Street signs: Nifty to test 11k levels, faith in Shankara revives, and more

Nifty to test 11,000 levels 

The benchmark Nifty has rallied more than 8 per cent from October lows when it had plunged to nearly 10,000 points. Technical experts believe the index has a chance of touching 11,000. Experts say the Nifty can now move to 11,000-11,176 levels, if it stays above 10,777. On Friday, it ended at 10,877. The Bank Nifty can move towards 27,250-27,500 levels if it holds above 26,350-26,500 zone. The widely-traded index closed at 26,863. According to experts, both longs and shorts have rolled over to the next series, indicating that volatility is likely to continue. State-owned banks, however, may continue to be laggards, said experts.

Ashley Coutinho

Faith in Shankara revives

Shares of Shankara Building Products have been on a downward spiral. The stock has plummeted nearly 57 per cent in the past three months to Rs 680. Last week, Singapore-based Amansa Holdings bought 168,448 shares of the company at Rs 680 apiece. The purchase comes at a time when the market has turned negative on the stock after gravity-defying performance post its initial public offering at Rs 460 a share in March 2017. Interestingly, the fund had previously bought 397,100 at Rs 1,675 apiece in February and another 147,216 shares at Rs 1,755 in March.

Samie Modak

Buying interest in ICICI Lombard

The Street is positive on ICICI Lombard General Insurance. Last week saw many takers when  Warburg Pincus decided to prune its holdings. Among the buyers were a clutch of mutual funds (MFs), including Canara Robeco, DSP Blackrock and SBI MF. Foreign funds such as UBS and Fidelity too bought the insurer. “The strong interest shows investors are bullish on the stock’s long-term prospects,” said an analyst. Warburg Pincus arm Red Bloom Investment offloaded 3.14 per cent stake. The transaction took place at Rs 800 per share. Shares of ICICI Lombard ended at Rs 831, nearly 10 per cent below its all-time high. 

Samie Modak