Bullish sentiments back in stock markets
Mumbai: The drama in the stock markets appears to be over - for the moment. Prices moved upward with rumours connecting UTI with a brokerage firm dying down. In line with investor sentiment, the benchmark Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 127 points to record an all-time high of 4,846.36.

The rally saw 117 stocks hit the upper circuit level after they gained eight per cent.

In the meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange's 50-share S&P CNX Nifty breached the 1400 point barrier to rise 31 points to close at 1,402.50.

The BSE clarified that the rumours were false, and that all the members had cleared their obligations pertaining to a controversial settlement. The exchange would declare pay-out as per schedule.

The momentum in the market also resulted in market capitalisation of the BSE zooming around Rs 30,000 crore to a record high of Rs 7,30,000 crore. The setback on 26 August had brought down the net outstandings position on Bombay Stock Exchange by about Rs 221 crore.

Domestic funds are said to have made purchases worth Rs 100 crore in shares of ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Gujarat Ambuja, Tata Tea and Grasim. ITC has been a star performer with the scrip gaining Rs 70 to close at Rs 1053. A US-based fund is reported to have picked up about four lakh shares on the bourses.
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BSE may review "A" group selection
Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange is likely to drop three or four thinly traded scrips from the list of 26 that it had proposed to promote to the specified group.

The governing board of the BSE is meeting to review the change in the specified group. The decision to review its proposal comes in the wake of a directive from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
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3 brokers suspended
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has suspended three more stockbrokers -- GNH Global Securities, Mahico and Star Share and Stock Brokers -- for their alleged involvement in the May 1998 price manipulation of BPL and Videocon and Sterlite shares.

According to Sebi, these brokers dealt for a common set of clients, the Damayanti group, for the first time even though the group possessed no professional expertise in the securities market and had no financial soundness to deal on such a large scale.

Sebi has also suspended Ashok Kumar Kayan, a member of the Calcutta Stock Exchange, for allegedly indulging in circular trading to artificially increase the stock prices of MKH Developers, MKJ Enterprises and Right Address. The suspension applies for three months.
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Tighter norms for disclosures mooted
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India's committee on accounting standards will recommend tightening of the disclosure requirements of quarterly account statements of companies.

The committee, headed by Y J H Malegham, is expected to recommend that companies should disclose profit before tax and not just gross profit, an increase or decrease in the stock in hand, consumption of raw materials in the quarter, details of expenditure incurred and the earnings per share in their quarterly account statements.

The committee is also for introduction of the concept of limited review, whereby an auditor would do a limited review of the company's quarterly results.
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Ban on DSQ shares
Chennai: The Madras Stock Exchange has banned trading in 6.25 lakh shares of DSQ Software, following an order restraining transfer of these shares by the Chennai Debt Recovery Tribunal. A similar ban has already been placed by the Bombay Stock Eexchange.

The shares are owned by Radha Dalmia. The injunction from the tribunal has been issued after Bank of India filed a case against Dinesh Dalmia and Radha Dalmia for recovery of Rs 11.78 crore.
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Private MFs shelve plan for code of conduct
Mumbai: Leading mutual funds in the private sector have shelved their plan for a code of conduct. While they abide by the Association of Mutual Funds in India regulations, they had come up with an idea for a model code of conduct of their own recently.

Payment of brokerage commission appears to be an issue over which the members could not agree and the code of conduct could not be finalised, a source said.
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UTI share in MF collections falls
New Delhi: The Unit Trust of India has suffered a setback with its share in mutual fund collections dropping to about 45 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year. The figure has declined from 73.51 per cent in the full financial year ended 31 March 1998 to 54.63 per cent in 1998-99.

UTI could raise only Rs 3,924 crore in the first quarter (April-June) of 1999 out of a total collection of Rs 8,762 crore, as per figures compiled by the Association of Mutual Funds of India.

UTI had collected Rs 13,748 crore of the total Rs 18,701 crore in 1997-98, its collections fell to Rs 11,679 crore against a total collection of Rs 21,377 crore in 1998-99.
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