Equity Alert
Ashok Leyland hits all-time high as co's Q2 results beat view
This story was originally published at 14:53 IST on 13 November 2025
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Equity Alert: Ashok Leyland hits all-time high after co's Q2 results beat view
MUMBAI--1440 IST--Ashok Leyland rose nearly 7% to hit an all time high of INR 151.46 after the company's net profit and revenue for the September quarter exceeded analysts' expectations. The company's revenue grew at a four-quarter year-on-year high on the back of a rise in despatches of medium-heavy commercial vehicles and light commercial vehicles, in addition to the bus industry growing for the 18th consecutive quarter.
At 1420 IST, shares of the company were up over 5% on the NSE with over 43 million shares having changed hands as compared to over 19 million shares till the same time Wednesday. Ashok Leyland reported a net profit of INR 7.71 billion for the quarter, a wee bit higher than INR 7.70 billion reported a year ago. Analysts had expected the company's bottom line to be INR 7.33 billion. Ashok Leyland's profit grew at the slowest rate in five quarters.
The company Wednesday said it plans to boost exports to 25,000 units per annum over the next 2-3 years, up from a projected 18,000 units in the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar). The company had exported 15,000 units in FY25. Its exports in the first half of FY26 were at 7,795 units. Ashok Leyland has set a target of increasing its exports at a compounded annual growth rate of 20% in the next 2-3 years, the management told analysts at a post-earnings conference call.
"We conservatively estimate total volumes to grow by (about) 6?GR from FY25-28E (estimated), with the EBITDA margin climbing from 12.1% in Q2FY26 (Jul-Sept) to 13.6% by FY28E. The stock has seen jump since last quarter & left limited room on the upside. We assign ACCUMULATE rating with a revised fair value of Rs 154 per share," broking firm SMIFS Ltd. said in its report. (P. Madhu Kumar)
Equity Alert: Headline indices off highs on further fall in Eternal, HDFC Bk
MUMBAI--1435 IST--Benchmark indices came sharply off highs due to further losses in index heavyweight HDFC Bank and Eternal. The market had risen in the first half of the trading session Thursday, taking cues from global markets, which gained after US President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill to end the longest US government shutdown in history. However, the market has been maintaining its winning streak for the fourth straight session.
"Markets have been in consolidation mode in recent times. Rich valuation, earnings downgrades, geopolitical uncertainties have been the key headwinds," Vinay Paharia, chief investment officer at PGIM India Mutual Fund, said in a note. The preferred bets are domestic-oriented sectors such as consumption, financials, healthcare, and telecommunications, while there is a cautious approach towards technology, energy, and utilities, he said.
At 1434 IST, the Nifty 50 index was at 25915.50, up almost 40 points or 0.2% and the BSE Sensex was at 84621.15, up almost 155 points or 0.2%. The sharp rise in shares of Asian Paints, along with gains in Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank prevented the Nifty 50 from falling into the negative territory. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Realty and Nifty Pharma were up 0.6% and were the top gainers. On the other hand, the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media were the worst hit.
Shares of Asian Paints were up 4%, the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index, up for the sixth consecutive session. ICICI Direct Research upgraded the stock's rating to 'buy' at a target price of INR 3,330. The brokerage expects the company's revenue and net profit to grow at a compounded annual rate of 9% and 14%, respectively, between 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and FY28. Hindalco Industries and InterGlobe Aviation were the other gainers in the 50-stock index, up over 2?ch. On the other hand, shares of Eternal and Tata Motors' demerged commercial vehicles division were the worst hit in the index, down 2% and 1%, respectively.
In the Nifty 500 index, Valor Estate's shares were up almost 8%, the top gainers, following the listing of its demerged hospitality subsidiary Advent Hotels International. The subsidiary's shares hit the 5% upper band at INR 328.65. Data Patterns (India) rose nearly 7?ter the company posted almost 63% on-year growth in its net profit. Endurance Technologies was the worst hit in the index, with shares down over 8?ter the company's net profit failed to beat analysts' estimates though the metric rose 12% on year. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Most indices in Asia end higher after US govt shutdown ends
MUMBAI--1402 IST--Most equity indices in Asia closed higher Thursday after US President Donald Trump signed a funding bill that ended the longest government shutdown in US history. China's CSI 300 index led gains in the region, closing over 1% higher. Meanwhile, shares of Japan's technology investor Softbank continued to decline for the second day after the company's decision to sell its entire stake in Nvidia spooked traders that the excitement around artificial intelligence-related stocks may have peaked.
