Flat Futures

The Securities and Exchange Board of India's decision to introduce stock futures failed to enthuse the market which continued in a lethargic mode. With no real drivers, the indices slipped on Wednesday with low trading and little movements.

End of glory

The Digital Equipment stock, which went up on Tuesday following the merger of Hewlett-Packard with Compaq Computer, was tending the other way down as funds and foreign institutions were in a hurry to offload the stock. While the Pioneering Fund was a major seller of the stock dumping more than five lakh shares, Open-hire-me also chipped in with its bit of selling. It became a free-for-all when the Savvy Fund and Newton's Law joined the race.

According to marketmen, the selling was prompted by the downgrading of the stock by Cazenove. The Gartner group, commenting on the merger, had analysed that it would help only the competitors and not the principals themselves.

FIs' pet

Ranbaxy Laboratories and ITC attracted buying from financial institutions on Wednesday. According to marketmen, more than one lakh shares were bought by at least two foreign funds. Ranbaxy is being seen as a good pick at its current levels. ITC's prospects for growth in its traditional tobacco business along with its focus on other areas are attracting value investors, analysts said.

In fact, the scrip has been going down since last week and the current price is being viewed with opportunities for upsides.

Oldies under fire

Uncle Sam, which is considered as the foreign institutional investor behemoth in the Indian markets, was found offloading old economy stocks indiscriminately. Majors such as Reliance Industries, Tisco, Telco and ACC were witness to the selling spree.

However, market players were glad that technology stocks were spared the onslaught. Some stability in the horizon for the sector, they feel.