More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

---

Equity Alert: Markets remain in green on gains in banks, IT; India VIX dn 6% 

 

MUMBAI--1217 IST--Markets continued to be in green, buoyed by gains in banking and information technology shares. Indian equity market's fear gauge India VIX fell over 6%, indicating a comfort zone for investors. At 1213 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24216, up 137.70 or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77443.50, up 533.82 or 0.7%.     

 

Financial services companies continued to lend support to the gains in the indices. Shriram Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Jio Financial Services, and HDFC Life Insurance were up 1-2%. Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, Power Grid Corp. of India, Titan Co., and Cipla rose around 1?ch. Hindalco Industries and Asian Paints were the worst hit stocks in the index, down nearly 1%.  

 

Muthoot Finance, Multi Commodity Exchange, and Motilal Oswal Financial Services rose around 4% to be the top gainers among the Nifty 200 constituents. On other hand, REC and PFC fell over 2?ch to be the worst hit stocks in the index. Shares of REC and Power Finace Corp. fell after the global brokerage Morgan Stanley downgraded the stocks to 'equalweight' from 'overweight.' Meanwhile, the target price for REC was cut over 16% to INR 360, and for PFC the price view was trimmed nearly 20% to INR 410. Morgan Stanley said that the loan  growth for both the state-owned companies moderated sharply, CNBC-TV18 reported. For the June quarter, PFC's loan growth was 4%, while for REC it was just 1%. Morgan Stanley is of the view that recovery for both the companies will be gradual, the report said.  

 

Sugar company Balrampur Chini Mills rose over 12% during the intraday to be the best performing stock in the Nifty 500. Its peers Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, and Triveni Engineering & Industries rose 8-10%. These stocks rose despite the government imposing a curb on the stock that bulk consumers can hold from Sept. 1. Bulk sugar customers cannot hold sugar as a raw material far more than 15 days. Aster DM Quality Care was the worst hit stock in the index, down over 3%.  (Adhithya Aji)

---

Equity Alert: Eternal up 3%, hits 1-year high; stock gains 31% in 3 months

 

MUMBAI--1145 IST--Shares of Eternal extended their gains for a second session and rose nearly 3% to hit their highest level in nearly a year at INR 328.50. This comes after global brokerage Bernstein added the stock to its India model portfolio. The brokerage underscored the company's continued competitive strength and strong operating profit as positives. The brokerage added the stock on Tuesday with an entry price of INR 315.90, according to a report by NDTV Profit. The current market price is already around 4% higher than the entry price given by the brokerage. Further, the stock has gained nearly 31% over the past three months. In contrast, its peer Swiggy has gained nearly 9% during the same period.

 

Several factors favour the company's performance, according to an analyst at a top broking firm. Profitability is expected in the company's quick commerce business under the Blinkit brand and food delivery business under the Zomato brand. Eternal's quick commerce, in particular, is twice the size of its nearest competitor. For the June quarter, the company's net order value for its quick commerce business was INR 171.3 billion, up over 19% sequentially. Further, the company's number of dark stores is nearly twice the size of its competitors such as Swiggy and Zepto. Given the visibility of the company's business economics, growth is not expected to come at the cost of margins going forward, according to the analyst.

 

The stock is up 15% since the company declared its June quarter earnings on Jul. 22. For Apr-Jun, the company reported a 47% sequential fall in its consolidated net profit to INR 920 million. However, its revenues rose 17% to over INR 202 billion mainly on the back of contributions from the company's quick commerce business under the Blinkit brand and food delivery business under the Zomato brand.

 

At 1121 IST, shares of the company were at INR 327.05, up 2.7%, on the National Stock Exchange. Nearly 20 million shares of the company have been traded on the exchange so far. Around 32 million shares of the company have changed hands on the exchange daily on average over the past three months. Of the 11 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, 10 have a "buy" or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 385.4, which is nearly 18% higher than the current market price. (Shruti Nair)

---

Equity Alert: Indices remain higher on gains in banks, IT; HDFC Bank up 1%

 

MUMBAI--1057 IST--Indices remained higher with financial services companies leading the gains. Information technology shares also contributed to the gains in the markets. The heavyweight banking stocks HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank rose around 1?ch. At 1051 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24209.95, up 131.65 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77438.93, up 529.25 points or 0.7%. 

