Equity Alert
Defence cos rise; Rafale deal, expenditure plan boost sentiment
This story was originally published at 12:08 IST on 20 February 2026
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Equity Alert: Defence cos rise; Rafale deal, expenditure plan boost sentiment
MUMBAI--1200 IST--Shares of defence companies rose Friday and the Nifty India Defence index rose nearly 2% to an intraday high of 8205.60 points, its highest level in over two weeks. Analysts said that near-term sentiment around these stocks may have improved due to tensions flaring up between the US and Iran, characteristic of defence stocks in times of geopolitical turmoil globally. Moreover, the defence ministry recently gave initial clearance to acquire 114 more Rafale jets for the air force, and other planes and missiles from France, which helped boost sentiment around these stocks as a majority of these fighter planes are expected to be produced with a joint venture partner, analysts said.
Shares of Data Patterns (India), Bharat Dynamics, and Paras Defence and Space Technologies rose 2–5%. Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, MTAR Technologies' shares were up 1–2%. All other constituents of the Nifty India Defence index traded in the green.
The Defence Acquisition Council recently accorded acceptance of necessity for proposals worth INR 3.60 trillion on Feb. 12. These proposals include the cost of purchase of Rafale jets. "This expenditure will flow to defence players across specialities," an analyst at a domestic brokerage said. Missile orders will primarily benefit Bharat Dynamics, the analyst added. Bharat Electronics will also stand to gain as requirements for avionics components increase, according to the analyst. Companies engaged in production of fuselage, torpedoes, radar systems, and other defence utilities are expected to benefit from the Defence Acquisition Council's acceptance of proposals.
"HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics) is probably underperforming on the execution front, which is why we need inter-government collaborations such as those with France," an analyst added. The requirements of our armed forces, particularly the air force, are very high, and those demands are not currently being met, according to the analyst. Public-private partnerships are also helping India keep up with an upswing in demand, owing to border tensions with China and Pakistan.
The defence outlay in the Union Budget was a little lower than expected, according to analysts. "The 17–18% growth from last year is respectable, but was lower than what people were looking for," an analyst said. However, the government is trying to modernise the Indian armed forces, which will open up many contract opportunities. A major focus of the government, according to analysts, is increasing defence exports. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Indices rise further as some stocks recover; defence cos gain
MUMBAI--1106 IST--Benchmark indices rose further as some stocks recovered from earlier losses. Financial services companies and heavyweights contributed to the gains. The Nifty 50 was supported by the gains in ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Reliance Industries, which rose around 1?ch. At 1104 IST, Nifty 50 was at 25579 points, up 124.65 points or 0.5%, and the BSE Sensex was at 82849.93, up 351.79 or 0.4%.
Shares of Hindalco Industries, Bharat Electronics, and NTPC were the top gainers in the Nifty 50, up over 2?ch. Shares of fast-moving consumer goods companies Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India rose over 1?ch. Coal India and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. rose around 1?ch. Tata Consultancy Services gave up earlier losses and rose around 1%. Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Asian Paints, Max Healthcare Institute, and Trent recovered and rose 0.4-0.7%. Shares of financial services companies Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI Life Insurance Co., Jio Financial Services, and Baja Finserv were up around 1?ch.
Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Eternal were down nearly 1?ch and were the worst hit in the index. Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, and Grasim Industries fell 0.4-1.0%. Bharti Airtel was flat.
Nifty India Defence rose over 1%. Most constituents in the sectoral index were higher. Data Patterns (India) rose over 6% and contributed more to the gains in Nifty India Defence. Data Patterns (India) was among the top gainers in the Nifty 500. Shares of Bharat Dynamics rose nearly 3% and was among the top gainers in the Nifty 200. Thusrday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and India was set to jointly produce Rafale jets as well as helicopters, Reuters reported.
ABB India was the top gainer among the Nifty 200 constituents, up nearly 7%. Godfrey Phillips India was the worst hit, down over 4%. In the Nifty 500, Brainbees continued to be among the top gainer, up nearly 6%. In contrast, Newgen Software Technologies was the worst hit, down nearly 7%. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Shares of IT cos fall on global concerns over AI disruption
MUMBAI--1034 IST--Shares of information technology companies were under pressure as concerns over artificial intelligence disrupting operations of software companies continued to cloud global markets. The American Depository Receipts of IT majors Infosys and Wipro fell around 3?ch. The Nifty IT Index was among the worst performing indices, reporting losses in six out of eight sessions, during which they have lost over 1%.
