Stocks in Focus: Wipro, Eureka Forbes, Vedanta, Bank of Baroda, Zee

On Thursday, February 22, 2024, some stocks are expected to perform well in India after a sharp fall in the market yesterday. Late deals in the US have shown a quick recovery, which is likely to lift the market mood in India. At 07:30 AM, Gift Nifty futures were quoted at around 22,135, suggesting a likely gap-up of 50 points on the Nifty 50 index.

Wipro: IT services giant Wipro has announced a new agreement with US chipmaker Intel Foundry. Under the deal, Wipro engineers will work on Intel's latest '18A' chip node, which will be utilized in advanced consumer electronics devices from next year onwards. The agreement will provide chip designs for automotive, industrial, and telecommunications verticals and will be employed for "generative AI-driven designs". Wipro disclosed the agreement in an exchange filing.

Eureka Forbes: Lunolux, which is the promoter of Eureka Forbes, is planning to sell up to 12 percent stake in the household appliances maker for $138.6 million (Rs 1,148.7 crore) through a block deal on Thursday. People with knowledge of the deal have confirmed this. In 2021, Advent International, which currently owns Lunolux, acquired a majority stake in Eureka Forbes from Shapoorji Pallonji Group for Rs 4,400 crore. As of December 2023, it held approximately 72.56 percent stake in the company. The block deal will be offered at a floor price of Rs 494.75 per share, which is a 3 percent discount from Wednesday’s closing price of Rs 510.05 on BSE.

Vedanta: The Tamil Nadu government has informed the Supreme Court that Vedanta's Sterlite Copper plant should not be viewed as a national asset or seen as necessary to reopen in order to meet India's copper demand. Instead, the state has highlighted Adani Group's upcoming copper smelter plant in Gujarat as having the ability to meet the copper demand of the country. The Tamil Nadu government is against allowing Vedanta to reopen its plant in Thoothukudi, as it claims that the company has a history of being a repeat offender and polluter.

Bank of Baroda: On Wednesday, the bank raised Rs 2,500 crore through its second tranche of Basel III compliant Tier 2 Bond. The coupon rate was 7.57 percent, which was lower than the market expectations of 7.63 percent to 7.65 percent. These bonds will be issued for a tenor of 10 years, with the first call option available after 5 years. The issue received an overwhelming response from investors, with total bids reaching more than six times the base issue size of Rs 1,000 crore, totaling Rs 6,237 crore. This was 2.5 times the total issue size of 2,500 crores.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises: According to two sources familiar with the matter, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) plans to question the top management of Zee. SEBI's initial investigation in June 2020 revealed that Rs 200 crore from the company had been diverted through related party transactions. This claim was disputed by the father-son duo and was brought before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). However, SEBI later informed the tribunal that it was conducting a broader investigation as there were several layers to the transactions. The regulator told the tribunal that it had discovered Chandra, the chairman of Essel Group, had issued a letter of comfort for Rs 4,210 crore.

JSW Steel: Sajjan Jindal, the steel tycoon, plans to borrow $750 million to fund capital expenditures for expanding India's largest steel mill. According to anonymous sources, JSW Steel, a part of the $23 billion JSW Group, is currently in talks with lenders and is expected to finalize the mandate in the coming days. The loan's tenor and pricing will be confirmed at a later stage as the deal progresses.

HFCL: The board of the company has approved a strategic plan to expand the business into Europe. As part of this plan, the company will establish a cutting-edge optical fiber cable manufacturing facility in Poland, with an investment of up to Rs 144 crore. The facility will initially have the capacity to produce 3.25 million fiber kilometers per annum, which can be expanded up to 7 million fiber kilometers per annum. The plant is expected to be operational by February 2025, and the investment of Rs 144 crore will be financed through a combination of debt and internal accruals.

Indian Energy Exchange: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has directed an audit of the processes and software utilized by the country's three power exchanges within the next six months. The regulator has also prohibited the bourses from registering bids manually after trading hours. This action was taken after the CERC detected "increasing instances" of rule violations. The audit will be conducted by suitable audit agencies appointed by the regulator. The CERC cited examples of bid modifications and cancellations after trading hours and emphasized the need to revise regulations to prevent such actions post-trading hours.

Tata Power: BluSmart, an electric mobility ride-hailing service provider, has signed a multi-year power purchase agreement with Tata Power Trading Company to acquire green power. As per the agreement, Tata Power Trading Company (TPTCL) will source 30 MW of capacity from Tata Power's 200 MW solar PV power plant located in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. BluSmart announced this development through a statement.

Balrampur Chini Mills, EID Parry: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for the upcoming Sugar Season 2024-25. The price has been set at Rs 340 per quintal at a sugar recovery rate of 10.25 percent. The Indian Government press release stated that this price is "historic" and about 8 percent higher than the FRP of sugarcane for the current season, 2023-24. The revised FRP will be applicable from October 1, 2024, as confirmed by the Union government. The government has also announced that a premium of Rs 3.32 per quintal will be provided for every 0.1 percentage point increase above 10.25 percent in the recovery. This decision will benefit more than 5 crore sugarcane farmers and their families.