It was yet another good week for investors, with the Indian equity indices closing the week on a positive note, gaining over a per cent.

Even as the market started on a week note, the better-than-expected inflation in the US not only lifted the sentiment in the US market but also aided the strong rally in Indian markets on Friday.

With the results season about to conclude, good performance in the September quarter helped the splendid rally in banking and financial services space. However, there were winners across other sectors who out did the market.

Topping the returns’ chart last week was the Union Bank of India, gaining 21 per cent over the past week. The company on November 7announced appointment of Srinivasan Varadarajan as part time Non-executive Chairman and Non-official Director for a three-year period. Varadarajan who last worked as the Deputy Managing Director of Axis Bank in 2019, before, starting his independent practise, comes with over three decades of experience in the BFSI space. His experience as the ex-Managing Director of JP Morgan India and ex-CEO of JP Morgan Chase Bank in India is expected to benefit Union Bank of India.

Markets cheered this move, with the stock hitting a new 52-week high last week. The stock currently trades 0.64 its tailing twelve-month book value of ₹104. The bank posted good results in the September quarter with revenue and net profit growth of 17 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

The other gainer last week was Zomato, which gained 16 per cent in the last four trading sessions. The rally in the stock came on the back of better performance in the September quarter as the company managed to narrow its operating losses from ₹461 crore in September 2021 quarter to ₹141 crore in September 2022 quarter.

At the net profit level, the company reported ₹12 crore profit for the first time in last several quarters helped by higher other income. Last year same period, the company’s net loss was ₹414 crore. On a trailing twelve-month basis, the company posted loss of ₹744 crore. The company expects to achieve break even at the operating level in the next 2-4 quarters.

FSN E-comm Ventures, which owns the beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa, saw its stock zoom 13 per cent last week. The stock traded ex-bonus last week, as November 10 was the record date for its 5:1 bonus. The company earlier announced 5 bonus shares for every 1 share held by investors.

The stock rallied after Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus Plc (4.27 million), and Norges Bank on account of Government T Petroleum Fund (3.98 million) purchased a combined 8.25 million shares of the company via block deals. The stock currently trades at a very expensive 1,340 times its trailing twelve-month earnings.  

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