BOMBAY, 21 December 2003 — On Monday the BSE closed at 5,390.88, up 75.07 points. Rolta announced a dividend of Rs.3 per share for the financial period ended June 2003.
Ranbaxy counter was strong after the company announced the acquisition of French pharma company RPG Aventis. Satnam Overseas surged on news that Merrill Lynch had acquired a 5.1 percent stake in the company. Tata Steel was also up on talks that the company has paid a large advance tax in the second installment.
On Tuesday, the BSE ended at 5,437.05. Hindustan Lever rose on institutional buying. Infosys Technologies bounced back after the company said it would announce Q3 results on Jan. 9, 2004. Private sector banking stocks such as Centurion Bank, IDBI Bank, UTI Bank, South Indian Bank, Bank of Rajasthan and Global Trust Bank firmed up after Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said that the government was planning to hike the limit on foreign direct investment in private banks. MRF gained ground on market talks that the company may consider a stock-split.
On Wednesday, the market ended at 5,418.23. Wipro was one of the biggest losers of the day after Lehman Brothers disengaged the outsourcing of help-desk work from Wipro Spectramind, the BPO arm of Wipro. Bhel was up on news that it has bagged five contracts for a total of over Rs.27.00 billion from the National Thermal Power Corp. Crisil saw incessant buying after the company’s board approved the acquisition of London-based EconoMatters and its subsidiary companies.
On Thursday, the SBSE ended the day at 5,455. Steel stocks rose on expectations that manufacturers would hike prices to accommodate the increase in input costs. Hindustan Zinc surged on reports that the company has raised the prices of zinc and lead. Infosys was also a big gainer of the day after it announced the acquisition of an Australian software company in an all cash deal for $22.9 million. HPCL rose on news of its board considering an interim dividend. The stock was the top gainer on the Sensex. Tata Motor surged to a new 52-week high after rating agency ICRA upgraded its rating on the company’s long-term debt to “LAA+” from “LAA”. Another major newsmaker of the day was TV Today. Its IPO opened for subscription in the morning and within two hours was oversubscribed. Bids have been invited in the price band of 80-95 rupees per share.
On Friday, the BSE Sensex ended at 5.541.35. Of the 2,232 issues traded on the BSE, there were 1,207 gainers and 958 losers, while 67 issues were unchanged. The most notable performances were delivered by select tech stocks and PSU counters.
Gold was at Rs.6,110/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs. 9,135/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.45.66, pound sterling at Rs.80.19, euro at Rs.56.34, UAE dirham at Rs.12.38, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.154.19, Bahraini dinar at Rs.120.63, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.13, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.49 and Omani riyal at Rs.118.12.