Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure by midday on Thursday, August 27, with the BSE Sensex hovering near 77,280, down 0.25%, while the Nifty 50 was around 24,165, lower by 0.18%.
Tata Power, Hindustan Copper and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Ltd. were among the notable losers, while Pine Labs Ltd. and Devyani International traded higher, with Sapphire Foods also drawing attention after the two companies revised their proposed merger scheme.
Here are the top movers and shakers at this hour:
Tata Power
Tata Power share price fell 3.5% by midday after the Singapore International Commercial Court dismissed the company’s challenge against a $490 million arbitration award in favour of Kleros Capital. The company had declined as much as 4.06% earlier in the session before recovering some losses, and it now plans to file another appeal against the latest order within the designated 28-day period.
Emami and NHPC
Emami share price declined 3.09% by midday as concerns over the flash floods in Nepal weighed on companies with exposure to the country, while NHPC share price was down by over 1% amid worries that the disaster could disrupt infrastructure, transport, communications and normal business activity across affected areas.
Hindustan Copper
Hindustan Copper share price fell 2.59% by midday after the state-run company completed its Offer for Sale, through which the government realised nearly Rs 3,000 crore after exercising the entire greenshoe option. The decline followed a strong rally in the previous session, while the OFS received an oversubscribed response on both days.
SAIL
SAIL share price declined 1.51% by midday, even as the company reported sales of 4.5 million tonnes compared with 4.7 million tonnes a year earlier and a nearly 5.7% year-on-year increase in realisations to Rs 58,323 per tonne. Flat steel products accounted for 52.7% of production, up from 48.7% a year earlier.
Pine Labs
Pine Labs share price rose by over 2% by midday after Investec initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 200 per share. The brokerage cited the company’s merchant-focused fintech platform, more than 2 million POS terminals, its 17% market share and its strong presence in the enterprise merchant segment as key factors behind its positive view.
Devyani International and Sapphire Foods
Devyani International share price gained 1.2% by midday, while Sapphire Foods share price was trading flat after the companies revised their proposed merger scheme under which Devyani International will absorb Sapphire Foods’ businesses. The transaction is aimed at bringing the KFC and Pizza Hut businesses under a single unified Yum! India franchise, although both companies had pared their stronger gains seen at the opening of trade.