MNC shares in demand

Novartis India, Disa India, Castrol India, Wendt India, Mphasis, Merck, Colgate-Palmolive (India) are up 5-16% on BSE.

Shares of multinational companies (MNC) are in demand and trading higher by up to 16% on renewed buying interest.

Novartis India, Disa India, Castrol India, Wendt India, Mphasis, Merck, Colgate-Palmolive (India) are up 5-16% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Novartis India, the largest gainer among MNC pack, has surged 16% to Rs 682. The stock rose as much as 20% to Rs 704, also its 52-week high on the BSE.

Castrol India has surged 8% to Rs 358 on back of heavy volumes on buzz that the parent company, Castrol is planning to delist the company’s shares from the Indian stock exchanges.

The stock opened at Rs 337 and touched a 52-week high of Rs 364 on the BSE. The stock hit a record high of Rs 371 in June 4, 2013.

The counter has seen huge trading activity with a combined 4.16 million shares changing hands so far as against an average sub 0.50 million shares were traded daily in past two weeks on BSE and NSE.

Castrol exploring options to delist Indian unit by year end, CNBC-TV18 report suggests, citing people it didn’t identify. Castrol holds 70.9% stake in Castrol India.

Mphasis has rallied nearly 11% to Rs 463 in early morning deals on reports that Hewlett-Packard (HP) is planning to sell its stake in the Bangalore-based information technology services company.

Hewlett-Packard, the US-headquartered technology major had given UBS the job of finding a suitor for Mphasis, the Business Standard report suggests.

Disa India (up 10% at Rs 3,675), Wendt India (9% at Rs 1,745), Merck and Colgate-Palmolive (India) are up 5% each at Rs 784 and Rs 1,608 respectively.