MOIL shines on bourses with 24% jump on debut

Stock accounted for more than 20% combined turnover of both BSE and NSE.

Public sector companies are turning out to be the favourite of the investor community. MOIL on Wednesday made an impressive debut on stock exchanges, ending the day as the top gainer on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock accounted for more than 20 per cent combined turnover of both the main stock exchanges, NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

On NSE, the stock opened at Rs 565, before rising to an intra-day high of Rs 590, 57 per cent higher than the issue price. It closed at Rs 464.20, up Rs 89.20, or 23.79 per cent, from the issue price. MOIL was the top gainer among all stocks listed on NSE.

The gains assume significance in the context of the overall trend. The S&P CNX Nifty lost 52 points, or 0.87 per cent, to close at 5,892.30. The 30-share Sensex ended the day at 19,647.77, down 151.42 points, or 0.76 per cent. The Sensex has lost more than three per cent in the last one month.

The initial public offer of MOIL (previously Manganese Ore India Ltd), which closed on November 30, was subscribed over 56 times, with the non-institutional portion getting subscribed a massive 143 times. The retail and institutional portions were subscribed 33 times and 49 times, respectively.

The gains were on the back of high volumes. On NSE, MOIL accounted for nearly 20 per cent volume. MOIL shares worth Rs 3,354.22 crore were traded on Wednesday, as against the total NSE volume of Rs 16,987.92 crore.

On BSE, the stock closed at Rs 466.50, after touching a high of Rs 591.05 and a low of Rs 458.50. The counter registered a volume of Rs 1,473.59 crore, nearly 29 per cent of the total turnover on BSE.

MOIL was the largest producer of manganese ore by volume in India in the financial year 2008. The company operates seven underground mines and three open cast mines in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It sells all production in the domestic market, primarily to ferro-alloy producers in the steel industry.

SCI disappoints
The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) stock fell after the listing of new shares offered in the recent follow-on public offer (FPO). The company last month offered 84.69 million shares in the price band of Rs 135 to Rs 140. The issue was subscribed 4.92 times.

On NSE, the stock closed at Rs 132.60, down nearly five per cent, or Rs 6.75. Over 6.72 million shares changed hands on NSE. On BSE, SCI ended the day at Rs 132.45, down 4.85 per cent.