Street signs: Sebi ups its guard, HNI bets Indigo Paints IPO at risk & more

Sebi ups its guard

Sebi has stepped up its vigil on possible market manipulation — the trigger being the recent sell-off in the market, expected volatility on Budget Day, and the recent GameStop mania. Typically, stocks see huge gyrations on Budget day. “Sebi and exchanges are on the watch if social media platforms are being used to mobilise small investors to buy a particular scrip. Given the strict trading restriction a ‘short squeeze’ strategy is difficult to execute in India. But young investors could be encouraged towards buying a stock with little fundamental basis,” said an official.

Bearish near-term cues for Nifty

The January series saw the Nifty hitting record highs of 14,753, but closing below the 14,000-mark. The series started with the addition of fresh longs in the first fortnight, but most of these longs are out of the system as the Nifty open interest has decreased by about 20 per cent month-on-month. Foreign portfolio investors exited some of their long positions in index futures and their ‘long short ratio’ has come down from 75.6 per cent to 61.9 per cent series-on-series. "The undertone of the market has turned bearish for the short-term... Support for the Nifty can be found at 13,500 and below that at 13,200 levels. Resistance can be seen at 14,500 and 14,700 zones," said a note by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

HNI bets Indigo Paints IPO at risk

HNIs are at risk of losing money on their Indigo Paints’ wager if the drop in the grey market premium (GMP) is an indication. Following the sharp fall in the markets — and also paint stocks — the GMP for Indigo Paints has almost halved, said market players. “The stock will list at a decent premium over the issue price (of Rs 1,490) but it may not be enough for the HNI bets to pay off. Investors who have placed leveraged bets will be in-the-money if Indigo Paints lists at a premium of over 40 per cent. Current indication is the listing will happen at 25 per cent premium,” said an investment banker.