BOMBAY, 7 December 2003 — On Monday, the BSE closed at 5,160.85.
Hero Honda Motors rose on reports that the company sold 204,533 motorcycles in November 2003. Bajaj Auto was also up after the company said it sold 91,257 motorcycles. Maruti Udyog also firmed up to a new high with its November sales up by 29.2 percent. On the other hand, TVS Motor was down as its total vehicle sales in November fell 13 percent. ICICI Bank was also up as a huge block deal of 25 million shares at Rs.265. Bharti Tele-Ventures was down after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified that FIIs must seek permission before buying the stock since overall FII stake had hit a trigger limit of 48.5 percent.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 5,186.08. A sudden turnaround was seen in heavyweights like Reliance, ICICI Bank, Nalco, Hindalco, SBI, and Hero Honda. Tech pivotals ended mostly lower on profit booking after recent gains. Hero Honda Motor firmed up to a new high of Rs.411.80.
Buying continued on Wednesday when the BSE closed at 5,221.90. Banks lead the rally as reports that HSBC has bought 14.7 percent stake in UTI Bank triggered off heavy buying.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 5,225.90. Global Trust Bank surged after Sudhakar Gande, the bank’s managing director, said the bank was in advanced talks with two foreign investors. Shares of ITC gained in anticipation that the company would win a court case against the government over the imposition of luxury tax. Shares of Bharti Tele-Ventures inched ahead on rumors that the company may acquire a telecom company by March 2004. The company’s cellular customer base is expected to exceed the targeted 60 lakh-mark by March 2004.
On Friday, the BSE was down, closing at 5,131.72. The top losers on the Sensex were Satyam, Wirpo, and ICICI.
Gold was at Rs.6,040/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.8,835/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.45.54, pound sterling at Rs.78.45, euro at Rs.55.04, UAE dirham at Rs.12.41, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.154.68, Bahraini dinar at Rs.120.30, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.16, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.52 and Omani riyal at Rs.117.43.