Equity Alert
Zydus Life up on Japan co patent settlement, SC nivolumab order
This story was originally published at 13:32 IST on 12 February 2026
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Equity Alert:Zydus Life up on Japan co patent settlement, SC nivolumab order
MUMBAI--1312 IST--Shares of Zydus Lifesciences rose nearly 3% to an intraday high of INR 922.40. Earlier Thursday, Zydus Life said along with its US subsidiary Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, it has entered into a petent settlement agreement with Japan-based Astellas Pharma Inc. over the latter's Myrbetriq, or Mirabegron medication, for $120 million. On Wednesday, the Indian Supreme Court had refused to restrain the company from manufacturing its biosimilar version of E.R. Squibb and Sons's nivolumab. The stock has gained nearly 3% over the past 30 days and lost over 3% and nearly 4% in the last 90 days and 180 days, respectively. The stock has fallen nearly 2% in the last 52 weeks.
The Supreme Court refused to restrain Zydus Lifesciences from selling its biosimilar version of E.R. Squibb and Sons's nivolumab and observed the product has already been marketed, advising the patent holder to pursue direct product mapping before seeking interim relief. The court asked Bristol Myers Squibb to take up a detailed mapping of Zydus Lifescience's product and then pursue an interim relief before the Delhi High Court based on the outcome of the mapping. The court, in turn, asked Zydus Lifesciences to maintain a record of its sales and revenue from the product and give a sample of its product for the mapping. Even though the Indian company can continue marketing the biosimilar, the requirement to maintain and submit record of its sales and revenues could provide a mechanism for the patent holder for potential compensation, ICICI Direct Securities said.
Zydus Lifesciences has also come to an agreement with Astellas Pharma and will continue to market its generic Mirabegron in the US. Under the settlement agreement, the company and its US Subsidiary will pay Astellas Pharma an aggregate amount of $120 million, along with an additional prepaid licencing fee on each unit of generic Mirabegron sold in the US by Zydus Lifesciences from the date of the agreement till September 2027.
At 1230 IST, shares of the company traded over 2% higher at INR 920.10 on the National Stock Exchange. Nearly 1 million shares of the company were traded on the bourse so far, higher than the nearly 522,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday. Out of 11 brokerage reports on the company with Informist, six have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 1,133, three have a 'hold' recommendation with INR 900 the minimum target price and INR 975 the highest, and two have a 'sell' recommendation on the stock. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Coal India, Hindalco dn before Q3 results; ONGC hits 1-yr high
MUMBAI--1230 IST--Shares of Coal India and Hindalco Industries were down ahead of their December quarter earnings scheduled later in the day. However, shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. rose ahead of its Oct-Dec results.
Coal India fell over 1% to the day's low of INR 417.25. The stock was down for the fourth straight session and has shed nearly 4% during this period. The company is expected to report a 26% on-year fall in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter to INR 62.87 billion. Its top line is likely to fall 13% on year to INR 322 billion.
At 1146 IST, shares of Coal India were over 1% lower at INR 417.95. So far, nearly 2.4 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, lower than 2.8 million shares that exchanged hands on the bourse till the same time Wednesday.
Of the six brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, four have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 428 and the remaining two have a 'sell' recommendation on the stock.
Shares of Hindalco Industries fell over 2% to an intraday low of INR 943.95, and the stock was down for the second session in a row. The stock lost nearly 3% during this period. The company's net profit for the December quarter is expected at INR 42.45 billion, up more than 12% on year. Its revenue from operations for the reporting quarter is likely to be INR 659.65 billion, up nearly 13% on year.
At 1146 IST, shares of Hindalco Industries were 0.5% down at INR 961. So far, nearly 2.7 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, lower than nearly 3 million shares that were traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the 10 brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, five have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 951. Of the remaining five, four have a 'hold' recommendation with an average target price of INR 855 and one has a 'sell' recommendation on the stock.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. rose 2% to hit an over one-year high of INR 280.30 ahead of its December quarter earnings. The stock was up for the third straight session and gained over 5% during this period. The company is projected to report a net profit of INR 71.46 billion for the reporting quarter, down over 13% on year. Its revenue from operations is expected to decline nearly 7% on year to nearly INR 315 billion.
