Equity Alert
European indices lower; earnings, monetary decisions awaited
This story was originally published at 16:26 IST on 5 February 2026
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Equity Alert: European indices lower; earnings, monetary decisions awaited
MUMBAI--1547 IST--Equity indices in Europe were lower in early trade as traders assessed earnings reports. Apart from earnings reports, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to announce their policy decisions later in the day, during which they are expected to keep interest rates unchanged. Companies such as BMW, BNP Paribas and Anglo American are expected to announce their earnings on Thursday.
Shares of Rheinmetall were nearly 8% lower after the company indicated a weak forecast for 2026 during an analyst call. The company expects its revenue for the year to come to around 13.60 billion euros, or $16.03 billion, which is lower than expected, CNBC reported, citing Reuters.
Oil major Shell reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the reporting quarter. It reported adjusted earnings of $3.26 billion for the quarter, missing estimations of $3.53 billion by LSEG, CNBC reported. The earnings were the weakest in five years due to lower crude prices and unfavourable tax adjustments for the reporting quarter.
Volvo's quarterly operating income, excluding items that affect comparability, fell 68% on year to 1.8 billion Swedish Krona, or $200.46 million. Shares of the company were trading nearly 2% lower, but not before the stock fell as much as 19%. "We have a very challenging market, especially in China, very tough competition. All of our European colleagues have the same problem," Volvo Cars Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson was reprted as saying by CNBC in an interview. The conclusion of electric vehicle incentives in the US and China are also contributing to a challenging environment, Samuelsson added.
Following were the levels of major European indices at 1545 IST:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
FTSE 100 Index |
10364.61 |
(-)0.36 |
|
CAC 40 |
8260.46 |
(-)0.02 |
|
FTSE MIB Index |
46340.28 |
(-)0.64 |
|
DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX |
24491.10 |
(-)0.45 |
|
SLI PR |
2153.27 |
(-)0.12 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Trent rises 3?ter co's Q3 PAT beats Street view
MUMBAI--1532 IST--Shares of Trent rose over 3% to the day's high of INR 4,142.40 after the company beat the Street's consensus estimate for its December quarter net profit by 18%. The company reported a net profit of INR 6.40 billion on a revenue of INR 52.59 billion. However, the revenue missed analysts' estimate of INR 53.47 billion. The stock closed at INR 4,131.30, with nearly 4 million shares changing hands against 2 million Wednesday.
The company had to face operating deleverage due to a fall on like-for-like basis in the reporting quarter, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. However, this was offset by a favourable mix led by Westside and lower employee cost, the broking firm said. The management said it has realised all the benefits from automation, which implies margin improvement from better productivity. The company's margin had been under pressure for the past year.
Nuvama reduced its revenue estimate for the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) slightly but raised its estimate for the metric in FY27 by over 8%. The brokerage raised its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation estimate for FY26 by over 7% and reduced it by nearly 6% for FY27. It maintained its "hold" call on the stock but reduced the target price to INR 4,543 from INR 5,189.
The marginal fall in like-for-like basis reflects the impact of the shift in the festival season, sombre consumer sentiment, and lower initial productivity of newly added stores, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. However, cost discipline, primarily radio-frequency identification-led workforce optimisation and variable cost structure, led the 90 basis-point expansion in the company's EBITDA margin to 15.6%. The bulk of cost efficiencies has been realised, so investments in technology, logistics, and warehousing are going to be key for further productivity and profitability, the brokerage said. The brokerage reiterated its "buy" recommendation on the stock with an unchanged target price of INR 5,200.
Of the seven brokerage reports on the stock available with Informist, six have a "buy" recommendation with an average target price of INR 5,339 and one has a "hold" recommendation. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Asian mkts end down, weakness in tech stocks weighs on indices
MUMBAI--1505 IST--Most equity indices in Asia ended lower as traders in the region are still sifting through losses seen by technology stocks amid concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on service software companies. Heavy valuations and spending on AI also weighed on indices around the world.
In South Korea, the KOSPI ended nearly 4% lower as foreign investors sold heavily due to a sharp decline in US tech stocks. Samsung Electronics' market capitalisation fell to 942.998 trillion korean won or $643.67 billion. The company had just achieved market capitalisation of 1,000 trillion Korean won or $683.38 billion during the previous session. The stock ended nearly 6% lower for the session. "After major tech companies like AMD and Alphabet reported earnings, excessive optimism toward semiconductors subsided, and growing concerns about stagnation in the artificial intelligence (AI) market led to profit-taking in the US stock market," Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, said. In line with profit-taking in US semiconductor stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also saw sharp declines. Shares of SK Hynix, Hyundai Motors, and Hanwha Aerospace ended around 3-7% lower.
