NSE F&O Ban: Indiabulls Housing Finance, PNB, RBL Bank, other stocks under ban on July 17, Monday The National Stock Exchange (NSE) banned the trading in futures and options (F&O) of up to six stocks/securities on Monday, July 17, 2023. Hindustan Copper, Punjab National Bank, Manappuram Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Delta Corp and RBL Bank are the stocks/securities placed on the National Stock Exchange’s futures and options (F&O) ban for trade on Monday. According to the NSE, the stocks mentioned above are prohibited in the F&O sector because they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock. “The initial weakness in the domestic market was driven by anticipated soft earnings in the IT sector and negative cues from the US markets. Concerns arose from an uptick in domestic food inflation, influenced by higher mandi prices trending above Minimum Support Prices (MSP), and muted Kharif sowing, which led investors to exercise caution. The progression of the monsoon and the trend of Kharif sowing in July will be crucial factors in determining future inflation. However, controlled inflation in the US has instilled optimism among investors, who believe that a 25-bps rate hike would be sufficient to stabilize the US economy. This positive outlook has contributed to strong buying in Indian IT stocks, despite muted Q1 earnings. Consequently, the US Dollar and bond yields have fallen,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Hindustan Copper, Punjab National Bank, Manappuram Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, ZEEL, Delta Corp, and India Cements stocks/securities were put on the F&O ban earlier on Friday, July 14, 2023. On Friday, the domestic benchmark indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex made new all-time highs and ended the week’s last trading session broadly in green. The Nifty 50 soared 150.75 points or 0.78% to close at 19,564.50 after making new 52-week high of 19,595.35 intraday. The Sensex jumped 502.01 points or 0.77% to settle at 66,060.90 after hitting fresh all-time high at 66,159.79 intraday. In sectoral indices, Bank Nifty surged 154.25 points or 0.35% to 44,819.30, Nifty IT skyrocketed 4.45% and Nifty Realty gained 1.16%.
The launched works involve rehabilitating the Galgamuwa Railway Station and upgrading the railway line from Maho to Anuradhapura, including additional tasks. Another project is the second phase of track rehabilitation from Maho to Omanthai (128 kms), funded by a $318 million Indian Line of Credit.
Transport Minister Gunawardena praised the efforts of Indian company IRCON in Sri Lanka and called for more cooperation in the railway sector. State Minister Shantha Bandara and officials from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport attended the event.
Railways is a priority for Indian assistance in Sri Lanka, with over $1 billion invested under five Indian Lines of Credit. IRCON has been involved in Sri Lanks since 2009. It has contributed to the modernisation of Sri Lanka Railways by reconstructing the entire railway line network in the Northern Province (253 Km) and upgradation of the Southern line (115 km), as well as improving safety through advanced signalling and telecommunication systems.
Despite Sri Lanka’s debt standstill in April 2022, India’s support under various Lines of Credit has continued.
(With PTI inputs)