At 1146 IST, shares of ONGC were marginally higher at INR 275.30. So far, over 13 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than over 5 million shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the 10 brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, six have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 295. Of the remaining four, two have a 'hold' recommendation and two have a 'sell' recommendation on the stock. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: HUL falls 5?ter Oct-Dec earnings; net profit doubles on yr
MUMBAI--1206 IST--Shares of Hindustan Unilever fell nearly 5% to an intraday low of INR 2,350.10 after the fast-moving consumer goods major detailed its December quarter results. The company's net profit more than doubled on year to INR 70.75 billion in the latest quarter. The top line of the company grew over 4% to INR 158.05 billion.
The surge in its net profit was driven by a one-time gain of INR 45.16 billion on account of the demerger of the company's ice cream business. For the reporting quarter, the company also reported an additional one-time cost of INR 1.12 billion. Excluding the one-time gain and one-time cost, the net profit of the company was at INR 26.71 billion. This is above analysts' estimate of INR 25.56 billion.
In the year-ago quarter, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 30.01 billion, inclusive of a one-time gain of INR 5.40 billion. Excluding all the exceptional items, the bottom line of the company grew over 7% on year in Oct-Dec.
At 1150 IST, shares of Hindustan Unilever were nearly 3% lower at INR 2,400. Over 2.66 million shares of the company changed hands so far in the day, lower than over 446,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday. The stock traded flat before falling nearly 1% soon after the earnings came out. Later, the stock extended these losses and fell more. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: IT stocks crumble on AI threat; analysts signal more volatility
MUMBAI--1130 IST--Shares of information technology companies declined in early trade Thursday, tracking a fall in US-based software stocks. IT stocks were under pressure after US jobs data for December came in stronger than expected, trimming hope of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in the near term. Additionally, recent developments in artificial intelligence tools continued to spook investors over future growth prospects of domestic IT players, which are highly dependent on US companies outsourcing software development jobs. The Nifty IT index fell almost 5% to an over four-month low of 3433.20 points.
Shares of Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Infosys were the worst hit in the Nifty 50 and were down 4-5%. Outside the Nifty 50, shares of KPIT Technologies, Coforge, Persistent Systems, and LTIMindtree fell 4-6%. The Nifty IT index was down 4.5%.
Recent commentary by Anthropic and Palantir has signalled that several US-based companies are switching to AI tools for software development and other services which are generally provided by traditional software companies. Several analysts have pointed out that the recent pressure on IT stocks is a knee-jerk reaction to AI tools, which was also seen during OpenAI's product launch. However, new announcements of these tools may continue to spark volatility in IT stocks in the near term, Rishubh Vasa, a research analyst from Indsec Securities and Finance, said.
"These AI tools haven't reached users yet and are still mainly used by companies for productivity-linked reasons," Vasa said. The analyst expects a clearer picture on this after traction for these tools is established at an individual user level. Vasa added that this decline in IT stocks is a good buying opportunity for investors as Indian IT services are likely to benefit in the long term from these tools, as they enhance their own service offerings tailored to the needs of AI companies.
"AI is a serious threat, but also a growth enabler," Herald van der Linde, chief Asia equity strategist at HSBC, said in an interview with The Economic Times in November. The key will be redeploying people and integrating AI to expand capabilities rather than replace them," he said.
Analysts are waiting for announcements from the India AI Impact Summit, which will be organised on Monday in New Delhi. Top executives from leading technology companies such as Google, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Anthropic, are expected to attend the summit and provide cues on future demand for AI tools. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Shares of Amara Raja dn after co posts 51% YoY fall in Q3 PAT
MUMBAI--1110 IST--Shares of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility fell over 5% to the day's low of INR 865 after the company posted an over 51% on-year fall in its net profit for the December quarter. The stock was down after closing higher for the previous three sessions.
The company reported a net profit of INR 1.52 billion, below analysts' expectation of INR 2.42 billion. Its net sales for the quarter rose nearly 6% on year to INR 33.51 billion. This too was below analysts' estimate of INR 34.58 billion.
At 1050 IST, shares of Amara Raja were over 4% lower at INR 872.45 on NSE. So far, over 509,000 shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange, higher than over 148,000 shares traded till the same time Wednesday.
Of the four brokerage reports available with Informist on the company, two have a 'buy' recommendation while the remaining two have a 'hold' recommendation on the stock. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Britannia rises 2?ter co's post-earnings conference call
MUMBAI--1106 IST--Shares of Britannia Industries rose nearly 2% to a high of INR 6,130. The company announced its results Tuesday and held a post-earnings conference call Wednesday. It reported a 17% rise in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter at INR 6.80 billion, which beat analysts' estimate of INR 6.71 billion. The company's consolidated revenue rose 8% on year to INR 49.70 billion, lower than the expectation of INR 49.92 billion.
