Indian equity markets are likely to extend gains on Monday as SGX hinted at gap-up open for benchmark indices BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty 50. Nifty futures were trading 162.5 points, or 1.03%, higher at 15,863.50 on the Singapore Exchange signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start. “We expect volatility to remain high this week as well, thanks to the scheduled expiry of June month derivatives contracts. Besides, the performance of the global indices especially the US, crude movement and monsoon progress, etc. will remain on the radar. Markets are taking comfort from their global counterparts but the recent move lacks decisiveness, and we feel it’s prudent to maintain a cautious stance until we see some concrete reversal signals,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking.
Stocks in focus on 27 June, Monday
Zomato: The board of directors of online food delivery major Zomato on Friday approved the acquisition of Blinkit (formerly Grofers) for a total purchase consideration of Rs 4,447.48 crore in a share-swap deal. The deal value of Rs 4,447.48 crore (around $570 million) is 43% lower than Blinkit’s last valuation of over $1 billion and also lower than $700-750 million, the valuation when the initial level of talks for the merger had started. “This acquisition is in line with our strategy of investing in the quick commerce business,” Zomato said in a regulatory filing.
Dr Reddy’s: Indian generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has acquired a portfolio of branded and generic injectable products from the US-based drug firm Eton Pharmaceuticals Inc for $50 million. The Hyderabad-headquartered drug maker said it has agreed to acquire the Eton portfolio for an upfront payment of approximately $5 million in cash and contingent payments of up to $45 million. Dr Reddy’s said the acquisition supports its efforts to accelerate and expand affordable medicines for patients.
Axis Bank: Private lender Axis Bank said on June 24 that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the reappointment of Rajiv Anand as the deputy managing director of the lender for another three years. Anand joined the private sector lender in May 2013 from its asset management arm Axis Asset Management, where he was the MD and CEO. Initially he was appointed as President (Retail banking) and was elevated as the Group Executive (Retail Banking) in 2014. He was elevated to the role of executive director for retail banking in August 2016, and he took over as executive director for wholesale banking in December 2018.
Infosys: Infosys gave capital return of over Rs 24,100 crore in 2021-22 with a total dividend of Rs 31 per share along with share buyback of over Rs 11,000 crore, company’s co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Saturday. While speaking at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, Nilekani announced that the 2021-22 fiscal has been a year of exceptional growth – 19.7 per cent in constant currency – bringing in $16.3 billion, which is the fastest growth that Infosys has recorded in 11 years.
Reliance Industries: RIL is reportedly in talks with a clutch of global banks to raise $8 billion for its planned leveraged buyout of British pharma chain Boots. The conglomerate, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is in talks with a consortium of foreign lenders comprising Barclays Bank Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank for its biggest cross-border acquisition plan, After the acquisition, Reliance plans to integrate Boots assets with Reliance Retail Ltd and bring the combined entity under Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL).
Bajaj Auto: The Board of Directors of Bajaj Auto will meet on June 27 to deliberate on the proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company. “We wish to inform you that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Monday, 27 June 2022, inter-alia to further deliberate on the proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the Company,” the company said in an exchange filing on June 22 . Earlier, the company had deferred the buyback plan in the meeting held on June 14.
Future Enterprises: The company defaulted on interest payment of Rs 4.10 crore for its non-convertible debentures. With this, the Kishore Biyani-led Future group firm has now defaulted for the fourth time in June. Last week, the company defaulted twice on interest payments of Rs 85.71 lakh and Rs 6.07 crore for its non-convertible debentures.