The Hang Seng index bucked the trend and ended slightly higher. Major tech companies such as e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, video platform Kuaishou Technology, and gaming company Net Ease fell 0.2-2.0%. Shares of Baidu ended 5% lower. The stock had risen over 2?rlier after the company announced a $5-billion share buyback plan, which will extend till 2028, and introduced its first ever dividend policy, the South China Morning Post reported. China' President Xi Jinping help a phone call with US President Donald Trump, after speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said the conversation inclued talks of boosting China's purchases of soybeans to 20 million tonnes for the current season, along with imports of oil, gas, and aircraft engines. China agreed to purchase 25 million tonnes of US soybeans next season, Trump added, according to the report.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1505 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4670.42 |
(-)0.60 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
26885.24 |
0.14 |
|
KOSPI |
5163.57 |
(-)3.86 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
53818.04 |
(-)0.88 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3652.41 |
(-)0.09 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4975.69 |
0.21 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8889.20 |
(-)0.43 |
| IDX Composite | 8103.88 | (-)0.53 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert:IDBI Bank dn over 7%; source says govt to sell IDBI Bank FY27
MUMBAI--1500 IST--Shares of IDBI Bank fell over 7% to a low of INR 101.05 after a government source told Informist that the Centre will complete privatisation of IDBI Bank in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). Before the news broke, shares traded 0.6% higher. At 1455 IST, the stock traded 6.5% lower at INR 102.12.
Under the privatisation plan, the government will divest its 30.48% stake in IDBI Bank, along with Life Insurance Corp. of India's 30.24% holding. The prospect of a large, one-time inflow from IDBI Bank's privatisation appears to have encouraged the Centre to set an ambitious miscellaneous capital receipts target of INR 800 billion for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar).
Last week, media reports had said that the government invited financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, which is the final stage of the stake sale. As on Dec. 31, the government of India owns 45.48% stake in the bank and Life Insurance Corp. of India owns 49.24% stake in the public-sector bank, data from National Stock Exchange showed. Late January, Reuters had reported quoting sources that the government had set Thursday deadline for financial bids for IDBI Bank as it looks to divest a majority of its holding in the lender. (Gopika Balasubramanium)
Equity Alert: Indices remain lower as IT , heavyweight cos weigh; RIL dn 1%
MUMBAI--1333 IST--Indices remained lower due to weakness in shares of information technology and index heavyweights. Reliance Industries fell nearly 1% and HDFC Bank fell 0.4%, contributing to the losses in the Nifty 50 along with Bharti Airtel which fell over 1%.
At 1333 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25629.45 points, down 146.55 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 83328.44 points, down 489.25 points or 0.6%. More than half of the Nifty 50 constituents were in the red.
Trent was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, up 3%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr. Reddy's Laborotories, Jio Financial Services, and State Bank of India rose nearly 1?ch. Hindalco Industries was the worst hit in the index, down over 3%. Eternal, Bharat Electronics, and InterGlobe Aviation fell around 2?ch. Information technology stocks of Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies were down 0.2-1.0%.
All the broader market indices were down, with Nifty Smallcaps falling 1.0-1.7%. An over 5?ll in shares of Poonawalla Fincorp dragged down the Nifty Smallcap 50. The Nifty Smallcap 100 was weighed down by a fall in shares of Brigade Enterprises, down nearly 4%.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal was the worst hit, down over 1%. Most of the constituents in the sectoral index traded in the red. Shares of Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc, National Aluminium Co., and Hindustan Copper were down 3-5%.
Shares of Godrej Properties fell nearly 2%. The December quarter net profit of the company of was at INR 1.95 billion, up 20% on year but sharply below the analysts' view of INR 7.02 billion. Shares of Uno Minda were up nearly 2%. The stock rose after the auto ancillary company reported a 19% on-year surge in its December quarter consolidated net profit to INR 2.77 billion.
Jubilant Foodworks was the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index, up over 5%. The stock rose for the fourth consecutive session and gained nearly 11% during the period. FSN E-Commerce and Cummins India rose around 4?ch in the index.
Shares of Devyani International were among the top gainers on the Nifty 500 index, up nearly 7%. The shares rose after international brokerage Jefferies upgraded the stock to 'buy' with a target price of INR 145. On the back of this, shares of Sapphire Foods India rose nearly 6% in the index. The stock rose as Sapphire Foods India will be merged into Devyani International through a share-swap mechanism. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Metal stocks fall; analysts say correction sentiment-driven
MUMBAI--1310 IST--Shares of companies engaged in the production of metals were down Thursday as investors booked profits at higher levels. These stocks were down sharply, tracking fall in prices of these metals. The Nifty Metal index was the worst hit among sectoral indices. It fell 1.5?ter rising for three consecutive sessions.
Shares of Vedanta were down more than 5% and those of its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc were down nearly 5%. Aluminium and copper producer Hindalco Industries was the worst hit in the Nifty 50 index. The stock was down over 3%. However, steel-making companies bucked the broader trend. Shares of JindaL Steel, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel were up slightly.
