India Govt Not Worried About Stk Mkts; Margins Adequate
Tuesday, March 7 2:48 PM SGT
NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--The Indian government isn't worried about outstanding trading positions of 190 billion rupees ($1=INR43.61) in the country's four major stock exchanges, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha told Parliament Tuesday.
He said margins and additional capital cover of 67 billion rupees are adequate to cover the positions.
Stockbrokers are currently required to make upfront payments to the stock exchanges in order to trade. They also have to deposit a proportion of the amount of their total open positions as margins to protect investors.
"In addition, exchanges also have Rs 1,500 crore (INR15 billion) as base capital and Trade Guarantee Fund," Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha or the lower house of Parliament.
India's stock markets have been booming in recent days, led by stocks in information technology, communication and entertainment companies.
The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, which was at 5563.17 points midday Tuesday, has risen 30% since October 1, before the coalition government was sworn in. The index briefly touched a record high of 6150.69 points on February 14.
"There has been a price rise in the information technology, communication and entertainement sector scrips, particularly in the software sector," Sinha said in the statement. "The price rise is due to the enhanced investor interest and global interest." |
