The Hindu Business Line : `Penny stocks' making good show in CSE

WINDS of change are not exactly sweeping Lyons Range, but penny stocks, about the commonest things on the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) till recently, have suddenly become rare commodities. The penny stocks of yore that CSE regulars were used to have mostly become pricey.

Data released by the exchange indicate that only a few stocks are trading at levels lower than Rs 10. A look at the latest trading highlights (as on April 8) underlines the presence of merely a handful of these; the latter include the likes of Balasore Alloys, Esskay Telecom and Shardaraj Tradefin.

Prices of stocks that are fairly regularly traded on the CSE have moved up, remarked a former CSE member who is now active on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). "We first noticed this when even relatively little-known stocks like Peacock Traders and J A Finance started gaining prominence," he told Business Line, adding that quite a few names have gained ground on the price front in recent times. The two scrips mentioned by him, incidentally, are priced at around Rs 170 and Rs 122, respectively.

There is no reason to believe that the price-rise will add CSE's stature, commented another CSE regular who has shifted his loyalty to the NSE. He, however, said the trend might bring positive news to investors if it continues in future.

Examples of counters that definitely cannot be branded `penny stocks' are G K Consultants (Rs 218.70), Mavens Biotech (Rs 252) and Scintiller Commercial (Rs 298.50). These, and a number of others, are normally traded in small quantities.

Trading volumes on Lyons Range, needless to say, are still extremely limited. Sample the latest trading highlights: Only 77 scrips were traded on April 8, through C-STAR, accounting for 693 trades in all. For the record, the turnover stood at Rs 15.04 crore. The top gainers of the day included stocks such as Bakra Pratisthan (Rs 381), Gloster Jute (Rs 65.30) and Mangalam Industrial (Rs 90.40).

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