Equity Alert
Indices remain higher; Nifty 50 hits three-week high
This story was originally published at 11:04 IST on 31 July 2026
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Equity Alert: Indices remain higher; Nifty 50 hits three-week high
MUMBAI--1055 IST--Domestic equity indices remained higher, with the Nifty 50 index hitting an over three-week high. Automobile and financial services stocks continued to lead the gains in the benchmark index. On the other hand, information technology companies logged sharp losses.
At 1035 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24340.65, up 23.50 points or 0.1%. The BSE Sensex was at 77933.17, up 5.02 points or largely flat from the previous close. India VIX was over 2% lower at 11.8800 points. In the broader market, small-cap indices were 0.6% higher each, while mid-cap indices were 0.4% higher each.
Indices tracking information technology, fast-moving consumer goods, and the private bank sectors were down. The Nifty Auto was the top gaining sectoral index, up over 1%. The Nifty Financial Services index was up nearly 1%.
Bajaj Finance remained the top gainer, up nearly 7%. Bajaj Finserv gained over 4% ahead of its June quarter results, scheduled later in the day. Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects the company's consolidated net profit to rise 0.4% on year to INR 28 billion. Its total income is expected to rise over 10% on year to INR 391 billion.
Among automobile stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra rose 3.6%. Shares of Maruti Suzuki India were up marginally ahead of its June quarter results later in the day. The company is likely to report a net profit of INR 32.2 billion, down 13% on year. The automobile major's revenue from operations is expected at INR 525.2 billion, up 37% on year. Hyundai Motor India rose 9% in the Nifty 200 index after the company said it seeks new export markets and plans new launches.
IT companies continued to be the biggest losers, with Tata Consultancy Services shedding over 2%. Among the Nifty 200 index members, Mankind Pharma was the biggest loser, down over 5%. Shares of the company declined after it said the war in West Asia was likely weighing on its gross margin. In the Nifty 500, Thermax fell over 10?ter its June quarter net profit plunged 83% on year on higher costs. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Bajaj Finserv up 5%, Maruti Suzuki up 1% ahead of Q1 earnings
MUMBAI--1052 IST--Shares of Bajaj Finserv rose 5% to hit their highest level in over five months at INR 2,003.10, while those of Maruti Suzuki rose 1% to hit an intraday high of INR 14,348. Both Nifty 50 index constituents are set to detail their June quarter results later in the day.
For Apr-Jun, Bajaj Finserv is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 28 billion, up 0.4% on year according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services. The total income of the non-banking financial company is expected to rise over 10% on year to INR 391 billion. At 1050 IST, shares of the lender were up 4.3% at INR 1,990.60, on the National Stock Exchange.
Maruti Suziki's net profit is expected to fall 13% on year to INR 32.18 billion for the June quarter, according to the average of 18 estimates. The company's revenues are seen rising 37% on year to INR 525.19 billion. The automobile maker is slated to to report its best revenue growth since the September quarter of 2022 on continued benefits from the cut in the Goods and Services Tax, which became effective late last year. At 1050 IST, shares of the automaker were up at INR 14,201, up 0.1% on the National Stock Exchange. (Shruti Nair)
Equity Alert: Bajaj Finserv shares up 4% ahead of Apr-Jun earnings
MUMBAI--1000 IST--Shares of Bajaj Finserv rose over 4% Friday ahead of the company's June quarter earnings, slated to be announced later in the day. The company is expected to report marginal on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. expects the consolidated net profit of the company to rise 0.39% on year to INR 28 billion. Sequentially, the net profit is expected to grow over 10%, as per the brokerage. For the March quarter, the company had posted a net profit of INR 25.39 billion.
The total income of the non-banking financial company is expected to rise over 10% on year to INR 391 billion in the June quarter, Motilal Oswal said in its report. For the March quarter, Bajaj Finserv has recorded a total income of INR 385.08 billion.
