Payment crisis fears haunt Ses
Rumours Of The Day

MUMBAI, MAR 2: Rumours about a payment crisis involving a top bull operator continued to play havoc on the stock markets, particularly as tech stocks were wiped out on Friday amid a general 176-point sell-off. However, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) successfully completed the pay-out for the settlement ended on February 24, ruling out a payment crisis on the premier stock exchange.

“It is just a rumour, the markets are safe and there is no payment crisis at the exchange,” said a BSE official, adding that the exchange has flashed an online message to its broker-members on the exchange’s trading system (BOLT), allaying fears of an impending payment crisis.

On the National Stock Exchange, a senior official said there was nothing to worry. But the official stated that some of the trading terminals of the members were deactivated due to non-payment of margins. However, the official clarified that the deactivation of terminals was not unique on Friday but a normal affair.Talk of a private sector bank selling huge quantities of tech stocks to recover monies owed by a frontline bull operator whose high-value cheque of Rs 167 crore had bounced, added to the panic. However, the announcement by the BSE president provided some relief to the market as it was agog with a scores of rumours doing the rounds which led to the BSE benchmark index closing with substantial loss of 176 points (4.13 per cent). It was widely discussed in the market that various operators were reeling under pressure amidst sizeable downfall witnessed in new economy stocks during the week.

The bull operator’s who was behind the infotech boom in 2000 favourite stocks are Satyam, SSI, Global Telesystems, HFCL, Zee Telefilms etc.However, a section of marketmen dismissed the theory of a possible payment crisis. They said the earlier days of rumours of payment crisis dominating the markets are a thing of the past. They emphasised that these days, margin collections, surveillance and inspection systems are properly in place. Over and above this, exchanges have hefty trade gurantee funds which can always be helpful to the authorities in case of any contingencies.

Another rumour which got widely circulated in the market during the week was that the ‘‘technology bull’’ had moved the High Court for anticipatory bail to avoid his arrest in connection with a case of a Bollywood financier’s nexus with the underworld. Rumours had influenced the market mood several times in the past, but theauthorities failed to act in time.

Rumours Of The Day