Earlier in the day, Trump signed a bill, effectively ending the 43-day long government shutdown in the US. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Wednesday said it was unlikely that key inflation and labour reports impacted by the US government shutdown would be released.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index recovered from earlier losses in the session and was nearly 1% higher, close to its one-month high. Traders in the region awaited the earnings of technology bellwethers Tencent and JD.com. Shares of gold producer Zijin Mining Group gained over 4% as bullion prices rebounded. Xinyi Solar Holdings was up over 3?ter China's photovoltaic industry association rejected rumours that the move to cut excess capacity in the sector was failing, the South China Morning Post reported.
Chen Meng, an analyst at Soochow Securities, sounded caution about the recent rally in Hong Kong's equity market. "The gains in Hong Kong stocks will probably slow down and the market will be shifting to consolidation in the near term...There isn't much good news on the macro and the industry side so we are not seeing much strong buying interest," South China Morning Post quoted Meng as saying.
Market participants await China's November retail sales and industrial production figures. Growth in retail sales is expected to slow down to 2.8% on year, according to a poll of economists by Bloomberg. This would mark the fifth straight month of deceleration — the longest streak since 2021, and the weakest gain in more than a year, Bloomberg reported.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4%. The broader Topix gained 0.7% to end at a record high. However, shares of SoftBank Group declined 3.4?ter the company Tuesday said it sold its entire $5.8 billion worth of stake in Nvidia in October to fund its OpenAI investment.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 pared some losses from earlier in the session but closed 0.5% lower as stronger-than-expected jobs data dampened possibilities of a rate cut by the country's central bank. The country's seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate eased to 4.3%, lower than the September's 4.5% and the 4.4% expected by a Reuters poll.
Following were the closing levels of key Asian indices:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4702.0738 |
1.21 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
27073.03 |
0.56 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
51281.83 |
0.43 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3381.72 |
0.67 |
|
KOSPI |
4170.63 |
0.49 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4569.37 |
0.03 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8753.40 |
(-)0.52 |
(Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Asian Paints at 1-yr high after strong results; up 9% in 2 days
MUMBAI--1350 IST--Shares of Asian Paints rose almost 5% to hit a one-year high of INR 2,897.10 Thursday after the company reported higher-than-expected earnings for the September quarter and due to slightly receding competition. The stock rose for the second session in a row, gaining 9% during this period. The surge in its shares also comes despite the management's comments that the overall demand environment for the paint sector is "not so great". While many broking firms have retained their existing ratings on the stock, some of them raised the target price.
The intensity of competition seems to have plateaued, but there is still no indication that category sales growth is likely to bounce back to double digit, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in its post-earnings report. The stock's valuation is expensive after the recent run-up, it said. The broking firm raised the target price to INR 2,655 from INR 2,570 earlier and retained its 'hold' rating on the stock. The stock has already crossed this target price and is now up 4% from the previous close at INR 2,879.80 at 1330 IST.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services raised the earnings-per-share estimate for Asian Paints by 5% for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), given better demand in the reporting quarter and expanding margins. The paint maker's consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin increased by 220 basis points on year to 17.7%. The broking firm retained its 'neutral' rating on the stock at a target price of INR 3,000. For the quarter ended September, Asian Paints reported a 43% on-year growth in its consolidated net profit to INR 9.94 billion and 6% rise in revenue to INR 85.31 billion.
The intensity of competition for the company is expected to recede over FY26-FY28 as its industry peer, Grasim Industries' Birla Opus Paints, is reducing customer rebates and similar discounts to improve its unit economics, HDFC Securities said. The broking firm raised its FY27-FY28 earnings-per-share estimates by 4-6% and raised the stock target price to INR 2,750 from INR 2,500 earlier.
