Equity Alert
Recent correction in RIL stock overdone, says JM Financial
This story was originally published at 12:32 IST on 5 March 2026
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Equity Alert: Recent correction in RIL stock overdone, says JM Financial
MUMBAI--1210 IST--The recent correction in the share price of Reliance Industries is overdone, and it won't be impacted negatively by the recent spike in crude oil and liquefied natural gas prices, JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd. said. The brokerage is of the view that Reliance Industries could see near-term benefits due to a jump in diesel cracks on account of supply disruption risk and a probable rise in petrochemical margins. Petrochemical product prices are likely to rise along with crude oil prices, JM Financial added.
The company is expected to benefit from a rise in diesel cracks to $35–$42 per barrel from $20 per barrel earlier over the last two days. The diesel yield for Reliance Industries is at a high of 40–50%, the brokerage said. If the diesel crack sustains at $30 per barrel, it could raise the gross refining margin of the company by $4-$5 per barrel. Every $1 per barrel rise in the gross refinery margin of Reliance Industries, on an annualised basis, results an increase in its annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation by INR 45 billion, JM Financial said. "However, we agree this abnormally high diesel crack is not sustainable; also, there could be a risk of the government taking it away via windfall tax," the brokerage added.
The company is also expected to benefit from a probable rise in its petrochemical margin as petrochemical product prices are likely to rise along with crude oil prices, JM Financial said. "... while its petchem (petrochemical) feedstock cost is unlikely to rise much as it has limited dependency on crude-linked naphtha," the brokerage added. Reliance Industries' petrochemical feedstock comprises 25% of ethane and 25% of crude-linked naphtha. The remaining 50% is off gases, the brokerage added.
The correction in the heavyweight stock seems largely due to frequent selling by foreign institutional investors, JM Financial said. Reliance Industries is a large liquid holding for FIIs. As of December, FII holdings in the company were at 21.1%, the brokerage said. At current market price valuations, Reliance Industries is trading near the bear case valuation of the brokerage at INR 1,275. The brokerage cut the retail EBITDA estimate 15% due to near-term weakness in the retail business on account of a ramp-up in the quick commerce business.
The brokerage maintained a 'buy' call on the stock with an unchanged target price of INR 1,730, on a comfortable valuation after the recent correction. The brokerage said that the share price adequately factors concerns around near-term weakness in retail business EBITDA growth on account of a ramp-up in the quick commerce business. The initial public offering of Jio is the key trigger for the company in the next few months, JM Financial said.
At 1201 IST, shares of the company were nearly 3% higher at INR 1,383.20. Over 10 million shares of the company changed hands, which is lower than over 17 million shares traded till the same time Wednesday. The stock rose after falling for three consecutive sessions. The stock shed over 4% during the period. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Mkt volatile on US-Iran tensions; metal cos help Nifty 50 rise
MUMBAI--1151 IST--Trading was volatile in the domestic market amid hostilities between the US and Iran, which has raised the risk of crude oil prices remaining higher for a prolonged period. The Nifty 50 swung in a wide range of around 150 points, falling to an intraday low of 24530 points and then rising to a high of around 24700 points.
At 1151 IST, the Nifty 50 index was at 24559.65 points, up 0.3%. Analysts had hoped for the index to rise as it had already fallen nearly 3% since the US and Israel first attacked Iran over the weekend. Despite the rise, the index is still down more than 2% compared to Friday's close.
Metal companies were the top gainers, with the Nifty Metal index up more than 3%. An analyst covering the sector said the rise came after a sharp fall of nearly 4% on Friday and not because of China announcing its growth estimates for 2026. China set a GDP growth target of 4.5-5% for 2026, which is lower than the target of "around 5%" for the last three years, which the analyst said was actually a negative for Indian metal companies exporting products to China. Shares of National Aluminium Co., Hindalco Industries, and Vedanta were the top gainers, up 4-7%.