"This correction is largely sentiment driven as investors are selling or purchasing stocks of metal companies on the basis of commodity prices," Ajay Kedia, director of Kedia Advisory, said. The analyst believes that there have been no major changes in the fundamentals of these companies, but since investors do not want to miss out on another metal rally, they are making their trading decisions in hopes of quick gains, the analyst said. While other concerns such as tensions between the US and Iran and a weaker dollar are impacting the prices of commodities, these issues are transient and are unlikely to impact prices over a long period of time, the analyst said.
Silver futures contracts fell sharply on MCX, erasing recent gains and triggering fresh volatility. Monday, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange increased the margin requirements for gold and silver futures contracts, which forced traders to square off leveraged positions and triggered a sell-off in the market. At 1254 IST, the March silver contract on the MCX was down over 6% at INR 252,900 per kg. The most-active February futures contract of aluminium was down nearly 1% at INR 307.10 per kilogram. Copper was the worst hit among metals, with the February futures contract of the metal down nearly 8% at INR 1,236.95 per kilogram.
NMDC was down more than 1?ter Prabhudas Lilladher downgraded the stock to 'reduce' from 'hold' and cut its target price by over 4%. The brokerage said it sees a moderate increase in ore prices in the March quarter as domestic demand improves after December. Moreover, steel prices are expected to improve going forward, the brokerage said. However, as global ore supply is seen increasing, the company's ability to take price hikes will be tested as steel majors opt for imports, the brokerage said. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Hexaware Technologies hits 10-month low; Q3 PAT falls 21% QoQ
MUMBAI--1300 IST--Shares of Hexaware Technologies fell over 10% to a nearly 10-month low of INR 620.25 after the company reported a 21% on-quarter fall in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter. The stock was down for the second session and shed 14.5% during this period.
Hexaware Technologies's consolidated net profit for the December quarter was INR 2.92 billion, down 8.5% on year. Its consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter fell 0.2% to INR 34.78 billion. The company incurred a one-time cost of INR 1.11 billion during the quarter due to the impact of new labour codes. Excluding the one-time cost, the net profit would be INR 4.03 billion.
At 1259 IST, shares of Hexaware Technologies were nearly 8% lower at INR 635.90 on NSE. So far, over 4 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than nearly 365,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
All the five brokerage recommendations available with Informist on the company have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 864. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Jefferies, Elara Sec upgrade Devyani Intl to buy; shrs up 10%
MUMBAI--1135 IST--Broking firms Jefferies and Elara Securities upgraded their recommendation on Pizza Hut operator Devyani International to 'buy'. The stock was up nearly 10% to the day's high of INR 135.25. The company reported its December quarter earnings on Wednesday during market hours.
The company's Chief Financial Officer, Manish Dawar, was promoted to chief executive officer and whole-time director from Apr. 1. Jefferies has upgraded Devyani International to 'buy' on expectations of new leadership to recalibrate strategy and execution, CNBC-TV18 posted on its X handle, quoting Jefferies.
The brokerage has a target price of INR 145 on the stock. Jefferies sees the turnaround of Pizza Hut, operated by Devyani International, progressing. The company's same-store-sales growth in January was positive across its brands, except Pizza Hut, the brokerage said. The early demand is also indicating signs of growth, according to Jefferies. The company is expected to see short-term volatility due to its merger with Sapphire Foods India, but it is likely to strengthen on a long-term basis, the brokerage said.
Elara Securities (India) has also upgraded its recommendation on Devyani International to 'buy'. However, the brokerage cut the target price to INR 165, as it factored in a downgrade in revenue estimates by 1–2% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation by 4–8% over 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) to FY28. The positive growth in the company's same-store sales growth in January across its brands, along with margin improvement, and a 24% correction in the stock price, has improved the company's risk-reward profile, the brokerage said.
"SSS (same-store sales growth) growth for KFC in January 2026 was driven by promotions and channel strategies, although monitor consistency," the brokerage said in its report. It expects the company's same-store sales to decline by 1.5% in FY26 and store count to reach 1,026 by FY28.
At 1138 IST, shares of Devyani International were trading nearly 10% higher at INR 135.06 on NSE. So far, over 41 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than over 671,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the seven brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, five have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 184. Of the remaining two, one has a 'sell' and the other has a 'hold' recommendation on the stock. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: JSW Cement up 9%; co posts PAT in Q3 vs loss yr ago, beats view
MUMBAI--1130 IST--Shares of JSW Cement rose more than 9% Thursday after the company reported healthy earnings for the December quarter. The stock rose for the second day, however, it clocked most of the gains Thursday following the release of the company's earnings. At 1133 IST, shares of the company traded 8.2% higher at INR 125.60.
Post trading session Wednesday, JSW Cement posted a consolidated net profit of INR 1.42 billion for the December quarter against a loss of INR 687.9 million in the year-ago period. This was almost 82% higher than the analysts' estimate of INR 781 million. The company managed to book profit for the quarter as its growth in revenue outpaced total expenses.
