PVR and Inox Leisure share price were in upbeat mood on Monday as cinema halls are set to reopen in West Bengal from October 1 with a limited number of participants. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that cinema halls and open-air theatres will be allowed to operate in the state from next month after remaining closed for over six months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cinema halls have remained closed since March 23, 2020 on the imposition of coronavirus lockdown.
Boosted by the development, shares of PVR rallied as much as 12.43 per cent to touch an intraday high of Rs 1,240.90 against previous closing price of Rs 1,100.95 on BSE. The stock was trading 40 per cent lower that all-time high of Rs 2,082.82 touched on February 20, 2020, while it was up 75 per cent against its 52-week low level of Rs 706.55 touched on May 19, 2020.
On the volume front, there was spurt in volume trade as 4.31 lakh shares changed hands over the counter as compared to two-week average volume of 1.35 lakh shares.
Also Read: Multiplexes rue Rs 9,000 cr loss in 6 months; urge govt to reopen cinema halls
In a similar trend, shares of Inox Leisure gained as much as 8 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 274.75 against previous closing price of Rs 254.30 on BSE. The stock has touched 52-week high and low of Rs 510.80 and Rs 158.20 on February 25, 2020 and May 19, 2020, respectively.
Share price of PVR and Inox Leisure had hit their 52-week lows on May 19, 2020 after production houses decided to release their films directly on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
Also Read: PVR share price falls 3% post Q1 earnings, here's what brokerages say
West Bengal government has taken decision to open cinema halls amid repeated requests by actors of the Bengali film industry, including Trinamool Congress MPs Dev, Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty, and industry bodies to reopen movie theatres, underscoring that cinema hall owners and employees are under severe financial stress. The Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) and the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) had in June separately urged the Centre to grant permission for restarting shows in cinema halls.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 607 points, or 1.62 per cent higher at 37,995 levels.
By Chitranjan Kumar