ICICI Bank bleeds on block deal

DALAL STREET SPIKES

ICICI Bank witnessed a block deal of 10 lakh shares at Rs 310.70 each in morning trades on Friday.

The counter witnessed further selling by a section of foreign institutional investors resulting in the stock ending with a loss of 4.18 per cent.

After touching the day's low of Rs 293.30, the stock ended at Rs 297.65 with a volume of 8.41 lakh shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Market sources said a leading FII is believed to be offloading the stake to book profits at around Rs 305 levels.

Since the announcement of the bank's plan for a public issue at Rs 350 per share, ICICI Bank has witnessed massive selling from market players.

The stock has plunged by 16.33 per cent from Rs 351.95 on February 10, 2004 to yesterday's close of Rs 297.65.

Sources said to dampen the sentiment further, foreign brokerage Credit Lyonnais Securities downgraded the ICICI Bank stock to underperformer, which resulted in selling from other market participants.