73 Sectors Report Fall In Market Capitalisation

Fifty industrial sectors out of a sample of 111 sectors, have underperformed the market during the first four-and-a-half month period of the current financial year. This shows the impact of the poor quarterly results on the stock market.

As many as 73 sectors registered a decline in the market capitalisation between March 30, 2001 and August 13, 2001. Only 16 sectors registered gains of over 10 per cent, while the balance gained less than 10 per cent.

The BSE Sensex recorded a drop of 8.8 per cent during this period. Indeed, this shows how the markets had already discounted the weak performance of some sectors, even before they had announced their quarterly results.

The steel alloys, mini steel and sponge iron manufacturers, which cumulatively reported a net loss of Rs 22.55 crore during the quarter-ended June 2001, registered a 36.4 per cent decline in market capitalisation during the period April-August 13, 2001.

The continued weakness in the share price of the companies of this sector reflects the market