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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Ashok Leyland rises more on Aug sales, investment announcement

 

MUMBAI--1035 IST--Shares of Ashok Leyland extended gains for the second straight session after robust sales growth in August and announcement of investment by the company for localising battery production. At 1025 IST, the stock was up 2.4% at INR 131.07, having gained nearly 1% Monday.

 

The Hinduja-group company said it sold 15,239 automobile units to dealerships in India and abroad in August, up over 5% on year. The growth was driven mainly by a double-digit rise in bus sales, even as truck despatches remained muted. The company also announced it would invest INR 50 billion over 7–10 years for battery localisation. The investment aims to develop and manufacture next-generation batteries for both automotive and non-automotive applications, including energy storage systems.

 

For this, the company has signed a long-term exclusive partnership with CALB Group, a battery technology company in China. This comes amid the recent supply-chain issues of rare earth magnets after China banned their exports in April. "This strategic move underscores Ashok Leyland's ambition to build a localised and sustainable battery supply chain in India...the partnership with CALB Group--one of China's foremost and fastest-growing battery technology firms with strong expertise in lithium-ion and energy storage solutions--gives Ashok Leyland access to advanced technology and global best practices, enabling faster scaling of EV adoption in India," ICICI Direct Research said in a report.

 

The company's management will host a conference call to detail its battery localisation efforts on Tuesday at 1600 IST. As of 1025 IST, 5.61 million shares of the company were traded on the NSE, sharply higher than the 2.73 million shares traded till the same time Monday.  (Akash Mandal)

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Equity Alert: Tyre makers continue to rally on hope of lower GST rates

 

MUMBAI--1009 IST--Tyre makers continued their upward trajectory post the government's proposed GST reforms announced on Aug. 15. These reforms may also reduce taxes for tyre manufacturers. Shares of JK Tyre & Industries, MRF, Apollo Tyres were up 2-3%.`

 

The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, a representative body of six large tyre companies in India that accounts for over 90% of tyre production, has sought lower GST rates in the proposed GST rate rationalisation exercise, The Hindu reported. The body is pushing for a tax rate of 5% on tyres, compared to the existing 28%. Tractor tyres and aircraft tyres are taxed at 18% and 5%, respectively. 

 

"Tyres are indispensable to the movement of people and goods across India...tyres should not be treated on a par with luxury goods", Arun Mammen, chairman of the body, said. Apollo Tyres and JK Tyre have risen 12% and 11%, respectively, since the government's Aug. 15 GST announcement. MRF and CEAT have risen over 6% during that period.  (Akash Mandal)

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Equity Alert: Mkt up; sugar cos rise as govt lifts ethanol production curbs

 

MUMBAI--0943 IST--Benchmark equity indices continued to rise after the bounceback seen Monday. Positive domestic economic and corporate data aided the rise in the market. However, the gains were capped due to the ongoing tensions between India and the US regarding tariffs and delay in signing of a trade deal. Even as 50% US tariffs on India came into effect last week, a US appeals court on Friday ruled that most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs were illegal, which may have sparked an optimistic approach in the domestic market.

 

At 0935 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24679.70, up 54.65 points or 0.2%. The BSE Sensex was at 80574.32, up 209.83 points or 0.3%. The 50-stock index was lifted by index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. The fear indicator of the market, India VIX, was down 0.8% at 11.1975.

 

Performance of sectoral indices was a mixed bag. The Nifty Auto was down 0.5% and was the worst-hit index among its peers, a day after automobile companies declared their sales data for August. Retail sales were broadly muted last month as customers deferred their purchases to take advantage of potential cuts in the goods and services tax, expected to be announced by Diwali. After swinging between gains and losses, all broader market indices were higher. 

 

Shares of most sugar companies rose Monday after the government allowed sugar mills and distilleries to produce ethanol from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-Heavy Molasses and C-Heavy Molasses without any restrictions during the ethanol supply year 2025-26 (Nov-Oct). Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini Mills, and Praj Industries were up 6-12% and were among the top gainers on the Nifty 500.

