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Informist, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 Nov ends at 43.25-point premium to spot index

MUMBAI--1634 IST--The November futures contract of the Nifty 50 closed at a premium of 43.25 points to the spot index Thursday. Open interest in the contract fell 0.7% to 16.69 million, according to provisional data.

--Nifty 50 closed at 26192.15 points, up 139.50 points or 0.5% vs Wed 

--Nifty 50 November closed at 26235.40 points, up 164.40 points or 0.6% vs Wed

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum change in open interest:

Call: 27500, Put: 26100

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum open interest:

Call: 26500, Put: 26000 

(Anjana Therese Antony)

Equity Alert: Indices end close to lifetime high as financials rise

MUMBAI--1540 IST--Domestic benchmark indices closed higher Thursday with the Nifty 50 hitting 26246.65 points intraday, the highest level recorded this year. The index is just 85 points away from its all-time high of 26277.35. Gains in financial services, including index heavyweight HDFC Bank, and in automobile stocks pushed the Nifty 50 closer to its lifetime high.

The Nifty 50 closed at 26192.15 points, up 139.50 points or 0.5%. The BSE Sensex closed at 85632.68 points, up 446.21 points or 0.5%. Over 60% of the constituents of the Nifty 50 ended higher, while the market breadth for the broader market was slightly negative, with only 47% of stocks ending higher.

The Nifty Financial Services closed nearly 0.8% higher, and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices, with more than half the constituents ending in the green. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers in the Nifty Financial Services, rising over 2%. Index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were among the top gainers in the 50-stock index, rising 1.5-2%. 

The Nifty IT recovered towards the end of the session, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after Nvidia Corp. reported higher-than-expected earnings. Six of the 10 sectoral index constituents ended in the green. The remaining four information technology companies, including Infosys, HCL Technologies, Coforge, and Tata Consultancy Services, ended 0.1-1.0% lower.   

Asian Paints was the worst-hit stock on the Nifty 50 index, falling by over 1%. Shares of Reliance Infrastructure hit 5% lower circuit after the company received a notice from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. The stock was down for three straight sessions, losing 10% during the period. Barring Nifty Midcap 100, all other broader market indices ended marginally lower, falling up to 0.1%.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Indices in Europe rise; defence, chip cos lead early gains

MUMBAI--1530 IST--Equity indices in Europe were higher in early trade Thursday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 rising 1%. Traders took positive cues from artificial-intelligence industry bellwether Nvidia Corp.'s October quarter earnings, which sailed past Wall Street estimates. Nvidia's record earnings allayed fears of an AI bubble that had caused a pullback in technology stocks across the world. Defence companies across the continent also rose in early trade.

Shares of AI-related companies such as BE Semiconductor Industries NV and ASM International NV rose around 4% and 2%, respectively. Shares of ASML Holdings NV, which makes critical equipment for semiconductors, traded a little over 2% higher. Traders were enthusiastic about AI stocks after Nvidia Corp. late Wednesday posted its October quarter results, beating estimates for revenue and its January-quarter sales guidance. The chipmaker's revenue surged 62% on year to $57.01 billion and said it expects revenue of $65 billion in the fourth quarter.

UK's FTSE 100 index was 0.6% higher. Shares of British bakery chain Greggs fell 1% after the former finance chief at WH Smith, Robert Moorhead, pulled out of an expected board position in the company, CNBC reported. An accounting probe into WH Smith is under way which led to the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Carl Cowling late Wednesday. Shares of the travel retailer fell over 1%.

Shares of defence companies were up throughout the continent after a sharp pull-back Wednesday. Shares of Germany's Rheinmetall rose 4% and those of Sweden's Saab rose over 2%. Shares of the UK's BAE Systems were up 2.5%. Europe's Aerospace and Defense index had hit a two-month low Wednesday and ended the day around 1.9% lower, according to CNBC. In the latest development, senior US officials arrived in Ukraine to "discuss efforts to end the war" with Russia, BBC reported.

France's CAC 40 index rose nearly 1% snapping its five-day losing streak, during which it had declined almost 4%. Germany's DAX Performance index also stopped a five-session slide, which had resulted in the index losing more than 5%.

