BOMBAY, 5 May — On Monday the BSE closed at 3,301.21. Reliance Industries and Reliance Petroleum led the fall. State Bank of India also saw selling as the credit policy for 2002-03 left the interest rate on savings bank deposits unchanged at 4 percent. Ranbaxy lost ground despite having posted a 70.38 percent rise in net profit for Q4. NIIT was also down when for Q4 it posted a meager net profit of Rs.20.1 million. PSU major, IPCL was up at Rs.105.65 on reports that the three short-listed players — Indian Oil, Nirma and Reliance Industries had submitted their financial bids for the government’s 25 percent stake.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 3,338.16. IT stocks such as HCL Tech, Satyam Computer and Infosys rose on bargain hunting. PSU pivotals HPCL, MTNL and Bhel also rose on sustained buying, encouraged by the progress in the divestment process of IPCL. Zee Telefilms was down at Rs.166.590 when for Q4 it posted a 55.31 percent drop in net profit to Rs.211.3 million. Chennai-based tire major, MRF was up at Rs.857.50 when for Q4 it reported a whopping 211.68 percent rise in net profit to Rs.133.4 million.
The markets were closed on Wednesday.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 3,372.56. It was day when major companies rushed in with Q4 results. Prominent among them was Grasim posting a 40.60 percent fall in net profit. This loss was attributed to the loss incurred on account of the sale of its stake in Birla Technologies to PSI Data Systems and another loss due to sale of its textiles manufacturing units at Gwalior as a going concern. Nestle for the quarter ended March 31, posted a 55.05 percent rise in the net profit to Rs.614 million. Pharma major Cipla gained further ground when for Q4, its net profit was up by 79.59 percent. One time, a very popular stock, Silverline Tech was down after its not for Q4 was down by 42.91 percent. TVS Electronics also saw selling when for Q4, its net profit slipped down by 56.5 percent.
On Friday, the BSE ended at 3,380.61. 763 stocks advanced while 491 declined. Reliance Industries was among the day’s major gainers following the hike in product prices for the fourth time since March this year. The company hiked prices of partially-oriented yarn (POY) by 12.9 percent, that of polyester staple fiber (PSF) by 9.4 percent, and that of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by 6.2 percent. Colgate Palmolive was unmoved despite the announcement of a second interim dividend of 17.5 percent for FY 2001-02. Hindalco was down for most of the day at Rs.735. After market hours, it announced a 26.40 percent rise for Q4 in the net profit to Rs.1,922 million. PSI Data Systems was down at Rs.175.75 when for FY 2002 it posted a loss of Rs.129.7 million. Century Textiles was also pared down to Rs.37.55 when for Q4, its net profit was lower at Rs.117.2 million.
Gold was at Rs.5,135/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,880/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.48.95, pound sterling at Rs.71.53, euro at Rs.44.20, UAE dirham at Rs.13.32, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.160.09, Bahraini dinar at Rs.129.81, Saudi riyal at Rs.13.05, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.44 and Omani riyal at Rs.127.12.