ABCDC Fund turns a gold digger

STREET SIGNS

As the Sensex closed lower for the fifth consecutive session, the influence of foreigners on domestic markets is ever more apparent.

While a surge of inflows from Japanese and Taiwanese funds early in the month had seen the markets surge to all-time high levels, their recent lack of interest has affected sentiments badly.

In four out of eight sessions starting August 11, foreign funds have been net sellers and even when they have been buyers, it was limited.

Gold digger
The interest in the jewellery segment continues. While there have been many suitors for usual suspects such as Rajesh Exports and Vaibhav Gems in the recent months, there is one stock which was away from the spotlight.

However, ABCDC Fund has decided to change all that. The fund was seen at the Silver Smith India counter, buying some 40,000 shares at Rs 58 levels. Silver Smith India, incorporated in 1994, processes raw silver and gold into value-added jewellery items.

The company recently launched its first retail showroom under the brand name of 'Niche' in New Delhi. Considering the fact that the stock prices of Rajesh Exports and Vaibhav Gems already run up quite high, ABCDC's choice is not surprising. For the record, the stock has surged more than 500 per cent in the past one year.

Meanwhile Vaibhav Gems stock saw plenty of buying support on reports that the company is considering foreign acquisitions.

The list of those who have taken an interest in the stock in the recent past reads like a who's who of foreign investors and includes Merry Lunch, Uncle Sam, German Fund and Clive Lloyd Fund.

Right backing
There is another stock which has seen a similar rise to that of Silver Smith India. The Liberty Phosphate stock has risen from a paltry Rs 4 levels to close to Rs 50 now.

Apparently, among the few who have backed the stock in its journey was a Karnataka - based Bank's mutual fund arm.

The stock has seen plenty of support in recent months, as the company started out on a capacity expansion programme costing Rs 3 crore. With the stock turning out to be a multi-bagger, the fund has decided to book profits. The Desi Fund is said to have sold the stock at Rs 48 levels.

In other news...
Castro Fund and Prudent Fund were buyers at the Patel Engineering counter, where the promoters themselves were the sellers.

The promoters have offloaded 10 per cent of the equity at Rs 170 per share, which translates to Rs 82 crore. Castro has bought 5.14 per cent of the company's equity, while Prudent's share accounted for 3.73 per cent.