Equity Alert
Most Asian indices fall sharply; KOSPI hits lower circuit
This story was originally published at 15:07 IST on 2 February 2026
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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices fall sharply; KOSPI hits lower circuit
MUMBAI--1425 IST--Most equity indices in Asia fell sharply, with the South Korean KOSPI hitting a lower circuit and seeing a temporary halt in trading. China released its factory activity data for January, which showed the country reaching its strongest level since October. Japan indices fell after brief gains.
South Korea's KOSPI ended over 5% lower and fell below the 5000 point for the first time since Jan. 26. The country's exchange announced it activated the "sell-side circuit breaker". The index's circuit breaker is set off when price of the most actively traded stock on the KOSPI 200 futures contract rises or falls more than 5% for one minute, a report from The Chosun Daily said. Analysts claim the reason for this impact was the nomination of former US Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as the next US Federal Reserve Chair as his stance is viewed as 'hawkish', the report said. Shares of SK Hynix and Samsung fell nearly 9% and over 6%, respectively.
The seasonally-adjusted RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.3 in January from 50.1 in the previous month, in line with expectations of a Reuters poll, CNBC reported. A reading above 50 signifies expansion while one below 50 signifies contraction. This marked the country's strongest level since October when the private survey came in at 50.6. The country's production for the previous month accelerated on the back of new orders being picked up both domestically and internationally. This nudged firms to hire additional staff to meet rising workloads and clear outstanding orders. However, the country's business confidence fell to a nine-month low due to anxiety over rising costs, according to the survey. Corporate expenditure expanded at its fastest rate in four months.
Japan's Nikkei and Topix fell. Earlier in the day, they were up after an opinion poll projected a landslide victory for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's party in the Feb. 8 election. This victory would reduce political uncertainty and make it easier for the Japanese government to push aggressive stimulus polices, Reuters reported. More debt-fuelled spending could put pressure on the bonds and the yen, as Takaichi has spoken about the benefits of weaker yen and positive effect it would have on exports.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1420 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4605.98 |
(-)2.13 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
26775.57 |
(-)2.23 |
|
KOSPI |
4949.67 |
(-)5.26 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
52655.18 |
(-)1.25 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3536.13 |
(-)0.85 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4890.82 |
(-)0.29 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8778.60 |
(-)1.02 |
| IDX Composite | 7886.24 | (-)5.32 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Tata Motors PV rises 4%; co's Jan sales volumes up 47% YoY
MUMBAI--1340 IST--Shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles rose over 4% to an intraday high of INR 360, after falling for two consecutive sessions. Shares have risen over 4% in the last seven days but have fallen 3% in the last 30 days. The stock has fallen over 16% in the last 52 weeks.
Sunday, the company reported a rise of 47% on year for its total sales at 71,066 units in January. This was 36% higher than Nirmal Bang's estimate of 52,300 units for the company's total sales in January. The company's domestic sales including electric vehicles, rose to 70,222 from 48,076 reported in January 2025. The company's exports surged on year to 844 units from 240 units. The company sold 9,052 electric vehicles in January, up 73% on year.
At 1323 IST, shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were up nearly 4% at INR 357.80 on the National Stock Exchange. Nearly 13 million shares of the company have traded on the bourse so far during the session. Of the seven brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, four brokerages have a 'sell' recommendation with an average target price of INR 351, two have a 'hold' recommendation, and one has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Indices rise after being volatile; infra, energy cos gain
MUMBAI--1335 IST--Rise in shares of infrastructure and energy companies helped the benchmark indices overcome the market volatility and rise. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro rose nearly 3?ch and lifted the Nifty 50 index.
At 1317 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24915, up 89.55 points or 0.4%. The BSE Sensex was at 81146.17 points, up 423.23 points or 0.5%. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Power Grid Corp. were the top gainers in the 50-stock index. Both were up around 4?ch. Adani Ports and Economic Zone and Tata Consumer Products rose over 3?ch. Shares of Asian Paints, Adani Enterprises, and Nestle India were up 2?ch.