Its revenue rose over 13% on year to INR 16.21 billion while total expenses rose just 1.5% on year to INR 15.04 billion. The company's finance costs fell over 25% on year to INR 867.2 million. In the corresponding quarter a year ago, the company had incurred INR 652 million fair value loss from financial instruments which was missing in the reporting quarter.
Of the three brokerage reports on the stock available with Informist, JM Financial Institutional Securities has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 170. Motilal Oswal Financial Services has a 'neutral' rating with INR 138 as its price target and Emkay Global Financial Services has a 'reduce' rating with INR 135 target. So far Thursday, over 26 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, sharply higher than the over 508,000 shares traded during the same period Wednesday. (Simran Rede)
Equity Alert: Indices remain dn as metal shrs, heavyweights continue to weigh
MUMBAI--1125 IST--Domestic benchmark indices remained lower, weighed down by the losses in shares of metal companies and index heavyweights. The heavyweight stock of Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were down nearly 1% and 0.3%, respectively, dragging down the Nifty 50 index.
At 1110 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25660.20 points, down 115.80 points, or 0.5%, and the BSE Sensex was at 83486.75 points, down 330.94 points, or 0.4%.
Dr. Redddy's Laboratories, State Bank of India, Trent, ONGC, and Hindustan Unilever were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index. Shares of Max Healthcare Institute, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Bajaj Auto were up around 0.2?ch. Shares of Hindalco Industries fell more, down 4%. Shares of Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were down over 2?ch.
All the broader market indices were in the red, with Nifty Smallcap down 1.4-2.0% and Nifty Midcap down around 1?ch. An almost 6?ll in the stock of Redington weighed down on the Nifty Smallcap 50. An over 7?ll in the shares of Tube Investments weighed down on the Nifty Midcap 50. The stock of Tube Investments was the worst hit in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. The stock fell after hitting an over one-month high of INR 2,657.90 on Wednesday.
Barring Nifty PSU Bank, which was up 0.3%, all other sectoral indices were in the red. Nifty Metal was the worst hit, down over 2%. A nearly 7?ll in the stock of Hindustan Zinc weighed down on the index. Shares of Hindustan Zinc's parent company Vedanta was down over 6% and shares of National Aluminium Co. were down nearly 5%.
Bajaj Holdings & Investments and FSN E-commerce were the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index, up around 3?ch. Shares of FSN E-Commerce surged nearly 3%. The stock rose ahead of the release of the company's Oct-Dec earnings later in the day. The company is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 666.83 million, a rise of 155% on year. The company's revenue is pegged at INR 28.76 billion, up 27% on year for the reporting quarter. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Bajaj Finserv falls over 1%; Oct-Dec PAT unchanged on year
MUMBAI--1120 IST--Shares of Bajaj Finserv fell over 1% to a low of INR 1,992.40 after the company on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of INR 22.29 billion for the December quarter, unchanged from a year ago. The consolidated total income rose 24% on year to INR 397.08 billion. The company's consolidated net interest income for Oct-Dec rose to INR 113.17 billion from INR 93.82 billion a year ago.
The insurance subsidiaries of Bajaj Finserv reported strong results for the December quarter, according to JM Financial Institutional Securities. The company's marquee subsidiary, Bajaj Life Insurance, reported 59% growth in its value from new business, and its combined operating ratio fell 320 basis points from a year ago and 440 bps from the previous quarter to 97.9%, indicating higher profitability. The company's newer businesses were also stable, with Bajaj AMC's assets under management crossing INR 300 billion. The company's consolidated net profit was flat but, adjusted for the labour code, the company's net profit rose 5%.
Bajaj Finance had focussed on margin expansion when the industry was hit with the surrender norms in the second half of Apr-Mar (2024-25), which led the subsidiary to see a contraction in its annualised premium equivalent metric for four quarters on a yearly basis. This year, the subsidiary saw its annualised premium equivalent metric rise 26% on year on a low base. Despite just reporting in-line results, the brokerage raised its recommendation to 'buy' for Bajaj Finance and its target price by over 2% to INR 1,125 for the subsidiary's stock.
Another subsidiary, Bajaj General's, claims ratio for the quarter was in line with JM Financial's estimates, with the company's expenses on management beating estimates as well, but however fell short of its net profit estimates due to weak investment income and impact of labour codes. The company's gross direct premium income rose 12% for the quarter. The company saw strong growth of 23% for it motor segment owing to the support from goods and services tax rate cuts. Despite the net earned premium growth at just 2% on year and on quarter, the brokerage expects the growth to pick up on the back of the strong rise in retail lines. The brokerage said it will review its estimates on Bajaj Finserv after the post-earnings conference call on Thursday.
