Equity Alert
HPCL down as sharp losses seen in Q1, brokerages cautious
This story was originally published at 11:29 IST on 14 May 2026
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Equity Alert: HPCL down as sharp losses seen in Q1, brokerages cautious
MUMBAI--1100 IST--Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. fell nearly 5% to an intraday low of INR 370.95 on the NSE after the company said it sees losses in its fuel and liquefied petroleum gas segments in the June quarter due to supply disruptions from the war in West Asia. In a post-earnings call with analysts, the management said its inventory will last till the middle of July but high crude oil prices, weak product cost, and increased volatility will cause losses. Brokerages remain cautious about the company's growth potential in the near term.
For standalone refiners, fuel retailing losses are expected to be partly offset by a windfall tax on diesel exports, Nomura said. However, oil marketing companies will post losses as higher fuel prices will not be fully passed on to the end-consumers. In 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), HPCL is seen reporting a loss of INR 23 billion in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, Nomura estimated in its report, and the company's LPG under-recovery is pegged at INR 138 per cylinder.
In the June quarter, sharper losses are expected in the company's fuel and LPG marketing segments, Nomura said. A loss of INR 27 a litre is seen for diesel and petrol while under-recoveries in LPG are seen surging significantly to INR 680 per cylinder. The brokerage downgraded HPCL to "neutral" from "buy" and trimmed its target price to INR 440 from INR 550.
Petrochemical integration will be gradual as the company will seek to prioritise its LPG output, Nuvama Wealth Management noted in its report, and weak marketing margins due to high crude oil prices are seen leading to losses in the June quarter. However, discounts in refinery transfer prices on diesel and aviation turbine fuel will offset some losses, Nuvama said. The brokerage also said the company's current risk-reward ratio was unfavourable. Nuvama cut its EBITDA estimates for HPCL by 17% for FY27 and 15% for FY28 to account for lower marketing margins while retaining its "reduce" call on the stock. The firm revised its target price downward to INR 372 from INR 400.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.'s profit for the March quarter rose 46% on year at INR 49.02 billion. The figure beat the Street's estimate by a wide margin due to a sharp rise in its gross refining margins. The company's revenue for the quarter was INR 1.24 trillion, up 4.5% on year. At 1058 IST, shares of the oil marketing company were down over 4% at INR 373.15 on the NSE. (Ruchira Kagita)
Equity Alert: Indices off highs; metal, pharma cos gain, IT main laggards
MUMBAI--1055 IST--Benchmark indices pared some of their early session gains but remained in the green. Stocks of metal, pharmaceutical, and energy companies supported the Nifty 50 index, while information technology and automobile stocks were major drag on the index.
At 1045 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23475.95, up 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 74661.27, up 0.1%. Shares of Cipla were the top gainers in the Nifty 50, up 7%. The stock hit its 3-month high at INR 1,432.10 and was the top performer in the Nifty 200 index as well. Shares of metal companies Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel rose around 2?ch and also supported the gains in the 50-stock index. Information technology stocks continued to be the main laggards in the Nifty 50, with shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies shedding 1.7–2.4%.
In the broader market, while the mid-cap indices largely mirrored the gains in the benchmark, the small-cap indices fell 0.3–0.5%. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma indices were among the highest gainers, climbing around 1.6?ch, while the Nifty IT index was the worst hit, down nearly 2%.
In the Nifty 200 index, shares of Zydus Lifesciences were among the top performers after the company said it would consider a buyback of shares at its board meeting next week. The stock traded roughly 5% higher and hit its six-month high during the session. Shares of Oil India hit their record high at INR 531 and traded over 2% higher after the company's net profit for the March quarter beat the Street's view by a wide margin. For the March quarter, the company reported a net profit of INR 17.90 billion on revenue of INR 59.61 billion.
