While the rosy outlook for the sector has diminished towards the end of the year, investors seem particularly bullish that aluminium companies will maintain their stronghold. That bullishness was accentuated today by a media report that the Mines Ministry has recommended a slew of positive changes in the import duty structure for the space.
The ministry has recommended a hike in customs duty for primary aluminium and an increase in import duty on downstream aluminium that will benefit both
and Industries. Further, the ministry has recommended correcting the inverted duty structure for aluminium companies.
The development had investors rubbing their hands with glee, as was reflected in the more than 6 per cent surge in shares of NALCO and over 4 per cent rise in those of Hindalco Industries. For analysts, aluminium stocks are the place to be as prospects of higher prices are just getting brighter by the day.
ADF Foods holds Baba’s hand
The packaged foods company has received the blessing of one of the most famous yoga gurus in the country — Baba Ramdev. Okay, maybe not Ramdev himself but his company Patanjali, whose products ADF wants to distribute in Europe.
The packaged foods company has entered into a pact with Patanjali to distribute the company’s products in the UK and European Union. The UK, having a large Indian diaspora, should be a hot market for ayurvedic products given the sensitivities around healthcare in these pandemic times.
ADF Foods hopes to capitalise on the demand and earn its share in the process, which should tremendously improve its earnings growth outlook. Investors see a major opportunity for the company and rightly helped the stock move 3 per cent higher today.
Stock of 2022
Well, the New Year is still three weeks away but that is not stopping investors from placing their bets on the stock that everybody would want in 2022.
During the early month of this year, metal stocks were the must-have in every portfolio and going by recent commentary, it seems ICICI Bank could take the honors for 2022.
The lender’s recent analyst meet has reinforced what many investors had been feeling for a while now: ICICI Bank is determined to reach the top of the private sector banking pyramid and displace HDFC Bank.
The lender has seen a turnaround in fortunes over the past two years with the entry of the new CEO. It’s digital game is much stronger than HDFC Bank and many other lenders in the industry and a healthier balance sheet affords it the luxury to capture a fair share of the impending boom in corporate loans as and when the private capital expenditure cycle picks up. Today’s more than 3 per cent is just a reminder of what is in store.