On Wednesday, share markets in India opened in green and traded strong throughout the day and ended the day at a record close.
The BSE Sensex closed higher by 387 points to end at 33,600 while the broader NSE Nifty ended the day higher by 105 points to close at 10,441.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index rose the most by 2.9%, followed by bank stocks at 2%. State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel, were among the top gainers.
Top Stocks in Action Today
Hindustan Petroleum Corp. (HPCL) share price is likely to be in focus today after an article in a leading financial daily stated that HPCL is likely to acquire Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) in a share-swap deal.
The merger is likely to take place after Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the country's biggest oil and gas explorer, completes acquisition of HPCL in an all-cash deal by December or January.
The above development will make HPCL the second-largest oil refiner in India.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd will be among the stocks to watch today after the company reported 9.3% increase in wholesale at 135,128 units for October. Passenger cars sales increased 6.7%, backed by compact cars segment (Dzire, Swift, Ritz, Baleno) that showed a growth of 24.7% while mini car division (Alto, WagonR) registered a 4.2% de-growth YoY.
Manufacturing Activity Declines in October
Indian manufacturing activity lost momentum in October. The sector which showed signs of rebounding in September grew sluggishly in response to subdued demand conditions. Previously, manufacturing activity had contracted sharply in July following the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to the Nikkei Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey by Markit, India's manufacturing lost steam in October after a sustained recovery in August and September. The PMI had contracted sharply in July. Introduction of the GST weighed heavily on the Indian manufacturing industry in July.
The PMI is the reading of the country's manufacturing sector output and is updated monthly. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while any score below the mark denotes contraction.
PMI in October stood at 50.3, declining from the 51.2 reading in September. Both purchasing activity and pre-production inventories decreased due to subdued demand.
The report said that the downward movement in the headline index was partly driven by a stagnation in new business. The report linked subdued demand conditions to negative impacts of GST. Meanwhile, new export orders for Indian goods reduced in October. Moreover, the rate of contraction was the fastest since September 2013.
The data comes as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept interest rates unchanged last month because it anticipates upside risks to retail inflation. It also slashed its growth projections for the current fiscal and raised its inflation projections.
Global Markets Upbeat on Economic Data
Asian shares scaled a 10-year high on Wednesday on the back of solid economic growth globally. European shares too were trading in green. Market participants in the US are focused on the progress of a U.S. tax-cut plan being developed by President Donald Trump and on Trump's announcement of the next head of the Federal Reserve. The White House said he will reveal his Fed pick on Thursday.
IPO Buzz
New India Assurance's initial public offer (IPO) got fully subscribed on the first day itself. According to data available on the bourses, the IPO received bids for 1.03 times the total issue size.
The general insurer's IPO will remain open till November 3. The fully government owned company is selling 120 million shares with a face value of Rs 5 each of which 24 million shares are fresh issue and 96 million shares are an offer for sale.
We had analysed and reviewed the IPO and released a recommendation note. You can check the same on the IPO page.
Meanwhile, Mahindra Logistics' IPO too got fully subscribed on day 2 of the offer. The IPO was subscribed by 1.3 times as of yesterday's close.
The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed over 75%, non-institutional investors over 10% and retail investors by more than 215%.
The company on Monday raised a little over Rs 247 crore from anchor investors. The initial share sale of Mahindra Logistics will close on November 2. The company has fixed price band of Rs 425 to 429 for the ongoing public offer. You can read about our view of the IPO, here.
IPOs are all the rage in the share markets these days. With new companies listing by the day, all with promises of superior returns.
However, we don't need thousands of IPOs to get rich. That's not how super investors make their fortunes. But a few good IPOs could certainly become the multi baggers in your portfolio in a few years.
We have reviewed each of them and have released their recommendation notes. You can check the same on their IPO page.
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