Some energy and defence stocks also rose, helping the Nifty 50 index to cross 24600 level. Shares of Reliance Industries rose nearly 3% to INR 1,383 after investors likely found value in the stock as it had fallen more than 4% over the previous three sessions. "...believe the recent correction in RIL's share price is overdone (4% this week and 8% in the last 1 month after rise in Middle East tensions) as it won't be negatively impacted by the recent spike in crude and LNG prices," JM Financial Institutional Securities said in a note, while maintaining a 'buy' rating on the stock and a target price of INR 1,730 per share. The brokerage said RIL could actually benefit due to higher diesel cracks and better petrochemical margin.
On the downside, shares of several information technology fell on risks to business from artificial intelligence. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Consultancy Services were down 1.5-2%, pulling down the Nifty IT index more than 1%. (Anshul Choudhary)
Equity Alert: Kotak trims fair values on major IT cos by 15-28%
MUMBAI--1115 IST--Kotak Institutional Equities has cut its fair value on major domestic information technology players by 15-28?king in risks from a possible higher artificial intelligence-led disruption and weak transmission of growth in technology spending to services leading to moderate industry growth in the next several years, it said in a report dated Wednesday.
The brokerage had reduced its fair value on Coforge by 28% to INR 1,620 while maintaining its 'buy' recommendation on the stock. It has cut the target price of Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys by 16% and 20% to INR 3,090 and INR 1,530, respectively, while maintaining its 'buy' call on both the stocks. The fair values for HCL Technologies and LTIMindtree were cut 15% and 22%, respectively, while maintaining a 'reduce' call on these stocks. Kotak trimmed the fair value on Wipro by 21%, Tech Mahindra by 19%, Mphasis by 14% and Hexaware Technologies by 17%. The brokerage also upgraded Persistent Systems to 'reduce' from 'sell' taking into account the reduced downside to fair value of INR 4,615.
At 1113 IST, shares of Coforge, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis, Persistent Systems, and Hexaware Technologies traded 0.5-2.1% lower.
The brokerage now expects a revenue deflation of 3-3.5% for IT services in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), compared to the 2-3?flation expected earlier. "The faster pace of innovation, focus on automating software development by key AI labs, high rate of adoption by the developer community and AI-first mindset of enterprises makes the upper end of the deflation range more likely," Kotak said. The higher deflation assumptions also drive around 1-2% cut in the revenue estimates of IT companies for FY27-FY28, the brokerage added. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Omnitech Engineering lists at INR 205, 10?low issue price
MUMBAI--1055 IST--Omnitech Engineering listed at INR 205 Thursday, a discount of nearly 10% to its issue price of INR 227, on BSE. On the National Stock Exchange, the stock was listed at INR 202, which is an 11% discount to its issue price. At 1035 IST, shares of the company traded over 4% lower at INR 217.11 on the NSE. Nearly 5 million shares of the company have changed so far on the NSE.
The initial public offering of the company, which closed Friday, was fully subscribed, with the company receiving a bid for 21.63 million shares against 18.91 million shares on offer. Omnitech Engineering raised a total amount of INR 1.75 billion from anchor investors on Feb. 24.
Omnitech Engineering manufactures high-precision engineering components and supplies to global customers across industries such as energy, motion control and automation, industrial systems, and metal forming. For the six months ended September, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 277.79 million on a revenue of INR 2.28 billion. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Indices rise further as metal, oil cos extend gains; RIL up 3%
MUMBAI--1020 IST--Benchmark indices rose further as metal and oil companies extended gains. All the broader market indices rose as well. Meanwhile, information technology shares were the major laggards in the indices. A 3% rise in Reliance Industries also supported the Nifty 50 index.
At 1018 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24604.10 points, up 123.60 points, or 0.5%, and the BSE Sensex was at 79434.57 points, up 318.38 points, or 0.4%.
Hindalco Industries was the top gainer among the Nifty 50 constituents, up nearly 6%. Shares of state-owned energy companies Coal India, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and NTPC rose 3–4%. Pharmaceutical companies Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose around 2?ch. JSW Steel and its peer Tata Steel rose nearly 2?ch as well.
