Indian share markets ended higher yesterday on the back of buying in IT heavyweights like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.
Sentiment got a boost after BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said he was confident a Covid-19 vaccine co-developed by his company would be effective against a variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.
At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 453 points (up 1%).
The NSE Nifty closed higher by 138 points (up 1%).
HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were among the top gainers.
The BSE MidCap index ended up by 1.1%, and the BSE SmallCap index ended up by 1%.
All sectoral indices ended in green. Gains were largely seen in the IT sector, healthcare sector and metal sector.
The BSE Sensex rose over 900 points from the day's lowest level yesterday while the Nifty surpassed 13,450 levels.
Note that benchmark indices fell 3% on Wednesday, snapping six days of gains, as investor sentiment dampened following reports of a new deadly strain of the coronavirus in the UK.
At 8:15 am today, the SGX Nifty was trading down by 35 points, or 0.3% lower at 13,430 levels. Indian share markets are headed for a negative opening today following the negative trend on SGX Nifty.
Gold prices were trading down by 0.3% at Rs 50,245 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours yesterday. Domestic gold prices edged lower, mirroring similar trend in international markets.
To know more about gold, you can check out our detailed article on investing in gold here: How to Invest in Gold?
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Among the buzzing stocks today will be Dr Reddy's.
Indian pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories will manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19, Russian envoy to India Nikolay Kudashev said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign wealth fund, is investing in the production and promotion of the vaccine abroad.
As part of the partnership, RDIF shall supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to Dr Reddy's upon regulatory approval in India.
NIIT share price will also be in focus today as the company announced that it has scheduled a meeting of the board of directors on December 24, 2020 to inter alia consider proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company.
Shares of the company surged 7% yesterday on the back of above news.
As of September 30, 2020, the promoters held 34.3% stake in the IT training services company. Individual shareholders, including high net-worth individual Ashish Kacholia (2.53% stake), held a combined 23.4% stake.
Note that last year, the company had bought shares in buyback for cash at a price of Rs 125 per equity share for an aggregate amount of Rs 3.4 billion.
Apart from NIIT, market participants will also track other IT majors like Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS and Tech Mahindra.
Infosys share price hit a fresh record high of Rs 1,224 yesterday, up 4% as the board of directors of the company are scheduled to meet on January 13, 2021 to consider and approve the audited consolidated financial results of the company for the quarter and nine months ending December 31, 2020.
Shipping Corporation of India Strategic Sale: Government Invites Bids to Sell Entire Stake
India is seeking bids for the strategic sale of state-run Shipping Corporation of India, the nation's largest shipping company. The development comes as the government speeds up asset sales to help bridge the budget gap.
The government plans to sell about 296.9 million shares of the company, its entire stake of 63.75%.
Investors can submit bids individually or as part of a consortium. The deadline is March 1, 2021.
The department has appointed RBSA Capital Advisors LLP to manage the strategic disinvestment.
The stock of the company hit a 52-week high this week on reports that the government may invite expressions of interest (EoI) for the company this week.
The stock has also witnessed huge buying interest in the past one month on reports that global and domestic players are making a beeline for privatization process for the company.
During initial discussions, players like Essar Shipping, Adani, Great Eastern Shipping, Vedantas, and Dubai Port World have expressed interest in SCI, reports suggested.
How the above divestment process pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.
Note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is relying on non-tax revenues as the coronavirus-induced lockdowns threatens to push the economy into a historic contraction.
The government seeks to raise a record Rs 2.1 trillion (US$ 28.5 billion) from asset sales in the current fiscal year to March.
With big ticket divestment plans hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is readying public-sector companies for minority stake sale in the remaining months of current fiscal.
So far this fiscal, the government has raised Rs 61.3 billion by selling minority stake in Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Dynamics through offer for sale (OFS). The government also divested 15.2% in Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders through an initial public offering.
In latest developments from the IPO space, Antony Waste Handling Cell's initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 3.4 times on the second day of subscription.
The company has joined the likes of Burger King India and Mrs Bectors Food Specialities to have received oversubscription in a few hours of opening for subscription.
The IPO, to raise about Rs 3 billion, received bids for 2.26 crore equity shares, higher by 3.4 times compared to IPO size of 66.66 lakh equity shares (excluding anchor book), according to NSE data.
The portion set aside for retail investors saw subscription of 6.3 times, while the reserved portion of non-institutional investors was subscribed 19.4% and that of qualified institutional buyers 63%.
The company has fixed price band for its public issue at Rs 313-315 per share.
Ahead of the IPO, the company garnered Rs 899.9 million from 10 anchor investors at an upper end of price band. Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the top anchor investor, accounting for 44.44% of the total anchor allotments.
Note that Antony Waste Handling is launching its IPO for the second time this year, after having to withdraw its maiden attempt in April due to tepid investor response amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
In other news, Hyderabad-based precision engineering solutions company MTAR Technologies has filed draft red herring prospectus with the capital market regulator for its IPO.
The IPO consists of a fresh issuance of 4 million shares and an offer for sale of 82,24,270 equity shares by promoter and existing shareholders.
MTAR is likely to raise approximately Rs 6-6.5 billion through its IPO, according to market sources.
How the above IPOs sail through remains to be seen.
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