Livelier Lever: Depressing third quarter numbers seem to be a thing of the past, if the latest buying frenzy at the HLL counter is any indication. One has to also bear in mind the fact that the picture for the fourth and final quarter does not look all that rosy either. But first the Cap-It-All fund and now the T No Prize fund have chosen to overlook these short term factors for a more long term outlook. Good to know that there are still players who have not forgotten the word `long term'.

Close to a million shares each are reported to have been picked on Friday and Monday, with T No Prize accounting for a significant chunk. The counter has been able to overcome selling pressure from the Kind Words Benson brokerage on Friday and Big Daddy to some extent yesterday.

Yo-Yo effect: Seven times out of ten, bulls have been rarely let down by the HFCL counter. In fact, the counter has been among the steady performers even as technology stocks world-wide are struggling to retain their erstwhile glory.But having said that, one bad day at the counter also means that you could lose more than your earnings on the previous seven occasions, if you are not deft enough. And surely most bulls must have yet again figured that out on Friday.

Meanwhile, in a very surprising development, the Say Yes If Be brokerage is reported to have come out will a sell call on the HFCL scrip. Surprising, because Say Yes If Be has been one of the most active players at the counter, both on the buy as well as sell side. Also, this is the first time that Say Yes has initiated coverage on this stock. Seems as if One Man Army has taken the matter into his own hands, as if to prove a point. Despite aggressive selling pressure witnessed at the counter on Friday, the stock managed to stage a dramatic turnaround today. While institutional activity cannot be ruled out altogether, One Man too did have an instrumental role to play.

Still firming up: Buying interest at the L&T counter is showing no signs of abating. Everybody is keenly awaiting the identity of the foreign player who has been tipped to take a stake in the cement division. The Merry Lunch brokerage is reported to have picked close to 2.8 million shares in the last two trading sessions of the previous week.

Meanwhile, Uncle Sam's burst of sales at the BHEL has not been good enough to scare away some of the bravest among bargain hunters. Renewed buying interest at lower levels helped the scrip end the day on a firm note. Exact details are still awaited. Close to a lakh of shares of Satyam was reported to have been sold by I-Yell-FS mutual fund today, perhaps who is taking serious note of the expected slowdown in Q 4 numbers of IT companies. Meanwhile, Infosys is just about holding steady even as Uncle Sam steadily continues to pound the stock, having sold close to 50,000 shares on Friday.

Santosh Nair
Email:santoshnair@myiris.com