Britannia's performance in October was affected by the goods and services tax transition, but it was able to recover in Nov-Dec, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. The brokerage maintained its 'buy' recommendation and target price of INR 7,530, saying the Feb-Mar season would provide more clarity. Britannia's management is working on medium-to-long term plans as it currently focusses on strengthening its prospects in related fields and commerce channels. This is expected to help the company for its performance ahead, which will be important for growth and stock valuations, Emkay Global Financial Services said. The brokerage maintained its 'add' recommendation on the stock along with its target price of INR 6,650.
The management's revitalised focus on tackling regional competition, and benefits from GST should bode well for the company's growth, according to a report by ICICI Direct Research. Its focus on related businesses and improving the saliency of its e-commerce could further boost its revenue. The management plans to increase investments in its brands due to lower prices of raw materials, but this will not be at the cost of profitability, as the company continues to focus on the bottom line, the brokerage said. It maintained its 'add' recommendation and left its target price at INR 6,800. Benign input costs, along with improving low-unit-pricing stabilising for the industry and revenue trajectory will allow for higher brand investments and help sustain high-teen margins, JM Financial said. It maintained its 'buy' rating and increased the target price on the stock slightly to INR 7,000 from INR 6,995. The acceleration of volume growth and impact of the likely reduction in fiscal incentives will be key aspects to be tracked.
Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities is constructive on packaged food companies due to higher addressable market size compared to other staples, better track record of revenue compared to peers, and the reduction of GS, which means faster conversion from unorganised players. The brokerage is also excited about the company's initiatives under the new chief executive officer. It has raised its recommendation on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and the target price to INR 7,135 from INR 6,325. Motilal Oswal Financial Services raised its earnings per share estimates on the stock by 2-3% for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to FY28 and maintained its 'buy' recommendation with a target price of INR 7,150.
At 1100 IST, shares of the company were nearly 2% higher at INR 6,119.50 on the National Stock Exchange. Nearly 252,000 shares of the company were traded on the bourse so far, lower than the nearly 381,000 shares traded at the same time Wednesday. Out of the 11 brokerage reports on the company with Informist, nine have a 'buy' recommendation with an average target price of INR 7,060 and two have a 'hold' recommendation on the stock. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Indices remain lower as IT shrs continue to drag
MUMBAI--1108 IST--Bechmark indices remained lower with information technology companies contributing to losses. The Nifty 50 was weighed down by the shares of Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, which fell over 4?ch. At 1057 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25859.75 points, down 94.10 points, or 0.4%, and the BSE Sensex was at 83890.31 points, down 343.33 points, or 0.4%.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the 50-stock index, up nearly 2%. Shares of ONGC, State Bank of India, Eicher Motors, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, and Trent rose over 1%. The heavyweight banking stock ICICI Bank rose over 1%. In contrast, Tech Mahindra was the worst hit in the Nifty 50 index, down nearly 5%. Its peers, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, and HCL Technologies were down around 4?ch.
Hindustan Unilever fell nearly 3?ter the fast-moving consumer goods major detailed its December quarter results. The company reported a revenue of INR 158.05 billion, up over 4% on year. This was below the Street's view of INR 161.56 billion. The bottom line of the company more than doubled on year to INR 70.75 billion.
All the broader market indices were in the red. The Nifty Smallcaps were down around 0.6-0.7% and the Nifty Midcaps were down 0.4-0.5%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 50 were weighed down by an over-4?ll in the stock of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT fell nearly 5% to be the worst hit. The Nifty IT was dragged down by Coforge, which fell nearly 6%. The stock was among the worst hits in the Nifty 200 index. In contrast, Nifty Financial Services is the top performer among the sectoral indices, up 0.4%.
Fortis Healthcare was the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index, up nearly 3%. Zydus Lifesciences shares rose over 2?ter the company and its arm signed a settlement agreement for $120 million with Astellas for the latter's Myrbetriq drug. This is in regards to a patent litigation over a sustained release formulation of Mirabegron, sold in the US by Astellas Pharma.
Godrej Agrovet was the top gainer among the Nifty 500 constituents, up 8%. Kirloskar Oil Engines rose nearly 5% to be among the top gainers in the Nifty 500 constituents. The stock rose after the company reported a 56% on-year surge in its bottom line for the December quarter to INR 1.11 billion. The revenue of the company grew over 29% to INR 18.73 billion. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Shrs of IT cos tumble, mirroring decline in US software stocks
MUMBAI--0945 IST--Shares of information technology companies were lower in early trade, mirroring an overnight decline in stocks of US software companies. Domestic IT players have been under pressure due to fears of artificial intelligence tools hurting the sales of companies dependent on outsourcing from companies in the US.
