Stock Market Today, GIFT Nifty Live: Kospi Climbs 2%; US Indices Gain; LTM, DLF, PNB Q2 Eyed

• Jefferies noted that premium turnover at exchanges has already returned to pre-CAS levels.
• As a result, the brokerage believes the scope for incremental earnings upside for exchanges from the latest CAS changes may be limited.
• The brokerage reiterated that brokers stand to benefit more from the reduction in expiry-day volatility and regulatory uncertainty.

• Hexaware Technologies will consider a second interim dividend on Oct. 20.

• Jefferies said SEBI's revised expiry-day settlement framework removes uncertainty surrounding the Closing Auction Session.
• The brokerage said the change in the settlement-price methodology for index derivatives should reduce expiry-day volatility.
• Jefferies believes the changes are a bigger positive for brokers than exchanges, particularly for firms whose trading activity remains below pre-CAS levels.
• The brokerage continues to maintain a Buy rating on Groww.

• SEBI has specified that only limit orders and market orders will be permitted during the Closing Auction Session.
• New iceberg orders and stop-loss orders will not be allowed during CAS.
• Eligible pending iceberg orders at the end of continuous trading will automatically move into CAS as fully disclosed limit orders from Feb. 8, 2027.

• Index derivatives will trade until 3:45 pm on regular trading days.
• On expiry days, expiring index derivative contracts will stop trading at 3:30 pm.
• Stock derivatives will continue trading till 3:45 pm, including on expiry days.
• The post-close session in the cash market will continue between 3:50 pm and 4:00 pm.

• The Closing Auction Session will now last 10 minutes, compared with the earlier 20-minute window.
• The transition phase will run from 3:30 pm to 3:31 pm, followed by a five-minute market-and-limit order session from 3:31 pm to 3:36 pm.
• The final limit-order-only session will run from 3:36 pm to 3:40 pm.
• Order entry will close randomly between 3:38 pm and 3:40 pm.

• CCL Products reported Q2 net profit of Rs 130 crore, up 28.9% YoY.
• Revenue rose 7.5% YoY to Rs 1,211 crore.
• EBITDA margin stood at 17.54% versus 17.52% a year ago.

• Under the revised framework, the closing auction reference price will be based on the VWAP of trades executed during the final 15 minutes of continuous trading, between 3:15 pm and 3:30 pm.
• Earlier, the reference price was calculated using the VWAP of trades between 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm.
• If no trades occur during the final 15 minutes, the last traded price for the day will be used.

• SEBI has revised the Closing Auction Session (CAS) framework for eligible securities.
• The CAS window will now run from 3:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m., compared with the earlier 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm schedule.
• Most changes will take effect from Dec. 7, 2026, while rules related to iceberg orders will be implemented from Feb. 8, 2027.

• L&T Finance reported Q2 net profit of Rs 975 crore, up 32.7% YoY.
• Total income increased 27% YoY to Rs 5,484 crore.

• Sri Lotus Developers reported Q2 net profit of Rs 82.1 crore, up 77.7% YoY.
• Revenue rose 52.5% YoY to Rs 268.6 crore.
• EBITDA margin expanded to 40% from 28.7%.

• Jio Financial Services reported Q2 total income of Rs 1,699 crore, up 69.6% YoY.
• Net profit fell 51.1% YoY to Rs 340 crore from Rs 695 crore.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India is consciously maintaining fiscal prudence, adding that public infrastructure investment has acted as a strong multiplier for economic growth.

• She noted that India's foreign exchange outgo remains elevated due to imports of energy and fertilisers, while broken global supply chains continue to pose challenges for Indian exporters.

• Sitharaman said the trade balance with China remains tilted against India and highlighted that Indian businesses continue to face limited market access in China.

• The finance minister added that non-tariff barriers are the biggest hurdle in India-China trade, alleging that China uses such barriers without hesitation.

• Sitharaman also expressed hope that the proposed India-US trade deal is concluded at the earliest.