 

Zomato-owner Eternal was the top gainer among the Nifty 50 constituents, up over 2%. Financial service providers Shriram Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life Insurance, Axis Bank, and Jio Financial Services gained 1-2%. These stocks gained after minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee meeting indicated a possibility of an interest rate hike if inflation persisted. Information technology companies Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies rose around 1?ch. JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Titan Co., Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Steel rose around 1?ch. On other hand, Hindalco Industries was the worst hit stock, down nearly 1%. Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Asian Paints, and Max Healthcare Institute fell around 1?ch.

 

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT rose over 1% to be the top performer. All the constituents in the index traded higher. Information technology stocks suffered losses recently due to the rise in US treasury yields. On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department decided to double the government's debt repurchases to mitigate the rise, following which IT shares rose in the Indian equity markets. Nifty Oil & Gas was the worst hit sectoral index, down 0.3%.

 

In the Nifty 200, financial services companies, SBI Cards and Payment Services, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and Muthoot Finance were the top gainers. They rose over 4?ch. On other hand, REC and Power Finance Corp. were the worst hit stocks in the index, down over 2%. Bharat Dynamics and Oil India fell nearly 2?ch. Aditya Birla Capital's shares gained nearly 3%. The company announced its entry into the gold loan finance portfolio in phases and plans to open 1,000 branches in three years.

 

In the Nifty 500, Netweb Technologies India rose over 7% to be the top gainer, and Chennai Petroleum Corp. was the worst hit, down 3%.  (Adhithya Aji)

---

Equity Alert: Mkt opens higher on positive global cues; banks, IT lead gains 

 

MUMBAI--0938 IST--Indices opened higher Thursday, with the Nifty 50 ending a seven-session losing streak. Indian equities took support from positive global cues. Asian markets opened higher, while US indices ended higher following a sharp decline in US Treasury yields. The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy minutes indicated a possible rate hike if inflationary pressures persist. Information technology and banking shares led the gains. At 0935 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24197.85, up 119.55 or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 77430.76, up 521.08 points or 0.7%. 

 

Eternal was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, up over 2%. Financial services stocks Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Jio Financial Services, and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1-2%. Information technology majors Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Tata Consultancy Services rose around 1-2%. Heavyweight banking stocks HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank rose nearly 1?ch. Meanwhile, Hindalco Industries was the worst performer in the index, down 2%. State-owned energy companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Coal India, and NTPC fell around 1?ch. Max Healthcare Institute was down nearly 1%.   

 

Barring Nifty Energy and Nifty Oil & Gas, which fell 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, all other sectoral indices rose. Nifty IT, Nifty Financial Services, and Nifty Private Bank gained around 1%. All broader market indices were higher, with Nifty midcap indices up 0.6?ch and Nifty smallcap indices rising 0.8?ch.

 

In the Nifty 200, Swiggy was the top gainer, up over 4%. Muthoot Finance, Coforge, Avenue Supermarts, Tata Elxsi, and Hindustan Zinc gained around 2?ch. Oil explorers Oil India and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. were the worst-performing stocks, down nearly 2%. Power Finance Corp. and REC fell about 2?ch. In the Nifty 500, MMTC was the best performer, up over 7%. Chennai Petroleum Corp. was the biggest laggard in the Nifty 500, down nearly 4%.  (Adhithya Aji)

---

Equity Alert: Indices seen opening higher on supportive global cues

 

MUMBAI--0833 IST--Equity indices are expected to start higher amid supportive global cues. Most Asian markets opened higher, while US indices ended higher on Wednesday. The sharp fall in US Treasury yields is supporting positive sentiment in global markets. However, the West Asia war remains an overhang amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the prospects of a peace deal. US President Donald Trump also announced additional economic sanctions on Iran. 

 

On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 ended at 24078.30, down 76.60 points or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex ended at 76909.68, down 325.78 points or 0.4%. The Nifty ended lower for the seventh consecutive session, and Sensex ended lower for the fourth consecutive session.  

