YES Bank shares plunge 10% as lender denies reports of strategic investment by Microsoft

Shares of YES Bank fell nearly 10% on Wednesday's session after the private lender denied reports suggesting talks between the bank and Microsoft Corporation and two other tech firms for a possible stake sale, as a part of its efforts to raise capital.

Post the clarification, shares of YES Bank plunged 9.98% intraday to Rs 41.05 against the last closing price of 45.60 and traded an intraday volatility of 6.7%. The stock was top loser on both the bourses NSE and BSE.

In terms of moving averages, the stock trades higher than 5-day moving averages but lower than 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages. The stock underperformed the banking sector by 8.97% in today's trade.

Market-depth wise, there are 86% sellers standing against 15% buyers bidding on the stock. Overall 91.5 lakh shares and 1460.98 lakh shares were changing hands on both the bourses BSE and NSE, respectively.

Although the YES Bank stock has risen 31% in the last week, the share value has overall declined over 76% year-to-date. The stock price trades merely 12 points away from the 52-week low of Rs 29.05 on the BSE.

YES Bank in a regulatory filing said it is "not aware of the source, which resulted in the news item and as a matter of policy, the bank would not like to comment on such article."

"The Bank in the usual and ordinary course of its business continues to explore various means of raising capital/ funds through issuance of securities to diverse set of investors, in order to meet its business I regulatory requirements, subject to compliance with prescribed procedures and receipt of statutory I regulatory approvals," it added later.

On Monday, a media report claimed that Microsoft and two other tech firms are in talks with the bank for large strategic stakes.

The troubled private sector lender last week said it was looking for capital either from a private equity investor or a strategic investor or family office.

Earlier in August, the bank had raised Rs 1,930.46 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) to fund its business expansion.

Reeling from a troubled balance sheet, YES Bank, on Sunday, filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police and cyber cell over "fake news and spread of rumours about the Bank's financial health on social media platforms".

In a regulatory filing on Sunday, YES Bank said that it has requested the authorities to form a multi-disciplinary team of experts for detecting the origin of fake news and assess the short-sell positions, held either directly or indirectly by such accused persons.

As of 1045 IST, shares of YES Bank were down 7.8% at Rs 42.05 on the BSE.

By Rupa Burman Roy

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