BOMBAY, 18 May 2003 — On Monday, the BSE closed at 2,942.78.

Infosys was one of the biggest losers of the day. Other IT stocks also ended lower. Stocks such as IP Rings, Motherson Sumi and Gabriel were up on news that the sector may witness a huge growth of 40-45 percent.

Reports suggest that manufacturers have plans to procure automobile components worth $15 billion from India by 2010. Balrampur Chini saw some investment buying after it declared a dividend of Rs. 5.50 per share for FY 2002-03.

On Tuesday the BSE closed at 2,960.62.

Moods were buoyed on reports that India’s industrial output had increased by 5.8 percent in FY 2002-03. Tata Chemicals was one of the shining stars of the day after it declared a interim dividend of 55 percent for FY 2002-03. Hero Honda also gained.

Canara Bank announced impressive quarterly results, posting a net profit of Rs. 3,078.4 million on total income of Rs. 21,333.1 million.

On Wednesday, the BSE closed at 2,993.94. MTNL lost ground. It has also doubled the number of free calls per month to 60 and for this, the bill will be Rs. 1,400 million.

Apollo Tires was up after it announced to the BSE that a controlling block of 3.69 million shares, has been bought back by it for Rs. 90 per share for cancellation. Bhartiya International was frozen at 10 percent upper limit.

On Thursday, the BSE closed at 3,012.97. The moods improved further after it was announced that there has been a downward revision of Re.1 in the prices of petrol and diesel. This follows a decline in international oil prices from $32 to $24 per barrel. Bajaj Auto was down sharply. For the quarter ended March 31, 2003, the company posted a net profit of Rs. 1,507.8 million on total income of Rs. 11,335.9 million. Buying was seen on the counters of ONGC and MRPL. Nalco was up on hopes that it may be the subject of a 10 percent divestment as early as September 2003.

On Friday, the BSE closed at 3,056.58. Of the 1,733 issues traded on the exchange, advances outnumbered declines with 1,067 gainers and 554 losers. 112 issues ended unchanged.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (Rs. 16.60) remained frozen at 20 percent upper limit.

Gold was at Rs. 5,470/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs. 8,160/- per kg.

US dollar against Indian rupee was at Rs. 47.36, pound sterling at Rs. 76.41, euro at Rs. 54.28, UAE dirham at Rs. 12.80, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs. 157.57, Bahraini dinar at Rs. 124.69, Saudi riyal at Rs. 12.54, Qatari riyal at Rs.12.92 and Omani riyal at Rs.122.11.