A total of 6 out of the top 10 most valuable companies on the Nifty by market cap added Rs.118,383 crore during the week ended 12-November. Reliance and Infosys were the big gainers in the week. In terms of specific stocks, Reliance added Rs.59,437 crore in market cap and Infosys added Rs.29,691 crore. Among others, HDFC added Rs.17,187 crore, TCS Rs.5,715 crore and Kotak Bank Rs.3,302 crore. On the downside, HDFC Bank lost Rs.22,545 crore, SBI Rs.17,135 crore, HUL Rs.3,912 crore and ICICI Bank Rs. 3,811 crore.
For the first 6 months of FY22 ended Sep-21, India reported 12.6% higher coal imports at 107.34 MT. It was 95.30 MT in the first 6 months of FY21.The data was compiled by MJunction, a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL. However, the pressure of high global prices was visible in September with coal imports dropping to just 14.85 MT in Sep-21 compared to 19.04 MT in Sep-20, a fall of 21%. Apart from thermal coal, the imports of coking coal were also down about 23% yoy. Coking coal is a major input for steel.
Foreign portfolio investors net sold Rs.949 crore in the first 2 weeks of Nov-21. FPIs pulled out Rs.4,694 crore from equities but pumped in Rs.3,745 crore into debt. FPIs had net sold Rs.12,437 crore in Oct-21. There have been several triggers. For example, valuations have been elevated and a slew of global brokers have downgraded their view on Indian equities to Neutral. The October US inflation at 6.32% also raises the prospects of the US front-ending rate hikes. Debt parking appears to be wait and watch on equities.
Independent directors of Future Retail have disclosed new documents about the deal between Amazon and Future Coupons to bolster their case against Amazon. Independent directors have been insisting on revoking the 2019 deal between Amazon and Future Coupons on the grounds of misrepresentations and inadequate disclosures. Amazon had invested $200 million in Future Coupons in a deal that ostensibly gave Amazon the first right of refusal in any future sale deal. That has been the bone of contention.
The coming week starting 15-November will see two more IPOs hit the primary market. Both the companies look to raise a little over Rs.1,000 crore through the IPOs. Tarsons Products a life sciences company will open its IPO on 15-Nov to raise Rs.1,024 crore in the price band of Rs.635-662 per share. The other IPO of Go Fashions, leading manufacturer of ladies bottom wear, will open on 17-Nov. The IPO size is Rs.1,014 crore and the price band is Rs.655-690. Both the IPOs will combine new issue with an OFS.
Tata Steel CFO, Koushik Chatterjee, has warned that higher energy prices in Europe could pose a serious risk for the viability of its European operations. Energy prices have been going up sharply including crude and coal. Steel manufacture is extremely energy intensive. In the last few months, Europe and China have faced a severe shortage of energy inputs resulting in power outages at several places. Most steel makers are passing on higher commodity prices to end-users. One reason is also that China is cutting on emissions.
A day after the rather disappointing listing at 6% discount, Fino Payments Bank posted impressive 74% jump in net profit to Rs.7.89 crore for Sep-21 quarter. For the quarter, Fino Payments Bank reported 35% higher revenues at Rs.242 crore assisted by 32% growth in transaction revenues, 43% subscription income growth and 35% growth in open banking. Fino also reported 78% growth in CASA deposits. Fino Payments Bank has already built a pan-India presence of 7.25 lakh merchants typically in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.
Vodafone Idea Ltd reported its thirteenth straight quarterly loss at Rs.7,132 crore for the Sep-21 quarter. It is slightly lower than the loss in the previous comparable quarters. Revenues for the quarter were up 2.8% at Rs.9,406 crore. However, operating income improved by 4.2% at Rs.3,862 crore. Vodafone has implemented a series of cost optimization measures which will result in annualized savings of Rs.4,000 crore. ARPUs were slightly higher by 5% at Rs.109 in the quarter. Entry level pricing has also gone up.