New-Age Tech Stocks Rally On Improving Investor Sentiment; WeWork, ixigo Lead Gains

New-age tech stocks surged this week, driven by improving investor sentiment. Thirty nine out of the 57 new-age tech companies under Inc42’s coverage gained in a range of 0.03% to close to 20% this week.  The rally was broad-based across segments, with 11 companies – WeWork India, Ather Energy, Kissht, RateGain, Honasa Consumer, Delhivery, Aye Finance, Amagi, Aequs, Nykaa and Shadowfax – hitting fresh 52-week highs over the past five trading sessions.

Buoyed by positive brokerage commentaries, WeWork India and ixigo led the gains. 

PhysicsWallah, Groww, and Wakefit were among the other companies that ended the week in the green. 

Meanwhile, 18 new-age tech stocks ended the week in the red, declining in a range of 0.01% to close to 9%. SME-listed Yudiz was the biggest loser, with its shares slumping 8.72% to end the week at ₹25.65.  

It is pertinent to highlight that only Swiggy touched a fresh new low during the week.

After hitting a low of ₹235.85 on June 30 (Tuesday), the stock gained in the next three trading sessions. Swiggy ended the week in the green, rising 3.1% from last June 26 close to end at ₹248.15. 

 

Insurtech company Turtlemint became the latest addition to our new-age tech stocks coverage after its shares made a muted debut on the bourses this week. After listing at a 10% discount to the issue price on June 29 (Monday), the stock gained 1.73% to end the week at ₹138.55.

With the addition, the cumulative market cap of 58 new-age tech companies stood at $139.29 Bn at the end of the week as against the market cap of $135.92 Bn of 57 such companies a week ago.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the key developments at the new-age tech companies this week.

Key Updates Of The Week

IPO Momentum Returns: After the IPO lull of the past few months, a number of new-age tech companies seem to be ready to hit the public markets. While Turtlemint made its public market debut, Fibe and OYO parent PRISM filed their draft IPO papers this week. SEBI also cleared fintech unicorn Moneyview’s public issue. 

Paytm Gets Key International Licence: The fintech major secured a payment institution licence for its step-down Luxembourg-based subsidiary, Paytm Europe Payments S.A. (Paytm Europe), and got registered on the payment institutions official list. With the licence, Paytm Europe can begin executing payment transactions including credit transfers and standing orders, execution of such transactions where funds are covered by a credit line, and acquiring payment transactions.

Rohan Verma Back At MapmyIndia’s Helm: Months after stepping down from the position of the CEO, Rohan Verma has been appointed as the joint MD of the geotech company, along with his father Rakesh. The duo will focus on building the company’s AI, geospatial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities. 

Lenskart Simplifies Group Structure: The eyewear major proposed merging its wholly owned subsidiaries, Dealskart Online Services and Lenskart Eyetech, into Lenskart Solutions under a scheme of amalgamation. The deal is intended to simplify the group’s corporate structure and consolidate the businesses under a single entity.

Swiggy Instamart Gets New CBO: Days after the departure of its CBO Hari Kumar, Swiggy has roped in ex-OYO International biz CEO Gautam Swaroop as its new business head. Gautam will oversee Instamart’s commercial operations spanning customer-centric growth, category management, and brand relationships and expansion.

Pine Labs Invests ₹25 Cr In Fintech Infra Subsidiary: The PoS provider’s board approved an investment of ₹25 Cr into its wholly owned subsidiary, Synergistic Financial Networks, through a rights issue to support its working capital requirements and future growth initiatives.

Tencent Partially Exits PB Fintech: Temasek, via its holding entity Macritchie Investments Pte Ltd, sold 1.02 Cr shares of PB Fintech in a block deal worth about ₹1,633.6 Cr yesterday. Earlier in the week, PB Fintech’s board approved an investment of ₹20 Cr in its subsidiary PB Pay. The company invested ₹13 Cr in the online payment aggregator subsidiary later.

