Sensex Opens above 49,000 Mark; Axis Bank & Info Edge Among Top Stocks in Focus

Wed, 28 Apr 09:30 am | Yash Vora, TM Team

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Asian share markets are mixed today as already high valuations discouraged investors from buying equities ahead of a closely-watched US Federal Reserve meeting.

The Nikkei is trading higher by 0.4% while the Hang Seng is trading up by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.2%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices settled flat overnight while tech shares dropped amid a flurry of quarterly earnings and ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed unchanged at 33,984.93, as did the broad-based S&P 500, which shed less than a point from Monday's record. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.

As per media reports, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to reaffirm that easy monetary policy will remain in place for a prolonged period and dismiss any suggestions of tapering bond purchases.

US President Joe Biden will also address a joint session of Congress, where he may make additional comments about infrastructure and stimulus spending.

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

Market participants are tracking shares of Bajaj Finserv, Biocon, Mastek, Tata Comm, UTI AMC and Bombay Dyeing as these companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter earnings later today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 346 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 92 points.

Bajaj Finance is among the top gainers today. JSW Steel, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened up by 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

Barring metal stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the automobile sector and finance sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Shares of Thermax and Vinati Organics hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 74.53 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 47,100 per 10 grams. Gold fell today, pulled down by firmer US Treasury yields with investors looking out for policy cues from the Federal Reserve's meeting.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 1.1% at Rs 68,204 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, Brijesh Bhatia talks about the famous market phrase, 'Sell in May and Go Away', in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Does this concept of selling stocks in the month of May, work in the Indian share markets?

Brijesh answers this question in the video below. Tune in to find out more:

In news from the IT sector, Info Edge on Tuesday said it will sell stake worth Rs 7.5 billion in the initial public offering (IPO) of its investee company Zomato.

In a regulatory filing, the company said said Zomato is proposing an IPO of its equity shares, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale by Info Edge (India).

"The Board of Directors of the Company considered and have given their approval to the company to participate in the said Offer for Sale of up to such number of shares of Zomato Ltd as would aggregate upto Rs 7,500 million" it added.

On a fully converted and diluted basis, Info Edge's effective stake in Zomato stands at 18.4%.

Last year, Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal had told employees that the company plans to go for an IPO in the first half of 2021.

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Zomato's FY20 revenues had jumped over two-fold to US$ 394 million from the previous fiscal.

Info Edge share price has opened the day up by 2.5%.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, HDFC Bank is among the top buzzing stocks today.

HDFC Bank, India's biggest private sector lender, is looking to replace its legacy credit card system with a modern technology platform to make the processes more efficient and cost-effective.

A person aware of the matter said that the decision to upgrade the system of credit cards is also expected to give customers a better experience and more security.

"There are many new-age fintechs that have developed a good platform for online banking, credit card issuance and management that are offering banks the option to migrate it to their platforms. The bank is in talks with fintech companies such as Zeta and Sprinklr for launching their credit cards once the ban is lifted," the person added.

Note that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had stopped HDFC Bank from issuing new cards in December.

Since RBI banned HDFC Bank from issuing new credit cards, the bank has seen its cards portfolio decline by 189,000 cards as of February-end, data from RBI showed.

While HDFC Bank continues to be the largest credit card issuer with an outstanding base of 15.2 million cards, ICICI Bank has managed to capture 43% of the incremental cards issued between December and February.

HDFC Bank started the conversation with fintech companies nearly two years ago. But the need to move the credit card operations to a more efficient digital platform was felt following the surge in digital transactions during the pandemic.

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We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

Note that, HDFC Bank is one that has always adapted to changing times.

HDFC Bank wanted to transform itself from a leader in the physical banking to a leader in online banking. Since then, HDFC Bank has constantly focused on going digital.

In 2004, only 10% of customer transactions were initiated through internet and mobile. The number has gone up to 92% in 2019.

It is a great example of a company which has taken advantage of its scale and embraced disruption rather than fear it.

These are traits that one should look for in picking stocks. They not only withstand the disruption but also gain from it in the long-run.

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!

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