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Indian Indices Extend Gains; ONGC, ITC and Asian Paints Surge Over 5%
Tue, 31 Mar 12:30 pm

Share markets in India have extended early gains and are presently trading on a strong note, tracking positive cues in the global markets.

Improvement in Chinese manufacturing data for March boosted investor sentiment. China's official purchasing manufacturers' index bounced to 52, from a record-low 35.7 in February, while services PMI stood at 52.3 versus the previous 29.6 as factories began to re-open.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 818 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 257 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 1.7%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1.5%.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the oil & gas sector and metal sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Note that, since the coronavirus outbreak, all BSE indices and NSE indices are down in the range of 25-35%.

Speaking of sectoral impact, in the article titled Worst Hit Indian Sectors Amid Coronavirus Pandemic: 10 Points to Know, we dive deeper and look at how the impact has been on individual sectors...

The rupee is trading at 75.41 against the US$.

Gold Prices are currently trading down by 0.4% at Rs 43,656.

With stock markets falling sharply worldwide, what is the best way to protect your investments?

Our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, has the answer. Just claim your FREE copy here...

In news from the banking sector, shares of IndusInd Bank slipped 20% today after the bank said the outbreak of coronavirus could push up its credit costs to around 200 to 210 basis point in March 2020 quarter, indicating a rise in bad loans.

In an analysts call on Monday, the management said the near-term impact of coronavirus would have limited impact on their portfolio, assuming a 3-month disruption.

The management, however, also highlighted that base-case assumptions will be re-visited if the situation aggravates.

Last week, the bank's managing director and chief executive officer Romesh Sobti had retired.

Following the news of MD and CEO Romesh Sobti's retirement, the stock fell over 30% on March 24, hitting an 8-year low of Rs 235.55.

The bank had appointed Sumant Kathpalia as the managing director and chief executive officer.

This was the first analyst call after the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as the bank's new managing director and chief executive officer.

In February, global rating agency Moody's had revised the outlook on the private lender's instrument to "negative" from "stable" to account for the risk of further asset quality deterioration. However, it affirmed ratings on foreign and domestic currency deposits, on the back of a strong capital base.

IndusInd Bank share price is presently trading down by 12.5%.

Moving on, in latest developments from the IPO space, Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) has missed the March 31 deadline to list its shares on the exchanges as mandated by the regulator, as coronavirus pandemic spooked the bank's listing plans.

Under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulatory requirements, after a small finance bank reaches the net worth of Rs 5 billion, listing will be mandatory within three years of reaching that net worth.

In case of Equitas Small Finance Bank, the deadline was on or before September 4, 2019, which was extended to March 31, 2020.

In other news, Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank has received regulatory nod to float its initial public offering (IPO).

The company had filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) on January 6, 2020 with the markets regulator for a Rs 9.8 billion IPO.

According to the DRHP, the IPO comprises a fresh issue worth Rs 8 billion and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating up to Rs 1.8 billion.

Reports state that the bank, in consultation with its book running lead managers may consider a pre-IPO placement of up to Rs 3 billion. If it is undertaken, the amount raised will be reduced from the fresh issue.

Speaking of IPOs, in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp, Ankit Shah shared how IPOs offer insights into the mood of the stock markets.

He picked the six most successful IPOs of 2019 and checked the retail investor enthusiasm for them.

Obviously, all these IPOs were oversubscribed across investor categories. But the level of retail investor enthusiasm differed widely, depending on the overall market sentiments.

This can be seen in the chart below:

Are Retail Investors Back in the IPO Game?

Here's what Ankit wrote about it...

  • Clearly, IRCTC witnessed the highest number of bids for the retail category. Factoring in the discount of Rs 10 per share for the retail category, the total bids were worth a whopping Rs 3,242 crore. Over five times the entire IPO size!

    Polycab India and the recent IPO of CSB Bank also received a strong thumbs-up from retail investors.

Does this hint that retail investors are coming back to the markets?

It would be interesting to see how this trend pans out in 2020.

We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space. Stay tuned!

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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