Street signs: Fund managers turn defensive

Although mutual fund managers have been aggressive buyers over the past few months, the lofty valuations at present are making them wary. The benchmark Nifty last week fell just few points short of touching a new all-time high. Industry players say several fund managers have already increased their cash levels. However, as there is a limit on increasing cash vis-à-vis their fund corpus, they are turning to defensive stocks. Pharmaceutical companies such as Sun Pharmaceutical, Cipla, Lupin, Sanofi and Aurobindo Pharma are seeing some buying interest from fund managers. Also, shares like Asian Paints and Hindustan Unilever are back on their radar.

Chandan Kishore Kant

Foreign investors trim ITC stake

Foreign investors have been reducing their stake in fast-moving consumer goods major ITC in the past two weeks. Invesco, Deutsche Bank and BlackRock are among some of the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) believed to have reduced their stake in the company. This is despite most brokerages having a ‘buy’ rating on the stock. The stock had hit an all-time high of Rs 292 on February 7, and has corrected more than 10 per cent, as FPIs sold to book profits. According to Bloomberg data, 39 out of 43 brokerages currently have a ‘buy’ call on ITC.

 

Pavan Burugula

Grey market activity in IPOs picks up

Grey market activity has picked up ahead of the initial public offerings (IPOs) of Music Broadcast and Avenue Supermarts. As both issues are expected to do well, traders are trying to cash in on the opportunity. Acording to grey market operators, shares of Music Broadcast, which operates FM channel Radio City, were quoting at a premium of 15-20 per cent. Meanwhile, shares of Avenue Supermarts, which operates the D-Mart retail chain, are changing hands at a premium of a 50-60 per cent. The IPOs of Music Broadcast and Avenue Supermarts are looking to raise around Rs488 crore and Rs1,870 crore, respectively, this week.

 

Samie Modak