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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Crisil shares up 1% ahead of Apr-Jun earnings

 

MUMBAI--1045 IST--Shares of Crisil Ltd. rose over 1% Tuesday ahead of the company's June quarter earnings, scheduled to be out later in the day. The company is expected to report strong on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter on the back of health growth in ratings and non-ratings business.

 

The company's net profit for the June quarter is estimated at INR 1.94 billion, according to YES Securities (India) Ltd. Kotak Securities Ltd. expects the bottom line to be INR 2.08 billion. Crisil had reported a net profit of INR 1.72 billion in the year-ago quarter.

 

YES Securities estimates the net sales at INR 9.69 billion, while Kotak Securities expects the company's net sales at INR 10.46 billion.

 

"We build in stable margins for ratings and non-ratings business. Focus to remain on growth and margin outlook for international business and pick-up in debt issuances," Kotak Securities said in its report. Growth in the non-ratings business is supported by the acquisition of PriceMetrix, the brokerage said.

 

Crisil is likely to see sustenance of sturdy growth in other businesses – Global Analytics Centre, benchmarking, Integral IQ and Crisil Intelligence, YES Securities said.

 

At 1040 IST, the stock was up 0.3% at INR 4,247.20 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. The only brokerage report on the company available with Informist has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock at a target price of INR 4,750 per share, up almost 12% from the current market price.  (Nandini Sinha)

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Equity Alert: Indices choppy after opening lower; media, energy stocks gain

 

MUMBAI--0949 IST--Benchmark equity indices turned choppy after opening slightly lower on Tuesday. Traders bought into shares of media and energy companies. However, they sold shares of some consumer durables companies and pharmaceutical firms. Broader market indices were higher and outperformed the headline indices. Indix VIX eased slightly from recent highs, and was down 1%.

 

At 0939 IST, the Nifty 50 index was at 24229.30 points, down 9.20 points. So far, the 50-stock index has not breached the intraday support of 24200 points. It has fallen as low as 24203.60 points so far. The BSE Sensex was at 77640.53, down 67.99 points or 0.1%. Broader market indices quickly recovered from the slight fall during open and were marginally higher.

 

The Nifty Media was the top gainer among sectoral indices. Barring Hathway Cable & Datacom, Network18 Media & Investments, PVR Inox, Saregama India, all the other constituents gained. Zee Entertainment Enterprises was up over 1%.

 

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Tech Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the top gainers. The cement maker rose over 1% as brokerages were impressed with the company's performance during Apr-Jun, with robust volumes and cost-effective measures. On the other hand, HDFC Bank fell a tad over 1%, falling for the second straight session. The bank failed to cheer the Street with its results for the JUne quarter. Traders were unhappy with the contraction in net interest margin in April–June. 

 

Exide Industries rose around 3% and was the top gainer in the Nifty 200 index. The stock has risen for the fourth session in a row and has gained 7.4% in this time. Other gainers in this space were IndusInd Bank, NHPC, and KPIT Technologies, which were up around 2?ch. Karur Vysya Bank was up over 7%. The bank expects its net interest margin in Jul-Sept to be near 4%. (Gopika Balasubramanium)

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Equity Alert: Brokerages retain "hold" on JK Cement after Q1 PAT beats view

 

MUMBAI--0824 IST--Most brokerages reiterated their "hold" or "buy" recommendations on JK Cement after the company's post-earnings analyst call on Monday. For the June quatter, the cement maker's net profit fell for the third straight quarter to INR 2.91 billion. However, it still beat the Street's view of INR 2.78 billion. The company's revenues for Apr-Jun, however, rose 21% on year to INR 38.66 billion and exceeded analysts' view. The company is planning capital expenditure of INR 35 billion in financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), the management told analysts. Further, the cement maker's greenfield project in Jaisalmer is progressing well and is targeting commissioning by the first half of FY28, according to the management.

 

JK Cement's expansion pipeline remains on track, with the company targeting grey cement capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum by financial year 2029-30 (Apr-Jun), Systematix Shares and Stocks (India) highlighted in its research report. The brokerage also underscored the cement maker's industry-leading green power share of 53.5%, with a roadmap to raise this to 75% by FY30. The expansion is expected to drive structural cost efficiencies and one of the lowest power and fuel cost structures in the sector, the brokerage said. For Jul-Sept, the company's management expects overall costs to increase by INR 150 per tonne and fuel costs to increase by INR 100 per tonne. "We believe, the current valuation largely captures the benefits of ongoing capacity expansion and cost optimisation initiatives," the brokerage said and retained its "hold" rating with a raised the target price by over 8% to INR 5,826, representing an upside of nearly 7% from the current market price.

