Asian Paints shares hit a 52-week low, MobiKwik rises over 13% to all-time high; here’s why

As many as 35 securities hit their 52-week high levels and 47 stocks hit their 52-week lows on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Thursday, December 26, as broader markets traded flat.

The NIFTY 50 index was trading at 23,759.25, up 31.60 points, or 0.13%, at around 12:10 pm. The BSE SENSEX, meanwhile, inched up 57.46 points, or 0.07%, to trade at 78,530.33.

The volatility index, or India VIX, shot up 5.1% to 13.85. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto was the top gainer, up 1%, while the Nifty Realty and Media indices were the biggest losers, down around 1.5% each.

Newgen Software Technologies (52-week high: ₹1,725)

Newgen Software Technologies is the leading provider of a unified digital transformation platform with native process automation, content services, and communication management capabilities. On Tuesday, the company announced that it has bagged a $2.27 million purchase order through its wholly owned subsidiary, Newgen Software Technologies Company Ltd in Saudi Arabia. The order needs to be executed within a year.

One MobiKwik Systems (52-week high: ₹698.3)

Around 18.6 lakh shares, or 2.4% of the company's equity, changed hands at an average price of ₹635 per share. This was a premium of around 4.2% compared with the stock’s previous close on Tuesday. To recall, MobiKwik shares had listed on exchanges on December 18 at ₹440, a 58% premium over the issue price of ₹279.

Asian Paints (52-week low: ₹2,258)

Asian Paints shares are now trading at their lowest level in four years due to increasing competition in the paint industry. The entry of new players like Birla Opus and JSW Paints threatens the dominance of established players. Also, increasing inflation in urban areas is adversely affecting the company's demand outlook.

Last week, Asian Paints announced that two of its top executives—Shyam Swamy, vice president of home improvement, and Vishu Goel, associate vice president of retail sales—had resigned due to “personal reasons.”

Astral Ltd (52-week low: ₹1,653)

The company had in November reported a 17.5% decline in net profit for the second quarter of 2024-25 at ₹108.7 crore compared to ₹131.7 crore in the same period last year. Revenue inched up 0.5% to ₹1,370 crore in Q2FY25 from ₹1,363 crore in Q2FY24.