Indian stock markets are likely to open higher on Friday following the continuous upmove in the Wall Street’s major indices. The early indicator of NSE Nifty, SGX Nifty Futures was trading little changed, up 0.24% at 10,582 on Singapore Exchange. Shares of Punjab National Bank remain to be in a very close watch today also as the state-run lender has detected a $1.77 billion fraud in one of the branches in Mumbai.
These stocks will be in focus today
PC Jeweller: PC Jeweller shares got hammered in the aftermath of India’s biggest bank fraud, following which the company said that it does not use letter of credit/letter of undertaking in business transactions and buys all diamonds from local markets on cash basis only.
Idea: The capital raising committee of Idea Cellular will meet on February 21 to approve details of company’s plan to raise Rs 3,500 crore through qualified institutional placement, including the issue price and discount.
Axis Bank: Axis Bank said it is an active participant in the secondary market for transactions against letters of undertaking and it “sold down” certain such dealings with Punjab National Bank.
Punjab National Bank
As a political storm brewed over India’s biggest bank fraud, Punjab National Bank on Thursday said billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi has made “vague” offers to repay some of the $1.77 billion. A fortnight after the scam was first reported, PNB Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Mehta said that the bank has the capability to recover the dues from Modi and promised to take action against all wrongdoers. As the Enforcement Directorate conducted multiple searches on establishments linked to Modi, seizing diamonds, jewellery and gold worth Rs 5,100 crore and sealing six properties, the finance ministry said recovery would be made and nobody will be spared.
PNB shares crumbled 14% to hit a 52-week low after bank’s management detailed about the ongoing fraud in the state-run lender which is estimated to be Rs 11,400 crore. In a press conference held on Thursday afternoon, the top management of Punjab National Bank assured that the bank is trying it’s best to take action against the alleged offenders. PNB’s chief confirmed that Nirav Modi had written to the bank regarding the repayment plan. Following the announcement, the stock of Punjab National Bank fell as much as 13.88% to hit a fresh 52-week low of Rs 125.55 on BSE while the stock shed 14.12% to hit a 52-week low of Rs 125.25 before settling down 12.89% at 127.05 on NSE.
Gitanjali Gems: Punjab National Bank’s one of the biggest banking fraud in India has gripped several jewellers and one of them is Gitanjali Gems. Shares of Gitanjali Gems shed as much as 19.45% to hit a day’s low of Rs 47.2 on BSE.
Lanco Infratech: Engineering, procurement and construction firm Lanco Infratech reported widening of net loss for the December quarter to Rs 426.1 crore.
The rupee on Thursday: The rupee advanced by 18 paise to close at 63.91 per US dollar.
Indian stock markets on Thursday
The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gained up to 0.42% on value buying by investors after recent losses on easing inflation worries and positive global cues. Sensex jumped 141.52 points or 0.41% to finish at 34,297.47 while Nifty gained 44.6 points or 0.42% to end at 10,545.50 after touching a high of 10,618.1. WPI inflation easing to a six-month low of 2.84% in January.
US stock markets on Thursday
Wall Street surged on Thursday to notch its fifth straight session of gains, led by Apple and other technology stocks as investors shrugged off recent inflation worries that sent the market into a sell-off at the start of the month, Reuters said in a report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.88 points, or 1.23 percent, to 25,200.37, the S&P 500 gained 32.57 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,731.2 and the Nasdaq Composite added 112.82 points, or 1.58 percent, to 7,256.43
