HDFC Bank’s June quarter earnings and, more importantly, its commentary acted as an antidote to the market’s ongoing exuberance on Monday as the benchmark indices registered their biggest one-day fall in nearly three months.
Rising bad loans, weakening agriculture portfolio and anemic outlook on credit growth – such commentary from the best of the best is sure to make even the most optimistic investors on the Street sit up and take notice.
True, HDFC Bank alone was not responsible for the deep red painted across the trading terminal today. Rising fears of inflation in the West coupled with soaring cases of new Covid-19 variants around the world are forcing investors to recalibrate their expectations of global economic recovery.
Perhaps, today’s reality check was due given the excitement the Street saw last week as encapsulated in the exuberant response to the initial public offering of consumer technology giant Zomato.
Party is still on for IPOs
Okay, so the music did not stop everywhere. We mean who can really stop the party for IPO stocks in this market. Inflation? Nah! Growth concerns? No way! Rising US dollar? Impossible.
After a staggering response to their initial public offering, shares of GR Infraprojects and Clean Science Technology were greeted with bumper listings on the bourses today. GR Infraprojects listed with more than 100 per cent gains, while the Clean Science’s stock debuted with 95 per cent listing gains.
Even the weakness in the market in the last hour of trade could not take the sheen off GR Infraprojects’ listing as the stock ended 1.3 per cent above its opening price. For Clean Science, the Opening Bell was as good as it got as the stock sank 10 per cent post listing.
Adani Group under the microscope
Shareholders of Adani Group companies can’t catch a break. As if seeing their returns for the year steadily evaporate over the past 45 days wasn’t enough, the government today broke the news that some companies belonging to the Group are under Sebi’s lens.
Responding to a series of questions posed by Lok Sabha Member Mahua Mitra, the Ministry of Finance said both Sebi and DRI are investigating the company for certain irregularities. However, the government clarified that the three FPI shareholders at the centre of the storm were put under NSDL’s ban list due to a previous offence, which had nothing to do with the Adani Group.
Misinformation conundrum
While the acquisition by
did not do much for the Just Dial stock today, another company that was the target of a rumored purchase by India’s largest conglomerate saw its stock tank.
Swelect Energy Systems, a smallcap renewable energy company, saw its shares tank nearly 5 per cent after the company clarified that it is no way associated with a comment posted on a business news website that suggested that RIL was looking to acquire the renewable energy firm and may announce an open offer soon. The company warned its investors to not rely on such misinformation.
