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Informist, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Mkts in Europe mixed; defence cos down on Israel-Hamas pact

MUMBAI--1431 IST--Equity indices in Europe were mixed in early trade Friday. Traders focussed on political developments in France as president Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce a new prime minister later in the day. Defence stocks in the region fell amid tentative signs of peace in West Asia after the Israeli government approved a deal with the Hamas leadership. Select banks and automobile stocks were higher while mining stocks traded in the red amid China's decision to tighten its rare earth export norms for advanced technology manufacturing.

Late on Thursday, the Israeli government approved the first stage of a peace deal that will see the release of hostages held by Hamas. As outlined in US President Donald Trump's peace plan, a ceasefire should take effect within 24 hours under the terms of the agreement. Shares of German defence companies Renk and Hensoldt were down 1.5% and 4.7%, respectively. Shares of France's Thales and Sweden's Saab fell around 2% each.

Mining stocks in Europe fell after China tightened export controls on rare earths and other materials used in advanced technology manufacturing. Mining stocks had risen earlier in the week after the European Union announced plans to increase steel tariffs. Shares of Swedish company Boliden fell more than 1% and shares of UK's Anglo American and Rio Tinto fell 1-2%.

French President Emmanuel Macron invited the heads of France's political parties, excluding the far-right and the hard-left parties, for a meeting later in the day as he searches for his sixth prime minister in under two years, according to reports. France's CAC 40 was up 0.3%. France's economy was expected to grow 0.3% on quarter, despite political uncertainties, according to the Bank of France's monthly economic outlook released on Thursday.

Banks in Europe led early gains in some indices. France's BNP Paribas and Germany's Commerzbank were up more than 1% each. Denmark's Jyske Bank advanced over 4% after the lender hiked its earnings per share guidance and said it now anticipated a larger-than-expected net profit, CNBC reported.

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1417 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Pharma cos rise up to 5% after US Senate passes Biosecure Act

MUMBAI--1320 IST--Shares of pharmaceutical companies rose after media reports said the US Senate has passed the Biosecure Act, which aims to prohibit federal agencies from contracting with biotech equipment or services from companies originating from China, which is likely to increase orders for Indian companies.

Shares of major Indian companies in the business of contract development and manufacturing rose. Shares of Divi's Laboratories, Cipla, Piramal Pharma, and Laurus Labs were among top gainers in the sector and gained 3-5%. Shares of Divi's Laboratories hit its highest level in over two months at INR 6,477.50 per share.

Pharma stocks come off highs slightly later. At 1320 IST, the Nifty Pharma index was up 1.4% compared with nearly 2% rise just an hour back. (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Indices remain higher; pharma stocks rise further

MUMBAI--1254 IST--Indices remained higher, led by gains in banks and pharmaceutical companies. The Nifty 50 index hit an intraday high of 25318.80, which is its highest level in a little over two weeks.

At 1252 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25310.80 points, up 129 points or 0.5%, and the BSE Sensex was at 82581.19 points, up 409.09 points or 0.5%. Shares of State Bank of India were up more than 2%. Among other financial service companies, shares of LIC Housing Finance and SBI Life Insurance were up 1.5-2.0%.

Pharmaceutical companies gained further with shares of Cipla, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, and Sun Pharmaceutical rising 1-3%. Cipla was the best performing stock in the Nifty 50 index.

Decline in metal companies capped index gains. The Nifty Metal index fell more than 1% after it had gained over 2% on Thursday. Shares of JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Tata Steel fell 0.5-1.5% and these were the weakest constituents of the Nifty 50. Hindustan Zinc and Hindustan Copper were down 3% and 6%, respectively, and were among the biggest losers in the Nifty 500 index.

Several real estate companies gained with shares of Prestige Estates Projects rising nearly 3%, extending their previous session gains when the company had reported a 54% on-year rise in collections for the September quarter. Shares of DLF, Godrej Properties, and Lodha Developers were up around 2% each.

