Kotak Securities has rated Hindalco a market outperformer, though the brokerage is worried on the impact the Russian developments will have on base metal stocks. A recent report by Kotak, says that the Russian developments will have a modest, but negative impact on Indian metal producers, to the extent that the metal prices will remain under pressure. However, in the universe of base metal stocks, ``we would still suggest investors view Hindalco as a beneficiary of current domestic conditions in the aluminium market rather than as a global commodity.''

REL to buyback odd lot shares:

Reliance Enterprises (REL) has formulated a scheme that will help shareholders sell their `odd lot' shares at a value of Rs 200 each. The scheme, formulated to help small shareholders gain liquidity, would be administered through a trust formed by the company. Under the scheme, any shareholder can offer his odd lot shares to the REL Odd Lot Shares Trust and thetrust would give the full amount without charging any administration or service fee from the shareholder, according to a Reliance statement. Each share of the company has a face value of Rs 10.

FIIs pull out Rs 457 cr in Aug:

FIIs made net sales of Rs 457 crore on the stock exchanges during the month of August. According to statistics provided by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi), FIIs made gross purchases of shares at Rs 813.6 crore, as against gross sales of Rs 1,270.6 crore during the month. In dollar terms, the cumulative net investment at monthly exchange rate was lower at $ 8,756 million in August, as against $8,863 million in the previous month.

NSE declares member as defaulter:

The National Stock Exchange on Monday declared its member Shrenik Shah as defaulter for his failure to fulfill his obligations, with immediate effect. Shah was declared a defaulter for not rectifying or bringing in funds to close out the company obligations and stolen shares introduced by himon the exchange. However, there was no loss to the clearing corporation or exchange, the NSE said.

Pivotals rise further on good buying at NSE:

Pivotals rose further on the NSE on Monday on good buying activity and closed with smart gains. The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 866.90 and closed at 887.10, showing a rise of 20.60 over the previous close of 866.50. CNX Nifty junior opened at 1468.50 and closed at 1485.05, with a good rise of 16.90 over the previous close of 1468.15. S&P CNX Defty opened at 705.90 and closed at 722.35, showing a gain of 16.95 over the previous close of 705.40.

Equities recover on BgSE:

Equities staged a recovery on Monday on the Bangalore Stock Exchange. According to marketmen, sentiment was better due to the recovery in Asian markets. The turnover on the bourse stood at Rs 21.46 crore. Satyam Computers closed higher at Rs 491.25 from an opening of Rs 477. Reliance, SBI, L&T and Tisco saw better fortunes at Rs 117.45 (Rs 116.80), Rs 202.85, Rs 183.40 (Rs 177) and Rs92.10 (Rs 89.75). ITC was one of the losers on Monday at Rs 657.20 (Rs 659.35) whereas Karnataka Bank moved up to Rs 70.50 (Rs 70). Among others IDBI was traded at Rs 56 and Global Trust at Rs 45.20.

Rupee ends a notch higher against dollar:

The rupee rallied mildly and ended a notch higher against the US greenback in extremely dull and narrow two-way trade at the interbank foreign exchange market in Mumbai on Monday. The rupee closed at 42.54/56 per dollar, a mere one paise gain from the weekend finish and opening quote of 42.55/57 after hovering around 42.53/57 for the better part of the day's business on alternate bouts of dollar buy bids and offers.

Precious metals surge:

Both the precious metals surged on better demand from buyers and due to international trends at the local bullion market on Monday. Silver .999 and raw climbed by Rs 105 and Rs 115 to Rs 7,575 and Rs 7,465 per kg respectively on good demand from local operators and industrial users. An uptrend in global preciousmetals market aided the uptrend. Standard mint gold and 22 carat rose by Rs 70 and Rs 65 to Rs 4,230 and Rs 3,915 per ten gm respectively on encouraging buying support from local and upcountry operators.

