Markets log best month since March; Nifty gained 4.5% in October

Domestic equity benchmarks logged their biggest monthly gains in seven months in October as strong corporate earnings and reasonable valuations drew in foreign investors.

 

The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex gained 4.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent in October, settling 2.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent below their all-time highs reached in September 2024.

 

On the day, the Nifty 50 fell 0.6 per cent to 25,722.1, and Sensex shed 0.55 per cent to 83,938.71, weighed by private lenders on potential outflows due to new index eligibility rules.

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said on Thursday that bank stock indices linked to derivatives contracts will be restructured in a phased manner by March 2026. This is estimated to lead to outflows of about $300 million from HDFC Bank and $190 million from ICICI Bank , the two heaviest-weighted stocks in the benchmarks.

 

 

The two lost 1.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, on the day.

 

“While some profit booking emerged near the 26,000 mark, October has been a strong rebound month for markets with earnings delivering no major disappointments,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

 

“We are still trading at a premium to other markets, but relative to the valuations in September 2024, it has cooled. This is bringing back some foreign buying, especially with earnings set to pick up and stable monsoons likely to keep inflation in check,” he added.

 

Foreign investors bought domestic shares worth $1.94 billion in October as of Thursday, snapping three months of outflows. All 16 major sectors posted gains for the month. The broader smallcaps and mid-caps rose 4.7 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively.

 

Financials, banks, private lenders jumped between 4.3 per cent and 6 per cent in October, helped by strong results from HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. IT jumped 6.1 per cent on better-than-expected results from TCS.

 

Orkla India booked 48.73x on final day

 

The initial public offering (IPO) of Orkla India got subscribed 48.73 times on the final day of bidding on Friday.

 

The Rs 1,667 crore IPO received bids for 77,96,62,280 shares against 1,59,99,104 shares on offer in three-day bidding, according to details available with the NSE.

 

Qualified institutional buyers’ category fetched 117.63 times subscription while the quota for non-institutional investors garnered 54.42 times subscription. Retail individual investors part received 7.05 times subscription.

 

Orkla India on Tuesday said it has raised around Rs 500 crore from anchor inve­stors. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 695 to Rs 730 per share, aiming for a valuation of around Rs 10,000 crore at the upper end. The company’s IPO is a complete offer-for-sale (OFS) of 22.8 million equity shares by the promoter and other shareholders, with no fresh issue component. 

 

Since it is an OFS, the company will not receive any proceeds from the IPO, and the entire money will go to the selling shareholders. Orkla India, formerly known as MTR Foods, is a multi-category Indian food company. It manufactures products as spices, ready-to-eat, sweets and breakfast mixes, under prominent brands such as MTR, Rasoi Magic, and Eastern. The company sells its products under the brands MTR and Eastern. Orkla India will make its debut on the stock exchanges on November 6. (PTI) 

 

Studds Accessories gets subscribed 5x on Day 2

 

The initial public offering (IPO) of helmets manufacturer Studds Accessories received 5.08 times subscription on the second day of share sale on Friday.

 

The company’s IPO got bids for 2,76,79,325 shares against 54,50,284 shares on offer, according to NSE data. The portion for non-institutional investors fetched 9.61 times subscription while the category for retail individual investors got subscribed

 

6.02 times. The quota for qualified institutional buyers received 4 per cent subscription. Studds Accessories on Wednesday said it has raised nearly Rs 137 crore from anchor investors. (PTI)

 

MS Dhoni-backed Finbud Fin to raise Rs 71.6 crore

 

S Dhoni-backed Finbud Financial Services, a phygital lending enabler, on Friday said it has fixed a price band of Rs 140-142 per share for the Rs 71.6 crore initial share sale. The initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on November 6 and close on November 10. Bidding for anchor investors will open for a day on November 4, Finbud Financial Services said in a statement. (PTI)