Business News at 05:30 pm on 23rd March 2023

Global Surfaces shares listed at 17% premium over IPO price on NSE and BSE amid a negative domestic market. The share debuted at Rs 164 on the NSE, as compared to the issue price of Rs 140. The scrip touched a high of 23% at Rs 172.2. A positive listing was expected as ahead of the market debut, Global Surfaces shares were trading at a premium of Rs 18 in the grey market. Global Surfaces IPO opened for subscription on 13 March and the issue was booked 1221% on day 3, with total bids of 9,46,14,400 lakh shares. Ahead of the IPO, the company raised Rs 46.5 crore from anchor investors. At the upper end of the price band, the IPO seeks to raise Rs 154.98 crore. Retail investors can apply in lots of 100 shares each, for a maximum of 14 lots, amounting to a total of Rs 1.96 lakhs.

In some more market news, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd shares tanked 5.5% to Rs 2480.05 on Thursday after the Central Government announced the disinvestment of up to 3.5% stake in Hindustan Aeronautics to raise Rs 2,867 crore. The floor price has been set at Rs 2450, a discount of just over 1% from the current price. The offer for sale issue will be open from Thursday-Friday. The OFS constitutes a base offer size of 1.75% of equity shares of the face value of Rs 10 each of the company with an option to additionally sell 1.75%, taking the total offer size to 3.5%, according to the company’s notice to the BSE. Currently, the government owns 75.15% of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Only non-retail investors are permitted to place their bids on Thursday. Retail investors as well as non-retail investors, who choose to carry forward their unallotted bids, could place their bids on Friday. HAL’s net profit rose 57% on year to Rs 5,087 crore in Financial Year 22. It reported a 23% on-year increase in net profit at Rs 1,154 crore in the December quarter of Financial Year 23.

Meanwhile, The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point and signaled it’s not finished hiking, despite the risk of exacerbating a bank crisis that’s roiled global markets, Bloomberg reported. The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to increase its target for the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%, the highest since September 2007, when rates were at their peak on the eve of the financial crisis. It’s the second straight rise of 25 basis points following a string of aggressive moves starting in March 2022, when rates were near zero. The hike and forecasts suggest policymakers remain firmly focused on bringing down inflation to their 2% goal, indicating they see rising prices — especially based on recent data — as a bigger growth threat than the bank turmoil. It also projects confidence that the economy and financial system remain healthy enough to withstand the string of bank collapses.

Next up, economy. The US nominee for World Bank President Ajay Banga is on a two-day visit to India where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Niramala Sitharaman, among others. Banga’s New Delhi visit is the final stop on his three-week global tour that began in Africa before progressing to Europe, Latin America and Asia. US Treasury Department in a statement said, quote, “While in India, Banga will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman and the minister of external affairs S Jaishankar. These discussions will focus on India’s development priorities, the World Bank, and global economic development challenges,” unquote. Additionally, it said, Banga will visit the Learnet Institute of Skills, which is a network of vocational institutes established in collaboration with the National Skills Development Corporation, funded in part by the World Bank.

Over to banking. India has asked state-owned lenders to submit details of their bond portfolios ahead of a quarterly meeting between the government and banks this Saturday, amid the turmoil in global banks, seven bankers with direct knowledge of the matters told Reuters on Thursday. A senior banker said that the data collection process has been going on for the last few days and is more of a precautionary exercise because the government does not want to be caught off-guard if the crisis spirals further, a senior banker said.

Lastly, let’s see how the Indian share market performed today. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 84.90 pts to 17,067 and BSE Sensex plunged 289.31 pts to 57,925.28. Bank Nifty tanked 382.15 pts to 39,616.90. The top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Hindalco, Maruti, Nestle India, ONGC and Tata Motors while the losers were SBIN, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and Asian Paints.