Despite the 30-share sensitive index, Sensex, gaining 2,575 points during the last one month since August 21, 58 stocks of the broadbased BSE 500 ended in the negative. The top loser – Subex Azure – lost 19.48 per cent in price.
Information technology stocks led the fall, 15 of which ended in the negative during the period from August 21 to September 21. Pharma sector followed infotech with eight sector stocks dwindling. Four engineering, four hotel and real estate sector stocks and three fast-moving consumer goods stocks were part of the list of under-performers.
Hotel stocks – Asian Hotels, Taj GVK Hotels and Trent Ltd – suffered a loss of over 4 per cent during the period. Phoenix Mills fell by 8.73 per cent. Textile major Himatsingka Seide was the second-largest loser at 10. 92 per cent. Its peer Jaybharat Textiles & Real Estate lost 3.78 per cent.
Only Infosys and Satyam (scraped through) escaped market losses by posting marginal gains. SSI Ltd, Geodesic Information Systems and Nucleus Software stocks lost ground by over 10 per cent.
“The appreciating rupee is taking its toll on infotech companies. Whenever the rupee strengthens by even one per cent against the US dollar, revenues of these companies are hit likewise. The rupee has strengthened by about 11 per cent since January,” an infotech analyst of a leading broking firm said.
{{/usCountry}}“The appreciating rupee is taking its toll on infotech companies. Whenever the rupee strengthens by even one per cent against the US dollar, revenues of these companies are hit likewise. The rupee has strengthened by about 11 per cent since January,” an infotech analyst of a leading broking firm said.
{{/usCountry}}Of the seven pharma companies that were laggards, Torrent, Cipla and Pfizer suffered over 5 per cent losses during the period under review. “It will be sometime before pharmaceutical firms could gain the flavour of the market,” Sarabjit Kaur Nagra, vice-president and Pharma Sector Analyst with Angel Broking, said.