Stocks Radar: IDFC Bank, Zee Entertainment, J Kumar Infraprojects
Here are the stocks moving the market in today’s trade.
Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Wednesday, led by Reliance Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Asian Paints Ltd. The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.3 percent to 36,457 and the Nifty 50 Index climbed as much as 0.4 percent to 11,951, as of 10:25 a.m.
The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. Eight of the 11 sectoral gauges rose, led by the Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 1.58 percent gain. The Nifty IT Index was the top loser, down 1.24 percent.
Here Are The Stocks Moving The Market This Morning
Karnataka Bank Gains After Tie-up With Paisabazaar.com
Shares of the Mangalore-based lender rose as much as 1.8 percent to Rs 112 per share.
The Karnataka Bank Ltd. tied up with Paisabazaar.com, a website offering banking and credit card products, to offer home loans to customers directly through the website, according to its exchange filing.
The stock declined 26 percent in the past 12 months compared to 8.2 percent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Zee Entertainment Top Nifty Loser After BofAML Downgrade
Shares of the entertainment content company declined nearly 3.4 percent to Rs 447 apiece, its lowest in nearly a month.
Brokerage firm Bank of America lowered its recommendation on the stock to “underperform” from “neutral’ rating. It also lowered the price target to Rs 375, indicating a potential downside of 19 percent from last close.
BofAML in a note said:
- Liquidity concerns to surface if company doesn’t find a strategic investor by April 2019.
- Company has already acknowledged structural issues like lack of technological expertise.
- Near term pressure on broadcast ad/subscription due to non-extension of Dec. 29 deadline to select a-la carte channels.
- Investors are concerned with cash invested in overseas funds like Poseidon and Actinium.
- Expect Jio to disrupt media landscape in next 12-18 months.
The stock trades 28 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, Bloomberg data showed.
Investors Cheer IDFC, Capital First Merger
Shares of the IDFC Bank Ltd. rose 3.2 percent to Rs 42.50 per share intraday, while Capital First Ltd. rose 3 percent to Rs 584.20 per share.
IDFC Bank set Dec. 31 as record date for determining the shareholders of Capital First who shall be entitled to receive shares of the bank as consideration to the scheme of amalgamation of Capital First and its two arms with IDFC Bank, according to a notification to the bourses. In its press release, the bank also set Dec. 18 as the effective date of merger.
Oil Retailers Gain After Crude Extends Decline For Third Day
Shares of oil marketing companies rose after Brent crude fell to $56.26 per barrel, its lowest in over a year, in yesterday’s trading session.
- Indian Oil gained 2.1 percent intraday to Rs 147.75 apiece.
- BPCL rose close to 2 percent to Rs 360 per share.
- HPCL rose 2.8 percent to Rs 238 per share.
(Prices are as of 10:00 a.m.)
Housing Finance Stocks Rise After RBI’s Move To Ease Liquidity
Shares of non-banking housing finance lenders rose after Reserve Bank of India said that it will buy more government bonds than earlier planned as it looks to address the financial sector's liquidity crunch.
Defaults in repayments by infrastructure finance firm IL&FS Ltd. and its subsidiaries led to fears of a contagion in the financial and credit markets. This led to concerns that non-banking lenders would be unable to refinance their market borrowings, impairing growth.
Indiabulls Housing Finance was the top gainer on the Nifty, up over 5 percent.
J Kumar Infraprojects Surges After JV Wins Rs 1,349-Crore Order
Shares of the infrastructure construction company rose as much as 11.3 percent to Rs 152.10 per share.
The company’s joint venture J Kumar- J Mhatre won a highway construction contract worth Rs 1,349 crore in New Delhi, according to an exchange notification.
Trading volume was 140 times the 20-day average for this time of the day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.