Power Grid Corp. rose further after the company raised its capital expenditure guidance for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to INR 320 billion from INR 280 billion. In an investor presentation, the company said it is on track to achieve its plan of capital expenditure and capitalisation for FY26.
Shriram Finance, down nearly 6%, was the worst hit in the Nifty 50. The stock hit a one-month low of INR 948.10. Shares of Max Healthcare Institute, Cipla, Titan Co., Infosys, and Axis Bank were down 2-3%. Among financial services stocks, Jio Financial Services, Bajaj Finance, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were down 0.4-1.0%.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Infrastructure and Nifty Oil & Gas were the top gainers, up over 1%. Power Grid Corp. supported the gains in the sectoral index. In contrast, the Nifty Media and Nifty Healthcare were the worst hit, down over 1?ch.
Companies in the renewable energy space such as Waaree Energies and Premier Energies were the top gainers in the Nifty 200 index. They were up 4?ch. They rose after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman exempted basic customs duty on the import of sodium antimonite in the Budget for FY27. Sodium antimonite is used for manufacture of solar glass, a critical component for making solar modules.
Bharat Dynamics and Housing and Urban Development Corp. were the worst hit in the Nifty 200 index. They were down nearly 7%. Intellect Design Arena, an information technology company that provides artificial intelligence-driven cloud services to insurance and banking sectors, fell 8% and was the worst hit in the Nifty 500 index. The stock fell after the government announced a tax holiday for any foreign company that provides services globally by availing data centre services in India. The move is seen increasing competition for the company. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Utkarsh Small Finance Bank hits record low ahead of Q3 results
MUMBAI--1330 IST--Shares of Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd. fell nearly 4% to a record low of INR 13.17 Monday ahead of the bank's December quarter earnings. The bank is expected to report a net loss for the December quarter led by an on-year fall in net interest income. At 1324 IST, the stock was down nearly 3% at INR 13.30. The shares had fallen over 18% since it announced its September quarter results on Nov. 14.
The bank's net loss for the December quarter is expected to be INR 2.50 billion, according to ICICI Securities Ltd. Kotak Securities expects the bank's net loss at INR 3.57 billion. The bank had reported a net loss of INR 3.48 billion in the previous quarter and a net loss of INR 1.68 billion in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
ICICI Securities expects the bank to post a provision of INR 2.59 billion, down 39% on year and 44% sequentially. "The bank is likely to report a loss in this quarter, but of a lesser magnitude as compared to the previous quarter", ICICI Securities added.
The bank's net interest income is expected at INR 3.74 billion, down over 22% on year but up 6% on quarter, according to ICICI Securities. Kotak expects the bank to post a net interest income of INR 3.55 billion, down 26% on year but up over 1% sequentially. The bank's net interest income was INR 3.50 billion in the trailing quarter and INR 4.80 bln in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
The lender's net interest margin is expected to fall between 192 basis points and 212 bps on year for the December quarter. However, on a sequential basis, it is likely to rise between 6 bps to 26 bps.
The bank's gross advances fell 3.9% on year to INR 183.06 billion as on Dec. 31. The deposits at the end of December were at INR 210.87 billion, up 4.5%, according to provisional figures released by the bank.
ICICI Securities has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 26, which is over 95% higher than the current market price. (Durgesh Nandan)
Equity Alert: Bajaj Housing Fin shares down 2% ahead of Oct-Dec earnings
MUMBAI--1133 IST--Shares of Bajaj Housing Finance fell nearly 2% to a low of INR 88.07 ahead of the company's December quarter earnings. The non-bank lender is expected to report a steady year-on-year rise in its net profit for the quarter. However, the growth is expected to be largely muted on a sequential basis, according to brokerages.
The net profit of the home financier is seen in the range of INR 6.34 billion to INR 6.76 billion in the December quarter, according to three brokerage reports. The lender reported a net profit of INR 5.48 billion a year ago and INR 6.43 billion a quarter ago.
