The Hindu Business Line : Bullish Sage in oil co?

A market source said the investor appears to have placed orders to buy shares in the country's largest oil refining and marketing company up to a substantially higher level than the current price. One name being talked of, as the likely shopper is Berkshire Hathway, the company of famous value-hunter, Mr Warren Buffet.

The interest of Mr Buffet, known as the Sage of Omaha, in the Indian energy sector has been a matter of speculation for a long time now. He is, however, yet to make public his interest, if any, in Indian stocks.

IOC shares closed at Rs 547.80, marginally higher than its previous close. While 5.36 lakh shares were traded on the BSE, more than 16 lakh shares changed hands on the NSE on Monday.

Bearish broker

A LARGE domestic broking house is said to have offloaded shares of GMDC and GSFC in the market today. According to a source, the broker had picked up the shares at a significantly lower level.

It is also said to have sold several other mid-cap stocks on behalf of its clients. While GMDC shares lost 4.11 per cent of their value to close at Rs 232 per share, GSFC fell 6.35 per cent to Rs 64.25. While volume at the GMDC counter on the BSE stood at 53,936, it was a little over a lakh on the NSE. Trading volume in GSFC shares was 5.65 lakh and 6.61 lakh on the BSE and NSE respectively.

Battered GAIL

THE stock of GAIL India Ltd was battered down today after margins on its futures contracts were jacked up to 48 per cent from the earlier 35 per cent. The additional 15 per cent margin was imposed after open interest in GAIL futures crossed 80 per cent.

Besides, the market grapevine also speculated that the Government is likely to sell part of its holdings at a price significantly lower than its current market price. GAIL shares crashed nearly 10 per cent to close at Rs 244.25 apiece. Volumes burgeoned to 61 over lakh on the BSE, and nearly two crore on the NSE.

Dinesh Narayanan

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