An interesting aspect about Wednesday' rally was that it had better depth as compared to some of the earlier relief rallies. For a change, much neglected old economy stocks were in the forefront of the rally, joining hands with their new economy counterparts. Yes, the crucial question once again is, how long will it sustain? Well, in a market that seems to have become like a one day international match, nobody seems to be really bothered.Sam storm?
Uncle Sam is reported to have been one of the most aggressive buyers today, mostly at the old economy counters. The fund has been a great believer in the old economy stories though it did immensely benefit from Infosys Technologies and Zee Telefilms. The fund, which had been lying low for some time, has now decided to put its cash reserves to some good use.
It is reported to have been among the active buyers at the ITC counter over the last couple of trading sessions. Close to four to five lakh shares are reported to have been picked up during this period with the Kind Word Benson brokerage too reported to have picked up a small chunk on behalf of one of its clients. Over the last couple of months the scrip has been moving in the Rs 750 to Rs 820 band. With nobody overly bullish or bearish on this stocks, the scrip has been struggling to break free of this range.
Stock of the day
Among the golden oldies which were the cynosure of all eyes at the bourses today, Tata Tea definitely stood out. One would have hardly expected any kind of interest in the stock especially after its disappointing Q2 numbers. Close to two lakh shares were reported to have been picked up today with all fingers pointing to Uncle Sam. It remains to be seen if fresh buyers will be attracted to the counter especially when there is no dearth of other attractive options. Till then, Uncle Sam might as well average out his holding costs.
Flip flop
Close to two million shares of Satyam Computer were reported to have been picked with, Singapoori Sarkar tipped to be among the prominent buyers.
Perhaps the latest buyer is banking on the possibility that most funds are already through with their sales at the counter or, would be unwilling to press sales at these levels.
Odd man out
The SSI scrip managed to find itself on the wrong side of the fence despite an overall buoyancy in the market today. A little over four lakh shares are reported to have been dumped in the last couple of trading sessions, with local institutional players accounting for a significant chunk. On the face of it, Q2 numbers are quite impressive. But somehow, a section of the fund managers are reported to be unhappy with the way the segregation of the other income component. Given the high level of uncertainty prevailing currently, few fund managers seem willing to take any chances.
Singapoori deal
The Singapoori Sarkar is reported to have picked up close to 80,000 shares of Nestle on Tuesday. Post quarterly results, this is one of the few FMCG scrips that managed to attract attention.
Among other deals on Tuesday, Uncle Jam broking house is reported to have picked up close to two lakh shares of BPCL and HPCL. The purchases were reported to have been done on behalf of brother Uncle Sam.
Meanwhile, pharma scrips which were in demand last week, floundered today in the absence of any concrete buying interest.
In the past too, pharma scrips have been often done in by the absence of follow up buying rather than genuine selling.
Santosh Nair(email: santoshnair@myiris.com)
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