Sugar stocks draw hoarders

STREET SIGNS

The revenge of the bulls was swift. The Sensex soared above the 7800-mark on Thursday, adding 220 points in the last two trading sessions.

Strong foreign flows were cited as the main reason behind the day's upswing, which was partly thanks to the US Fed signalling a slow hike in US rates.

With things not looking so rosy in the US, emerging markets such as India are likely to see further interest, say those in the know. In other words, 8000 is well within grasp.

Talking textiles
Foreign funds are taking an active interest in the Alok Industries counter. The latest one to get into the counter was Jeweller fund which bought more than eight lakh shares for Rs 71. Two days back, Slow Robinson had bought the stock at Rs 69.

Now Desi fund managers have been crying hoarse over many a month about the potential of textile sector. With the dismantling of the quota system from 2005, the sky is the limit for Indian textile players, they say.

This is expected to provide opportunities to the Indian industry to leverage on its strength and increase its share in the global market.

Considering the huge investments it has made in expanding capacity, Alok Industries has the backing of many to emerge as one of the winners in the sector. As for the June quarter, exports already amounts for 30 per cent of all sales.

More the merrier
Another sector which seems to be attracting a lot of foreign interest is the sugar sector. But surprisingly nobody is singing praises of this sector unlike in the case of textiles sector.

Foreign funds that purchased sugar stocks recently include German Fund, which bought Dhampur Sugar Mills, Clive Lloyd Fund made purchases in Sakthi Sugars and HS Busy was a buyer at the Dwarikesh Sugar counter.

Now, All Cap Fund has also joined the bandwagon by deciding to buy more than three lakh shares of Dhampur Sugar Mills at Rs 160. Apparently, all of them are very exited about the news of Pakistan lifting a nearly four-year-old ban on the import of Indian sugar.

But Indian companies themselves have been singing a different tune, expressing doubts about the about the availability of Indian sugar for export purposes in the near future, considering the tight domestic supply situation.

In other news
Reliable fund was seen making some investments at the Aztec Software counter. Castro Fund was a seller at the Gateway Distriparks counter, despite the fact that Curls On Fund and Feeder Funds have been buying into the stock of late.

Kodak Fund's global investment arm was seen scouting the Harrison Malayalam counter, buying more than a lakh of shares at Rs 131.