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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 likely to see selling pressure at higher levels  

MUMBAI--1659 IST--The Nifty 50 is expected to see selling pressure at higher levels Friday and the overall market trend remains negative, despite Thursday's rise. Analysts are of the view that uncertainty still persists in the market amid ongoing hostilities between the US and Iran in West Asia. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 ended at 24765.90 points, up 285.40 points or 1.2%.   

The support for the Nifty 50 is estimated at 24300 points and the resistance is expected at 24850 points, according to Jetin Gedia, vice president, technical research at Teji Mandi Technologies. Gedia said the trend will remain negative until Nifty sustains above the resistance levels of 24850 points, which is the 40-hour moving average. The markets reacted to the positive news that came in but still there is no clarity on the ongoing US and Iran conflict, Gedia said.  

The Nifty 50 rose intraday after media reports said Iran is ready to abandon its nuclear programme if the US gives a satisfactory alternative offer. Later, Iran clarified that this proposal was made before the attack by the US and Israel in the weekend. "Going ahead, markets will closely monitor developments in West Asia, movements in global energy prices and broader global risk sentiment for further directional cues," Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a note.

Investors' sentiment improved Thursday after comments from the US deputy secretary suggested that an India-US trade deal may be nearing completion, according to Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments. "Value buying also emerged in sectors such as metals, consumer durables, realty, and auto following recent corrections, while IT (information technology) stocks resumed their decline partly due to the strengthening of the Indian rupee," he said in a note.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 March ends at premium of 66.10 points to spot index

MUMBAI--1600 IST--The March futures contract of the Nifty 50 closed at a premium of 66.10 points to the spot index Thursday. Open interest in the contract rose 0.5% to 15.77 million, according to provisional data.

--Nifty 50 closed at 24765.90 points, up 285.40 points or 1.2% vs Wednesday

--Nifty 50 March closed at 24832.00 points, up 247.30 points or 1% vs Wednesday

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum change in open interest:

Call: 26000, Put: 24600

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum open interest:

Call: 26000, Put: 22750

(Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Markets end higher on possitive global cues; metal shares gain

MUMBAI--1542 IST--Domestic benchmark indices ended sharply higher after closing lower in the three previous sessions. Indices gained further after media reports said that Iran is ready to abandon its nuclear programme if the US gives a satisfactory alternative offer. Later, Iran clarified that this proposal was made before the attack by the US and Israel. Metal, defence, and infrastructure companies were the major gainers. The Nifty 50 was supported by the heavyweight stock Reliance Industries and shares of Larsen & Toubro. Reliance Industries' shares ended over 3% higher. 

The Nifty 50 ended at 24765.90 points, up 285.40 points or 1.2% and the BSE Sensex closed at 80015.90 points, up 899.71 points or 1.1%. More than half of the constituents in the Nifty 50 ended higher.      

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, ending 4.5% higher. Hindalco Industries and Larsen & Toubro ended nearly 4% higher each. Shares of Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Coal India, Shriram Finance, JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, and Power Grid Corp. of India ended around 3% higher each.

Information technology companies Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies were the worst hit stocks in Nifty 50, ending around 1% down each. The heavyweight banking stock ICICI Bank was also down about 1%. Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Eternal, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. ended 0.2–0.4% lower. 

All the broader market indices ended in green. The Nifty Smallcap 50 ended nearly 2% higher. The index was supported by gains in Navin Fluorine International, which ended 7% higher. The Nifty Smallcap 100 ended 2% higher, supported by shares of Bandhan Bank, which closed over 4% higher. The Nifty Smallcap 250 and the Nifty Midcap indices ended over 1% higher each.

Barring Nifty IT, all the other sectoral indices ended higher. Nifty Defence was the best performing sectoral index, with most of the constitunets ending higher. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Data Patterns (India), Garden Reach Shipbuilding, and Cochin Shipyard ended 4–9% higher. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders was the top gainer in Nifty 200. 

Shares of metal companies Hindalco Industries and National Aluminium Co. ended 4–6% higher. These companies traded higher as aluminium prices hit new fresh record highs on the Multi Commodity Exchange. The prices rose as escalating hostilities in West Asia have raised concerns about supply disruptions. 

KPIT Technologies, Oil India, and Siemens Energy India were the worst hit stocks in the Nifty 200, ending nearly 3% lower each. In the Nifty 500, LT Foods was the top gainer, ending 17% higher, while Netweb Technologies India was the worst hit, ending 6% lower.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Indices in Europe recover slightly after a lower start

MUMBAI--1538 IST--Stock indices in Europe recovered slightly after opening lower. Markets in the region started in the red due to concerns about further escalation in the ongoing US-Iran conflict. Moderate earnings by a few companies also weighed on sentiment before markets opened. Media reports said Iran had conditionally offered an end to its nuclear programme, and to the war in West Asia. However, these media outlets later clarified, citing Iranian officials, that this statement was made during an earlier peace gathering between the two nations.

