Equity Alert
Most IT stocks up; Accenture raises sales guidance, rupee dn
This story was originally published at 13:30 IST on 20 March 2026
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Equity Alert: Most IT stocks up; Accenture raises sales guidance, rupee falls
MUMBAI--1305 IST--Most domestic information technology stocks rose Friday after technology giant Accenture raised the lower band of its sales growth guidance for 2025–26 (Sept-Aug) and the rupee fell to a fresh record low against the dollar. The global technology firm now expects the full-year sales growth at 3–5% in local currency compared with the 2–5% guided after the November quarter.
However, commentary by Accenture's management suggests that the demand environment for IT services is stable rather than improving sharply. Clients are still prioritising large, strategic transformation programs while keeping overall spending patterns in 2026 broadly similar to those in 2025, Emkay Global said in a report citing the company.
For the quarter ended February, Accenture had reported revenue of $18.04 billion, up 4% on year in local currency. It was slightly higher than the expectations of $17.80 billion, Dow Jones reported. For the May quarter, Accenture expects sales to rise 1-5% on year to $18.35 billion-$19.00 billion. "Accenture's third-quarter and full-year 2026 business outlook reflect the company's best view of the potential impact of the conflict in the Middle East in the second half of this fiscal year," the company said in a press release. "It does not take into account a significant escalation, or the occurrence of major economic disruption."
Accenture's management also highlighted that clients are implementing foundational programs with ecosystem partners to capture the full opportunity of artificial intelligence. The management said that at least one out of every two advanced AI projects leads to a data project--this essentially means that AI adoption is pulling through adjacent spending in data modernisation, cloud, and security, rather than creating only narrow model-related work.
Accenture's growth in AI and cloud reinforces the view that Indian IT firms will need to accelerate their AI-driven transformation offerings to remain competitive, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in a report. A lot of variables exist with commercial models, AI tools, revenue deflation, and speeding up of large-scale programs. "We think investors will not buy into the management's optimism, but the numbers (especially order book) will be viewed in a positive light, affirming demand recovery despite the difficult global conditions and AI shocks," then brokerage said.
At 1244 IST, the Nifty IT index was slightly off highs and traded at 28981.55 points, with most constituents trading in the green. Defying the trend, shares of LTIMindtree traded 0.4% lower. This fall can be attributed to expectation of a softer revenue for the company amid wage hike impact and issues in hardware procurement due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, an analyst with a domestic brokerage said. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Vodafone Idea rises 6%; co narrows subscriber loss in Jan
MUMBAI--1255 IST--Shares of Vodafone Idea rose nearly 6% to a high of INR 9.44. On Thursday, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed that the company narrowed its loss of mobile users to 411,337 in January from 940,731 users in December. Since November, the telecom major has trimmed the decline in the number of users.
In November, the company lost 1.01 million users, against a loss of 2.08 million users in October. The company saw a decline of 940,731 users in December, marginally lower than the previous month.
Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia Thursday said that the government has no plans to exit or dilute its 49% equity stake in the company. He said the government had provided support to the company when the company asked for relief regarding annual gross revenue dues, Mint reported. He added that it wasn't the duty of the Department of Telecommunications to interfere with the management of the company, in which it was merely a shareholder, the report said.
At 1246 IST, shares of Vodafone Idea were at INR 9.36, up nearly 5% from the previous close. Nearly 360 million shares of the company changed hands, higher than over 275 million shares traded till the same time Thursday. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Ambit Capital ups RIL to 'buy', says W Asia war to aid O2C ops
MUMBAI--1250 IST--Ambit Institutional Equities has upgraded Reliance Industries to 'buy' from 'sell' and also hiked the target price to INR 1,667 from INR 1,490. Shares of the Nifty 50 heavyweight rose over 3% to an intraday high of INR 1,430 even as hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran continued in West Asia. While investors remain cautious on the entire oil and gas sector, upstream oil companies are likely to benefit from the rise in oil prices.