Of the 21 research reports available about the company with Informist, seven have a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock with an average target price of INR 3,080, eight have a 'hold' view, the remaining six have a 'sell' or equivalent rating. (Anjana Therese Antony)
Equity Alert: Endurance Tech falls 8.5?ter co's Q2 consol PAT misses view
MUMBAI--1345 IST--Shares of Endurance Technologies fell as much as 8.5% to INR 2,672, the stock's lowest level in nearly three months after the company reported a lower-than-expected bottom line for the September quarter. At 1332 IST, the stock was down over 8% on the National Stock Exchange and was the worst hit on the Nifty 500 index.
The auto component manufacturer Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of INR 2.27 billion for the reporting quarter, up 12% on year and marginally higher than the INR 2.26 billion reported in the preceding quarter. This was, however, lower than the INR 2.50 billion estimated by the Street. Its revenue for the quarter, on the other hand, grew 23% on year and 8% sequentially to INR 35.83 billion, beating the estimated INR 34.63 billion.
The lower-than-expected bottom line for the quarter was mainly due to a lower-than-expected other income, higher depreciation and higher tax rate in the reporting quarter, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a note dated Wednesday. Growth in the company's consolidated net profit during the quarter was largely supported by inorganic growth, the brokerage added.
Delivery of existing orders backed by a strong order book position and incentive booking also supported the company's earnings line for the quarter. Its top line growth came mainly from volume growth in the company's India operations. As on Sept. 30, Endurance Tech had an order book of INR 46.7 billion, with new orders worth INR 39.5 billion and replacement orders worth INR 7.2 billion. The company expects this order book to get a further boost of INR 42.1 billion in the coming months as various requests for quotation are under discussion with various customers, it said.
Of the 12 research reports on the company available with Informist, nine have a 'buy' or equivalent rating with an average target price of INR 2,748, two have a 'hold' rating and one has a 'sell' rating on the stock. Till 1332 IST, 510,775 shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, compared to 94,099 shares traded till the same Wednesday. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Cochin Shipyard falls 8% as Q2 PAT slumps 48% YoY, sales dn 13%
MUMBAI--1318 IST--Shares of Cochin Shipyard fell over 8% Thursday to an over-two-month low of INR 1,645.30. The fall in the stock follows the company's disappointing results for the September quarter. At 1314 IST, shares of the company traded over 4% lower at INR 1,718.10. The stock was the worst hit in the Nifty 200 index.
The company's net profit for the reporting quarter plunged 48% on year and over 46% on quarter to INR 1.01 billion. This was largely because of an over 13% on-year fall in its revenue from operations of INR 9.51 billion. This was the biggest on-year fall in its net profit in 10 quarters, while its revenue declined for the first time in as many quarters.
On the contrary, Kotak Institutional Equities had projected a nearly 10% on-year growth in the company's top line, driven by the execution of anti-submarine warfare Corvette and next-generation missile vessel projects and the ship repair segment. Cochin Shipyard reported a 27% rise in its ship repair revenue to INR 3.60 billion in Jul-Sept.
The fall in revenue was primarily due to the company's ship building segment, whose revenue dropped over 27% on year to INR 5.92 billion in Jul-Sept. The company's operating margin for the reporting quarter fell to 17% from 25% in the year-ago quarter. For the half-year ended September, the company's bottom line fell 23% on year to INR 2.89 billion and its revenue for the period rose just 7% on year to INR 19.29 billion.
Of the four brokerage reports on the stock available with Informist, three have a 'buy' rating on the stock and only Kotak Securities has a 'sell' rating. The 'buy' recommendations have an average target price of INR 1,624. So far Thursday, 2.71 million shares of the company have changed hands on the NSE, sharply higher than 950,090 shares traded during the same period on Wednesday. (Simran Rede)
Equity Alert: Advent Hotels lists at INR 313 on NSE, up 5% vs discovered price
MUMBAI--1218 IST--Shares of Advent Hotels International, which is the demerged subsidiary of Valor Estates, listed at INR 313 on the National Stock Exchange, Thursday. At 1216 IST, Advent Hotels was up 5% at INR 328.65 compared to the discovered price of INR 312.70. About 713,200 shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange so far in the day.
The company recently started managing Valor Estate's hospitality business after it was demerged in June. Post the demerger, shareholders of Valor Estate got one share of Advent Hotels for every 10 shares held.
Advent Hotels now operates independently with a strategy for developing, owning, and managing marquee hotel assets across India. Currently, the company is governed by its own board and management team following the demerger, Valor Estate had said in a press release Wednesday.
