It is that time of the year when local market-makers, more than devout Christians, keenly await the onset of Christmas holidays. Well, it has nothing to do with religion. Christmas holidays mean foreign fund managers taking a break from the stock markets. And that leaves the field wide open for the local players who then can call the shots at will. So far they have been able to do a good job of holding the market steady.Sam bangs Infy
While the entire market may feel that Infosys is an all-season stock, Uncle Sam definitely has a different view. The fund is not showing any signs of letting up as far as this counter goes. It is reported to have dumped little over a lakh of shares on Tuesday. However, the scrip managed to withstand the onslaught, ending the day on a flat note. Outstanding positions at the counter have gone up, indicating that bulls (maybe strong or weak, but surely optimistic) have got into the counter.
Meanwhile, further selling continued at the Satyam Computers counter although it was not reflected in the prices. Cassanova Securities is reported to have dumped close to 50,000 shares while local broking firm Paid Leave (PL) too is reported to have dumped a slightly higher quantity. PL is reported to have dumped close to half a million shares in the last two trading sessions. Most of the sales are reported to be on behalf of Sam.
Mr Smith in action
Mr Solo Smith's bullish call on the Bhel scrip seems to be finding lot of interested parties. That could be one reason why the brokerage is steadily buying into the counter. On Monday, the firm was reported to have picked up close to half a million shares while on Tuesday also, it was reported to be a buyer at lower levels.
Among other prominent deals of the day, the Savvy Fund Manager is reported to have picked up close to a lakh shares of Wipro. The Dutch brokerage was reported to have been a buyer at the Global Tele counter though the exact quantity could not be confirmed. Sam is reported to be moving out of erstwhile favourite Telco while the Numero Uno brokerage crossed a deal for 1.2 million shares of GE Shipping.
The silver lining
After a very long time, the One Man Army was once again seen in an aggressive trading mood. The frenzy whipped up at the Silverline Technologies counter on Tuesday clearly showed that the master market-maker is still in fine fettle. At a time when players are shying away from even topline tech stocks, One Man has decided to place his bets on the underdogs in the sector. He is reported to have marked close to a million shares for delivery. Of course, knowing him, he may even have dumped twice the quantity on some different exchange. One of the biggest risks that One Man has decided to take on is the huge premium that the local share is commanding to the ADR. With a difference of over 10 per cent, it is difficult to believe why fund managers would not want to sell the stock locally and pick it up lower on the NYSE. But with the Man having made up his mind, these fundamental issues seem to be of little consequence.
Santosh Nair
(email:santoshnair@myiris.com)
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