The sell-side comprised PB Fintech Chairman and Group CEO Yashish Dahiya, who sold 26 lakh shares, and Vice Chairman Alok Bansal, who sold 12 lakh shares.

On the buy side, the shares were absorbed by a diverse group of institutional investors, including National Pension System Trust, Tata Mutual Fund, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, BNP Paribas Financial Markets and several funds managed by Wasatch Advisors.

Other investors participating in the transaction included Viridian Asia Opportunities Master Fund, Ghisallo Master Fund, St James’s Place Emerging Markets Equity Unit Trust, Societe Generale and multiple pension and retirement funds from the US.

The deal comes after a strong run in PB Fintech shares over the past year, driven by improving profitability, growth in its insurance distribution business and continued expansion of its credit marketplace.

PB Fintech operates digital platforms Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, which are among the country’s largest online insurance and lending marketplaces.

Shares of PB Fintech will remain in focus as investors assess the impact of the stake sale and changes in promoter shareholding following the transaction.

Mumbai | New Delhi: HDFC Bank on Thursday sought to reassure investors and stakeholders after its locally listed stock slumped the most intraday since the first Covid week, asserting that there are no material issues at the bank where the non-executive chair abruptly exited last night after citing ‘ethical’ misalignment with the management.

“On behalf of the board and in full alignment with the executive leadership, I wish to assure all stakeholders that there are no material matters at this point in time,” said Keki Mistry, interim chairman of HDFC Bank, during a media call.

Mistry added that despite repeated requests from board members, exiting chairman Atanu Chakraborty did not specify any concerns that prompted him to exit 14 months before the end of his second term.

The incoming interim chairman, a veteran at the mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp, the erstwhile parent of the lender, stressed his personal commitment to help rebuild trust in a bank that has the second-biggest depositor base in the country.

“At the age of 71, I would not have taken on this responsibility if the bank’s governance standards and ethos were not aligned with my values,” Mistry said.

He added that relationship issues could have played a role in the exit of his predecessor. “I think, to my mind, there could be a relationship issue between him and the management. That may have manifested over a period of time.”

HDFC Bank’s stock fell 5.13% to close at ‘799 per share, having plunged to ‘770 apiece early morning. ‘Robust’ Credentials
The Centre, meanwhile, stressed the lender’s fundamentals to demonstrate its alignment with the satisfactory regulatory view on the bank, the biggest by market value.

“HDFC Bank is a strong institution with strong fundamentals,” Financial services Secretary M Nagaraju said, adding that the banking regulator had already issued a statement on its assessment of the lender.

CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose second term is due to end in October, signalled a larger role for Kaizad Bharucha, the current deputy managing director, during the management call.

“He handles the asset business of the balance sheet, which reflects the respect and stature he commands within the organisation, both at the board and at the management level,” Jagdishan said. “So, that will continue. In fact, he will only get more responsibilities as we move forward.”

Mistry added that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) will meet within the next month to recommend the appointment of the managing director and CEO to the Reserve Bank of India, a move that could help remove any overhang around the reappointment of CEO Jagdishan.

Chakraborty, who had been on the board since May 2021 and was serving his second term, resigned with immediate effect, stating that certain developments over the past two years were not in line with his personal values and ethics.

Accent on ‘Trust’
Mistry said the board and management are united and will work to address any concerns and restore confidence. “The management will be engaging with major shareholders over the next couple of days to address any fears. I do not believe there is any governance-related issue in the bank,” he said.

Mistry also added that the banking regulator has not flagged any issues requiring corrective action after this incident.

Board member Renu Sud Karnad said Chakraborty was repeatedly asked to elaborate on his remarks but declined to provide details.

“If there was anything, we would have corrected it. Each time we asked, his response was that there was nothing specific, which is what was baffling,” she said on the media call.

During the same call, Jagdishan explained the sequence of events leading up to the abrupt resignation. During the board meeting, he said, members attempted to persuade Chakraborty to reconsider or elaborate on his concerns.

As developments unfolded, a group of directors, including two whole-time and two independent members, met officials of the RBI later on Wednesday evening to brief them on the situation.

Jagdishan said the regulator was supportive, as reflected in the swift approval of the interim chairman, indicating confidence in the bank’s board, management, and the overall franchise.

Sunil Singhania-led Abakkus Asset Manager Private Limited picked up over 64.3 lakh shares of smallcap Edelweiss Financial Services in a block deal worth Rs 64 crore. The shares were acquired at Rs 100 apiece, a discount of 0.9% to Monday’s closing price.

The sellers were Edelweiss Employees Welfare Trust and Edelweiss Employees Incentives and Welfare Trust, which offloaded 11.29 lakh and 53 lakh shares, respectively, in Tuesday’s trade.

Shares of Edelweiss Financial Services jumped 7% on Tuesday to close at Rs 107.85 on an otherwise dull day where both headline indices, Sensex and Nifty, settled with 1% cuts.

