09 points.

Jakarta nearly flat on Suharto’s wealth probe concerns: Jakarta shares closed nearly flat, shedding 0.03 per cent on concerns over former president Suharto’s wealth probe. "The market was very quiet today," a dealer said, adding that players were waiting to see how far the government goes in investigating Suharto.