BOMBAY, 20 July 2003 — The Indian stock markets saw a week of volatile trading. Over the past few days the markets have been going only one way and that is up. And the much needed correction came in this week. Though the markets began the week on a strong note, it had its share of wild ups and downs and ended the week on a somber note.
On Monday, the markets moved from strength to strength and buying in heavyweights like Reliance, Dr Reddy’s, SBI, and Zee Tele led to the BSE notching up a gain of 44.49 points at 3,720.75.
Zee was one of the biggest gainers of the day on rumors that the company’s 100 percent subsidiary Siticable was likely to come out with an IPO.
Hughes Software also rallied on the back of reports that News Corporation is making an open offer to acquire up to 20 percent of the company’s paid-up equity at Rs.232 per share payable in cash. Cement shares climbed up on the news that cement demand could rise by nearly 10-12 percent this year.
On Tuesday, all that which had looked rosy on the previous day, suddenly lost all its hue. The markets had a stormy day, with selling seen across the board. The BSE closed down 34.41 points at 3686.34.
Towards the end, buying at lower levels was seen in stocks like Colgate Palmolive, State Bank of India and Hero Honda Motor but this was not enough for the markets to bounce back. Pharma stocks were also low on the news of slashing of prices by NPPA of 75 medicine packs by up to 61.90 percent, and for the first time, fixed prices of 12 other packs.
Meanwhile Ranbaxy was up after it received a tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration, for manufacturing and marketing Flucanazole.
On Wednesday, the markets bounced back on renewed buying support for stocks at lower levels. The BSE settled with a gain of 35.31 points at 3,721.65, wiping away the losses of the previous day.
The Tata group stocks, Tisco and Telco surged to touch a new 52-week high on sustained buying support following the hopes of improved first quarter (Q1) results.
Hero Honda Motor ended lower. The company had declared 900 percent dividend (Rs.18 per share of face value Rs.2) for FY 2002-03.
On Thursday, the markets witnessed a massive selloff in the closing hour trades. The BSE plunged 52.74 points to 3,668.91. Heavy sell-off by operators and domestic funds led to the crash.
On Friday, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share index closed at 3,647.58, down 28.68 points from the previous week’s close. For the coming weeks, according to the analysts, the much-needed correction might last for about two-three weeks. And the coming days could see quite a bit of volatile trading sessions.
Gold was at Rs.5,280/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,750/- per kg.
US dollar against Indian rupee was at Rs.46.28, pound sterling at Rs.73.42, euro at Rs.51.70, UAE dirham at Rs.12.57, Kuwait dinar at Rs.153.68, Bahrain dinar at Rs.122.46, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.31, Qatar riyal at Rs.12.68 and Oman riyal at Rs.119.93.