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1520 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: HSBC initiates coverage on metals, mining cos; views positive

MUMBAI--1514 IST--Metals and mining stocks in India are trading at a large premium to their global peers, led by strong demand, low costs for Indian companies due to large mineral reserves, and supportive regulatory policies that protect from low-cost imports, according to HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd. The broking firm initiated its coverage on the sector, but noted that steel stocks are more cyclical, given the seasonality of demand and lower Chinese steel production, it said in its report. At 1509 IST, the Nifty Metal was almost flat at 10380.25 points. 

The brokerage initiated a 'buy' rating for companies such as Hindalco Industries, National Aluminium Co., and Tata Steel. A 'hold' recommendation was given to stocks of Hindustan Zinc and Coal India. Stocks of NMDC and Steel Authority of India were each assigned a 'reduce' rating.

The brokerage expects Hindalco Industries to undo its losses from the fire accident in September at its US subsidiary Novelis' aluminium recycling unit in New York from 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) onwards. The company is expected to receive insurance claims that would recover 70-80% of the losses in FY27. The brokerage has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 980, which is 23% higher than the current market price of INR 800.60. 

Strong aluminium prices, a ramp-up of captive coal mining resources, and steady alumina prices are expected to be the growth drivers for National Aluminium Co., which has been given a target price of INR 291, 13% higher than the spot price of INR 257.83. The 'buy' rating on Tata Steel's stock is supported by the view that the losses in the company's European business have likely peaked while earnings in India are likely to remain strong. This allows for steady capital expenditure on its domestic business, according to HSBC Securities. The target price for the stock is INR 215 and the stock is currently trading at INR 172.39. 

The key positives for Hindustan Zinc are the strong price outlook for silver and zinc and low cost of production, HSBC Securities said. The strong cash flow generation allows Hindustan Zinc to invest in organic expansion, that is to increase metal capacity to 2 million tonnes from 1.38 million tonnes. Coal India is likely to spend more on non-coal mining projects, which sparked concerns about the earnings visibility of the company for the near term. The brokerage has a 'hold' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 347 per share. The stock is down almost 1% at INR 472.05. 

Higher conversion costs in India and high employee costs will cap the margins of SAIL in a range-bound steel price environment, according to HSBC Securities. The company is also gearing up to start large capital expenditure programs with a vision to increase crude steel capacity to 35 million tonnes in FY31 from 20 million tonnes in FY25, the brokerage added. The brokerage initiated a 'reduce' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 114, which is down 17% from the spot level of INR 138.

The brokerage has a 'reduce' rating on NMDC's stock because of the muted global iron ore price view as Chinese steel production continues to inch lower and because of rising production of iron ore domestically, HSBC Securities said. The brokerage expects the company's production growth to be muted. The target price for the stock is INR 59, according to the brokerage. This target price is almost 21% lower than the market price of INR 74.53.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Asian indices end higher as technology-related stocks shine

MUMBAI--1430 IST--Barring the indices in mainland China, all other Asian indices closed higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street. Higher-than-expected earnings and a strong January quarter forecast from Nvidia Corp., the world's largest company in terms of valuation, assuaged investor concerns about skyrocketing valuations of artificial intelligence stocks resulting in a bubble. Japanese benchmarks led the charge among major indices, followed by South Korea's Kospi.

The Nikkei 225 index rose almost 3% with chip company Advantest's shares rising nearly 9%. Shares of technology investor SoftBank Group were up 2%, paring some gains from earlier in the session. Tokyo Electron, another leading chip equipment maker, rose more 5%. "Nvidia delivered a perfect performance, which eased concerns about the demand for AI (artificial intelligence), chips, and related services... profit-taking earlier this week had led Japanese stocks lower, so following the stellar earnings announcement, investors rushed to buy tech stocks again," Ryotaro Sawada, a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory, was quoted as saying by Nikkei Asia news. The broader Topix index rose 1.7%.

