Street signs: Anchor selling weighs on

ICICI Pru Life
 
Just when shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICICI Pru) were staging a comeback, they are once again caught in a downward spiral. The shares of the private sector insurer have dropped eight per cent to Rs 303.5 since October 18, when the 30-day lock-in for anchor investors ended. In the two weeks prior to that the stock had gone up from Rs 295 to Rs 331. “Despite the hype, the stock hasn’t made money which has forced some anchor investors to exit,” said a broker. ICICI Pru had raised Rs 1,635 crore from anchor investors, the largest in the history of the domestic primary market.

 
Pavan Burugula Dull November for IPOs
 

After mopping up Rs 15,000 crore in the previous three months, the initial public offering (IPO) segment could come to a grinding halt in November. Investment bankers say there is no issue lined up for this month as investors, particularly global ones, turn cautious due to the US elections. Bankers say if market conditions remain positive, things could start moving by early next month. The activity comes to a stop in the second half of December anyway as most global fund managers go on vacation.
 
Pavan Burugula Prices of medicines rise faster than stocks

 
The US Department of Justice’s criminal probe on alleged price fixing by drug manufacturers brought the sharp rise in generics medicine prices to the fore, and left several market experts stumped in India. For example, between October 2013 and April 2014, prices of doxycycline rose a whopping 8,281 per cent. Similarly, albuterol and glycopyrrolate rose 4,014 per cent and 2,728 per cent, while many other drugs went up 400-700 per cent, according to data from Edelweiss. Samir Arora, fund manager, Helios Capital, was quick to tweet: “Instead of buying stocks, we should have bought a few kgs of these medicines.” 

Joydeep Ghosh