Stocks Radar: Bajaj Finance, Indian Overseas Bank, Motherson Sumi, Varun Beverages, Yes Bank

Indian equity indices remained volatile in afternoon trade, after gaining for seven consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:33 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 0.23 percent lower at 40,209.17 points while NSE Nifty 50 was down 0.28 percent at 11,907.50. Yes Bank Ltd. was the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index while Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. was the top loser.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 691 stocks advanced and 1,019 shares advanced on the National Stock Exchange.

Ten out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded lower, led by the NSE Nifty Media Index's 1.71 percent fall. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty PSU Index was the only sectoral loser, up 0.74 percent.

A look at the stocks in news moving the markets today.

Varun Beverages Surges To Record After Q2 Results

Shares of Varun Beverages Ltd. rose as much as 15.08 percent to Rs 718 apiece, the highest since listing on Nov. 8, 2016, after announcing its September quarter results.

According to Bloomberg data,

• Trading volume was almost seven times the 20-day average for this time of day.
• The relative strength index was above 70, indicating it may be overbought.
• 46 percent shares were at the ask price and 36 percent were at the bid.
• The stock advanced 41 percent in the past 52 weeks.
• It trades at 48 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

Indian Overseas Bank Slumps After Q2 Results

Shares of Indian Overseas Bank Ltd. fell as much as 14.17 percent to Rs 10.30 apiece, the lowest since Oct. 31, after declaring its September quarter results.

Indian Overseas Bank Q2 Results: Key Highlights

• Net Interest Income stood flat at Rs 1,203.9 crore.
• Net loss stood at Rs 2,253.6 crore versus net loss of Rs 487.3 crore.
• Provisions rose 49 percent at Rs 2,996 crore.
• Gross non-performing asset stood at 20 percent versus 22.53 percent QoQ.
• Net NPA at 9.84 percent versus 11.04 percent QoQ.

Bajaj Finance Rises After QIP Announcement

Shares of Bajaj Finance Ltd. rose as much as 2.36 percent intraday to Rs 4,210.00 apiece, the highest since Oct. 22.

Bajaj Finance's board of directors, at its meeting on Sep. 17, approved raising of capital via a qualified insitutional placement, or QIP, for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 8,500 crore by issue of equity shares at a floor price of 4,019.78 apiece, the non-banking financial company said in an exchange filing on Monday.

On Friday, BloombergQuint reported Bajaj Finance plans to launch its Rs 8,000-crore QIP within a week as it plans to boost its capital adequacy ratio and consumer lending business, citing two persons privy to the development.

Trading volume for the Bajaj Finance stock was more than double the 20-day average for this time of the day, Bloomberg data showed.

HDFC Rises After Analysts Hike Target Price After Q2 Results

Shares of Housing Development and Finance Corp. of India rose as much as 1.31 percent to Rs 2,209 apiece, the highest since Aug. 9, 2019.

Analysts hiked the target price for HDFC after net profit of India's largest mortgage lender beat estimates in the quarter ended September. A muted growth in the corporate loan book and a marginal rise in bad loans in the segment didn't worry analysts as they maintained bullish stance on the stock.

Trading volume in the HDFC stock was more than six times the 20-day average for this time of the day, Bloomberg data showed.

Moody's Cut Motherson Sumi's Ratings, Shares Swing

Shares of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. fluctuated between losses and gains in the first hour of trading, after Moody Investors Service Inc. downgraded its ratings outlook for the stock.

The ratings company cut Motherson Sumi's outlook to negative from stable, citing slowing global auto sales, according to a note. “The negative outlook on company's Baa3 rating reflects “these challenging industry conditions and the likelihood that the company's credit metrics will remain close to their downgrade triggers,” Moody's said.

Moody's expects global light vehicle sales to decline by 3.8 percent in 2019 and a further 0.9 percent in 2020, meaning that auto-part maker's profitability will decline 100-150 basis points this year, with no significant recovery seen in 2020.

Motherson Sumi trades at 24 times its earnings per share for the coming year.

SRF Rises After Board Approves Capex To Grow Capacity

Shares of SRF Ltd. rose as much as 4.60 percent intraday, the most since Oct. 23, to Rs 3,064 apiece.

SRF Ltd.'s board of directors has approved a Rs 125 crore capex plan to fund capacity expansion, the company said in an exchange filing on Monday. This is in addition to the Rs 81.58 crore approved by the board at its Feb. 4 meeting. Also, the technical textiles business operations of SRF Industries (Thailand) Ltd. have been shut down due to economic unviability.

The SRF stock has advanced 50 percent in the past one year, Bloomberg data showed.

Yes Bank Shares Surge After Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Buys Stake

Shares of Yes Bank Ltd. reversed two straight days of losses, rising as much as 8.84 percent to Rs 72 apiece—the highest since Oct. 31.

Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has purchased nearly 1.3 crore shares of Yes Bank Ltd. for around Rs 87 crore through open market transactions, the Press Trust of India reported Monday.

According to bulk deal data available with the Bombay Stock Exchange, Jhunjhunwala bough 12,950,000 shares, amounting to 0.5 percent stake, of Yes Bank. The shares were bought at an average price of Rs 67.10, valuing the transaction at Rs 86.89 crore, the data showed.

The private sector bank has lost 63 percent of its market value since January on account of asset quality woes.