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Informist, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Shares of cement companies are likely to move in a range next week on risks to their margins from high costs. However, the downside is expected to be limited considering demand for cement has been stable in the near term and some analysts even expect cement prices to rise after a month or two.

 

Companies have not yet been able to completely pass on the higher input costs to customers. For the foreseeable future, growth will likely be driven by volume and not value, according to analysts. The near-term outlook for the sector is stable and realisations across regions in the country are also stable. However, margin pressure is expected to trouble the sector for some time as crude oil prices are expected to remain high. Crude oil prices are expected to stabilise only by the end of December, Vincent K. Andrews, a fundamental research analyst at Geojit Financial Services Ltd., said. Earlier, oil prices were estimated to come down before the second half of the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), he said.

 

Near-term challenges persist due to higher petroleum coke, coal, and diesel prices and margin pressure for cement companies is likely to extend to the December quarter due to an extended monsoon and high input costs, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in a report Friday. Further, cement volume growth is expected to moderate to 6-7% for FY27 due to a higher base and likely softer-than-expectations GDP growth, ICRA Ltd. said in a report Thursday.

 

Some plants in South India undertook planned maintenance and temporary or partial shutdowns, Informist reported earlier Friday. Andrews said these shutdowns are seasonal and not a concern because these are not linked to plant disruptions. Further, cement dealers expect prices per bag to go up by INR 10-INR 15 only by the end of October, Informist reported.

 

Friday, the Nifty Cement index ended 0.6% lower than Thursday at 14820.55 points. Shares of 10 of its 16 constituents fell. Shares of Shree Cement, JK Cement, and Dalmia Bharat ended 1-2% lower while Grasim Industries closed the session 1% higher. On a weekly bais, the sectoral index fell close to 1%.

 

TOP HEADLINES

* Cement supplies hit on maintenance in South India; Price hikes seen in Oct
* Star Cement says co not required to pay Meghalaya mineral cess from Aug 22
* ANALYSIS: Realty cos miss sales estimates, cement cos broadly in line in Q1
* Dalmia Bharat to save limestone tax, cess under new Mines Act
* Saurashtra Cement reappoints MS Gilotra as MD for 1 year from Jan 1

 

Following are the resistance and support levels for key cement stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

Company	Price	Week-on-week  change in %	Resistance	Support
ACC	1,306.40	(-)0.10	1,318.80	1,296.80
Ambuja Cements	412.05	(-)0.60	415.40	408.40
Andhra Cements	44.14	(-)2.40	45.50	43.00
Grasim Industries	3,290.00	(-)0.50	3,334.00	3,207.00
JK Cement	5,168.50	(-)1.60	5,294.20	5,069.20
JK Lakshmi Cement	540.85	(-)3.30	546.80	536.00
Sagar Cements	162.96	0.00	166.30	160.50
Shree Cement	24,000.00	(-)1.20	24,713.30	23,543.30
UltraTech Cement	11,589.00	0.20	11,842.30	11,396.30
India Cements	369.75	(-)0.30	377.10	359.50
Index	Level
Nifty 50	24175.65	(-)0.30	24258.40	24035.50
BSE Sensex	77264.51	(-)0.40	77573.30	76833.80

 

End

 

Reported by Ruchira Kagita

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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