Street signs: No let-up as stocks feel squeeze, the great IPO rush & more

No let-up as stocks feel the squeeze

The benchmark Nifty crashed nearly 2 per cent on Friday to end the week at 17,327. Technical analysts say a drop below 17,000 cannot be ruled out. “The Nifty has formed a lower top formation on daily charts and a long bearish candle on daily charts. For positional traders, 17,500-17,600 could act as a crucial resistance zone. On the flip side, 17,250 will be a sacrosanct support level. If the index closes below this, it could retest the level of 17,150 and retreat further to 17,000,” says Amol Athawale, deputy vice-president, technical research, Kotak Securities.

The great IPO rush: SMEs ride the wave

Over a dozen initial public offerings (IPOs) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will open for subscription this week. Market players say issues have bunched up on account of companies rushing to hit the market before expiration of the result filing deadline. The financials in the IPO documents cannot be more than six months old. Consequently, companies that fail to launch their issues this month will have to update their numbers before they go public. Last September, a similar rush was witnessed. Bourses have a separate platform for SMEs listing, with rules different from mainboard IPOs. For instance, the minimum application size for an SME IPO is Rs 1.2 lakh, against Rs 15,000 for a mainboard IPO.

Say cheese! Price rise to support dairy stocks

Analysts are positive on dairy stocks since companies have been able to pass on cost pressure to customers. Dairy companies have raised milk prices by 8-10 per cent in the past eight months due to sustained rise in milk procurement prices. Moreover, the prices of maize, wheat, and soybean are rising, leading to higher feed prices. Analysts say dairy companies are expected to take further price hikes during the second half of 2022-23. Revenue growth is expected to remain strong, with higher sales to hotels, restaurants, and catering services. The migration from the unorganised to the organised sector is expected to steadily generate value. Shares of Heritage Foods and Dodla Dairy could do well, observe analysts.