 

The immediate support for the Nifty 50 is around 24000, according to Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market. "Going forward, a decisive break and sustained trading below 24000 could drag the index towards 23800, followed by 23600 in the immediate near term," Kumar said. The resistance for the 50-stock index is seen at 24250, he added. Kumar is of the view that the Nifty 50 is likely to open on a positive note Thursday.

 

The US Treasury Department announced a debt buyback operation to support Treasury yields, which rose to new highs over the week. The department said it will double the size of government debt repurchases, CNBC reported. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell more than 6 basis points to settle at 4.690?ter the move. On Tuesday, the 10-year US Treasury yield had hit an over one-year high of 4.7520%. 

 

On the war front, US President Donald Trump announced a "crushing economic operation" against Iran amidst the uncertainty over reaching a peace deal. Trump warned that any country which supports Iran will face heavy economic retaliation, Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, Trump said that peace talks with Iran will happen "maybe at some point", and he added that "right now, the situation is good," the report said.  (Adhithya Aji)

---

Equity Alert: Asian mkts open up amid easing bond yields; Kospi leads gains

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Most Asian indices opened higher during early trade on Thursday tracking gains in their US counterparts amid easing yields on global government bonds after the US treasury department announced it would increase its repurchases of long-term debt. South Korea's Kospi outperformed its peers by a wide margin during early trade. Among other gainers, Japan's Nikkei 225 and broader-market Topix rose nearly 1?ch, as did Hong Kong's Hang Seng.

 

Index heavyweights Samsung Electronics rose 8% and SK Hynix rose nearly 13% during early trade, driving the gains in the benchmark Kospi. SK Hynix announced it would buy back nearly $28 billion of its shares in a bid to calm investors concerned about the sustainability of artificial intelligence focused spending.

 

In Japan, data released by the country's finance ministry showed exports rose over 23% on year in July, outperforming the expectation of a 19.9% jump, according to economists polled by Reuters. Both the Nikkei 225 and Topix were up nearly 1% during early trade. Elsewhere, the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a 15th consecutive month in August. Policymakers held off on further monetary easing despite signs of weakness in domestic demand.

 

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

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	65982.49	1.0
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	4048.72	0.9
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9077.1	0.3
KOSPI Index	6848.49	5.8
Hang Seng Index	25665.75	0.7
CSI 300 Index	4596.19	0.2
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5668.63	(-)0.5

 

(Shruti Nair)

---

 

Equity Alert: US indices end higher; US Treasury announces increased buyback

 

MUMBAI--0713 IST--All three major US indices ended higher on Wednesday for the first time this week after the US Department of the Treasury announced increased buybacks of long-term debt over the coming few months. Following this, bond yields, which had risen sharply earlier, eased. All three major indices ended 0.2% higher.

 

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department said it would at least double the size of its government debt repurchases. "This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury's desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants," according to the department's statement. Subsequently, the yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond, which had touched a new 19-year high on the previous day, declined more than 10 basis points to 5.184%, CNBC reported. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped more than 6 basis points to 4.637%.

 

Among the top performers in Wednesday's session, Moderna shares nearly tripled, recording their biggest-ever one-day gain, according to a CNBC report. The gains followed news that an experimental skin cancer vaccine developed with Merck showed promising results in a late-stage trial. Merck shares ended nearly 13% higher, supporting the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Shares of semiconductor company Marvell Technology ended nearly 10% higher after it announced a deal with Google under which Alphabet, Google's parent, could purchase up to $12.2 billion worth of shares in the chipmaker.

 

However, stocks of other technology companies slid after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI had disclosed disappointing June-quarter results to its investors. The company's revenues grew 18% sequentially to $6.7 billion, but its losses deepened, the newspaper reported, citing sources. Shares of semiconductor companies Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices ended about 4% lower.

 

Following are the closing levels of major US indices Wednesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	53463.05	0.2
NASDAQ Composite	26331.09	0.2
S&P 500	7707.98	0.2

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 95.64

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

Internet links:
Securities and Exchange Board of India - http://www.sebi.gov.in
Bombay Stock Exchange - http://www.bseindia.com
National Stock Exchange of India - http://www.nseindia.com
Directory of Indian government websites - http://goidirectory.nic.in
Indian Ministry of Finance - http://www.finmin.nic.in
Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in
Controller General of Accounts, Government of India - http://www.cga.nic.in
Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.