HMT in top gear on buzz of F&O entry

HMT was locked at upper limit of 5% at Rs 163.50 at 12:28 IST on BSE on buzz the stock may be included in the futures and options segment of NSE.

The BSE Sensex was up 152.43 points, or 0.72%, to 20963.27.

On BSE, 13.97 lakh shares of the scrip were traded. The stock had an average daily volume of 4 lakh shares on BSE in past one quarter.

The scrip had touched a high of Rs 163.50, its all time high. The stock hit a low of Rs 148.10 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 50 on 17 October 2007.

The scrip had outperformed the market in the one month to 7 January 2008, adding 58.44% as against the Sensex's 4.24% rise. It had also outperformed the market in the past three months, soaring 163.09% against the Sensex's 13.85% rise.

The state run tractor maker has an equity capital of Rs 517.90 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Typically, stocks that enter the futures and options (F&O) segment are expected to gain ground due to improved liquidity, increase in institutional participation and absence of circuit filters

According to market buzz, some other stocks that are likely to enter F&O segment include Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) (down 5% to Rs 135.05), PTC India (down 3.76% to Rs 172.90), Hindustan Motors (down 7.15% to Rs 82.50), and Punjab Tractors (down 6.88% to Rs 322.35).

HMT reported net loss of Rs 3.24 crore in September 2007 as against net profit of Rs 88.09 crore in Q2 September 2006. Sales declined 0.7% to Rs 63.27 crore in Q2 September 2007 over Q2 September 2006.

HMT is engaged in the manufacture of machine tools, industrial machinery, watches, lamps, tractors, printing machines.