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

Resilient Domestic Fundamentals Lift Sentiment 

The Indian equity market gained for a second consecutive week, supported by resilient domestic macroeconomic indicators and improving global sentiment. The Sensex rose 0.86% during the week to close at 77,763.91, while the Nifty 50 gained 0.90% to settle at 24,270.80

According to Ajit Mishra, SVP of research at Religare Broking, the biggest tailwind for domestic equities was the strength of India’s macroeconomic fundamentals. Industrial production growth accelerated to 5.1% in May from 4.9% in April, supported by broad-based manufacturing growth and robust electricity generation. Meanwhile, GST collections surged 13.9% YoY to ₹1.95 Lakh Cr in June, marking the fastest annual growth in 13 months and signalling resilient domestic consumption.

Globally, investor sentiment improved after weaker-than-expected US labour market data strengthened expectations of a more accommodative Federal Reserve policy. Easing inflation in the Eurozone, stronger UK economic growth, and improving manufacturing activity in China also aided market sentiment, although geopolitical developments in West Asia continued to remain a key monitorable.

FPI sentiment also showed signs of improvement. According to V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, foreign investors sharply reduced their selling towards the end of June. He expects the outflows to moderate further, aided by lower crude oil prices, improving balance of payments dynamics, and a stabilising rupee. He added that the correction in South Korea’s equity market could also prompt FPIs to turn buyers in India.

Investors will closely monitor FPI flows, crude oil prices, and developments around global interest rates in the coming week. Domestic macroeconomic indicators and geopolitical developments in West Asia will also remain key triggers. 

With that, let’s take a detailed look at the performance of Ather Energy and FirstCry this week.

Ather Rides EV Tailwinds

The week brought a series of positive developments for India’s EV ecosystem, boosting sentiment around listed EV players.

Ather Energy retained its position among the country’s leading electric two-wheeler manufacturers, with its vehicle registrations rising 3.2% to 29,422 units in June from 28,503 in May.

While its market share declined 30 basis points to 16.2%, the company crossed the milestone of selling more than 7 Lakh scooters since inception, with its family scooter Rizta now contributing nearly three-fourths of monthly sales.

This comes after a breakthrough FY26 for the company. Earlier this month, Ather’s board approved plans to raise ₹2,500 Cr to accelerate R&D, expand marketing initiatives, and repay or prepay certain borrowings as it gears up for its next phase of growth.

Adding to the sector’s optimism, the Delhi government approved its new EV Policy 2030, committing ₹15,000 Cr towards accelerating electric mobility over the next four years. 

Of this, ₹7,000 Cr will be deployed to promote EV adoption, while ₹8,000 Cr has been earmarked for charging infrastructure and tax incentives. 

The policy announcement lifted sentiment across listed EV companies, with Ather Energy emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries. 

The stock surged 13.36% during the week to close at ₹1,130.20, making it one of the top gainers in the mobility space. Its competitors Ola Electric and Zelio E-Mobility also gained over 6% each.

FirstCry’s Double Play 

The week was packed with corporate developments for omnichannel baby products retailer FirstCry. 

The biggest announcement came from its subsidiary Swara Baby Products, which filed a DRHP for a ₹1,000 Cr IPO comprising a fresh issue of up to ₹500 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to ₹500 Cr. FirstCry parent Brainbees, which owns a 76.6% stake in Swara Baby Products, plans to sell shares worth up to ₹300 Cr through the OFS. 

FirstCry said the listing would allow Swara Baby Products to independently pursue its growth ambitions in the hygiene products segment. It clarified that it will continue to retain majority ownership in the IPO-bound subsidiary.

Separately, FirstCry extended the timeline for its proposed investment of up to AED 34 Mn (about $9.3 Mn) into its UAE-based wholly owned subsidiary, FirstCry Management DWC LLC, citing procedural delays.

The capital, to be deployed by July 31, will support the company’s expansion in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Investors’ response to the developments was largely muted. The company’s shares declined 1.73% to end at ₹219.10. 

Edited by Vinaykumar Rai

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