Tuesday, September 27 2005 19:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Asserting that there was no manipulation in the stock market, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today (Sept 27, 2005) said the Government was not doing anything unusual nor was it instituting a widespread probe.

"I am satisfied there is no manipulation that has come to our notice," he said, warning that the Government would act against manipulators and not against speculators.

"Speculation is part of capital market activity. Therefore, we should not get unduly excited when market rises or falls. The Government is not against speculators but against manipulators," he said.

He, however, said that SEBI was looking at movements of penny stocks, while RBI was examining the use of funds of non-banking finance companies.

"Yes, there were some unusual movements in penny stocks. SEBI is looking into that. SEBI will continue to look into the penny stocks," he said, adding RBI was looking at use of funds by NBFCs. "That again is a normal exercise."

"The Government is not doing anything unusual or instituting a widespread probe," he said.

Maintaining that current bull run in the market reflected fundamentals of the economy, especially the corporate sector, Chidambaram said his information was that second quarter results would be as good as first quarter earnings. "Let us wait and see."

Commenting on the last week's volatility in capital market, Chidambaram said: "Markets will rise and correct itself."

The major indices, Sensex and Nifty, comprise shares of blue-chip companies and their results are reflected in the movement of the indices, he said.

While expressing confidence on the market conditions, the finance minister advised investors to take informed decisions on the basis of a company's track record, performance and expansion plans.

Asking investors to carry out good analysis before taking a decision, he said: "If they cannot, they should invest through mutual funds."

Recalling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent criticism of media reports that he had convened a meeting of SEBI and Finance Ministry officials on capital market, Chidambaram hoped that the media would heed to his suggestions of refraining from such 'hit and run' reporting.

Sensex crossed the 8,500 mark today during intra-day trade as investors lapped up shares while foreign investors continued to pump in more money into India.