A year after the divorce with Hewlett Packard, HCL Infosystems is back on the track on its own with new business strategies and is expected to report an exceptional growth in its earnings for the year ended June. The company is likely to report a 600 per cent jump in bottomline. The net profit is expected to be in the region of Rs 30-32 crore against the last year net profit of Rs 5.1 crore, which would yield an earning per share (EPS) of around Rs 10 against Rs 1.6 last year. The company's board is expected to meet in the last wek of August to take up the full year results.

The HCL Infosystems counter on the bourses has witnessed a suden spurt of activity in the past few sessions, with a few foreign institutional investors (FII) also picking up large chunks of shares. According to market sources, among the FIIs, Merrill Lynch is beleived to have piched up more than 3 lakh shares in the past few sessions.

The company's scrip price and volumes zoomed onexpectations of a higher growth in earnings.

Additional volatility margins:

BSE has decided to impose an additional volatility margin of 30 per cent on the purchase positions of the following stocks with effect from August 14: Astra-IDL, Bombay Oxygen Corporation and Sri Vishnu Cement. Further, the exchange has also imposed special margins on Rolta India (Rs 15) and Vjil Consulting (Rs 9).

Sebi cancels fiscal registration:

Sebi has cancelled the certificate of registration of category II merchant banker, Fiscal Ltd, with effect from August 10 for non-payment of fee due to Sebi during 1996-97.

CSE, DSE closed: The Calcutta and Delhi stock exchanges were closed on Friday for `Janmashtami'.

S&P CNX Nifty drops 8 points:

Share prices reacted on the NSE on Friday following fresh selling by foreign funds. The S&P CNX Nifty Index fell by 8.15 points to close at 864.10 points. The CNX Mid-cap 200 index lost 0.28 point to close at 515.80 points. The total turnover on thebourse stood at Rs 863.85 crore.

Skindia Index falls 1.21%: The Skindia GDR Index dropped by 1.21 per cent to 558.51 points from 565.37 points on August 13. Similarly, the Skindia GDR Index p/e ratio fell by 0.40 per cent to 12.91 points on August 13 from 12.96 points on August 12. The top gainers included Indian Rayon, MTNL and Mahindra & Mahindra, while losers included Crompton Greaves, Indo Gulf and Arvind Mills.

MSE shares end on steady note: A steady trend prevailed at the Madras Stock Exchange on Friday. The MSE Index edged down to close at 3,445.82 points from the previous day's close of 3,447.12 points. SBI improved by Rs 1.70 to Rs 193.25, while ITC slid by Rs 4 to Rs 582.30. Satyam Computers moved down to Rs 470.10 from Rs 474.95.

BgSE shares end down: Equities declined at the Bangalore Stock Exchange on Friday. According to marketmen, there was heavy selling pressure in most counters. The turnover on the bourse stood at Rs 16.24 crore. ITC fell to Rs 579.40 from anopening of Rs 583.25 while Karnataka Bank moved up marginally to Rs 68.75 (Rs 68.50). Satyam Computers, SBI, Reliance and Tisco were quoted lower at Rs 469.50 (Rs 475.60), Rs 192.80 (Rs 194), Rs 120.35 (Rs 123) and Rs 94.85 (Rs 95.60), respectively.

Demat turnover at Rs 4.2 cr:

The demat segments of the BSE and NSE registered a turnover of Rs 4.22 crore on Friday. On the NSE, 8,000 shares of HLL valued at Rs 130.26 lakh, 27,600 shares of HPCL valued at Rs 75.72 lakh, 22,101 shares of SBI valued at Rs 42.71 lakh and 405 shares of Telco valued at Rs 55,000 changed hands. On the BSE, 5,000 shares of HDFC valued at Rs 131.25 lakh changed hands.

Thai stocks rally 5.5%:

Thai share prices rebounded 5.5 per cent on Friday amid relief and speculation over financial sector restructuring and gains in some regional markets, analysts said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) broad-based index gained 12.75 points to close at 243.62 points, while the select SET 50 gained 1.22 points to 16.67points.

Japanese stocks end 1.7% lower:

The Japanese share prices closed 1.7 per cent lower Friday with investors depressed by the previous day's sharp decline on Wall Street, brokers said.

``New York's fall spurred renewed selling of international blue chips,'' a New Japan Securities Co Ltd broker said. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 258.09 points to end at 15,123.93. The Topix index of all issues on the first section closed down 12.91 points at 1,168.80. An estimated 430 million shares changed hands against 333.3 million the previous day. The key Nikkei index dropped from the outset as sentiment was hit by concern about the market outlook in Asia and the United States following Thursday's decline on Wall Street, brokers said.

Call rates finish at 5.75%:

The overnight rates remained easy on reporting Friday. The rates opened at 6.00-6.50 per cent compared with their previous close of 7.00-7.25 per cent. The rates moved at the opening levelthroughout the morning. However, in the afternoon, the rates eased to finally close at 5.50-5.75 per cent.

Rupee unchanged:

The rupee remained rangebound on Friday. The Indian currency quoted in the 43-43.15 band in relatively quiet trades. The rupee opened at 43.08/10, unchanged from its previous close of 43.8/10, and strengthened to 43.03/04 on dollar-selling by banks. The rupee weakened in later trades to close at 43.08/10.

Gold recovers, silver loses ground:

A mixed trend prevailed at the bullion market on Friday. Standard gold and 22-carat gold recovered by Rs 10 each to close at Rs 4,210 and Rs 3,895, respectively. Ready silver (.999) and tenderable silver eased by Rs 5 each to end at Rs 7,900 and Rs 7,905, respectively.

Groundnut oil touches new high:

Groundnut oil prices touched a new high on Friday. Groundnut oil improved by Rs 2 to close at a new high of Rs 545. No trades took place in groundnut bold. In the futures market, castorseed December contract shot up byRs 43 to close at Rs 1,737.

Sugar prices recover:

Sugar prices recovered on Friday following fresh buying support, dealers said.