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THE pharmaceutical stock Lupin Ltd was a big buzzer at the bourses on Friday. Dealers say the company is expected to make some announcements that would buoy the business fundamentals of the company.

Dealers speculate that this is likely to be in the area of new product development.

The stock gained Rs 14.45 on Friday. It touched an intra-day high of Rs 677, before closing at Rs 666.25. Over 1.6 lakh shares were traded on the BSE. On the NSE, over 2.9 lakh shares valued at Rs 19.59 crore exchanged hands.

Last month, the stock has gained over 21 per cent. Volumes traded have peaked in the last two trading sessions, according to information from the BSE.

Trip on monsoon woes

The impending monsoons have clouded the cement counters with many brokerages advising investors to book profits and exit these stocks for the medium term. With the recent emphasis on infrastructure development, cement stocks have been having a good run, especially those with a strong presence in the southern parts of the country.

Demonstrating the easing off of demand for these stocks, there was only a marginal buying interest in the sector on Friday.

Dealers say that the sector has been hotting up in the last few months, and the settling in of the monsoons is the necessary trigger. They expect continued weakness as these counters are anticipating multiple sellers and a fewer buyers.

Relying on settlement

With speculation that the Ambani brothers are getting close to a settlement, the stocks of smaller Reliance gropp companies - Reliance Capital and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) - are seeing action.

Both the counters reported high volumes for the day. Dealers say that operators are accumulating the stock on the premise that when settlement does get announced all the Reliance group companies will see an upturn in their stock prices and, hence, a profitable exit.

RIIL gained Rs 7.05 to close trade at Rs 142.10. Over 2.65 lakh shares were traded on the BSE. Reliance Capital touched an intra-day high of Rs 210.5 before closing trade at Rs 208.85. Over 20 lakh shares were traded at this counter at the BSEon Friday.

Veena Venugopal

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