Shares of Tata Communications rose 12% and hit an intraday high of INR 1,947.90, its highest level in nearly a year. The stock rose amid hope that TCS may use Tata Communications's land for its data centre considering both companies are part of the Tata group.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Tata Comm up on possibility of TCS using land for data centre

MUMBAI--1231 IST--Tata Communications rose nearly 15% to INR 1,947.90, its highest level in nearly one year. The stock was up for the sixth straight session and has risen 21% over this period. The company is seen as a potential beneficiary as it is said to be owning a large tract of land which could be used by Tata Consultancy Services to develop a data centre in India. At 1229 IST, the stock was nearly 11% higher at INR 1,879.20. 

Tata Communications is likely to work closely with TCS as the latter, in its post-earnings analysts' concall, said it will build an artificial intelligence data centre in India with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. TCS said it is committed to make significant investments towards transformation. Tata Communications is likely get work from TCS for the data centre, which will be positive for the former, said Piyush Pandey, a senior vice president at Centrum Broking.

According to market buzz, Tata Communications is said to have a large land tract which TCS can use to develop data centres in India. This could provide potential monetisation of surplus land, according to some posts on the social media platform X. This may expand the direct current footprint of TCS and boost Tata Communications' connectivity business.

Of the seven brokerage reports available on the stock with Informist, five have a 'buy' or equivalent rating, one has a 'hold' rating, and one 'sell' rating. The 'buy' recommendations have an average target price of INR 2,014, implying a near 20% upside to the stock's previous close. So far Friday, 4.29 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, sharply higher than 49,390 shares traded during the same period on Thursday.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: TCS shares fall; concerns about growth outlook dent sentiment

MUMBAI--1215 IST--Shares of information technology behemoth Tata Consultancy Services fell over 1% Friday due to concern that a recovery in growth will be slower than expected earlier, and lack of clarity about the company's plans to build artificial intelligence data centre. At 1215 IST, the stock was down over 1% at INR 3,019.80 on the National Stock Exchange, among the biggest losers on the Nifty 50 index. 

The Tata group company had reported its September quarter earnings post market hours Thursday. While the company managed to beat analysts' estimates on the revenue front, its net profit for the quarter missed the Street's view.

The revival in the pace of revenue growth is not as expected, an analyst covering the sector at a domestic brokerage said. He said it was possible that FY27 estimates would come down further. At the same time, he was positive on the company's foray into the data centre business, as he expects more Indian companies to depend on TCS' data centres over those of companies outside the country.   

While management expects growth in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to be better than in FY25, Motilal Oswal said the guidance was "somewhat fuzzy". The brokerage estimates around 2.5% growth in the company's revenue in dollar terms from its international business in FY26, implying only 0.5-0.8% growth in revenue in constant currency terms over FY25.

On the company's entry into the data centre business, brokerages held mixed view as they await more details. Goldman Sachs said the company's entry data centre business could translate into 15-20% of India's overall data centre capacity, CNBC-TV18 reported Friday, citing the brokerage. "TCS is stepping up acquisitions, which it has historically stayed away from, to enhance capabilities, including in AI," the brokerage said. It has maintained a 'buy' rating on the stock. Post TCS' results, the brokrage sees a 'neutral' read-through for the rest of the Indian IT companies, the report said.

Jefferies, on the other hand, said that the company's foray into the data centre business has limited synergies with IT services, according to a CNBC-TV18 report. Brokerage Citi sees the company's business outlook as challenged and expects the asset intensity in the data centres business to only increase as the years go by. It has maintained its 'sell' rating on the stock and raised its target price 0.4% to INR 2,800. 

While analysts remain cautious on the company's growth outlook amid a challenging demand environment and continued broad-based weakness across markets, several brokerages maintained their bullish view on the stock, citing long-term strategic positioning and new growth levers. 

