Bulls may stage a comeback on Dalal Street on Thursday, weekly F&O expiry day. SGX Nifty was in green, up 0.5% ahead of today’s session, hinting at a positive start for benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50. Markets are likely to remain range-bound in the near term on the back of mixed global cues. “Markets ended marginally lower in a volatile trading session amid mixed cues. Markets have been maintaining a positive tone amid consolidation while the global indices are reeling under pressure. And, we feel the scenario may extend further. Participants should focus more on buying opportunities till the Nifty holds 17400 levels,” 

Stocks in focus on September 8, Thursday

IndiGo: Seven months after stepping down down from the InterGlobe Aviation, operator of passenger airline IndiGo, board and stating that he would sell his entire holding in IndiGo over a period of five years, co-founder Rakesh Gangwal and his family have started the process. The Gangwal family and their trust will sell a 2.8% stake through a block deal for $250 million or Rs 2,000 crore in InterGlobe Aviation on Thursday. The deal is for 10.8 million shares and the sale price has been fixed at Rs 1,850, which is a 6.75% discount to the BSE closing on Wednesday. The Gangwal family and their trust cumulatively hold a 36.61% stake in company.

Bharti Airtel: The telco major plans to launch 5G services within a month, and will have coverage in key metro cities, according to a letter written by chief executive officer (CEO) Gopal Vittal to customers on Wednesday. “We expect to launch our 5G within a month. By December, we should have coverage in the key metros. After that, we will expand across the country,” Vittal said. Bharti Airtel had earlier indicated plans to roll out 5G services in August. Vittal said that Airtel’s 5G service will deliver speeds which could be between 20 and 30 times higher than the one that is available.

Zee Entertainment: The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT’s) Mumbai bench has directed Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) to convene a shareholders’ meeting, to seek approvals for its proposed merger with rival Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). The tribunal, in its order pronounced in the court on August 24, had directed ZEEL to hold the meeting on October 14, 2022, at 4 pm through videoconferencing and other audio-visual means. The NCLT also named a chairperson and scrutiniser for the meeting, according to a regulatory update by ZEEL. ZEEL, in its update, said it received the order on Wednesday.

HDFC Bank: HDFC bank on Wednesday increased the marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) by 10 basis points to 8.20%. This is the fifth consecutive hike in MCLR rates by the bank starting from April. The bank will offer overnight rates at 7.9%. However, for one month, three months and six months, the MCLR rates will be 7.90%, 7.95% and 8.05%, respectively, the bank said on its website.

Concor: The Union Cabinet announced has approved the policy on long-term leasing of Indian Railways’ land and has cut the land licence fees from 6% to 1.5%, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. The lease period has also been increased from five years to 35 years. The Cabinet’s approval for the much-awaited amendment to the Railway Land Policy would ease the strategic divestment process of Container Corporation of India (Concor) and make it more attractive to private investors.

Adani Group: Adani Group will build three giga factories to manufacture solar modules, wind turbines, and hydrogen electrolyzers as part of its $70 billion investment in clean energy by 2030. “This investment plan will see us building three giga factories in India leading to one of the world’s most integrated green-energy value chains,” Gautam Adani said while talking at the US-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit. The factories will help generate an additional 45 GW of renewable energy to add to Adani group’s existing 20 GW capacity, as well as 3 million tons of hydrogen by 2030.

Axis Bank: Axis Bank aims to ensure meeting its priority sector lending targets organically and has partnered with technology-based company PayNearby to boost its credit growth in the segment. “The focus is to grow at a faster clip than the rest of the market and the rest of the branch network. It is one of the top three priorities for the bank and Bharat Bank is one key initiative that the bank is pursuing,” Munish Sharda, head of Bharat Banking at Axis Bank said at the event.

Zydus Lifesciences: Zydus has achieved positive proof-of-concept in its Phase 2 clinical study of NLRP3 inhibitor, ZYIL1 in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). CAPS is a rare, life-long, auto-inflammatory condition, caused by NLRP3 activating mutations and is classified as an orphan disease. The Phase 2 trial was conducted in Australia.