Undertone steady on Lyons Range

By A Special Correspondent

CALCUTTA, JULY 16. Old economy shares continued to attract investment support to score gains featuring the trading on the Calcutta Stock Exchange last week.

Software counters, however, were neglected for most part but for a dramatic spurt on Thursday in the wake of aggressive bull activity which lifted some of them substantially.

The rise, however, failed to gain strength as institutional buyers remained on the side lines without providing even nominal support. Consequently, the values dipped as fast as they rose earlier, finishing the week with losses on balance.

The business volume was moderate and undertone at close remained steady. The spectacular price rise on Thursday pushed up the CSE's 40-share index to a high of 2338.04.

Leading market operators ascribed the mid-session surge in prices, especially those of the infotech group to a fresh bid on the part of bulls to find a way out of their plus positions.

This, however, failed as they were some what panicked by the latest measures adopted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India as part of its risk containment step.

The apex regulatory body decided that risk containment measures now in place for modified carry forward systems should also be introduced for the automatic lending and borrowing mechanism currently in vogue at the National Stock Exchange.

At the settlement held on Thursday, the badla rate continued to remain at the same level as in the previous week indicating that the demand for funds has not expanded. This, according to senior market operators, reflected the fact that the market is less bullish.

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Section  : Business
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