High-cost debt trouble spot for Universal Cables: Notwithstanding the recent spurt in share prices, the proposed rights offer from Universal Cables at Rs 20 may not enthuse the shareholders. Against the offer price of Rs 20, the scrip on the BombayStock Exchange shot up from Rs 16 to Rs 21 in a few trading sessions. In fact, the spurt in prices was largely aided by anticipation of a better third-quarter result from the company. However, after the announcement of the results, the scrip shed Re 1 as the company came out with a not-so-impressive performance for the third quarter. The counter could see a further downslide. The company has reported a net profit of only Rs 15 lakh on net sales of Rs 43.3 crore, thanks to the interest burden of Rs 1.72 crore for the third quarter. The high-cost debt is eating into the profit margins of the company.

Sluggish outlook leaves no room for gains in hotel stocks:

The woes of the hotel industry are far from over. Falling occupancy rates and low tariffs have taken their toll on the performance of the hotel companies over the past two years. With a negligible improvement in the tourist inflow, the hotel sector is likely to reel under pressure for some more time.

Notwithstanding the gain in some of the hotelscrips on Thursday, these scrips, an operator fancy some time ago, hardly gain any attention today. In fact, some of the scrip rose Thursday mainly due to the 111-point rally on a single day.

Go for an index fund for average rate of return: The mutual fund behemoth, Unit Trust of India launched the first index fund, Master Index Fund in the country in June, 1998 and opened for continuous sale and repurchase in October, 1998. In the past three months till date, the Master Index Fund has appreciated 12.90 per cent while the Sensex, which it replicates, has grown 15.07 per cent. Effectively, the fund has underperformed the index by 2.17 per cent. Master Index Fund is a passively managed index fund replicating the BSE-30 set.

Offshoots of Radico Khaitan to be listed: Radico Khaitan's restructuring would lead to Khaitan Soya and Rampur Fertiliser, the two offshoots of the restructuring process, being listed on four stock exchanges. The new shares of the three companies will be allotted in anotherfortnight's time and thereafter would be listed on the stock exchanges in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta and Kanpur. The RKL scrip is thinly traded on BSE and was last traded on December 4 at Rs 5.55. Pursuant to the scheme of arrangement approved by the Allahabad High Court in October 1998, Radico Khaitan (RKL) has been divided into three separate companies.

PHDCCI for Indian banks to set up sector-specific venture funds: THE government should formulate a legal framework for enabling Indian banks to set up sector-specific venture capital funds (VCFs) for investment of their surplus funds, PHD Chamber of Commerce ad Industry said today.

Sensex may get support at 3200: Thanks to a recovery triggered by the software stocks, the Sensex gained 90 points during this week. Although it gained 3 per cent on weekly basis, the Friday close was weak as traders rushed to cover their long positions. The gain, however, has certainly improved the Sensex outlook. On the downside, it enjoys a strongsupport at 3197 points and for a optimistic scenario, it should not go below this level.