ET NEWS

Mumbai: A rush to purchase stock market debutant LG Electronics India in opening trades on Tuesday seems to have led to an amusing twist.As investors scrambled to buy LG early to ride the listing pop, some ended up mistakenly scooping up shares of a similarly named company: LG Balakrishnan and Bros, a Coimbatore-based auto component maker founded in 1937.Brokers said some investors, in a hurry to execute 'buy' trades in LG Electronics, would have erroneously punched the orders in LG Balakrishnan, a relatively thinly-traded stock with a market value of ₹4,372 crore at the end of trading on Tuesday.The total traded volumes on BSE and NSE were 684,105 shares, compared with the two-week daily average of 31,400. The stock zoomed to a high of ₹1,600 on NSE in early trades on Tuesday, nearly 15% above its previous day's closing price of ₹1,390. It gave up the gains and ended 1.6% lower at ₹1,367.60, as investors probably realised the mistake and wound up their positions.Trade mix-ups caused by mistaken identities are not very uncommon in the stock market. Brokers said such instances happened often in Tata Motors and Tata Motors' Differential Voting Rights (DVR) shares, especially during news-heavy days when retail investors rushed to buy Tata Motors shares but ended up buying DVRs by mistake.The DVR shares saw outsized intra-day spikes in volume and price, often reversing later in the day once traders realised the error.One of the most striking global examples of mistaken identity in markets occurred during the early months of the Covid pandemic, when investors confused Zoom Technologies, a defunct Chinese mobile firm, with Zoom Video Communications, the popular video conferencing platform. As retail investors rushed to capitalise on the surge in videoconferencing demand, many inadvertently bought shares of Zoom Tech instead of Zoom Video. The frenzied purchases sent the wrong stock soaring nearly 1,800% in a matter of weeks, forcing US regulators to step in and temporarily suspend trading in Zoom Technologies.

Mumbai: LG Electronics India made a strong debut on the Indian bourses on Tuesday, with shares of the consumer durables manufacturer listing at a 50% premium - the best listing performance for a ₹10,000 crore-plus IPO in recent years.The sizzling opening also ensured that the company's market value exceeded that of its Korean parent.The company's market capitalisation on Tuesday was ₹1,14,223 crore, or $12.8 billion, compared with its Korean parent LG Electronics Inc's $9.3 billion.LG's Indian arm clocked a revenue of ₹24,367 crore in FY25, while the Korean giant reported a rupee equivalent revenue of around ₹82,500 crore in 2024, according to ETIG.Shares of LG India opened at ₹1,710 compared with its offer price of ₹1,140. The stock ended slightly lower at ₹1,682.8."The listing gains for LG Electronics India were better than expected, and the stock now trades close to our long-term price target of ₹1,850," said Vaqarjaved Khan, senior fundamental analyst at Angel One.124564976Khan said the company continues to deliver stronger margins, returns and earnings compared to domestic peers such as Blue Star and Voltas, but the valuation comfort seen before the IPO has now moderated.Three brokerages - Motilal Oswal Financial Services (₹1,800), PL Capital (₹1,780) and Emkay (₹2,050) - have initiated coverage on the stock with a 'Buy' rating, implying upsides of 6-22% from current levels."We believe LG Electronics India is fairly valued around ₹1,850 in the near term, with limited upside from current levels," said Aakash Fadia, vice-president - Consumer Durables, Institutional Equities Research, Yes Securities. "Investors who received IPO allotments may consider booking profits, while fresh investors could look to enter on dips, particularly around the second-quarter results, which may be impacted by softer primary sales," he said.Echoing Fadia, Khan too said investors, who received allotment in the IPO, could consider booking profits as the stock moves higher over the next few days, and look for re-entry opportunities after the second-quarter results. "For new investors, a correction toward the ₹1,600-1,630 range would offer a more attractive risk-reward setup," he said.

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) will soon meet silver jewellery exporters and retailers to take stock of silver scarcity before raising the issue with the government, as the shortage could impact India's silver jewellery exports.Silver prices surged ₹6,000 to hit a lifetime high of ₹1,85,000 per kg (inclusive of taxes) Tuesday, in the run-up to the festive and wedding season.Silver prices have soared by ₹95,300 or 106.24% in the current calendar year."There is a tremendous shortage of supply, which will impact our exports of silver jewellery. We are speaking to stakeholders and will shortly call a meeting of silver jewellery exporters and retailers," said GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali.India's provisional export of silver jewellery was up 17.43% on-year at $596.41 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.Silver's industrial use is in high-end tech, electronics, solar panels and batteries. In September, the US added silver to its list of essential minerals, leading to large shipments being diverted there, a move that further tightened global supplies."There is no supply at present. It is affecting our silver jewellery exports. Unnecessarily high premium is being charged on the metal," said an exporter.Due to a surge in silver imports from certain Asean countries, especially Thailand, the government last month restricted imports of silver and unstudded jewellery till March 31, 2026, which were free earlier.These restricted products include articles of jewellery and parts of precious metal of silver and unstudded and other jewellery.