The Nifty IT index remained under pressure on the weekly timeframe and is moving towards its major support zone of 30900 points. "This level is crucial, as it has historically acted as a strong demand area and could trigger value buying," Rishabh Srivastav, technical analyst at Lakshmishree Investment and Securities, said. The analyst placed his resistance level for the sectoral index at 34500 points and also said if the index is able to make a sustained move above the 35000-point mark, it would indicate strength and open the door for a broader recovery. If the index fails to hold on to 30900 points on a weekly closing basis, then that may lead to further selling pressure, the analyst added.
Most constituents of the Nifty IT index were trading lower, barring Tata Consultancy Services, Coforge, and Oracle Financial Services, which were up around 0.2-1%. Amid the sell-off, IT companies are making efforts to address these concerns and take steps towards it as well.
Infosys on Tuesday announced a strategic collaboration with US-based artificial intelligence safety and research company Anthropic to develop advanced enterprise AI solutions for companies across telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, and software development. The Tata Group is also aiming to build domain-centric and artificial intelligence-optimised chips for every industry, starting with the automotive sector, Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said at the AI Impact Summit 2026. Tata Consultancy Services is also preparing to make a presentation to the board of Tata Sons, The Economic Times reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge on the matter. This move is aimed at addressing the concerns of the board after the sell-off seen in tech stocks amid AI-led innovations. (Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Novartis India hits 20% upper circuit; Swiss parent to exit co
MUMBAI--1030 IST--Shares of pharmaceutical company Novartis India rose 20%, hitting the upper circuit at INR 996.50 on BSE in early trade Friday. The company's Switzerland-based parent Novartis AG said it would sell its entire 70.68% stake in the company for around INR 14.46 billion.
WaveRise Investments, ChrysCapital, and Two Infinity Partners have signed an agreement to purchase the stake from the parent entity at INR 860.64 per share, according to an exchange filing. This share purchase value is at 3.6% premium to Novartis India stock's closing price on the BSE Thursday.
Novartis India will also change its name after the transaction is complete, according to the exchange filing. Following Friday's gains, shares of the company are up over 31% so far in February and over 6% in the last three months. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: ABB India up 5%; order inflow, adjusted EBITDA better than view
MUMBAI--0950 IST--Shares of ABB India rose over 5% to a seven-month high of INR 6,019.50. Brokerages said that the company's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin, and its order inflows for the December quarter rose more than expected. The company reported an over 18% on-year fall in its net profit at INR 4.33 billion, largely in line with Street expectations. Its revenue from core operations rose 6% on year to INR 35.57 billion, slightly higher than consensus estimates.
ABB India's order inflows rose 52% on year to around INR 41 billion in Oct-Dec. A strong development in the base business and support from the timing of large orders with key contributions from data centres, automotive, buildings and infrastructure, railways, and metals, lifted the overall order book, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. ABB is well-placed to benefit from sustained investments in infrastructure, rail, grid modernisation, and renewable energy, and capture opportunities in metals, mining, energy, chemicals, data centres, and electronics, global brokerage Nomura said. The company's total order book in 2025 was at INR 141.15 billion, up 12% on year and higher than Nomura's estimates.
The company's net profit declined on year due to higher material costs, adverse foreign exchange rates, and quality control order-related imported material usage, Motilal Oswal said. These issues were partly offset through commodity hedging and an increase in efficiency, the brokerage added. The company's operational EBITDA margin came in at 14.6% compared to 19.0% a year ago. However, adjusted for the impact from the new labour codes, its margins were at 17.2%, higher than Motilal Oswal's prediction of a 15% rise as well as Nomura's estimate.
Global brokerage JP Morgan said the company's revenue, margin, and net profit missed its estimates but strong order inflows were a major positive, according to an NDTV Profit post on social media platform, 'X'.
Of the 10 brokerage recommendations available with Informist on the company, five have a 'buy' call on the stock, with an average target price of INR 5,672, while four have a 'sell' call with an average price of INR 4,873. One brokerage has a 'hold' call on the stock. (Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: Indices open lower on global cues, rise later on gains in RIL
MUMBAI--0954 IST--Benchmark equity indices opened lower, taking cues from their global counterparts, with US indices ending lower Thursday and most Asian markets opening lower Friday. However, indices rose later as index heavyweight Reliance Industries recovered. The stock was up nearly 1% and contributed to the gains in the Nifty 50 index. Information technology shares were the major laggards in the indices.
At 0952 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 25520.65, up 66.30 points or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 82654.75 points, up 156.61 points or 0.2%.
State-owned companies, Coal India, Bharat Electronics, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. were the top gainers in the Nifty 50, up around 2?ch. Shares of Titan Co., Larsen & Toubro, HIndustan Unilever, Hindalco Industries, and NTPC rose nearly 1?ch. Meanwhile, IT stocks of Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and HCL Technologies fell nearly 0.4-1%. Shares of Tata Consultancy Services opened lower but soon pared early losses and rose 0.4%.
