Mumbai, Jan 1: Sentiment at the local bourses continued to be lacklustre, with volumes marked lower on the first day of the calendar year. The 30-share Sensex closed at 3,060.34, registering a meagre gain of 4.93 points.While market was agog with rumours that FIIs were out of the market due to the new year holiday, the figures released by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) revealed that FIIs had a net buy order of Rs 1 crore, with no sell orders on the BSE.Domestic institutions however continued with profit booking at the pharma and MNC counters which have registered substantial gains over the last week. On the BSE, local institutions were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5 crore. According to market sources, domestic institutions were buyers at the counters of select info-tech counters and LIC Housing Finance. The LIC Housing Finance counter has been witnessing a sharp increase in the volumes with most of the deals routed through the negotiated segment of the BSE.According to market observers, the sharp rise inthe prices of select stocks like Larsen, Infosys Technologies, VSNL, Satyam Computers were distinctly on account of attempts made by local punters to short cover their positions.
Interestingly, market was agog with rumours that the BSE would once again revamp its specified group list, with the inclusion of VSNL, IndusInd Bank and Wipro. It may be recalled that of the 12 scrips shortlisted by Sebi for mandatory demat trading, VSNL, Wipro and IndusInd Bank are still traded on the non-specified category of the exchange. These rumours saw a fresh series of buying interest at these counters, reflecting on their price. Mandatory demat trading in the 12 stocks would be kicked off from Monday on the BSE.On the negotiated segment of the BSE, UTI Mastershare registered two cross deals of 50,000 shares each reported at Rs 9.90.
Rumours of Raymond having finally sold off its steel division once again played a prominent role, influencing the rise at the counter. The counter registered two cross deals - 10,000 sharesat Rs 87.50 and the other deal of 15,000 shares at Rs 93.
News of Dabur divesting its 49 per cent stake in the Spanish joint venture for an amount of Rs 35.24 crore led to a fresh buying interest at the counter.
The stock gained Rs 15.40 to close at Rs 441.40 on the NSE.
Short covering on the last day of the trading cycle led to sharp rise in the price of Satyam Computers. It may be recalled that the counter witnessed an auction of 52,400 shares on the NSE on Thursday at a premium of over 9 per cent. Satyam closed at Rs 742, registering a net gain of 1.78 per cent.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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