The stock has been a market laggard, declining by nearly 2% in the past year versus 1% fall in the heartbeat indices. However, the stock has put up a fight in the last six months, rising nearly 14% when Nifty and Sensex have gained 10% and 8%, respectively.

The stock is trading above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of Rs 107 and Rs 104, respectively, though marked by sharp volatility. A trendline data suggests the stock’s 1-year beta at 1.5.

Edelweiss Financial Services reported a consolidated Q1 net profit of Rs 67 crore, which is a growth of 13.4% on a year-on-year basis. Total revenues stood at Rs 2,281 crore, which is a fall of 2.4% over the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.Also Read: Bulk deals buzz: Eternal nets Rs 3,220 crore buying, Swiggy sees sell action by BNP, Societe Generale

Edelweiss is a financial services conglomerate, offering a platform to a diversified client base across domestic and global geographies.

Our continuous and single-minded focus is on understanding customers’ needs and offering the right financial solutions. Present in every financial life stage of a customer, helping them create wealth, grow wealth and protect everything, are our key lines of business. It has business interests in retail credit, asset management, asset reconstruction and insurance.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Mumbai: Overseas fund managers stepped up the selling of Indian equities in the first half of August as tariff uncertainty, a weaker rupee and disappointing corporate earnings deepened risk-off sentiment. Financial services and information technology stocks, which have the highest weight in the Sensex and Nifty, bore the biggest brunt of foreign investors’ cautious approach.

Foreigners sold shares worth ₹34,022 crore across 16 sectors in the first half of August, according to data from NSDL, after pulling out ₹34,974 in the second half of July and ₹10,541 in the first half of last month.

“Muted earnings, strong pipeline in the primary markets and the tussle on the tariff front have kept foreign investors wary about India,” said Sriram Velayudhan, senior vice president, IIFL Capital.

The Sensex and Nifty have gained up to 0.8% in August so far after falling 2.9% in July.

Financial services witnessed the highest foreign selling in the August 1-15 period as investors dumped shares worth ₹13,471 crore.

“Banks are expected to witness muted credit growth, and the Q2 growth in turn is also likely to be flattish,” said Pranay Aggarwal, director and CEO, Stoxkart. “The uncertainty on India-US relations has also led to overall outflows.”Between March and June, foreign investors bought bank shares worth ₹45,657 crore. However, sentiment soured in July, when they offloaded over ₹5,000 crore.”There has been some profit booking in financial services after the recent outperformance, reflecting expectations of near-term margin compression and a cooling credit growth cycle,” said Bhavik Joshi, business head, INVasset PMS. “Recent quarterly trends have shown pressure on bank margins, leading investors to turn more cautious on the sector.” The IT sector continued to see foreign selling. This amounted to ₹6,380 crore in the first half of the month as the sector underperformed the market due to weak earnings amid macroeconomic uncertainty.”Technology spending remains weak, which is likely to weigh on Indian IT companies’ margins,” Joshi said. “While the prospect of US rate cuts offered a temporary lift to IT stocks, the sustainability of that momentum is limited, as global clients remain conservative on discretionary tech outlays.

These stocks have, however, seen some respite of late due to the US Federal Reserve’s guidance for an interest rate cut in September.

OTHER SECTORS
Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 4,091 crore in the oil and gas sector, after sales of over Rs 3,000 crore in July. The oil and gas sector has remained under pressure amid geopolitical and trade uncertainties, said analysts.

“Recent signals from the US on India’s continued crude imports from Russia have created an overhang, with markets now watching closely for clarity toward the end of August,” said Joshi.

Global investors divested shares worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the power and healthcare sector in the first half of the month. Realty, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables saw foreign outflows worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

WHAT DID FOREIGNERS BUY
Overseas investors bought shares worth Rs 13,046 crore in the first 15 days of August across seven sectors. Telecommunications continued to be a favourite, as they invested Rs 7,446 crore in the first half of August after receiving inflows worth Rs 28,158 crore between January and July.

FOREIGN FUND OUTLOOK
The outlook for emerging markets has improved with the Fed signalling a rate cut but India may not be a big beneficiary of any risk-on mood.

“The US Federal Reserve has guided for an interest cut which historically translated to riskon sentiment favourable for emerging markets but other countries are trading at attractive valuations compared to India,” said Velayudhan.

An interest rate cut in the United States could weaken the dollar, resulting in investors looking at options outside dollar-based assets. Some money managers see the scope of foreigners returning to India given that they have been underweight on the country’s equities. Nonetheless, the purchases could be in select sectors.

Joshi said, “Following the accelerated foreign sell-off through July and August, we anticipate a potential turnaround in flows if the dollar continues to soften and global liquidity improves.”

