Year end blues keep stockmarkets down
Mumbai: It is a well known fact that stock markets in this country are influenced by factors other than pure fundamentals. With the financial year coming to a close on March 31, many big investors including mutual funds are withdrawing their investments from the markets, leading to a significant drop in the index and a lack-lustre trading in the markets.

The reasons for this are many and vary from wanting to bolster income statements through profit booking on the markets, wanting to keep investments on the balance sheet down to a minimum, wanting to raise cash to payout taxes and dividends and -- surprisingly -- mutual funds wanting to keep their dividends low so that the performance burden for the next year is not exacting and demanding.

This sentiment clearly reflected on the trading on Wednesday, when the BSE sensex lost 54 points to close at 5,102 on the back of thin volumes. The NSE index closed at 1,558 points, 10 points lower than its previous close.
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Bollywood ready to set fire to the stock markets
Mumbai: Riding high on a wave of enthusiasm for media and entertainment -- which has been recently bolstered by a report by reputed accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, that declared this to be the industry of the future -- many Bollywood moguls are gearing up to enter the stock markets with an IPO.

The markets are all set to be hit by a tidal wave of public issues from such names as Kajol and Ajay Devgun, Subash Ghai, Boney Kapoor and Sridevi and music industry major, Tips Industries. Market grapevine predicts that nearly 30-35 Bollywood ventures are to hit the market in the next six months. Almost all these ventures have business plans which are liberally interspersed with the flavour of the day -- dot coms.
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Max India to issue bonus shares
New Delhi: At the extra-ordinary general meeting of the shareholders held today, Max India Limited, has approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, besides approving an employee stock option scheme, to the extent of five per cent of the share capital of the company. The record date for the bonus issue will be decided at a meeting of the board of directors of the company to be held by end-April.

The shareholders also approved the resolution for listing the company's shares with the National Stock Exchange and de-listing the shares from the stock exchanges at Ahmedabad and Calcutta.
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