Despite a weak start, the benchmark indices managed to close higher on Monday. Metals, banks and auto supported the market.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 231.29 points or 0.40% at 57,593.49. The Nifty 50 index gained 69 points or 0.40% at 17,222.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.40%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.53%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, shares 1,171 rose and 2,338 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.54% to 35,714.80. The index fell 0.77% in the past trading session.
ITC (up 1.52%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 1.40%), Tata Consumer Products (up 1.17%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.47%) and Colgate-Palmolive India (up 0.13%) were the top gainers in the FMCG segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bharti Airtel jumped 3.77%. The telecom major has entered into an agreement to acquire 7.036% stake in Avaada KNShorapur for Rs 1.74 crore as cash consideration. Avaada KNShorapur acts as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under Avaada Indiclean to develop, execute, manage and run upto 10 MW Solar Power Generation Plant(s) in Karnataka. The objects and effects of the acquisition are to comply with regulatory requirement for captive power plants under the provisions of Electricity Act' 2003 and Indian Electricity Rules' 2005 and procurement of cost-effective renewable energy.
Separately, Bharti Airtel's data centre subsidiary, Nxtra Data, has acquired an 11.33% equity stake in Avaada KNShorapur, an SPV formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Power Plant, in terms of the regulatory requirement for captive power consumption under electricity laws. Nxtra Data has acquired the stake for a cash consideration of Rs 2.80 crore for acquisition of aggregate 28,07,350 equity shares of Rs 10 each, Airtel said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
Shares of INOX Leisure soared 11.88% while PVR advanced 3.07%. INOX Leisure, PVR announced a merger in which shareholders will receive 3 shares of PVR in exchange of 10 shares in INOX. The board of PVR and INOX Leisure, at their respective meetings held on Sunday (27 March 2022), approved an all stock amalgamation of INOX with PVR. The amalgamation is subject to approval of the shareholders of PVR and INOX respectively, stock exchanges, SEBI and such other regulatory approvals as may be required.
Upon obtaining all approvals, INOX will merge with PVR. INOX shareholders will receive 3 shares in PVR for 10 shares of INOX. Post the merger, PVR promoters will have 10.62% stake while INOX promoters will have 16.66% stake in the combined entity. The board of the merged company would be re-constituted with total board strength of 10 members and both the promoter families having equal representation on the board with 2 board seats each.
Larsen & Toubro lost 0.52%. The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for acquisition of two multi-purpose vessels (MPVs) for Indian Navy at an overall cost of Rs 887 crore under “Buy-Indian” category. The MPVs will be the first of its kind platform, constructed to provide a cost-effective solution to meet a variety of requirements of Indian Navy.
These vessels, to be built by M/s L&T shipyard at Kattupally (Chennai), will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance& patrol, launching/ recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for Gunnery/ ASW firing exercises. These vessels would also be capable of towing ships and rendering humanitarian assistance & disaster relief (HADR) support with limited hospital ship capability.
Godrej Properties declined 2.96%. The company announced that it has entered into an agreement to develop a 33 acres land parcel in the residential micro-market of Bannerghatta Road in South Bengaluru. The project will have a developable potential of approximately 3.4 million square feet of saleable area with an estimated revenue of approximately Rs 2,000 crore. The agreement is for an outright purchase with 5% area share to the landowners.
Aster DM Healthcare surged 10.39%. The company announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu, India to set up healthcare facilities in the state. The MoU proposed an investment of Rs 500 crore in hospitals, pharmacies and laboratories in the State. This will help provide quality healthcare at affordable cost to the people of Tamil Nadu and generate employment for more than 3,500 people.
IndiaMART InterMESH shed 1.37%. The firm has announced an investment of approximately Rs. 45.98 crore in Finlite Technologies for acquiring 51.09% stake in the company. As part of the transaction, IndiaMART will be investing Rs 35 crore into the company via primary infusion and purchase shares from the promoters for the remaining amount. Finlite Technologies under the brand name 'Livekeeping', offers value added services to businesses over their existing on-premise accounting softwares, primarily ''Tally''.
Bharti Airtel entered into a contract with Euro Pacific Securities, an affiliate of Vodafone Group Plc to acquire 4.7% stake in Indus Towers (up 3.05%) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nettle Infrastructure Investments for an all cash deal of Rs 2,388.06 crore. Bharti Airtel will purchase 4.7% equity stake of Indus Towers and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nettle Infrastructure Investments, from Euro Pacific Securities, an affiliate of Vodafone Group Plc, on the principal condition that the amount paid shall be inducted by Vodafone Idea (down 1.98%) as fresh equity in Vodafone Idea (VIL) and simultaneously remit to Indus Towers to clear VIL's outstanding dues. The transaction shall be executed at Rs 187.88 per share basis the agreed price formula in the agreement, aggregating to Rs 2,388.06 crore, upon fulfillment of all conditions precedents as agreed by the parties under the agreement.
Global Markets:
European stocks advanced on Monday as investors continued to monitor the developments in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated that his country is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks ended mixed as coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai looked set to hit global activity, while throwing another wrench into supply chains that could add to inflationary pressures.
U.S. stock benchmarks closed mostly higher Friday, following choppy trade, after oil prices rebounded on the back of reports of a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco facility and as investors continued to weigh rising interest rates.
New York Fed President John Williams on Friday said he would support a half-point move if justified but indicated it was premature to make a call on the size of a future rate increase.
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