BOMBAY, 2 February 2003 — On Monday the BSE closed at 3,247.71. In specific shares, Castrol India was down when for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002 (Q3), it posted a 33.3 percent fall in net profit to Rs.400.1 million. Old Economy stocks like Telco, Tisco, L & T, Reliance Industries, ITC, SBI, HPCL, were all down. MTNL was up following hopes that the new tariffs prescribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) may boost its earnings. NIIT saw selling when for Q3, it posted a loss of Rs.86 million. On Tuesday the BSE closed at 3,267.84. Zee Telefilms and Dr Reddy’s were up. Hindustan Lever dipped. PSU steel giant, SAIL was up when for Q3 it posted a lower loss of Rs.787.5 million. Tata Power surged after it announced a Rs.1,500 million order from Power Grid Corporation.
On Wednesday the BSE closed at 3,238.02. Zee Telefilms was down. The company admitted that the oncoming Cricket World Cup could affect its revenues as visibility was bound to be lower. State Bank of India, India’s largest commercial bank was down though for Q3 it posted an impressive net profit of Rs.7,870.5 million. Hindustan Lever also declined when for Q3, it posted a 6.90 percent rise in net profit on 2.3 percent fall in sales. Hero Honda Motors was up on rumors of a huge interim dividend from the company.
On Thursday the BSE closed at 3,219.88. Selling on counters of Bhel, Dr Reddy’s Labs, HLL, ITC and Reliance Industries pulled the Sensex down. PSU major, Bhel was down as its net profit of Rs.813.3 million for Q3 was considered to be way below the market expectations.
On Friday the BSE closed at 3,250.38. Stocks like Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Lever and IT stocks contributed to the gains. FIIs were believed to be active in blue-chip stocks. News from Unit Trust of India (UTI) also helped boost the sentiments. There are reports that UTI’s flagship US-64 scheme, will soon be traded as a five-year, tax free, tradable bond instrument, with a coupon rate in the 6-6.5 percent range. Reliance Industries firmed up when for Q3, the company registered a 24 percent rise in net profit to Rs.10.83 billion that vastly beat market expectations.
Gold was at Rs. 5,915/- per 10 gms and silver was at Rs.8,215/- per Kg.
US dollar was at Rs.47.89, pound sterling at Rs.78.63, euro at Rs.51.41, UAE dirham at Rs.12.99, Kuwaiti dinar at Rs.159.89, Bahraini dinar at Rs.126.63, Saudi riyal at Rs.12.73, Qatari riyal at Rs.13.11 and Omani riyal at Rs.124.00.
