Market Movers: Why travel and power stocks are surging

MUMBAI: A session when the market starts off on a high and stays high is rare nowadays given the itch among traders to sell the rise. A sector that benefited from the Monday optimism was travel and tourism.

As more and more states relax pandemic-related restrictions, hotel companies are finding it hard to keep up with demand. Travel portals like Ease My Trip are filled with inquiries and demand is clearly returning the way it had after the first wave.

Indians clearly can’t stay at home anymore and want to explore whatever is possible within the realms of the country. Adding to that itch is the fact that it is travel season in most southern and northern parts of the country and you have a cocktail of good news for the sector.


Mahindra Holidays, IRCTC, Easy Trip Planners, Delta Corp and other travel-related stocks surged up to 10 per cent during the session. Now, even we are tempted to pack our bags.

JP Morgan believes in power
No, not the power that comes with being one of the pillars of the global financial system. We are alluding to India’s power sector. Given the rally in the sector over the past three months, one of the largest foreign brokerage houses in India is now a fan.

JP Morgan believes that the sector will see a transition from fossil fuel-based to renewable powers this decade and expects Tata Power to be one of the big winners. Tata Power’s stock jumped 4 per cent on the backing from JP Morgan. The brokerage sees 19 per cent upside on the counter.

In the zone!
While it’s not only travel stocks that were on a high, shares of consumer-facing companies had a good time too. In particular, shares of fast-moving consumer goods companies were in the zone as they continue to march higher amid rising evidence that the coming months are going to mint some money for these companies.

FMCG sales have surged 40 per cent in recent weeks after the easing of lockdowns and optimistic updates from the likes of Marico and Godrej Consumer Products, making investors lick their fingers with the possibilities for the sector. The Nifty FMCG index duly ended 0.5 per cent higher.

A roller-coaster debut
Shareholders of India Pesticides would not have expected the debut of the stock on the bourses to be a roller-coaster ride on a day when everything largely had a good run. Shares of the company listed at a 22 per cent premium over their their issue price and rose a further 5 per cent post-listing. Yet somehow, the stock managed to trip on its gains and close the day over 2 per cent lower compared with its listing price.