Fast track
Boost to select cyclicals
AFTER FMCG and pharma stocks, it was the turn of select cyclicals which posted a modest recovery over the past week of trading. However, the bargain hunting has been restricted to very few stocks, with the recovery tending to lose steam towards the end o
f the period. In a few cases, positive announcements from the companies in question have helped to sustain market interest in the concerned stock for a longer period.
Impact
Maars Software: Small acquisitions
The decision of Maars Software to acquire two foreign companies may not have any immediate beneficial influence on the stock price. For one, the company has now entered into only a memorandum of association with Technical Direct of UK and Company Benelux
towards acquiring those organisations through its UK subsidiary. And very little is known by way of specifics about these companies and how they would improve the growth prospects for Maars Software. The acquisition tag has been placed at $6 millions an
d are to be completed over the next few weeks. Till the deals are through and specifics emerge, they may not lead to any significant improvement in the valuation of the Maars Software stock.
Hinduja Finance: Adding more muscle
The approval of the merger of a closely-held company with Hinduja Finance may rev up market interest in the stock. The board has approved the merger of Richman Investrade Pvt. Ltd. The basic thrust behind the merger appears to be acquiring a majority sta
ke in Indusind Media & Communications Ltd., a Hinduja Group company. The latter has cable, media and Internet infrastructure with a subscriber base of about 4 million of cable business, according to a company notification to the stock exchanges. This mov
e suggests that Hinduja Finance may be used as a vehicle for further consolidation in this business area. In the wake of this move, the Hinduja Finance stock may rule firm.
SSI: Encouraging overseas response
The pricing terms and an oversubscription of the GDR offer of SSI is likely to enthuse market sentiment in the stock. The $87 million GDR offer (along with the greenshoe option of $13 millions) has been priced at $14.4 per GDR, a 7.8 per cent premium to
the price prevailing at BSE on March 23. The company is planning to use the proceeds of this offer to set up a software development centre in Chennai. Although the stock witnessed a sharp downtrend by Rs. 323 on the BSE on March 24 to Rs. 5500, the possi
bility of a revival in price cannot be ruled out in the near term.
Stocks
A day of mixed fortunes for pharma scrips
THE BSE Sensex ended Friday's trading at 5,141.42 points, marginally higher by 26.40 points (0.52 per cent) at the end of a truncated trading session. The trading session concluded around noon in view of the visit of the US President.
LYONS RANGE
THE Calcutta Stock Exchange on Friday witnessed heavy buying in the Himachal Futuristic counter and bulk selling of the DSQ Software scrip.
Technical Analysis
Downtrend re-triggered
THE index opened with a marginal bull gap of about two points on Friday. In the initial hours of trading, it lost about 14 points to mark the low for the day. This loss enabled the index to trigger a downtrend, terminating the uptrend triggered on Thursd
ay.
