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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices remain lower as select cos, fincl svcs extend losses

 

MUMBAI--1158 IST--Indices fell further with select stocks and financial services extending losses. The heavyweight banking stocks HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were down around 1?ch, weighing down on the benchmark Nifty 50. At 1156 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24077.60, down 77.30 or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 76981.49, down 253.97 or 0.3%.

 

Eternal, HCL Technologies, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were the top gainers in the Nifty 50. These stocks rose around 1?ch. Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eternal, and Bajaj Auto, were up around 1?ch. On other hand, state-owned energy companies Power Grid Corp. of India and Coal India were the worst hit stocks in the indices. They fell further and were down nearly 2?ch. Financial services companies Bajaj Finance, SBI Life Insurance Co., Bajaj Finserv, and Jio Financial Services were down around 1?ch. 

 

Paytm operator One 97 Communications was the top gainer among the Nifty 200 constituents, up 3%. Shares of BSE, Coforge, Lenskart Solutions, Godfrey Phillips India, and PB Fintech were up around 2?ch. On other hand, Hitachi Energy India and Simens Energy India were the worst hit stocks in the index, down around 4?ch. L&T Finance and Adani Energy Solutions were down around 3?ch. 

 

Shares of city gas distributors Adani Total Gas, Mahanagar Gas, and Indraprastha Gas were up 3-4%. The gas companies gained after the government announced a scheme to accelerate the expansion of piped natural gas connections along with an incentive for city gas distributors. Eligible city gas distribution companies will be allocated an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically-produced, lower-priced gas for every incremental billed domestic PNG connection achieved during the performance period. 

 

In the Nifty 500, Kaynes Technology India was the top gainer, up nearly 5%, while Himadri Speciality Chemical was the worst hit, down nearly 8%.  (Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: City gas distributor cos up 2-4?ter govt launches PNG scheme

 

MUMBAI--1155 IST--Shares of major city gas distribution companies were up during the first half of the trading session after the government Tuesday launched a scheme to accelerate the expansion of piped natural gas connections to make the transition to clean cooking fuel easier for households. At 1157 IST, shares of Adani Total Gas, Indraprastha Gas, and Mahanagar Gas were up around 2–4% on the National Stock Exchange. 

 

"The new scheme directly incentivises the City Gas Distribution companies to actively convert unbilled connections into working gas connections, and expand the PNG network to new areas," according to the official release by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Under the scheme, eligible city gas distributors will be allocated an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically-produced, lower-priced gas for every incremental billed domestic PNG connection achieved during the performance period, over and above the threshold level determined for the respective geographical area, the ministry said. 

 

The additional gas allocation will replace the more expensive liquefied natural gas that distributors currently procure for their compressed natural gas division, thereby bringing down overall gas-sourcing costs. The scheme will take effect from Sept. 1 and will be implemented in two tranches over six months. It is the latest endeavour in a series of steps taken by the government over the past few months to speed up PNG adoption. (Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Behari Lal Engineering lists at 63% premium at INR 465 on NSE

 

MUMBAI--1030 IST--Shares of Behari Lal Engineering listed at INR 465 a piece on the National stock Exchange, a 63% premium to its issue price of INR 285. On BSE, the scrip listed at INR 458, a premium of 61% to the issue price. At 1005 IST, shares of the company were trading at INR 468.55 per share on the NSE, up nearly 64% from the issue price.

 

The company's initial public offering was subscribed 108.44 times on the final day with bids received for 803.83 million shares, against 7.41 million shares on offer. Prior to the public issue, the company had raised INR 904.86 million by allotting 3.17 million shares at INR 285 per share to anchor investors.

 

Behari Lal Engineering is an integrated iron and steel manufacturing company specialising in customised engineering solutions. For the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), the company reported a restated net profit of INR 646.36 million on revenues of INR 5.34 billion. (Shruti Nair)

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Equity Alert: Shiprocket lists at 34% premium to issue price on BSE

 

MUMBAI--1028 IST--Shares of Shiprocket listed at INR 129.50, a premium of nearly 34% to its issue price on the BSE. The stock opened around 35% higher from its issue price on the National Stock Exchange. The issue price was set as INR 97. At 1016 IST, shares of the delivery and logistics major were over 39% higher from its issue price at INR 135.24 on the NSE. Trading volumes in the stock were close to 77 million on the NSE and around 6.5 million on the BSE.