Shares of ABB India was the top gainer in the Nifty 200, up over 4%. The stock rose after the company reported nearly 6% growth in its revenue to INR 35.60 billion for the December quarter. However, the company's bottom line fell 18% on year to INR 4.33 billion for the reporting quarter. Meanwhile, Godfrey Phillips India was the worst-hit stock on the index, down over 4%.
In the Nifty 500, Newgen Software Technologies was the worst-hit stock, down over 6%. Brainbees Solutions rose over 11% to be the top gainer among Nifty 500 constituents. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Emkay upgrades IndusInd Bk to 'buy', ups target price by 38%
MUMBAI--0849 IST--Emkay Global upgraded the stock of IndusInd Bank to 'buy' and raised the target price by 38% to INR 1,100 from INR 800. The brokerage is confident on the management's decisive push on fixing structural gaps by reorienting the asset-liability mix, strengthening governance, and rebuilding leadership, thereby setting the stage for a sustained turnaround, Emkay said.
IndusInd Bank has turned profitable in the December quarer after reporting a loss in the September quarter, and has given guidance for system-in-line credit growth and an exit return on assets of around 1% in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), Emkay said. The return on assets of the company is expected to further improve 1.3-1.5% over FY28-FY29, the brokerage said. Improving margin and asset quality in the sector and favourable sentiment toward large private sector banks further aided IndusInd Bank's stock re-rating, Emkay added.
After a sub-par phase between 2003 and 2008, the bank saw a sharp transformation under then managing director, Romesh Sobti, for nearly a decade. "However, over time, the pursuit of a higher RoA (return on assets) resulted in higher risks, balance-sheet inefficiencies, and weaker governance," the brokerage said. After the infrastructure leasing and financial services debt default crisis in 2018, Sumant Kathpalia took charge as managing director. His tenure was volatile amid systemic shocks, microfinance stress, and then the derivatives' fiasco. This led to senior management exits from the bank, according to Emkay.
In August 2025, Rajiv Anand, a veteran banker from Axis Bank, took charge as the managing director of IndusInd Bank. "The new MD (managing director) is rebuilding a senior leadership team with high integrity, strengthening credit-risk and HR functions, and rightfully integrating the asset-liability vertical in a ‘One IndusInd Bank' framework," Emkay said. The brokerage also said that the new leadership has already started a balance sheet clean-up to reduce asset quality risks over into FY27. Emkay believes this foundational reset will restore balance-sheet discipline and enable a sustainable recovery phase from FY27.
On Thursday, shares of IndusInd Bank ended nearly 2% lower at INR 927.35 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock fell Thursday after rising for four consecutive sessions. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert:Most Asian mkts lower tracking US peers; KOSPI hits fresh highs
MUMBAI--0842 IST--Equity markets in Asia were mostly lower in early trade, barring South Korea's KOSPI, which recorded fresh highs along with FTSE Singapore Straits Times. The fall in the region's markets were in line with its counterparts in the US, which ended lower Thursday. Investors will monitor the escalating tensions between Iran and the US over the former's nuclear programme. Markets in China and Shanghai remained closed, with the markets in Hang Seng opening lower in their first session after the Lunar New Year break.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will take a decision on possible military action against Iran in the next 10 days. "So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not," he said at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington, adding, "Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days."
Japan's headline inflation rate fell to 1.5% in January, its lowest level since March 2022, CNBC reported. This was the first time in 45 months that the inflation reading came in below the target of 2% set by the Bank of Japan. The core inflation rate, exclusive of fresh food prices, eased to 2% from 2.4% in December. This was its lowest level since January 2024 and was in line with forecasts by economists polled by Reuters. The slowdown was led by a decline in fresh food, raw meat, and fresh flower prices along with a sharp decline in petroleum products, CNBC said. The year-on-year rise in consumer prices is expected to fall below 2% in the first half of 2026 on the back of stabilising food prices and government efforts to ease cost of living, the Bank of Japan was reported as saying.