Shares of Tube Investments and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. were the main laggards in the Nifty 200 index, shedding around 4?ch after both the companies released their March quarter earnings on Wednesday. Tube Investments reported a 65% on-year fall in its bottom line for the March quarter to INR 2.84 billion. On other hand, HPCL reported a sharp jump in its net profit for the March quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate. However, the company's management warned of losses in the June quarter due to higher crude prices.
In the Nifty 500, shares of state-owned miner NLC India rose nearly 15% and were the top gainers. The stock hit its all-time high after the company's bottom line for the March quarter rose nearly threefold on year to INR 13.92 billion. On other hand, shares of Kaynes Technology were the worst performers in the Nifty 500 index, trading 17% lower. Earlier, the stock breached its 15% lower circuit at INR 3,551.60 after the company's net profit for the March quarter fell 21.5% on year to INR 912.23 million. (Shruti Nair)
Equity Alert: Cipla up 8%; most brokerages positive on co post Q4 results
MUMBAI--1050 IST--Pharmaceutical major Cipla rose nearly 8% to a three-month high of INR 1,432.10 Thursday. Brokerages took a bullish stance on the company post the release of March quarter results and management's comments. The company's earnings for the quarter were weak, with Cipla's consolidated net profit for Jan-Mar missing the Street's expectations.
For the March quarter, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 5.55 billion, down nearly 55% on year. This was sharply below the Street's view of INR 7.11 billion. The revenue of the company fell nearly 3% on year to INR 65.41 billion. The top line also fell short of the analysts' estimate of INR 66.50 billion.
The management of the company said it expects earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin to keep improving every quarter in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). The company also expects stronger profitability in the second half of the year as well, mainly driven by key US launches.
"Cipla's new opportunities gOfev and gVentolin provide comfort in H1FY27, while other peptide/inhalers impart comfort in H2FY27," Nuvama Institutional Equities said. The brokerage has upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'reduce' and raised the target price 21% to INR 1,550. Nuvama said it upgraded Cipla due to its margin and capital expenditure commentary and upcoming complex and high-value launches.
Voicing the same, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said "... while key respiratory launches including gVentolin and other differentiated assets are expected to drive recovery in the US business from 2HFY27 onwards." The brokerage expect the company's net profit to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.9% over FY26-FY28. Revilmind revenue is expected to be $50 million in FY27, Nirmal Bang said.
"We remain structurally positive on Cipla given its strong India franchise and differentiated respiratory pipeline in the US," Nirmal Bang said. However, factoring in higher research and development intensity, continued investments in respiratory and complex generics capabilities along with a relatively gradual ramp-up in key US launches, the brokerage has trimmed target price 9.5% to INR 1,404 and downgraded the stock to 'hold'.
At 1037 IST, shares of Cipla traded nearly 7% higher at INR 1,417. Over 4 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, so far, which is over six times higher than the number of shares traded till the same time Wednesday. The stock was the top gainer among the Nifty 50 constituents. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: IT cos fall further on weak sentiment over OpenAI deployment co
MUMBAI--1030 IST--Major information technology stocks fell further Thursday due to negative sentiment surrounding the new artificial intelligence deployment company by OpenAI which it announced Monday. Barring Wipro, all the Nifty IT index constituents were down in early trade, with the index plunging for the fourth straight session. The Nifty IT index has fallen over 7% in this period.
The US-based artificial intelligence company OpenAI announced the launch to help businesses build and deploy artificial intelligence systems. It will extend OpenAI's ability to embed engineers specialised in frontier AI deployment, known as forward deployed engineers, into organisations working on complex problems in demanding environments, the company said in a public notice.
"The demand for IT services might go down with the new deployment company," said Sumit Pokharna, information technology analyst at Kotak Securities. "That is a big concern for the sector because, currently, the traditional IT services companies are billing based on manpower deployment and number of hours worked etc," he said. Pokharna expects the negative sentiment in the IT sector to continue as there is more selling of IT stocks by foreign investors due to lack of revenue visibility.
