Shares of the country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank rose as much as 7.3 per cent and its associate mortgage lender HDFC climbed a whopping 7.35 per cent on the back of heavy trading volumes. Both the shares staged their biggest single-day gain in over seven months after their merger was announced on April 4.
On the BSE, over 16 lakh HDFC Bank shares changed hands compared with an average of 2.92 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks while on the National Stock Exchange over 2.34 crore shares were traded.
Likewise, HDFC shares were also witnessing very high trading volumes on the NSE as 78 lakh shares changed hands during the trading.
The rally in the stock came after reports suggested that changes in the MSCI index rules pertaining to merger and acquisition rules. As per reports MSCI has done away with requirement of minimum foreign room, Business Standard reported. Changes in MSCI indexes lead to capital allocation from funds that track MSCI indices for investing in capital markets and it is likely that these funds will invest in HDFC and HDFC Bank, analysts said.
Earlier this year, the board of directors of HDFC and HDFC Bank gave a go ahead for merger of both the entities. Last month, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave its nod for holding a shareholders' meeting for obtaining approval for the proposed merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank.
The shareholder meeting will be convened on November 25, 2022 for the purpose of considering and approving the Scheme of Amalgamation, HDFC said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
HDFC Ltd has also received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for transfer of HDFC Property Ventures Limited (HPVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary, to HDFC Bank.
Meanwhile, other HDFC group shares were also witnessing strong buying interest as HDFC Life rose 3 per cent and HDFC AMC advanced 1 per cent.
As of 1:52 pm, HDFC Bank shares were up 5.57 per cent at Rs 1,610 and HDFC stock rose 6 per cent to Rs 2,649, outperforming the Sensex which was up 1.74 per cent.
