Stocks to Focus: L&T, Tata Group companies, Cyient, HG Infra, telecom stocks, PNB Housing
Stocks to watch on Wednesday, August 21: Indian equities are expected to open flat, reflecting weakness from global markets. The GIFT Nifty futures indicate a subdued start, down 16 points from the Nifty50 futures at 24,695 levels. In Japan, July trade data showed exports rising by 10.3 percent year-on-year, while imports increased by 16.6 percent. This was below economists' expectations of 11.4 percent growth in exports and 14.9 percent growth in imports. Following the trade data, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 1.57 percent, with the broader Topix index down 0.58 percent. South Korea's Kospi declined by 0.16 percent, and the Kosdaq dropped by 1.16 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 1.01 percent to 17,333 levels.
Larsen & Toubro: Larsen & Toubro has announced that the Bombay High Court has overturned a GST demand of Rs 2,237 crore that was imposed on the company. This demand stemmed from a service tax dispute involving a former subsidiary. The company had already settled the taxes following a demerger. L&T had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, which resulted in the cancellation of the demand, as stated in the company's exchange filing.
Tata Group Companies: On August 20, S&P Global Ratings upgraded several Tata Group companies, citing enhanced support from the group's parent. Tata Motors and its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) were upgraded to investment grade BBB with a Stable outlook. Tata Steel's rating was improved to BBB from BBB-, while Tata Power's rating was raised to BBB with a Positive outlook, indicating stronger financial prospects.
Cyient and Cyient DLM: IT firm Cyient has announced the sale of a 14.5 percent stake in its subsidiary Cyient DLM through a block deal, with the floor price set at Rs 748.65 per share, reflecting a 5 percent discount from the previous closing price. The transaction, which is anticipated to be completed by August 21, 2024, aims to help Cyient fulfill capital requirements and reduce its debt.
HG Infra Engineering: Promoters of HG Infra Engineering sold shares worth Rs 281 crore through open market transactions. Harendra Singh Family Trust, Vijendra Singh Family Trust, and Girishpal Singh Family Trust offloaded a total of 17,96,154 shares at an average price of Rs 1,566.5 per share. Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and Societe Generale acquired stakes in the company.
Telecom Stocks: According to a Trai report, the telecom subscriber base in India surpassed 120.5 crore in June, driven by new customer additions from Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The wireless subscriber base slightly increased to over 117 crore, while wireline connections rose to 3.51 crore. Reliance Jio gained 19.11 lakh new wireless subscribers, and Bharti Airtel added 12.52 lakh. In contrast, Vodafone Idea, BSNL, MTNL, and Reliance Communications experienced subscriber losses, leading to a net addition of 15.73 lakh in the wireless segment.
PNB Housing Finance: According to CNBC-TV18 sources, General Atlantic Singapore Fund FII Pte is anticipated to sell a 5.1 percent equity stake in PNB Housing Finance through a block deal. The floor price for the deal is expected to be Rs 775 per share, with an estimated total offer size of Rs 1,032.7 crore.
GE T&D India: Promoters GE Grid Alliance BV and Grid Equipments are re-evaluating their shareholding structure in GE T&D India. As part of this assessment, they are considering the option of selling a minority stake in the company to streamline the ownership structure.
Genus Power Infrastructures: Genus Power Infrastructures' wholly-owned subsidiary has received three Letters of Award (LOA) totaling Rs 3,608.52 crore. These contracts are for appointing advanced metering infrastructure service providers (AMISPs) and cover the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of around 4.26 million smart prepaid meters and related systems on a DBFOOT (Design, Build, Finance, Own, Operate, Transfer) basis.
Exide Industries: Exide Industries has invested an additional Rs 75 crore in its subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions, through a rights issue. This brings the total investment in the subsidiary to Rs 2,652.24 crore, without changing the company's shareholding percentage.
Ola Electric Mobility: Ola Electric's scooters, the S1 X 3 kWh and S1 X 4 kWh, have been certified under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile and auto components sector. Both models have fulfilled the 50 percent localization requirement set by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
