Market movers: That sinking feeling? Some stocks are bucking the trend

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which drills oil wells, has been on investors’ radar for some time now. The stock on Monday climbed further 13 per cent. Since the war broke out in Europe, the stock has risen 20 per cent.

A similar story is playing out in some sugar sector stocks. Balrampur Chini Mills was one of the biggest gainers of the day, advancing over 5 per cent all thanks to rising crude oil prices. The company produces ethanol that is blended in fuel. Rising crude will encourage oil marketing companies to blend more ethanol now, to keep pump prices low.

Order, order…
Shares of tech firm 3i Infotech were locked at 5 per cent upper circuit after it received an order worth Rs 12.85 crore from the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB).

The company said the work includes design, development, implementation and maintenance of integrated e-Governance Solution 2.0 for the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board.

IT firms are already in demand thanks to the falling rupee, which helps export-oriented firms to generate more revenue in rupee terms. Hence, they act as defensive bets amid market fall.

Repainting the sector?
JK Cement said it will also enter the paint sector now, following JSW and Grasim. The opportunity to create a valuable company continues to attract new entrants in the sector. The success of Asian Paints, Nerolac and Berger Paints are prime examples.

Though, historically, new entrants have struggled to scale up owing to distribution and brand barriers. Thus, analysts believe it will not pose a significant threat to the large existing players but may impact regional players.

“Even as we do not expect new entrants to materially impact Asian Paints’ growth prospects or market share for 3-4 years, competitive intensity could deteriorate industry profitability, return ratios and valuations, on the margin,” said Jaykumar Doshi of Kotak Securities.

Nonetheless, the decision of JK Cement did not go well with the market. The stock ended down 11 per cent, also partly affected by rising energy prices.