 

Nuvama Institutional Equities cut its FY27 and FY28 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation estimates by 2.5% and 3% respectively, citing volatility in the company's costs stemming from geopolitical issues. For the June quarter, JK Cement's EBITDA fell 5% on year to INR 6.39 billion, while its expenses rose 27% to INR 34.83 billion. However, the brokerage still viewed the cement maker as an attractive bet on the back of consistent volume growth, improved efficiency, and superior return on equity of 15.4 for FY28. The brokerage retained its "buy" recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 7,034, valuing the stock at 19 times the enterprise multiple based on June quarter estimates for FY29.

 

Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said it expected the cement maker to deliver operating resilience over the medium term on the back of strong geographic footprint, healthy capacity utilisation, stable pricing environment, and sustained growth of its white cement and paints businesses. The brokerage valued the stock at 17 times the enterprise multiple based on FY28 estimates and retained its "hold" recommendation with a target price of INR 6,120, representing an upside of over 12% from the current market price. (Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Analysts cheer UltraTech's Q1 cost control, bullish on growth

 

MUMBAI--0822 IST--Brokerages cheered the growth in UltraTech Cement's domestic grey cement volumes and realisations for the June quarter. The company displayed good cost control with power and fuel costs, and freight costs rising only 11% and 12% on year, respectively. Analysts had expected these expenses and packaging costs to go up substantially. Going forward, analysts remain positive on the company's growth.

 

The company's 13% on-year growth in domestic grey cement volumes is higher than the industry's 8%, and it was led by price hikes undertaken in April and May, Emkay Global Financial Services said. Meanwhile, higher packaging costs impacted fixed costs per tonne, which rose % on year and 14% on quarter, the brokerage said. The company offers a "safe zone" amid the ongoing volatility, and is the brokerage's top pick in the sector. "We continue to back its ability to deliver cost savings and consolidate its pole market-share position," Emkay Global said. The broking firm raised its EBITDA estimate for the company by around 19% on expectations of healthy revenue and cost discipline. Emkay Global maintained its 'buy' call and a target price of INR 13,000 on the stock. This target implies an upside of over 2% from the stock's closing price Monday.  

 

The company's growth in domestic grey cement volumes and realisations rising 3.7% on quarter display good performance, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. The company showed cost control during Apr-Jun while gaining market share, the brokerage said. It said the trajectory of cement prices and fuel costs will determine how the stock performs going ahead. Nuvama maintained its 'buy' recommendation on the stock and hiked the target price by 5% to INR 15,209.

 

The management of India's biggest cement company had told analysts in a post-earnings conference call that it expects cement costs to rise to INR 130–INR 140 per tonne sequentially in the September quarter. This increase is lower than expectations, Nuvama said, given the volatile operating environment and operating deleverage in the monsoon quarter. The top brass indicated that pricing was constructive through the June quarter and that exit prices improved across all four regions.

 

Continued premiumisation in the cement sector is expected to support blended realisations despite limited movement in headline cement prices, Systematix Institutional Equities said in a report. High costs will likely be offset by a resilient pricing environment. In the second half of 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), cost-linked headwinds to moderate. The brokerage kept its EBITDA and net profit estimates for the company unchanged for FY27. Systematix maintained its 'buy' recommendation on the stock with a target price of INR 15,000. 

 

The cement maker's cost control during Apr-Jun reflects its optimised logistics network, efficient plant-to-market dispatches, and strong regional concentration, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said. Many regional peers reported cost inflation of INR 300–INR 400 per tonne during the quarter, the brokerage said. As for its subsidiary, India Cements, volume growth and realisations were healthy, Nirmal Bang noted. The brokerage expects the company's sales and EBITDA to grow 9% and 14% respectively between FY26 and FY28. Nirmal Bang revised its target price slightly higher to INR 13,662 from INR 13,558 and reiterated its 'buy' call. 

 

UltraTech's consolidated net profit rose 17% on year to INR 25.99 billion for the June quarter and its revenues by 16% on year to INR 246.48 billion. Its sales volume went up 12% to 41.31 million tonnes. The company had reported its earnings during market hours Monday. Shares of the company closed 1.5% higher at INR 11,903 on the NSE. (Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: Indices to open slightly lower Tue, traders to buy on dips

 

MUMBAI--0821 IST--Domestic equity indices are expected to open slightly lower despite positive cues from Asian markets, which rose in early trade as an artificial intelligence-led sell-off lost steam. Analysts also expect traders to buy Indian stocks on every dip, similar to what was seen on Monday. Technical analysts expect the sentiment to remain bullish as far as the Nifty 50 holds 24000 points. The GIFT NIFTY index is currently about 100 points below the 50-stock index's Monday close and, therefore, analysts expect the market to see a gap-down open. 