HDFC Life Insurance Co. was the worst hit stock in the index. The stock fell over 1%. Information technology companies HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Wipro fell around 1?ch. Fast moving consumer goods companies Nestle India, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products fell around 1?ch as well.
All the broader market indices were in the green. The Nifty Smallcap 50 rose 1% and was supported by the gain in the stock of Navin Fluorine International. The stock rose nearly 5%. The Nifty Midcap rose 1% as well. The index was supported by the gains in the stock of Bharat Forge, which rose nearly 3%.
Barring Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT, all the other sectoral indices traded higher. The Nifty Metal rose 3% and was the best performing sectoral index. Most of the constituents in the index were trading higher. Shares of National Aluminium Co., Hindalco Industries, Vedanta, and Welspun Corp rose 3-8% and aided Nifty Metal. Nifty Oil & Gas was up 2%. Shares of Indraprastha Gas, Indian Oil Corp., Aegis Logistics, Hindustan Petroleum Corp., and Petronet LNG rose 2-3%.
National Aluminium Co. was the top gainer in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. The stock rose nearly 8%. Shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders rose nearly 5% to be among the top gainers in the Nifty 200. Coromandel International was the worst hit stock in the index. The stock declined over 3%. Meanwhile, Gujarat Gas fell over 6% to be the worst hit stock in the Nifty 500. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Indices open higher on positive global cues; RIL up 2%
MUMBAI--0940 IST--Benchmark indices opened higher Thursday tracking its global peers. Indices on the Wall Street ended higher Wednesday on the back og gains in technology shares. Following its US peers, Asian indices opened higher Thursday. News reports said that Iran has signalled willingness for negotiations to end the ongoing hostilities with the US in West Asia. The gains in the Nifty 50 index were supported the most by Reliance Industries' stock, which rose 2%.
At 0935 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24564.65 points, up 84.15 points or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 79345.76 points, up 229.57 points or 0.3%.
Coal India was the top gaining stock in the index. The stock rose nearly 3%. Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 2%. Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and NTPC were nearly 2% higher as well. Automobile companies Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Maruti Suzuki India, and Mahindra & Mahindra rose around 1?ch. Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Hindalco Industries, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and its peer, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, rose over 1?ch.
In contrast, Max Healthcare Institute was the worst-hit stock in the index, falling over 1%. Shares of banking heavyweight ICICI Bank were down nearly 1%. Fast-moving consumer goods companies Nestle India and ITC fell nearly 1?ch. Information technology shares of Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services were down 0.5?ch.
National Aluminium Co. rose over 3% to be the top gainer on the Nifty 200. Shares of Bharat Forge rose nearly 3%. The stock rose after the company said it will raise up to INR 8 billion through an unsecured rupee-term loan. Max Healthcare Institute was the worst-hit stock in the Nifty 200.
In the Nifty 500 index, Force Motors was the top gainer, up 6%. Meanwhile, Gujarat Gas was the worst performer on the Nifty 500. The stock was down 6%. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Indices may open higher tracking gains in US, Asian stocks
MUMBAI--0835 IST--Domestic benchmark indices are expected to open higher, tracking gains on Wall Street as well as their Asian peers, which rose after jitters around hostilities in West Asia eased after a New York Times report said that Iran had signalled openness to talks with the US Central Intelligence Agency to end the war.
Additionally, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Wednesday said the Donald Trump administration will provide support to oil tankers transiting the Persian Gulf, adding that it will announce more measures in the coming days, CNBC reported. US President Trump Tuesday had also promised naval escorts for oil traffic in the Persian Gulf if necessary.
Overnight, key Wall Street indices closed higher buoyed by gains in technology and semiconductor stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5% higher Tuesday, ending a three-day losing run since the US-Iran hostilities began. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed around 1% higher each. Most Asian indices rose in early trade Thursday, staging a sharp rebound from the fall seen in the previous few sessions, as sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street and easing concerns over surging oil prices. South Korea's KOSPI jumped over 12% in early trade, recovering most of the 19% it shed over the past three sessions.
