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SGX Nifty Up 98 Points, IRFC IPO, HDFC Bank Q3FY21 Results, and Buzzing Stocks Today
Tue, 19 Jan Pre-Open

Indian share markets witnessed huge selling pressure yesterday, in line with global equities and fell on to bearish territory.

After opening on a flat note, benchmark indices slipped into the red and extended losses amid heavy selling in metal and healthcare stocks.

That apart, expectations that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may set out proposals in a discussion paper this week, recommending that bigger shadow banks hold a share of deposits in cash, gold or government securities, weighed on financial stocks.

At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 470 points.

The NSE Nifty ended down by 152 points.

Reliance Industries was among the top gainers. ONGC, on the other hand, was among the top losers.

The BSE MidCap index ended down by 2%. The BSE SmallCap index ended lower by 1.9%.

Sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the healthcare sector and metal sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.

Shares of HDFC Bank and Indian Energy Exchange hit their respective 52-week highs yesterday.

At 8:00 am today, the SGX Nifty was trading up by 98 points, or 0.7% higher at 14,380 levels. Indian share markets are headed for a gap-up opening today following the trend on SGX Nifty.

Gold prices were trading up by 0.1% at Rs 48,768 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours yesterday.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, in her latest video, co-head of Research at Equitymaster, Tanushree Banerjee lays down the steps that could help you reset your portfolio for a profitable 2021.

This is first time in 25 years that a benchmark index in India, the BSE Sensex, is trading at a P/E multiple of 40x. The last time the Sensex breached this multiple in October 1994.

Most investors are worried about parking money in safe stocks or safe asset classes. But are they making the right choices?

Tune in to the video to find out more:

Top Stocks in Focus Today

Among the buzzing stocks today will be Wipro.

IT services major Wipro on January 16 said it has completed its Rs 95 billion share buyback programme. The buyback saw Azim Premji-affiliated entities tendering 229 million shares worth about Rs 91.5 billion during the process, a regulatory filing said.

"(A total of) 237 million crore equity shares were bought back under the buyback at a price of Rs 400 per equity share. The total amount utilized in the buyback is Rs 95 billion," it added.

The tendering period for the buyback programme opened on December 29, 2020 and closed on January 11, 2021.

Note that earlier this month, Wipro's larger rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) also completed its Rs 160 billion buyback offer, under which over 53.3 million equity shares were bought back at a price of Rs 3,000 apiece.

Adani Green Energy share price will also be in focus today. TOTAL France, a global energy major, will pick up a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy, the renewable power company of Adani Enterprises, by way of acquisition of shares held by the Adani Promoter Group (APG).

This is the second partnership between TOTAL and an Adani group company. In 2018, TOTAL acquired a 37.4% stake in Adani Gas and a 50% stake in Dhamra LNG project. The JV entailed developing various regasification terminals including Dhamra LNG and a retail network of 1,500 service stations over a period of 10 years.

As part of the current deal, TOTAL will pick up a 50% stake in a 2.35 GW portfolio of operating solar assets owned by Adani Green Energy.

The company will also pick up a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy for a global investment of US$ 2.5 billion.

IPO Buzz: IRFC IPO Day 1 Subscription; Nazara Technologies Seeks Stock Market Debut

In news from the IPO space...

The IPO of Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), the subsidiary of Indian Railways, was subscribed 51% till closing stock market hours yesterday i.e. the first day of bidding.

The offer received bids for 630 million equity shares against an IPO size of over 1,248 million equity shares.

The retail investors remained strong in the primary as well as a secondary market. The portion set aside for them has subscribed 98% on the first day itself, while the employee portion was subscribed 3.4%.

The IPO size excluded the anchor book which already received a good response from investors. The company raised Rs 13.9 billion of its total issue size of Rs 46.3 billion, through the anchor book.

The company has fixed Rs 25-26 per share as the price band for the issue, which will close on January 20.

To know more, you can read our IPO note on IRFC here: Indian Railway Finance Corporation IPO: Should You Apply? (requires subscription)

In other news, Nazara Technologies, the cricket games developer backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, became the first Indian gaming technology company to seek a market debut.

The Mumbai-headquartered startup filed initial public offering (IPO) documents with market regulator last week on Friday.

Founded by gamer Nitish Mittersain in 2000, Nazara is among the firms that have benefited from a global boom in smartphone gaming that began even before the pandemic drove millions online.

The company is seeking to be among the first major Indian startups to go public.

Nykaa E-Retail Pvt., backed by TPG, is said to be planning an IPO as soon as this year that could value the Indian online cosmetic retailer at more than US$ 3 billion.

Nazara plans to offer up to 4.96 million equity shares for sale, at a face value of Rs 4 each, the filing showed.

Note that food delivery startup Zomato has said it will file for an IPO in the first half of 2021.

How the above IPOs sail through remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

HDFC Bank Results: 18.1% Rise in Net Profits During Q3FY21

India's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank reported a 18.1% rise in its net profit for the December quarter to Rs 87.6 billion.

The lender reported a growth 15.1% in its net interest income (NII) for the reported quarter to Rs 163.2 billion.

HDFC Bank's gross non-performing assets ratio for the quarter stood at 0.8%. The net non-performing assets ratio was at 0.09% as against 0.17% in the previous quarter.

The lender's advances grew 16% YoY in the December quarter to Rs 10.8 lakh crore, while deposits climbed 19% YoY to Rs 12.7 lakh crore.

HDFC Bank's credit cost in the quarter fell to 1.25% from 1.41%, a quarter ago.

Provisions and contingencies in the quarter were at Rs 34.1 billion as compared to Rs 30.4 billion in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

HDFC Bank also said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 10.20 lakh on its senior executive Jimmy Tata for selling his shares in violation of insider trading regulations.

Tata, the chief credit officer, sold 1,400 shares of the bank held by him in what the lender termed as an "inadvertent trade".

Note that, HDFC Bank is one that has always adapted to changing times.

HDFC Bank wanted to transform itself from a leader in the physical banking to a leader in online banking. Since then, HDFC Bank has constantly focused on going digital.

In 2004, only 10% of customer transactions were initiated through internet and mobile. The number went up to 92% in 2019.

It is a great example of a company which has taken advantage of its scale and embraced disruption rather than fear it.

These are traits that one should look for in picking stocks. They not only withstand the disruption but also gain from it in the long-run.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

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

Read the latest Market Commentary


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