UTI equity kitty market value dips 19%

Shareholding in 256 firms remains unchanged

The market valuation of UTI Mutual Fund's (UTI-II) equity portfolio declined by around Rs 1,834 crore in May, partially on account of the decline in market prices and partially on account of profit-booking.

As such the market crash in May saw a 17 per cent decline in market valuation of stocks traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

The market value of UTI's equity portfolio declined 19 per cent to Rs 7,608 crore as on May 31, 2004, from Rs 9,443 crore on April 30, 2004.

The major fall in market value of UTI's portfolio was concentrated in companies in diversified, refineries, cigarettes, bank, petrochemicals, telecommunication and aluminium sectors.

The market value of sectors such as refineries and banks has fallen substantially immediately after the NDA government at the Centre was ousted out of power. Banks and refinery stocks were hammered in the market as the new government announced that there will be no divestment in profitable public sector units.

The market value of UTI's diversified stocks declined by Rs 286 crore to Rs 270 crore. The market value of refinery stocks declined by Rs 260 crore to Rs 570 crore.

The valuation of cigarette companies fell by Rs 244 crore to Rs 248 crore, of banks by Rs 242 crore to Rs 677 crore and of petrochemicals by Rs 130 crore to Rs 620 crore.

UTI-II's equity portfolio of 46 schemes for May, for which data were released on Saturday, shows that the fund bought 149.07 lakh shares of 105 companies and sold 128.67 lakh shares of 67 firms.

UTI's shareholding in 256 companies remained unchanged at the levels in April 2004. In May 2004, the fund bought over one lakh shares each of 36 companies, while it sold over one lakh shares each of 21 firms.

Fund managers at UTI-II were buying high growth companies such as ACC, Tata Steel, IPCL, Tata Motors, SKF Bearings, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Shipping Corporation and Tata Power.

They also resorted to value buying in stocks such as JK Paper, GAIL India, Vijaya Bank, ICICI Bank, Chennai Petroleum, Patni Computers, Hindustan Lever and Indian Oil Corporation.

The companies which were in UTI's selling list included Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Bongaigaon Refinery, SAIL, Petronet LNG, BHEL, State Bank of India, HCL Technologies, BPCL, Wipro, Bank of Baroda and RCF.

UTI sold over one lakh shares each in these firms. The fund also booked partial profits in Ranbaxy Laboratories, National Aluminium, Cipla, ABB, Polaris Software, Zee Telefilms, HDFC Bank and Corporation Bank.