Paper stocks continue to attract buying interest even in a falling market. Ballarpur Industries has moved up from Rs 32.20 on May 28 to close at Rs 49.35 today and ITC Bhardrachalam from Rs 22.50 as on June 7 to Rs 27.50 today. "Because of the economy reviving and most of the commodity stocks turning up, the future for the paper industry will be in line with the fortunes of the likes of cement, petroleum and aluminium. On the valuation front the paper stocks are at a substantial discount if the replacement value of the plants is taken into account", said a fund manager. According to market sources, institutions are accumulating paper stocks in a big way.

Selling in Pentafour

The Pentafour counter was the worst hit on Tuesday even as software counters continued to reflect lacklustre performance. The scrip lost Rs 82 to hit the lower end of the circuit filter at Rs 947 on the Bombay Stock xchange. According to brokers, the stock is entering theno-delivery period on National Stock Exchange on Wednesday. ``The excessive postions built on the counter was off-loaded,'' said a BSE broker. The counter saw a volume of more than 16 lakh shares on BSE.

Cross deals

In the cross deals segment, a major deal of three lakh shares of Global Telesystems were bought by Indsec Securities at a price of Rs 221. About 20,000 shares of Crisil were crossed with the buyer being Credit Lyonnaise and the seller being HSBC Securities at a price of Rs 510. A deal of 8,800 shares was done by HSBC and of 4,000 shares of Zee Telefilms again by HSBC. A cross deal of 11,000 shares of GACL while a huge deal of 15,000 shares of Aptech was doen by SSKI and of 10,000 shares done by Anand Rathi Securities. Anand Rathi also did a cross deal of one lakh shares of Nalco. Another deal of one lakh shares of Telco was done in the demat segment. Zee Telefilms saw a negotiated deal of 4000 shares while Steel Authority of India saw a deal of 40,000 shares. In Bell Ceramics, there was anegotiated deal of three lakh shares at a price of Rs 3. Another deal for 11,000 shares was reported at the Gujarat Ambuja counter at a price of Rs 331. Aptech also saw two deals of 15,000 and 10,000 shares.

Institutional deals

Credit Suisse First Boston is rumoured to have bought 12 lakh shares of L&T while the market believes that a number of FIIs have placed huge buy orders for the scrip. The Canbank offshore fund is said to have sold Ranbaxy. Rumours continued to dominate the Ranbaxy counter. The latest being that the company is in talks with foreign parties to sell the molecules that are in the last stages of development for a consideration of Rs 700-800 crore. Jardine Fleming is rumoured to have picked up 1-1.5 lakh shares of Thermax. Morgan Stanley is said to have sold 25,000 shares of GACL. SBI mutual fund is rumoured to have bought 50,000 shares of Reliance Industries.

Bausch & Lomb firm

The stock has risen from Rs 113.45 as on June 8 to touch Rs 136.35. Brokers point out thatthere is substantial buying interest in the counter which has been generated due to the announcement of Luxxotica taking over the revamped Indian operations. ``The hiving-off of the loss making eye-care division leaves a substantial upside for the Rayban glasses business. Luxxotica has a number of international brands in its kitty and is keen on expanding its brands in Indian market. This should rerate the stock further,'' said a broker.

Contributed by Parul Monga and Aabhas Pandya