The week ended April 2, saw the Skindia GDR index trade in the narrow band of 950.14 points and 958.28 points to finally close at 951.30, registering a net loss of 0.12 per cent.

Amidst thin volumes and lacklustre trades, the Skindia GDR index P/E ratio rose by only 3.96 per cent to close at 21.27 points.

The 65 GDRs gained a marginal 0.36 per cent as compared with a gain of 3.4 per cent in the underlying shares.

According to market sources, the continuous attempts made by FII operators to arbitrage their GDR positions vis a vis their underlying shares saw the premiums commanded by several GDRs fall drastically.

The Skindia GDR Index premium fell by 13.51 per cent to close at 20.34 per cent on April 2.

However, select GDRs of Oriental Hotels, JK Corp and Crompton Greaves continued to be traded at higher premiums of 205.81 per cent, 88.69 per cent and 75.36 per cent respectively.

The stocks,which performed well in the underlying markets, continued to be the star performers at the GDR markets as well.

The top gainers on the GDR market were GE Shipping, ICICI and Telco.

GDRs of BSES, Bajaj Auto and Reliance, however, registered substantial price erosion of 7.79 per cent, 3.70 per cent and 2.78 per cent respectively. As per the research study presented by Skindia Finance, in the international market, the telecom sector was the major gainer with a gain of 2.69 per cent, followed by the auto sector with 1.84 per cent.

In the domestic market, cables were the forerunners with a rise of 12.60 per cent followed by the auto sector with 7.68 per cent.

"The financial year 1997-98, which started with a bang, seems to have been burnt out by the end. "During the year the Skinda GDR Index lost 6.13 per cent as compared to a gain of 13.59 per cent in the BSE Sensex," stated a release by Skindia Finance.

The Pharma industry registered positive returns of 5.02 per cent in the GDR market while in theunderlying shares Fertilizers, Pharma and Cable were the only sectors which appreciated by 21.03, 20.12 and 12.25 per cent, respectively.

The major loser in both the market was Steel losing 49.19 per cent in the GDR market and 41.79 per cent in the domestic market.