Banks' participation in derivatives trading: With the Parliament set to clear the derivatives trading in the winter session, the NSE managing director, RH Patil has made a strong case for the banks to be roped into the system as clearing members. Citing the various benefits which could accrue to the broking fraternity and the investors at large with banks taking up this new role, Patil emphasised on the wide acceptance of the two-stage membership an essential feature of derivatives trading.

Remove badla monopoly from capitalmarket: Index futures should remove the monopoly position that the Badla system enjoys in the capital market and leave it to the investor to decide, the president of Oxus Research and Investment, Dr Surjit Bhalla said. "I don'T think Badla should be banned and futures be brought instead," he said at the second annual Indian Derivatives Conference here. Institutions should also be allowed to engage in Badla transactions and financing, so that rates which presently hover in the range of 8 -14 per cent may come down.

BoB MF board to consider half-year accounts: The board of trustees of BoB Mutual Fund will meet on November 17 to consider and adopt the unaudited accounts for the half year ended September 30, 1998, for its two listed schemes - BOB ELSS '95 and BOB Growth '95.

Select scrips recover marginally on NSE: Select share prices recovered marginally on the National Stock Exchange on Thursday on some low level buying. The S&P Cnx Nifty closed 2.90 higher at 871.75 from the last close of868.85. Howver, Cnx Nifty Junior softened further to 1446.55 from 1447.15. S&P Cnx Defty improved by 1.40 to 713.50 from Wednesday's level of 712.10. S&P Cnx 500 declined by 2.86 to end at 592.49 from the previous close of 589.63. Cnx Midcap 200 dropped moderately by 0.88 to 520.05 from 519.17.

DSE stocks rebound on special benefits to NRIs: Buoyed by announcement of benefits to non-resident indians (NRIs) by the prime minister Atal Behari Vajpaee, share prices registered a significant rally to close higher following all-round buying by foreign as well as domestic investors, particularly towards close of the session. The Delhi Stock Exchange sensitive index which dropped to 659.58 points at one stage following initial selling pressure, rebounded to close 7.76 points higher at 676.56 points.

Share prices stage smart recovery on CSE: With sentiment on the day inducing fair sized covering by sellers of the last few days, share prices staged a welcome recovery today on the Calcutta StockExchange. Operators said though fresh buying was confined to select scrips, covering deals were noted in most shares providing for a marked rise in the volume of business. With the improvement in prices, the CSE'40 share index rallied to close at the day's best level of 1685.52 points, the floor level being 1661.24 points.

Pivotals lead a late rally on MSE, finish lower: Pivotals led a late rally on the Madras Stock Exchange on Thursday and finished with small to handsome gains. The MSE share price index has remained static most part of the day, but rallied towards the fag end to settle at 3363.98 against the previous day's close of 3307.70, netting a gain of 56.28 points.

NSE completes 207th settlement: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has successfully completed its 207th settlement number N1998043 on Thursday with a total value of Rs 814.95 crore for securities and Rs 143.18 crore in funds. The quantity of securities settled through dematerialised mode was 125.96 lakhs valued at Rs 208.74crore, an NSE release said. The pay out was completed and all shortages to the extent of 0.70 per cent were successfully auctioned. Unrectified bad deliveries for the previous settlement to the extent of 0.17 per cent was also auctioned successfully.

Hong Kong shares close 1.9 per cent lower: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.9 per cent lower Thursday as investors locked in profits on handsome gains posted the previous day, dealers said. The key Hang Seng index lost 189.14 points to close at 9,948.18, after gaining 415.99 points in the previous day's trade.

Shanghai B shares rise 1.6 per cent: Shanghai's B shares, nominally reserved for foreign investors, rose 1.6 per cent Thursday on the coattails of a sharp upturn on the Hong Kong bourse, analysts said. The Shanghai Stock Exchange's B-share index gained 0.53 points to settle at 33.76 points, while the A-share index of locally traded stocks slipped 3.67 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,363.90 points.

Tokyo stocks lose 2.4 per cent:Japanese stocks closed 2.4 per cent lower Thursday as the Ruling party's new tax-cut and spending package contained no surprises, brokers said. The 225-issue Nikkei average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 352.96 points to finish at 14,075.06. Along with dissapointment over the planned stimulus package, investors also gave a cold welcome to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's consideration of a consumption tax cut, brokers said. The ruling block is trying to forge an alliance with the Opposition Liberal Party which insists on a reduction in the consumption tax from the current five per cent to three per cent.

New Zealand stocks up 1.4 per cent: New Zealand stocks rose 1.4 per cent Thursday, buoyed by overseas investors returning to the market, brokers said. The NZSE-40 index rose 28.15 points to 2,014.71 on turnover of 88.5 million NZ dollars. Telecom Corp. ended up 18 cents to 8.40 dollars. ``Overseas investors have returned to the market, attracted by our high yielding stocks,'' said Ord Minnettbroker Joanne Snell.

S Korean stocks end fractionally stronger: South Korean share prices edged up to close 0.7 per cent higher Thursday in a technical rebound following two days of losses, dealers said. ``Even though the market traded firmer throughout the session amid a tug of war Between bargain-hunting and profit-taking, the general tone was corrective,'' a dealer at Hanil Securities said. He said the softer yen kept investors sidelined, limiting the market's upside. The Korea Stock Exchange composite index ended up 2.82 points at 403.52, off a high of 407.63. Volume was 132.1 million shares worth 645.2 billion won.