PSU stocks gain; ITI, Bharat Dynamics, Hindustan Aeronautics hit 52-wk high

Hindustan Copper, BHEL, Cochin Shipyard and STC India from the S&P BSE PSU index were up in the range of 4 per cent to 8 per cent on the BSE today

Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) companies, especially from the defence and telecom sectors, zoomed up to 20 per cent in the intra-day trade on the BSE on Monday on expectation of getting orders from the government.

Individually, Bharat Dynamics (up 9 per cent to Rs 411) and Hindustan Aeronautics (up 7 per cent at Rs 912) hit their respective 52-week highs on the BSE today. In the past three trading days, Bharat Dynamics has rallied 30 per cent, while Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has soared 20 per cent after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the purchase of weapons and equipments worth Rs 38,900 crore.

Bharat Dynamics is India’s only missile manufacturing company that makes the surface to air missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, torpedoes and underwater weapons among others. In the past eight trading days, the stock has rallied 30 per cent after the company's net profit more-than-doubled to Rs 309.72 crore in the March quarter (Q4FY20) on the back of strong operational income. It had logged profit of Rs 124.12 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company’s revenue from operations during the quarter under review rose 64 per cent to Rs 1,435 crore from Rs 877 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

On the other hand, the stock of telecom equipment provider ITI, zoomed 20 per cent to Rs 134 on the  BSE on back of 5-fold jump in trading volumes today. A combined 19.4 million equity shares had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.

In the past three weeks, the stock has surged 63 per cent after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reportedly asked state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) to exclude Chinese gearmakers from supplying 4G telecom equipment. Private telecom operators have been asked to consider staying away from such Chinese firms.

Hindustan Copper, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Cochin Shipyard and STC India from the S&P BSE PSU index were up in the range of 4 per cent to 8 per cent on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.2 per cent or 451 points at 36,481 at 11:30 am.