Date:22/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/22/stories/2005022202111300.htm

Back Nocil up on hopes of good show

SELECT market players are accumulating the shares of National Organic Chemicals (Nocil).

Dealers said the accumulation is mainly on expectation of good financial performance of the company in the next few quarters.

The recent debt restructuring and Reliance's acquisition of some of the assets are also seen positive for the company. Demand for speciality chemicals, in which the company has a presence, is good.

On these expectations the stock price of the company has been on the rise. On Monday, the stock gained 4.27 per cent at Rs 25.65 on the BSE with a volume of 3.31 lakh shares; on the NSE, it closed at Rs 25.85, up 5.08 per cent, with a volume of 6.26 lakh shares.

FGCL Ind rises on good outlook

THE FGCL Industries' stock has been on the rise over the last few days. The stock is locked in upper circuit continuously for the last few trading sessions.

Dealers said the upward move in the stock price is mainly due to the good future outlook for Gujarat NRE Coke.

FCGL Industries is one of the promoters of the company and owns more than 9 per cent of the company's equity.

Dealers said several smart investors who find bright prospects for Gujarat NRE Coke are buying the shares of FGCL Industries instead of the main company. Their argument is that the total market value of FCGL Industries (by holding the shares of Gujarat NRE Coke) is much more than its market cap based on the current market price. They view that this anomaly should be over.

On Monday, the stock was locked in 2 per cent upper circuit at Rs 47.15 on the BSE with a volume of 7,820 shares.

Pre-Budget blues?

KEY stock indices have been on downward move since last week. Even on Monday most of the stock indices closed lower.

Dealers said several big investors are slowly shedding their positions ahead of the Budget. The main reason for the sell-off is that these investors do not want to have high positions till the Budget.

The talk is that these investors believe that there are high expectations from the Budget and even if they fail to satisfy the market marginally the possibility of the fall could be very high. At present, they are able to offload their positions due to active buying by FIIs.

Virendra Verma