The gross written premium growth of the company is expected to remain in single digits in the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), as slower growth in the commercial segment is partly offset by continued momentum in the retail business, the brokerage said in the report. The value of new business margin of Bajaj Finserv is expected to improve in the June quarter, driven by a shift in the product mix towards traditional products, the report said.
At 0955 IST, the stock was up 4.5% at INR 1,996 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. Of the seven brokerage recommendations available with Informist on the company, six have a 'buy' call on the stock with an average share price of INR 2,294 per share, almost 15% higher from the current market price. The remaining brokerage has a 'hold' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 1,900 per share. (Diksha Tripathy)
Equity Alert: Indices higher for 3rd day; financial svcs cos major gainers
MUMBAI--0945 IST--Domestic equity indices opened marginally higher. Indices extended their gains for a third straight session Friday, tracking significant gains in most Asian markets. The Nifty 50 index opened above the psychologically crucial 24000-point level for the third successive session, with more than half of its constituents trading higher.
At 0919 IST, the Nifty 50 was at at 24351.55, up 34.40 points or 0.1%. The BSE Sensex was at 77976.57, up 48.42 points or 0.1%. Volatility index India VIX showed easing of nervousness among investors, with the index down over 2% at 11.8725 points. Broader market indices were also marginally higher. Barring indices tracking oil & gas, media, fast-moving consumer goods, and information technology sectors, all others were higher in early trade.
Financial services companies led the gainers in the Nifty 50 index. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and Shriram Finance were the top three performers in the 50-stock index, up 2.2–5.2%. The Nifty Financial Services index was the highest gainer among sectoral indices, up nearly 1%.
Automobile companies were the next major contributors to the benchmark index. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and Bajaj Auto were up 0.5–2.7%. The Nifty Auto index was also among the top gaining sectoral indices, up almost 1%.
In the Nifty 200 index, Hyundai Motor India rose the most. The stock gained almost 7% and was up for the second session. Bajaj Finance, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, and Hitachi Energy India were up 4.1–6.2%. Netweb Technologies India topped the Nifty 500 index, gaining over 8%.
Major IT companies logged the most losses in the Nifty 50 index. Tata Consultancy Services was the biggest drag on the index, down over 3%. Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra were down 1.3-3.3%. The Nifty IT was the top loser among sectoral indices, down nearly 3%.
Mankind Pharma shed the most in the Nifty 200 index, down over 5%. In the Nifty 500 index, Thermax and Data Patterns were the major losers, down 6.6-11%. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Brokerages up price aim on Bajaj Fin; co's Q1 PAT jumps 28% YoY
MUMBAI--0856 IST--Multiple brokerages raised their target price on the stock of Bajaj Finance after the company detailed its June quarter earnings on Thursday. The non-banking financial company reported a near 28% on-year jump in its net profit at INR 59.86 billion on revenues of INR 231.65 billion, which rose 20% on the year.
Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities raised its target price on the stock by 2% to INR 1250 and maintained its "buy" recommendation on the stock. The company's 24% on-year assets under management growth continues to demonstrate its strong market leadership, according to the brokerage. The company's artificial intelligence initiatives are expected to fuel the management's ambition to reach a book of INR 10 trillion. "With pristine operating metrics and strong asset quality, we expect BAF to outperform the rest of its peers comfortably," the brokerage said in its research report.
Nuvama Institutional Equities retained its "hold" recommendation on the stock with a revised target price of INR 1,175 per share, representing an upside of nearly 12% from the current market price. The company's diversified portfolio and proactive risk management position it well to navigate emerging macro and asset-quality risks while delivering 4.1% return on return and 20–21% return on equity over financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar)–FY29. The brokerage finds near-term comfort in the reinstatement of Rajeev Jain as managing director till March 2028, which had pushed back the top management reset.
