Recovering from early losses of over 220 points, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex on Wednesday ended three points lower at 19,345.70, as the rupee came off a near-record low and the government announced plans for further liberalisation. Realty, FMCG, banking and power stocks declined, while metal, teck, refinery, IT and consumer durable shares gained. The 30-share Sensex resumed lower and fell to a one-month low of 19,126.82 as the rupee fell below the 61 level and Asian stocks weakened. The index wiped out most of the losses and closed at 19,345.70, a fall of 2.64 points. The broader CNX Nifty index on the NSE declined 13.05 points, or 0.23%, to 5,742.00. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX fell 0.44%. Telecom giant Bharti Airtel was the top gainer on the Sensex, climbing 7.3%. The company posted a 9.6% fall in first-quarter net profit. ICICI Bank reported a 25% growth in Q1 standalone net profit to R 2,274.21 crore. The stock fell 1.86%.
MCX-SX cash segment turnover rises 39%
Continuing with a strong and steady performance, the country?s latest stock exchange MCX-SX?s turnover in the cash segment surged 39.2% to R2,972 crore in June, according to latest data by market regulator Sebi. ?…the monthly turnover (in cash segment) at MCX-SX increased by 39.2% from R2,135.3 crore in May 2013 to R2,972.3 crore in June 2013,? Sebi said in its latest monthly report. MCX-SX also recorded a strong growth in the equity derivative segment in June with a turnover of R15,484 crore, an increase of 40% from the preceding month. The number of derivative contracts on the exchange grew to 5.65 lakh in June from 3.97 lakh in May, this year.
Funding via preferential allotment hits 13-mth high
Fund-raising by issuance of shares to promoters and shareholders on preferential basis has hit a 13-month high of R11,878 crore in June. According to the latest data released bySebi, companies raised R11,878 crore through preferential allotments in June. The June figure has reached the highest level since May 2012, when the funds had mopped-up a total of R14,987 crore via preferential allotments route. However, the number of preferential issues fallen to 33 in June from 56 in the preceding month.
Facebook stock almost hits debut price
Facebook?s stock on Tuesday came within a hair of reclaiming its $38 debut price for the first time since going public in 2012, a milestone in the social networking company?s effort to wipe away Wall Street?s skepticism of its business. The stock has surged more than 40% in the past week after the company reported blowout quarterly results that showed Facebook?s progress building a mobile advertising business. Shares of Facebook climbed as much as 7% to $37.96 in heavy trading on Tuesday, before settling back to finish the regular session at $37.63.
A clarification
In a report dated July 26, we had reported that there was a backlog of pending applications for EUIN registration that is required to be obtained by all distributors. In this regard, CAMS, the main agency handling the registrations, has clarified that EUIN has been dispatched for all applications received until July 20.