Advent Hotels operates two hotels with 484 keys and is currently working on five projects with plans to expand to 3,100 keys. It expects earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to cross INR 12 billion by 2031-32 (Apr-Mar). (Gopika Balasubramanium)
Equity Alert: GMR Airports rises slightly ahead of Jul-Sept earnings
MUMBAI--1058 IST--Shares of GMR Airports traded slightly higher ahead of its September quarter earnings, which are due later in the day. At 1057 IST, shares of the company were at INR 95.71, up 0.2%. More than 3.64 million shares were traded on the NSE, a tad higher than 2.84 million shares traded till the same time on Wednesday.
Kotak Securities expects the company to post a consolidated net profit of INR 525 million for Jul-Sept, against a consolidated net loss of INR 3.89 billion in the year-ago quarter. During the September quarter last year, the net loss was due to a one-time expense of INR 1.01 billion.
The broking firm expects the company's consolidated revenue from operations to rise 50% on year and nearly 17% on quarter to INR 37.43 billion. It said it had factored in only 2% on-year growth in passenger volumes for this quarter.
"The divergence is on account of growth in other revenues beyond the top-3 assets (36% impact) and higher aero yield for Delhi (8% impact)...," the broking firm said. Aero yield in airline parlance means aero revenue from an airport divided by the number of passengers flown from that airport. The disparity was likely due to 5-7% impact of other non-aero per passenger volume in Delhi and Goa, the broking firm added.
Kotak Securities expects the consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation to grow 57% on year due to zero cost associated with increase in Delhi's aero yield and consolidation of cargo or duty-free businesses at the Delhi airport. The broking firm forecasts the company's EBITDA at INR 13.49 billion and sees the EBITDA margin improving 161 basis points on year but down 469 bps on quarter to 36%. "We expect net debt to start declining from here on," the broking firm said.
Of the two brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, Elara Securities (India) has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target of INR 123 while ICICI Securities has a 'reduce' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 80. (Gopika Balasubramanium)
Equity Alert: Indices open tad up as Trump gives nod to end US govt shutdown
MUMBAI--1044 IST--Benchmark equity indices opened slightly higher Thursday but undulated between gains and losses for a brief period. Indices rose tracking gains in global markets after US President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history. Earlier in the day, the US House of Representatives had passed the bill on a 222 to 209 vote to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and revive the air-traffic control system.
Gains in the Nifty 50 index were led by financial services stocks. ICICI Bank and Jio Financial Services rose nearly 2%. Asian Paints and Tata Steel were top gainers in the 50-stock index, up 3.5% and 2%, respectively. Both companies reported higher-than-expected profit and revenue for the September quarter.
At 1030 IST, the Nifty 50 index was up 0.2% at 25923.70 points and the BSE Sensex index rose 0.2% at 84450.35 points. Tata Motors and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. declined nearly 2%. Shares of Eternal fell over 1%.
Among Nifty 200 constituents, Ashok Leyland rose nearly 5?ter the company reported higher-than-expected September quarter earnings. Hindustan Zinc gained over 3% and Prestige Estates Projects was up over 3%. Meanwhile, Cochin Shipyard was the worst hit in the Nifty 200 index falling more than 3?ter the company reported a sharp fall in both its top line and bottom line for the September quarter. Supreme Industries fell over 2%.
Sectoral indices were mixed, with Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty being the top gainers, rising over 1%. Nifty IT fell 0.5%, snapping a three-day gaining streak. Nifty FMCG was down 0.3?ter two sessions of gains. All broader market indices were marginally higher in early trade. (P. Madhu Kumar)
Equity Alert: Most Asian mkts up after US passes bill to end govt shutdown
MUMBAI--0834 IST--Most equity indices in Asia rose in early trade Thursday after the US Senate passed a funding bill to end the government's record-long shutdown. However, the MSCI Asia-pacific index, excluding Japan, was down 0.3%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose marginally while the broader Topix index extended its rise for the fourth consecutive session and hit its highest-ever levels. Shares of SoftBank Group fell for a second consecutive day and was down nearly 5% after the Japanese giant Tuesday said it sold the entire $5.8-billion stake in Nvidia to fund its OpenAI bet, a CNBC report said.
