– Sebi board okays steps to make M&As easier
– Air India selloff in last lap
– S&P retains India’s 9.5% growth forecast for FY22
– Benchmark bond yield up with oil, US yields
Now lemme give you a quick glance on the state of the markets.
Dalal Street is likely to have a negative start this morning. Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 112 points higher at 8:40 hours (IST). Asian stocks opened up to two per cent lower on Wednesday, extending global market jitters, as traders worried about rising oil prices and fears of a US debt default. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 1.22 per cent.
Elsewhere, the yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 1.55%. The dollar traded near its highest levels of the year on Wednesday, after driving higher with US yields and benefiting from investor nervousness about the Federal Reserve starting to withdraw policy support just as global growth headwinds gather. Oil prices fell for the second straight day on Wednesday as doubts re-emerged over demand, with COVID-19 cases continuing to rise worldwide and gasoline shortages in some regions. Brent crude was down $1.03 or 1.3 per cent at $78.06 a barrel.
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That said, here’s what is making news.
The board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Tuesday approved measures to make mergers and acquisitions of listed companies easier and allow the establishment of gold and social stock exchanges in the country. It also cleared proposals to tighten related-party transactions, launch silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and relax rules on superior voting rights (SVRs) for promoters of new-age tech companies, to encourage Indian startups to list locally. Acquirers will be allowed to delist a target company seamlessly, as they will be able to launch open and delisting offers simultaneously, the regulator said. Currently, if an open offer is triggered by an M&A deal or an overseas amalgamation, then the entity has to implement three different public transactions to comply with Sebi rules.
The privatisation process of national carrier Air India is entering the last lap, with the Centre confident of meeting all the defined milestones related to the airline’s divestment. Bids could be opened as early as Wednesday, ET reported. Sources indicate that by mid-October, the government would be in a position to announce the winning bidder. The government, which called bids for a 100% stake in Air India, Air India Express and 50% in ground handling company AISATS, has received bids from the Tata Group and SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh in his personal capacity.
The stock of InterGlobe Aviation, which owns and operates Indigo Airlines, has lost 9.6 per cent over the five trading sessions including nearly 3 per cent fall on Tuesday. This is after an increase of 29 per cent in the past three months. The trend reversal reflects the changing view of analysts about the prospects of the country’s largest airline by market share in the light of rising crude oil prices, intense competition, and no major improvement in the traffic on international routes. Given the high correlation between airlines’ earnings and crude prices, InterGlobe’s stock may show further weakness.
LASTLY,
Oyo Hotels & Homes, which is preparing to file a draft prospectus for a $1-$1.2 billion initial public offering (IPO), has a legal hurdle ahead that is being posed by once rival Zostel (Zo Rooms) over a botched acquisition deal, which is due to come up for a court hearing on Wednesday. Hospitality startup Zo — which claims that Oyo is in breach of a binding agreement for a buyout deal dating back six years — has now approached the Delhi High Court seeking redressal in a move that could potentially be a spanner in the works for the IPO-bound Oyo.
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NOW Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning…
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalty of Rs 752 crore on United Breweries is a significant sentiment dampener for the beer company, which may have to raise debt to pay the fine, said brokerage firms.
UK’s Standard Life is looking to sell up to 10.6 million shares in HDFC Asset Management Company through the stock exchange platform on Wednesday. The deal constituting 5% stake in the company could fetch the co-promoter as much as Rs 3,042 crore, according to a term sheet
issued by JP Morgan.
Kayak Investments Holding, one of the promoters of Max Healthcare Institute is looking to sell 63.47 million shares or a 6.57% stake through a block deal on Wednesday.
Crisil Ratings has upgraded its long-term rating on Bharti Airtel’s bank loan facilities and debt programme to ‘Crisil AA+/stable’ from ‘Crisil AA/ stable’, reflecting an improvement in the Sunil Mittal-led telco’s operating metrics.
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Do also check out over two dozen stock recommendations for today’s trade from top analysts on ETMarkets.com.
That’s it for now. Stay with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!
