The Beard realises need for speed

THE fresh clouds of uncertainty, which seem to have descended on the political scene out of thin air, did play the role of a spoilsport. Of course, second line technology stocks were in good demand.

But that again was a poor consolation as Monday’s rally on Nasdaq ideally should have helped benchmark indices to break into a new trading zone.

The oldies showed signs of fatigue on Tuesday as most players were seen scouting for good bargains among second line counters.

Foreign funds were reported to have been active on the buy side. But with Big Daddy still in the process of booking profits, overall mood in the market is one of cautious optimism.

Satyam revisited
The Emerging Operator still has not got over his fancy for the Satyam Computer scrip, which had a burned a deep hole in his pocket less than a year back.

At that time, Emerging had got a little carried away, hoping that Bill Clinton’s visit to the company would propel the scrip into a new orbit.

Well, the crash landing that followed left him clutching a hefty bill instead.

While the fundamental story might be difficult to sell, stellar quarterly numbers notwithstanding, the scrip does offer ample opportunities to the swift footed trader.

It could be for this reason that the Emerging Operator has started buying into the stock aggressively over the past couple of trading sessions.

Trivia
The Prudent Fund is reported to have picked up a good chunk of Aksh Optifibre although the exact quantum is yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile, one of the key lieutenants of the One Man Army camp is reported to have turned active at the Wipro counter. Having learnt the tricks of the trade under the greatest trader of Dalal Street, his moves in the coming days would be worth watching.

Rising stars - Part II
Apart from the Emerging Operator, the other player to have made a mark for himself in the recent bear phase, shares his first name with that of Bollywood hero Devgan. But his beard seems to overshadowed his actual surname, so much that the Hindi translation of beard immediately follows his first name, as he is commonly referred to in stock market circles. He is reported to have made a killing at the ACC counter a few months back when the scrip made a dramatic turnaround after testing double digits. He is also reported to have struck gold at the Global and HFCL counters through well-timed moves. Of late, he is reported to be taking an active interest in the Bajaj Auto scrip.

Like the Emerging Operator, The Beard also seems to enjoy basking in the shadows of obscurity. But then, his own rapid growth now threatens to drag him into the limelight. With the slot of the Numero Uno market maker having fallen vacant, he is tipped as one of the dark horses in the fray.

Santosh Nair, Santoshnair@myiris.com