Sensex jumps 1145 pts, Nifty below 18,000 mark; HDFC twins in demand

The benchmark indices were trading firm in afternoon trade. Barring the Nifty Realty index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the green. Banks, financial services and healthcare stocks were in demand. The Nifty was hovering below 18,000 after hitting the day`s high of 18,114.65 in morning trade.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex rose 1,144.78 points or 1.93% at 60,421.47. The Nifty 50 index gained 313.90 points or 1.78% at 17,984.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.94% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.46%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 2602 shares rose and 837 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Life Insurance (up 4.62%), Adani Ports & SEZ (up 2.77%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.86%) and Hindustan Unilever (up 1.76%) were major Nifty gainers.

Infosys (down 1.20%), Tata Consumer Products (down 0.65%), Asian Paints (down 0.45%), Grasim Industries (down 0.26%) and JSW Steel (down 0.14%) were major Nifty losers.

Shares of HDFC jumped 8.45% while HDFC Bank rallied 8.88% after the banking behemoths announced merger.

The board of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) on Monday (4th April) approved a composite scheme of amalgamation of HDFC into HDFC Bank, and their respective shareholders and creditors. The subsidiaries and associates of HDFC will shift to HDFC Bank.

Shareholders of HDFC as on the record date will receive 42 shares of HDFC Bank (each of face value of Re 1), for 25 shares held in HDFC (each of face value of Rs 2), and the equity share(s) held by HDFC in HDFC Bank will be extinguished as per the Scheme.

As a result of this, upon the Scheme becoming effective, HDFC Bank will be 100% owned by public shareholders and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41% of HDFC Bank.

"The proposed transaction is to create a large balance sheet and net-worth that would allow greater flow of credit into the economy. It will also enable underwriting of larger ticket loans, including infrastructure loans -- an urgent need of the country," HDFC said in a statement.

As of 31 December 2021, HDFC Bank`s total advances stood at Rs 12,68,863 crore and HDFC`s total advances stood at Rs 5,25,806 crore. Post merger, pro forma total advances of the combined entity is expected to be Rs 17,86,669 crore.

Post the combination, HDFC Bank`s customers will be offered mortgages as a core product in a seamless manner. The merger is expected to close within 18 months (Q2 / Q3 FY24), subject to completion of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Global Cues:

Most European stocks were trading lower while most Asian stocks ended higher on Monday.

Chinese tech stocks climbed after a recent signal by Chinese authorities of progress toward resolving an audit dispute, which had threatened U.S.-listed Chinese firms with delisting.

Meanwhile, investors were cautious as the European Union plans to introduce fresh sanctions against Moscow in the wake of the new reported atrocities.

Ukraine`s top prosecutor reportedly said 410 bodies had been found in towns recaptured from retreating Russian forces around Kyiv as part of an investigation into possible war crimes, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of genocide. Russia has denied allegations that its forces killed civilians in Bucha, 23 miles northwest of Kyiv.

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