Benchmark indices were trading over 2 per cent higher on Monday morning with Sensex surpassing the 60,000 mark and Nifty 50 above 18,000. Market opened on a positive note amid mixed global cues. Indices rose sharply, led by gains in heavyweights HDFC twins.
HDFC shares gained after the board of directors of the Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited at its meeting held on Monday approved the amalgamation of HDFC Investments Limited and HDFC Holdings Limited with HDFC Ltd, and HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank.
At 10:10 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 60,782.59, up 1,505.9 points or 2.54 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 60,845.10 and a low of 59,760.22. The Nifty 50 was trading at 18,070.10, up 399.65 points or 2.26 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 18,089.60 and a low of 17,791.40.
HDFC, HDFC Bank and HDFC Life were up over 15 per cent, 13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. Bajaj Finance and Hero Motocorp were the other top gainers on the Nifty 50. ONGC, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Maruti and M&M were the top laggards.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank is an unprecedented mega-merger which will benefit all stakeholders. The shareholders of both entities stand to benefit substantially as already reflected by the sharp up moves in their stock prices. “
“For shareholders, this is far better than a buyback at higher prices. The stock prices of HDFC twins are likely to remain firm even after this morning’s sharp spike. From the valuation perspective, the HDFC twins are even now only attractively priced in a highly valued market,” Vijayakumar added.
Financials in focus
On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Realty were in the green. Financials gained focus post the HDFC merger announcement. Nifty Financial Services was up nearly 6 per cent while Nifty Bank was up over 4 per cent. Nifty Private Bank as trading nearly 4 per cent higher.
Broader indices
Broader indices were also in the green with Nifty Midcap 50 up 0.67 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 1.24 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.87 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 1.27 per cent. The volatility index rose 0.80 to 18.58.