Media stocks plunge on Bharat Shah arrest

K.S. Badrinarayanan

Software stocks: Nothing seems to be lifting the market sentiment for the sector -- be it a strong recovery at the Nasdaq or good financial performance for the Q3 (Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers and Polaris Software announced an improved financial performance for the quarter ended December 31, 2000) -- software stocks remained weak.

Infosys closed at Rs 5,795.15 (Rs 6,381.50), Satyam Computers at Rs 384 (Rs 388.35), Wipro at Rs 2,565.40 (Rs 2,800.20), Polaris at Rs 438.55 (Rs 449.95), SSI at Rs 1,116.70 (Rs 1,463.45) and NIIT at Rs 1,640.05 (Rs 1,668.20).

Refinery stocks: The report that the Government was planning to advance the deadline for scrapping the administered price mechanism (APM) triggered a rally in the sector. Market leaders, BPCL at Rs 135.10 (Rs 126.85) and HPCL at Rs 170.20 (Rs 149.30) ended the week on a firm note. Kochi Refineries and Chennai Petroleum also ended in the positive zone.

Media stocks: The arrest of Bharat Shah, a Diamond merchant/film financier, came as a bolt from the blue for the media stocks as it dropped steeply over the week. Tips Industries was the major casualty, It declined by about 33 per cent to close at Rs 180.85 (256.95). Balaji Telefilms finished at Rs 294.55 (Rs 343.70), Sri Adhikari Brothers at Rs 187.50 (Rs 211.65), Mukta Arts at Rs 215.30 (Rs 269.15), TV 18 at Rs 207.85 (Rs 249.40) and Creative Eye at Rs 45.75 (Rs 57.75), all dropped over 15 per cent.

Suven Pharmaceuticals: The approval of board of directors to issue 4 lakh shares to Norway-based Borregaard Industries at Rs 250 per share failed to lift market sentiment for the stock. Suven ended on weak not at Rs 175.15 (Rs 189.85), after hitting a high of Rs 196.55 during the week.

Tata Engineering (Telco): The stock finished on weak note at Rs 91.40 (Rs 103.10). The market appears to have taken the cue from the sharp decline in commercial vehicle sales of Ashok Leyland. The depressed trend in the automobile sector appears to have affected the company's market sentiment. Later in the week, Telco reported a 40 per cent drop in total vehicle offtake for December.

Cadila Healthcare: The permission by the Government to manufacture Penegra tablets for the treatment of `erectile dysfunction' failed to perk the stock up. It finished on weak note at Rs 151.25 (Rs 167.65). It also announced that the company and Danish Pantheco A/S have signed a three-year collaborative R&D agreement for anti-bacterials.

Hughes Software Systems: It was one of the few software stocks that managed to find some buying interest. The jump in Q3 performance seemed to have helped the stock end higher at Rs 842.70 (Rs 781.50). The company has announced the setting up of a dedicated development facility at Gurgaon for developing software.

Kotak Mahindra Finance: The stock ended on flat note at Rs 80 (Rs 80.60).

However, the reported news of that merging the unlisted company -- Pannier Trading Company Ltd (which owns 75 per cent stake in Kotak Securities) -- with it may help the stock score gains in the coming days.

Cyberspace Infosys: One of the few stocks from software sector that ended on a positive note at Rs 161.45 (Rs 152.30). The announcement of acquisition of UII Inc. a New-Jersey based software services company could have been behind the rally.