Nifty 50 closed at 25,637.80 (88.8, 0.4%), BSE Sensex closed at 84,058.90 (303.0, 0.4%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 23,620.15 (102.6, 0.4%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,464 stocks traded today, 1,285 were gainers and 1,130 were losers.
Indian indices closed in the green amid softness in the US dollar and steady foreign inflows. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, declined 1.6% and closed at 12.3 points. Akzo Nobel closed 7.2% higher as its promoters, Imperial Chemical Industries and Akzo Nobel Coatings, agreed to sell their entire stake to JSW Paints. Reports indicated that JSW Group will acquire a 75% stake for around Rs 9,000 crore.
Nifty Midcap 100 & Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark index. Nifty Alpha Quality Value Low-Volatility 30 and BSE Oil & Gas were among the top index gainers today. According to Trendlyne’s Sector dashboard, Forest Materials emerged as the best-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 2.5%.
Asian indices closed mixed, while European indices are trading higher. US index futures traded in the green indicating a positive start to the trading session. Nike rose 2.8% despite reporting a 12% YoY decline in Q4 revenue to $11.1 billion, which still beat the forecast of $10.7 billion. The company’s CFO, Matt Friend, expects pressure on revenue and gross margins to ease. He notes that deeper cuts for ‘Dunk’ shoes are planned for the upcoming fiscal year, along with increased discounting to clear excess sneaker inventory.
Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Aditya Birla Capital, DCM Shriram, Max Financial Services, and Multi Commodity Exchange are in the overbought zone.
Ahluwalia Contracts rises sharply as it secures two major residential construction projects worth Rs 1,103.6 crore in Gurugram and Bengaluru. The projects involve civil structure and architectural finishing work, with completion timelines of 32–36 months.
Geojit BNP Paribas retains its 'Buy' call on Avenue Supermarts (DMart) with a higher target price of Rs 4,921 per share, indicating a potential upside of 14.8%. The brokerage believes DMart's debt-free balance sheet and operational strength support strong store expansion, which in turn will help drive revenue growth. Additionally, easing inflation is likely to enhance profitability. It expects the company's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 19% over FY26-27.
Rane (Madras) surges as it signs an agreement to sell 3.5 acres of land in Velachery to Canopy Living for Rs 361.2 crore.
Jefferies maintains a 'Buy' rating on GAIL with a lower target price of Rs 210. The brokerage anticipates a potential tariff hike on natural gas transmission, with the company seeking a 20% increase. This announcement is likely to be made by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) at its upcoming meeting. Jefferies notes that a 10–20% increase in tariffs could elevate the return on capital employed (ROCE) from transmission into double digits and lead to an expansion in valuation multiples.
Sobha reportedly plans a Rs 800 crore capex for its luxury housing project, Sobha Aurum, in Greater Noida. The project will be set up on a 3.5-acre land parcel with a development potential of 9.3 lakh square feet.
RattanIndia Enterprises rises sharply as its subsidiary, Revolt Motors, launches new electric motorcycles, RV1 and RV1+, in Sri Lanka.
360 One Wam is rising as 21 lakh shares (0.5% stake), worth approximately Rs 245 crore, change hands in a block deal on Thursday at an average price of Rs 1,170 per share. New World Fund is the buyer in the transaction.
State Bank of India reportedly plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore over the next two months via debt instruments. The bank will raise the funds through Basel III-compliant Tier II bonds, which will have maturities of 10 or 15 years. Initial discussions are underway, and the final tenure will depend on the prevailing interest rates at the time of issuance.
Ultratech Cement rises as it expands its grey cement capacity by setting up a second 1.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) cement grinding mill in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. This takes the company's total cement capacity to 192.3 MTPA.
ICICI Bank is rising as its board of directors approves the purchase of up to 2% additional stake in its subsidiary, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company.
Biocon is rising as its subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, receives a notice of compliance (NOC) from Health Canada for Yesafili injection. The drug is a biosimilar of Eylea injection and is used in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), visual impairment, diabetic macular edema (DME), and Myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV).
Wakefit Innovations, a direct-to-consumer home furnishing brand, files draft papers with SEBI for an IPO, which includes a fresh issue of Rs 468.2 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 5.8 crore equity shares. The proceeds will primarily fund expansion, including 117 new company-owned, company-operated (COCO) stores and one jumbo store.
Jio Financial Services rises sharply as its JV with BlackRock, Jio BlackRock Broking, secures SEBI approval to operate as a stockbroker and clearing member.