China's CSI 300 index closed 0.5% lower, bucking the global trend in equity indices. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index snapped a fourth consecutive slide but was unable to rise meaningfully. Hong Kong-listed shares of China's Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world's largest battery maker, fell nearly 6% after investors booked profits in the stock following the expiry of a six-month sales restriction on about 77.5 million shares held by early stakeholders, CNBC reported.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index rose almost 2%. Technology stocks such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rose 2% and a little over 4%, respectively. Taiwan's Taiex rose 3.4%, marking its largest single-day rise since April. Shares of AI-related companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which manufactures Nvidia chips, climbed over 4% higher and Hon Hai Precision Industry, which is popularly known as Foxconn, closed 3.3% higher.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. were up 5% in extended trade after the chipmaker beat top line and bottom line estimates by Wall Street for the October quarter. The company's chief executive officer shrugged off concerns about an AI bubble in a post-earnings analyst conference call. Nvidia earnings have been taken as a positive for AI-related trading by market participants after the recent sell-off in technology stocks on fears of a bubble.

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 1430 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Reliance Infra hits 5% lower band; co gets investigation notice

MUMBAI--1351 IST--Reliance Infrastructure hit 5% lower circuit at INR 170.39 after the company received a notice from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office on Tuesday. The Enforcement Directorate has attached fresh assets worth more than INR 14 billion as part of a money laundering probe related to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani and his companies, PTI reported, quoting official sources.

After Thursday's fall, the stock declined for three sessions in a row and was the biggest loser in the Nifty 500 index. 

Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate alleged that Anil Ambani's group companies, including Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power, were involved in fraudulent diversion of public funds. The agency Monday said it had attached 42 properties worth INR 30.83 billion linked to Anil Ambani. 

The federal investigative agency had earlier attached properties worth INR 75 billion in this case.  This brings the total attachment in this case to about INR 90 billion, a PTI report said.  (P. Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: Motilal Oswal ups RIL's target price 4% on new energy ops

MUMBAI--1350 IST--Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal has raised the valuation of Reliance Industries' new energy business to INR 174 per share from INR 116 per share, raising its target price on Reliance Industries stock to INR 1,765, up nearly 4% from the previously assigned target price. It also retained 'buy' rating on the stock. At 1345 IST, shares of Reliance Industries were at INR 1,546, up 1.8% on the National Stock Exchange.

The brokerage raised its valuation of the new energy business after it incorporated the value of INR 58 per share for battery gigafactory in Gujarat. The company plans to start operations of its Gujarat battery plant from early 2026, the brokerage said in a report. 

The facility in Gujarat already has solar cell and module manufacturing capacities. The brokerage expects RIL to use these capacities for captive use till FY27 and begin getting 25% of sales from these capacities from external customers in FY28. The brokerage expects new energy business can lead to significant growth for the company after FY30.

Motilal Oswal expects demand for battery energy storage systems in India to grow higher than the estimates by the Central Electricity Authority and this growth is expected to aid companies such as Reliance Industries, which has a competitive advantage over its peers in battery manufacturing. "RIL's key long-term competitive advantage in battery manufacturing (and across new energy) remains scale, ability to undertake technologically complex projects, and an integrated and unique new energy ecosystem," the report said.

According to estimates by the Central Electricity Authority India, the energy storage capacity requirement in India is projected to rise to 236 gigawatt-hour by FY32. The brokerage expects the capacity requirement to be higher considering decline in battery costs in the future and emergence of new use cases in areas such as green hydrogen and integration with thermal capacity.

All the 15 brokerage recommendations on the stock, which are available with Informist, have a 'buy' or equivalent rating with a average target price of INR 1,684.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 sustains over 26100 pts on positive global cues

MUMBAI--1317 IST--Headline equity indices continue to rise further. Positive global sentiment aided the rise in the domestic market after artificial intelligence industry bellweather Nvidia's quarterly earnings beat analysts' estimates and the company gave a bright outlook for the fourth quarter. 

Healthy September quarter earnings and renewed optimism over the India-US trade deal also buoyed the gains. The Nifty 50 is seemingly able to sustain the psychologically important 26000 mark and has also managed to cross 26100 points during the session, as expected by technical analysts. 

At 1317 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26177.60 points, up 124.95 points, or 0.5%. The BSE Sensex was at 85579.45 points, up 392.98 points, or 0.5%. Gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries helped boost the Nifty 50. However, a fall in another index heavyweight ICICI Bank slightly limited the gains.

