After opening the day lower, Indian share markets turned positive as the session progressed and ended the day flat.

Benchmark indices moved in a narrow range around the flat line on Thursday, while the broader indices held their gains through the day.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 33 points (up 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 11 points.

Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, and Tata Motors were among the top gainers today.

M&M, BPCL, and Axis Bank on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty ended at 22,537 down by 54 points.

Broader markets ended the day higher. The BSE Mid Cap ended 0.4% higher and the BSE Small Cap index ended 0.7% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading positive, with socks in metal sector, power sector and telecom sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the oil & gas sector and energy sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Tata Investment, Bajaj Auto, and ABB India hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 82.80 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.5% higher at Rs 65,490 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading flat at Rs 74,210 per 1 kg.
 

Tata Chemicals Soars 14%

In news from the chemical sector, Tata Chemicals shares zoomed around 14% to hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,349 on NSE, extending gains to the sixth consecutive session.

The recent rally has come on the back of a media note on 4 March, which mentioned Tata Sons, the parent company of the Tata Group.

Tata Sons is the investment holding company of the Tata Group.

The Tata Group comprises over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology (IT), engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals.

The company has been classified as an upper-layer non-banking financial company (NBFC), supporting and promoting other Tata Group businesses. It is currently preparing for its initial public offering (IPO).

According to the Reserve Bank of India's rules, when a company is designated as an upper-layer NBFC, it must go public within three years.

On 14 September 2023, the RBI announced that 15 financial firms, including Tata Sons, fall into this upper-layer NBFC category.

As the buzz over the potential listing of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Rs 30 trillion (tn) conglomerate, grows louder, investors have already started betting on Tata Chemicals, which could be the biggest beneficiary of the mega IPO.

As per the media report released earlier this week, four Tata Group companies - Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, Tata Power, and Indian Hotels have ownership in Tata Sons. However, the only realistic way to get exposure to this potential value-unlocking opportunity is via Tata Chemicals.

While Tata Sons is the promoter of Tata Chemicals and holds a 31.9% stake in the company, Tata Chemicals also holds more than 10,000 shares of Tata Sons, data from its annual report showed.
 

Tata Motors To Hike Prices

Moving on to news from the auto sector, Tata Motors announced on 18 September that it will increase the prices of its commercial vehicles, effective 1 October 2023, by up to 33%.

This adjustment aims to offset the impacts of past input costs.

The price increase is to offset the residual impact of the past input costs.

While the price increase will vary, as per individual model and variant, it will be applicable across the entire range of commercial vehicles.

Tata Motors on 4 March informed the stock exchanges of its decision to demerge its businesses into two separate listed entities, namely the commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) businesses. PVs include electric vehicles (EVs) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

Tata Motors' proposed demerger plan will help the company reap the best of both worlds.

Macrotech Developers Raises Funds

Moving on to news from the realty sector, realty major Macrotech Developers, formerly known as Lodha Developers, raised Rs 32.8 bn by selling shares to institutional investors to repay debt, acquire land, and cover other expenses. The qualified institutional placement (QIP), which opened on 4 March, is set to close on 7 March.

The company had approved allotment of 290 m equity shares of face value Rs 10 each to eligible qualified institutional buyers (QIB) at the issue price of Rs 1,098 per share, against the floor price of Rs 1,129.4 per share.

After the allotment of equity shares in the issue, the paid-up equity share capital of the company stood increased to Rs 9.9 bn.

Invesco Developing Markets Fund was allotted the most shares via this QIP at 21.4% of the total issue size, followed by GQG Partners with 11.2% of the QIP issue, and Stitching Depositary APG Emerging Markets Equity Pool with 9% of the QIP issue.

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