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ENGINEERS India Ltd (EIL) continued to rise on Friday to end at Rs 899.4, up Rs 16.80 from Thursday's close of Rs 882.60. The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,020. It has increased by 26.32 per cent in about a week's time. On the NSE, the stock closed at Rs 900.65, compared to Thursday's Rs 884.65.

Dealers said the main reason for the active interest in the counter is the expectations of a big interim dividend. The fact that the company has a huge cash pile of over Rs 700 crore, dealers said, is also adding weight to the expectation. On the BSE, over 3.9 lakh shares were traded on Friday, compared to the two-week average of 23,182 shares. On the NSE, volumes on the counter were about 6.6 lakh shares.

In addition to the dividend factor, dealers said the counter was also active due to the increased business activity in the engineering sector. Considering that the oil and gas sector, which contributes for a good part of the EIL's business, was seeing major expansion, would also add to the revenues of companies in engineering sector, dealers said.

Betting on Budget

JAIN Irrigation Systems shot up 9.8 per cent (Rs 20.10) on Friday to close at Rs 225.1 on the BSE. The share closed at Rs 205 on Thursday.

Dealers said investors are expecting some announcements in the Union Budget that will augur well for the company. The Finance Minister's recent announcement that agriculture sector would be a main area of focus in the Budget would help companies such as Jain Irrigation, which is into plastics and drip irrigation products.

The share price went up by 9.46 per cent (Rs 19.45) on the NSE to close at Rs 225.05, up from Thursday's Rs 205.

Dealers said Jain had risen on expectations during the last budget as well, hinting that this would also be an operator-driven rally in the counter. Jain Irrigation early this week announced that the company's PE Pipe Division had bagged Rs 1.69 crore worth orders for rehabilitation ofwater distribution system including replacement of house service connections for Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement Project.

The counter witnessed volume of 3.79 lakh shares on the BSE, compared to the two-week average of 1.41 lakh shares. On the NSE, volumes were about 3.5 lakh shares on Friday.

Rajesh Abraham

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