The company's strong deal pipeline, strategic investments in AI, leadership in cloud and cybersecurity, and entry into the data centre business position it well for long-term growth, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in a note Friday. The brokerage has upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and revised its target price to INR 3,861 from INR 3,841. Brokerage firm Avendus Spark also upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'add' with a revised target price of INR 3,700, implying a potential upside of over 20% from current levels.  (Arya S. Biju)

Equity Alert: SBI at over 2-mo high; govt opens MD post at bank to pvt sector

MUMBAI--1138 IST--State Bank of India's shares rose over 2% to an over two-month high of INR 883.75. The stock was the biggest gainer in the Nifty 50 index. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved updated consolidated guidelines for appointing whole-time directors, including chairpersons, chief executive officers, managing directors, and executive directors at public sector banks and state-owned insurance companies, NDTV Profit reported. Under the new framework, the position of one managing director at SBI is now open to private sector candidates.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau can recommend candidates for top financial appointments and it has been authorised to hire independent human resources agencies to process applications of private sector individuals, the report said. The government has also removed the requirement of annual performance appraisal reports from the selection process.

Out of the 22 brokerage reports on SBI available with Informist, 21 have a 'buy' or equivalent rating and with an average target price of INR 958. Only InCred Research Services has a 'hold' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 875. At 1140 IST, the stock traded over 2% higher at INR 879.80 and nearly 6 million shares of the bank changed hands on the NSE compared to 2.6 million shares traded till the same time Thursday. (P. Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: WeWork lists at INR 650, slightly higher than its issue price

MUMBAI--1059 IST--WeWork India Management Ltd.'s shares listed on the NSE at INR 650, marginally higher than its issue price of INR 648 per share. At 1058 IST, shares of the company traded over 2% lower at INR 634. Over 4 million shares of the company were traded so far on the NSE.

The initial public offering of the company, which ended Tuesday, was subscribed 1.15 times, with the company receiving bids for 29.27 million shares against 25.49 million shares reserved on offer, as per data on the BSE website.

The company provides flexible workspaces for its customers, which include large businesses, small- and mid-sized businesses, start-ups, and individuals. For the June quarter, the company reported a net loss of INR 141.04 million on revenue of INR 5.35 billion. (Adhithya Aji)  

Equity Alert: Heavyweights push Nifty 50 higher; losses in metal cos cap gains

MUMBAI--1052 IST--Benchmark equity indices slightly extended gains, boosted by a rise in most index heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and ICICI Bank. At 1049 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25271 points, up 89.20 points or 0.4% and the BSE Sensex was at 82474.56 points, up 302.46 points or 0.4%. 

State Bank of India was up over 2%, the top gainer in the 50-stock. For the first time, the government has opened up the post of a managing director at the bank to private sector bankers. This is part of a major overhaul of the way leadership is chosen at India's public financial institutions. 

Losses in most metal stocks capped the gains in the Nifty 50. JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Tata Steel were the worst performers in the index. Shares of Tata Steel were down over 1% after ending the previous session as the top gainer in the Nifty 50. Shares of some information technology companies were also in negative territory, with Tata Consultancy Services down 0.6% after the IT major detailed its September quarter results post market hours Thursday.

In the Nifty Financial Services index, some insurance stocks were up after data from Life Insurance Council showed new business premiums rose nearly 15% to INR 402 billion in September. Among sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty were the top gainers, up over 1%. Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty Healthcare were the top losers, down 1.2-0.1%.  (Adhithya Aji) 

Equity Alert: Brokerages await more clarity on TCS foray into data centre

MUMBAI--1025 IST--Brokerages are not excited about Tata Consultancy Services' foray into data centre business just yet and await more details about the same. Brokerages have not yet incorporated revenues from data centres in their estimates for now.

TCS on Thursday announced it will build an artificial intelligence data center in India with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. "Regarding the data center announcement, we await clarity on the capital structure, capex schedule, and other details such as potential rentals and signed MOUs. At present, we do not model data center investments or related revenue into our forecasts," Motilal Oswal Financial Services in its report.

Some of the brokerages were concerned that the return on equity of the data centre is likely to be lower than its core business. "It is unclear to us how the ROEs of this business will be similar to existing business RoE of 50% given it is capex-heavy nature with IRRs at 20%," Nomura said. Nuvama Institutional Equities acknowledged the return on capital employed of the data centre business will be lower than the core business.   

