No evidence of manipulation in stock markets: SEBI chief

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Assuring investors that there is
no evidence of manipulation in the stock markets, Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman C B Bhave Saturday
said that retail as well as some foreign investors are
actually picking up stocks at current levels.

"We have not found anything in the market that would
give us suspicion that something had seriously gone wrong with
the market itself," he said while addressing the HT Leadership
Summit here.

When observed by the moderator whether there was any
scam as was witnessed during the bull run, Bhave said, "So far
we have not seen anything."

Only leveraged foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are
going out of the market, he said, adding long-term investors
like pension funds and university funds are buying stocks.

"Equity is going into the hands of people who have
patience," he said, pointing out that many people who have
stayed away from the market have started buying stocks.

Asked about the redemption pressures being faced by
the mutual funds, Bhave said, "When SEBI analysed (Fixed
Maturity Plans), it was found that 90 percent of their assets
have the highest rating of AAA and P1 (plus)."

The liquidity pressure, he added, has come down as
only Rs 4,000 crore of the special window of Rs 20,000 crore
opened by the Reserve Bank is currently being used.

Mutual Funds, he said, "have some liquidity pressure,
fortunately in the month of November that also got reversed."