UTI MF exited 64 firms in FY04

The UTI Mutual Fund sold its entire holdings in 64 companies during the 12 months ended March 2004.

The fund, which held more than a two per cent stake each in Modi Rubber, Monotona Exports, Nucent Finance, Steel Tubes of India and Tube Investments in March 2003, offloaded its entire holding these companies in the open market.

Other companies in which the fund held between one per cent and two percent in March 2003 and where it has sold its entire holdings by March 2004 include Bell Ceramics, FGP, GKW, Ion Exchange, Kalyani Steels, Mahavir Spinning, Mangalam Cement and Tata Telecom.

The mutual fund sold most of these holdings after these scrips touched historic highs during the recent market rally.

Atlas Copco, ATN International, Ahmedabad Electricity, Bharat Forge, J B Chemicals, Essar Shipping, Hotline Teletube, Man Industries and Welspun India are the few stocks to have touched new highs in the recent market rally.

In aggregate terms, the fund sold 1.23 crore equity shares of midcap stocks in March 2004. The fund had sold more than five lakh shares of Bell Ceramics, Steel Tubes of India, Modi Rubber and Essar Shipping.

The mutual fund sold 15.24 lakh shares of Essar Shipping, 3.66 lakh shares of Ahmedabad Electricity, two lakh shares of Bharat Forge and 1.90 lakh of Welspun India.

The fund also sold shares of banking stocks such as Andhra Bank and Union Bank of India during the period. It sold around 4.85 lakh shares of Andhra Bank and five lakh shares of Union Bank of India.

Among the technology counters, the fund sold 1.05 lakh equity shares of Mastek, 1.53 shares of Zenith Computers, 1.71 shares of Pentamedia Graphics and 42 lakh shares of Moser Baer.

Among pharmaceutical companies, it sold 26,000 shares each of Divi's Laboratories and Unichem Labs. It also sold 9.33 lakh shares of Modi Rubber, 1.98 lakh shares of Shaw Wallace, 2.71 shares of Henkel Spic India and 2.45 lakh shares of Manali Petroleum.