Sensex Trades Higher, Nifty Above 17,150; Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank & Titan Among Top Gainers

Wed, 23 Feb 10:30 am

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Asian share markets are higher today following a three-day sell-off but investors are keeping a nervous eye on events in eastern Europe on fears of a Russia-Ukraine war.

The Hang Seng is up 0.7% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.6%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street's main indexes fell on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 confirming a correction, as the Ukraine-Russia crisis kept investors on edge after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two breakaway regions in the country and ordered troops to the area.

Indices pared losses and ended off their lows after US President Joe Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia, while saying he was hopeful diplomacy is still available.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 483 points, or 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 167 points, or 1.2%.

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

Benchmark indices started on a firm note, ending the losing streak of the previous five sessions amid rising geopolitical tensions and crude oil prices.

Market participants are tracking shares of Sanofi India and Gammon India as these companies will announce their earnings today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 309 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 90 points.

Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank are among the top gainers today. HUL, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 1.3% while the BSE Small Cap is trading higher by 1.7%.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the realty sector, consumer durables sector and power sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Axita Cotton and Butterfly Gandhimathi hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 74.64 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 50,195 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 64,215 per kg.

Crude oil prices took a breather after surging to seven-year highs in the previous session as it became clear the first wave of US and European sanctions on Russia for sending troops into eastern Ukraine would not disrupt oil supply.

Speaking of stock markets, Brijesh Bhatia talks whether it's time to make the shift from PSU banks to private banks, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Tune in to the below video to find out more:

In news from the PSU space, bidders for the government's stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) have sought more clarity on autonomy in the pricing of fuel products. They also want the government to give a realistic timeline for the blending of ethanol with petrol to give them more flexibility.

As per reports, bidders are keen on clarity about these issues as despite deregulation, oil marketing companies do not enjoy full freedom on fuel pricing.

Oil marketing companies also have limited autonomy in launching products. For example, in petrol, while BPCL offers normal petrol at Rs 95.41 per litre, BPCL Speed is priced at 98.46, on a much higher side, and are generally used in high-performance cars.

Bidders want to know if more premium products will be allowed in normal fuel prices as well as ethanol blending.

The government is planning to sell its entire 53% stake in BPCL. The Cabinet had cleared the strategic sale in November 2019 and expressions of interest were invited in March 2020.

Despite BPCL having access to more than 14% of India's oil refining capacity and 23% of the fuel market share, none of the big energy players submitted an EoI.

The three players now for the company are Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group, Apollo Global Management and Think Gas, backed by private equity major I Squared Capital.

In other news from the PSU space, the government will provide the budgeted Rs 150 bn capital allocation for state-run banks this fiscal through non-interest-bearing zero-coupon bonds.

This comes even as some banks had reached out to the government seeking clarity given that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked them to account for these bonds at fair value.

Last fiscal, the government had infused Rs 200 bn in five lenders including Punjab & Sind Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and UCO Bank through non-interest-bearing securities.

The government had slashed the bank capitalisation allocation by Rs 50 bn in the revised estimates for fiscal 2022 and has made no provision in fiscal 2023.

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

Speaking of PSUs, have a look at the chart below which shows the performance of BSE PSU index compared to BSE Sensex over the past few years.

As can be seen from the chart above, over the last decade, Rs 100 invested in BSE PSU index would have eroded to Rs 80, compared to almost 3x gains for the Sensex.

Here's what Richa Agarwal, lead Smallcap Analyst at Equitymaster, wrote about PSU stocks in one of the edition of Profit Hunter:

• However, it will be folly to paint all PSUs with the same brush. There are some exceptions in this space, which put their private peers to shame.
  
  In an editorial, I shared an opportunity in a PSU stock that is riding and enabling an irreversible megatrend - digitisation.

Moving on to news from the IPO space, there's a lot of interest and buzz in the market for the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, indicating that the IPO will happen in the current fiscal.

The government is planning with its planned IPO by March 2022 even as concerns around a potential fallout of the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine prevail.

According to Sitharaman, the release of DRHP has fueled interest in the LIC IPO. Here's what she said, 'I think the way it is crafted, it has generated a lot of interest'.

Sitharaman, who is in Mumbai on a two-day visit, has been meeting industry, trade and financial market stakeholders since 21 February. The discussions were held over the recently passed Union Budget for financial year 2022-23.

LIC IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) through which the Government would dilute 5% of its stake by selling 316.3 m shares.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, LIC clarified that subscribers of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) are not eligible for shares at a discounted price in the IPO.

With LIC's IPO just around the corner, it seems like an army of retail investors is sitting on the sidelines, just waiting to pour their money into the initial public offer (IPO).

It remains to be seen how the IPO sails through once its price band, valuation and other key details are announced.

But no matter what happens, LIC's IPO will be the defining market event of 2022. It will be a test of retail investors' appetite.

Speaking of the LIC IPO, Co-head of Research at Equitymaster and Editor of Forever Stocks, Tanushree Banerjee, explained in a video how you should evaluate the LIC IPO.

You can watch it here: How to evaluate the LIC IPO.

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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