 

The subscription for the company's initial public offer had ended Friday and was subscribed over 99 times. It received bids for 9.39 billion shares against the 94.44 million on offer. The company had raised INR 7.27 billion from anchor investors.

Shiprocket is a technology platform designed to enable e-commerce transactions for micro, small, and medium enterprises and large retailers. For 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), it had reported a consolidated net loss of INR 759.43 million on revenue of INR 20.24 billion. (Durgesh Nandan)

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Equity Alert: RailTel Corp surges 7% on securing order from EPFO

 

 

MUMBAI--1007 IST--Shares of RailTel Corp. of India rose over 7% to an intraday high of INR 286.40 on the National Stock Exchange after the company Tuesday said it has received an order worth INR 1.67 billion from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation. The order is for one year and it will be executed by Feb. 9.

 

At 0956 IST, shares of RailTel Corp. were 4% higher with trading volumes over six million. Volumes were significantly higher from the same time Tuesday. The stock was among the top gainers in the Nifty 500 space. 

 

During Apr-Jun, the company received orders of INR 16.88 billion. This is over twofold the value of orders in the corresponding quarter a year ago, RailTel Corp. told analysts in a post-earnings conference call July. The company's total order book stood at INR 117.47 billion as of Jun. 30, it said. The company had posted a net profit of INR 657.80 million for the June quarter on revenues of INR 8.93 billion. (Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: Indices down after opening flat; fincl svcs stocks weigh

 

MUMBAI--0950 IST--Benchmark indices fell Wednesday after opening flat as higher crude oil prices and concern over the West Asia War weighed on the investor sentiment. Financial services stocks were the major contributors to the losses, while information technology stocks recovered after falling for two consecutive days. The heavyweight banking stocks HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank fell around 0.5?ch. At 0949 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24087.45, down 67.45 points or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77038.79, down 196.67 points or 0.3%. 

 

Nestle India was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, up 1%. IT majors HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Wipro rose around 1?ch. Eternal, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. were up 0.5-1.0%. On other hand, SBI Life Insurance Co. and Coal India were the worst hit, down over 1%. Metal companies Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries down 1?ch. Financial services companies Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and Shriram Finance were down around 1?ch. 

 

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT was the top gainer, up nearly 1%, meanwhile Nifty Energy was the underperformer, down around 1%. All the broader market indices were in the red. Nifty Midcaps were down 0.1-0.2%, and Nifty Smallcaps were down 0.2-0.3%. 

 

Adani Total Gas was the top gainer in the Nifty 200, up over nearly 3%. IT shares Coforge, PB Fintech, and LTM gained 1-2%. Hitachi Energy India was the worst hit in the index, down over 4%. Solar Industries India, Siemens Energy India, and L&T Finance were down around 3?ch. In the Nifty 500, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals was the best performer, up 5%, while Himadri Speciality Chemical was the worst hit, down nearly 7%.  (Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: Benchmark indices seen opening flat; IT shares to be focus

 

MUMBAI--0842 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open flat and trade in a range Wednesday amid rising crude oil prices and a lack of clarity over an end to the US-Iran war. There are no signs of a window for a resolution between the two nations. August Brent crude oil futures were near $92 per barrel, up 0.9%. Global cues also point to a weak session, with Asian markets lower at the open and US Indices lower on Tuesday.

 

Overall, the near-term bias is likely to remain cautious as long as the index trades below the immediate resistance zone, Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. Kumar expects resistance for Nifty 50 at 24400–24450 and immediate support at 24040. "Going ahead, we expect the index to take a halt around this support zone," he added.

 

Wall Street indices ended lower Tuesday, weighed down by the sharp rise in 10-year US Treasury yield. On Tuesday, the 10-year US Treasury yield hit 4.748%, the highest level since 2007, CNBC reported. The rise in the 10-year US yield also weighed on Indian information technology shares over the past two days. Shares of IT majors Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Consultancy Services will be in focus Wednesday.

