Pivotals Take A Beating On Import Duty Hike

Stock prices tumbled sharply on the bourses last week. The hike in import duty by 3 per cent led to heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and speculators. Pivotals opened on a steady note at the BSE, but the sentiment changed by Wednesday when the government announced the hike in import duty.

The BSE-30 Sensex shed 170.82 points over the previous weeks close to end the week at 3825.12. The NSE-50, on the other hand, closed the week at 1141.00 points - down by 77 points over the previous weeks close.

Brokers say the Sensex will move in the range of 3600-4200 in the short-term. FIIs were selling aggressively in the market. However, according to brokers all the stock released by FIIs were in stocks like GAIL, HPCL and other PSU stocks, which were absorbed by domestic institutions. These bulk deals did not result in destabilising the share prices, commented a dealer at a leading institutional brokerage.

Scrips that fell sharply at the BSE were Ponds India - which slumped to Rs 1,860 over its previous weeks close of Rs 1919; SBI declined to Rs 286 (Rs 273), Siemens dived to Rs 275(Rs 300), Tata Tea slumped to Rs 414 (Rs 466).

Most software scrips remained depressed. Infosy Technology slumped to Rs 1,472 (Rs 1,426), while Software Solution dipped to Rs 136 ( Rs 146).

Scrips like ITC bucked the trend. The scrip closed on Friday at Rs 569 - a gain of Rs 15 over the previous weeks close. According to market sources, heavy purchases by bull operators and foreign institutional investors pushed up the price.

Other scrips that remained steady at the bourses last week was Gas Authority of India (GAIL). The scrip witnessed hectic trading during the last two trading sessions.