Shares of oil and gas companies rose during the session on Thursday with the Nifty Oil & Gas index rising 0.7%. India's net oil and gas import bill dropped nearly 12% in the financial year so far to $69.90 billion. Reliance Industries rose 1.7% during the session, helping the Nifty 50 rise as the company holds near 9% weightage in the index. The company had also announced that its arm Reliance Consumer Products has entered into the pet-care market and will operate under the brand 'Waggies'.    

Eicher Motors was up nearly 3%, the biggest gainer in the Nifty 50 and rising for the fourth consecutive session. Among other automobile companies in the Nifty 50, Bajaj Auto was up nearly 1% while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles managed to rise marginally before slipping into the red. The stock is down for the eighth straight session after subdued September quarter earnings and a cut in the earnings before interest and tax margin guidance of its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover. 

Information technology companies continue their upward trend for the second session. Tech Mahindra was up nearly 2%. The rise in IT stocks was aided by US-based Nvidia's earnings that renewed optimism towards stocks of artificial intelligence companies in the US. Infosys shares dropped as the company began executing a record high buyback of up to 100 million shares for INR 180 billion on Thursday.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: Fujiyama Power Systems lists at 4% discount on NSE at INR 220

MUMBAI--1310 IST--Shares of Fujiyama Power Systems saw slight profit-taking as soon as trading began in the stock that listed on Thursday. The stock listed at INR 220 on the National Stock Exchange, a discount of 4% to the issue price of INR 228, and at 1251 IST, it was down 4.5%. Nearly 13 million shares of the company have changed hands on the bourse so far.

The company's initial public offering, which ended Monday, was subscribed 2.14 times. It received bids for 56.33 million shares against 26.35 million shares on offer. The public offering comprised a fresh issue of shares worth INR 6 billion and an offer for sale of 10 million shares by promoters Yogesh Dua and Pawan Kumar Garg.

Fujiyama Power Systems is a products manufacturer and a solutions provider in the rooftop solar industry, including on-grid, off-grid and hybrid solar systems. The company manufactures solar panels, solar inverters, and lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. For the June quarter, the company had reported a net profit of INR 675.87 million on revenue of INR 5.97 billion.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Sammaan Capital shrs volatile amid SC order on irregularities

MUMBAI--1300 IST--Shares of Sammaan Capital were volatile Thursday after the Supreme Court directed investigating agencies to review allegations against the company. The stock fell to a one-month low of INR 151.41 at open but recovered later to rise 4% to an intraday high of INR 165.50. However, the stock fell again and at 1252 IST, it was trading flat at INR 159.68 on the National Stock Exchange. Wednesday, the stock had fallen nearly 13% after the Supreme Court's decision.

The Supreme Court of India Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India to convene a joint meeting within two weeks to examine the irregularities raised by a petitioner against the non-banking financial company. The top court made the direction after hearing the plea by Citizens Whistle Blower Forum against Sammaan Capital for alleged irregularities and siphoning of funds.

Following the Supreme Court's order, the company said the issue pertains to Sameer Gehlaut, who exited the company in 2023 and does not hold any shares since then. There are no open investigations into the allegations raised in the public interest litigation against Sammaan Capital, as per a press release.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Jaiprakash Power off highs; stock still up 24% in 2 days

MUMBAI--1230 IST--Shares of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Thursday rose over 12% to INR 22.79, its highest level in over four months. The stock, however, come off highs and at 1207 IST, was trading with gains of 8.2%. It has gained over 24% in the last two sessions.

Jaiprakash Power's shares rose after Adani Enterprises Wednesday received approval for its resolution plan to take over Jaiprakash Associates. Jaiprakash Power has been an associate of Jaiprakash Associates since 2017, which holds 24% stake in the former. So far Thursday, around 400 million shares of Jaiprakash Power have changed hands on the NSE, against over 162 million shares till the same time on Wednesday.

Adani Enterprises had proposed to take over the Jaiprakash Associates for INR 135 billion. The key corporates that bid to take over Jaiprakash Associates included Adani Enterprises, Vedanta group, Dalmia Bharat, and Jindal Power. Jaiprakash Associates was undergoing corporate insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Adani Ent up 2%; Jaiprakash Associates creditors OK takeover

MUMBAI--1140 IST--Shares of Adani Enterprises rose nearly 2% to an intraday high of INR 2,478.90 after Jaiprakash Associates' committee of creditors approved the company's proposed resolution plan. Later, it came slightly off highs and at 1133 IST the stock traded nearly 1% higher at INR 2,453.

