DSP Merrill equity fund emerges top performer

DSP Merrill Lynch's equity fund has outperformed other open-ended growth schemes in the market over the two-month period from May to June 1997, a study prepared by Kensource Information Services said.

The analysis showed that the NAV of the scheme moved up by 14.04 per cent to Rs 11.29 on June 30 from Rs 9.90 on April 30. Next in line were Birla Advantage and Reliance Vision with a gain of 12.95 per cent and 12.94 per cent respectively, followed by ITC Threadneedle with an 11.05 per cent gain during the period.

The funds mentioned above have outperformed the popular indices such as the Nifty, the Sensex, the BSE National index and Crisil 500 which have registered gains of 10.51 per cent, 10.80 per cent, 11.02 per cent and 9.02 per cent respectively over the same period.

BSE suspends trading in 7 companies: BSE has indefinitely suspended trading in the securities of seven companies as these companies have not given adequate notice about their book-closure or record dates to the exchange. Trading in the equity shares of Agro Chem Punjab Ltd, Anjani Solvents India, Harig Crankshafts, Padmanab Investments Co and Pushpanjali Floriculture has been suspended with effect from July 7 alongwith the debentures of Mahindra & Mahindra.

Sun F&C fund NAV up 43 %: India Performance Fund, managed by Sun F&C Asset Management India, has recorded an appreciation of 43 per cent in NAV since January 1, 1997. The open-ended offshore fund launched in May 1996 has outperformed the BSE Dollex by 11 per cent since January 1997. The AMC has a positive view on the Indian market and believes that the market will continue to perform over the medium term.

SEBI receives only one offer document: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) received one offer document amounting to Rs 1.30 crore for the week ended July 4, 1997. Mallcom (India) Ltd filed a document for the sale of equity shares, a SEBI release said. SEBI has not cleared the offer document.

Sensex up 15 points: BSE-30 index reverted back on Tuesday after a technical correction at the 4,252-level to finally close at 4,306.39, recording a net gain of 14.94 points over the previous close. Institutional buying at the counters of heavyweight stocks helped push the Sensex up, dealers said. The last day of the settlement on the NSE offered better arbitrage opportunity to operators on the BSE which also contributed to the recovery in stock prices. The exchange recorded a net turnover of Rs 947.60 crore with the contribution of the B1 group steadily rising to touch a high of Rs 50.44 crore. Pharma stocks continued to be in the limelight with Glaxo, German Remedies and Parke Davis touching new highs.

NSE down 11.45 points: The NSE-50 index lost 11.45 points to close at 1,198.25 points on Tuesday after touching a low of 1,193.35. The turnover on the last day of the settlement was moderate at Rs 1,752.24 crore. Reliance and SBI suffered minor losses while Thermax, Ponds India, Bhel, MTNL and HDFC were among the prominent losers. Thermax lost Rs 22 to close at Rs 322.50, Ponds India closed at Rs 1,724, down Rs 116 over its previous close, Bhel shed Rs 23 to close at Rs 370.85 and MTNL closed at Rs 281.80, losing of Rs 16 over the previous close. Castrol closed at Rs 589.75, up Rs 38.60. Nestle India gained Rs 20 to close at Rs 315.90 and Colgate Palmolive gained Rs 15 to close at Rs 327.45.

OTC loses 0.46 points: The OTC composite index slipped 0.46 points to 77.34 on Tuesday. The exchange recorded a miniscule turnover of Rs 2.78 lakh for the day with Rs 1.67 lakh coming from the equity segment and Rs 0.51 lakh from the debenture segment. Vijayta Audio World recorded the maximum volume at 4,500 shares.

Skindia loses 0.27 %: The Skindia GDR index moved down by 0.27 per cent from 81.18 to 80.96 on July 7. The Skindia GDR index p/e ratio was 18.48 on July 7 compared with 18.52 on July 4. The top gainers were Indo Rama Synthetics, Wockhardt and Indian Aluminium which quoted at US $ 7.00 ($ 5.50), $ 9.00 ($ 8.25) and $ 4.00 ($ 3.88) respectively. The losers included Sail, Bombay Dyeing and VSNL which ended at $ 10.25 ($ 10.90), $ 3.10 ($ 3.25) and $ 19.75 ($ 20.50) respectively.

Jakarta stocks end up after deregulation package: Jakarta stocks ended up but off earlier highs on Tuesday on the back of sustained buying in blue chips and active buying in secondaries as market sentiment on Monday's economic deregulation package improved. The Jakarta composite index ended 2.83 points or 0.38 per cent higher at 740.83 points after hitting a record high of 741.54 points earlier.

Call rate eases: An easy trend prevailed in the interbank call market on Tuesday with the call rate dipping to an intra-day low of 2.75 per cent. Opening at 4.0-4.5 per cent compared with the previous day's close of 4.5-5.0 per cent, the call rate immediately fell to 3.0-3.75 per cent on ample fund supplies. Most deals were transacted between 3.0 and 3.75 per cent, dealers said. The call rate ended at 2.75-3.25 per cent.

Rupee strenghtens vs dollar: The rupee gained against the dollar as exporters began offloading the US currency on Tuesday. Opening at 35.7900-35.8000 to a dollar, the rupee touched a low of 35.81 on some dollar buying. But the rupee began to firm up once exporters started selling dollars to take profits. Large dollar inflows by foreign institutional investors boosted the rupee further to finally close at 35.7650-35.7700 to a dollar.

Silver, gold finish lower: Silver .999 fell sharply and closed Rs 275 lower at Rs 6,130 per kg on Tuesday. Dealers said panic selling was triggered by a plunge in the world market. Silver was down by Rs 55 per kg after losing Rs 240 during the last week. Gold 24 carats closed lower by Rs 5 at Rs 4,330 per 10 gm. Gold biscuit (116.50 gm) lost Rs 50 at Rs 50,650 per piece on Monday.

Pepper futures exchange may kick-off by August: The much-awaited international pepper futures exchange is expected to start regular operations from the middle of next month at Mattancherry in Kochi. India Pepper and Spice Trade Association (IPSTA), the body promoting the exchange, is presently in the process of finalising the selection of banks which have shown interest in equity participation in the clearing house of the exchange: The First Commodity Clearing Corporation of India (FCCCI). Fccci is the authorised body which provides guarantee for every contract entered into by the exchange.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.