Sensex Opens Higher; IndusInd Bank & Bajaj Finserv Up Over 4%

Mon, 23 Nov 09:30 am | Yash Vora, TM Team

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Asian share markets have begun the trading week with gains as traders took solace from progress towards a potential vaccine for Covid-19.

The Hang Seng is trading down by 0.2% while the Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.8%.

In US, Wall Street indices slumped on Friday on a combination of dwindling aid for the US economy and rising novel coronavirus infection rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down by 0.8% while the Nasdaq ended down by 0.4%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened the day on a strong note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 315 points. The NSE Nifty is trading higher by 73 points.

IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv are among the top gainers today.

Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened the day up by 1%.

Barring telecom stocks, all sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with stocks in the energy sector and auto sector witnessing maximum buying interest.

The rupee is trading at 74.10 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 50,237 per 10 grams.

To know more about gold, you can check out our detailed article on investing in gold here: How to Invest in Gold?

Speaking of stock markets, in her latest video, Co-head of Research at Equitymaster, talks about yet another stock like ITC, that has underperformed in recent months.

She talks about Mahindra &Mahindra (M&M), the ITC of the auto sector. In the video, Tanushree also explains whether M&M has upside from the perspective of growth or value?

Tune in to the video to find out more:

In news from the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel share price is in focus today.

Bharti Airtel on Friday said it will acquire 5.2% stake in solar power company Avaada MHBuldhana for Rs 45.5 million in an all-cash deal.

Avaada MHBuldhana, a subsidiary of Avaada Energy, is a newly-formed entity that is developing a captive solar power plant in Maharashtra. It will become operational by March and, hence, its revenue was nil as on 31 March, Bharti Airtel said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

Important: Do You Own These 3 Stocks?

Meanwhile, the company's chairman, Sunil Mittal also said telecom tariff hike is needed as the current rates are "unsustainable" and market conditions will be seen before a call is taken.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, private bank stocks and NBFCs are in focus today.

The central bank's Internal Working Group (IWG) has proposed 12 changes to ownership guidelines and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks.

Large corporate or industrial houses may be allowed as promoters, but only after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The cap on promoters' stake in the long run, over 15 years, may be raised from the current level of 15% to 26% of the paid-up voting equity share capital of the bank.

Large NBFCs with an asset size of Rs 500 billion, including those owned by corporate houses may be allowed to convert to private banks.

As for urban-cooperative banks that want to convert into SFBs, the initial capital requirement should be Rs 1.5 billion and that has to be increased to Rs 3 billion in five years.

Payments banks that intend to convert into small finance banks can do so with three years' experience rather than five, according to the recommendations of a working group of the Reserve Bank of India.

As per media reports, this relaxation, if accepted, may open the door for payments banks that wish to convert. Paytm, IndiaPost, and Fino Payments may benefit from this relaxation.

How all this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

In other news, Punjab National Bank (PNB) is among the top buzzing stocks today.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a total fine of over Rs 57.8 million on six entities, including PNB, Sodexo, and PhonePe, for violating regulatory guidelines.

"In exercise of powers vested under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, the RBI has imposed monetary penalty on these entities for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines," it said in a release.

Punjab National Bank share price has opened the day up by 1.3%.

Speaking of the banking sector, note that the sector was one of the worst affected sectors in the Indian stock market when Covid-19 struck.

Banking stocks were severely punished. No investor wanted to touch them even with a 10-ft pole.

However, sentiment have changed now as investors are chasing banking stocks like never before.

Have a look at the monthly returns of major sectors for the month of March and October 2020 in the chart below:

Banks were among major losers with a cut of 34% in the month of March. Cut to October, they are the biggest gainers for the month with more than 11% returns!

How banking stocks perform in the coming months remains to be seen.

To know more, you can check out Apurva's video on contrarian trading in PSU banking space here: Contrarian Trading in PSU Banks.

And 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!

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers

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