Except the UK's FTSE 100, which saw slight gains, all other major indices opened in the red despite a rise in US indices. Subsequently, however, all major indices recorded moderate gains of under 1%. On opening, the pan-European index, the Stoxx 600, was down 0.4%. Spain's IBEX opened 0.4% lower and will be watched closely as US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain for refusing to permit US forces to use Spanish bases to conduct strikes on Iran, CNBC reported.

Despite the moderate gains in the indices, market participants in Europe remain cautious of surging oil prices due to the ongoing US-Iran hostilities. A steep jump in oil prices due to the escalating war in West Asia remains a source of concern for European companies, which had already been reeling under pressure from disruption in gas supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1537 IST:

(Shruti Nair)

Equity Alert: Asian indices end higher on hopes of US-Iran tensions easing

MUMBAI--1454 IST--Asian indices came off the day's highs as the May futures contract of Brent crude oil continued to hover around $84 per barrel but still closed in positive territory. South Korea's KOSPI led the recovery after having recorded its largest single-day fall Wednesday due to the jump in global oil prices. Encouraging jobs data in the US private sector and China's annual "two sessions" meeting helped the indices to rise.

The KOSPI closed at 5583.90 points, up nearly 10% after falling 12% Wednesday. The sharp rebound triggered the circuit break for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ earlier in the day, marking the third circuit break on the higher side for the KOSPI this year, The Chosun Daily reported.

Korea's index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ended around 11% higher each after falling 10% Wednesday. The significant recovery in Korean equities is due to the overnight rise in the US markets led by an upward trend in technology stocks, notably Tesla and Amazon, which rose 3-4%, according to the daily. US equities rose as hostilities between the US and Iran were believed to have cooled from earlier.

Among other Asian indices, Taiwan's TAIEX ended nearly 3% higher while both the Nikkei 225 Day and TOPIX ended nearly 2% higher. The Nikkei and TOPIX were up around 3% in the morning. The S&P/ASX 200 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index were only slightly up.

China's CSI 300 Index closed nearly 1% higher after closing in the red for the previous two sessions, during which it fell nearly 3%. China set its GDP target for 2026 at 4.5-5% during the opening session of the National People's Congress, CNBC reported. The target is the lowest since the 1990s. Some analysts view the lower GDP target as a shift in priorities towards quality growth with a focus on technological innovation and independence, South China Morning Post reported.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1357 IST:

(Shruti Nair)

Equity Alert: Mkts rise further as select cos extend gains; defence shrs up

MUMBAI--1329 IST--Benchmark indices rose further as select stocks extended gains from the earlier session. Metal and energy companies continued to be top gainers. Defence companies traded higher as well. The Nifty 50 continued to gain support from the index heavyweight Reliance Industries, whose shares rose nearly 3%. Shares of Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose further and were up 1-4%.

At 1321 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24629.80, up 149.30 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 79508.44 points, up 392.25 points or 0.5%. 

Hindalco Industries continued to be the top gainer in the 50-stock index. The stock rose over 6% and hit a one-month high of INR 983.50. Shares of Coal India, NTPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Shriram Finance, and Power Grid Corp. of India rose 2-5%. On the other hand, Eternal was the biggest underperforming stock in the index, down nearly 2%. Information technology companies HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Infosys were down 1-2%. Among individual stocks, Adani Enterprises, HDFC Life Insurance Co., State Bank of India, and Hindustan Unilever were down 1-2% as well.    

Nifty India Defence rose over 3% to be the top gainer among sectoral indices. Barring Dynamatic Technologies, all other companies traded higher in the 18-stock index. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilding, Data Patterns (India), Cochin Shipyard, and Bharat Electronics were up 5–9%. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Cochin Shipyard were the top gainers in the Nifty 200 index.     

Coromandel International continued to be the worst hit stock in the Nifty 200. The stock fell over 3% and also hit a six-month low of INR 2,025.10. Shares of Siemens Energy India and Muthoot Finance fell nearly 3% each. In the Nifty 500, EIH was the top gaining stock, up nearly 11%. In contrast, Aegis Vopak Terminals was the worst-hit stock in the index, down over 6%.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Adani Ports, JSW Infra up as JP Morgan 'overweight' on stocks

MUMBAI--1328 IST--Shares of port operators Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and JSW Infrastructure rose Thursday after global brokerage JP Morgan initiated coverage on both the stocks with an 'overweight' recommendation. These companies are well positioned to capitalise on structural growth opportunities in India's ports and logistics sector with strong profitability, JP Morgan was quoted as saying by NDTV Profit. 

