The Hindu Business Line : Downgrade blues

According to a market source, a top firm cast doubts on the prospects of the company after a meeting with the company's chairman. A large FII, which was said to be buying HLL shares in large quantities last week, has also turned bearish, the source said.

HLL shares were down 5.3 per cent on the BSE to close at Rs 146.80. While about 19.81 lakh shares were traded on the BSE, nearly 39 lakh shares changed hands on the NSE. About 32 lakh shares were marked for delivery.

Fleeing Infy

SEVERAL institutional investors are said to have sold Infosys shares when the stock rallied over the past few days. According to the grapevine, the investors saw an exit opportunity when the company's shares shot up on Tuesday on news that it is considering a bonus issue or a stock-split or both. An institutional dealer, who had sell orders from several clients, said many institutions had entered the stock at lower levels and are not expecting any more upside.

A foreign broking firm had recently put a target price of Rs 5,900 on the tech bellwether. The stock hit Rs 5,945 on the NSE on Tuesday on the bonus/stock-split news before closing lower. However, its highest on the BSE was Rs 5,580. It closed at Rs 5,312 on both the exchanges. Altogether about 15 lakh shares were traded .

On Wednesday, the stock ended marginally higher at Rs 5,326.35 on the BSE with a trading volume of 1.6 lakh shares. About 4.15 lakh shares were traded on the NSE.

Propped up by FII buying

AN East Asian portfolio investor is said to be a constant buyer at the IPCL counter. According to a market source, the investor has been accumulating the stock for several days now.

He said the grapevine was also abuzz with news of a likely "corporate announcement" from the company soon that would renew interest in the stock.

IPCL shares ended almost flat at Rs 192 per share on the BSE. About 7.8 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and 15.35 lakh shares were traded on the NSE.

Dinesh Narayanan

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