At 1110 IST, shares of the company were 1% lower at INR 1,998.70 on the National Stock Exchange. Nearly 186,000 shares of the company have exchanged hands on the bourse so far during the session, lower than nearly 329,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: InterGlobe shrs down 4?ter CCI orders IndiGo airlines probe
MUMBAI--1115 IST--Shares of InterGlobe Aviation fell 4% to an intraday low of INR 4,780.30 after the Competition Commission of India ordered a probe into its airline IndiGo for unfair business practices. Upon investigating the data provided by IndiGo and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the regulatory authority said it has prima facie concluded that IndiGo has abused its dominant market position, according to various media reports.
The commission has said the airline appeared to have caused an appreciable adverse effect on competition by restricting its services, Business Standard newspaper reported Thursday. The commission said that by cancelling thousands of flights in December, which constituted a significant portion of scheduled capacity, IndiGo effectively withheld its services from the market, creating an artificial scarcity, according to media reports.
IndiGo consistently accounts for approximately 60–61% of total domestic available seat kilometres, which reflects not only passenger volumes but effective control over market capacity and supply-side conditions, Moneycontrol reported, quoting the regulator. "The domestic passenger aviation market exhibits very high and increasing concentration, exhibiting that leading firms possess the ability to operate independently of competitive forces, as the presence of effective rivals is materially constrained," the regulator said, as per the report.
In early December, IndiGo faced operational disruptions on a large scale, leading to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to reduce the company's winter schedule by 10% until Feb. 10. Owing to flight delays and cancellations, InterGlobe Aviation cut its guidance for capacity and passenger unit revenues for the December quarter. The company cut its growth guidance for December quarter capacity, in terms of available seat kilometres, to high single to early double digits from the earlier guidance of high-teen growth. The flight operator also said its passenger unit revenues may decline by mid-single digits on year in the December quarter. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: IT cos rise; brokerages see good demand in US for key verticals
MUMBAI--1055 IST--Shares of information technology companies rose after a sharp decline in the previous session amid concerns of artificial intelligence companies hurting sales of software developers, which spooked equity markets globally. This came following Anthropic's launch of AI tools for corporate legal teams. However, US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions reported strong Oct-Dec figures, which may signal an increase in discretionary spending in select verticals, according to brokerages.
Cognizant signalling an increase in discretionary spending, especially in the banking, financial services, and insurance vertical in North America, is a strong positive for the Indian IT industry, which has the highest exposure to this geography and vertical, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in a report. The brokerage said that Cognizant's application of AI-led productivity negates discussions about AI being negative for core software developers. The company said that new technology or plug-ins cannot immediately replace old technology debt and a bridge is needed, which is provided by Indian IT industry peers.
Brokerages are slightly divided on the impact of AI tools on Indian IT companies. Jefferies believes that the tools may be disruptive to application services revenue, which account for 40-70% of top line contribution for Indian IT companies. The brokerage's top picks are HCL Technologies, Infosys, Coforge, and Sagility. However, Macquarie has said that the concerns over the impact of AI are overdone and there are no significant revenue disruption risks. Indian IT companies cater to large enterprises with multi-country operations with extremely complex SAP environments, and these services are unlikely to be replaceable by AI tools.
On Wednesday, shares of Indian IT companies fell sharply after Anthropic released 11 new plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent, which is an agentic no-code AI assistant designed for enterprises. The tool is used to automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing, and data analysis needs.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Infosys were 0.5–1% higher and those of Tech Mahindra also traded in the green. These stocks had ended around 4–7% lower in the previous session.
Cognizant's Oct-Dec revenue grew nearly 5% on year to $5.3 billion, ahead of Indian IT peers, CNBC TV18 reported, citing global brokerage Citi. The IT players listed on the National Stock Exchange have underperformed Nifty 50 returns by 24% in the past 12 months, which is a cause for concern, the brokerage said.
The company's 2026 guidance is reasonable in the face of macro uncertainties, according to Nomura. Cognizant has guided for 4.0–6.5% on-year growth in constant currency terms for the period, including a 150-basis-point contribution from inorganic growth. The company has said that although the macroeconomic environment remains a bit challenging, cost pressures are driving the demand for optimisation, vendor consolidation, and productivity-led deals, the brokerage said. The company expects AI to be a catalyst for return of discretionary spending, triggering a capital expenditure cycle for enterprises to realise value.
While near-term volatility in demand will likely continue, driven by overall weak macro, tariff-led uncertainty and impact of generative AI, a recovery in technology spending will happen in the medium term, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. Enterprises look to restart spending on modernising legacy IT systems, which will call for more expenditure, the brokerage said. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders down 3% ahead of Oct-Dec earnings
MUMBAI--1047 IST--Shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders fell over 3% ahead of the company's December quarter earnings, scheduled to be announced later in the day. After reporting a double-digit on-year rise in its consolidated net profit for the previous quarter, the company's bottom line is expected to fall on year in the latest quarter.