Persistent Systems, LTM, HCL Technologies, Oracle Financial Services Software, Coforge, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Mphasis were down 1.5-4.0%. However, shares of Wipro managed to trade with marginal gains. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Indices open higher amid US-China talks; Asian markets gain
MUMBAI--0935 IST--Benchmark indices opened higher as investors were optimistic about the US-China talks, which are likely to offer some pointers for the resolution of the West Asia war. Asian markets opened higher Thursday and Wall Street indices closed higher Wednesday. The May Futures of Brent Crude Oil were above $106 per barrel. Pharmaceutical companies were the major gainers in the indices. At 0934 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23578.10, up 165.50 points or 0.7%, and the BSE Sensex was at 75039.30, up 430.32 points or 0.6%.
Cipla was the top gainer among both the Nifty 50 and Nifty 200 constituents, up over 7%. Numerous brokerages have upgraded the recommendations on the stock after the company posted its March quarter earnings Wednesday. Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gained nearly 5% and 2%, respectively. State-owned energy companies--Power Grid Corp. of India, NTPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and Coal India--rose 1-2%. Trent, Larsen & Toubro, Hindalco Industries, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, Tata Consumer Products, and Asian Paints gained around 1?ch.
On other hand, information technology companies HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys fell around 1.0-1.5%. Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Eicher Motors, Shriram Finance, and Titan Co., fell marginally in the 50-stock index.
Oil India was the second-top performer among the Nifty 200 constituents, up nearly 4%. The upstream oil company's net profit for the quarter rose over 12% on year to INR 17.86 billion. This was sharply above the Street's view of INR 12.77 billion. Zydus Lifesciences, Adani Green Energy, and Solar Industries gained 3-4%.
Oil marketing major Hindustan Petroleum Corp. was the worst hit stock in the Nifty 200. It fell nearly 5%. The stock fell after brokearges took a bearish stance on the stock following the management's comment that it expected HPCL to post losses due to high oil prices in the June quarter.
In the Nifty 500, NLC India was the top gainer and rose over 12%. The company's net profit for the March quarter rose nearly three-fold on year. In contrast, Kaynes Technology India was the underperformer and the stock hit the lower circuit at INR 3,551.60, down 15%. (Adhithya Aji)
Equity Alert: Some markets in Asia slightly down ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
MUMBAI--0910 IST--Investors in Asia remained a little cautious ahead of the crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump's meeting in China is scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei 225, and South Korea's KOSPI displayed some positive bias, but China's CSI 300, Australia's S&P ASX 200, and the FTSE Singapore Strait Times were in the red.
Chief executive officers of several top US companies have accompanied Trump on his China visit. Key among these are Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Some other important names include Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Meta President and Vice Chair Dina Powell McCormick, CBS News said.
"While unlikely to be a game changer for US-China relations, we think the meeting could act as a tactical catalyst for strength in the Chinese yuan and Chinese equities," analysts at Goldman Sachs said, CNBC reported.
In South Korea, shares of heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. were up over 3% even as talks between the management and the labour union failed to have a positive outcome, The Wall Street Journal reported. A stalemate over deciding how the company's massive profits are distributed continues, and the company's workers may organise another strike from May 21 to Jun. 7, according to the media report. A strike by the electronics major's union would pose a significant risk to South Korea's economic growth, exports and markets, Reuters reported the country's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol as saying.
The following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0811 IST:
| Index | Level | Change in % |
| CSI 300 Index | 4964.6238 | (-)0.67 |
| Hang Seng Index | 26544.09 | 0.59 |
| Nikkei 225 Day | 63450.94 | 0.28 |
| TOPIX FIRST SECTION | 3901.40 | (-)0.46 |
| KOSPI | 7912.42 | 0.87 |
| FTSE Singapore Strait Times | 4994.89 | (-)0.18 |
| S&P/ASX 200 Index | 8616.00 | (-)0.17 |
(Ruchira Kagita)
Equity Alert: May open higher on hope US-China to talk Iran war resolution
MUMBAI--0840 IST--Domestic equity market is likely to hold on to it gains Thursday on hope the talks between US-China may offer some cues over a resolution to the Iran war. Asian equity indices were mixed in the early trade, with Taiex and Kospi gaining the most. Crude oil prices, which are still above the $100 a barrel mark, will be watched for further cues for market direction. JSW Steel will detail its March quarter earnings Thursday.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance said progress was being made with Iran in negotiations to end the war as US President Donald Trump travelled to China for talks, an Al Jazeera report said. Trump travelled to Beijing Tuesday to meet with China's President Xi Jinping.
