Adani Group in focus ahead of MSCI rebalance, block deal likely in Varun Beverages

Sources in the dealing room tell CNBC-TV18 that all eyes are on the MSCI rebalance later tonight. MSCI said on Thursday that it has determined that some Adani securities should no longer be designated as free float.

Adani Group stocks tanked on Thursday with the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd dropping nearly 15 percent in early trade even as the group said that it would prepay a $500 million bridge loan due in March.

Cutting short its two-day gaining streak, Adani Enterprises shares declined by 15 percent to Rs 1,834.9 on BSE in morning trade. The stock gained 23 percent on Wednesday. MSCI Inc on Wednesday said that it would review the eligibility of some Adani securities in its widely followed benchmark indexes.

The market which has been a bit volatile over the past few days ended on a slightly better note today. Indian equity benchmarks NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex ended with minor gains on Thursday. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ended flat and 0.2 percent lower, respectively. The Sensex fell nearly 191 points or 0.3 percent to 60,472.8, before ending at 60,806.2.

The FII flows were mixed today but there were positive buys. In terms of sectors, financials (private banks) and insurance companies are well-bid at the institutional desk today.

The MSCI rebalancing that will happen tonight will be something to look out for as the Indian market will react to it tomorrow. There is an expectation of the Bank of Baroda getting added to the index and Biocon getting deleted.

Sources in the dealing room told CNBC-TV18 that because of the changes on the MSCI due to Adani Group stocks, there could be a further weight increase in the bank names. Financials could stand out as big beneficiaries of the changes in the MSCI.

Besides Adani Group stocks, here are some other stocks that have been part of the dealing room chatter today:

The stock has been showing a good move post the third quarter numbers. The stock has gained over 13 percent in the last five days. Today the shares closed at Rs 1272, down 2 percent from the previous close on the BSE. Further, there is an expectation of a large block deal coming in for Varun Beverages.

After a long time, some buying traction is back in the stock. The stock was buzzing in buying flows on the FII desk today. Jubilant Foodworks shares closed at Rs 457, up 3.2 percent from the previous close on the BSE.

PB Fintech, the parent company of PolicyBazaar has been buzzing ahead of the earnings and buy flows in the FII desk. Shares of PB Fintech closed at Rs 520, up 7.9 percent from the previous close on the BSE.