Stock picking continues to remain the key strategy of funds which are adopting a contrarian view in the falling market. A leading US-based value investor fund is reported to be evincing interest at the BPCL counter, having picked up around 60,000 shares on Tuesday. Excellent first quarter results from the company seems to have forced fund managers to have a fresh look at the stock. A leading US-based fund, which has alliance with a local brokerage, is reported to have bought around 35,000 shares on Tuesday.
This US-based fund is also reported to have been an aggressive buyer at other counters on Tuesday. It is reported to have picked up around 1.5 lakh shares of ITC, around 30,000 shares of Nestle, 25,000 shares of Castrol, around 75,000 shares of HLL, and around 50,000 shares of Glaxo.
The Glaxo scrip continued to attract FII buying interest yesterday. However, it could not be confirmed if it was the same fund which made the purchases at the counter.
The Unit Trust of India continues to book profits at the overheated pharma counters along with some of the index stocks like HLL and ITC. It is reported to have been a seller at the Parke Davis, Glaxo and Fulford counters. In addition, it is also reported to be a regular seller at the ITC, HLL and MTNL counters.
Players seem to be miffed with UTI's sales at heavyweight index counters. They feel this is restricting the upward movement of the Sensex and dampening the sentiment.
..and some for despair
A leading UK-based fund, which is normally a buyer whenever the Sensex is near 2800 levels, has, of late, turned an aggressive seller. Players attribute this more to redemption pressure rather than a bearish view on the Indian market. On Tuesday, the fund is reported to have been an aggressive seller at the HLL (60,000 shares), Castrol (1 lakh shares), GE Shipping (12 lakh shares) and Colgate (1 lakh shares) counters. Barring Colgate, prices of the other three scrips have been fairly steady over the past couple of trading session mainly because of some institutional buying interest at these counters.
Bargain hunter
Despite the fact that most bargain hunters have burnt their fingers at the Telco counter, there is no dearth of aspirants who continue to find value in the stock. A foreign fund, whose nationality could not be confirmed, is reported to have picked up around 8 lakh shares on Tuesday.
Good show
Despite a 64-point fall in the Sensex, the Indal scrip witnessed frenzied trading interest yesterday. Trading in the scrip was frozen on the BSE and the NSE yesterday after there were only buyers at the counter. On the NSE, the scrip clocked trading volume of 6.16 lakh shares which is quite a high volume for this counter. Marketmen did not rule out the possibility of block deals though exact details were not available.
Caution
The Satyam Computer scrip vaulted to a new 52-week high of Rs 613.90 on the NSE yesterday on the back of frenzied buying interest on the very first day of its no-delivery period. However, certain institutions are reported to have made use of the opportunity to book profits at the counter.
Redefining terms
There used to be a time when short term meant a duration of 3-4 months, medium term meant 8-10 months and long term meant at least 1.5-2 years. However, given the daily fluctuation at the bourses, these terms seems to have been re-defined. Today, if a fund manager says he is looking at a scrip as a short term investment, it means he will be looking for an exit at higher levels within the same week. In case he is looking at a medium term investment, it means he is looking for a decent appreciation within 10 days.
