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Sensex makes sense

Trading is a productive hobby fast catching up with all, writes S.AISHWARYA

PHOTO: M. MOORTHY

EQUITY MARKET Just a child's play

When Ramanthan frantically calls his wife, Srilatha to express his concern over the fall in Sensex, she replies in an is-that-all tone, "It's just Monday morning. Let's wait till the end of the day," is her nonchalant response.

Trading in equity market is child's play for her and so many of her ilk in the city these days. Srilatha, was initiated into share trading by her engineer husband Ramanathan only a couple of months ago. And in no time she has become an expert player in the market.

Productive hobby

"I'm a trader for more than two years but still there are times when I lose my cool if the market goes the other way round. But she is just a novice in this trade but her knowledge is amazing," says Ramanathan.

A concept that is fast picking up in the city, online share trading is almost a favourite but productive hobby in many households.

Till recently, only males ventured into online trading, though they played the game in the name of their spouses.

Times have changed and women are directly into the trading now, often outsmarting their better halves.

Despite the swelling count of online share traders, share brokers feel the city still has a long way to go.

Says Arun. J, the business partner of the stock-broking company `Sharekhaan.': "Though the penetration down here is increasing, it is relatively slow when compared to Tier I cities. The growth has been in multiples with a lot of young people and housewives getting involved. For every three offline trade, there is an online trade happening in the city but with a vast variation in age groups.

"Security concerns are not seen as a major problem. The traders are provided with separate browsing and trading passwords, apart from the entry one. It's similar to online banking and cracking a password is unlikely," he says.

Attractive package

Since the online traders are offered with attractive packages at competitive rates, they are equipped with a terminal that is almost similar to brokers.'

A reason the brokers attribute to it is the mushrooming broadband connectivity. A. Hemala, who has been into equity trading for three years, finds the online trading "user-friendly."

It's been a year since she started trading shares online.

"It's much simpler when compared to direct trading as we are provided with all the analysis reports online. And you could buy or sell at the click of a button."

"I took to online only when I found it difficult to trade directly by visiting the share broking company. When I signed in an online share account, it was probably my first association with internet," she says, for whom it took hardly three days to learn the basics of online trading. The rising competition among the stockbrokers has placed the traders in a comfy position with attractive packages. Marketing apart, the brokers act as service provider for troubleshooting and consultations.

Women again, are the beneficiaries. Even as Krishnan Chettiyar, who is into forty-odd years of share trading, finds online trading and customer service support by the broking companies "weird and difficult to comprehend," his niece Vandhana is all excited about the concept of share trading.

With just three months into the trading, Vandhana quit her job as a call-centre executive to tune herself as a full-time stock trader. "Apart from attractive monetary profits, trading is interesting as we are introduced to new concepts almost everyday," she says, adding a word of caution to the beginners: "to sustain as a successful trader, constant reading and updating of market knowledge is crucial. Even if we spend a day without observing the market trend, we will lose the context."

As her hubby waits for a transfer order to Mumbai, Srilatha plans to go a step further - a full-time stock-broking professional.

"I'm learning the basics from my stockbroker-cousin. It all sounds exciting and I'm looking forward to it," she smiles.

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