Stake Sales in Aster DM & CDSL, Mankind Pharma Divestment, Adani Power Acquisition Approved

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is down by 14.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market

Wednesday saw predominantly positive trading across Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rise by 0.24%, alongside a 0.4% gain in the Topix index. South Korea’s Kospi experienced a minor 0.1% decline, while the Kosdaq remained stable. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures hinted at a weaker start.

US stocks experienced a slip-on Tuesday. Despite starting with modest gains, both the Dow and S&P 500 recorded their third consecutive decline by the end of the session. Investors remained cautious, awaiting economic indicators during the holiday-shortened week to assess the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 31.31 points, equivalent to 0.08%, closing at 39,282.33. Similarly, the S&P 500 decreased by 14.61 points or 0.28% to 5,203.58, while the Nasdaq Composite saw a decline of 68.77 points, marking a decrease of 0.42%, settling at 16,315.70.

Stocks News:

👉 Aster DM Healthcare: According to sources familiar with the matter, private equity firm Olympus Capital Asia Investments is poised to offload up to 9.8% of its equity stake in the private healthcare services provider through a block deal, with an estimated size of $235 million. The floor price for the block deal has been set at Rs 400 per share. As of December 2023, Olympus Capital Asia Investments held a 18.96% stake in Aster DM. 

👉 Central Depository Services (India): Sources informed CNBC-TV18 that public shareholder Standard Chartered Bank – Corporate Banking intends to sell its entire 7.18% stake (75 lakh equity shares) in CDSL for $151 million via a block deal. The floor price for the block deal is fixed at Rs 1,672 per share, representing a 6.3% discount to the last closing price of Rs 1,785.

👉 Mankind Pharma: Investment company Beige has divested 58,17,874 equity shares in the pharmaceutical company at an average price of Rs 2,124.71 per share, and an additional 58,17,873 shares at an average price of Rs 2,120.31 through open market transactions. In total, it has sold a 2.9% equity stake worth Rs 2,469.7 crore in the company, against its shareholding of 2.99% as of December 2023.

👉 Adani Power: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has granted approval for Adani Power’s acquisition of 100% of Lanco Amarkantak Power. Lanco Amarkantak Power, a thermal power generation company and a part of the Lanco Group, is presently undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 10.13 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 5,024.36 crore worth of stocks on March 26, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• India’s Reserve Bank (RBI) reported a decrease in the country’s current account deficit (CAD) to $10.5 billion or 1.2% of the GDP for the October-December quarter. This is down from $11.4 billion in the previous quarter and $16.8 billion a year earlier.

• US consumer confidence was little changed in March as the Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index dipped to 104.7 this month, essentially unchanged from a downwardly revised 104.8 in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index nudging up to 107.0 from the previously reported 106.7.

• Gold prices saw an uptick on Tuesday, propelled by a weakened US dollar, while investors awaited forthcoming data to reveal underlying inflation trends, crucial for assessing the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates.

• Crude oil prices continued their descent following data indicating a notable increase in US inventories. Brent crude experienced a 0.58% drop to $85.75 per barrel after a 0.6% decline on Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.50% to $81.21.