MUMBAI, July 1: Although the BSE Sensitive Index crossed the 4300 mark on Tuesday, the buoyancy seems to have failed to reach thousands of cash scrips. With foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and speculators concentrating on frontline shares in the A group, the Sensex boom continued while cash scrips remained unchanged.

With Tuesday's gain of 44 points, the Sensex has vaulted by almost 545 points in the last one month. ``The rise in the Sensex is not reflected in the overall trend of the market due to the excessive speculation in the A group,'' said a BSE director.

The trading pattern on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday reveals the intensity of the speculative business. Out of the total turnover of Rs 1290 crore, the A group (where 100 shares are listed) accounted for Rs 1256.77 crore. This is almost 97.37 per cent of the total business. The turnover in B1 and B2 groups has been below Rs 34 crore.

A BSE director admitted that four scrips (Reliance, ITC, SBI and Tisco) constituted nearly 66 per cent of the turnover in the A group. ``Earlier when a bullish phase swept the market, retail investors used to pick up low-priced cash shares. This has not happened so far this time,'' he said.

Market circles said trading is still concentrated on blue-chip shares in the A and B1 groups. If FIIs or domestic institutions start booking profits, the market may witness a major reaction. ``There has to be a technical correction. Simultaneously, shares in the B2 group should also improve,'' said an analyst with a foreign brokerage.

Even some companies which came out with poor working results last year are moving up on the markets. ACC and Bombay Dyeing, which reported poor results, were in the limelight on the bourses.

The BSE-30 Sensitive index breached the crucial barrier of 4,300 to touch a new 52-week high of 4,301.77 on strong buying support by FIIs and speculators in index-based stocksd. The index closed at 4,300.86 to register a net gain of 44.77 points over its previous day's close of 4,256.09.

FII's were seen accumulating stocks of blue chips like Tisco, Hindustan Lever, Hindustan Petroleum, IDBI, ABB Industries, M&M, Larsen and HDFC.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.