Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, May 07, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, May 07, 2004 |
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Markets
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Stock Markets Columns - Ear to the ground Buoyed by big bank interest
THE market grapevine is abuzz with news that IndusInd Bank has offered a strategic stake to Citigroup. The grapevine says that negotiations are on and a deal — perhaps with one of the US-based bank's investment arms — may happen soon. A top official of the group told Business Line that a South-East Asian bank had shown interest in picking up a stake in IndusInd, but the promoters were keen on a partner that was based in Europe or the US. A top bank official, without giving names or details, said "some negotiations" were indeed on. The buzz has attracted several sharp investors to the IndusInd counter. A source said a Mumbai-based trader has picked up about a million shares of the bank and a foreign broking firm is also said to be actively mopping up IndusInd Bank shares from the open market. Meanwhile, the Mumbai High Court on Thursday cleared the Hindujas-promoted bank's proposal to merge group NBFC Ashok Leyland Finance with itself. The merger not only expands the bank's reach, but also adds weight to its retail assets portfolio. The IndusInd stock closed at Rs 59.55, up 7.3 per cent from its previous close with a trading volume of over 32 lakh shares on the BSE, and 57.6 lakh shares on the NSE. About one-third of the combined volume was marked for delivery.
Oil price shock on petrochem A TOP foreign broking firm is likely to downgrade the petrochemical sector soon, a market source said. According to the source, the broking firm believes that soaring crude oil prices will eat into the margins of petrochemical companies. The source said some institutional investors have begun to gradually sell shares of petrochemical companies. The two top petrochemical producers, Reliance Industries and IPCL, however, ended the day on Thursday with about a 2 per cent gain each. The Reliance stock closed at Rs 540.70 on the BSE. Trading volume on the exchange was buoyed by a block deal of 25 lakh shares. IPCL shares closed at Rs 183.50.
Reviving old plans? TRACTOR and automaker Mahindra & Mahindra may revive its bid for Finnish tractor maker Valtra, according to a market source. The company had bid for Valtra's assets last year but had been outbid by another foreign company. The source says the company is considering making a second attempt to buy the Finnish tractor maker, which also has a plant in Brazil. M&M shares rose 4.5 per cent to Rs 493.30. While about 5 lakh shares were traded on the BSE, a little over 15 lakh shares were traded on the NSE.
Dinesh Narayanan
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