Market mavens use Q1 dips for big buys

Well-known investors on Dalal Street raised stakes in several stocks in the June quarter when benchmark indices fell more than 9% amid significant outflows by overseas investors, rising inflation risks and fears of aggressive rate hikes by global central banks.

While some investors focused their attention on the oil and gas sector, others veered towards consumer oriented players. Data showed investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, also known as the ‘Big Bull’ held around 1.4% in Escorts Kubota as of June 30. While his name was not among the public shareholders of Escorts Kubota at the end of the March quarter, Jhunjhunwala had held 5.2% in the company on December 31 last year. He has trimmed his stakes in several companies including NCC, DB Realty, Autoline Industries, Indiabulls Housing and Tata Motors.

Chennai-based Dolly Khanna, whose portfolio is managed by her husband Rajiv Khanna, picked up stocks such as Chennai Petroleum Corporation, National Oxygen and Monte Carlo Fashions. Chennai Petroleum surged 145% in the June quarter amid rising crude oil prices.

Ashish Kacholia’s name appeared in the shareholding data of Inflame Appliances in the June quarter with a 4.21% stake. His name also showed up among public shareholders of Repro India and Barbeque Nation Hospitality. With Inflame Appliances and Barbeque Nation, Kacholia appears to have been oriented more towards consumption plays.

Anil Kumar Goel increased his stake in Indsil Hydro Power and Manganese by 0.1% while trimming around 0.3% stake in Salasar Techno Engineering and Samtex Fashions. Investor Mukul Agrawal’s new holdings at the end of the June quarter include Ethos, Pix Transmissions and Jagsonpal Pharmaceuticals with a 1.8%-4% stake.