Funds & #39; Days Out

While the operators are away, the funds are having their day. The unwinding of retail positions notwithstanding, the funds are accumulating selective stocks even though opinions that the same may taper off, persist.

As it now transpires, Big Daddy had sold stock of almost 2,300 crore in May and a total of almost 3,000 crore in the past couple of months. In hindsight, it was but inevitable that the market should be weak despite the huge FII inflows.

Flaring up

The ITC scrip flared up in the last couple of sessions with Uncle Sam being the aggressor. The fund is reported to have bought about 3 lakh shares in the past couple of sessions. Uncle Sam has been active in this stock and the stock has now become interesting play.

On the liquidity front, with the stock's traded volumes nowhere near the volumes one used to witness in its heydays, orders of a relatively small size are able to impact its price in a big way. Also, the tobacco industry worldwide is on the receiving end with class action suits and the like being filed against them.

On the other hand, funds seem undeterred by these events and continue to buy into tobacco stocks, specially ITC. It would be worth waiting and watching how the call on the stock turns out to be in the long run.

No longer a simpleton

The Simple Simon brokerage is slowly, but surely, garnering a major chunk of the FII business and is on the verge of threatening the tight hold which the former heavyweights command in marketshare.

If marketmen are to be believed, the brokerages' share of business could be as high as 30 per cent of the overall business transacted these days, which in the surrounding competitive scenario is no mean achievement.

Bankable stocks

SBI and Corporation bank were much sought after today with the Big Bull fund and Jordan Flaming picking up around 12 lakh shares between them. The Cleanson brokerage is also reported to have bought some quantities of Corporation Bank though the exact quantum could not be confirmed.

With valuations literally making the stocks a steal, there is almost nothing to lose, and any upsides in the market could be reasonably captured by staying invested in these stocks, making them a safe bet.

Miscellany

Cleanson brokerage bought around 50,000 shares of Glaxo today, while Cap-it-all continued its buying spree in the Zee Telefilms counter. With this, Cap-it-all's holding in the scrip could exceed one crore shares although there has been little impact on the stock price.