BOMBAY, 13 January — On Monday the BSE ended the day at 3,401.80. Satyam Computer was a major gainer of the day on reports that AOL Time Warner was in talks with the company to buy equity stake in its NASDAQ-listed subsidiary, Satyam Infoway. Zee Telefilms also hit the 10 percent upper limit of the circuit breaker on hopes that the company’s promoters may pay up their entire dues to the company by the end of this week. Hero Honda Motors touched a new high at Rs.297.60.
On Tuesday, sustained buying led to the BSE closing at 3,437. Tech pivotals extended their recent gains, after an impressive performance by the American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of some Indian tech companies, despite a fall in the US markets. Buying was also seen in the cement and automobile sectors. Players were optimistic on hopes of fresh inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). FII investment in the Indian markets had jumped by around 80 percent to $2.7 billion in 2001.
Bajaj Auto crossed the Rs.400-mark in intra-day trades to touch a high of Rs.402 on expectations of impressive quarterly results before settling at Rs.3,99.20. Hero Honda beat market expectations by posting a 90 percent jump in net profits for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001.
Ranbaxy Laboratories was also in the limelight after it announced that its US subsidiary had received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for a generic copy of Merck’s Prinizide anti-hypertension drug. Escorts saw a lot of selling after the rating agency, ICRA, cut the company’s short-term rating, blaming the company’s lower operating profit and its exposure to the telecom sector. Profit booking pulled down the index.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 3,400.
Amid rumors of the arrest of disgraced stock broker Ketan Parekh (KP), after a volatile trading session.
Selling pressure was conspicuous in the favorite stocks of KP, popularly known as K-10 stocks. Reliance Industries was up on rumors that US-based Qualcomm Inc. may take a equity stake in Reliance Infocom, in which RIL holds a 45 percent stake.
Telco was up after it announced a 4.54 percent year-on-year rise in vehicles sales for December 2001.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 3,381.96. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001, Infosys recorded a 23.87 percent rise in net profit to Rs.2,060.4 million. Ranbaxy was up after the company said that its exports for the year 2001 had risen by 26 percent to Rs.10.30 billion ($213 million), from a year ago.
Pentamedia Graphics recovered on reports that the animation filmmaker has tied up with Vivendi Universal’s Indian unit for the production and marketing of the soundtrack of its latest animation film.
India Cements rose after it announced selling of its entire 39.5 percent equity stake in Sri Vishnu Cement.
On Friday, the Sensex closed at 3,363. HDFC’s announcement, reporting a 22 percent rise in Q3 net, failed to pep up sentiment. Weak closing of ADRs of key tech companies overnight kept software shares down. BSE declines were at 636 and advances were at 401.
Volumes were at 97 million shares. The coming week is also expected to be volatile. Gold was at Rs.4,600/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,585/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.47.82, pound sterling at Rs.69.75, Deutsche mark at Rs.22.18, euro at Rs.43.15, UAE dirham at Rs.13.18, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.157.52, Bahraini dinar at Rs.128.42, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.91, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.30 and Omani riyal at Rs.125.82.