• The minister was speaking at a conference in Bangkok.

• Metro Brands reported Q2 net profit of Rs 75.8 crore, up 12% YoY.
• Revenue rose 12.1% YoY to Rs 730 crore.
• EBITDA margin expanded to 27% from 26.2%.

• Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy reported Q2 net profit of Rs 19.2 crore versus a loss of Rs 473.2 crore a year ago.
• EBITDA surged to Rs 56.1 crore from Rs 3.9 crore.
• EBITDA margin improved to 3.7% from 0.2%.

• Alok Industries reported Q2 revenue growth of 14.6% YoY to Rs 1,078 crore.
• EBITDA rose to Rs 41 crore from Rs 4 crore a year ago.
• Net loss widened to Rs 208 crore from Rs 162 crore.
• The company reported a one-time loss of Rs 36 crore versus a gain of Rs 5 crore a year ago.

• Angel One reported Q2 net profit of Rs 335 crore, up 45% QoQ.
• EBITDA rose 31% QoQ to Rs 636 crore.
• EBITDA margin improved to 44.6% from 33.9%.
• The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.40 per share.

• Tech Mahindra reported Q2 revenue of Rs 16,180 crore, above estimates of Rs 15,975 crore.
• EBIT stood at Rs 2,386 crore, ahead of estimates of Rs 2,319 crore.
• EBIT margin expanded to 14.7%, above estimates of 14.5%.
• Net profit came in at Rs 1,586 crore, below estimates of Rs 1,677 crore.

• The Centre has raised the windfall tax on petrol exports to Rs 2.5 per litre from Rs 0.5 per litre, according to a government notification.

• At the same time, the government has reduced the windfall tax on diesel exports to Rs 8.5 per litre from Rs 16 per litre.

• The revised rates will come into effect from Oct. 16.

• India had first imposed windfall taxes on fuel exports in July 2022, before withdrawing them in 2024. The duties were reintroduced in March 2026 amid elevated energy prices during the Middle East conflict.

• The government reviews export duties on petroleum products every fortnight and adjusts them based on movements in global crude oil and fuel prices.

• Cyient DLM reported Q2 revenue of Rs 393 crore, up 26.4% YoY.
• EBITDA increased 9.9% YoY to Rs 34.5 crore.
• EBITDA margin declined to 8.8% from 10.1%.
• Net profit rose 5.9% YoY to Rs 34 crore.

• 360 One WAM reported Q2 net profit of Rs 300 crore, down 9.4% QoQ.
• Total income declined 1% QoQ to Rs 1,261 crore.
• The company approved a second interim dividend of Rs 7.5 per share.

• IIFL Finance reported Q2 net profit of Rs 766 crore, compared with Rs 376 crore a year ago.
• Total income rose 28.4% YoY to Rs 4,248 crore from Rs 3,309 crore.

• Persistent Systems reported Q2 revenue of Rs 4,664 crore, up 8.4% QoQ.
• EBIT declined 19.6% QoQ to Rs 467 crore.
• EBIT margin contracted to 10% from 13.5%.
• Net profit fell 27.1% QoQ to Rs 352 crore.

• HDFC Life Insurance reported Q2 net profit of Rs 522 crore, up 16.5% YoY from Rs 448 crore.
• Net premium income increased 15.8% YoY to Rs 21,856 crore from Rs 18,871 crore.

• Wipro reported Q2 revenue of Rs 24,753 crore, ahead of estimates of Rs 24,710 crore.
• EBIT stood at Rs 3,986 crore, below estimates of Rs 4,018 crore.
• EBIT margin came in at 16.1%, lower than the estimated 16.26%.
• Net profit declined 4.5% QoQ to Rs 3,200 crore, missing estimates of Rs 3,306 crore.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%
• S&P 500 advanced approximately 0.3%
• Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%. 
• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapped a three-session losing streak

• Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.38%
• Topix gained nearly 1.8%
• South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.56%
• Australia's ASX 200 advanced 1.01%.
   

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