Caught In The Tug Of War Between Bulls And Bears

The ITC Ltd stock yesterday moved in a narrow band, as the stockmarkets went into a frenzy trying to first-guess and then analyse the results of the Rs 6,900 crore tobacco to hotels major.

Bull and bear operators were at loggerheads throughout the day, and volumes were huge, signifying major trading at the higher and lower price levels.

Chartist said the ITC stock was showing major technical resistance at Rs 828 levels, and if the closing price breached this level, the stock was expected to shoot up further. "If it goes above Rs 828, the sky is the limit," he added.

For the better part of the week, wild rumours were floating around of a Rs 600 crore plus net profit figure, and bull operators were busy ramping up the stock based on these rumours.

A Mumbai-based dealer told Business Standard yesterday that by results-eve, most of the bulls had squared up their positions as the ramping operations came to a close.

Yesterday, the ITC stock was massively traded once again, and operators said that unlike other times when the price range was around Rs 50, yesterday the stock moved in a narrow band, of about Rs 20, signifying a close contest between the bulls and bears.

Earlier, operators said punters went short looking at the raw numbers, and then started cutting their positions when news of a Rs 110 crore contingency reserve came in. "There was a real fight today. Both sides were strong", a Mumbai operator said.

On NSE, the stock opened at Rs 816, touched a high of Rs 818.95, fell to the day's low of Rs 794.55 after the results trickled in and then bounced back to the opening price once again before settling at Rs 802 at day's end.

At Calcutta Stock Exchange, the entire day was spent with punters tracking every single movement of the ITC stock. The stock opened at Rs 814.40, touched a high of Rs 818.50, fell to Rs 794.20 and closed at Rs 806.60. At NSE, the stock closed at Rs 816.60 on Thursday.

The volumes at the National Stock Exchange too were very large, with 74.3 lakh shares being traded, with traded value at Rs 600.15 crore.