Downside risks to RIL's earnings per share in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) and FY28 are limited, and the stock will continue to outperform the benchmark Nifty 50 going forward, Ambit Capital said. It expects RIL's earnings per share in FY26 at INR 65 as against INR 64 earlier.
The West Asia war is seen as a catalyst for RIL's oil-to-chemicals business beyond FY27, the brokerage said in its research report. Despite a hit to the production of liquefied petroleum gas, pegged at $1 billion-1.2 billion for RIL, its oil-to-chemicals business is still likely to stage a recovery in FY26-FY28.
RIL's 1.5-million-tonne-per-annum refinery off-gas cracker will be advantageous for the company. In a situation where crude oil or naphtha prices soar, the company can shift to ethane and off-gases to produce polymers and if gas prices go up, it can opt for captive naphtha, brokerage Ambit said. Thus, Reliance's refinery off-gas cracker insulates it from supply-linked shocks, and helps it shield its margins.
Further, only 30% of its cracker feed is exposed to crude-derived naphtha from its own refinery. "...RIL's unit economics are widening sharply against a competitor base that is simultaneously capacity-constrained, feedstock-squeezed, and facing a structurally impaired reinvestment pipeline," the brokerage said. Besides this, Ambit estimates an annualised loss of $900 million-$1.2 billion for the company due to an increase in low-value LPG production.
At 1250 IST, shares of RIL traded 2.8% higher at INR 1,423.20 on the National Stock Exchange. For the December quarter, Reliance Industries had, on a consolidated basis, reported a net profit of INR 186.45 billion on a revenue of INR 2.695 trillion. (Ruchira Kagita)
Equity Alert: Nomura cuts Petronet LNG target price 8%, sees drop in volumes
MUMBAI--1200 IST--Nomura has cut the target price for shares of Petronet LNG by 8% to INR 340, while retaining its 'buy' recommendation. The brokerage is of the view that the supply constraints of liquefied petroleum due to the West Asia conflict ate likely to impact the volumes of the company.
Post Iran's attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan field, there is a possibility that the supplies of LNG will be impacted for at least a few months, Noumra said. The facility was on precautionary force majeure since early March, which impacted 40% of Petronet LNG's volume. Moreover, Qatar Energy's chief executive officer, Saad al-Kaabi, said the attacks has caused long-term damage to two of 14 LNG trains. India-bound trains of LNG from Qatar's Ras Laffan were not affected and supplies to India might resume once the force majeure is lifted, Nomura cited the Petronet LNG management as saying. Nomura has trimmed the company's volume estimate by 21% for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) as its expects no supplies from Qatar Energy.
However, the brokerage retains a positive outlook on the company's sales volumes from use-or-pay customers. After an interaction with the management, the brokerage said that use-or-pay volumes were continuing at the normal rate.
Nomura cut its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation estimates for Petronet LNG for FY26 and FY27 by 11% and 23%, respectively. The brokerage said the impact on earnings from lower volumes could be partly offset by a 5% increase in regasification tariffs effective January 2026. Petronet LNG's 5 million tonne per annum capacity expansion is expected to be commissioned by the end of FY26 which may add room for future volume growth once the situation in West Asia returns to normal, Nomura quoted the Petronet LNG management as saying.
The brokerage now sees the company's revenue for FY26 at INR 425.5 billion, with net profit without exceptional items cut to INR 35.7 billion, while FY27 normalised profit is seen at INR 34.9 billion. Correspondingly, FY26 and FY27 earnings per share estimates have been lowered to INR 23.81 and INR 23.24, respectively, implying contraction in earnings growth.
Following the estimate cuts, Nomura has reduced its target price on the stock to INR 340 from INR 370, while maintaining its weighted average cost of capital assumption at 12%. At current levels, Petronet LNG is trading at 11.7 times its FY27 estimated earnings, close to one standard deviation below historical averages, Nomura said.