Most brokerages have made positive comments on the company's foray into data centre. "While this might not appear to be the best avenue to deploy capital, we view the decision as a balanced one, as it explores growth opportunities in the tech-ecosystem...," Nuvama said.

Speaking on similar lines, brokerage JM Financial said, "TCS' willingness to put its balance sheet to use, a significant deviation from its earlier conservative approach, is a welcome change in the current dynamic environment."

The equity market was muted to the data centre announcement by Tata Consultancy Services. At 1025 IST, shares of the company were slightly down at INR 3,051 per share.  (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Natco Pharma rises; HC allows co to launch risdiplam drug

MUMBAI--1016 IST--Shares of Natco Pharma rose 6.3% Friday to an intraday high of INR 864.80. Delhi High Court Thursday allowed Natco Pharma to launch a generic version of the drug risdiplam in India. The court denied F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG's plea for an injunction against the company for the drug. At 1012 IST, shares of the company were 3.6% higher at INR 843.15. The stock was among the top Nifty 500 gainers in the early trade but later came off highs.

The court removed its status quo order issued earlier, wherein it had asked Natco Pharma not to launch the drug until its final ruling in the matter. Risdiplam is an oral prescription medicine used in the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy in patients two months of age or older.

In an exchange filing, Natco Pharma had said it had decided to launch the product with immediate effect. Natco Pharma said it also intends to offer some discount to certain deserving patients through its patient access programme.

The stock was up for the second session and has risen nearly 7% over that period. So far Friday, 2.64 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, higher than 163,136 shares traded during the same period on Thursday. Of the six brokerage reports on the stock available with Informist, two have a 'buy' or equivalent rating, three have a 'hold' or equivalent rating, and one has a 'sell' rating. The 'buy' recommendations have an average target price of INR 1,211.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Indices rise after a brief fall at open, TCS down 1%

MUMBAI--0927 IST--Benchmark indices rose after opening marginally lower, backed by gains in some financial services and oil and gas stocks. Oil and Natural Gas Corp. rose over 1% and was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 index, followed by State Bank of India and Power Grid Corp. of India, which were up around 1%.

Tata Consultancy Services fell nearly 1%, among the biggest losers on the 50-stock index, after the company reported a lower-than-expected consolidated net profit for the September quarter. Tata Steel and JSW Steel were down over 1% each. At 0935 IST, the Nifty 50 index was up 0.3% at 25251.45 points and the BSE Sensex index rose 0.3% to 82416.70 points. 

Among Nifty 500 stocks, Natco Pharma rose nearly 6% and was the biggest gainer. A division bench of the Delhi High Court has allowed the company to launch the drug Risdiplan in India, after quashing F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG's injunction plea. Whirlpool of India and Redington gained over 3% and were among the top gainers in the index. Hindustan Copper and Graphite India fell 3-4% each.

All broader market indices traded with gains, with Nifty Smallcap 50 leading the pack, up 0.4%. Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.3% each. Most sectoral indices were also in positive territory. Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Consumer Durables indices rose nearly 1% each. Nifty Metal and Nifty IT were the only sectoral indices in the red, down nearly 1%. Nifty Healthcare hovered between gains and losses. (P. Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: Analysts cut TCS FY26 EPS estimates on cautious demand outlook

MUMBAI--0830 IST--At least four brokerages have cut their earnings per share estimates for Tata Consultancy Services for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) by 0.5-2% after the company's September quarter earnings. TCS' revenue growth in the September quarter was slightly better than estimates but brokerages were cautious about the growth outlook. However, they either made only small cuts in their target prices or kept these unchanged owing to the attractive valuation of the stock.

"We have revised our USD revenue CAGR estimate for FY25–27E downward from 4.6% to 2.7%, factoring in near-term softness and a cautious demand outlook," Systematix Shares and Stocks said in a report. It also cut the target price for TCS by over 3% to INR 3,733 per share. On Thursday, shares of TCS closed at INR 3,061.70 on the National Stock Exchange.

