Many scrips hit 52-week lows

-
ICICI Bank falls to below follow-on issue price

'Bear'ish effect

Many recently listed scrips saw their share prices slip below their IPO issue price

'News of JP Morgan bailing out Bear Stearns has had its ripple effect here in our markets'

Tania Kishore Jaleel

Mumbai, March 17 Many scrips on the bourses hit their 52-week lows on Monday as the Sensex sank below the 15,000 level.

Among the heavyweights, ICICI Bank saw its scrip fall to below its follow-on issue price of Rs 940 today. The scrip was down 13.76 per cent, touching an intra-day low of Rs 743, to close at Rs 757.40.

Some of the other scrips that found themselves at their 52-week lows were Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which tumbled 39.09 per cent, Binani Industries Ltd, which tanked 16.43 per cent, Central Bank, which fell 6.16 per cent, India Hotels Company Ltd, which plunged 9.96 per cent, United Breweries Ltd, which plummeted 15.54 per cent and Dish TV, which dropped 10.70 per cent.

Panic selling

Analysts said the panic selling started as the benchmark index broke the crucial 15,300 level. The Sensex today dipped a whopping 951.03 points and ended the day at 14,809.49.

"A lot of investors were squaring off their positions as the markets broke the 15,300 levels. As it is the case always, when the markets are surging there is euphoria among the investors and now when the markets are tanking there is panic," explained Mr Sanjay Someshwar, a sub-broker with Ventura Securities.

Many recently listed scrips saw their share prices slip below their IPO issue price.

They include Edelweiss Capital closed at Rs 602, Future Capital at Rs 435.55, Mundra Port and SEZ at Rs 512.75 and IL&FS at Rs 118.10. The very recently listed companies – Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and V Guard – too fell below their listing price. REC closed at Rs 101 and V Guard at Rs 60.20.

"News of JP Morgan Chase bailing out investment banking giant Bear Stearns in the US has had its ripple effect here in our markets. This is because Bear Stearns sold its stake in 25 Indian companies before the bail out," said Ms Anita Gandhi, Head Institutional Business, Arihant Capital Markets.

Some of companies which the US-based investment bank had stakes in were Dabur Pharma, Automotive Axels and Oriental Hotels, all of whom took a beating today on the bourses.

'No confidence now'

A market watcher said there is not much buying happening by the insurance companies either. "There is no confidence in the market now. The insurance companies are also just selling. This is because they have not recorded significant collections this time around. These insurance companies are waiting for the markets to stabilise some more so that they can buy at more attractive levels," said the head of research at a brokerage.

Popular posts from this blog

IOB capitalises on hike in stake by LIC

-
Indian Overseas Bank rose 1.53% to Rs 46.45 at 10:31 IST on BSE, after the biggest domestic instutional investors Life Insurance Corporation of India hiked its stake in the state-run bank. The bank made this announcement after trading hours on Wednesday, 25 March 2009. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 126.19 points, or 1.31%, to 9,794.09. On BSE, 31,003 shares were traded in the counter. The stock had an average daily volume of 1.93 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 47 and a low of Rs 45.95 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 156.80 on 2 May 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 37.55 on 9 March 2009. The mid-cap bank stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 25 March 2009, falling 3.17% as compared to the Sensex's 8.60% rise. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 33.94% as compared to the Sensex's 1.04% rise. The bank's current equ The current price of ...
Read more

Lok Housing & Constructions builds on fund raising plans

-
Lok Housing & Constructions jumped 6.99% to Rs 107.90 at 11:20 IST on BSE ahead of a board meeting to consider fund raising options from both foreign and local market, including an institutional placement. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 50.50 points, or 0.30%, at 15203.73. On BSE, 1.86 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 4.74 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 115 and a low of Rs 102 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 390.50 on 1 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 96.25 on 12 June 2008. The scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 12 June 2008, falling 26.55% compared to the Sensex's 10.18% decline. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, falling 31.39% compared to Sensex's 3.24% fall. The small-cap housing projects developer has an equity capital of Rs 42.88 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. The current...
Read more

Griffin Chemicals surges on re-listing

-
Griffin Chemicals was trading at Rs 29, up 2220% on re-listing after six years on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The counter saw miniscule volume of 4769 shares. The stock opened at Rs 23, up 1740% against its last traded price of Rs 1.25 on 8 August 2002. The Griffin Chemicals stock was highly volatile today. It opened at Rs 23 and then rallied ahead to Rs 50 but soon eased to a low Rs 22. The surge in Griffin shares reminds of unprecedented rise in stock prices of KGN Industries on its re-listing day. KGN Industries, run by Ahmedabad-based Memon family, had re-listed at Rs 100 per share after nearly seven years in May 2008 this year. The stock had risen to a high of Rs 55,000.
Read more