Funds on a selling spree, Sensex down 90 points
Mumbai: Markets experienced heavy selling pressure on index-based shares from institutional investors and as a result the benchmark Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange lost 90.27 points to close at 5367.79. However, there was continued interest in select infotech stocks, notably Wipro, which touched a new high on the BSE at Rs 3,521.40. The company’s market capitalisation reached a phenomenal Rs 80,000 crore. Other gainers in the infotech sector included NIIT and SSI. Asian Paints was another stock that saw a bull run. It closed at Rs 497 after hitting the circuit breaker. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank stocks also remained firm with new highs, while BSES had substantial volumes.

The S&P CNX Nifty of the national Stock Exchange lost 27.20 points to close at 1586.40.
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Internet trading okayed
New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved trading of stocks through the Internet. The governing board of Sebi, which met in Delhi, also took a series of decisions pertaining to the capital market in the country. These include allowing foreign individuals and companies to invest in the Indian stock markets through foreign institutional investors. It also approved the Kumar Mangalam Birla committee’s report on corporate governance and the K.B. Chandrasekhar committee’s report on venture capital funds. Sebi also allowed unlisted companies to trade their stocks through the Over-the-Counter Exchange of India to qualified institutional buyers.

In a slight modification to the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee's recommendaiton  on financial institutions’ nominees on the boards of companies, Sebi decided that it will leave the matter whether to appoint nominees on boards of companies to the discretion of financial institutions. Sebi chairman D.R. Mehta said the financial institutions will not seek a change in management or the board if the companies are running normally. The committee had suggested that the nominees of financial institutions or investment institutions should not be a part of the board, except in cases of defaults.
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1.2 lakh HDFC shares change hands
Mumbai: Nearly 1.2 lakh shares of housing major HDFC have changed hands on the National Stock Exchange through a negotiated deal. The deal is reported to be worth Rs four crore and the purchaser, who operated through Credit Lyonnais Securities India, is understood to be UK-based Standard Life, which is into insurance business. Standard Life had recently received regulatory approval for acquiring HDFC’s shares. The HDFC stock received a price of Rs 316.50, a premium of 5.5 per cent. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the stock was active and nearly 6.6 lakh shares were traded with the price closing at Rs 307, an appreciation of 4.4 per cent.
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SSI plans international issue
Chennai: Software education and development company SSI is planning to enter international capital market with an offering worth $100 million. The company wants to raise funds for setting up a software development centre in Chennai and it has given the mandate to structure the issue to DSP Merrill Lynch. The company’s managing director K. Suresh said in Mumbai that the company has not decided whether the issue should be a global depository receipt or an American depository receipt.
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Paras Pharma plans IPO
Mumbai: Paras Pharmaceuticals of Ahmedabad is planning an initial public offering worth Rs 150 crore. The company has engaged Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and Enam Financials as lead managers. The issue will be through the book-building process. The company wants funds to develop new products and acquire OTC brands.
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