Noel Tata recently took over as the new chairman of Tata Trusts, succeeding Ratan Tata who passed away recently. Following this development, shares of some Tata Group companies witnessed an uptick in trade on Friday.
Leading the pack was Trent Limited, which saw its stock price rise by 2.6%. Trent is one of the companies where Noel Tata currently holds a leadership role as chairman. Investors seemed optimistic about Trent’s prospects under Noel Tata’s guidance at Tata Trusts.
Shares of Tata Investment Corporation also ended the day 1.7% higher. Voltas shares climbed up by 1%, while stocks of Tata Steel and Titan Company rose by up to 1%.
Market analysts believe the modest gains in these Tata Group firms were more of a sentimental boost rather than being backed by any significant change in their respective businesses or outlook. As the controlling shareholder group, Tata Trusts play an important role in steering the direction of Tata companies.
However, experts say the Trust’s role is to provide funding support to Tata Sons, the holding firm, and not directly take operating decisions for group entities. They also point out that overall strategic control of Tata companies rests with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.
Nonetheless, some market participants felt investors were hoping Noel Tata could facilitate more capital flow from Tata Trusts to businesses where he serves on the board, though that may not necessarily translate into stock-specific moves.
Among other Tata companies, shares of Tata Power, Tata Technologies and Tata Elxsi also ended around 1-2% higher on the day. But it was Trent that emerged as the biggest percentage gainer and shone bright amidst positive sentiment around Noel Tata’s new responsibility as Tata Trusts chairman.
