Street signs: New demat accounts rise, F&O stock list swells, and more

Will volatility weigh on new demat accounts?

The number of active demat accounts with CDSL has crossed 50 million. NSDL handles nearly 25 million accounts, taking the total demat account count in the country close to the 75-million mark. The number of new demat accounts have soared by a record 25 million this year, signalling the entry of a lot of first-time investors into the market. The latest bout of selling in the market is the first meaningful correction many of these new investors would be witnessing. Market watchers say it will be interesting to see if the pace of addition continues if the market continues to remain volatile.

F&O stock list swells to 191

The number of stocks available for trading in the derivatives market will soon touch 191. This after the NSE has decided to add three scrips — IDFC, Aditya Birla Capital and Honeywell Automation — to the futures and options (F&O) segment with effect from December 31. Besides these individual stocks, F&O contracts are issued on three indices—Nifty, Bank Nifty and Nifty Financial Services Index. Two and a half years ago, the list of stocks in F&O had shrunk to 160 after close to three dozen stocks had got excluded after they failed to meet the criteria to remain in the derivatives segment. Experts say adding stocks to F&O trading boosts liquidity and price discovery. On the other hand, there are also concerns that too many stocks could lead to excessive speculative trading.

Tepid GMP for Star Health

The grey market premium (GMP) for Rakesh Jhunjunwala-backed Star Health and Allied Insurance was less than 5 per cent ahead of its IPO. The company’s Rs 7,250-crore IPO, 8th largest-ever in the domestic market, opens for subscription on Tuesday and closes on Thursday. Meanwhile, the GMP for Teja Industries, whose IPO opens a day later, was around 40 per cent, according to market players. Star Health, the largest private health insurer in the country with a market share of 15.8 per cent, has set a price band of Rs 870-900 per share for its IPO. At the top end, the company will be valued at Rs 51,806 crore. Teja Industries is a Kolkata-based company engaged in manufacturing of consumables for the mining industry.