Date:19/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/05/19/stories/2005051902531300.htm

Back Akash Opti gains on order expectations

THE stock of Aksh Optifibre is being accumulated by select market players.

Dealers said the interest in the stock is mainly on expectation of an order soon. However, the exact amount and from where this order will come were not known.

But the talk is that this order is not from BSNL from where the company regularly receives orders. On Wednesday, the stock gained 5.63 per cent at Rs 59.15 on the BSE with volumes of 2.10 lakh shares; on the NSE, it closed at Rs 59.50, up 7.21 per cent, with volumes of 3.85 lakh shares.

Retailing scrips up on `Buy' report

PANTALOON Retail and Trent, the companies into retailing business, gained sharply on Wednesday. The stock of Pantaloon gained 17.41 per cent at Rs 1,140.35 on the BSE, while Trent jumped 9.97 per cent at Rs 618.15.

Dealers said the spurt in the price came after a leading foreign broking firm came out with a `buy' report on Pantaloon Retail. This firm is bullish on Pantaloon as it has been showing fast growth and feels its growth momentum is likely to be sustained. Moreover, the company has been able to open more retail stores at a much faster rate compared to its competitors.

Following the sharp upward move, several market players bought Trent shares also, as they feel that this stock has not moved in line with stock price movement of Pantaloon.

In the last six months Pantaloon stock has doubled while Trent stock price has remained at the same level.

Rolta up on growth hopes

The stock of Rolta India has been on upward move over the last few days. Several institutional investors are buying the shares of the company.

Dealers said the buying is due to the good business and clients the company has been able to get in the Geospatial market (applications such as Photogrammetric Mapping, Aerial Triangulation, Digital Terrain Modelling, Orthophoto creation, Image Interpretation).

It has been constantly getting orders for its GIS business in the domestic market. The talk is that several big orders are in pipeline, which in turn would help the company to show strong growth in the next few quarters.

On Wednesday, the stock of Rolta gained 6.48 per cent at Rs 113.40 on the BSE with volumes of 32.67 lakh shares; on the NSE, it closed at Rs 113.60, up 6.37 per cent, with volumes of 97.47 lakh shares.

Virendra Verma