IT stocks hammered; old economy sparkles

IT stocks hammered; old economy sparkles
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

MUMBAI, MAR 1: One day after the presentation of the Union Budget, old economy stocks hogged the limelight, scoring sharp gains, while infotech stocks were hammered on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The benchmark Sensex which went up by 140 points in the opening stages later surrendered the gains and closed with a rise of just 24 points.

Budget 2001: Full Coverage

IT counters including index heavyweights like Infosys Tech, Satyam Computer, NIIT and Zee Telefilms which rallied smartly yesterday, reacted sharply on heavy selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The negative turnaround in software sector was attributed to persistent downslide in the Nasdaq Composite index which lost 56 points yesterday and payment problems being faced by some brokers.

Sensex opened strong at 4288.23 and gyrated in a range of 4386.98 and 4215.27 before closing at 4271.65 as against yesterday's close of 4247.04, netting a gain of 24.61 points. The BSE-100 index, however eased to 2138.89 from previous close of 2139.72.

Dealers said the banking sector, which was expected to improve its efficiency after more autonomy was given to public sector banks, was largely behind the rally in old economy stocks. The bank credit off-take would also get a boost due to the cut in the interest rates.

Telecom bellwether Himachal Futuristic, severely battered in the past few days, followed the recovery path on sustained demand on account of reduction of tax liability and the concession in the Budget proposals to companies setting up telecom projects. Hero Honda and TVS Suzuki also attracted good buying support on reduction of excise duty on two-wheelers, while tobacco-giant ITC continued to reel under pressure with a 15 per cent surcharge on excise duty on the cards.

Satyam Computer tumbled by 34.35 to 312.65, Infosys Tech by 575.70 to 5682.70, Global Tele by 32.15 to 372.10, NIIT by 72.65 to 1169.95, Zee Tele by 8.95 to 162.30, ITC by 15.80 to 762, Pentamedia by 17.50 to 161.85, Silverline by 12.15 to 173.05, Sterlite Opt by 31.05 to 540.15, HCL Infosys by 11.60 to 209.50, Aptech by 11.40 to 207.60, SSI Ltd by 62.20 to 1210.25, Wipro by 124.30 to 2420.50 and Digital Equip by 31.40 to 679.40. A BSE dealer, however, said there was no news for driving the scrips down. Another dealer attributed the sell-off to profit-booking.

Himachal Futuristic rose by 47.65 to 718.05. RIL spurted by 25.45 to 439.55, ACC by 11.50 to 189.35, Bajaj Auto by 14.30 to 339.05, BHEL by 7.75 to 169.60, Cipla by 53.90 to 1067.95, Glaxo by 22 to 484.10, Grasim by 12.90 to 12.25, GACL by 12.25 to 200.45, HLL by 3.40 to 232.80, Hindalco by 31.95 to 802.75, L&T by 18.25 to 279.60, Ranbaxy by 32.70 to 722.45, SBI by 16.75 to 262.50, TELCO by 4.40 to 106.75, TISCO by 9.15 to 163.65, ICICI bank by 28.30 to 205.70, Hero Honda by 86.95 to 899.80 and Corpn Bank by 10.45 to 139.05.