Thursday February 21, 12:30 PM
Banking stocks shine... |
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By Equitymaster.com
The markets are holding their gains at current levels. Banking, software and selective old economy stocks are trading actively. In the derivatives market, all the three series of Nifty futures are trading at a discount of 3-6 points compared to spot.
The BSE Sensex is at 3,587 (up 29 points) and the NSE Nifty is at 1,154 (up 8 points). The rupee is trading at Rs 48.62 per US dollar.
Banking and finance stocks have flared up sharply. IDBI (IDBI.BO, news) is up by 7%. The Finance Minister is expected to announce a road map for IDBI's transformation into a bank, in his budget speech. Accordingly, the government will set up a new entity under the Companies Act, 1956. IDBI's assets and liabilities would be transferred to this new company and the existing IDBI Act would be repealed. Subsequently, a large public sector bank would be merged with this new entity.
IFCI is also up by 8%. The institution is planning to securitise some of its assets and is also seeking fresh funds from its shareholders to tide over its fund requirements.
Satyam is up by 2%. The company has announced a global strategic alliance with the US based software company, Hummingbird. Both the companies will jointly offer software and consulting services, which would help customers re-engineer their business.
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