Market Movers: A small announcement helps ITC steal show on a dull day

MUMBAI: Who knew all that ITC needed to do to lift the spirits of millions of its retail investors was just meet the analysts.

The company’s announcement that it will host its first-ever analysts’ day on December 14 sent a wave of excitement through the market that was enough to dim the pessimism displayed by Professor Ashwath Damodaran for the company in his presentation at the NYU-NSE Conference on Wednesday.

To be sure, the analysts’ day meet may not yield much in terms of exciting news for the company and may not provide clarity on many of the issues that plague it. However, investors see it as the first sign that the legendary tobacco company is open to listening to its shareholders and answering their questions on an open forum besides its AGM.


If the company adds the cherry on top with some major demerger news, then today’s sentimental 5 per cent jump in the stock will look increasingly inadequate.

Belief is fragile but returning
After the disaster of its listing, one could forgive Paytm investors for being sceptical. However, investors are showing a willingness to believe again, as reflected in the sharp rally in the scrip since digging the lows of close to Rs. 1,200 not a while ago.

The stock remains close to 25 per cent lower than its issue price but today’s announcement of being accepted as the scheduled bank provides reasons for hope. The scheduled bank status for Paytm Payments Bank should open new revenue opportunities for the fintech giant. Investors are tentatively coming back, as reflected in the more than 2 per cent rise in the stock today.

Fino Payments under pressure
The going has been rocky for Fino Payments Bank since its listing. And it could get a lot worse in the coming days as the lock-in period for the fintech’s anchor investors ends soon. Since the newly-listed stock is trading at a 33 per cent discount to its issue price, the incentive for anchor investors to dump the stock is less. And yet, over the past year, over two-thirds of anchor investors’ shares sold immediately after the lock-in period ends.

No surprise then that the stock closed more than 2 per cent lower today in anticipation of more selling pressure going ahead.