At 1154 IST, shares of Petronet LNG were nearly 3% lower at INR 262.80. The stock was one of the worst hit in the Nifty 500 index. The stock hit a low of INR 261.70, the lowest level since June 2024. (Prateem Rohanekar)
Equity Alert: Tata Power rises; report says Gujarat OKs PPA for Mundra plant
MUMBAI--1110 IST--Shares of Tata Power Co. rose 5% to INR 418.45, the highest level since December 2024. The shares rose after a media report said that the government of Gujarat has approved a power supply agreement for its Mundra Plant. As per the contract, the company will resume long-term power supply to the state from its 4 gigawatt Mundra plant, Reutres reported, citing a government document.
Earlier, Informist had reported that the Gujarat government had reached an agreement to resolve the issues and are likely to sign a new power purchase agreement for the plant by the end of Mar. 31. The government of Gujarat and Tata Power have been in talks for nearly four years to resolve several issues and the new development will lead to resume the operation of the plant after eights months.
Mundra Plant in Gujarat is very crucial for Tata Power as it accounts for one-fourth of Tata Power's total electricity generation capacity of 16 gigawatts. The company supplies electricity from the plant to Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab as well.
Tata Power primarily used imported coal from Indonesia at the Mundra plant. Issues surfaced when Tata Power began incurring additional costs as Indonesia levied duties on coal exports. The company took a call to pass on the additional costs to the customers, but the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab opposed this as power purchase agreements did not allow pass-through of increases in the cost of imported coal.
In February, the management of the company said that it has concluded its discussions with the Gujarat government to find a resolution and reach an agreement for the plant. "...we will probably start discussing with the other states so that we are in a position to start the operation of the plant, maybe by the end of this month (February)," Praveer Sinha, the company's chief executive officer and managing director, said in a post earnings conference call for the December quarter.
At 1109 IST, shares of Tata Power Co. were trading at INR 409, up nearly 3%. Over nearly 15 million shares of the company changed hands, which is five times higher than the number of shares traded till the same time Thursday. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Indices gain in early trade; heavyweight HDFC Bank down 2%
MUMBAI--1016 IST--Benchmark indices rose in Friday's session, a day after logging their worst single-day fall since 2024. Barring seven stocks, all the stocks in the Nifty 50 index gained. Shares of metal and information technology companies and most banks rose in early hours of trade. The mid-cap and the small-cap indices mirrored the benchmark indices' moves. All the sectoral indices, too, moved in the green.
At 0950 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23241.60, up 240.45 points, or 1.1% and the BSE Sensex was at 75001.44, up 794.20, or 1.1%. Volatility came down only slightly. The India VIX was still near 22. Among the major sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index was the top gainer, up 3% while the Nifty Financial Services gained the least--0.1%. Among the broader market indices, Nifty Midcap indices gained almost 1?ch. Nifty Smallcap indices were higher around 0.5-0.6%.
Heavyweight HDFC Bank declined in the session as investors still remain cautious after Atanu Chakraborty resigned as the director and part-time chairman citing misalignment of his ethics with some practices of the private lender. Though the Reserve Bank of India ruled out concerns of regulatory setbacks, the lack of specifics for the resignation are still unknown, causing some negative sentiment. Investors would seek more clarity regarding the leadership transition at the bank, according to brokerages. Near-term overhang is expected for the stock. Shares of HDFC Bank declined by 2%. In the Nifty Private Bank index, shares of all banks save for HDFC Bank gained.
Besides HDFC Bank and Shriram Finance, stocks of Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and Nestle India also lost in trade, down around 1?ch. Shriram Finance was the top loser in the 50-stock index, down almost 2.5%. Nestle India was the only stock from the Nifty FMCG index to post losses in the session so far.
Meanwhile, positive momentum gripped IT stocks after Accenture reported a healthy set of earnings. The global IT services also revised its lower band of its full-year guidance to 3-5% on year in constant currency terms from 2-5?rlier. Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies were up 1-3%. (Ruchira Kagita)
Equity Alert: CLSA cuts price aim across auto stocks, sees 10-15% more fall
MUMBAI--1015 IST--Global brokerage CLSA has trimmed its target prices for domestic automobile stocks by around 2-13%, as rising oil prices threaten to derail their earnings recovery, NDTV Profit reported, citing the brokerage. The brokerage has lowered valuations across original equipment manufacturers and other automobile companies, reflecting growing caution amid persistent geopolitical disruptions and commodity inflation, the report said.