The net interest income is seen in the range of INR 9.85 billion to INR 10.05 billion, against INR 8.06 billion reported a year ago.
ICICI Securites Ltd. expects the lender's assets under management to grow 23% on year in the quarter, supporting the bottom line. Kotak Institutional Equities also expects a similar increase in AUM.
The net interest margin of the lender is expected to moderate slightly, Kotak Equities said. "NIM compression will likely be moderate at 8 bps qoq to 3.4% due to sharp decline in yields, partially offset by decline in cost of borrowings," it said. The company's net interest margin for the September quarter was 4%, unchanged from previous quarter.
Of the two brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, one has an 'buy' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 125 which is higher than the current market price, and the other has a 'neutral' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 120. (Kabir Sharma)
Equity Alert: Latent View up nearly 9% as Q3 PAT, revenue rise on qtr
MUMBAI--1120 IST--Shares of Latent View Analytics surged Monday after the company reported its December quarter earnings. The shares of the company rose nearly 9% to a high of INR 454.80. The company's net profit for the reporting quarter rose almost 13% on quarter and nearly 20% on year to INR 501.42 million. Its revenue for the quarter rose 8% sequentially and 22% on year to INR 2.78 billion.
The company's US business, which accounts for 87% of the mix, rose 9% on quarter and its Europe business, which accounts for 3%, rose 8% on quarter. However, its business in the other parts of the world, which accounts for 10% of the mix, contracted 2%. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin came in at 22.4%, up 55 basis points on quarter, according to a report by ICICI Direct Research. The labour code and the severance pay impact were offset by support from foreign exchange gains, the brokerage said. The company is expected to benefit from its strong position in data analytics and its artificial intelligence-based decision-making. The impact of the new labour code on margins is likely to have a 10-15 bps recurring impact going ahead. Consistent client renewals and new additions accentuate the company's growing wallet share. Despite seasonality helping the company's performance, its execution and improving delivery efficiencies are expected to support a stable operating direction heading into 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), according to the brokerage.
At 1105 IST, shares of the company were up nearly 5% at INR 438.50, with nearly 6 million shares of the company being traded on the bourse. All three brokerage reports on the company available with Informist have a 'buy' recommendation on the company's stock. The target price for the stock ranges from INR 500 to INR 630. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Stocks of cigarette cos fall as new excise duty kicks in
MUMBAI--1052 IST--Shares of cigarette manufacturing companies such as ITC and Godfrey Phillips India continued to decline Monday after prices of cigarettes sharply rose, following the implementation of a new excise duty from Sunday. Brokerages have said that this increase will significantly raise the overall tax incidence on cigarettes, leading to a slowdown in demand, pressure on companies' margins, and a rise in illicit trade.
Under the new tax regime, excise duties on cigarettes have been set in the range of INR 2,050 to INR 8,500 per 1,000 cigarette sticks, along with a 40% GST rate, effective Sunday. Monday, shares of ITC fell over 2% to an over-four-year low of INR 302.85. The company's shares have lost around 13% in the past 30 days. On the existing retail price, Emkay Global Financial Services sees the tax payout per stick rising by over 50?ross King Size Filter Tip, Long Size Filter Tip, and Regular Size Filter Tip product categories and by 26% for the Deluxe Size Filter Tip category.
Additionally, shares of Godfrey Phillips India have declined over 15% in the past 30 days. Earlier in the session, the company's shares slumped almost 6% intraday to a near one-year low on the NSE. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Sundaram Finance up 2% ahead of Q3 results
MUMBAI--1005 IST--Shares of Sundaram Finance rose over 2% to a high of INR 5,069 ahead of its December quarter earnings. The bank is expected to report a significant year-on-year rise in its net profit for the quarter. However, the growth is expected to be slower on a sequential basis, according to brokerages.
