Reliance’s Continued Investments, Fiscal Deficit Crosses 109%, & more...

30th Sept 2020 Highlights: Markets end flat again, Reliance’s Continued Investments, Fiscal Deficit Crosses 109%, & more...

-30th Sept 2020-

Sensex 38,067.93 ▲ 0.25%

Nifty 11,247.55 ▲ 0.22%

The markets ended slightly up with the HDFC stock, HDFC Bank stock, and FMCG stocks driving up the index. The Nifty is showing signs of indecision and there seems to be a stalemate between the bulls and the bears. Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty FMCG index gained 1.3% today, while the benchmark was largely flat. FMCG stocks such as Nestle (+1.9%), Britannia (+1.5%) and HUL (+1.5%) showed strength. Meanwhile, BPCL fell 9.0% as the government (further) extended the deadline for initial bids for its privatisation.

Top Gainers (Nifty)

Grasim Ind - Rs 744.20 ▲ 3.15% 

Tech Mahindra - Rs 791.75 ▲ 3.07%

Titan Company - Rs 1200.50 ▲ 2.83%

Shree Cement - Rs 20256.95 ▲ 2.13%

Dr Reddy's - Rs 5187.80 ▲ 2.04%

Top Losers (Nifty)

Bharat Petroleum - Rs 353.00 ▼ 8.60%

Bharti Airtel - Rs 420.90 ▼ 3.34%

Tata Steel - Rs 359.75 ▼ 2.77%

Vedanta - Rs 136.90 ▼ 2.28%

JSW Steel - Rs 277.75 ▼ 2.24%

Top stories of the day.

General Atlantic Announces Investment in Reliance Retail.

Reliance Industries announced an investment by General Atlantic (GA) in its retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL).

GA, a global equity firm, will invest Rs 3,675 crores in RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This will translate to an equity stake of 0.84%.

This is the third investment in RRVL in the past few weeks. Earlier Silver Lake and KKR had announced investments.

This is the second investment by General Atlantic in a RIL subsidiary. GA had earlier invested over Rs 6,500 crores in Jio Platforms.

Shares of the company settled 0.48% lower at Rs 2,234.35 per share.

IPO Day 2 Update

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders

The Rs 444-crore issue received bids for 23 crore shares so far as against the issue size of 3.05 crore shares. This means that the issue was subscribed for a little more around 7.5 times.

UTI AMC

The 2,150-crore IPO received bids for around 2.15 crore shares so far against an issue size of 2.73 crore shares. This means that the issue has been subscribed 78.5% at the end of day 2 of bidding.

Likhitha Infrastructure

The Rs 61.2-crore IPO received bids for 1.58 crore shares against an issue size of 51 lakh shares. This means the issue was subscribed 3.1 times so far at the end of day 2 of bidding.

Dhanlaxmi Bank MD & CEO Ousted

Shareholders of Dhanlaxmi Bank ousted their managing director and CEO, Sunil Gurbaxani, at the annual general meeting (AGM) today.

Reportedly 90% votes were polled against his appointment. Shares of the bank closed 1.2% lower at Rs 12.3 per share.

Last Date for Filing ITR for 2018-19 Extended

The last date to file belated ITR for the fiscal year 2018-19 has again been extended till November 30, 2020.

It was March 31 initially but was extended up till September 30 in light of the difficulties arising from the lockdowns and the pandemic.

The last date to file the returns for the year 2019-20 without paying any penalty is also November 30, 2020.

India’s Fiscal Deficit Passes 109% of Yearly Target

At the end of August 2020, India’s fiscal deficit was at Rs 8.7 lakh crore ($118 billion) which is around 109% of the total target for the fiscal year 2020-2021.

The government had initially (before lockdowns) estimated that the fiscal deficit would be 3.5% of GDP but some new estimates suggest this number will be much closer to around 8% for the financial year 2020-21.

Logistics sector gets moving as lockdown eases

Stocks of major logistics companies have risen in September as economic activity in most parts of the country inches back to normal. Recently, Blue Dart announced a 9.6% hike in its average shipping price, effective 1 January 2021. One could expect other players to follow suit. Shares of Blue Dart, Gati, Snowman and TCI have gained nearly 45%, 18%, 13% and 10%, respectively, in September. The revival in the logistics sector could be an indication of a pick-up in the entire supply chain.  

 

Welspun surges on new orders, improved order book

Welspun Corp hit the 5% upper circuit, a day after it announced that it has received orders totalling ₹1,400 crore. Its current order book stands at 755 kilometre-tonnes, valued at ₹6,300 crore, which is higher than the order book at the end of the last two quarters. The pipeline manufacturer, which supplies pipes to oil & gas and water companies, claims to have garnered new bids and orders as oil prices have recovered significantly from Q1FY21.

 

Vedanta delisting approved; dividend questions raised 

Vedanta has received an in-principle approval from the NSE and BSE for its delisting. Vedanta Resources (VRL), which owns 50.1% of Vedanta, plans to buy out the remaining 49.9% shares held by the public. Amid this development, questions are being raised by corporate governance experts regarding the non-distribution of the ₹4,500 crore dividend that Vedanta received from Hindustan Zinc, in which it has a 65% stake. This is contrary to the company’s dividend distribution policy, which mentions that the normal dividend received from Hindustan Zinc shall be entirely passed on to its shareholders. Today, shares of Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc were down 2.1% and 1.0%, respectively.

Closing bell

If the heated Trump-Biden debate is anything to go by, investor confidence is expected to remain shaky in October in the run-up to the elections. Asian and European indices are down currently, and the Dow Jones futures are in the red. Going by the recent trends in the Indian markets, investors seem to be seeking safety in the defensive sectors such as pharma and FMCG.

---

🥇 Gold: Rs 50,344 ▲ 0.05% at 6 PM

🥈 Silver: Rs 61,030 ▼ 0.35% at 6 PM

🔀  USD-INR Rate: Rs 73.76/USD ▼ 0.12% 

Dow Jones: 27,452.66 ▼ 3.34% - Sept 29

Nasdaq: 11,085.25 ▼ 0.29% - Sept 29