Merrill Lynch sells 2% stake in MCX

On Friday, the MCX stock closed at Rs 970 on the BSE, down 4.50% over the previous close

US-based Merrill Lynch on Friday sold two per cent of its stake in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) With this, Merrill Lynch's stake in the exchange fell to 2.79 per cent.

According to BSE data, Merrill Lynch Holdings sold about a million shares at Rs 1,020 apiece to private equity major Blackstone GPV Partners Mauritius, through bulk deals.

On Friday, the MCX stock closed at Rs 970 on the BSE, down 4.50 per cent over the previous close.

Yesterday, global exchange operator NYSE Euronext had cancelled its plan to sell 4.8 per cent stake in MCX, following poor investor demand.

Analysts said the levy of commodities transaction tax (CTT) on non-agri-commodities from April 1 and the end of the pre-initial public offering lock-in period could exert pressure on MCX shares in the near term.