 

Ola Electric Mobility continued to be the top gainer among Nifty 200 stocks. The stock has gained over 58% in last two weeks. Analysts expect Ola Electric Mobility to regain confidence after the company received production-linked incentives for its Gen 3 scooters from the government last week. Ola Electric said this will boost profitability from the September quarter.  (Simran Rede)

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Equity Alert: Sugar cos, distilleries up as govt lifts ethanol output caps

 

MUMBAI--0941 IST--Shares of sugar makers and distilleries surged in early trade after the government permitted sugar mills and distilleries to produce ethanol without any quantitative restrictions. Shree Renuka Sugars, Praj Industries, and Balrampur Chini Mills were up 7-13%. 

 

The Centre Monday allowed sugar mills and distilleries to produce ethanol from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-Heavy Molasses, and C-Heavy Molasses without any restriction during the ethanol supply year 2025-26 (Nov-Oct). India's gross sugar production is likely to rise 18.3% on year to 34.9 million tonnes in the 2025-26 sugar season, according to the Indian Sugar Mills & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association's preliminary estimates. Gross sugar output is estimated before sucrose diversion for ethanol production.

 

Alongside sugar and alcohol production, ethanol is also used for blending in fuels. The government has been promoting blending of ethanol in petrol under the ethanol blended petrol programme, with oil marketing companies selling such ethanol-blended fuels. (Akash Mandal)

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Equity Alert: Indices may rise Tue, but gains seen capped on growth concerns

 

MUMBAI--0751 IST--Benchmark indices are likely to gain more Tuesday as market participants are expected to buy stocks after a nearly 2?ll last week. However, gains are likely to be capped amid concerns over economic growth and the impact of the US tariffs. Gains on Tuesday are expected to be modest, and investors may take the opportunity to book profits if markets rise, as indices have already rebounded slightly from last week's slump, posting 0.7–0.8% gains Monday.

 

The September futures contract of the GIFT Nifty suggests a positive start for the Nifty 50 Tuesday. At 0750 IST, the contract was trading at 24741.50 points, unchanged from the previous close and 0.5% higher than the Nifty 50's close Monday. Analysts expect the Nifty 50 to face resistance at 24800-24850 points while immediate support is expected at 24300-24500 points.

 

The stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the June quarter has raised some hope that the Indian economy may manage to top expectations on growth despite tariffs by the US. However, some analysts said the June quarter GDP growth was driven by front-loading of exports and spending by the government, and it would be difficult to maintain this growth in the coming quarters.

 

Cues from Asian markets were mixed, with indices in China and Hong Kong slightly down while those in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan were up. Indices in China were down after three days of gains amid the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which concluded Monday. The summit was in focus as major world leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attended the event in China. Equity markets in the US were closed Monday on account of Labor Day.

 

Foreign investors are expected to temper their flows into Indian equities, especially at a time of volatility in the rupee. On Monday, the currency hit a record intraday low of INR 88.33 a dollar and closed at INR 88.20. The falling rupee is also expected to drive away foreign investors who have already created "extreme" short positions in domestic equities, analysts said. Foreign portfolio investors, who sold shares worth INR 17 billion Monday, are expected to continue to sell Indian stocks.  (Anshul Choudhary)

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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices rise post selloff on Mon; Kospi top gainer

 

MUMBAI--0742 IST--Most Asian indices were up in early trade Tuesday as investors focused on a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi too. Tariff-related uncertainty continues to weigh on sentiment after a US federal appeals court last week ruled that most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs were illegal. The US market was shut Monday on account of Labor Day. 

 

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.7%, the top gainer in the region. The country's consumer price index rose 1.7% on year in August, slower than the 2.1% rise the month before. This marks its slowest year-on-year rise since November and is slightly lower than the 2% rise forecast by Reuters. Investors were bargain-hunting for semiconductor and technology stocks after a sell-off in the previous session, The Korea Herald reported. The sell-off was after reports that China's Alibaba had developed a new artificial intelligence chip. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Naver were up 1-5%. 

 

Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix were up 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. Japan's 10-year government bond auction later in the day will be a gauge for investor appetite amid growing expectations of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan, NDTV Profit reported. 

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0738 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4525.0363	0.03
Hang Seng Index	25596.87	(-)0.08
Nikkei 225 Day	42395.04	0.49
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3081.12	0.59
KOSPI	3163.88	0.67
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4284.54	0.20
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8920.90	(-)0.08

 

(Akash Mandal)

 

US$1 = INR 88.02

 

End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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NYSE: New York Stock Exchange

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