Stock Market News Today Live Updates: Nifty Below 24,000, Sensex Falls 400 Points; Vodafone Idea Shares Surge 5%

• Nifty is likely to trade between 23,800 and 24,200 based on OI data.
• Bank Nifty range is seen between 54,500 and 55,500.
• Traders are positioning within tight expiry-driven ranges.

• The 55,000 strike saw the highest put open interest in Bank Nifty.
• Strong put additions were also visible at 54,500 and 54,000 levels.
• This suggests a strong support base near 55,000.

• Fresh call additions were highest at the 24,200 strike in weekly options.
• Strong call writing was also visible at 24,000 and 24,100 strikes.
• The setup signals immediate resistance clustered around 24,000–24,200.

• The highest put additions were seen at the 24,000 strike.
• Strong put build-up was also visible at 23,800 and 23,900 levels.
• Traders are tracking this band as near-term support during expiry.

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• Vodafone Idea was the most active stock by volume, with 369.01 million shares traded, and rose 5.2% to Rs 11.07.
• HFCL gained 2.2% with 36.77 million shares traded
• JP Power fell 2.2% with 31.46 million shares changing hands.

Suzlon, Adani Power, Vedanta, BHEL, Tata Technologies and Reliance Power were also among the most active counters. Tata Technologies rose 9.3%, the highest gain among the stocks shown.

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• Morgan Stanley downgraded KEI Industries to Equal-weight from Overweight, while raising its target price to Rs 5,213 from Rs 4,860. The brokerage said management aims to grow revenue by 20% year-on-year despite higher commodity prices and a weaker rupee.
• It said Q4 reflected soft volume growth. Morgan Stanley said margins may benefit from operating leverage, but increased competition in wires remains a headwind and poses downside risk.

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The Nifty 50 declined 0.24% to 24,061 after falling as much as 0.7% intraday to 23,949. The Sensex fell 150 points to 77,113, after declining as much as 524 points intraday to 76,745.

The Nifty 50 was little changed in pre-open trade at 24,080, while the Sensex stood at 77,235.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the US dollar and hit a record low. The local currency depreciated as much as 24 paise to 95.33.

Prominent gas importer of India, Petronet LNG, will receive the total value agreed in the contract of liquefied natural gas after the Middle East tensions de-escalation, the company's chief executive A K Singh was reported as saying on Monday.

Qatar, India's main LNG supplier, has paused its yearly 7.5 million metric ton supply to Petronet due to a sharp rise in regional tensions. The regular flow of 9 to 10 monthly cargoes ground to a halt this March after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was compounded by targeted Iranian strikes on two of Qatar's 14 liquefaction trains.

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Larsen & Toubro is set to report its Q4FY26 results today. Revenue is expected to rise 8.7% year-on-year to Rs 80,869 crore, while EBITDA may increase 7.5% to Rs 8,818 crore. EBITDA margin is expected to be nearly flat at 10.9% against 11% a year earlier, with project mix and cost pressures in focus.

Net profit is expected to rise 6.8% to Rs 5,435 crore. Revenue growth is seen supported by execution across core segments, while the projects and manufacturing business is expected to drive steady growth. Investors will watch order inflows against a high base, the order pipeline, Middle East exposure, execution across large EPC projects and management commentary on margins.

Mahindra & Mahindra is set to report its Q4FY26 results today. Bloomberg estimates standalone revenue to rise 22% year-on-year to Rs 38,115 crore, while EBITDA may increase 15% to Rs 5,364 crore. Margin is expected to fall 80 basis points to 14.1% due to higher commodity costs.

Bloomberg estimates net profit to rise 43% to Rs 3,491 crore. Passenger vehicle sales rose 23% year-on-year to 1,83,800 units, while tractor sales increased 36% to 1,19,811 units. Investors will watch commentary on Q1 margin impact, FY27 growth after strong second-half volumes post GST rate cuts, and the timeline for two more variant launches in FY27.

Marico is set to announce its Q4FY26 results today. Bloomberg estimates revenue to rise 21.8% year-on-year to Rs 3,325 crore, while EBITDA may increase 16.4% to Rs 533 crore. Margin is estimated at 16.1% against 16.8% a year earlier.

Net profit is expected to rise 14.3% to Rs 392 crore. Investors will watch management commentary on West Asia, price hikes, volume growth, urban demand and FY27 growth after Marico said Q4 revenue grew in the low twenties and India business sustained high single-digit volume growth.

• Companies that reported results after Monday’s market hours include Wockhardt, Jindal Stainless, Petronet LNG, Manappuram Finance, Tata Technologies, Sobha, KEI Industries, Tata Chemicals, Aarti Industries, CAMS, IIFL Capital Services and Jaiprakash Power Ventures.
• Wockhardt reported a net profit of Rs 166 crore against a loss of Rs 25 crore a year earlier, with revenue rising 29.9% to Rs 965 crore. Petronet LNG’s net profit rose 57.6% sequentially to Rs 1,371 crore as EBITDA margin expanded to 19.7% from 10.7%, though revenue fell 15.4%.
• Tata Technologies reported net profit of Rs 204 crore against Rs 6.6 crore in the previous quarter, while revenue rose 15.1%. Sobha’s net profit more than doubled to Rs 91.8 crore as revenue rose 60.2%, and KEI Industries posted 25.5% growth in net profit.
• Tata Chemicals reported a net loss of Rs 2,132 crore, including a one-time cost of Rs 1,837 crore. IIFL Capital Services’ net profit fell 38.6% sequentially, while Jaiprakash Power Ventures posted a net loss of Rs 13.4 crore against a profit of Rs 156 crore a year earlier.

