The Indian equity bourses started the week on a strong note as buying activities intensified as the day progressed and the benchmark Sensex came close to breaching the 12,000-mark for the first time in nearly five months. Although, most of the other leading Asian indices also gained ground, the major thrust was received by the finance ministry’s statement that status quo would remain on the issue of participatory notes (PNs). The ministry reiterated its stance, following opposing views of two expert committees in this regard. In its recent report, the six-member Tarapore Committee on fuller capital account convertibility recommended a ban on fresh issue of PNs and phasing out of existing notes in one year, with four of its six members endorsing the view.The Ashok Lahiri Commiittee had earlier said the current dispensation for PNs might continue, with full powers for Sebi to obtain information regarding the final beneficiary or any holder of PN in case of any investigation or surveillance action.The Sensex opened the day with a positive gap of nearly 50 points at 11,824.49, before moving further northwards to touch an intra-day high of 11,939.96. It finally ended the day at 11,914.21, up 136.19 points or 1.16 per cent.