Adani Enterprises had won the bid over Vedanta group, Dalmia Bharat, and Jindal Power. The creditors, which were mostly Indian banks, picked Adani Enterprises' INR 135 billion proposal over Vedanta group's bid of INR 170 billion because the former's offer included larger upfront payments which stakeholders preferred, according to a Reuters report. The bid placed by Vedanta group entailed a five-year payment plan, longer than the 1.5- to 2-year payment plan proposed by Adani Enterprises, the report added. Shares of Vedanta were largely flat at INR 513.10 per share and those of Dalmia Bharat were down slightly at INR 2,008.30 per share.

Shares of Jaiprakash Power Ventures, where Jaiprakash Associates holds 24% stake, also rose. At 1139 IST, shares of Jaiprakash Power were up over 7% to INR 21.76 per share. The stock touched its highest level in over three months of INR 22.79 earlier in the session.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: Indices open higher tracking overnight gains on Wall Street

MUMBAI--1000 IST--Domestic benchmark equity indices opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street, owing to higher-than-expected third quarter earnings of chipmaker Nvidia Corp. All Asian indices were also higher in early trade. The Nifty 50 opened higher, sustaining above the psychologically important 26000 points. 

At 1004 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26080.05 points, up 27.40 points, or 0.1%. Gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries also helped the Nifty 50 to gain more. The BSE Sensex was at 85262.15 points, up 75.68 points, or 0.1%. All broader market indices opened higher, with the Nifty Smallcap 50 up 0.5%. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty IT gained the most while the Nifty Realty fell.

Adani Enterprises was up a little over 1% after the company received a letter of intent from Jaiprakash Associates' committee of creditors for a takeover. The stock was among the top gainers on the Nifty 50. Reliance Industries gained over 1%. The company's subsidiary Reliance Consumer Products on Wednesday said it has entered into the pet-care market to sell products under 'Waggies' brand.  

Information technology stocks were choppy as soon as trading session began, however they inched slightly higher soon. Globally, the sentiment around the sector improved after chip giant Nvidia's upbeat quarterly earnings and strong sales forecast for the next quarter. Oracle Financial Services Software, Persistent Systems, and Tech Mahindra were up 1-2%.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Indices likely to open higher tracking positive global cues

MUMBAI--0820 IST--Indian equity indices are likely to open a tad higher, tracking overnight gains from the US market and mirroring its Asian peers, which rose in early trade. Some analysts anticipate the indices to stay range-bound in the near term due to lack of fresh triggers. Others, however, expect the indices to rise further, especially if the Nifty 50 can hold the 26000 points going forward and cross 26100 points. 

Technical analysts said the overall sentiment is positive, even if there is a slight fall which would largely be due to profit-booking. Some expect the Nifty 50 to hit an all-time high soon. The 50-stock index had hit a record high of 26277.35 points September last year. 

"The (Nifty 50) index is expected to open positive and may consolidate within the 25,900–26,300 range," Mandar Bhojane, senior research analyst at Chola Securities, said. "Intraday resistance is likely near 26,300, while strong support remains around 25,900 levels, keeping the overall bias sideways to bullish," he said.

The November contract of the GIFT Nifty indicated that indices will likely open higher Thursday. At 0753 IST, the contract was at 26138.50 points, up 67 points from its previous close. The index's spot was around 86 points higher than the Nifty 50's Wednesday's close. The Nifty 50 closed at 26052.65 points, rising 142.60 points or 0.6%, Wednesday. The BSE Sensex closed at 85186.47 points, up 513.45 points or 0.6%. 

Foreign investors turned net buyers in the Indian stock market and purchased shares worth INR 15.81 billion Wednesday. Domestic investors continued to be net buyers and bought stocks worth INR 13.60 billion.

