Market Overview
In a day marked by profit-booking after a record high, the Indian stock market witnessed a notable decline, particularly in midcap and smallcap stocks. The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended the day lower, despite some sectors showing resilience. While the Pharma and IT indices faced a downturn, the FMCG, banking, and auto indices managed to close in the green. Overall, traders saw substantial selling in the PSE, oil-gas, and metal sectors. By the end of trading, the Sensex stood at 83,184.80, reflecting a gain of 236.57 points or 0.29 percent. Meanwhile, the Nifty closed at 25,415.80, up by 38.25 points or 0.15 percent.
Key Stocks in Focus
Today’s trading session highlighted significant action across various stocks. Below are some of the most noteworthy movements:
KPR Mill
CMP: Rs 942
KPR Mill experienced a remarkable surge of 9 percent today, thanks to heavy trading volumes. Approximately 3.6 million shares changed hands in intraday deals on both the BSE and NSE, far exceeding the 1-week average of 0.3 million shares.
Info Edge
CMP: Rs 7,877
Info Edge gained 1.7 percent today following an upgrade from ‘underperform’ to ‘buy’ by Bank of America (BofA). The brokerage has a bullish outlook, citing strong growth prospects and noting that Info Edge commands a 70 percent market share in its sector.
IREDA
CMP: Rs 230.20
Shares of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) rose 1.24 percent after receiving government approval to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). The planned issuance of fresh equity shares will also serve to decrease the government’s stake in the firm.
DCX Systems
CMP: Rs 344.45
DCX Systems saw its stock close up by 1.7 percent today following the announcement of a significant Rs 154.80 crore export order from Elta Systems, based in Israel. This news has led to increased buying interest in the company’s shares.
Exide Industries
CMP: Rs 462.50
Exide Industries faced a 2 percent decline today, even as brokerage firm Citi maintained its ‘Buy’ rating. However, Citi has adjusted its target price downward from Rs 610 to Rs 560, creating some concern among investors.
ONGC
CMP: Rs 286.50
The stock of ONGC dipped 1.3 percent today, following a ‘Reduce’ rating issued by HSBC with a target price set at Rs 235. The brokerage highlighted concerns over falling oil prices, potential decreases in production, and the challenges faced by its KG field projects, which may impact future dividends.
HCL Tech
CMP: Rs 1,741.8
HCL Technologies experienced a slight decline of 0.8 percent amid profit-booking. Despite earlier strong growth of 22 percent over three months, a downgrade in the stock’s rating from ‘add’ to ‘reduce’ exerted some pressure on the stock today.
Vodafone Idea
CMP: Rs 10.44
Vodafone Idea’s stock plummeted 19 percent following a setback from the Supreme Court regarding AGR calculations. Companies in the sector may face total dues estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore, leading to a significant dip below the FPO issue price of Rs 11.
Bajaj Housing Finance
CMP: Rs 160.59
The stock of Bajaj Housing Finance continued its downward trend, closing down by about 7.5 percent after two consecutive days of declines. This decrease follows a period of profit-taking by investors after the stock reached a 52-week high.
