Flurry Of Activity In Hdfc; Indo Rama Volumes Dip

Hectic trading activity in the HDFC scrip strengthened sentiment at major bourses after a foreign broking house was permitted to buy shares on behalf of its client.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), trading in the scrip was frozen after it hit the upper end of the circuit filter at Rs 3000.50 levels against a previous close of Rs 2726.75, while on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the scrip touched the upper end of the circuit filter during intra-day trading at Rs 3019.05. However it closed at Rs 3004.45 (Rs 2744.55) on profit booking by speculators.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced that the FII investment in the scrip had come down and that broking houses could buy shares of the scrip after obtaining prior approval from the apex bank.

 

The identity of the broking house which received the RBI permission could not be confirmed. However Jardine Fleming India Broking figured prominently among the brokerages tipped to have got the approval, according to a section of the market. On the BSE, 36142 HDFC shares were traded, while on the NSE, 34310 shares changed hands.

Curiously, this time around the scrip did not flare up immediately after the RBI declared the FII investment limit had come down. Marketmen said brokers were wary of the scrip after the incident last year whereby many brokers who had warehoused the shares were saddled with them after RBI declared the FII ceiling had already been reached.

There was lot of speculation about the percentage by which the limit had come off. Leading brokers said it could be anywhere between 0.5 - 1 per cent, which roughly translates into around 1 lakh shares. Marketmen said there was more of front-running than genuine buying after the concerned broking house started to mop up the shares.

The Indo Rama scrip witnessed a sharp drop in volumes on the BSE yesterday following investigation by the exchange into the client details of transactions entered into by brokers. Yesterday, 26371 shares were traded on the BSE. However, the scrip edged up to Rs 12.05 from Fridays levels of Rs 10.25. However on the NSE, the scrip continued witness off market deals with 12.41 lakh shares being traded. BSE officials stated that key data relating to the clients records was being acquired.