Of Electoral Bonds, Bitcoin, and Other Top Cues in Focus Today

Thu, 4 Jan Pre-Open

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Indian share markets pared all earlier intraday gains yesterday to end the session on a negative note.

At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 19 points and the NSE Nifty finished flat. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished up by 0.5% while S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 1%. Gains were largely seen in capital goods sector and metal sector, while auto stocks and software stocks witnessed selling pressure.

Top Stocks in Focus Today

From the banking sector, UCO Bank share price will be in focus today. The board of directors of the state-run lender have approved a proposal regarding issuing of equity shares to government on a preferential basis. This will help the bank raise Rs 13.7 billion, subject to necessary approval.

Metal stocks will also be in focus today. The Nifty Metal Index hit a fresh 52-week high in yesterday's trade on the back of buying interest in major stocks.

Aarti Drugs share price will also be in focus today as the company scheduled a board meeting on January 8, to consider a proposal for buyback of its equity shares.

From the pharma sector, market participants will be tracking Dr Reddy's Lab share price. The stock price of the company witnessed selling pressure yesterday on fears that clearance for the company's injectables unit in Duvvada, Andhra Pradesh, may get delayed from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). USFDA had issued a warning letter for the company's unit in 2015. The unit was issued an establishment inspection report in which the US regulator did not clear the unit but pointed out areas of concern that the company needed to address.

Titan share price will be in focus today. The company yesterday stated that its third-quarter jewellery retail growth is in-line with the company's expectation.

Govt. Unveils Electoral Bonds

In the news from bond markets, as per an article in the Economic Times, Finance minister Arun Jaitley has unveiled the framework for electoral bonds which is aimed at cleaning up political funding.

The framework comes with conditions such as a limited tenure and eligibility restricted to parties with a track record of at least one election.

The move comes in Finance Minister's pledge to establish a system for party donations that would help stamp out black money as a source of funding in his February 2017 Budget in the wake of demonetisation.

Accordingly, the new framework allows donors to buy these bonds and give them to the party of their choice. The party can encash them through designated bank accounts within 15 days.

Electoral bonds would be issued/purchased for any value in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 1 million and Rs 10 million from specified branches of SBI.

The above development is a step in the right direction.

The government had earlier proposed an amendment to the Reserve Bank Act to enable issuance of electoral bonds. These bonds can be redeemed by the political parties in registered accounts and within a specified time only.

This is precisely what we have been talking about for a long time. Vivek Kaul, our big picture expert had started a petition to end special privileges to political parties. And over 25,000 of our dear readers signed up for the petition to get equal rights and bring about an era of transparency in the funding of political parties.

It would be interesting to see how these electoral bonds fare over the year. We'll keep you updated on the developments form this space.

Upcoming IPO - Apollo Micro Systems

In the news from the IPO space, Apollo Micro Systems is going to launch its IPO next week. The offer will be open from 10^th January till 12^th January and the company intends to raise Rs 1.5 billion from its public offering.

The price band of the IPO is finalised at Rs 270 to Rs 275 per share.

Apollo Micro Systems Ltd is Hyderabad based company engaged in the business of electronic, electro-mechanical, engineering designs, manufacturing and supply. The company designs, develops and sells high-performance, mission and time critical solutions to Defense, Space and Home Land Security for Ministry of Defense, government controlled public sector undertakings and private sectors.

The company offers custom built COTS (commercially off-the shelf) solutions based on specific requirements to defense and space customers.

We are tracking this IPO and will shortly release our analysis on the company. Stay tuned.

Bitcoin Prices Jump 10%

In the news from the crypto currency space, Bitcoin prices advanced over 10% in two trading sessions after The Wall Street Journal reported Peter Thiel's Founders Fund has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars of the volatile cryptocurrency.

The report further said that the fund bought US$15 to US$20 million worth of the cryptocurrency and multiplied the principal investment by over 5 times.

Bitcoin jumped to US$14,951 on January 3 from US$13,354 on January 1. During the period, the digital currency hit a high and low of US$15,300 and US$12,787, respectively.

Note that cryptocurrencies have no central bank backing and have not yet been regulated. Yet, these seem to have found favour among a large number of people, with demand growing every day. There are over 800 cryptocurrencies in existence today, with new ones being added to the list every day.

While the world of digital currencies is intriguing, it can get very confusing for the layman. Our team member, Ankit Shah, Research Analyst, has decided to study cryptocurrencies and help our readers understand them.

Ankit has released a premium guide for Equitymaster Insider subscribers, titled Bitcoin 101 which contains everything you need to know about bitcoins and other digital currencies.

If you haven't been receiving Ankit's insights, get on the Insider's list now.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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