News Wrap | Nifty & Sensex Slip; Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank Biggest Nifty Gainers

Good evening, and welcome to Business Hook’s daily news podcast, where we bring you a roundup of the day’s top business stories. I’m Avni Raja, and today is the 21st of October, 2024.

Let’s start with Asian equity markets. It was a mixed session in Asia, as investors parsed the details of the latest rate cuts announced by China. The Chinese central bank cut its one-year and five-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) by 25 basis points to 3.1 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

While the one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, the five-year LPR acts as the reference for property mortgages. Following the announcement, China’s Shanghai Composite ended marginally higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped over one and a half percent.

Japan’s Nikkei finished the day nearly unchanged as investors focused on the general election at the end of the week.Back home, the Nifty ended the day down three-tenths of a percent, and the Sensex also closed lower as equities failed to hold onto opening gains. Of the fifty Nifty constituents, 37 declined, while 12 managed to advance.

Tata Consumer was the biggest loser of the session, down more than seven percent amid mixed commentary from experts on its second-quarter results. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto was the star of the trade, with a four percent surge following bullish comments from the company’s MD, Rajiv Bajaj. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rajiv Bajaj said he stands by his projection of ₹20,000 as the long-term target price for Bajaj Auto shares.

Also in stock-specific action, shares of HDFC Bank surged over two-and-a-half percent to 1,725 rupees following better-than-expected second-quarter numbers. The bank’s net interest income grew by ten percent, and net profit was up 5.3 percent year-on-year, exceeding street estimates. Most brokerages have given a thumbs up to the results, with analysts setting the price target for the next year between 1,900 and 2,150 rupees.

In the IPO space, Hyundai India is set to list on the stock exchanges on Tuesday, the 22nd of October. The public issue, which at around 28,000 crore rupees is the largest in India’s stock market history, saw a tepid response from retail investors. The Hyundai IPO was subscribed 2.37 times in total, with only fifty percent subscription for the retail investors' quota and just 60 percent for the non-institutional investors category. The bulk of the demand came from qualified institutional buyers, who bid for almost seven times their quota.

A big headline from the entertainment industry: Pune-based billionaire Adar Poonawalla has acquired a fifty percent stake in Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment. Poonawalla, who is the CEO of vaccine major Serum Institute, made this acquisition through Serene Productions for 1,000 crore rupees.

After the deal, Karan Johar will retain a fifty percent stake in the company, which has produced legendary films like Dostana, Agneepath, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Karan Johar will also continue as the Executive Chairman of Dharma Productions.

With that, it’s a wrap on this edition of the Business Hook News Wrap podcast. We will be back tomorrow with the next edition of our podcast. Have a great weekend and check out our YouTube channel Business Hook for the top business developments of the day.