The stock of Hindustan Copper on Wednesday closed at Rs 239, down around 4 per cent from its overnight level of Rs 249 with a traded quantity of 2.46 lakh shares on BSE. On the NSE, it recorded a volume of 4.55 lakh shares.

It saw a spurt in traded volume on the bourses and a sudden dip in price in early trades (between 10 and 10.30 a.m.). BSE described the counter’s volume as “unusual”. Dealers said at around 10 a.m., the counter lost about Rs 13 or over 5 per cent. “At that point, there was a flurry of trades for about half an hour, and the stock instantly gained some of its lost ground”, said a dealer of a Mumbai broking firm.

On the BSE platform, the counter in that period recorded a volume of 1.78 lakh shares (fortnightly average volume of the stock on the exchange is 44,000 shares).

On the NSE, some 3.38 lakh shares changed hands during that timeframe.

Market insiders told Business Line that some players appeared to be active ahead of the Government decision on its proposed divestment. An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) began its meeting to take a final call on the issue on Wednesday at 4 p.m. According to Union Government sources, the Group of Ministers is to fix a date for the auction or offer for sale of 9.5 per cent stake in HCL.

The Government owns 99.59 per cent stake in HCL. “There is hardly any float. Historically, the counter had been a playground for certain traders. Hence, the price discovery mechanism never worked well for it," said the head of the stock research team. Traders seemed to be taking speculative positions in anticipation of a lower floor price for the close by auction, a merchant banker observed.

jayanta.mallick@thehindu.co.in

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