Tale of the Tape 

Good evening ya’ll. 

Markets see-sawed for a while before a last hour crash saw the Nifty (-0.4%) and Sensex (-0.5%) close in the red. Looks like all that happiness in Asian markets over US and China extending their trade truce sadly didn’t spill over here. Broader markets traded mixed, with Midcaps (-0.3%) seeing minor cuts, while Smallcaps ended flat. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bears (3:2).

It was an even mix of red and green across sectors. Pharma (+0.7%) and Auto (+0.6%) were the top gainers. Meanwhile, Banks (-0.8%) and Real Estate (-0.7%) witnessed selling pressure.

In today’s issue of the Daily Rip, we look at why CDSL remains a solid bet, why Astral was the top NSE 500 loser, the biggest newsmakers and more.

Check out the NSE 500 heatmap:

Stock
A1 Since Day 1

Hey guys, today we’re going to be taking a look at India’s biggest depository CDSL. The stock has zoomed more than +8x over the last five years. Here’s a quick rundown on what’s going on in the space.

About company: CDSL is the digital backbone of India’s stock market. It streamlines trade settlements, enables safe custody and seamless transfer of securities. Basically, everything needed for trading and investments. It's also been pioneering in India's financial ecosystem, with its market share in number of demat accounts standing at 79.5% in FY25. It’s done this by basically being a quasi monopoly amongst retail investors (like you and me) by partnering with 580+ depository participants across India

What’s popping? Well, there are two key factors:

Firstly, the number of new demat accounts opened hit a 4-month-high in June. This reverses a slump that was mostly due to the 2024 market correction + SEBI’s F&O regulatory action. Secondly, IPO activity is set to rebound in H2-2025. Companies raised ~$2.5 billion in July (another six-month-high) and multiple big listings are scheduled for the rest of the year including Hero FinCorp and LG Electronics. Both factors will benefit CDSL big time because its revenue streams include transaction charges as well as IPO/corporate action charges.

Big Picture: Experts say we’re still in the early phase of a long-term boom. We hit over 20 cr demat accounts this year, which is only expected to increase year-on-year, with the deeper penetration of financial accessibility and financial awareness. CDSL is set to reap the benefits of this for years to come.

Specials
India’s Biggest Company Trading At A Discount

After giving negative returns in calendar year 2024, Reliance Industries is trading at a huge 15% discount to its 5-year average valuations. Can RIL reverse this underperformance? What are the factors at play and analyst recommendations? Find out in our latest YouTube video, all in under 5 minutes!