Domestic equities along with global markets witnessed some bounce back in the previous session given the increasing probability of de-escalation of war with Ukraine proposing to adopt a neutral status and Russia’s promise to scale down military operations. “Bulls are now gradually gaining strength in the market. After trading in the range of 17,000-17,400 for 8 trading session, Nifty has finally managed to breakout and close above this zone. Follow up buying is helping the index to sustain well at higher zones. Even India VIX – now below 21 levels – is providing the support required to stabilize the market. Market breadth is also turning favourable, indicating broad based action,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Stocks in focus on 31 March, Thursday
Axis Bank: Axis Bank on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Citi India’s consumer businesses for Rs 12,325 crore. Apart from the credit card business, the deal includes Citi’s consumer loans portfolio, retail banking assets and wealth management business. The deal, which will give Axis Bank access to three million new customers, is likely to be closed over the next 9 to 12 months, subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition will bolster Axis Bank’s presence across segments, with its credit card business benefiting the most.
Ceat, Apollo, Continental: India’s antitrust body on Wednesday raided the offices of tyre companies including India’s Ceat, Apollo Tyres and Germany’s Continental AG in an alleged case of competition law violations. The raids were being conducted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) officers across multiple cities, the sources said. The case relates to an antitrust probe into use of unfair trade practices and rigging bids while supplying tyres for public transport vehicles in the northern state of Haryana, sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
ONGC: The government plans to sell upto 1.5% equity stake in state-run oil and gas giant ONGC Ltd via an offer for sale of equity shares over two days beginning tomorrow, to raise upto Rs 3,000 crore. It will sell about 19 crore shares at a floor price of Rs 159 per share. The ONGC OFS will open today, ie, 30 March for non-retail bidders, and will be open on 31 March for retail investors, the company said in a filing to the stock exchanges.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea: The telecom subscriber base in the country declined marginally to 116.94 crore in January this year, mainly due to the loss of a whopping 93.22 lakh mobile phone users by the largest telecom service provider Reliance Jio, the latest data released by TRAI said on Wednesday. Bharti Airtel was the only net gainer with the addition of 7.14 lakh users of its mobile services. Vodafone Idea lost 3.89 lakh wireless subscribers.
Reliance Industries (RIL): For a consecutive month, RIL’s telecom arm Reliance Jio lost the maximum number of wireless subscribers with 9.32 million customers leaving its network. Last month too, Jio had lost 12.90 million subscribers. However, Jio Infocomm added the highest number of active subscribers for the second straight month in January despite losing the maximum number of gross subscribers. The Mukesh Ambani-controlled telecom operator added 41.8 lakh regularly paying users compared with its last one-year monthly average accumulation of 30.3 lakh, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Tata Steel: Tata Steel is all set to acquire ferro alloys producing assets of Odisha-based Stork Ferro and Mineral Industries for Rs 155 crore in an all-cash deal, the company informed on Wednesday. Accordingly, an asset transfer agreement has already been signed between the two companies. The acquisition will be completed within two months from the date of execution of the asset transfer agreement, the company said. The acquisition will provide an inorganic growth opportunity for Tata Steel Limited to augment its ferro alloys processing capacities.
Spicejet: The Delhi High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of SpiceJet’s promoter Ajay Singh in a case relating to the alleged non-fulfilment of a deal on the share purchase agreement. The Delhi HC heard the plea in a matter in which there was a non-bailable warrant issued against Singh by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
