Street signs: Axis Bank share sale, FPIs cold towards HDFC Bank, and more

Axis Bank share sale in slow lane

The government is likely to go slow with Axis Bank share sale held under the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (Suuti). Axis Bank shares have come off sharply from their highs amid negative sentiment towards the corporate-focused bank. “The Centre could push for share sale in ITC and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which have fallen relatively less compared to Axis Bank and push disinvestment in the private sector lender to the second half of 2018-19 when sentiment improves,” said a banker. Suuti holds 10.33 per cent in Axis Bank, 8.42 per cent in ITC and 2.57 per cent in L&T.

Pavan Burugula

FPIs cold towards HDFC Bank 

The lacklustre response from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for HDFC Bank shares has taken several market participants by surprise. On June 1, HDFC Bank opened up for fresh FPI buying, after a gap of more than a year, with 1.68 per cent stake being available. It has been more than a month now, still there is 1.1 per cent stake that FPIs can buy. “Many FPIs gave the stock a miss on account of expensive valuations. Institutions now prefer other private banks over HDFC Bank,” said a broker. FPIs can own up to 74 per cent in HDFC Bank. Currently, FPI shareholding stands at 72.9 per cent.

Pavan Burugula

RJ stocks shrug off Titan sale

Last month Rakesh Jhunjhunwala sold shares worth over Rs 10 billion in Titan. Given the timing, market players feared that he might take money off the table in his other bets as well. However, key holdings of Jhunjhunwala such as Lupin, Aptech and Escorts didn’t show any sign of weakness —some even rallied sharply. “Titan share sale could be a one-off thing. It doesn’t appear that Jhunjhunwala has turned negative on the market,” said a broker.
 

Samie Modak