HDFC stock hit by MSCI weight reduction

Shares of the country’s largest housing mortgage firm, Housing Development Finance Corp. (HDFC), declined 3.7 per cent on Wednesday after its weightage was reduced in MSCI’s (Morgan Stanley Capital International) indices. The lender’s weighting in the MSCI Index was reduced from 6.2 per cent to 3.2 per cent with effect from May 31.

An HDFC spokesperson, however, said the revision was done on incorrect consideration of foreign investment limits in the firm.

“MSCI may be considering foreign investment availability in HDFC at 74 per cent, which is incorrect. It should be 100 per cent. We are communicating this to Morgan Stanley,” said the spokesperson. The foreign direct investment (FDI) holding limit in HDFC is 100 per cent, but individual limits for the foreign institutional investor (FII) route is 74 per cent, the spokesperson said.

Currently, FII holding in HDFC is 59 per cent, while the FDI holding is 15 per cent. HDFC shares, after falling as much as five per cent, closed 3.7 per cent lower at Rs 621 per share.

Shares of Suzlon Energy Ltd, which was removed from the MSCI index, also took a beating. After falling nearly six per cent, the stock settled two per cent lower at Rs 19.35.

MSCI also made three additions to its India index — Bank of Baroda, Cairn India and Godrej Consumer Products. Shares of all three companies ended over one per cent higher on a day when the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange index, the Sensex, fell 1.83 per cent.