Shivanand Mankekar returns to Dalal Street after years
FIIs raise bearish bets in Nifty and Bank Nifty
Sebi proposes new definition for company promoters
Investors’ appetite for undervalued stocks pumps up PSUs
Hi there. Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Sandeep Singh. Let’s start with a quick glance on the state of the markets.
Dalal Street looked set for an indecisive start this morning. Nifty futures traded flat on the Singapore Exchange as most Asian equity indices fell. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index declined for a second day following Friday’s record high, while dip buyers helped the Nasdaq erase a loss to finish little changed. The dollar inched higher from around the lowest levels of this year. Crude oil prices also edged up.
That said, here’s what else is making news.
Shivanand Mankekar, one of India’s richest individual investors, has returned to Dalal Street after years. He bought a 2.3% stake in Solara Active Pharma Science worth Rs 135 crore on Monday. This is Mankekar’s first major investment since September 2019. Solara Active Pharma Science was formed by carving out the API business of Strides Pharma and merging it with the human API business of Sequent Scientific. The Mumbai-based reclusive investor held a nearly 4% stake in Sequent Scientific till March 2018 and about 2.07% in Strides Pharma till September 2017.
Dalal Street could turn more volatile than usual at Wednesday’s expiry of weekly options as FIIs have raised bearish bets on Nifty and Bank Nifty futures to a level last seen six months ago. While being net sellers of Rs 15,628 crore of cash market shares in the financial year till date, FIIs have so far hedged themselves by remaining net bullish on index futures, so as to gain from any appreciation.
Sebi has proposed to do away with the concept of a ‘promoter’ for listed companies, seeking to align the definition of executive ownership with that in the West, where the concept of a ‘person in control’ is used to link decision making and primary shareholding. “Unlike the past, the concentration of ownership and controlling rights of Indian companies does not vest completely in the hands of the promoters or the promoter group,” Sebi said in a discussion paper on Tuesday.
Moody’s Investors Service cut India’s growth forecast to 9.3% for this financial year, a 4.4 percentage point drop from 13.7% projected in February, on account of the second wave of Covid-19. The negative economic impact of the resurgence in cases will be limited to April-June and would be followed by a strong rebound in the second half of FY22, the global ratings company said in a report.
The Department of Financial Services has asked PSU banks to appoint a nodal officer amid increasing concerns that overseas assets or deposits of these lenders could be attached during a contested arbitration award involving Cairn Energy and the Centre. The department wrote a letter to PSB chiefs suggesting they immediately inform Sanjay Kumar, Director of banking operations, if they receive ‘any intimation/notice/letter’ from Cairn Energy and its subsidiary Cairn UK Holdings.
And lastly, investors’ appetite for undervalued stocks brought them to public sector companies on Tuesday, driving the index comprising shares of state-owned companies to a two-year high. The CPSE index jumped 3.4% on Tuesday as against a 0.6% decline in the Nifty, opening up the possibility of another 20% rally over the next two months. The index has gained 20% in a month.
Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning.
PNB may have to end up providing Rs 500 crore in fiscal 2021 towards the erosion of its investment in Kazakhstan’s JSC Tengri Bank, people aware of the matter said.
The Ahmedabad bench of NCLT has admitted an insolvency petition against Sintex Industries after the textile company failed to pay more than Rs 7,000 crore to a group of creditors led by PNB.
Online investment platform Groww has signed an agreement to acquire the asset management company of Indiabulls Housing Finance for Rs 175 crore
Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on Bajaj Electricals with an overweight rating and a target price of Rs 1,479 as it sees the company as a turnaround story.
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 put with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!
