BOMBAY, 6 October — On Monday the BSE closed at 2,991.36. The biggest selling was in public sector undertakings (PSUs) shares as reports came in that the disinvestment ministry would soon return the deposit money to prospective advisers for the stake sale in HPCL and BPCL. Another major loser was Hero Honda Motor and Bajaj Auto. Selling has been seen in two wheeler stocks as there is now growing concern that the sector will witness a slowdown in the coming months. Gujarat Ambuja Cements declined. ICICI Bank saw buying following the sale of its 16.5 percent stake to a group of FIIs for Rs.13.18 billion.
On Tuesday the BSE closed at 2,959.86.
The market turned a blind eye to the news that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by 6 percent in the first quarter of FY 2002-03, up from 3.5 percent a year earlier, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. PSU stocks attracted buyers after Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said he was not against divestment in state-run oil firms. Auto scrips were hammered down further after the oil companies hiked petrol and diesel prices by 23-28 paise per liter from Oct. 1. Hindustan Lever lost ground on reports that its retail sales growth in August 2002 fell 8.52 percent compared to a year ago. Wipro was up on news that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire software development resources.
The markets were closed on Wednesday.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 2,938.06. Automobile scrips continued to decline. Selling pressure in pivotals also led to the market slide. Pharma pivotals remained subdued on foreign fund selling. Technology pivotals were firm through the day, trading with gains on hopes of improved July-September quarterly performances.
Selling in HLL and Reliance Industries (RIL)led to the slide. Hindustan Lever fell to a one-month low of Rs.163.90. Reliance Industries, the nation’s biggest petrochemicals maker, fell about three percent to Rs.243 rupees. Infosys Technologies was up. PSUs were buoyed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement that the government had not abandoned its privatization program.
Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum spurted up sharply. NALCO and HMT were also gainers of the day.
On Friday the BSE closed at 2,930.51. Of 1,670 scrips traded on the BSE, 736 advanced while 773 declined. 161 scrips remained unchanged.
RIL, which remained weak right from the beginning of the session, witnessed further selling pressure, it shed 2.7 percent to close at Rs.235.60.
HLL saw buying by local funds like Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and it advanced by 1.8 percent to Rs.169.90. Infosys Technologies also witnessed volatility, players are expecting the software major to beat revenue projections when it announces Q2 results on Oct. 10.
Gold was at Rs.5,305/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.7,880/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.48.36, pound sterling at Rs.75.73, euro at Rs.47.59, UAE dirham at Rs. 13.13, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.159.76, Bahraini dinar at Rs.128.06, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.87, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.26 and Omani riyal at Rs. 125.39.
