Street Signs: Markets turn skittish, exorcising the ghost of the past, more

Nifty on thin ice: Tariff chill sends bulls sliding

  The Nifty 50 has slid 2 per cent in a fortnight and looks poised to stay edgy as tariff headlines collide with a subdued start to the earnings season. At the last close of 25,150, the index slipped below its 20-day exponential moving average — a “negative signal that favours further weakness if it holds”, observes Dhupesh Dhameja, derivatives analyst at Samco Securities. Weekly charts, a bearish close, and thinning market breadth echo the gloom, he adds. “The 25,300 floor has flipped to resistance; a decisive break of Friday’s 25,129 low would open room for more pain. Only a sustained push above 25,350 would tempt the bulls back in,” says Dhameja. 

 

SBI’s QIP: Laying the ghost of 2017 to rest

 

State Bank of India (SBI) is set to raise ₹25,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) — the largest QIP ever in the domestic market. With the stock trading at a modest 1.3x 2026–27 estimated book and credit growth outpacing the system, demand is expected to be strong. The offering also gives SBI a chance to exorcise the memory of its June 2017 QIP: then, the bank sold ₹15,000 crore of shares at ₹287.25, only to watch the price slide more than 15 per cent over the next few months. “That deal came when sentiment towards public-sector banks was weak; the backdrop today is completely different,” says a banker close to the transaction. 

   

Grey market can’t stop playing Anthem on loop

 

Anthem Biosciences, a technology-driven contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), is commanding a 20 per cent grey-market premium (GMP) ahead of its ₹3,395 crore initial public offering — one of the richest GMPs among recent issues. The buoyancy reflects investors’ willingness to pay up for CDMO names, with most listed peers already commanding price-to-earnings multiples north of 80x. At a ₹31,867 crore market value, Anthem itself is valued at 70x its 2024–25 bottom line of ₹451 crore — a pricing that analysts argue is defensible, given the firm’s cash holding, high-growth, and unique fee-for-service model.