Factoring in the lender's June quarter performance and management commentary, Emkay Global Financial Services adjusted its FY27-FY29 estimates and increased its earnings per share view by 3–4%. The brokerage reiterated its "reduce" recommendation on the stock and target price by 5% to INR 1,050 from INR 1,000. (Shruti Nair)
Equity Alert: Cost inflation a key concern for M&M in FY27, analysts say
MUMBAI--0845 IST--Mahindra & Mahindra's revenue and profit for the June quarter beat the Street's expectations even as total expenses surged due to lofty commodity prices. Rising raw material inflation continues to the major hurdle for the company in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) though demand is not a concern, according to analysts. Brokerages maintained their recommendations on the stock.
M&M's sales from its auto segment are likely to grow at a compounded annual rate of 16% with demand for key models and new launches driving growth, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. Its revenue from the farm revenue is expected to expand by a moderate 4% at a compounded annual rate over FY26–28 owing a higher base. The company had transferred its Mahindra Trucks & Buses division to its subsidiary SML Mahindra and this is should support greater scale and faster product development, Nuvama said. M&M plans to expand its battery electric vehicle portfolio and the brokerages expects the company's car volumes in this segment to be 90,000 in FY27 and 122,000 in FY28. The brokerage retained its 'buy' stance on the stock and revised its target price to INR 3,900 from INR 3,800.
The management of M&M expects its margins in the auto segment to be steady or improve slightly due to volatile macroeconomic conditions, Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. noted. The margin of its farm business, however, may continue to see some pressure owing to high steel and rubber prices. Factoring in this commodity inflation, the brokerage cut its earnings per share estimates for the company by 2-4% for FY27 and FY28. Emkay Global retained its 'buy' call on the stock with a target price of INR 4,100.
Accounting for high raw material inflation, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities also lowered its FY27 growth estimates for the company even as it expects M&M's sports utility vehicles to grow at a strong pace. The company's tractors and light commercial vehicles are expected to see healthy volume growth. The brokerage maintained its 'buy' stance on the stock with a target price of INR 4,537.
The automaker's bottom line grew at a slowest pace in eight quarters by about 7% on year to INR 36.85 billion. Its revenue was up 23% at INR 419.59 billion. The company's operating margin for the June quarter contracted to 12.27% from 14.05% in the corresponding quarter a year ago. On Thursday, shares of the company closed about 2% higher at INR 3,283.70 on the NSE. (Ruchira Kagita)
Equity Alert: Indices seen higher for third day; Q1 results in focus
MUMBAI--0840 IST--Headline equity indices are expected to open higher Friday, extending gains for a third straight session, tracking early gains in most Asian equity indices. Brent crude oil prices also eased slightly to the low of $88 a barrel. Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, and Maruti Suzuki will be tracked as these Nifty 50 companies are scheduled to announce their June quarter earnings later in the day.
At 0842 IST, the August futures contract of GIFT Nifty was at 24419.50, marginally higher from Thursday's close. This was over 100 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close of 24317.15, which suggested a higher opening for the market Friday. Nirav Harish Chheda of Nirmal Bang expects the market to remain positive in the near term, with 24500–24800 likely to come. He expects the Nifty 50 to find support at 24000 level. "Going ahead, a decisive close above 24400 could lead it towards 24600 spot levels, which is also the upper band resistance of the past one-and-a-half-month-long consolidation range," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. "Conversely, sustained trading below 24100 spot levels could drag it back to 23800 and lower levels in the near term."
Shares of Tata Steel will be in focus as the company reported its June quarter earnings Thursday post-market hours. The steel company posted a 12% on-year rise in its consolidated net profit at INR 23.18 billion. However, this would mean a decline of almost 21% sequentially. Its revenue from operations grew over 14% on year, but declined nearly 4% sequentially to INR 607.94 billion.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is expected to post a consolidated net profit of INR 29.8 billion for the reporting quarter, down nearly 4% from a year ago. Its revenue is estimated at over INR 155.3 billion, up 12% on year. Maruti Suzuki India is likely to report net profit of INR 32.2 billion, down 13% on year. The automobile major's revenue from operations is expected at INR 525.2 billion, up 37% on year. ITC is expected to report net profit of INR 45 billion, which would mean a decline of 9% on year and a 13% on quarter, for the June quarter. Its revenue is expected to fall over 5% on year, but rise 16% sequentially to nearly INR 187 billion.
