New Delhi: In a bizarre twist triggered by the viral Modi-Meloni 'Melody' video, the stocks of Parle Industries hit the upper circuit as social media users rushed to buy the stock, apparently mistaking it for the maker of the iconic Melody toffees.
The frenzy was driven purely by the name similarity, even though Parle Industries has no connection whatsoever with Melody candies or with Parle Products, the company behind the popular confectionery brand.
The incident once again highlighted how social media-driven hype can spark irrational trading activity in the stock market.
For context, earlier today at 11:30, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie video with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the video, PM can be seen standing with a packet of toffee manufactured by Indian FMCG company Parle Products.
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In the video, Meloni said, "Prime Minister Modi brought us a gift, a very very good toffee," showing that the name of the toffee is Melody.
After that, market participants in the Indian stock markets started buying stocks of Parle Industries, thinking they were investing in the Melody's Parle company.
Parle Industries’ stock had already fallen around 35 per cent in the last 3 months. The stocks of the company were continuously declining from past three weeks.
But the moment Modi gifted Melody toffee to Meloni, Parle Industries’ stock suddenly hit the upper circuit and jumped nearly 5 per cent at Rs 5.25 apiece, leaving even the market analysts clueless.
Interestingly, the real Melody maker Parle is not even listed in the Indian stock market. Parle Products is a private company. The other products of the company are Parle-G, Monaco, Hide & Seek, Mango Bite among others.
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On the other hand, Parle Industries Limited is a publicly-traded Indian small-cap company currently engaged in infrastructure, real estate development, and waste management/recycling. Originally founded as an IT and software services firm, although the company has pivoted its business focus.
After witnessing a huge buying, the Parle Industries clarified that it has no connections with the Parle Products.
At the time of filing this report, Indian stock markets trading with the cautious sentiment. The stock markets opened in red in which auto and metal stocks tumbled.
However, around 2:30PM, the Sensex gained around 147 points and Nifty50 at National Stock Exchange (NSE) was in green with 49.80 points at 23,665.
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