Mahindra Lifespace secures the redevelopment of residential societies in Mumbai. The project is expected to generate a gross development value (GDV) of Rs 1,250 crore.
UBS initiates a ‘Buy’ rating on PNB Housing with a target price of Rs 1,300. The brokerage believes the company is diversifying into the emerging and affordable loan segments, which it sees as a better fit given its AA+ credit rating. UBS expects this expansion into new segments to support a 16% assets under management (AUM) CAGR over FY26-27.
Ashok Leyland receives an order from logistics firm Instant Transport Solution to supply 200 trucks. The company has delivered the first batch of 100 trucks already and believes that this deal will reinforce its position as a mobility provider.
Honasa Consumer is rising as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approves the merger of its subsidiaries, Fusion Cosmeceutics and Just4Kids Services, with itself.
Torrent Pharma rises sharply as JPMorgan upgrades it to an ‘Overweight’ rating with a higher target price of Rs 3,800 per share. The brokerage believes Torrent’s India and Brazil businesses have strong growth momentum driven by robust demand. It expects the company to capture market share in glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), which could add 100-200 basis points to its FY26 revenue growth.
New India Assurance is falling as it receives a GST demand worth Rs 2,298 crore from the office of Additional Commissioner, Mumbai, for the period April 2018 to March 2023.
JP Morgan upgrades Torrent Pharmaceuticals to an ‘Overweight’ rating with a higher target price of Rs 3,800. The brokerage sees strong growth momentum in India continuing and notes improving visibility in Brazil, aided by solid performance and a favorable base from past currency impacts. It believes Torrent is well-positioned to capitalize on India’s emerging GLP-1 opportunity, backed by its leadership in cardiometabolic care.
Akzo Nobel India rises sharply as its promoters, Imperial Chemical Industries and Akzo Nobel Coatings International B.V., enter an agreement to sell their entire stake to JSW Paints. Reports suggest that JSW will acquire a 75% stake in the company for approximately Rs 9,000 crore.
Embassy Developments rises as it acquires a 100% stake in Squadron Developers for a cash consideration of Rs 456.6 crore. This move comes as part of the company's plans to expand its presence in Bengaluru and to strengthen its project pipeline.
Hitachi Energy India is rising as it receives an order from Power Grid Corporation of India to supply 30 units of 765-kilovolt (kV), 500 megavolt-ampere (MVA) single-phase transformers.
Power Mech Projects secures orders worth Rs 159 crore from Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL) to install grid-connected solar power plants at various substations across Bihar. These plants will supply solar power for agricultural and mixed-use feeders under the PM-KUSUM Component C2 Scheme.
Nifty 50 was trading at 25,598.05 (49.1, 0.2%), BSE Sensex was trading at 83,774.45 (18.6, 0.0%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 23,582.75 (65.2, 0.3%)
Market breadth is ticking up strongly. Of the 1,958 stocks traded today, 1,369 were on the uptrend, and 529 went down.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include Bharti Hexacom Ltd. (1,960.10, 8.1%), Coromandel International Ltd. (2,432.20, 6.7%) and IDBI Bank Ltd. (101.32, 6.2%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include Phoenix Mills Ltd. (1,570.60, -3.5%), Thermax Ltd. (3,347.80, -3.3%) and Oberoi Realty Ltd. (1,918.80, -3.2%).
Crowd Puller Stocks
56 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. (505.15, 12.5%), Bharti Hexacom Ltd. (1,960.10, 8.1%) and Akzo Nobel India Ltd. (3,418.60, 7.2%).
Top high volume losers on BSE were SKF India Ltd. (4,623.80, -2.0%), Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (767.40, -2.0%) and Ajanta Pharma Ltd. (2,520.70, -1.9%).
Sundram Fasteners Ltd. (998.80, -0.2%) was trading at 20.7 times of weekly average. G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,336.80, 5.2%) and Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. (330.20, 3.2%) were trading with volumes 16.2 and 15.8 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
30 stocks overperformed with 52 week highs, while 1 stock hit their 52 week lows.
Stocks touching their year highs included - Abbott India Ltd. (34,940, 5.7%), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (2,027.10, 0.6%) and Coromandel International Ltd. (2,432.20, 6.7%).
Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. (43.09, -0.2%).
25 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. (505.15, 12.5%) and Adani Total Gas Ltd. (682.45, 5.7%). 8 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Aegis Logistics Ltd. (781.15, -5.4%) and Phoenix Mills Ltd. (1,570.60, -3.5%).