Earnings reactions may put Wockhardt, Manappuram Finance, Sobha, Petronet LNG, Tata Technologies, KEI Industries and Aarti Industries in focus after their results showed profit, margin, volume or outlook-related positives.

Wockhardt reported its first profitable year since FY22, while Manappuram Finance saw margin improvement. Sobha reported 26% growth in collections, Petronet LNG posted a beat led by higher volumes and margins, and Tata Technologies gave a positive outlook for FY27.

Tata Chemicals, IIFL Capital Services, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and CAMS may also be in focus after weaker quarterly updates. Tata Chemicals reported operating performance below estimates, IIFL Capital Services had a weak quarter, Jaiprakash Power Ventures saw margin pressure, and CAMS reported a weak Q4.

JPMorgan maintained its Overweight rating on Petronet LNG with a target price of Rs 335, saying the company beat estimates on volumes and Use or Pay recoveries. It said better-than-feared volumes and recoveries of historical charges supported the quarter, though long-term volumes may remain at a lower run rate.

Investec maintained its Buy rating with a target price of Rs 400. It said a provision reversal drove the earnings beat, while Dahej utilisation was affected by Middle East disruptions and Kochi utilisation remained stable.

Stocks in focus today include companies that announced orders, approvals, acquisitions and management changes.

• Meghmani Organics received approval to develop nano fertiliser products, while EMS received a letter of award worth Rs 144 crore.
• Afcons Infrastructure secured EPC orders worth Rs 373 crore, and Dynacons Systems won a Rs 751 crore project from the Reserve Bank of India.
• Knowledge Marine acquired a 15-acre waterfront land parcel in Palghar, while Rainbow Children’s Medicare inaugurated a 60-bed hospital.
• Premier Energies said its arm will acquire a 26% stake in Hexa Energy, and RBL Bank received SEBI approval for the acquisition of a stake by Emirates NBD.
• Hindustan Zinc will be in focus after CFO Sandeep Modi resigned, while J Kumar Infraprojects said its managing director received a summons.

Morgan Stanley said companies that have reported results so far recorded 13% revenue growth, 11% EBITDA growth and 11% net profit growth from a year earlier. Average EBITDA margin stood at 27%, in line with analyst estimates.

For the 20 Nifty companies that have reported results, revenue growth stood at 13%, beating estimates by 4 percentage points, while net profit growth stood at 7%, beating estimates by 3 percentage points. Profit growth was led by materials, utilities and financials, while consumer discretionary and energy reported declines.

Jefferies and BofA maintained Buy ratings on Godrej Properties after its FY26 finish and FY27 guidance. Jefferies raised its target price to Rs 2,475 from Rs 2,420, citing expected growth in construction spends, pre-sales quality, a possible free cash flow turnaround by FY28, dividend resumption after a decade and recent promoter stake purchase.

BofA kept its target price at Rs 2,600 and said Q4 bookings and operating cash flow were ahead of expectations. Investec downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and cut its target price to Rs 1,986 from Rs 1,994, saying fundamentals remain intact but valuation appears fair.

Kotak Securities maintained its Sell rating on BHEL but raised its target price to Rs 140 from Rs 120 after the company reported better results. The brokerage said strong execution, gross margin expansion and flat receivables helped performance, while coal gasification remains an added opportunity for the company.

Morgan Stanley maintained its Overweight rating and raised its target price to Rs 444 from Rs 304. It said BHEL’s macro positioning is improving in India and that the company’s turnaround could continue to surprise markets.

Brokerages said the BJP’s state election wins could strengthen policy coordination between the Centre and states. Jefferies said the results may keep the capex burden with the central government as state manifestos continue to focus on income transfers and welfare schemes.

Macquarie said BJP-led governments in more states could support coordinated policymaking and development. Citi said the results expand the BJP’s geographic reach and may help the government implement policy and process reforms, while noting that the current Rajya Sabha composition already supports its legislative agenda.

US President Donald Trump said Iran would face a military response if it attacks American vessels escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. He said the US had launched “Project Freedom” to secure the shipping route and urged South Korea to join the mission.

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Companies scheduled to report earnings today include Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Marico, Punjab National Bank, Coforge, United Breweries, SRF, Raymond, Shoppers Stop and Jammu & Kashmir Bank.

Brent crude futures for July delivery fell 0.60% to $113.77 a barrel on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures declined 1.35% to $105.06 a barrel after Brent and WTI settled higher on Monday.

The Hang Seng Index opened at 25,945.75, down 150.13 points, or 0.58%.

Markets in Korea, Japan and China are closed today due to a holiday. Trading in these markets will resume on Wednesday.

GIFT Nifty traded at 24,030, below Monday’s Nifty 50 close of 24,119.30. The move indicates a lower opening for the Indian benchmark index.