Stock Market News Today Live Updates: GIFT Nifty Points To Positive Open For Nifty, Sensex; Brent Crude Falls Near $81 A Barrel

Morgan Stanley maintained its positive view on Muthoot Finance after assessing its June-quarter performance.

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain Overweight.
• Target price at Rs 3,705.
• NIM missed estimates, though better loan growth contained the overall miss.
• Brokerage said elevated consensus estimates made the miss appear worse.
• It cited weak average gold prices QoQ and high one-offs in FY26 yields.

Muthoot Finance reported higher consolidated income and profit for the June quarter.

Muthoot Finance (Q1, Consolidated YoY)

• Total income up 34.5% at Rs 8,695 crore versus Rs 6,466 crore.
• Profit up 38.8% at Rs 2,799 crore versus Rs 2,016 crore.

The company will promote K R Bijimon to CEO and Alexander George as Managing Director starting Oct. 1.

Indian Oil Corp. reported a consolidated loss for the June quarter as Ebitda and operating margin declined sequentially.

Indian Oil Corp. (Q1, Consolidated QoQ)

• Net loss at Rs 2,661 crore versus profit of Rs 11,378 crore.
• Revenue up 26.2% at Rs 2.62 lakh crore versus Rs 2.08 lakh crore.
• Ebitda down 90.6% at Rs 1,947 crore versus Rs 20,716 crore.
• Ebitda margin at 0.7% versus 10%.

Mahindra & Mahindra reported higher July sales across passenger vehicles, tractors, three-wheelers and exports.

M&M (July Auto Sales, YoY)

• Total sales up 26% at 1.03 lakh units.
• Total exports up 47% at 4,070 units.
• 3-wheeler sales up 53% at 14,538 units.
• Tractor exports up 3% at 1,777 units.
• Domestic tractor sales up 21% at 32,643 units.
• Total tractor sales up 20% at 34,420 units.
• PV sales up 20% at 60,048 units.

Tata Motors' passenger vehicle business reported higher July volumes across domestic sales, exports and electric vehicles.

Tata Motors PV (July Auto Sales, YoY)

• Total sales up 59% at 63,760 units.
• Domestic sales up 58% at 62,611 units.
• Exports up 76% at 1,149 units.
• EV sales at 15,217 units versus 7,124 units.

Maruti Suzuki reported higher July volumes, led by a 42% increase in domestic sales.

Maruti Suzuki (July Auto Sales, YoY)

• Total sales up 33.4% at 2.41 lakh units.
• Domestic sales up 42% at 2.11 lakh units.
• Exports up 5.3% at 30,056 units.

Maruti Suzuki drew target price revisions after its June-quarter performance as brokerages assessed commodity costs, supplier settlements and the demand outlook.

Citi

• Maintain Buy.
• Target price cut to Rs 16,500 from Rs 18,500.
• Margin pressure was partly a timing issue after supplier settlements moved from quarterly to monthly.
• FY27 volume growth guidance of 10% was reiterated.
• Seven new models are planned by FY30.

BofA

• Reiterate Neutral.
• Price objective raised to Rs 14,700 from Rs 14,000.
• Commodity costs, new-plant expenses and bonus payouts drove the margin miss.
• Order backlog stands at 1.30 lakh units and channel inventory at 13 days.
• Brokerage sees upside risk to the 10% volume growth guidance.

Nomura

• Maintain Neutral.
• Target price raised to Rs 14,071 from Rs 13,435.
• Monthly commodity settlements hit margins by 110 basis points during the quarter.
• Management expects full capacity utilisation in four to five months.
• Brokerage prefers M&M and Hyundai among four-wheeler OEMs.

Maruti Suzuki reported its June-quarter earnings, with revenue increasing while profit, Ebitda and operating margin declined.

Maruti Suzuki (Q1, YoY)

• Cost of materials up 46% at Rs 32,000 crore.
• Profit down 10.8% at Rs 3,352 crore versus Rs 3,758 crore.
• Revenue up 35.9% at Rs 52,456 crore versus Rs 38,593 crore.
• Ebitda down 14.5% at Rs 4,312 crore versus Rs 5,043 crore.
• Ebitda margin at 8.2% versus 13.1%.

Brokerages took differing views on ITC after its June-quarter performance, with Jefferies upgrading the stock while Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Macquarie cut their targets.

