Corrective Phase Over

UNTIL about the middle of the third week of March the stock market was still in search of a haven where it could take a pause to nurse the wounds it had suffered in the post- budget nasty fall. With bulls badly mauled and their paper profits converted into huge losses, bears appeared to be in full command of the situation. The various measures taken by the stock exchange authorities aimed primarily at minimising the risk of payments crisis through the imposition of deterrent margins (Bombay) and ban on fresh sales (Calcutta) failed to make any noticeable impact. Equity prices continued to drift lower.