FIIs hold 45% of free float Sensex m-cap

 FIIs bought 169.30 million Sensex shares in the quarter ended September 2003 on top of purchases of 167.52 million shares in the April-June quarter, taking their total buying to 335.81 million shares in the first half of 2003-04.

 What is more, FIIs now collectively own over 40 per cent of the free float in the top 100 traded companies. Free float is the stock of a company available for trading and excludes the promoters' holding.

 The increasing dominance of FIIs in the stock market was brought to light at the October 16 meeting of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) secondary market advisory committee.

 The sharp rise of 2,000 points in the Sensex since April was largely fuelled by FII activity. Between April 1 and October 16, FIIs pumped in Rs 15,679.40 crore in the stock market.

 The committee discussed the surge in market movements during the last 6-7 months and also took stock of the risk containment measures in the bourses. While the committee is headed by R H Patil, Sebi