July 9, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 27,1423

NEW DELHI, July 8: Net asset values of Indian equity funds, which fell sharply in May, recovered in June because of attractive valuations and easing tensions between India and Pakistan, analysts said.

Average NAVs of 126 funds in five sectors mapped by fund tracking firm Value Research rose by between 1.31pc and 6.87pc, though NAVs of 12 schemes investing in the export-oriented software sector dipped 0.98 per cent on average.

Funds also gained because investors remained bullish about state-run firms following a string of successful sales in the public sector since the start of this year. The sell-offs included a leading telecoms provider.

“It was a broad-based rally led by public sector stocks in June,” Sindhu Sameer, assistant vice-president of equity sales at UTI Securities, told Reuters. “Also a lot of second-rung stocks rose sharply which boosted NAVs of funds.”—Reuters