Market movers: Why are Hikal shares down 11% in four days?

NEW DELHI: The tragic Surat gas leak incident in which six people lost their lives came to haunt Hikal on Dalal Street as the shares of the company plunged over 11 per cent in the last four sessions.

News reports, citing the police, have said the industrial chemical that leaked on January 5 was allegedly collected from Hikal in Taloja of Maharashtra. Hikal management clarified that the leak did not come from the tanker that was from Hikal. It further said all of its operations are functioning smoothly and the company is cooperating with the police investigation.

But the clarification did not do anything for the stock. The counter fell another 4 per cent, extending the fall in four days to 11 per cent.

No respite for Paytm
Paytm shares continued to plunge hitting fresh lows on Tuesday even as the company said its lending business grew five times during the December quarter. The stock has been falling ever since it was listed on the bourses.

Paytm management came into damage control mode on Monday after Macquarie pushed its target price on the stock further lower to Rs 900, setting the tone to another round of selling in Paytm shares.

The stock has fallen for six sessions now, dropping nearly 17 per cent. It was down over 3 per cent on Tuesday.

Sold AI, bought VI
A joke going around is that the government sold debt-laden Air India (AI) to Tatas and acquired a stake in another badly run business: Vodafone Idea (VI). But for the Voda Idea’s board, it seems they had to take the last resort converting its statutory debt into equities to save the company and in turn made the government its largest shareholder.

But, retail investors felt cheated by the move. The stock plunged 21 per cent following the announcement as The government would acquire the stake at Rs 10 a share against Monday's closing price of Rs 14.85.

No doubt, the move secures the company and its consumers along with jobs of thousands of its employees, it is definitely not great news for shareholders as it would result in quite a big dilution.