 

At 0746 IST, the July contract of GIFT NIFTY was at 24143, up 28.50 points or 0.1%. Nifty 50 is expected to see a gap-down on Tuesday and later the "gap" would fully covered intraday, Ashish Sherigar, senior technical analyst at NVS Brokerage said. He expects the 50-stock index to seek support at 24000 points and 24050 points. Sherigar expects the index to face resistance between 24250 points and 24350 points.

 

Technical analysts see 24000-24100-points range as a crucial support area for the Nifty 50. As far as the 50-stock index hold this range, it is unlikely to see a sharp fall. On Monday, the Nifty 50 settled at 24238.50 points, down 95.80 points or 0.4%. The index fell to a low of 24135.85 points, breaking the crucial support level of 24200. However, traders bought into the dip, helping the index to rebound. The BSE Sensex ended at 77708.52 points, down 442.93 points or 0.6%.   

 

Traders would continue to focus on June-quarter earnings in the coming trading sessions, looking for sectors which could be less vulnerable to West Asia war-induced shocks, analysts said. The Apr-Jun results have not been as underwhelming as expected initially and hence stock-specific jumps in prices are expected intraday, they said.   

 

Traders will also keep an eye on the evolving situation in West Asia, where there were disruptions to Saudi Arabian exports after Yemen's Houthis threatened to block an export route through the Red Sea. However, the near-month futures contract of Brent Crude Oil, traded on the InterContinental Exchange, eased slightly from Monday and at 0746 IST, it traded at $88.7 a barrel. Some analysts expect the market to fall sharply if crude climbs back above $100 a barrel. (Gopika Balasubramanium)

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Equity Alert: Asian markets open mixed, Nikkei up more than 2%

 

MUMBAI--0727 IST--Asian indices opened mixed Tuesday following the developments in West Asia. While key indices in Japan, Singapore, and China were up, those in Australia and Hong Kong were down as investors grappled with the continued war in West Asia. US President Donald Trump vowed Iran would face consequences for the deaths of three American service members, according to Truth Social.

 

Japan's Nikkei rose more than 2% as the market reopened after the holiday. The Nikkei recovered from its 6.4?ll last week. The major gainers on the index, Kioxia Holding and cosmetics giant Shiseido, rose almost 6%. IHI Corp., formerly known as Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. gained 4%. The video game maker Nintendo Co. was down almost 4%. Technology industry supplier Sumco Co. and Nikon Corp. were down 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively.  

 

South Korea's KOSPI was up 3.3% as index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rose after their recent fall. South Korea's export data Tuesday showed the country's exports for the ‌first 20 days of July jumped 52.3%. Semiconductor exports were up 181%, while car exports declined almost 11%, according to ‌government data. Shipments to China jumped 94% in July from a year ago and exports to the US increased almost 40%.

 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were slightly down. China's CSI 300 was slightly up.

 

Following were the levels of key indices in the region at 0727 IST:
 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	65626.13	2.3
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3978.87	1.5
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8770.7	(-)0.2
KOSPI Index	6733.28	3.3
Hang Seng Index	25077.86	(-)0.3
CSI 300 Index	4612.59	0.3
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5515.25	0.3

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

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Equity Alert: US indices close lower ahead of major tech stock earnings

 

MUMBAI--0659 IST--Major US indices closed lower Monday as investors tracked the developments in the West Asia war and also await earnings from major technology companies such as Alphabet Inc., Testa Inc., and Intel Corp., which are due later this week. US President Donald Trump has vowed Iran would face consequences for the deaths of three American service members, according to Truth Social. This pushed up crude oil prices a bit more.

 

The Trump administration also announced it will charge a 50% tariff on Canadian imports after accusing Canada of unfair trade practices against multiple US products and industries. 

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed marginally lower. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both closed slightly lower. Apple Inc. dragged the S&P 500 while Microsoft Corp. boosted the index. Global Payments Inc. rose 5.8?ter Morgan Stanley improved its rating and raised its target price to $100 from $65. Shares of online car retailer Carvana Co. fell 4.8%. Alphabet Inc. shares rose 1.5% after the company reported that its Google unit is developing a Gemini-integrated server chip aimed at improving Artificial Intelligence efficiency and easing computing-capacity constraints.

 

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis Monday said they will impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. This will threaten global energy supplies and open a new front in the US-Iran war. Mediators have given Iran a proposal to de-escalate the war with the US, which would provide a 10-day ceasefire, Reuters quoted an Iranian official as saying.  

 

Following were the closing levels of major US indices Monday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51839.26	(-)0.6
NASDAQ Composite	25508.07	(-)0.05
S&P 500	7443.28	(-)0.2

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

 

US$1 = INR 96.35

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
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