The bank's net profit for the December quarter is expected to be INR 4.63 billion, indicating an on-year rise of around 33% and a sequential rise of 17%, according to Nirmal Bang Equities. Meanwhile, Prabhudas Lilladher expects the bank to report a net profit of INR 4.19 billion, indicating a 20% on-year rise and over 6% sequential rise. In the trailing quarter, the Bank had reported a net profit of INR 3.94 billion and its total income was INR 18.18 billion.
The bank's net interest income for the reporting quarter is expected to be INR 7.57 billion, up 18% on year and 6% on quarter, according to Nirmal Bang. On the other hand, Prabhudas Lilladher expects the company's net interest income to be INR 7.43 billion, up 16% on year and 4% on quarter.
The lender's net interest margin for the quarter is expected to rise 3-31 basis points on year for the December quarter and, on a sequential basis, it is likely to rise 5–12 bps, according to brokerage estimates. Net interest margin for the quarter is expected to be stable on the back of lower cost of funds, said Prabhudas Lilladher in its report.
The company's assets under management are expected to rise to INR 578 billion, up 15.2% on year and 4.4% on quarter. Its AUM is expected to rise due to a pick-up in loan demand for passenger vehicles, Prabhudas Lilladher said. Its AUM was INR 502 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Of the three brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, one has an 'add' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 4,705 which is a little more than 7% lower than the current market price, two have a 'hold' recommendation on the stock with target prices of INR 5,207 and INR 5,000. (Durgesh Nandan)
Equity Alert: Benchmark indices swing between gains and losses in early trade
MUMBAI--1000 IST--Benchmark indices opened slightly lower after huge losses on Sunday, the day the Union Budget was presented. The Budget hit investors with a surprise, as the government has proposed to hike the securities transaction tax on futures and options trading, which is likely to dampen participation of foreign portfolio investors. However, after opening slightly lower, indices recovered and traded higher in the early session Monday.
At 0957 IST, the Nifty 50 was 24930.40 points, up 104.95 points or 0.4%, and the BSE Sensex was at 81176.63 points, up 453.69 points or 0.6%. Shares of Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, were up 0.2-2.5% and provided the biggest support to the index while a fall in shares of Infosys, Shriram Finance and ITC, down 1-3%, limited the gains. Shares of Asian Paints were up 2.3% and were the highest gainers in the 50-stock index. Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Tata Consumer Products were also among the highest gainers, up around 2?ch.
The Nifty Infrastructure was the highest gaining sectoral index followed by Nifty Realty, up around 0.4-0.6%. Shares of Anant Raj, Lodha Developers, and Godrej Properties were the highest gainers in the Nifty Realty index, up 1-5%. Shares of Anant Raj, which has data centre manufacturing in its portfolio, continued to surge for a second session. This comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a tax holiday until 2047 for any foreign company that provides cloud services to global customers using data centre services from India. This is expected to increase foreign investment in the sector. "Sale of such services to Indian users shall be made through an Indian reseller entity and taxed appropriately," Sitharaman said.
GMR Airports, Adani Green Energy, and BSE, up 3-4%, were among the top gainers in the Nifty 200. On the flip side, shares of Oil India, Godfrey Phillips India, and Bharat Dynamics were the worst performers in the 200-stock index, down around 4-5%. In the Nifty 500, shares of India Cements, Latent View Analytics, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals were among the best performers, up 5-7%. Latent View Analytics' consolidated net profit for the December quarter rose nearly 13% sequentially to INR 501.42 million and its revenue from operations rose 8% on quarter to INR 2.78 billion. On a yearly basis, the net profit rose almost 20% and revenue was up 22%. Shares of Intellect Design Arena and Reliance Infrastructure were the worst performers in the index down 7% and 5%, respectively. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Mkts to move in range; STT hike likely to dampen FPI sentiment
MUMBAI--0841 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to be range-bound Monday after a sharp fall in the special trading session on Sunday. The fall came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the securities transaction tax on futures and options trading in her Union Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). Analysts believe this hike may limit foreign investor participation in the domestic market and hit trading volumes for capital market companies. Shares of public sector defence and transport companies may also see weakness as the capital outlay for these were lower than expected.