Jakarta stocks up 3%:

Indonesian stock prices closed 3 per cent up Monday on a technical rebound and the expectation that the US Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates, dealers said. A dealer with a major foreign bank said he expected a cut in US interest rates to spark dollar selling. It might also lead Bank Indonesia to lower its rates slightly, he said. A dealer with Lippo Securities said the market was up only slightly in the morning as market players were still cautious, but it continued to rebound in the second session following a strong recovery in regional markets. He said most state-owned stocks were up including Tambang Timah, Semen Gresik anD Aneka Tambang, Telkom and Indosat.

Malaysia ends 22.5% higher:

Malaysia's key stock index ended 22.5 per cent higher Monday,boosted by heavy local retail buying which pushed the market to artificially high levels, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange 100-share weighted composite index surged 81.62 points to end at 445.06 points, but off an earlier high of 473.49. Dealers said some foreign selling began to filter through late in the session as foreign brokers sorted out the technicalities in effecting sell orders but was off set by massive domestic retail and institutional buying. ``Volume was massive with retailers eager not to miss the highs. But local funds were the ones setting the pace. I think at least some of the buying was through government linked funds,'' a local dealer said.

Thai stocks surge 6.4%:

Thai Share prices soared 6.4 per cent Monday in line with firmer regional markets amid renewed buying in local banking and finance stocks, analysts said. The gains were not based on economic fundamentals and whether the rally is sustainable depends mainly on regional factors like the yen's movement againstthe dollar as well as events in Russia and Latin America, they added. The market on Monday was up from external factors. Regional market gains in Japan and Malaysia helped, as did the yen's strength, said an ABN-AMRO Asia analyst. He said the rebound on Bangkok's bourse was largely technical following 11 consecutive days of declines. The SET broad-based index gained 13.25 points to close the day at 220.56 points, while the select SET 50 was up 1.22 points to 14.93 points.

Three-day fixed-rate repos today: The RBI on Monday announced three-day 8 per cent fixed-rate repos in Government of India dated securities on September 8 for parties holding SGL and current accounts. Payment by application will be on September 8 and repurchase by the RBI on September 11.

364-day treasury bills: The RBI on Monday announced an auction of the 364-day Government of India treasury bills for a notified amount of Rs 400 crore. Tenders should be submitted in the prescribed form on September 9 and payment bysuccessful bidders will be on September 11.

Crisil assigns P1 rating to Century Textiles debt:Crisil has assigned a P1 rating to the Rs 50 crore commercial paper programme of Century Textiles and Industries. The rating is based on the company's comfortable liquidity position owing to its short-term treasury assets and its considerable financial flexibility on being the flagship company of the BK Birla group, a Crisil release stated. "These factors are partially offset by the effect of cyclical downturns and negative business outlook impacting some of its business," it said.

Crisil assigns P1 rating to DCB debt plan:: Crisil has assigned a P1 rating to the certificate of deposit programme of the Development Credit Bank. "The rating reflects the bank's favourable capital adequacy ratio, adequate profit margins and liquidity support on account of significant investment in government securities," a Crisil release stated. "It is partly offset by challenges faced in mobilising low-cost resources,average quality of the loan assets and a relatively high market risk on the bank's investment portfolio," it added.

SBI appoints new general manager: Birendra Singh has taken over as general manager, State Bank of India, Bhopal branch. He was earlier general manager, public relations, central office, Mumbai. Singh has worked in various departments, including planning, personnel and public relations.

Global Trust Bank opens new branch: Global Trust Bank has opened a new branch at Vile Parle in Mumbai. Among other facilities, the bank will offer extended banking hours without any break. On weekdays, the bank will be open from 8 am to 6 pm; and on Sundays, from 10 am to 2 pm. GTB is headquartered at Hyderabad and has a branch network spread across 15 major cities in the country. The bank netted a profit of Rs 80.13 crore for the year ended March 31, 1998, on a capital base of Rs 104 crore and a deposit base of Rs 3,285 crore.