However, oil prices continued to rise amid lack of clarity on the possible duration of the armed conflict in West Asia. At 0803 IST, the May crude oil futures contract was at $83.54 per barrel, up nearly 3% from Wednesday's close. The contracts have risen over 7% since Monday.
The Gift Nifty contracts indicate Nifty 50 will open slightly higher on Thursday. At 0805 IST, the March contract of the Nifty 50 on the NSE International Exchange traded at 24689.50 points, up over 200 points from Wednesday's closing price. If the Nifty 50 sustains above the 24500 support level, it could witness a pullback towards 24800 level in the near term, Sundar Khewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Group, said. However, if the 50-stock index fails to hold the 24500 support and slips below this level, the index may witness renewed selling pressure, which could drag it down to the 24000 points level, he added. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Asian markets recover as oil prices, US-Iran tensions moderate
MUMBAI--0830 IST--Asian indices recovered after falling significantly in the previous few sessions, with the South Korea's KOSPI leading the gains after its worst-ever performance on Wednesday. US officals' comments to support trade through the Strait of Hormuz and better-than-expected jobs data in the US supported the recovery of Asian indices.
South Korean KOSPI jumped 12?ter it recorded its worst single-day decline Wednesday, Reuters reported. The index was supported by heavyweights such as SK Hynix and Samsung, which rose over 14-15%. On Wednesday, the index had fallen 12%.
The recovery in the KOSPI was primarily due to a reversal of leveraged selling and had nothing to do with fundamentals, Daniel Yoo, a global market strategist at Yuanta Securities, told CNBC. No major change in oil prices amid the ongoing hostilities between the US and Iran is being seen as a positive. Assurance from the US that it will give Navy support to facilitate trade through the Strait of Hormuz also helped improve sentiment across Asian markets.
China set its gross domestic product growth target for 2026 at 4.5-5% as Beijing navigates through deflationary pressures and trade tensions with the US. This is the lowest on-record target since the 1990s, according to CNBC. China's budget deficit target was left unchanged from last year at around 4% of the GDP, CNBC reported. The National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, will hold its annual meet this week.
Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0830 IST:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4670.88 |
1.48 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
25719.70 |
1.86 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
55713.27 |
2.71 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3726.07 |
2.54 |
|
KOSPI |
5625.48 |
10.44 |
|
FTSE Singapore Strait Times |
4852.42 |
0.82 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8917 |
0.18 |
(Shruti)
Equity Alert: US indices recover Wed as fears of trade disruption moderate
MUMBAI--0743 IST--US indices rose Wednesday after falling sharply a day before on concerns of higher energy cost due to US-Iran hostilities. All three major indices rose as volatility in oil prices subsided after the US assured Navy support for ships to go through the Strait of Hormuz, even as investors remain cautious about the developments in West Asia.
Further, Iran Ministry of Intelligence signalled it was willing to talk to the US Central Intelligence Agency in order to end the war, Reuters reported quoting the New York Times. The offer was made through an unnamed country's spy agency. However, Iranian intelligence ministry rejected the report.
Wednesday US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the US would support the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf. His comments followed those of the US President Donald Trump who said on Tueday that the US would insure and escort oil tankers that need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement came as oil prices soared leading to fears of high inflation in the US. Wednesday, Brent crude oil May futures settled flat at $81.40 per barrel. At 0736 IST, oil futures were up 2% at $83.19 per barrel.
The indices also rose after the ADP reported that the US private sector added 63,000 jobs in February, exceeding the estimate of 50,000 by economists. "The concerns of a softening labor market at least maybe turning into a deteriorating labor market (are) being kind of challenged right now," Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise told CNBC.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6869.5 |
0.78 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
22807.48 |
1.29 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
48739.41 |
0.49 |
(Shruti Nair)
US$1 = INR 91.61
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Vandana Hingorani
All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.
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