Adding to the pressure on the stocks, data released Tuesday showed US retail sales growth was largely flat in December. This has raised concerns about a fall in discretionary spending from US-based consumers, which will likely be a negative for Indian IT companies, analysts said. Additionally, the US jobs data for January came in stronger than expected, denting hopes of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
Overnight, the American Depository Receipts of IT majors Infosys and Wipro dropped over 5% and 4%, respectively. US-based companies such as Anthropic, Palantir, and Altruist have said they are integrating AI-related tools in software development, which some analysts believe can hurt domestic IT players. However, some analysts have also said that this correction is an over-reaction by market participants, considering that AI-led software development is still in its nascent stages and because Indian IT players work in complex contracts, where AI is yet to show significant progress.
Shares of Wipro fell 4% to its 52-week lows. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Infosys were the worst hit in the Nifty 50 and were down 4-5%. Outside the Nifty 50, shares of Coforge, Persistent Systems, and LTIMindtree also fell 4-5%. The Nifty IT index was down over 4%. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Indices open lower on losses in IT cos; Infosys down 5%
MUMBAI--0942 IST--Benchmark indices opened lower Thursday, weighed down by losses in information technology stocks, tracking losses in their peers in global markets. These stocks fell amid fears that artificial intelligence tools may hurt operations of these companies. Losses in the shares of Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services dragged down the Nifty 50 index.
At 0938 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25833.90 points, down 119.95 points or 0.5% and the BSE Sensex was at 83844.42 points, down 389.22 points or 0.5%.
Index heavyweight ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, up over 1%. It was followed by shares of State Bank of India, Eicher Motors, Bharat Electronics, and ONGC, which rose nearly 1?ch. Shares of ONGC rose ahead of the company's Oct-Dec results later in the day. The company is expected to report a net profit of INR 71.46 billion for the reporting quarter, down over 13% on year.
Infosys was the worst hit in the 50-stock index, down nearly 5%, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra, down around 4?ch. American depository receipts of Infosys fell over 5% and those of Wipro fell over 4%. Among individual stocks, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Life Insurance Co., SBI Life Insurance Co., and Apollo Hospital Enterprise fell around 1?ch.
Hindalco Industries fell 0.4% after the company's US subsidiary, Novelis, reported a consolidated net loss of $160 million for the December quarter. The loss was attributed to the disruption in production at the arm's aluminium plant in Oswego County, New York. The disruption was due to a fire at the plant. The parent company, Hindalco Industries, is set to announce its December quarter earnings later in the day.
Shares of Coforge and Infosys were the worst hit in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices, down around 5?ch. Amara Raja Energy & Mobility fell nearly 5?ter the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 1.52 billion, down over 51% on year for the December quarter. This was below the Street's view of INR 2.42 billion. The revenue of the company grew nearly 6% to INR 33.51 billion for the period and failed to beat analysts' estimate of INR 34.58 billion.
Hero MotoCorp was the top gainer among Nifty 200 constituents, up nearly 2%, and Kirloskar Oil Engines was the top gainer in the Nifty 500 index, up over 5%. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: CRISIL shares down 1.5% ahead of Oct-Dec earnings
MUMBAI--0935 IST--Shares of CRISIL fell 1.5% to an intraday low of INR 4,622.70 ahead of its December-quarter earnings announcement. At 0928 IST, shares of the company were over 1% lower at INR 4,632.70 on the NSE. Over 3,000 shares of the company have exchanged hands on the bourse so far.
Kotak Securities estimates the rating agency's consolidated net profit for the December quarter at INR 2.58 billion and YES Securities (India) expects the metric at INR 2.45 billion. In the year-ago quarter, the company posted a net profit of INR 2.25 billion. Kotak Securities expects CRISIL's net sales at INR 10.02 billion and YES Securities sees the figure at INR 10.35 billion. The company posted a revenue of INR 9.13 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
YES Securities expects strong revenue growth for the company, despite a high base in the year-ago quarter owing to higher volume activity during the general elections in 2024. The brokerage expects revenue-based market share growth for CRISIL to continue higher due to the company's dominance in bond rating. "Sustained strong momentum in GAC (Global Analytics Centre) and GBA (Crisil Global Benchmarking Analytics) businesses, and further signs of growth recovery in GR&RS (Global Research & Risk Solutions) would be key monitorables for CRISIL," the brokerage said.