“Importantly, these inflows likely to be directed toward non-traditional sectors such as capital goods and select metals, where earnings visibility and operating leverage are strengthening,” he added

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) recorded net equity inflows of Rs 21,789 crore in December so far, marking a significant reversal after months of heavy outflows. With this surge in December, FPIs have experienced a total net inflow of Rs 6,770 crore in 2024, compared to outflows of Rs 15,019 crore at the end of November.

This turnaround comes after heavy off-loading in domestic equities in the last two months, with net outflows of Rs 21,612 crore in November and Rs 94,017 crore in October.

In the first half of December, nearly 83% of FPI flows were concentrated in three sectors — financial services, IT, and real estate. These sectors attracted inflows of Rs 7,424 crore, Rs 6,754 crore, and Rs 4,689 crore, respectively. At the same time, FPIs sold Rs 5,337 crore worth of oil and gas stocks, Rs 1,823 crore of auto stocks, and Rs 1,655 crore of FMCG shares.

Despite these shifts, telecom and services, which had seen outflows in November, saw renewed interest in December, with inflows of Rs 627 crore and Rs 553 crore, respectively. Oil and gas remains the top sector for FPI outflows in 2024, with cumulative sales of Rs 50,851 crore, while financials have seen withdrawals nearing Rs 54,000 crore for the year.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, commented on the market volatility, and said, “the sudden change in FII strategy from buying to selling has impacted markets. In the early days of December, FIIs were consistent buyers, purchasing equity worth Rs 14,435 crore in the cash market until December 13. However, they turned into significant sellers after that, with equity sales of Rs 15,828 crore in the cash market for the week ending December 20, selling on all days.”

He noted that factors like the rising dollar index, increased U.S. 10-year bond yields, and India-specific concerns such as slowing growth and flat corporate earnings in Q2 contributed to the shift.Vijayakumar emphasised that the strength of the US economy, solid corporate earnings growth, and a strong dollar are currently favouring U.S. markets. He believes that FIIs are likely to return as buyers when GDP and earnings growth show signs of recovery. “Q3 data could be mildly positive. Meanwhile, FII selling has depressed the prices of certain largecap segments like banking, where valuations are now attractive. This market downturn presents an opportunity for investors to buy quality large caps, particularly in sectors like pharma, IT, and digital platform companies, which may buck the downtrend,” Vijayakumar added.FPI flows throughout 2024 have seen substantial fluctuations. September witnessed the highest monthly inflow at Rs 57,724 crore, while in August, they had purchased shares worth Rs 7,322 crore which was down month-on-month from July when the total buying figures stood at Rs 32,359 crore.

In June, FPIs were net buyers at Rs 26,565 crore after remaining net sellers in April and May when they sold equities worth Rs 8,671 crore and Rs 25,586 crore respectively. Meanwhile, in February and March they were net buyers at Rs 1,539 crore and Rs 35,098 crore, respectively, after starting the year on a negative note in January when they offloaded shares worth Rs 25,744 crore.

On Friday, FIIs were net sellers at Rs 3,597.82 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers at Rs 1,374.37 crore. Despite the volatility, December’s inflows reflect improving sentiment as global uncertainties ease and key sectors show attractive valuations.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) displayed a dramatic shift in behaviour during November, creating a “tale of two halves.” The first half of the month saw FIIs as net sellers, selling Indian stocks worth Rs 22,420 crore across most sectors. However, the second half marked a reversal, with FIIs turning net buyers to the tune of Rs 809 crore, channelling funds into key sectors such as financial services, IT, FMCG, real estate and capital goods.

This turnaround reflects growing confidence in India’s robust economic prospects with December witnessing an acceleration in the pace of buying as FIIs have pumped in around Rs 23,500 crore so far in the month.

Meanwhile, sectors like Oil & Gas, Telecom, and Auto continued to face selling pressure in November. Here is a sector-wise analysis of FII activity during November:

CAMS, which acts as a registrar and transfer agent for mutual funds, on Monday reported a 45 per cent rise in profit after tax to Rs 122.5 crore for the three months ended September 2024. It had a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 84.51 crore in the same quarter of the preceding fiscal.

The company’s revenues from operations rose 33 per cent to Rs 365.17 in the July-September quarter of the current financial year (FY25) from Rs 275 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.

“Our overall assets under service touched a lifetime high of Rs 45 lakh crore, with the quarter recording the highest ever asset accretion. Strong retail participation in equity assets via SIPs and NFOs catapulted our equity net-sales to touch nearly Rs 1 lakh crore during the second quarter and record a staggering 59 per cent y-o-y growth in equity asset base,” the company’s CEO Anuj Kumar said.

For the first half of FY25, CAMS reported consolidated revenue of Rs 696.57 crore, a 30 per cent year-over-year increase and profit after tax (PAT) grew by 43.4 per cent to 230.68 Rs crore.

The CAMS board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 25 per share, which includes a special dividend of Rs 10.50 per share.

CAMS (Computer Age Management Services) is a technology-driven financial infrastructure and services provider to mutual funds and other financial institutions with over two decades of experience.