BOMBAY, 22 February 2004 — On Monday the BSE ended at 6,012.35.
In specific stocks, Reliance Energy touched a new high. Bharti Tele-Ventures was also up. The stock is to be included in the NSES & PCNX Nifty Index, along with Maruti Udyog, with effect from March 1, 2004.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 6,035.80. Tata Steel was up on reports that that the company has set aside a $1 billion fund for an acquisition of a state-owned Ukraine facility. ICICI Bank also saw buying. Singapore’s state investment agency Temasek Holdings has raised its stake in the bank to 7.28 percent.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 6,027.42 points.
The biggest loser was Hindustan Lever. Unabated selling was seen in the stock after the FY 2003 results were disappointing.
On Thursday the Sensex closed at 5,855.1. Moving against the trend was Divi’s Lab. It was up. Punjab Communications also saw fresh buying interest after the company announced that it is making an offer to buy back 25 percent of paid-up capital at a price of Rs.90 per share through tender offer.
And on Friday, the BSE closed at 5,850.72. The mood was upbeat after Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said that India’s economy grew by 8.9 percent in the third quarter, outstripping the 8.4 percent growth of the second quarter from July to September 2003.
ICICI Bank was the biggest loser in the BSE Sensex as foreign institutional investors dumped the stock, precipitating a 5.21 percent drop.
Gold was at Rs.6,080- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs. 10,415/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.45.75, pound sterling at Rs.86.95, euro at Rs.58.45, UAE dirham at Rs.12.32, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.153.51, Bahraini dinar at Rs.119.96, Saudi riyal at Rs. 12.04, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.40 and Omani riyal at Rs.117.32.