Overnight, in the US, the three benchmark indices closed slightly higher after a choppy session. These indices came under selling pressure on aggressive sell-off of shares of artificial intelligence-based companies as concerns on overvaluation of these mounted among investors. However, the better-than-expected earnings of Nvidia Corp., the Street's AI bellwhether, allayed the fears of slowdown in AI demand. The Jensen Huang-led company also forecast higher than expected guidance for the fourth quarter. In Asia, all the indices were sharply higher in early trade, mainly led by surge in seminconductor companies. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix and South Korea's KOSPI were the top gainers and were over 2-3% higher.  (Gopika Balasubramanium)

Equity Alert: Indices in Asia rise; chip stocks surge after Nvidia earnings

MUMBAI--0816 IST--Almost all major equity indices in Asia rose sharply in early trade Thursday on the back of a surge in shares of chipmaker companies after artificial intelligence industry leader Nvidia posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. The company's bullish forecast for the January quarter soothed traders' worries about a bubble in the US market due to stretched valuations of AI stocks.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. jumped 5% in extended trading after its earnings beat top line and bottom line expectations. The company's CEO Jensen Huang shrugged off AI-bubble related concerns and said that demand for the company's current-generation Blackwell chips was "off the charts."

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index led the gainers in the region and was up more than 3%, rebounding from four consecutive sessions of declines. The broader Topix rose 2%. Shares of technology investor SoftBank were off highs but still held on to over 3% gains in early trade. Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron soared 6% and Lasertec added nearly 5%. Shares of chipmaker Renesas Electron traded nearly 3% higher.

South Korea's Kospi rose 2.7%. Market optimism around Nvidia earnings boosted shares of memory chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, which rose more than 4% each.

Indices in Hong Kong swung between gains and losses in early trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 index had limited gains. Shares of semiconductor company SMIC and search-engine giant Baidu were up in early trade. Both A and H shares of China International Capital Corp., which is the nation's top investment bank, were halted from trading after it proposed a merger with brokerage firms Cinda Securities and Dongxing Securities to support China's financial market reform, South China Morning Post reported.

Traders are awaiting the release of September's US jobs report later in the day. The reading will provide hints on the US Federal Reserve monetary policy trajectory going forward.

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0812 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: US mkt ends higher Wed; Nvidia shares surge in extended trading

MUMBAI--0740 IST--Equity indices in the US closed higher on Wednesday after a choppy session. US stock futures rose after artificial intelligence industry bellwether Nvidia Corp.'s October quarter earnings beat estimates and it maintained a strong sales forecast for the next quarter. The world's most valuable company released its earnings after market hours. Nvidia's earnings soothed jitters surrounding skyrocketing valuations of AI-related stocks.

Shares of Nvidia gained almost 3% before the company released its quarterly earnings. The company's stock jumped more than 5% in extended trading after it comfortably beat market estimates. Its revenue forecast for the January quarter was also above Wall Street's estimates. Shares of other AI-related companies such as Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, and Palantir Technologies rose 2-4% after the session ended.

"There's been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different... We're everywhere, from cloud to on-premise to robotic systems, edge devices, PCs, you name it. One architecture. Things just work. It's incredible," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a call with analysts, reitrating a forecast from last month that the company had $500 billion in bookings for its advanced chips through 2026, Reuters reported.

The E-mini Nasdaq-100 Futures rose nearly 2% and the E-mini Dow Futures rose 0.5%. Shares of Alphabet rose nearly 3% and hit a fresh all-time high on the back of trader enthusiasm around the company's new generation of AI, Gemini 3, which was launched on Tuesday. 

Indices pared gains after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's October meeting showed that Fed officials were split over whether a slowing labour market or inflation was a bigger threat to the US economy. Fed fund futures traders are pricing in a 33% likelihood that the apex bank will cut its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points at the December meeting. A month ago, the probability of a reduction by the same amount was 94%, according to data from the CME Fedwatch tool.

Shares of Target fell nearly 3% after the company reported a bigger than expected drop in quarterly sales and those of Walmart fell 1% before the company's earnings report later in the day.

Traders await the release of September non-farm payrolls data later in the day, which has been delayed by the US government shutdown. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not publish the October employment report and would combine non-farm payrolls for that month with November's report.

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:

(Eshitva Prakash)

End

US$1 = INR 88.70

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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