The Gift Nifty contract suggests a subdued opening for the Nifty 50 index. At 0840 IST, the GIFT Nifty's February contract was at 24824.50 points, marginally lower than the Nifty 50's close of 24825.45 points on Sunday. The BSE Sensex closed at 80722.94 points, down over 1500 points or nearly 2%. The Nifty 50 is seen facing immediate resistance at 25000 points and finding support at 24500 points Monday, according to technical analysts.
Metal stocks will also be in focus after a slump in prices of precious metals over the last few days. A selloff in gold and silver has led to a rout in exchange-traded funds of these metals and stocks of base metal, and precious metal companies. Some sectors such as information technology and healthcare were also impacted directly by Budget announcements. Stocks of these companies will be in focus after the finance minister said she plans to enhance and develop healthcare facilities in India.
On Friday, US markets closed lower after US President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next US Fed chair. Warsh has been a long-standing supporter of higher interest rates, but has recently criticised the high interest rate regime of the current US Fed, according to media sources. Equity markets in Asia were mixed in early trade Monday as investors assessed private data on China's factory activity in January, while gold extended losses, CNBC reported. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Asian indices mixed; mkts asses Warsh nomination, China data
MUMBAI--0758 IST--Asian equity indices were mixed on Monday. This comes as investors in the region await private data from China and assess the possibility of interest rate cuts in the US following US President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the replacement for current US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Japanese indexes were higher as the country prepares for snap elections after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house.
Asian indices were mixed as the region awaits data on China's factory activity in January, CNBC reported. On Friday, US stock indices ended lower despite investors approving the nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the country's central bank. Oil prices fell almost 3% as Trump said over the weekend that Iran was "seriously talking" with the US administration, which could reduce the chances of a possible US strike on the West Asian country, Reuters reported.
Japan's Nikkei as well as Topix First Section indices were higher. This comes as opinion polls indicate that Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to secure more than 233 of the 465 seats needed for a majority. "A huge LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) win would further strengthen Takaichi's grip on power. It won't be surprising for markets to see a higher chance of Takaichi pursuing her flagship proactive fiscal policies, including a consumption tax cut," Keisuke Tsuruta, senior bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities was reported as saying.
Takaichi has been talking up the advantages of a weaker yen, saying "People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it's a major opportunity," according to Reuters. "Whether it's selling food or automobiles, even though there were US tariffs, the weaker yen has served as a buffer. That has helped us tremendously," Takaichi added. However, she went on to soften her stance, claiming she did not favour a specific direction for the currency. "My intention was solely to state that we aim to build an economic structure that is resilient to exchange-rate fluctuation, and not, as some reports have suggested, to emphasise the benefits of a weak yen," she said.
The Korean index opened lower and has fallen below the 5100 point benchmark for the first time since it crossed it on Jan. 28. Shares of Samsung were over 2% lower and those of SK Hynix were down over 4%. The country's stock market is expected to have been influenced by expectations that interest rate cuts in the US will be delayed following Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh, who is seen taking a 'hawkish' stance, an article from the Chosun said. During early trading, foreign investors were seen net selling shares worth 549.20 billion Korean won or $376.56 million, while domestic individual investors net bought 476.6 billion Korean won or $326.83 million worth of shares and institutional investors bought shares worth 62.10 billion or $42.59 million.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0752 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4711.35 |
0.11 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
27046.47 |
(-)1.24 |
|
KOSPI |
5094.36 |
(-)2.49 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
53464.53 |
0.27 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3581.62 |
0.43 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4905.25 |
0.00 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8784.90 |
(-)0.95 |
| IDX Composite | 8048.00 | (-)0.38 |
(Akshat Saksena)
US$1 = INR 91.54
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.
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