NTPC on slippery ground after block deal

NTPC Limited has slipped further at the opening bell on Thursday. The stock opened lower by Rs 3.95 per share or 2.35% at Rs 164 per share on the NSE. The retail portion of the NTPC’s offer for sale (OFS) retail portion got a tepid response with a subscription of 73% on Wednesday, while the non-retail portion was oversubscribed by 1.4 times.
 
In two blocks deals, 16.1 lakh shares of the company were traded at Rs 164-164.50 per share on the NSE during early hours of Thursday. NTPC has attracted a total traded volume of 1,44,55,770 shares and traded value of Rs 237.91 crores as of 0924 hours on Thursday. The stock has lost around 5% in the past three trading sessions. It was the top loser on the BSE Power index, which was trading at the 2,240 level, marginally down by 0.18%.
 
The government has raised around Rs 9,000 crores through share sale in the company. It currently owns 69.74% stake in NTPC. Post the OFS, the shareholding of government would come down to 63.1%.
 
Meanwhile, Nifty was trading marginally lower by 4 points at the 9,879 level while Sensex was trading at the 31,612 level, down by 34 points. HDFC Twins and Infosys have been dragging down the major indices in the early morning trade on Thursday.