Jefferies

• Upgrade to Buy from Hold.
• Target price at Rs 350.
• Brokerage was positively surprised by volume resilience.
• The miss was largely driven by gradual price hikes and a series of interventions.
• Encouraging volume trends could give management confidence to take further price hikes.

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Neutral.
• Target price cut to Rs 290 from Rs 320.
• Q1 missed estimates due to a larger-than-expected decline in cigarette Ebit.
• Paper margins expanded off a low base, while FMCG had a strong quarter.

JPMorgan

• Maintain Neutral.
• Target price cut to Rs 310 from Rs 325.
• Cigarette portfolio reset is underway.
• FMCG recorded healthy growth excluding staples.
• Paperboard and packaging showed improvement, while agribusiness disruptions continued.

Macquarie

• Maintain Neutral.
• Target price cut to Rs 300 from Rs 330.
• Tax hikes are still being passed through, making Q1 an unreliable FY27 run-rate.
• Management remains focused on stemming migration to illicit cigarettes.

HSBC

• Maintain Hold.
• Target price raised to Rs 320 from Rs 310.
• Cigarette Ebit declined due to volume correction and weaker realisations and mix.
• Further tax hikes remain a key uncertainty.

ITC reported its June-quarter earnings, with consolidated revenue and profit declining year on year while cigarette revenue increased.

ITC (Q1, Consolidated YoY)

• Net revenue at Rs 16,908 crore versus Rs 19,761 crore, down 14.4%
• Ebitda at Rs 4,514 crore versus Rs 6,261 crore, down 27.9% 
• PAT at Rs 3,579 crore versus Rs 4,911 crore, down 27.1%
• Ebitda margin at 26.7% versus 31.7%, down 498.3 bps
• Agri Business revenue down 17% at Rs 8,082 crore
• Total FMCG business up 53% at Rs 21,866 crore
• Cigarette revenue up 81% at Rs 15,383 crore

Divi's Laboratories drew multiple target-price hikes after its June-quarter performance, though brokerages remained divided on valuation.

Citi

• Maintain Buy.
• Target price raised to Rs 11,700 from Rs 9,450.
• Strong validation activity, commercial volumes and commentary on peptides, contrast media and generics drove the revision.

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Buy.
• Target price raised to Rs 9,070 from Rs 8,025.
• Custom synthesis drove the revenue growth inflection, while a better mix and operating leverage supported margins.

Kotak Securities

• Maintain Sell.
• Target price raised to Rs 6,925 from Rs 5,850.
• Strong CSM sales drove the Q1 beat, though the brokerage awaits a better entry point.

Divi's Laboratories reported its earnings for the quarter ended June, with revenue, Ebitda and net profit rising year on year.

Divi's Labs (Q1, Consolidated YoY)

• Revenue up 27.8% at Rs 3,080 crore versus Rs 2,410 crore.
• Ebitda up 72.2% at Rs 1,255 crore versus Rs 729 crore.
• Ebitda margin at 40.7% versus 30.2%.
• Net profit up 65.5% at Rs 902 crore versus Rs 545 crore.

• Dow futures rose 200 points, or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.5%. Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.8% as investors awaited the July employment report and corporate earnings.
• The gains followed Friday’s rise on Wall Street. The Dow added 0.53%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%.

• Iran’s Acting Defence Minister Seyyed Majid Ibn Al-Reza said Tehran continued to take threats against the country seriously, according to Iranian state media.
• Ibn Al-Reza described recent comments from Iran’s adversaries as part of a psychological and cognitive warfare campaign.

• US President Donald Trump said the proposed agreement with Iran would provide for the immediate and complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He said the deal would also address Iran’s nuclear programme.
• Trump’s comments followed reports that Washington had considered further military action against Iran.

• Brent crude fell $3.52 to $84.41 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate declined $3.49 to $81.18.
• Oil prices dropped after US President Donald Trump said he had cancelled planned strikes against Iran while the two sides worked towards an agreement.

• South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.5% after trading resumed, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.87%. Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.33%.
• Asian equities traded lower despite crude oil prices falling after US President Donald Trump abandoned plans for another military strike on Iran.

The GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty 50's performance, traded at 24,489, compared to Friday's index close of 24,383.60.