Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Mar 18, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Mar 18, 2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
Markets
-
Stock Markets Columns - A Ringside View Marketmen hope for some action Ambarish Mukherjee
AFTER a politically surcharged week when market sentiment in general remained weak, the capital market seems to be getting ready for some action in the coming week. The BSE Sensex remained range-bound last week and the coming week also doesn't seem to be a very encouraging one. But, in general, there could be good news in select technology counters, despite the recent bad news from Nortel and the Infosys promoter disclosing market sale of a part of his equity in the company. According to Mr John Band of ASK Raymond James, the coming week is expected to be boring because the people will be awaiting year-end results. ``It could be a boring week. Tensions over Ayodhya were over. There could be nervousness in tech stocks following bad news from Nortel. But otherwise, it will be a quiet week in the run-up to the second week of April when corporate results will start coming in. There may be little buying by financial institutions for asset valuation on year ending. The action will be more on tech stocks and certain index heavyweights,'' he said. Many brokers also feel the same way. ``Ayodhya had been discounted on Friday itself. PSUs will witness some activitiy, particularly those identified for disinvestment. Advertisements inviting expression of interest for disinvestment of HPCL and BPCL came out recently. News that Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL) may be merged with BPCL has made the counter even more attractive. So there is some hope for next week,'' said a big broker dealing with high net worth individuals and institutions. On the other hand, a senior Delhi-based broker operating on the NSE and dealing mainly for small investors, ruled out the bullish tendency that is being talked about by many analysts. ``Many people are saying that the market will gain some 300 points next week; but we don't see any reason for that. Instead, we feel that it will either move down or stay at the same 3600-3700 level. Last week, volumes were less compared to the previous week and in the coming week, volumes could remain at the same level or witness a slight fall,'' he said. According to Mr Dhirendra Kumar, Chief Executive of Value Research, a firm which tracks mutual funds and the market, caution was the watchword the whole of last week while religious rhetoric ruled the market. Now, the market seems to be poised for positive action. ``On Friday itself, bond prices had jumped after a week-long struggle. Equities also gained strength. Basically earnings expectations and a peaceful end to the Ayodhya stand-off should strengthen the market. Positive economic data released during the week only add to the attractiveness which could catalyse foreign investment too with long-term impacts on the capital market,'' Mr Kumar said.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|