The Hindu Business Line : Stable on shaky ground

STOCKS of Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy Labs remained fairly anchored in a market where everyone was losing their heads. Opinions remained divided with many of the view that the trend in this segment could not be dictated by politics, while some said the interest was more of defensive play.

On their part, dealers maintained that there were no large positions built up at these counters, while a section was of the view that there was some selling in select pharma counters but equivalent buying was also happening.

Analysts were of the view that the stable trend in an otherwise emotional market could be an indicator of some corporate development in Ranbaxy. However, a select few opined that 90 per cent of the market was only looking to exit and that no one was looking at reinvestment at this juncture.

Ranbaxy ended the day at Rs 1034.75 with around 1.63 lakh shares traded on the BSE. Sun Pharma closed at Rs 727.75 with around 16,991 shares traded on the BSE.

Worries over fate of reforms

AFTER PSU stocks, banking sector stocks were the worst affected. Dealer said the prospect that banking sector reforms could slacken hit sentiment on Friday, with the Bankex witnessing a 10.59 per cent fall. The worst hit would appear to have been SBI, which ended the day 14.77 per cent lower at Rs 514.85 on the BSE.

Some of the measures that are likely to be affected included increase in voting rights and reduction in Government stake in PSU banks to 33 per cent, with the latter awaiting Parliament approval for two years.

Several FIIs that had taken huge exposure in several PSU banks are understood to have sold shares on Friday. There was heavy selling in SBI also on concerns that the shares under the GDR category may not be excluded from the FII ceiling.

More Stories on : Stock Markets | Ear to the ground

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
GIC Mutual Fund revamps operations

UTI's new product to offer wealth management

Bear onslaught

Market goes into a tailspin — Reform blues impact; over Rs 1,00,000 crore wiped out

`FMCG stocks a safe defensive bet'

FIIs shed ONGC over fears on new policy

Stable on shaky ground

SBI, Bank of India: Near-term outlook appears positive

FIIs dump PSU, banking stocks

Markets on downhill on allround selling