 

The Nifty 50's earnings per share grew 12.9% on year in the June quarter against an estimate of 4.5% on-year growth, JM Financial said in a report. Excluding financial companies, earnings per share grew 11.5% against an estimate of 1.9%, according to the brokerage. However, after the Indian corporate's June quarter results, JM Financial revised the 2026-27 (Apr-Jun) earnings per share estimate for the 50-stock index to 15.2% from 15.6%, the brokerage said.  (Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: Asian mkts open dn amid fall in chip stocks, higher bond ylds

 

MUMBAI--0813 IST--Asian indices opened lower on Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. October Brent crude oil futures rose to nearly $92 per barrel as there were few signs of a swift resolution to the war in West Asia. South Korea extended its losses from Tuesday and was the worst performer among regional peers. In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and broader Topix fell sharply in early trade amid higher bond yields.

 

Stocks of major chipmakers tracked losses in their US peers and weighed on the Kospi during early trade. Index heavyweight SK Hynix shed around 8%, leading losses in the sector. Samsung Electronics shed around 7%. On Wednesday, Samsung announced it would invest around $158 million to set up a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning unit in Gwangju, South Korea. The unit will manufacture products for FlaktGroup, which Samsung Electronics acquired last year.

 

In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix fell around 3% in early trade. Shares of semiconductor companies and electrical equipment manufacturers were among the chief laggards. Chipmaker Renesas Electronics shed 8%, as did electrical equipment manufacturers Fujikura and Sumitomo Electric Industries. Amid concerns over higher crude oil prices and global inflationary pressures from the ongoing war in West Asia, bond yields inched higher worldwide. The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond climbed to a three-decade high on Tuesday, according to media reports.

 

The following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0815 IST: 

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	65724.25	(-)2.6
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	4027.35	(-)2.7
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9036.2	(-)0.4
KOSPI Index	6509.15	(-)5.3
Hang Seng Index	25469.86	(-)0.01
CSI 300 Index	4629.88	(-)2.0
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5690.82	(-)0.2

(Shruti Nair)

 

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Equity Alert: US indices end lower as bond yields rise amid higher oil prices

 

MUMBAI--0730 IST--US indices ended lower Tuesday as fears of inflation and oil prices remaining higher pushed sovereign bond yields to their highest level in decades. All three major indices ended lower for the third consecutive session. Losses in semiconductor stocks pulled down the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite harder than its peers. The index closed over 1% lower.

 

Stocks of chip majors and allied stocks were among the worst-hit Tuesday. Shares of data-storage player Western Digital ended over 7% lower, while chip major Sandisk closed more than 9% lower. Marvell Technology closed nearly 8% lower.

 

Tuesday offered little hope to global investors awaiting signs of a resolution to the West Asia war. US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US was not involved in any "talks or conversations" with Iran, nor are there any scheduled. He also said that the naval blockade "remains in full force and effect". Subsequently, oil prices remained higher with the October futures contract of Brent crude oil touching nearly $92 per barrel.

 

With investors remaining anxious over the prospects of oil prices remaining high, yields on government bonds across several countries have been rising lately. Tuesday, yields on 30-year US treasury bonds touched their highest level since 2007. In Europe, yields on Germany's 30-year bond touched their highest level since 2011, while those of its French counterpart touched their highest point since 2008, according to a CNBC report. Further, the yield on Japan's 10-year bond breached a three-decade high.

 

"It starts off almost like a domino effect. Talks break down. That leads to oil prices going up. That leads to higher inflation expectations and bond yields rise," Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group, told Reuters. He added that "every time bond yields rise, that tends to disproportionately hit the technology names."

 

Investors in the US will also look out for the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting due later in the day for clues about how the regulator is assessing the current climate.

 

Following are the closing levels of major US indices Tuesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	53343.4	(-)0.2
NASDAQ Composite	26289.7	(-)1.3
S&P 500	7691.76	(-)0.7

 

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 95.75

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.

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.

 

NSE: National Stock Exchange
NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
RBI: Reserve Bank of India

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Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in
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Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in

 

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