The KOSPI rose to record highs and was not influenced by the global weakness in markets. The rise in the South Korean index was led by high earnings forecasts for artificial intelligence semiconductors and a strong performance by domestic defence and ship-building stocks, The Chosun Daily reported. This was due to a reorganisation of global energy supply chains and increased demand for military expansion due to tensions in West Asia. Shares of Hanwha Aerospace Co. were up over 5% and those of SK Hynix were up over 3%. However, shares of Samsung Electronics Co. were slightly lower.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0817 IST:
|
INDEX |
LEVEL |
CHANGE IN % |
|
KOSPI |
5757.41 |
1.41 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
56727.96 |
(-)1.29 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3797.80 |
(-)1.41 |
|
FTSE Singapore Straits Times |
5006.52 |
0.10 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
9070.30 |
(-)0.17 |
| Hang Seng Index | 26491.05 | (-)0.80 |
(Akshat Saksena)
Equity Alert: Indices seen in range; sentiment weak on US-Iran tensions
MUMBAI--0830 IST--Benchmark indices are expected to be in range after a sharp fall Thursday amid weak investor sentiment. Fears of an escalation in the US-Iran tensions and an overnight decline in the US market and a fall in equity indices across Asia in early trade may fuel further bearish bets. Investors may react strongly to shares of oil and gas companies after the April futures contract of Brent crude oil touched its highest level in nearly seven months at $72.16 per barrel earlier in the day, as oil operations in the Strait of Hormuz faced the risk of disruption.
US President Donald Trump Thursday said he would take a call on deciding on military action against Iran in the next 10 days, BBC reported. Recently, the US has increased its military presence in West Asia, according to media reports. "It's proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran," Trump said at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington DC. "Otherwise bad things happen." At 0729 IST, the April futures contract of Brent crude oil was slightly higher at $71.86 per barrel. The contract has risen 6.5% in the last three days due to escalating tensions in West Asia.
Shares of information technology companies are expected to be under pressure, tracking a decline in their peers in the US. The American Depository Receipts of IT majors Infosys and Wipro fell 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively. Fears of disruptions from AI have led to a decline in IT stocks globally and analysts are split about the long-term view for domestic IT players.
Overnight, indices in the US closed lower with the S&P 500 declining 0.3%, weighed down by a fall in financial services and software stocks. Investors moved out of private credit stocks after alternative assets manager Blue Owl Capital said it's going to tighten investor liquidity, spurring worries about losses in the private loans area, CNBC reported.
In early trade Friday, most equity indices in Asia fell. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.3%, weighed by utilities stocks, CNBC reported. The broader Topix index was 1.4% lower. South Korea's KOSPI rose 1.5%, hitting yet another record high on the back of gains in stocks of defence companies and chipmakers. Equity markets in mainland China were closed on account of the Lunar New Year holiday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which opened after a three-day holiday, dropped almost 1% in early trade.
At 0830 IST, the GIFT Nifty 50 indicates a further fall of the Nifty 50. The February contract of the GIFT Nifty was 14 points lower than the Nifty 50's previous close. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 index closed 1.4% lower at 25454.35 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 82498.14 points, down 1.5%. The 50-stock index is likely to face resistance at 25500 points and may find support at 25200 points, Rupak De, technical analyst at LKP Securities, said.(Eshitva Prakash)
Equity Alert: US mkts end lower; S&P 500, Dow Jones snap 3-day winning streak
MUMBAI--0753 IST--Equity indices in the US ended lower Thursday, with the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average index snapping gains after three sessions. Investors' focus shifted from stocks of financial companies amid the tensions between the US and Iran.
Investors shifted out of private credit stocks after private market and alternative assets manager Blue Owl Capital said it is going to tighten investor liquidity following a sale of loan assets worth $1.4 billion, CNBC reported. This prompted concerns from investors about losses in the private loans area. Shares of the company ended nearly 6% lower, with stocks of Blackstone and Apollo Global Management also falling over 5?ch.
Stocks of software companies also came under pressure over fears of artificial intelligence disrupting their operations. Chief Executive Officer of Mistral AI Arthur Mensch said more than 50% of enterprises' software could be replaced by AI, CNBC reported. Shares of Salesforce, Intuit, and Cadence Design Systems fell 1-3%.
Tensions between Iran and US over the former's nuclear programme is keeping markets on the edge. US President Donald Trump Thursday said he was going to determine whether to launch military strikes on Iran in the next 10 days, CNBC reported. "So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not," he said at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, adding, "Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days."
Walmart fell over 1% during the session despite beating estimates for its December quarter earnings. This comes as the company's new Chief Executive Officer John Furner gave a conservative outlook for the coming year, expecting net sales to rise 3.5-4.5% against expectations of an outlook of 5% by LSEG, Reuters reported. The company also announced a $30 billion share buyback plan.
Data showed the initial jobless claims fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended Saturday, Reuters reported. This was below the forecast of 225,000 claims by economists polled by Reuters. This marked a significant decline since the claims surged to 232,000 at the end of January.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6861.89 |
(-)0.28 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
22682.73 |
(-)0.31 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
49395.16 |
(-)0.54 |
(Akshat Saksena)
US$1 = INR 90.95
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.
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