At 0829 IST, Brent crude oil July futures were marginally higher from its previous close at $105.86 per barrel. Crude oil will trade at $100–$115 per barrel if the stalemate holds, according to Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities. "Asymmetry is to the downside on resolution news — that's the more dangerous gap for anyone short crude," he said.
At 0830 IST, the Gift Nifty May futures contract was marginally lower at 23549.50 from its previous close. However, this level suggested a higher opening for the Nifty 50 index as it was over 135 points higher than the 50-stock index's previous close of 23412.60.
"An unstable Middle East, continued FIIs outflows alongside depreciating Indian currency are negatively impacting the investors sentiments," said Vipin Kumar, derivatives and technical analyst at Globe Capital Market. " Moving forward, we reiterate our sell-on-rise trading approach as long as Nifty index remains below 23650 spot levels on closing basis. On the lower side, 23150-23000 spot levels will act as an immediate support."
JSW Steel is expected to report a sharp on-year increase in its consolidated bottom line for Jan-Mar on higher realisations. The company is expected to post a consolidated net profit of INR 25.89 billion, up over 67% on year. Its top line is seen at INR 501 billion, up nearly 12% on year.
The commerce ministry will release the wholesale price index inflation data for April Thursday. The automobile production, sales, and export data for April will also be announced by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, later in the day.
In the US, barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, other equity indices settled at record closing highs in the previous session. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: S&P 500, NASDAQ hit new highs, chipmakers drive indices higher
MUMBAI--0740 IST--Major US equity indices ended mixed Wednesday, with the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500 closing higher but the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending lower. The blue-chip Dow snapped its three-session streak of advances, dragged mainly by shares of Salesforce and Home Depot. Technology stocks led the gains on Wall Street. Shares of Micron Technology were almost 5% higher, Alphabet nearly 4%, Nvidia Corp. and Meta over 2%, and Qualcomm over 1%. The Magnificent Seven stocks, barring Microsoft, closed in the green. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ notched fresh all-time highs, brushing aside the hotter-than-expected producer price index data.
"It seems like we've got so much demand ahead of the supply trying to meet it that it's got a lot of room to run," Peter Mallouk, the chief executive officer of Creative Planning, told CNBC, speaking of chipmakers.
In focus on Wednesday were the US producer prices. The Producer Price Index climbed 1.4% on-month in April, and 6% on-year. The rise in April is the largest since the 1.7% increase in March 2022. The hot producer inflation data comes after Tuesday's higher-than-expected consumer price inflation print. Any hope of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in the near to medium term has diminished with this inflation data.
"Overall, amid heightened uncertainty, the energy shock has negatively affected my outlook for both real activity and inflation. Moreover, the shock has tilted risks to real activity somewhat further to the downside and risks to inflation further to the upside," Susan Margaret Collins, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said in a speech. Collins said that a restrictive monetary policy stance for longer.
Meanwhile, in a narrow vote, Kevin Warsh was confirmed by the US Senate to be the 17th chair of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term, Reuters reported. Warsh will replace Jerome Powell. Powell's tenure as the Federal Reserve chair ends on Friday.
The following were the closing levels of major US indices on Wednesday:
|
US Indices |
Levels |
Change in % |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
49693.20 | (-)0.14 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
26402.34 | 1.20 |
|
S&P 500 |
7444.25 | 0.58 |
(Ruchira Kagita)
US$1 = INR 95.90
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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