Tale of the Tape 

Hola Amigos. Today was a BIG green day for markets, yay!

$NIFTY50.NSE ( ▼ 0.68% ) and Sensex soared +1.5% each, extending yesterday’s gains, as US recession fears subsided. PS - it helps that Trump hasn't announced any new tariffs for two days now. Midcaps (+2.2%) and Smallcaps (+2.7%) popped off as well. A cool 452 stocks in the NSE 500 ended higher.

It was a wave of green across sectors. Real Estate (+3.2%) was the top gainer followed by Auto (+2.4%) and PSU Banks (+2.3%)

$AGSTRA.NSE ( ▼ 2.09% ) is trapped in a never-ending cycle of lower circuits. Read our top story to understand WTF went wrong.

$BAJAJFINSV.NSE ( ▼ 0.35% ) was the top Nifty loser after Allianz broke up with it. Meanwhile, $26 billion in shareholder lock-in expiries awaits us, creating a bunch of hangovers. More details below.

Sugar stocks soared after reports said production had fallen by -16% in the 2024-25 season so far. Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Avadh Sugar and Shree Renuka rallied between +5% and +8%.

Paytm gained +8% after its subsidiary bagged a SEBI RA license, which means its looking to foray into market research services.

PVR Inox was up +6% after Nuvama said it sees a +84% rally from current levels.

$IRCON.NSE ( ▼ 1.9% )  was up after its JV bagged an EPC contract worth Rs 1,096 cr.

$SURYODAY.NSE ( ▼ 1.44% ) was in focus after its promoter-CEO bought shares worth Rs 50 lakh from the open market.

$CASTROLIND.NSE ( ▼ 1.34% ) was the top NSE 500 loser after it traded ex-dividend today.

Here are the closing prints:

Stock
Game Over!

$AGSTRA.NSE ( ▼ 2.09% ) is on the fu*king express train to rock bottom! The stock has tanked -83% YTD since its liquidity issues became public in February. FYI - the worst part is that even if you wanna exit, you can’t because it's hitting lower circuits every day. So WTF went wrong?

• The company’s liquidity was hurt by ‘receivables’ piling up aka dues it was owed by customers. Its banking clients didn’t pay them because AGS stopped adhering to “service-level agreements” or in other words, doing its job of filling up ATMs. Why did that happen? Well, reports say AGS staffers started shutting down machines after they didn’t get paid salaries…

• The explanation could be simple: AGS over-invested at a time when India simply stopped using ATMs a lot. Its managed portfolio dropped from 47,569 cash dispensers in FY21 to 38,418 in FY24. That’s not great.

• In early March, AGS said it defaulted on ~$4 million worth of obligations. It also said one of its creditors was planning to drag it into insolvency.

Even if we assume there’s no funny business going on, AGS’s tale is tragic AF. The company went public in 2022, raising Rs 680 cr from investors. ALL of that money went to promoters through an ‘Offer for Sale’. Retail shareholding is around ~27%; poor souls trapped right now. 

There were also no warning signs raised. Rating agencies downgraded straight to default. AGS’s independent directors quickly resigned after the news broke. Only thing left is investors holding the bag. PS - it’s possible AGS fights off insolvency and bounces back, but experts say don’t bet on it.