Sebi for more regulatory powers:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought more powers under the Sebi Act for prosecution and enforcement in the securities market. The market regulator has also called for integration of various securities laws to avoid duplicacy inmarket regulation. ``There are various lacunae in the Sebi Act as the market regulator has no powers attached for search and seizure while having limited enforcing powers,'' Sebi chairman D R Mehta said.

Attractive offer from IDBI Bank:
IDBI Bank's forthcoming maiden issue, at a price of Rs 17-20, seems an attractive buy, given that the bank has the lowest price/net asset value (P/NAV) of 1.26-1.49. The bank's public issue which is expected to open during the second-half of January 1999, will offer four crore equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 7-10 per share, aggregating Rs 68-80 crore. UTI Bank's recent maiden issue at a price of Rs 21 per share had a marginally higher P/NAV of 1.51. The scrip, which was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in November, currently quotes at Rs 16, a discount of 24 per cent over its issue price.

NSE completes 212nd settlement:
The National Stock Exchange has successfully completed its 212nd settlement number N1998048 on Wednesday. The totalvalue of the settlement was Rs 647.19 crore for securities and Rs 147.92 crore in funds. The quantity of securities settled through dematerialised mode was 81.11 lakh valued at Rs 136.36 crore, an NSE release said today. The pay out was completed and all shortages to the extent of 0.93 per cent were successfully auctioned.

Unrectified bad deliveries for the previous settlement to the extent of 0.16 per cent was also auctioned successfully.

Nod for FII investment in gilt schemes:
RBI has, in principle, permitted FIIs registered with Sebi and NRIs, to invest in the K-Gilt and K-30 schemes of Kotak Mahindra mutual funds on non-repatriation basis. The funds for this purpose will have to be remitted from abroad through normal banking channels or paid out of funds held in investors NRE/FCNR/FIIs special accounts maintained with authorised dealers. Remittance from NRO accounts is also permitted in case of investments on non-repatriation basis.

Pivitals recover on fresh FII buying:
Pivotalsrecovered moderately on the first day of the current settlement on the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday due to fresh buying by foreign institutional investors. The market opened on a weak note, but prices recovered towards the end of the trading session and finished better. The S&P Cnx Nifty rose by 6.50 points to close at 851.55 from the last close of 845.05. CNX Nifty junior improved by 9.60 to close at 1423.25 from the previous close of 1413.65. The S&P Cnx Diety recovered by 5.85 to end at 693.65 from Tuesday's close of 687.80.

DSE shares drop on FII selling:
Nervous selling by foreign funds pushed stock prices lower in early trading on the stock market on Wednesday. The DSE index dropped by 4.4 points to 640.71 points after half-an-hour of trading. Marketmen said delay in opening up of crucial insurancesector for foreign investors following referring of Insurance Bill to the standing committee by the Parliament mainly induced the sentiments. Foreign funds which had been enlarging theirpositions for the past few sessions on hopes that the Insurance Bill would be introduced and passed in the current session of Parliament turned nervous sellers, they said. ITC, the cigarette major stocks, quoted Rs 5.75 down at Rs 691.75 while Nestle India shares fell Rs 4 at Rs 450.50 due to nervous selling by foreign investors. RIL shares in thin trading quoted 85 paisa down at Rs 115.30 on some offerings.

Indian GDR decreases by 1.50%:
The Skindia GDR index fell by 1.50 per cent from 550.23 to 542.00 on December 15, 1998 as per the Skindia GDR index with a base January 3, 1995 equal to 1000. The Skindia GDR index P/E ratio was 15.28 as compared to 15.52, according to Skindia Finance. There were 5 gainers, 32 losers and 23 unchanged ascompared to 2 gainers, 19 losers and 39 unchanged on December 14. The top gainers for the day were Flex Industries, Sanghi Poly and India Cements which were quoted at US dollars 0.35, 0.38 and 0.80 as against 0.33, 0.35 and 0.75 on December 14.

Seoul sharesplunge on profit-taking:
South Korean shares dived 3.5 per cent Wednesday on profit-taking by retail investors after the key index climbed to the 600-point level, dealer said. The Korea Stock Exchange index closed the morning down 20.2 points at 559.66, off a low of 550.27 and a high of 599.32. The benchmark corporate bond yield was up at 8.00 per cent. The won was quoted at 1,210.6 against the dollar. Volume was 275.6 million shares worth $1.9 billion. Fallers outnumbered risers 634 to 199, with 43 shares unchanged. A total of 40 shares closed limit-up and 81 limit-down. Ssangyong Investment Securities' Lee Sang-Ho said the market was swept by concerns over overheating. ``Questions as to whether more substantial retail funds will co ntinue to flow into the equity market also weighed on sentiment,'' he added.

Jakarta shares end higher:
Indonesian share prices closed the morning session 3.1 per cent higher Wednesday as leading issues gained on a stronger Wall Street. The composite indexclosed the session up 12.295 points at 413.060.

Tokyo stocks up 0.6%:
Share prices in Tokyo closed 0.6 per cent higher Wednesday but with gains eroded in late trading, brokers said. The 225-issue Nikkei rose 85.11 points to end at 14,096.30.

Malaysian stocks end lower 0.1%:
Malaysian share prices closed 0.1 per cent down but off their lows, with late bargain hunting of second liners offsetting earlier losses on profit taking. The composite index ended 0.80 points lower at 542.99 while second board index fell 1.69 points.