BOMBAY, 22 April — On Monday the BSE closed at 3,251.62 and the NSE at 1,044.60. Buying in New as well as Old Economy stocks resulted regaining some recent losses. Fresh institutional buying, especially in the hard-hit tech stocks, gave the market strength. Both local as well as foreign institutions were buyers. Grasim was down after the BSE imposed a 25 percent special margin on the stock. Pentamedia Graphics was frozen at the 16 percent upper limit of the circuit breaker after the company posted Q4 results, its net profit was at Rs.1,535.5 million (Rs.1,703.4 million) on sales of Rs.5,523.8 million (Rs. 3,929.9 million). HDFC gained ground after the company decided to consider hiking FII investment limit to 49 percent from existing 40 percent . Otis Elevators hit the 8 percent lower limit of the circuit breaker following quarterly results. For Q1 ended March 31, 2001, the company reported net profit of Rs. 23 million (Rs.63 million) on sales of Rs.440 million (Rs.790 million).
On Tuesday the BSE Sensex closed at 3,311.31 and the NSE Nifty Index at 1,066. Apart from tech stocks, cement and pharmaceutical stocks were in the limelight. BHEL was the biggest gainer. Cement stocks were up as there were talks of cement manufacturers stopping production for 15 days to hold cement prices at higher levels. Reliance Industries also attracted buying after the company announced a hike in the prices of partially-oriented yarn (POY) for the second time in less than a month, and after the government imposed anti-dumping duties on foreign suppliers. Media major Pentamedia Graphics was frozen at the 16 percent upper limit of the circuit breaker after it announced that its deal with Film Roman was not off. Mukta Arts was subdued after the company announced discouraging Q4 results.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 3,439 and the NSE Nifty Index at 1,103.40. Zee saw buying following reports that Essel group might not pass the controversial Rs.2,200 million deal with Ketan Parekh. Corporation Bank saw buying after reports that the Life Insurance Corporation had picked up over 12 percent stake in the bank.
On Thursday buying was encouraged by buoyant US markets which surged after a cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. The BSE closed at 3,574.08 and the NSE Nifty Index at 1,144.45. Tech stocks continued to lead the rally. Buying was also seen in Old Economy stocks. Select stocks like pharmaceuticals and FMCG also attracted interest. The gains made by the Sensex in opening trades were, however, partially offset due to a profit warning from tech major NIIT. The company expects the software services business to grow at only 20 percent this year. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories was up with news of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Banking stocks displayed mixed trends as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left the bank rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged in the credit policy.
On Friday, the BSE closed at 3,583.04. NIIT ended the day at Rs.415, losing 14.16 percent from its previous close. And there was across the board selling on all the Old Economy stocks. On the other hand, Cipla saw a lot of buying on hopes of large exports to South Africa after international pharma majors on Thursday withdrew a court case seeking to stop South Africa from importing cheaper generic AIDS drugs. Wipro for the quarter ending March 2001 posted a 150.6 percent rise in net profit to Rs.2,175 million on revenues of Rs 9,388 million.
Gold was at Rs. 4,265 per 10 gms and silver was at Rs. 7400 per kg.
US dollar was at Rs.46.84, pound sterling at Rs.67.68, euro at Rs.42.00, DM at Rs.21.47, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.49, Bahraini dinar at Rs.124.25, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.152.38, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.87, UAE dirham at Rs.12.75 and Omani riyal at Rs.121.67.