Kamath-speak lifts ICICI

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

ICICI Bank rose 9 per cent on Friday to Rs 628.10 on BSE after the bank’s Chief Executive Officer K V Kamath brushed aside concerns over the lender’s financial health in a media interview and added that it has ample capital. On Thursday, the stock plummetted to a new 52-week low on account of liquidity fears.

Around 3.75 million shares were traded on the BSE counter on Friday, while 13.90 million shares changed hands on NSE. The stock hit a high of Rs 635 and a low of Rs 576 in Friday trade. The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs 1,465 on January 14 and a 52-week low of Rs 515.10 on July 16. The scrip has under-performed the market over the past one month till September 18, falling 13.41 per cent compared with the 9.1 per cent fall in the benchmark index.

 

ICICI Bank said on September 16 that it held $81 million of senior bonds issued by Lehman Brothers and would increase its provision on the debt by about $28 million to cover half of the exposure.

Earlier this week, stock brokerage Edelweiss Capital said in its research report that it expected ICICI to post about $200 million in losses on bonds, including the debt issued by Lehman Brothers.