The week that was in 10 stocks: Angel One drops 26%, IT and tech stocks among worst hit

Benchmark indices – BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 – dropped up to 4 per cent during the week, whereas indices gauged to second rung stocks, BSE midcaps and smallcaps, lost up to 7 per cent during the period.

Ajit Mishra, VP Research. Religare Broking, said that the tone was negative from the beginning and a surprise rate hike from the RBI pushed the bulls on the back foot

“Sentiment further dampened in the final session due to increasing fear of aggressive rate hikes from the US Fed. In between, the mixed earnings announcements failed to provide any comfort,” he added.

All the major sectoral indices settled in red, with the consumer durable index plunging about 9 per cent during the week. Markets are expected to remain weak in the near term, the experts said.

“Following the surprise interest rate hike by the RBI, Indian inflation is largely predicted to be about 7.4-7.5 per cent, far more than the central bank’s acceptable limit,” said Yesha Shah, Head of Equity Research, Samco Securities.

However, a higher-than-expected inflation figure might worsen present sentiment. Investors are therefore advised to keep a long-term horizon and be extremely selective with their picks, she suggested.

In the BSE 500 index, more than 450 stocks ended the week with losses, while the rest recorded mild gains. As many as 50 stocks dropped in double digits during the week, whereas only a handful stocks were able to post decent gains.

Below are key stocks that were in the spotlight in the last week:

Angel One: The leading fintech plummeted as much 26 per cent to Rs 1448.9 during the week after its promoter Rahul Thakkar sold 41,200 equity shares of the company via open market sale on April 29, 2022, the day on which the stock hit a record high of Rs 2,022.

Solara Active Pharma Sciences: The drug maker plunged 24 per cent in the week to Rs 486.25 after the company announced that Rajender Rao Juvvadi has resigned from the position of Managing director and CEOof the company with effect from April 28, 2022.

IT stocks: The smallcap technology counters were hard hit in the last week, thanks to the sharp selloff. 63 Moons Technologies and Brightcom Group dropped 18 per cent each to Rs 180.05 and Rs 68.75, respectively. Sonata Software shed 14 per cent to Rs 645.35.

TV18 Broadcast: The media and entertainment major reported a 13.4 per cent degrowth in the profit-after-tax (PAT) to Rs 143.61, despite a rise in revenue. The counter tumbled about 17 per cent to Rs 45 during the week.

Internet stocks: The internet based platforms were hit hard during the week amid the rout in tech counters and high valuations. Info Edge (India) and Zomato tumbled 16 per cent each to Rs 3897.85 and Rs 60.5, respectively.

Gokaldas Exports: The garment and apparel player surged over 18 per cent to Rs 472.7 during the week after the company reported the best quarterly performance driven by growing order book and ability to weather supply chain disruptions.

Home First Finance Company: The housing finance player reported a net profit of Rs 60.2 crore in the March quarter of FY22, up 92.4 per cent from the same period last year, owing to higher net interest income. The scrip zoomed 11 per cent to Rs 781.55 during the week.

Tata Chemical: The Tata group’s chemical arm advanced 10 per cent to Rs 1032.9 during the week as its performance in the March 2022 quarter exceeded Street expectations and upbeat management commentary