Infotech stocks suffer setback

MUMBAI, NOV. 30. Old economy counters continued to rule firm even as infotech shares took a further beating on the Bombay Stock Exchange today on alternate bouts of buying and selling.

Led by Infosys Technologies, software counters suffered a further setback on distress selling following a further fall of about 28 points in the Nasdaq composite index yesterday in the light of bleak earnings prospects despite a sharp upswing in blue chips on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average up by over 121 points.

The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened slightly firm at 4003.41 and swayed in a narrow range of 4019.52 and 3972.85 before closing at 3997.99 against yesterday's close of 3996.18, a small gain of 1.81 points. The BSE-100 index, however, declined by 8.30 points to 2061.18 from 2077.30. Dealers said the Nasdaq factor was playing a major role in meltdown in software shares.

There was clear indication that operators were shifting their attention to old economy stocks which are often considered as safer bets in the prevailing uncertain market.Though the Sensex closed in a positive territory, 83 out of 141 specified shares recorded losses, while 55 gained.

The BSE-200 and the Dollex were quoted down at 441.43 and 156.90 against 444.32 and 157.76 respectively. The BSE-500 eased by 8.20 points to 1321.78 from 1330.04.

Himachal Futuristic remained the most volatile stock and clocked the highest turnover of Rs. 1,013.48 crores followed by Infosys (Rs. 389.53 crores) and Satyam Computer (Rs. 314.13 crores).

- PTI

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Section  : Business
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