Wipro, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank ADRs close at lifetime highs

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of the three Indian companies "" Wipro, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank "" closed at their lifetime highs on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

The floats of Infosys Technologies and Videsh Sanchar Nigam have hits three-year high.

The Wipro issue closed at $24.15, the HDFC Bank paper at $40.59 and ICICI Bank float at $18.85.

The ex-bonus Wipro ADR has seen a 63 per cent rise in its price in the past six months. It now commands the premium of 44.62 per cent to the underlying local share.

The ICICI Bank receipt has surged 46 per cent in the last six months. it now commands a 28.49 per cent premium over the underlying.

The HDFC Bank issue, on the other hand, has risen 43 per cent in the same period, thereby trading at a 21.51 per cent premium over the local share.

The ex-bonus price of the Infosys receipt stood at $70.30, which is a four-year high if adjusted for the 1:1 ADR bonus.

The Infosys ADR has appreciated 70 per cent from $41.38 seen on May 28, 2004, to $70.30 yesterday.

The VSNL float, which gained seven per cent on Monday, has risen 66 per cent in the last six months.

The Tata Motors ADR has appreciated 22 per cent from $9.15 on September 27, the date of its fresh listing, to $11.15 on November 29.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, shares of Infosys, Wipro and HDFC Bank were quoted above their four-year highs on Tuesday.

The Infosys share, which ended at Rs 2,148.35 on the BSE, has appreciated 27 per cent in the last two months from Rs 1,695.20 seen on September 30.

During the same period Wipro gained 28 per cent to Rs 766.55 (Rs 596.60), ICICI Bank 19 per cent to Rs 340.20 (Rs 286.05) and HDFC Bank 23 per cent to Rs 495.30 (Rs 402.85).

VSNL's share price appreciated by 31 per cent to Rs 229.10 (Rs 174.85), Tata Motors' by 20 per cent to Rs 482.85 (Rs 403.35), Satyam Computer Services by 15 per cent to Rs 433.20 (Rs 377.40) and MTNL by 15 per cent to Rs 161.90 (Rs 141.25).