The company's consolidated net profit for the reporting quarter is expected to fall around 4% on year to INR 7.75 billion, according to Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. Ltd. On a sequential basis, its bottom line is likely to rise over 3%.
The Mumbai-based shipbuilding company's top line for the December quarter is expected to rise marginally on year to INR 31.56 billion, the brokerage said. It is likely to report a near-8% rise on a sequential basis. If the expectation comes true, this will be the slowest on-year rise in the company's top line in 10 quarters. The company's long execution cycles are expected to provide multi-year revenue visibility, supporting stable cash flows and predictable earnings, the brokerage said.
For the quarter ended September, the company had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 7.49 billion, up over 28% on year and nearly 66% on quarter. The revenue for the quarter rose over 6% on year to INR 29.29 billion. Sequentially, the top line rose nearly 12% for the September quarter.
At 1027 IST, the stock was down nearly 3% at INR 2,367.80. Nirmal Bang has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 3,515, indicating an over 48% upside from the current market price. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Tata Motors PV, Bharti Airtel down ahead of Oct-Dec results
MUMBAI--1045 IST--Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell 3% to the day's low of INR 364.30 ahead of the company's December quarter earnings, due later in the day. Shares of Bharti Airtel were also down over 1% ahead of its December quarter results. However, Max Healthcare Institute managed to rise slightly before the announcement of the company's earnings later in the day.
Tata Motors PV is likely to report a consolidated net loss of INR 31.29 billion for the reporting quarter. Analysts expect the weak performance of its wholly-owned subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover to weigh down its earnings for the quarter. It is projected to report a consolidated revenue of INR 715.70 billion for the reporting quarter, a fall of 24% on year.
At 1014 IST, shares of Tata Motors PV were down over 2% at INR 367.40 on NSE. So far, nearly 4 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than nearly 3 million shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the seven brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, four have a 'sell' recommendation with an average target price of INR 351. Of the remaining three, two have a 'hold' recommendation and one has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock.
Bharti Airtel is expected to post 7.6% sequential growth in its consolidated bottom line for the reporting quarter. This would be a rise of just 1% on year after excluding the one-time income of INR 75.46 billion the company had reported for the year-ago quarter from the consolidation of Indus Towers Ltd. The company's top line is expected to rise 3.4% sequentially and nearly 20% on year.
At 1014 IST, shares of Bharti Airtel were down nearly 1% at INR 2,010 on NSE. So far, over 2 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than over 1 million shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the nine brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, eight have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 2,359. The remaining one has a 'sell' recommendation on the stock.
Max Healthcare Institute is likely to report a 24% on-year rise in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter and its revenue is seen rising 34% on year. Analysts see the company posting relatively moderate earnings growth on a year-on-year basis for the quarter due to a fall in overall occupancy rates and a high base.
At 1014 IST, shares of Max Healthcare were marginally higher at INR 1,026.20 on NSE. So far, over 274,000 shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than nearly 223,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
All the five brokerage reports available with Informist on the company have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,320. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Indices open lower tracking global peers; metal cos down
MUMBAI--0950 IST--Benchmark equity indices opened lower, taking cues from their global peers after US indices ended largely lower and Asian indices opened lower as well. Indices were weighed down by a fall in the shares of metal companies and index heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, which fell nearly 1% and 0.4%, respectively.
At 0949 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25632.20 points, down 143.80 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 83368.62 points, down 449.07 points or 0.6%.
Hindustan Unilever was the top gainer in the 50-stock index, up over 1%, followed by shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Jio Financial Services, which rose nearly 1?ch. Wipro, Dr. Reddy's Laborotaries, and Tata Consumer Products were up 0.2?ch.
Hindalco Industries fell nearly 3% and was the worst hit in the Nifty 50 index. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell over 2% ahead of its December quarter results later in the day. Shares of InterGlobe Aviation fell nearly 2% as the Competition Commission of India ordered a probe into the IndiGo airline operator after finding prima face evidence that it had abused its dominant market position.
Metal stocks Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta and National Aluminium Co. were among the worst hit in the Nifty 200 index, down 3–5%. The Nifty Metal was the worst hit among sectoral indices. A 5?ll in shares of Hindustan Zinc dragged the Nifty Metal down. In contrast, Nifty Oil & Gas was the top gainer, up nearly 1%. An over 2% gain in the stock of Hindustan Petroleum contributed to the sectoral index.
Bajaj Holdings & Investment rose nearly 3% to be the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index. JSW Cement was the top gainer in the Nifty 500 index, up over 8%. The stock rose after the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 1.42 billion, against the net loss of INR 687.9 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures fell nearly 7?ter the company posted a 9% on-year fall in its consolidated net profit at INR 37.7 million. Hexaware Technologies was the worst among the Nifty 500 constituents, down nearly 9%. The stock fell after the company reported an over 21% sequential fall in its consolidated net profit at INR 2.92 billion. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Cognizant's Oct-Dec net profit rises 18% to $648 million
MUMBAI--0940 IST--Cognizant Technology Solutions reported a net profit of $648 million for the fourth quarter, up 18% on year and its top line rose nearly 5% to $5.3 billion from a year earlier. The US-based company follows a calendar year system for its financial results. The rise in earnings is a positive for domestic IT players as it signals higher discretionary spending by US-based clients in the banking and financial services vertical, several brokerages said.