If oil prices remain higher, the brokerage sees a potential 30–40?rnings correction, in line with past periods of prolonged demand slowdown and cost pressures, the report said. Even in a milder scenario, CLSA sees room for a further 10–15% correction in auto stocks, driven by earnings downgrades linked to fuel-led inflation.
The brokerage has cut the target prices of Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Escorts Kubota, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors PV, Tata Motors CV, and TVS Motor Co., while maintaining its 'outperform' recommendation on these stocks. It also trimmed its target price on Hero MotoCorp while maintaining its 'hold' call on the stock. At 1018 IST, shares of these companies traded 0.1-4.3% higher. Among these stocks, CLSA prefers Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motors, Tata Motors PV and Ashok Leyland as these companies are seen as relatively better placed due to stronger execution, segment positioning, and resilience to demand shocks.
Higher crude prices create a dual challenge for the automobile sector, raising fuel costs for consumers and input costs for manufacturers, CLSA said. This weakens demand while compressing the margins of these companies. Thus, the brokerage has also cut its estimates for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin by 100 basis points across its coverage and lowered average selling price assumptions. It now expects a margin recovery to be pushed to 2027–28 (Apr-Mar). It has reduced its FY27 and FY28 earnings estimates by 3–13?ross OEMs, the report said. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Indices open higher as crude prices ease; banking, IT cos gain
MUMBAI--0953 IST--Benchmark equity indices opened higher Friday as crude oil prices retreated from their recent highs after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington might soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea. The move could make available about 140 million barrels of oil. However, crude oil prices remained above the psychological mark of $100 per barrel. Information technology and banking stocks were the major gainers in indices.
At 0948 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23235.05 points, up 232.90 points or 1%, and the BSE Sensex was at 74941.10 points, up 733.86 points or 1%.
IT companies – Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services – were up 1-3%. Global technology company Accenture has raised the lower band of its sales growth guidance for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to 3% from 2?rlier. The company now expects the full-year sales growth to be 3-5% in local currency compared with 2-5% guided after the November quarter. The clients are finalising their budget for 2026 with similar spending levels from 2025, Nomura said, citing the management of Accenture. The brokerage is of the view that demand conditions are largely the same as the previous year in the industry.
Tata Steel was the top gaining stock in the Nifty 50 index, rising over 4%. Its peer, JSW Steel, rose nearly 3%. State Bank of India, Coal India, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid Corp. of India, Bajaj Auto, and NTPC rose 2–3%. On the other hand, the heavyweight banking stock HDFC Bank and Shriram Finance were the worst hit in the index. They fell nearly 1?ch. HDFC Life Insurance Co.'s shares were down 0.3%.
Shares of oil marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum Corp., Indian Oil Corp., and Bharat Petroleum Corp. rose 3-4%. HPCL was the top gainer among Nifty 200 constituents. Its shares rose amid easing crude oil prices.
In the previous session, the May futures of Brent Crude had hit a high of $119 per barrel after Iran launched targeted attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf region. Prices eased amig signs of de-escalation of the war, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the war in West Asia is likely to end sooner. At 0950 IST, the May futures of Brent Crude Oil was at $106.72 per barrel, down nearly 2% from the previous close.
In contrast, defying the gains in its peers, IT major LTIMindTree was the worst-hit stock in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices. The stock fell over 3%. In the Nifty 200, shares of public sector banks Canara Bank and Union Bank rose nearly 5% and over 4% respectively. GMR Airports rose 5% as well. Happiest Minds Technology was the top gaining stock among the Nifty 500 constituents. Its shares were up over 10%. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Indices may open higher as oil retreats on supply boost hopes
MUMBAI--0810 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open higher as oil prices fell after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea. The move would make available about 140 million barrels of oil, Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business. The sentiment was also lifted after US President Trump said he wouldn't "put troops anywhere" when asked about moving forces toward Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told reporters that Israel is assisting US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports. He said Iran no longer has the capability to enrich uranium or produce ballistic missiles, adding that the war could end sooner than many expect. Trump has also asked Netanyahu not to attack oil and gas fields in Iran, a day after Israel struck facilities linked to Iran's South Pars gas field, reports said.
