Stock market live: Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance, ITC Hotels hit 52-week high; here’s why

NIFTY50 and SENSEX rose extended gains for a third straight session on Wednesday, March 19 ahead of the US Fed meeting outcome. As of 12:15 pm, the NIFTY 50 index jumped 76 points, or 0.33%, to 22,919. The SENSEX rose 169 points, or 0.23%, to 75,470.

Recovery in the global stock market, along with easing geopolitical tensions has supported positive sentiments in the domestic markets. As many as 40 stocks hit their 52-week highs on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).

India’s volatility index, or India VIX, inched up 0.85% to 13.32 on Wednesday. All the sectoral indices were trading in the green, except the NIFTY IT that fell 1.8% and NIFTY FMCG, which slipped 0.33%.

Muthoot Finance (52-week high: ₹2,423.5)

Muthoot Finance on Wednesday announced raising its assets under management (AUM) growth guidance for FY 2024-25 to 40% from its earlier projection of 25-30%. The announcement came after the company informed stock exchanges last week that its gold loan AUM (assets under management) has crossed ₹1 lakh crore.

Additionally, S&P Global Ratings has upgraded the company’s long-term issuer rating to ‘BB+/B’ with ‘Stable’ outlook from ‘BB/B’ with ‘Stable’ outlook.

Bajaj Finance (52-week high: ₹8,879)

The recent rally has been triggered after global ratings agency S&P Global Ratings on Monday revised the long-term rating outlook for the company from ‘Stable’ to ‘Positive’. The credit rating agency revised upward the company’s standalone credit profile (SACP) from BBB- to BBB.

S&P Global Ratings report mentioned that “The positive outlook on the company reflects that on the sovereign credit rating on India. The rating on the company is capped by the sovereign rating and will therefore move in tandem with that on the sovereign.”

ITC Hotels (52-week high: ₹189.74)

ITC Hotels had recently demerged from ITC Ltd and began trading in the stock markets on January 29, 2024, at a price of ₹180 per share. The stock has been rallying in the past couple of days amid high investor traction. As per experts, wedding and ongoing holiday seasons could be positive for the company’s hotel business.

Coromandel International (52-week high: ₹2,014.6)

Last week, Coromandel International announced that it had acquired a majority 53% stake in agrochemical firm NACL Industries Ltd (formerly Nagarjuna Agrichem) for ₹820 crore. The company said it would also launch an open offer to buy an additional 26% equity in the company. The proposed transaction, likely to be completed over the next few months, will position Coromandel as one of the leading players in the Indian crop protection industry.