• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Anand Ram

HIGH emotions gripped the market early on Tuesday as the founder of one of the country's most successful conglomerates, Reliance group, suffered a stroke and was hospitalised before markets reopened for trading. As group companies Reliance Industries and Reliance Petroleum together contribute close to 15 per cent of the Sensex's composition, the index was understandably downcast through the day's trading session.

Click here for table

However, the Sensex opened at 3226.21 points and immediately rose to its day's high at 3244.33 points, just minutes into the session. It then steadily lost steam to drop to its intra-day low at 3193.68 points. A feeble recovery did manifest though the index lost 17.28 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 3214.34 points on Tuesday.

Technicals were mixed. The breadth indicator, the advances to declines ratio, showed 746 to 845. Advancing volumes were at 5.18 crore shares while declining volumes notched 5.71 crore shares. The depth indicator, as before, had a different story to tell. As many as 287 stocks touched their calendar highs as against 13 stocks that fell to yearly lows. In all, 11.48 crore shares changed hands in the trading session.

Reliance Industries and Reliance Petroleum were two key index constituents that recorded a sharp drop in their valuations. Reliance Industries tumbled by 3.44 per cent dragging the index by 0.4 per cent to close at Rs 273.65. Reliance Petroleum sank by 3.98 per cent to close at Rs 24.15. Its influence on the index though was marginal, as the pull amounted to about 0.2 per cent.

The contagion spread to group companies — Reliance Capital and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure. While the former lost 5.41 per cent to close at Rs 55.85, the latter shed 1.9 per cent to end at Rs 33.50. Other companies in which the Reliance Group has significant stakes were largely unperturbed. BSES closed down by Rs 1.75 (at Rs 219.55) while recently acquired IPCL actually added Rs 0.45 to its valuation to finish at Rs 152.55.

The other major externality - albeit in the form of a stimulant - to influence market movements was the Government's announcement to open up the tea industry and the print media to foreign participation. Shares of listed publication companies looked upbeat. Macmillan India closed higher at Rs 249.75 gaining 8.37 per cent. Navneet Publications, a publisher of educational books closed at Rs 194.90 (up 11.72 per cent) and Sandesh, a Gujarati daily rose 10 per cent to close at Rs 122.10. There were reports of the Gujarat Government pushing the agenda to privatise State-run fertiliser and mineral companies. Potential listed candidates include Gujarat Narmada Fertilisers, Gujarat State Fertilisers and Gujarat Minerals Development Corporation. The three closed at Rs 34.65 (down 3.34 percent), Rs 35.15 (down by 6.26 per cent) and Rs 122.15 (up by 0.78 per cent) respectively.

The Government raised foreign participation in the tea industry to 100 per cent. Tata Tea closed higher by 4.02 per cent at Rs 211.85. George Williamson, another tea producer, closed at Rs 83.60 (up 16 per cent).

Auto and steel companies continued with their advancing fortunes on the back of strong auto sales and higher steel prices. Hero Honda and Tata Engineering gained 1.32 per cent (closed at Rs 316.35) and 1.14 per cent (closed at Rs 149.90) respectively. Tata Steel and SAIL closed at Rs 135.20 (up 1.96 per cent) and Rs 11.35 (up 1.33 per cent).

Hindustan Lever reversed Monday's trend and rose by 0.71 per cent to close at Rs 190.35. Other gainers for the day featured stocks such as Jindal Iron, Shipping Corporation and Satyam Computer.

Losers, on the other hand, profiled counters such as Titan Industries, Arvind Mills and Alstom Power.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Birla Sun Life AMC's gesture to `Elite Circle'

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line