M-Cap Of New-Age Tech Stocks Jumps $5 Bn This Week, Fino & Delhivery Biggest Gainers

It was a cheerful week for new-age tech stocks in the Indian market, with 28 out of the 32 stocks under Inc42’s coverage gaining in a range of 0.1% to over 20% this week

The stock markets were closed on Monday (April 14) and Friday (April 18) this week on account of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti and Good Friday, respectively.

With its shares zooming 20.48% to end at INR 251.50, Fino Payments Bank emerged as the biggest gainer this week. Its shares have zoomed close to 40% from their 52-week low mark of INR 180.50, which they touched on April 7.

Earlier this month, brokerage firm Emkay initiated coverage on Fino with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target (PT) of INR 300.

The brokerage is bullish on Fino’s recently disclosed plans to transition into a small finance bank, along with its existing payment cum lending business. 

“Fino has built a unique, asset-light, payments bank with merchants at the core, serving underserved customers. The bank is gradually shifting from traditional transactional banking (through its hook products—remittance, MATM, AEPS) to ownership-led banking (CASA), thereby driving-in annualised CASA subscription revenue and other cross-selling opportunities,” the brokerage said in a note released on April 5. 

Delhivery was the second biggest gainer this week, with its stock soaring 13.81% to end the week at INR 280.95. The company’s shares have been going up steadily since it announced the acquisition of its rival Ecom Express earlier this month. Despite market volatility, the logistics major’s shares have climbed about 5% since then.

Amid the list of gainers, Zomato parent Eternal gained close to $2 Bn in market cap this week as the stock jumped 6.75% to end the week at INR 231.75. On Friday (April 18), its board approved a proposal to cap the foreign ownership in the company at 49.5% on a fully diluted basis. 

The list of gainers this week also featured Eternal’s rival Swiggy, ixigo, Paytm, Nykaa, Go Digit, among others. 

Meanwhile, 4 new-age tech stocks ended in the red this week – RateGain, Veefin, TBO Tek, EaseMyTrip. EaseMyTrip was the biggest loser, with its shares crashing 6.19% to end at INR 12.28 on the BSE. 

TBO Tek continued its losing streak this week, falling 2.79% to close at INR 1,042.80. With this, the company’s shares have declined over 40% from the beginning of the year.

In an exchange filing earlier this month, TBOT ek said that the RBI informed that its application seeking a post-facto approval for receiving payments amounting to INR 71.23 Cr through third parties or a company registered in India on behalf of any person outside India could not be acceded to. 

TBO Tek is currently evaluating available options in consultation with its advisors and is seeking guidance from the RBI to determine the appropriate course of action.

Overall, the total market cap of the 32 new-age tech stocks surged to $79.12 Bn from $74.78 Bn at the end of last week. 

Now, let’s take a look at the performance of the broader market this week. 

What Triggered The Rally This Week?

The broader Indian equities markets saw one of the most robust weeks of gains since 2021. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 ended the week 4.5% higher at 78,553.20 and 23,851.65, respectively. 

The key driver behind the bull run this week was optimism from US president Donald Trump’s decision to defer tariffs and exempt certain categories of products from it.

The decision ignited hopes of negotiations between the US and China and led to a belief that the initial assessment of the trade war was probably overestimated.

On the domestic front, factors like strengthening of the rupee against the US dollar, an uptick in FII inflows and the forecast of above-normal monsoon contributed to the market’s outperformance relative to other emerging economies.

“India has emerged as the first major market to fully recover from the losses triggered by the US tariff announcements earlier this month. Investor sentiment was buoyed by expectations that the US-China trade dispute may not harm but rather benefit India. At present, the domestic macroeconomic environment remains supportive, encouraging investors to increase their exposure to riskier assets for the long term,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments. 

Going forward, Ajit Mishra, SVP of research at Religare Broking, expects the positive momentum to continue, with a potential upside towards the 24,250-24,600 zone for Nifty 50. 

With that said, let’s dive into the performance of a couple of new-age tech stocks this week.

EaseMyTrip Slides On Mahadev Betting Connection Concerns

It was a tough week for EaseMyTrip as its shares plunged, resulting in nearly 22% decline year to date.

The reason behind the over 6% fall this week was the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at premises linked to the company’s promoter and cofounder Nishant Pitti in connection with the Mahadev betting app on Wednesday (April 16). It was reported that the ED conducted raids at 15 locations across the country linked to Pitti. 

The next day, the online travel aggregator confirmed that the ED raids took place but categorically denied any involvement in the betting app case.

“While EaseMyTrip has no direct or indirect association with the Mahadev Betting App or any other betting platform, we remain fully committed to cooperating with the authorities throughout the course of the investigation,” the company said. 

The Mahadev Online Book app is alleged to have been used as a vehicle to launder money between India and Dubai through dubious banking methods or ‘hawala’ transactions. 

Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma Surrenders ESOP 

Fintech major Paytm informed the exchanges this week that its founder, CEO and MD Vijay Shekhar Sharma voluntarily surrendered 2.1 Cr ESOPs granted to him under One 97 Employees Stock Option Scheme, 2019. 

“This will result in a one-time, non-cash, acceleration of ESOP expense of INR 492 Cr in Q4 FY 2025, and an equivalent lowering of ESOP expenses in future years,” the company said.

The company had come under the scanner of SEBI due to the issue of the aforementioned ESOPs in FY22, with the market regulator issuing a show cause notice to it. 

SEBI’s scrutiny stemmed from violations related to promoter misclassification during Paytm’s IPO in 2021, when Sharma was listed just as an employee of the company. 

As per reports, Sharma, his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma, and Paytm will pay INR 2.79 Cr settlement amount to SEBI in the matter. A report by ET said that Sharma has also agreed to not accept any more ESOPs for at least three years. 

Amid all these, the stock ended the week 0.96% higher at INR 848.95 on the BSE.