Standard Chartered PLC rallies 16% on budget proposal

Standard Chartered PLC, the only company with depository receipts in India, has soared 16% to Rs 109, extending its 20% rally on Friday, Budget Day, after the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said it may allow two-way fungibility of Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs). The move allows investors to buy Indian listed shares and sell them in the London market and vice versa.

"The move would also reverse a ruling by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which last June denied investors a chance to convert Standard Chartered IDRs into overseas stock. Ten of Standard Chartered’s IDRs equal one share in the London-based bank," the report suggests.

As many as 3.85 million shares have already changed hands on the counter in morning trades, against an average sub 600,000 shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on the NSE and BSE.