Bessent also said the US was considering to release more oil from its strategic reserves and Japan could do the same from its own stockpiles. Earlier this month, the US said it would release 172 million barrels of oil from its emergency stockpiles. This comes a day after oil prices surged to an intraday high of over $119 per barrel as some of the world's most critical energy facilities were hit in a fresh wave of attacks in West Asia. However, crude oil prices are still above the $100-per-barrel level. At 0812 IST, the May futures contract of Brent crude traded 2.6% lower at $105.81 per barrel.
US stock futures saw a slight rise in early trade as oil prices eased. Major equity indices in Asia were mixed in early trade, with China's CSI 300 index and South Korea's KOSPI trading 0.6% higher each, while others traded 0.3-3.4% lower.
The March futures contract of GIFT Nifty indicated a positive open for the Nifty 50. At 0759 IST, the contract traded at 23232 points, over 200 points higher than Nifty 50's previous close. "The Nifty (50) index has reached the support zones situated around the 22800–23000 spot levels. While the chart structure remains weak, we expect the index to stabilise or halt near these support levels," Vipin Kumaar, senior technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. However, a decisive break below 22800 points could drag the index toward the 22000–22500 range in the near term, he said. On the flip side, immediate resistance is placed around the 23400–23600 spot levels, he added. (Arya S. Biju)
Equity Alert: Most Asian markets down as US-Iran war raises inflation risk
MUMBAI--0803 IST--Most stock indices in Asia fell as US-Iran hostilities continued in West Asia, raising risks of higher inflation. Central banks across the globe pointed to the risk of inflation due to higher crude oil prices, with some even ready to hike interest rates if necessary.
Iran attacked the world's largest gas plant in Qatar, which has likely wiped out 17% of the country's liquefied natural gas export capacity, Qatar's state minister for energy affairs told Reuters. Indices in Japan were the worst hit, with the Nikkei 225 Day down more than 3%. The index is down more 9% since the US-Iran war started.
Brent crude oil futures came off highs after US President Donald Trump denied plans of using ground troops against Iran, and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was likely to end soon. However, prices remain above $100 per barrel, which is expected to push inflation higher. At 0757 IST, the May contracts of Brent crude oil was trading at $105.58 per barrel, down nearly 3%.
Following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0800 IST:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4601.00 | 0.39 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
25311.91 | (-)0.74 |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
53372.53 | (-)3.38 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
3609.40 | (-)2.91 |
|
KOSPI |
5791.06 | 0.48 |
|
FTSE Singapore Strait Times |
4946.44 | (-)0.43 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8468.20 | (-)0.35 |
(Anshul Choudhary)
Equity Alert: US indices end down Thu amid inflation risk due to US-Iran war
MUMBAI--0740 IST--Stock indices in the US ended slightly lower Thursday amid fears of higher inflation due to a surge in crude oil prices. Hostilities between the US and Iran continue, with reports of blasts in Tehran and Jerusalem, raising risks of a prolonged war.
Central banks across the world pointed to risk of higher inflation due to the hostilities in West Asia, which have led to soaring oil and gas prices. On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also warned about uncertainity due to the war.
Due to the risk of higher inflation, most market participants have given up hopes of rate cuts in the US, at least for this year. The CME FedWatch tool shows nearly a 50% probability of no rate cuts this year. Some have even started expecting a rate hike, with a 20% probability of a 25 basis point increase in interest rates this year.
While the S&P 500 fell as much as 0.7% intraday due to inflation risks, it pared some of the losses after US President Donald Trump said he was not using ground troops in West Asia. Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war with Iran was likely to end "faster than people think". The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower.
Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
S&P 500 |
6606.49 | (-)0.27 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
22090.691 | (-)0.28 |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
46021.43 | (-)0.44 |
(Anshul Choudhary)
US$1 = INR 93.34
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.
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