Mumbai, July 8: The `sunshine segment' of the Bombay Stock Exchange recorded a remarkable beginning with about 20,000 shares traded on the second day of the settlement contributing Rs 2.30 lakh.

The first trade on this segment specifically devised to cater to the institutional players, saw two trades struck at the market price of Rs 11.50 at the counter of Deepak Fertilisers listed on the non-specified segment of the exchange.

"We expect this number to increase in multiple folds once the rolling settlement is in place," said M G Damani, president of Bombay Stock Exchange"Members have to still get familiarised with the working of the new system," MG Damani explained.

The fact that trading kicked off with a B1 group stock highlighted the stance of the institutional players who are interested in shifting their portfolios to the non-specified section provided they are guaranteed clean paper.

The BSE's move to introduce this segment aims at wooing institutional investors back to the exchange and also reducing the menace of bad deliveries (including forged and fake shares).

Sunshine trades have been designed to cater to stocks registered in the name of financial institutions, mutual funds, foreign institutional investors and banks.

The majority of institutional trades on the exchange was done by the custodians through the unorganised telephone market, where the concept of a ``fair price'' for stock was almost absent.

"The turnover in the negotiated segment of the BSE has recorded an increase of 41 per cent during the settlement ended June 13. However, these deals failed to help gauge the market sentiment," said a BSE official.

The sunshine segment also caters to the demand of a group of members especially FIIs who are sensitive about their deals being open to the other members.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.