Mumbai: Riding piggyback on an unprecedented rally in public sector unit (PSU) stocks, the BSE-PSU
index once again zoomed by 8.17 per cent to end the week at a new all-time high at 2,009.80 on the
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), even as the SENSEX showed a marginal fall attributed to a sharp
setback in IT (Information Technology) counters.
Though key PSU stocks like HPCL and MTNL showed losses, the strong upsurge in majority of PSU
shares was credited to the positive developments in regard to the disinvestments of some major PSUs.
Bank stocks continued to hog the limelight and a number of them scored impressive gains on the back
of sustained and hectic buying by domestic funds.
Technology sector, however, faced the wrath of investors despite firmed advices from Wall Street.
Indian financial institutions (IFIs) and some hedge funds were heavy sellers in IT sector, particularly in
leading software companies like Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers and Wipro, which form a
major part of their revenue earnings from exports to the US, as a result of the Rupee's appreciation
against the US Dollar during the past couple of weeks.
The Rupee's rise to a two-year high against Dollar is expected to have adverse impact on the bottom
line of IT companies.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made net investments of Rs 175 crore, but they were believed to
have withdrawn from IT sector and invested these funds in old economy portfolio.
PSU shares like BEML, BPCL, BEL, Bharat Forge, Chennai Petro, Containers Corp,
Dredging Corp, Guj Mineral, GSFC, GNFC, HMT, IBP, IOC, Neyveli Lign, ONGC,
RCF, SCI, STC India and TN Petro recorded sharp gains.
In the Banking sector, BoB, BoI, SBI, Fed Bank, J&K Bank, Oriental Bank, State Bank
of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, Karnataka Bank and Punjab National Bank spurted
sharply.
During the week, the BSE benchmark 30-share index moved in a narrow range between
3,092.38 and 3,025.20 before ending the week at 3,049.84 as against last weekend's
close of 3,056.58, a net loss of 6.74 points.
PTI
