Indian stocks are expected to open lower on Monday, with a particular focus on small and mid-caps after a report said the country’s markets regulator is investigating allegations of front-running at the company. Indian fund Quant Mutual Fund.
The GIFT Nifty was trading at 23,388 at 07:53 IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open below its close of 23,501.10 on Friday.
Benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, succumbing to profit-taking after hitting all-time highs, although they posted a third straight week of gains, fueled by a rally in the financial sector.
Small and mid-cap stocks, which are larger and more domestically focused, will be in focus after local news site Money Control reported on Sunday that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is investigating allegations of front running – or trading in price-sensitive information before its general release – within Quant Mutual Fund.
Although the fund company did not respond to questions from Reuters on Sunday evening, it said in a statement to its investors that it was responding to the regulator’s questions.
Quant Mutual Fund is the fastest growing fund management company in the country, with assets under management of 930 billion rupees (approximately $11 billion). He is also an active investor in small and mid-cap stocks, which have surged 72% and 59% over the last year, outperforming the 26% rise in the Nifty 50 index.
Asian markets were subdued on Monday, while most stocks on Wall Street closed lower on Friday. Investors are awaiting key US inflation data as well as the first US presidential debate later in the week.
Foreign investors ended a four-session buying spree on Friday, offloading shares worth a net 17.90 billion rupees, while domestic investors bought shares worth a net 12. 37 billion rupees.
ACTIONS TO MONITOR
** Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: The lender cuts its loan growth forecast for FY2025 by 500 basis points.
**Cipla: Drugmaker receives six observations in Form 4823 after US drug regulator inspects its Goa facilities; separately, Blackrock increases its stake in the company to more than 5%.
** Garden Reach Shipbuilders: The company receives an order to build four multi-purpose cargo ships from a German company. The order amount is 4.50 billion rupees.
($1 = 83.5430 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