Kotak Securities expects a net profit growth of around 15% on year due to a 9-10% on year revenue growth across ratings and non-ratings. The brokerage sees a year-on-year improvement in margins for the ratings business and stable margins for the non-ratings business. However, the brokerage highlighted that bond and commercial paper issuances have declined in the December quarter and focus will remain on growth and margin outlook for the company's international business and pick-up in debt issuances. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: IRCTC falls slightly ahead of Oct-Dec earnings
MUMBAI--0934 IST--Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. were marginally lower, falling just 0.8% to a low of INR 623.45 ahead of the company's December quarter earnings later in the day. At 0933 IST, shares of the company were at INR 626.25 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.3% from Wednesday's close.
IRCTC is expected to post a modest on-year rise in its net profit and revenue for the December quarter, according to brokerages. The company's net profit is estimated in the range of INR 3.50 billion-INR 3.65 billion. Estimates on the company were available from only two brokerages with the highest estimate from Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. and the lowest estimate from Dolat Capital Market Pvt. Ltd.
The company's consolidated revenue is estimated between INR 12.75 billion and INR 13.39 billion. The highest revenue estimate is from Prabhudas Lilladher and the lowest from Dolat Capital.
"We expect online ticketing volumes of ~135mn (million), resulting in convenience fee revenue of Rs 2.6bn (billion) in 3QFY26E. Catering revenue is expected to increase 7.0% YoY to Rs 5.9bn while tourism business is expected to grow by 20.0% YoY to Rs 2.7bn, supported by healthy demand in seasonally strong quarter," according to Prabhudas Lilladher.
Dolat Capital will monitor progress in tourism bookings, capacity addition in Rail Neer, uptick in licence fees for catering, and non-convenience fees in ticketing.
Prabhudas Lilladher has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 840. The company's net profit for the September quarter rose 11% on year to INR 3.42 billion. The top line rose over 8% on year to INR 11.46 billion. (Gunjan Rajput)
Equity Alert: Indices seen in range; IT cos may see selling as US peers fall
MUMBAI--0830 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to be in range Thursday with the 26000-mark acting as a major hurdle for the Nifty 50. However, the market sentiment remains positive as foreign institutional investors continue to be net buyers in February, according to analysts. Investors will focus on domestic information technology majors after an overnight decline in stocks of software companies amid fears of artificial intelligence tools hurting sales of these companies.
Overnight, the American depository receipts of information technology majors Infosys and Wipro dropped over 5% and 4%, respectively. In the US, Anthropic, Palantir, and Altruist have said they are actively integrating AI-related features, which some analysts believe can hurt domestic IT players that are dependent on outsourcing.
The GIFT Nifty 50 indicates a muted start for the Nifty 50. The February contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 25968 points at 0840 IST, up 15 points from the Nifty 50's previous close. On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 index closed almost flat at 25935.15 points. The BSE Sensex also ended flat at 84233.64 points. The Nifty 50 index is gradually scaling towards its price targets of 26150-26200 spot levels following congestion zone breakout above 25850 spot levels, Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice president – technical and derivatives at Globe Capital Market, said. However, lack of follow-through momentum is indicating towards a possible retest, the analyst said.
Investors are set to react to a slew of earnings slated for release later in the day. Fast-moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever, metal manufacturer Hindalco Industries, and state-owned Coal India and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. will be on investors' focus. Hindalco's US subsidiary, Novelis, reported a net loss for the December quarter, mainly due to the disruption in production caused by a fire at its aluminium plant at Scriba, Oswego County, New York.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite closed marginally lower after a better-than-expected jobs report for January cut expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The tech-laden NASDAQ Composite was weighed down by a fall in software stocks, which offset gains in stocks of chip-making companies.
Benchmark indices in Asia were mixed in early trade, with equity market in China declining with South Korea's KOSPI leading the gains, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down nearly 1%. Japan's Nikkei 225 hit 58,000 points for the first time in history, extending its post-election rally to fresh highs, fuelled by renewed confidence in domestic politics and the ruling administration's economic agenda, CNBC reported. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Most equity indices in Asia rise; KOSPI, Nikkei hit fresh highs
MUMBAI--0811 IST--Equity indices in Asia were mostly higher in early trade, with multiple indices reaching their record highs. The Nikkei 225 was trading lower after reaching fresh highs and the KOSPI continued to rise and reached its all-time high as well. The Hang Seng was lower after ending higher for three consecutive sessions.
