Hannah Joseph at 5% UC

Hannah Joseph Hospital was listed today on the BSE SME at Rs. 65, a 7.6% discount to the IPO price of Rs. 70. After listing, it moved up to Rs. 68.25, which is exactly +5% from Rs. 65, hence the 5% upper circuit and an automatic “52-week high” (because it’s day one).

Why it locked at UC: SME stocks often see thin liquidity and low free float on listing, so a small imbalance in buy orders can push the price to the exchange-set band quickly. Also, on listing day for smaller IPOs, SEBI’s framework can cap the “normal session” trading band at 5% around the discovered equilibrium price, so once it hits that band, it appears “locked.”

While Budget 2026 did include healthcare measures such as customs-duty relief on 17 cancer drugs and exemptions for certain medicines/medical foods used in seven rare diseases, which can be mildly sentiment-positive for the sector, there is no direct Budget-specific trigger that explains a 5% lock in a newly listed SME counter. The move is better explained by listing-day mechanics, wherein even modest bargain buying amid low float/liquidity can quickly push the stock to the upper band and keep it “locked”.