Players Rejig Positions As Book Closures Loom Large

Market players seem to be shifting their positions from counters which are approaching their book-closure dates to those which have already completed their book closures or where the book closure is at a distant date.

Stocks such as Grasim Industries, ACC, Century Textiles, HDFC and Gillette India, which are scheduled to enter the no-delivery period in the immediate future, have seen a drop in their net outstanding positions.

Hindalco, Digital Equipment, Nirma and ITC whose book closures are at distant dates, have seen a rise in net positions. The net position of ITC increased from 0.48 lakh shares to 0.66 lakh shares.

The net position of ACC dipped from 29.79 lakh shares as on May 12, 2001, to 20.87 lakh shares as on May 19, 2001, under the carryforward settlement on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Grasim's net position plunged from 14.10 lakh shares to 12.47 lakh during the same period.

A list of 44 companies which have already announced their book closures are considered for this study. The trend reveals that of the 44, seventeen were already under the no-delivery period, 13 had a drop in net outstanding positions, while the rest 14 reported an increase in net outstanding positions.

However, there were few exceptions too. Satyam Computer, whose book closure begins on June 25, 2001, has seen a rise in net positions. The net position increased from 14.80 lakh shares to 15.25 lakh shares under the badla settlement between May 12 and May 19. In sharp contrast, Wipro and Pentamedia Graphics have seen a drop in net positions, though their book closure is scheduled at a distant date.

This could be the result of operators shifting positions to most-active counters despite their approaching book closures, market observers said. Wipro's net outstanding positions dipped from 0.97 lakh shares to 0.88 lakh shares, while Pentamedia Graphics' net position slipped from 22.28 lakh shares to 20.62 lakh shares.