Software Stocks Provide The Booster

However, the rally was led primarily by software service majors. Most stocks in the non-technology sector continue to languish raising concerns.

It has been a relatively uneventful week in the US markets. Concerns on the rupee front are again on the backburner. Traders are prone to have short memories and the primary positive factor being cited for this is the liquidity flow emanating on the foreign Institutional investor front during the past few days.

Infosys leads

The revival in sentiment was led by Infosys Technologies. Buying of a lakh and a half shares was reported at the Numero Uno brokerage. As news started emerging of the latest bout of buying, traders who were lying low for the past few days, re-emerged and made their presence felt. Infosys again showed how crucial a role it can play in swinging emotions.

The Satyam side

With the scrip in the no-delivery period, the effect of activities takes some more time to register. Yesterday was a day in which the impact of buying got reflected on the price front a day late. Punters feel that there might be some more steam in the counter if one considers the fact that there has been buying of two million shares emanating from the Jordan Flaming Brokerage during the no-delivery period.

Wipro back again

With frontline stocks in the software service sector again in flavour, Wipro has also emerged as a preferred buy. The Big Bull Brokerage has been executing buy orders in Wipro for the past three days in a row for one of its prominent institutional clients. Total buying is reported to have crossed the half-lakh mark, however the same could not be confirmed. The software services major is also in the gainers list clearly bringing out the crucial role played by leading information technology counters in leading the revival in sentiment.

On the selling front

With infotech stocks again in the limelight , shifting of money out of Old Economy giants is visible. Clean Son was one of the prominent brokerages on the sell side and most of the stocks dumped by the broking outfit for its institutional clients belonged to the cement sector. The stocks dumped included the likes of Grasim and Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Total selling in L&T touched four lakh shares across three brokerages during the past few trading sessions.

With the landscape of the telecom sector changing fast, the future of some of the sector majors is also changing. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) is feeling the heat of slowly changing perceptions. The stock witnessed selling during early morning trade at the Co-Tech Brokerage. State Bank of India was the other important scrip to meet with selling pressure this week. The quantity on the sell-side touched the million-mark two days back.

Interesting thoughts

While concerns about policy implementations continue, for the moment foreign institutional institutions continue to buy quality infotech stocks. There are corporates which deserve a pick and that's where the buyers are evincing interest. As for the rest, the process of wealth erosion continues unabated. This process is clearly visible in the Navratnas under government tutelage. But the process of divestment continues at a pace of its own. And concerns whether it be transportation or communication receive attention only when the situation reach emergency limits. The more things change the more they look the same.