Speculators have a field day with Digital

Speculators have a field day with Digital
ENS Economic Bureau

New Delhi, Jan 18: Speculators and rumour-mongers, acting in concert, had another field day at the bourses, this time with Digital Equipment India Limited. Yesterday, the share was trading at around Rs 549 on the National Stock Exchange at 2:45 pm. Suddenly, a rumour did the rounds that Digital's last-quarter results were terrible, and in the spate of 10 to 15 minutes, the stock plunged to Rs 513.65.

It opened quite weak today, at Rs 525 on NSE and Rs 519 on the BSE. It closed at close to the same levels, at 530 on the BSE and 533 on the NSE. This was at 3:30 pm. The Delhi Stock Exchange, however, closes half an hour later. At this point, perhaps due to the fact that someone got wind of Digital's actual profits, there was a sudden flurry of buying Digital -- at around 3:35 pm, and continued for the next 10 minutes or so. Digital finally closed on DSE at Rs 549.

Digital's results show an increase in sales of 149 per cent, and 188 per cent for profits in the last quarter.

This, of course, is not the first time that shares have been sent up and down on the basis of wild rumours and what looks like insider information. While analysts have suggested that SEBI should conduct inquiries based on the specific brokers' terminals from which large orders are executed following particular rumours, SEBI has usually not conducted any such inquiry.