Japanese indices Nikkei and the Topix First Section hit record highs on optimism over the resounding snap-election victory of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The win gives Takaichi a strong multi-year mandate to execute policy, which is seen as supportive for the country's markets and corporate sector, CNBC reported Global investment firm GMO as saying. Despite equities rising, the country's bond market has come under pressure and risk of intervention could rise if the yen reaches 160 against the dollar, GMO was reported as saying. However, the Nikkei lost it gains and was trading slightly lower, while the Topix First Section managed to stay above its previous day's close.
The KOSPI surpassed 5500 points during the session, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix rising over 6% and over 3%, respectively. This comes after US-based Micron dismissed concerns about the supply of high-bandwidth memory chips, which is analysed to be influencing stocks of domestic semiconductor companies, The Chosun Daily reported.
The Hang Seng snapped its three-day winning streak ahead of the Lunar New Year due to a fall in technology stocks. This comes after Bejing's market regulator summoned major online platforms to discuss irregularities in the sale of online train tickets ahead of the holidays. These platforms include Trip.com, Meituan, JD.com, Didi, Tencent and other mapping services providers. The market regulator has summoned the companies after complaints from the public over add-on charges and misleading booking charges, the South China Morning Post reported, citing state broadcaster CCTV.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0811 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4716.04 |
0.05 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
27077.69 |
(-)0.69 |
|
KOSPI |
5494.65 |
2.62 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
57580.76 |
(-)0.12 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3873.95 |
0.48 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
5008.37 |
0.48 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
9075.70 |
0.68 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: US equity indices end lower; Dow Jones snaps 3-day win streak
MUMBAI--0734 IST--Equity indices in the US ended flat to lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 staying almost unchanged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average index snapping its three-session winning streak. This came despite better-than-expected non-farm payrolls data for January, which was delayed due to a partial government shutdown, eased tensions over the economy but did indicate that the US Federal Reserve might hold back on rate cuts.
The non-farm payrolls data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a job growth of 130,000 in January, CNBC reported. This was significantly higher than the addition of 55,000 jobs estimated by economists polled by Dow Jones and was also higher than 48,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate for the country was at 4.3%, slightly lower than the 4.4% estimated by Dow Jones. However, the growth was restricted within a few sectors, primarily in the healthcare related fields, which saw an addition of 124,000 positions alone, double the growth in 2025. This also comes at a time when every month in 2025 has seen downward revisions. "This is generally a good sign, as you'd expect, but we are certainly not out of the woods yet with respect to the labor market. ‘Moving in the right direction' would be a better description. The unemployment rate is gradually improving, but there are still plenty of signs that the labor market remains exceedingly weak," Rick Wedell, chief investment officer at RFG Advisory was reported as saying.
The indices started the session well, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reaching their highest level in more than a week, after the release of the US jobs data. However, indices lost their gains as traders cut back on bets for rate cuts, Reuters reported. Traders are still expecting one 25-basis-point rate cut. However, the probability of rates holding steady for the month rose to 42.4% from 24.8% on Dec. 10, the CME Fedwatch tool showed.
Software stocks, which were under pressure last week amid concerns over artificial intelligence disrupting their operations, were lower for the session again, CNBC reported. Shares of Salesforce were down over 4% and those of ServiceNow were down 5.5%. Stocks that would gain from a faster economy, such as shares of companies involved in making AI data centres, were higher. Shares of digital infrastructure company Vertiv Holdings Co. surged 24.5% after its fourth-quarter earnings beat estimates, with the company providing a strong outlook for 2026 as well. Shares of Caterpillar were up over 4?ter Argus Research raised its target price on the stock to $820 from $625, Reuters reported.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6941.47 |
0.00 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
23066.47 |
(-)0.16 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
50121.40 |
(-)0.13 |
(Akshat Saksena)
US$1 = INR 90.61
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.
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.
All times are Indian Standard Time.
NSE: National Stock Exchange
NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
RBI: Reserve Bank of India
Internet links:
Securities and Exchange Board of India - http://www.sebi.gov.in
Bombay Stock Exchange - http://www.bseindia.com
National Stock Exchange of India - http://www.nseindia.com
Directory of Indian government websites - http://goidirectory.nic.in
Indian Ministry of Finance - http://www.finmin.nic.in
Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in
Controller General of Accounts, Government of India - http://www.cga.nic.in
Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.
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