Shares of Wipro and Infosys were trading slightly higher, while those of HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra traded in the red.
In constant currency terms, the company's revenue rose 3.8% on year. Cognizant had earlier guided for a bottom line between $5.27 billion–$5.33 billion for the quarter. Revenue growth for the quarter was fully organic and driven by strong traction in North America, according to the company's management. Its financial services segment led the growth for the quarter, growing 7% on year on a constant currency basis in 2025. The company's management said it was confident of continuing the revenue growth momentum in 2026 on the back of strong deal signings and a strong deal pipeline.
The company's fourth quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin was up 30 basis points sequentially to 16%, but flat sequentially. Its utilisation of 83% was down 200 bps sequentially and up 100 bps on year. After its results, the company decided to roll out 100% bonus pay for 2025 after entering what it calls the "Winner's Circle", an internal benchmark of top-tier industry performance, two years ahead of its stated target, Moneycontrol reported. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Life Insurance Corp rises 1% ahead of December qtr earnings
MUMBAI--0929 IST--Shares of Life Insurance Corp. of India rose nearly 1% to a high of INR 840.55 in early trade ahead of its December quarter earnings scheduled to be announced later in the day. The stock is up after falling during the previous session. At 0923 IST, shares of the company were at INR 837 on the National Stock Exchange, slightly higher from their previous close. The stock has fallen over 9% since Nov. 6, when it detailed its September quarter earnings.
The insurance behemoth is estimated to report a net profit of INR 132.78 billion for the December quarter, up 20% on year and 32% on quarter, according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. This growth is on the back of the insurer's assets under management, which is likely to grow 8% to INR 59 trillion by the end of December, the brokerage said.
The company is expected to see an annualised premium equivalent of INR 112.75 billion, up 13% on year but 31% down sequentially, for the December quarter, according to Motilal Oswal. The insurer's annualised premium equivalent is driven by value of new business, which is estimated to grow 10% on year and decline 33% on quarter to INR 21.20 billion for the December quarter, as per the brokerage.
Its value for new business margins are expected to fall to 18.8% for the reporting quarter against 19.4% in the year-ago quarter and 19.3% in the September quarter. "VNB (value for new business) margins to decline due to loss of input tax credit on policies, while absolute VNB to grow in double digits. LIC is expected to see VNB YoY margin expansion," Motilal Oswal said in its pre-earnings note.
The insurer's comments on growth outlook and acquisition of a health insurance company are a few key areas to monitor, according to the brokerage.
All five brokerage reports on the company available with Informist have a ‘buy' or equivalent recommendation with an average target price of INR 1,099 apiece. This is over 31% higher than the current market price. (Shweta)
Equity Alert: Seen in range; IT cos may fall on fears of competition from AI
MUMBAI--0834 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to remain in a range Thursday and are likely to consolidate for a few sessions after rising sharply on Tuesday. After another decline in US software companies overnight, domestic information technology players will be in focus. The Reserve Bank of India is likely to keep rates on hold and maintain its neutral stance at its policy meeting on Friday.
Investors will focus on information technology companies after a deep sell-off in the prior session due to worries about artificial intelligence companies hurting sales of core software developers and business models based on outsourcing. Overnight, the American depository receipts of Infosys extended losses and were down over 3%, while those of Wipro closed flat. Traders also built fresh short positions in most IT stocks Wednesday, indicating further downside Thursday.
The GIFT Nifty 50 indicates a muted start for the Nifty 50. At 0835 IST, the February contract of the Gift Nifty was at 25813 points, up just 37 points from the Nifty 50's close on Wednesday. In the previous session, the Nifty 50 index closed at 25776 points, up 48.45 points, or 0.2%, and the BSE Sensex closed at 83817.69, up 78.56 points, or 0.1%.
Among specific stocks, Trent will be in focus after the company's net profit for the quarter rose to INR 6.40 billion, higher than estimates. However, its top line missed the Street's consensus estimate despite a near 16% rise on year. Nuvama Institutional Equities has cut its target price on the company by over 12%. The brokerage is sceptical about the same-store sales growth for the company. Investors will also focus on the December quarter earnings of Bharti Airtel, Max Healthcare Institute, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, due later in the day.