South Korea's KOSPI gained significantly during early trade, up over 13%. The Nikkei 225 Day was up over 4%. All three major US indices closed higher Thursday with gains in semiconductor stocks due to a 15% jump in Microsoft, coupled with double-digit gains in other technology stocks. (Arundathi A R)
Equity Alert: Asian markets open higher, boosted by a 23% jump in SK Hynix
MUMBAI--0800 IST--Indices in Asia opened higher Friday led by gains in technology stocks which took cues from the gains in US technology stocks. South Korea's Samsung Electronics jumped more than 19% and SK Hynix rose nearly 23%. This took the region's benchmark Kospi up more than 13%. Japan's Advantest soared more than 17% and Tokyo Electron jumped 7%. The SoftBank Group rose more than 15%. This took the Nikkei 225 nearly 5% higher. The broad market Topix rose around 2%.
This follows the rise in US technology stocks. Microsoft and Amazon posted large gains Thursday after reporting better-than-expected earnings. "Both the earnings as well as the sentiment are kind of coming back a bit after the really overexaggerated move in the earlier part of the week," Reuters quoted Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG as saying. "The AI demand story didn't really decelerate, it seems like it's still sustainable. So the selloff that we saw... is maybe the market overreacting to some of those concerns around (capex spending)."
Other technology stocks in the region which posted gains were Disco, Lasertec, and Renesas Electronics. Semiconductor manufacturers Disco and Lasertec rose nearly 13?ch. Renesas Electronics rose more than 7%.
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep interest rates steady at its meeting. The BoJ is expected to keep short-term interest rates steady at 1?ter it raised rates in June, Reuters reported. The BoJ is also expected to keep the borrowing costs higher after it conducted a yen-buying and dollar-selling session in New York Thursday to push the yen away from its four-decade low.
Following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0758 IST:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
Nikkei 225 Day |
64916.99 | 4.9 |
|
TOPIX FIRST SECTION |
4026.29 | 1.9 |
|
S&P/ASX 200 Index |
8980.80 | 0.2 |
|
KOSPI Index |
6353.16 | 13.6 |
|
Hang Seng Index |
25733.25 | (-)0.5 |
|
CSI 300 Index |
4624.26 | 1.6 |
|
FTSE Singapore Strait Times |
5612.60 | (-)1.1 |
(Deesha Jadhav)
Equity Alert: US markets close higher, Microsoft leads tech stock gains
MUMBAI--0715 IST--Major US indices ended higher Thursday led by gains in semiconductor stocks fuelled by a 15% jump in Microsoft accompanied by double-digit gains in other technology stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices, Sandisk, and Micron Technology. These gains outpaced the fall in Meta, Qualcomm, and Apple. Meta fell nearly 8?ter it reported a 91?ll in free cash flow in the June quarter.
Microsoft rose sharply after its forecast for quarterly sales came in above expectations and it reported lower than estimated capital expenditure. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed nearly 3% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed more than 1% higher and the S&P 500 closed nearly 2% higher.
"These are true battleground stocks. Investors can't make up their minds whether the ROI on the massive capex spending is going to be worthwhile or not," Reuters quoted Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management as saying. "Microsoft delivered yesterday, and maybe Microsoft is going to be able to move itself from the 'battleground' camp to be a 'trusted AI winner' stock."
US GDP growth slowed to 1.5% in the June quarter from 2.1% a quarter ago and was below economists' expectations. US bond yields rose, but traders are now expecting only a 59% chance that the US Federal Reserve will raise rates in September, down from 82% a week ago, Reuters reported.
Following are the levels of major US indices Thursday:
|
Index |
Level |
Change in % |
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
52208.06 | 1.2 |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
25122.18 | 2.8 |
|
S&P 500 |
7437.63 | 1.7 |
(Deesha Jadhav)
US$1 = INR 95.39
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.
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