Brokerages were cautious about the uncertainty in demand trends in the near term, which led Nuvama Institutional Equities to cut the FY26 and FY27 earnings per estimates by 2% each – the steepest cut among the four brokerages for the respective years. The brokerage also reduced its target price for TCS by 7.6% to INR 3,650.

"We remain cautious in the light of the global economic uncertainty and believe that discretionary spending will be dry for FY26," Nirmal Bang Institutional Equties said in its report. While brokerages were uncertain about the near term, some of them were more confident about the longer term. Brokerage Emkay Global Financial Services and Systematix raised its earnings per share estimate for FY27 by 0.6-1.1%.

"The company's strong deal pipeline, strategic investments in AI/Gen AI, leadership in cloud and cybersecurity, and new entry into the data center business position it well for long-term growth," Nirmal Bang said. The brokerage upgraded the stock to 'buy' while raising the target price marginally to INR 3,861.

Brokerages were also positive on the stock in the long term due to its attractive valuation. Systematix said the stock was trading at a 10% discount to its 10-year average one-year forward earnings multiple and offers a "favourable" entry point. (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Indices seen tad dn; Nuvama cuts TCS EPS view, target price

MUMBAI--0824 IST--Benchmark indices may open slightly lower Friday, tracking global markets. Indices in the US and Asia fell as the US government shutdown continued. Investors in the US booked some profits ahead of the September quarter corporate earnings and the weekend, according to media reports. Going ahead, the only key driver for the movement in the market will be Jul-Sept earnings, analysts said. 

Despite closing substantially above 25000 points Thursday, analysts say the Nifty 50 may trade slightly lower. At 0815 IST, the contract traded on the NSE International Exchange was 0.2% higher at 25262 points, around 80 points higher than the Nifty 50's spot level. Thursday, the Nifty 50 closed at 25181.80 points, up 135.65 points or 0.5% and BSE Sensex ended at 82172.10 points, up 398.44 points or 0.5%. 

Following the September quarter earnings of TCS, Nuvama Institutional Equities cut the earnings per share estimate of the company by 2% for FY26 and FY27 each due to a tad lower growth. Systematix Institutional Research reduced the revenue compound annual growth rate estimate for FY25-FY27 to 2.7% from 4.6%.

Going forward, the earnings along with commentaries from management are likely to set the tone for Indian equities, a head of research at a domestic brokerage said. However, the market may see some profit-taking but the probability remains low, and it will happen only below 24900 levels, said Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of derivatives and technical at Globe Capital Market.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Most indices in Asia fall; gains in chip cos push Kospi higher 

MUMBAI--0810 IST--Most benchmark equity indices in Asia were down in early trade Friday, tracking overnight losses in the US market. However, shares of South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics hit all-time highs, taking positive cues from a series of artificial intelligence-related deals in the US. Indices in Japan were down and the Nikkei 225 index retreated from the previous session's record closing high after the country's wholesale inflation print for September held steady, adding pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.

Japan's Nikkei 225 day index was nearly 1% lower. The country's wholesale prices rose 2.7% on year in September, higher than the market estimate of 2.5%. This is a sign of persistent cost pressure that will keep markets braced for a possible rate hike by the country's central bank when it meets on Oct. 30, Reuters reported. "The market expects the Japanese government to adopt expansionary fiscal policies... however, considerable uncertainty remains about the specifics of the policies up for debate, as well as the extent of the fiscal expansion," analysts from Bank of America were quoted by Reuters, as saying.

South Korea's markets were higher in early trade and the Kospi gained more than 1% after a near week-long holiday. Chip companies SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rose 10% and 6%, respectively, to their record highs, CNBC reported. The two companies are set to benefit from a deal between OpenAI and Advanced Micro Devices deal that could see the former take a 10% stake in Advanced Micro Devices.

China's CSI 300 fell 0.6%, following declines in exchange traded funds tracking large-caps on Wall Street overnight after Beijing expanded its rare earths export controls on Thursday. "This helps with increasing leverage for Beijing ahead of the anticipated Trump-Xi summit in (South) Korea later this month," Tim Zhang, founder of Edge Research, was quoted by Reuters, as saying. 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0810 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)