BOMBAY, 12 January 2003 — On Monday the BSE closed at 3,334.89. The market had high expectations from foreign financial investors (FIIs) but in the first two sessions of 2003, FIIs sold some $5.9 million. MTNL was one of the biggest losers of the day. On the other hand, Ranbaxy surged. Dr Reddy’s Labs was also up after the company launched Ibuprofen in the US generics market under its brand name.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 3,330.50. MTNL fell to a new nine-year low of Rs.82.80 due to sustained selling pressure. Hindustan Lever was also down due to expectations of a poor performance for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2002.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 3,357.87. Tech stocks were back in the limelight amid hopes that the overall tech sector may come out with improved quarterly performance.
The mood was a bit dampened after the international rating agency Standard & Poor’s retained India’s sovereign rating at junk bond level, blaming mounting debts and fiscal inflexibility.
The markets rose on Thursday and the BSE closed at 3,384.20. IT stocks continued to remain in the reckoning as they are soon expected to come out with their December 2002 quarterly results.
On Friday, the markets tumbled and the BSE closed at 3,358.99. Infosys, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, posted a net profit of Rs.2,563.1 million (Rs.2,060.4 billion) on an income of Rs.9586.4 million (Rs.6,608.0 million).
Gold was at Rs. 5,680/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.8,160/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.47.90, pound sterling at Rs.77.04, euro at Rs.50.63, UAE dirham at Rs. 13.04, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.160.01, Bahraini dinar at Rs.127.03, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.77, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.15 and Omani riyal at Rs. 124.39.