Except the Dow Jones Industrial Average, indices in the US ended lower overnight after shares of semiconductor chip-makers fell. Software companies were also under pressure after Anthropic's recent AI agent release left investors worried about the prospects of software developers, Reuters said in a report. Indices in Asia were also lower in early trade Thursday, following the decline on Wall Street. South Korea's KOSPI was the worst hit among the pack and was down nearly 3% on a fall in chip heavyweights. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Asian markets lower tracking tech sell-off on Wall Street
MUMBAI--0826 IST--Equity indices in Asia were largely lower in early session, tracking their US counterparts amid a sell-off in technology stocks. The KOSPI could not insulate itself against the weakness seen by the tech sector for this session and was trading nearly 3% lower, while also leading the losses in the region. This comes after the recent sell-off in technology stocks as investors are concerned over the disruption of artificial intelligence on software companies. The sell-off was triggered after AI developer Anthropic launched plug-in for its 'Claude Cowork', which automates tasks across legal sales, marketing, and data analytics.
Disappointing earnings forecast for the March quarter from Advanced Micro Devices didn't help matters, with the stock plunging 17% in the US. In South Korea, fall in shares of chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix, down nearly 5?ch, along with those of Hanwha Aerospace Co. falling over 5%, weighed on the KOSPI index. The index fell below 5300 points after closing above the level for the first time during the previous session, The Chosun Daily reported. "This is analysed to be influenced by the underperformance of U.S. semiconductor-related stocks, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.36% on the New York stock market overnight," the South Korean publication said.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index extended losses for its second session. Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. were down over 6% during the session after its chip designer company Arm Holdings' December quarter licencing sales missed estimates. However, shares of Panasonic were up over 9?spite the company reporting worse-than-estimated results for its net profit and revenue for the December quarter, CNBC reported. Its adjusted net profit did increase to 159.10 billion yen or $1.03 billion, rising nearly 6% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating profit excludes restructuring costs of 129.30 billion yen or $824.29 million. The TOPIX First Section index was also seen lower after touching a fresh high during the session.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0824 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4660.30 |
(-)0.82 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
26622.25 |
(-)0.84 |
|
KOSPI |
5211.66 |
(-)2.97 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
53898.35 |
(-)0.73 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3651.67 |
(-)0.11 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
4955.07 |
(-)0.21 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8900.60 |
(-)0.30 |
| IDX Composite | 8176.86 | 0.37 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: US Indices end largely lower, tech stocks weigh on markets
MUMBAI--0745 IST--Major US equity indices ended lower on Wednesday, barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Shares of some software companies continued to face pressure, extending losses from the previous trading session along with artificial intelligence-affiliated stocks, as Wall Street questions whether the rally in AI has reached its summit.
Shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, fell over 2% ahead of the company's quarterly results after the session closed. The company beat expectations of its December quarter results, earning revenue of $113.83 billion, up 18% on year, against an estimate of $111.43 billion by LSEG, CNBC reported. The company said it expects capital expenditure of $175 billion to $185 billion in 2026, with the top end of the forecast being double the capital expenditure in 2025. The company's expenditure plans will be made towards its AI compute capacity for Google DeepMind to meet a high cloud customer demand as well as strategic investments in other areas, Anat Ashkenazi, finance chief of Alphabet, was reported as saying. The capital expenditure will be used to "improve the user experience and drive higher advertiser ROI (Return-on-investment) in Google services," she added. The finance chief of the company also said the advertising results were negatively affected due to the lapping of the high expenditure on the US elections for the December quarter of 2024.
Advanced Micro devices fell over 17?ter the company's revenue forecast for the next quarter disappointed investors, with the company suggesting it was having a tough time competing against NVIDIA, Reuters reported. However, the company beat expectations for its December quarter results with its revenue coming in at $10.27 billion against an estimate of $9.67 billion by LSEG, CNBC reported. For the next quarter, the company said it expects revenue of $9.8 billion, give or take $300 million, against expectations of $9.38 billion. Even this, however, disappointed some analysts who were expecting stronger guidance as customers continue to ramp-up spending on chips to power AI models, CNBC said.
Shares of Palantir fell nearly 12?ter the sharp rise in the previous session on the back of strong quarterly numbers. "The size of the infrastructure buildout is unprecedented, and the pace of consumers and businesses adopting AI tools is also unprecedented. The stock market is having a really hard knowing where to price the stocks and what the future looks like. ... The market is suddenly sceptical and concerned about it," Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital in St. Louis, was reported as saying by Reuters.
Shares of a few software companies such as Oracle and Crowd Strike, down over 5% and 1.5%, respectively, extended their losses from the previous session. Despite the weakness seen in the sector, shares of Microsoft found some stability as the stock ended nearly 1% higher. "If you've got legacy software that's old and clunky, you're a ripe target for AI. We're a bit bearish on software in general, with the whole impetus of AI," Josh Chastant, portfolio manager, public investments at GuideStone Funds, was reported as saying by Reuters.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6882.72 |
(-)0.51 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
55904.58 |
(-)1.51 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
49501.30 |
0.53 |
(Akshat Saksena)
US$1 = INR 90.35
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.
All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.
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