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Jayanta Mallick

KOLKATA, July 19

THE stocks of bearing companies are pillion-riding a general buoyancy in the auto sector. Among the prominent bearings counters — Bimetal, SKF and FAG Bearing closed higher today, while Timken and NRB Bearings saw some correction. However, except for the SKF counter, the volumes in the other stocks were low.

According to market analysts, the bearing stocks have been seeing an upward move in the last 8 weeks or so on confirmation of improved performance by the auto-ancillary sector. The market calls varied depending on the individual stock's fundamentals.

The Bimetal scrip, currently costliest among the lot, sharply rose from a level of Rs 102, recorded at the closing on July 7 on the National Stock Exchange, to Rs 136 at the closing of July 11. On Friday too, it closed at Rs 136 after touching the high of Rs 140. However, the combined traded volumes in the counter on the NSE and the BSE have not crossed 3,000 shares.

In contrast, the SKF scrip has been witnessing increased volumes since the middle of June. The stock had started moving from the level of Rs 32.55 on the NSE since June 3. On that day, the volumes on the exchange were around 35,000. Its price and traded quantity rose to 43.45 and 9.1 lakh shares respectively at the close of June 17.

The counter saw its recent best closing at Rs 46 at a volume of 2.84 lakh shares. On Friday, volumes in the counter soared to 9.67 lakh shares on the NSE and 5 lakh shares on the BSE at the closing price levels of Rs 45.

FAG, which closed with a marginal gain at Rs 59 today, clocked a traded quantity of 10,470 shares on the NSE. Since its recent closing trough of Rs 48 recorded on May 24, it has gained about 35 per cent.

NRB Bearings closed with a loss of around Rs 5.15 on profit taking at Rs 69.95 after touching the day's high of Rs 78. Since May 23, the stock has gained over 40 per cent. But the highest volumes on the NSE during this period were 25,237 shares (achieved on July 7).

The Timken India stock is also seeing a minor correction. Today, it closed with a loss of 0.15 per cent at Rs 33.65 with volumes of 8,372 shares on the NSE. However, it is not far off from its recent peak of Rs 36.60 and the 52-week high of Rs 39.80.

According to Mr Mathew Easow of matheweasow.com, the outlook for the segment stocks is positive on strong sales growth potential including exports. "Most of the stocks in the segment are ruling firm not only on account of domestic sales growth but also increasing exports," he said. Many of the companies in this segment are either a subsidiary of a MNC or have major foreign shareholding.

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