MUMBAI, December 6: Indian shares listed on overseas stock exchanges were not affected by the fall of the United Front government and fresh elections to the Lok Sabha. The GDR market seems to have become immune to the political and currency upheavals as 40 GDRs remained unchanged last week.Reflecting the indifferent attitude of the market makers, the Skindia GDR index has moved in a narrow band of 1.2 per cent since December 1. The highlight of last week was the listing of MTNL's GDRs at a premium of 4.29 per cent at $11.958.During the week ended December 4, the Skindia GDR index closed on a positive note at 886.08 points, registering a gain of 0.92 per cent over its previous week's close. In the same period, the Skindia GDR index P/E ratio showed a marked recovery of 3.82 per cent to close at 18.39 points. The Skindia premium index recorded a sharp jump of 49 per cent to close at 18.24 per cent against its previous week's close of 12.24 per cent registered on November 27.GDRs which commanded higher premiums during the week under review included Crompton Greaves, which quoted at a premium of 243.5 per cent over its local share price of Rs 25.50. The GDR of Oriental Hotels was traded at a premium of 159.53 per cent over its underlying share price of Rs 270 and NEPC India's GDR quoted at a premium of 146.39 per cent over its share price of Rs 3.95.``The president's decision to dissolve the Lok Sabha and announcement of fresh elections seemed to have been discounted by fund managers abroad with the GDR markets losing a marginal 0.46 per cent,'' stated a Skindia Finance release. ``The success of MTNL's GDR issue was the only highlight in an otherwise dull market,'' it added.Top gainers included Grasim, which traded at a premium of 20.48 per cent at $ 11 on December 4, against its previous week's price of $ 9.13. Despite being hammered to a low of Rs 218 on the local bourses, the SBI GDR continued to register gains on the GDR market. SBI closed at $16, registering a gain of 14.29 per cent. ITC's GDR recorded a gain of 9.09 per cent to close at $18.00.However, during the same period, the GDR of Indo Rama recorded a loss of 40 per cent to close at $3, GDRs of United Phosphorus also declined sharply to trade at a loss of 30 per cent at $3.5. GNFC recorded a loss of 27 per cent to close at $2. According to a study conducted by Skindia Finance, the Skindia GDR index witnessed a volatility of 2.32 per cent between August and November compared with 1.76 per cent reported in the first-half of 1997. A reverse trend was observed in the volatility of the BSE Sensex which declined to 1.41 per cent as compared to 1.64 per cent.Of the 20 securities which are part of the Skindia GDR index, Reliance Industries, Indian Rayon and Bajaj Auto GDRs were the most volatile GDRs. Reliance reported a volitality of 5.95 per cent in the GDR market and 3.35 per cent in its underlying share.
