NEW DELHI, April 9: The rally in information-technology (IT) scrips has percolated to the second-rung infotech companies, with several stocks scaling new highs. The buying interest in these scrips has been aided by expectations of good results for 1997-98.Leading Edge, Software Solutions, Maars Software and RS Software have touched their respective all-time highs on the BSE during the recent bull run. Hardware scrips like Rolta India and Zenith Computers too have gained substantially.
The market also seems to be betting on the imminent gains originating from the introduction of the euro in 1999. This is expected to add to the existing software development opportunities for the Indian infotech firms.
Leading Edge touched an all-time high of Rs 502 on BSE on April 7. The gains at the counter are fathomless, considering that the scrip was trading at Rs 65 last year. The recent rally in the scrip started on March 12 at Rs 292 while a correction has now taken it to Rs 486. Software Solutions has, betweenMarch 12 and April 7, gone up from Rs 142 to Rs 233. Daily volumes in the scrip have also surged from an average 7000-10,000 to 1.2 lakh shares on April 1 at Rs 203. Maars Software's shares have, between March 12 and April 8, more than doubled from Rs 60 to Rs 125. For the year ended December 1997, the company saw a 92 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 3.69 crore.
Cauvery Software has gained almost 200 per cent to go up from Rs 2.50 to Rs 7.25. The surge in volumes is equally prominent at the counter with the average daily volume going up from 500-1,000 to over 1 lakh shares. On April 1, a massive 1.55 lakh shares were traded. However, the scrip is now trading in the range of Rs 6-7. RS Software has moved up from Rs 24 on March 20 to Rs 46 on April 8. However, there is no significant rise in daily volumes.
Infotech Enterprises is also trading close to its all-time high of Rs 100 at Rs 96. The rally in this scrip started on March 27 at Rs 70. Hardware manufacturer Rolta India's scrip, between March 20and April 8, doubled to Rs 32. However, the surge in daily volumes is more significant as it has gone up from the usual 5,000-10,000 shares to a high of 4.53 lakh shares on April 7.
For Zenith Computers the rally started when the scrip hit its nadir at Rs 5.60 on March 19. The scrip has since gained heavily to close at Rs 17 on April 8.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