Shares of Adani Ports rose over 2% to an intraday high of INR 1,466.90 and those of JSW Infrastructure rose as much as 5% to an intraday high of INR 259. JP Morgan has set a target price of INR 1,944 for Adani Ports, indicating a near 36% upside from Wednesday's closing price. It has assigned a target price of INR 310 for JSW Infra, indicating a near 26% upside from Wednesday's close.

The country's ports and logistics sector offers structural growth opportunities, underpinned by high entry barriers, industry consolidation, and strong pricing power for incumbents, the brokerage said. Capacity expansion, rising trade, and efficiency gains are additional kickers, it added. With its high market share, rapid ramp-up in logistics business and international foray, Adani Ports is set to grow its revenue by 17%, operating income by 15% and net profit by 16% on a compounded annual basis over the next three years, JP Morgan said.

Supported by strong execution capabilities of the JSW group and business relationships with group companies, JSW Infra is on track to more than double capacity to 400 million tonnes per annum by 2029-30 (Apr-Mar), JP Morgan said. It expects the company's revenue; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; and net profit to grow 38%, 30% and 21%, respectively, on a compounded annual basis, over the next three years.  (Arya S. Biju)

Equity Alert: Gujarat Gas dn 7%; co's gas supply hit by West Asia hostilities

MUMBAI--1235 IST--Shares of Gujarat Gas fell nearly 7%, a day after the company warned of supply constraints due to the ongoing hostilities in West Asia, which has disrupted the availability of regasified liquefied natural gas. The company Thursday issued force majeure notices to its industrial customers, saying that the daily contracted quantity would be restricted from Friday. These notices are issued when the contractual counterparty is unable to adhere to the conditions of the signed contract due to unforeseen circumstances.

The force majeure was issued in view of the ongoing conflict in West Asia impacting gas supply, which has severely constrained the availability of regasified liquified natural gas, the company said. Further, "Acts of War" are not covered under the insurance taken by the gas company and the likely impact of the force majeure currently ongoing cannot be estimated at present, the company said. 

Shares of Gujarat State Petronet were down nearly 2%. Other gas companies such as Adani Total Gas, Indraprastha Gas, GAIL (India), and Mahanagar Gas were up slightly after falling for a few sessions on concerns of supply disruption from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict in West Asia has continued to escalate, with Iran and the US-Israel trading blows throughout the week. Over 40% of India's crude imports and 55% of liquified natural gas imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz, brokerage JM Financial Institutional Equities said in a report.

JM Financial flagged that India does not have ample gas inventory in case the war in West Asia continues to delay shipments. However, India's domestic oil inventory is sufficient to meet demand for 3-3.5 months if crude imports via the Strait are reduced to zero, the brokerage said. India's domestic oil demand is around 5.2 million barrels per day and Indian refineries process around 5.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, as per the brokerage's calculations.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Most metal cos up; Hindalco jumps 7% as aluminium prices surge

MUMBAI--1215 IST--Shares of most metal companies rose, led by Hindalco Industries, National Aluminium Co., and Vedanta, which jumped 5–8% as aluminium prices rose due to supply disruptions in West Asia. Most metal stocks rose after seeing sharp selling pressure in the previous session. The Nifty Metal index rose as much as 3.6% intraday, recovering from the nearly 4% decline in the previous session as escalating tensions in West Asia rattled the global commodity markets and hit the risk sentiment.

At 1134 IST, the March futures contract of aluminium on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India traded at INR 334.8 per kg, up 1.4% from its previous close. Soon after, it hit a fresh record high of INR 336.35 per kg. The rally in metal stocks is despite China, the largest producer and consumer of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, lowering its gross domestic product growth target for 2026 to 4.5-5% compared to 5% achieved in 2025. A lower GDP target for 2026 reflects a level of tolerance for weaker growth as China's economy contends with muted household spending, dampened investment and weak real-estate market, Dow Jones Newswires reported. 

At 1157 IST, the Nifty Metal index was up nearly 2% at 11998.60, with most of its constituents trading in the green, up 0.3-5.3%. Shares of Hindalco Industries and National Aluminium Co. traded over 5% higher each and were the top gainers in the sectoral index. On the other hand, shares of Jindal Stainless, Lloyds Metals and Energy, and Adani Enterprises traded 0.2-1.7% lower and were the only constituents in the sectoral index that traded in the red.  (Arya S. Biju)

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% baking 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% deflation 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% below 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% each. JSW Steel and its peer Tata Steel rose nearly 2% each 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% each. Fast moving consumer goods companies Nestle India, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products fell around 1% each 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% each. Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Hindalco Industries, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and its peer, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, rose over 1% each. 

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% each. Information technology shares of Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services were down 0.5% each.   

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% after 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:

(Shruti Nair)

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:  

(Shruti Nair)

US$1 = INR 91.60

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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