South Korea's Kospi was flat and China's blue-chip CSI 300 index climbed 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.5%, snapping a three-day winning streak.
A stronger-than-expected jobs data in Australia dampened hopes of a rate cut by the country's central bank, pullind down its equity market. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell over 1?ter the seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate eased to 4.3% from 4.5% in the prior month, according to government data. The reading was slightly better than the 4.4% unemployment rate expected by economists Reuters had polled.
Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0833 IST:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4674.3148 |
0.61 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
26821.07 |
(-)0.38 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
51166.78 |
0.2 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3380.3 |
0.62 |
|
KOSPI |
4143.14 |
(-)0.17 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4565.36 |
0.08 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8715.5 |
(-)0.95 |
(Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Domestic market seen slightly up Thu; investors to buy on dips
MUMBAI--0823 IST--Domestic equity indices are likely to open a tad higher Thursday as the market sentiment is bullish on recent positive development over the US-India trade deal and positive global cues from the US as the shutdown in government is likely nearing its end. India inflation print for October coming in at record low is also considered a positive trigger for the market, analysts said. Market participants are also pricing in the likely victory of incumbent National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar's assembly elections as suggested by various exit polls. Technical analysts also said investors would likely adopt A buy-on-dips strategy in the near-term.
Currently, exit pollS on Bihar's assembly elections indicating victory of incumbent government, likely US-India trade deal, and optimism over earnings recovery in Oct-Mar are driving the Indian stock market, Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities, said. "Mean reversion of underperformance of India with respect to developed markets sucn as US" is also been considered a positive for domestic equities, he added.
The November contract of the GIFT Nifty indicated that indices will likely open marginally higher. At 0751 IST, the contract was at 25949.50 points, up 9.50 points from its previous close. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 had ended the session at 25875.80 points, up 180.85 points or 0.7%. Analysts expect the recent gains in the market to sustain. Now, the 50-stock index is 400 points away from the lifetime high it hit in September last year. The BSE Sensex closed at 84466.51 points, up 595.19 points or 0.7%.
Technical analysts expect the 50-stock index to face resistance at the psychologically important level of 26000 points. They see the 50-stock index to find support at 25700-25650 points. "As long as the index sustains above the 25700–25650 zone, traders are expected to adopt a buy-on-dips strategy," Dhupesh Dhameja, derivatives research analyst at SAMCO Securities, said in a note.
Late Wednesday, indices in the US ended higher, with Dow Jones Industrial Average notching record highs. The House of Representatives is set to end the longest government shutdown in US history, as the Senate voted on a funding package to restart disrupted public services. Artificial intelligence stocks continued to see volatility this month, as investors are uneasy that technology valuations could be stretched after their recent surge. The technology-heavy Nasdaq ended lower for the second straight session. In Asia, the equity markets opened mixed Thursday, with those in Hong Kong and Australia trading in negative territory. (Gopika Balasubramanium)
Equity Alert: Dow Jones hits record high Wed amid hope of govt reopening
MUMBAI--0758 IST--The Dow Jones Industrial Average index in the US hit a record high and closed higher Wednesday, buoyed by signs of the US government reopening after a 53-day shutdown. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell due to losses in index heavyweight Amazon and a decline in several artificial-intelligence related stocks amid renewed concerns about elevated valuations.
Members of the US House of Representatives were set to vote on a resolution that could end the shutdown of the government. The US Senate had passed a spending bill that had created a political deadlock in the US government. "Expectations are that the shutdown is over...People will get back to work, economic data will be released once again and uncertainty will be behind us," Sam Stovall, CFRA chief investment strategist, was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.
Shares of banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and American Express rose 1-3%. Shares of Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Bank of America scaled record highs, CNBC reported.
Shares of AI companies continued to be volatile, as traders were concerned about the expensive valuation of such stocks following their recent surge. Shares of CoreWeave fell over 3?ter the cloud company trimmed its annual revenue forecast. Oracle and Palantir Technologies shed nearly 4?ch. However, AMD shares jumped 9?ter the chip designer unveiled a $100-billion data-centre revenue target.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6850.92 |
0.06 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
23406.457 |
(-)0.26 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
48254.82 |
0.68 |
(Eshitva Prakash)
End
US$1 = INR 88.66
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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