Stock Market News Today Live Updates: GIFT Nifty Indicates Positive Open For Nifty, Sensex; Brent Crude Holds Above $91 A Barrel

Options positioning for the August 25 expiry shows 24,500 as the largest call open interest strike, putting the level on the derivatives radar.

• Maximum Call Open Interest: 24,500.

CLSA said PLI schemes have generated a large increase in investment and production, but job creation has lagged expectations.

CLSA

• Actual investments exceeded Rs 2.4 lakh crore as of March 2026.

• Production/sales boost stood at about Rs 22.7 lakh crore.

• Job creation was almost 1.4 million.

• Cumulative incentive disbursement stood at Rs 35,400 crore, or 18% of announced outlays.

• Job creation was lower than expected.

Lohia Corp reported sharply higher revenue and profit in the June quarter, with EBITDA margin also expanding year on year.

Lohia Corp (Q1, Consolidated YoY)

• Revenue up 59.5% to Rs 503 Cr versus Rs 315 Cr YoY.
• EBITDA at Rs 100.2 Cr versus Rs 36.3 Cr YoY.
• EBITDA Margin at 20% versus 11.5% YoY.
• Net Profit at Rs 66.6 Cr versus Rs 16.8 Cr YoY.

Morgan Stanley said strong Q1 revenue growth translated into stronger earnings growth, supporting its view that India's earnings cycle is improving.

Morgan Stanley

• Margins held up better than expected despite input cost pressures.

• Close to two-thirds of coverage stocks reported earnings growth.

• Broad market earnings growth continued to outpace narrow market indices.

• Overweight on Adani Ports, Divi's Lab, Eternal, Grasim, Hyundai, ICICI Bank, Leela and Titan.

• Underweight on Bajaj Auto, Cipla, Dabur, Dalmia, Havells, SBI Cards and Wipro.

Macquarie sees sustained public and private capital expenditure supporting the capital goods sector, despite margin pressure.

Macquarie

• Q1 saw strong revenue growth and robust backlog accretion.

• Margin pressure persisted with mixed order intake.

• Public capex remains supportive while private capex momentum strengthens.

• Prefers CG Power, Bharat Electronics, Cummins and L&T.

Macquarie warned that a weaker August-September monsoon could weigh on rural consumption and sentiment.

Macquarie

• Latest forecast points to weakening monsoon in August and September.

• Rural consumption could be at risk.

• Rural sentiment may be hit.

• Prefer Titan, Lenskart and Marico.

• Remain concerned about rural-focused names such as Britannia and Dabur.

Jefferies sees an improving earnings trajectory for two-wheeler manufacturers while remaining cautious on four-wheeler names.

Jefferies

• Says 2W OEMs have demonstrated superior ability to translate top-line growth into EBIT.

• Street earnings for 2Ws inflected up in Q3CY26.

• 4W stocks continue to see earnings downgrades.

• Prefer TVS Motor and Eicher Motors; Underperform on Tata Motors PV and Hyundai.

Citi retained its positive view on Vodafone Idea, pointing to improving subscriber trends and better funding visibility.

Citi

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 17.

• Says network investments are driving improving subscriber metrics.

• Funding visibility has improved.

• Management continues to see substantial ARPU headroom within the existing subscriber base.

Goldman Sachs and Macquarie retained positive views on Godrej Consumer, with both highlighting execution as a key driver.

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 1,175.

• Says strategic direction remains intact, with focus shifting towards execution.

• Expects incense sticks to be rapidly scaled up, while LV remains a priority.

Macquarie

• Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs 1,150.

• Says an India CEO appointment could aid execution.

• Expects innovation and a balance between core and emerging categories to support growth.

Jefferies raised its target price on Emmvee Photo, citing its early move into TOPCon cells and strong order book.

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy; hike TP to Rs 440 from Rs 400.

• Raises FY27/28 EBITDA estimates by 2%/7%.

• Forecasts 33% EBITDA CAGR over FY26-29.

• Says the stock trades at 6.8x forward EV/EBITDA after a recent correction.

Jefferies initiated coverage on Bajaj Housing Finance with a Hold rating, citing strong growth and asset quality but premium valuations.

Jefferies

• Initiate Hold with TP of Rs 92.

• Expects 23% AUM CAGR over FY26-29.

• Expects spreads to moderate and bottom out in FY27.

• Forecasts 20% EPS CAGR over FY26-29.

• Premium valuations cap upside.

Jefferies retained its bullish view on Swiggy as shareholder approval of the foreign ownership framework moves its Instamart strategy forward.

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 435.

• Says approval of the 49.5% foreign ownership cap moves the IOCC transition closer.

• Says the move supports management's plan for a 1P inventory-led model at Instamart.

• Estimates this could drive 80 bps of margin upside.

Morgan Stanley retained its positive view on Leela Palace, citing strong July hotel operating data.

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 600.

• India's ARR and RevPAR grew around 12.4% and 17.6% YoY in July.

• Delhi RevPAR grew 26.6% YoY, compared with 20.1% YoY growth in June 2026.

IDFC First Bank has increased the size of its senior notes issuance under its medium-term note programme.

• Issue size increased to USD 600 million from USD 500 million.

• Upsized by an additional USD 100 million under the EMTN programme.

Ceigall India has secured another letter of acceptance for a highway project, taking its order wins over the past two days above Rs 2,400 crore.

• Fifth LOA on NH-913, Frontier Highway, worth Rs 274 crore.

• Five LOAs in two days now total Rs 2,423.70 crore.

• Projects cover 278 km of road construction in Arunachal Pradesh.

Gabriel India's shareholders have approved a large preferential issue alongside the proposed acquisition of a stake in HL Mando Anand India.

• 1,44,04,204 equity shares to be issued to Asia Investments Private Limited at Rs 1,305.89 per share.

• Issue size aggregates to Rs 1,881.03 crore.

• Shareholders also approved acquisition of HL Mando Anand India stake from Asia Investments through a material related-party transaction.

HEG has received NCLT approval for a demerger involving its graphite and energy businesses, with shareholders set to receive shares in the new structure.

• Demerger scheme approved for HEG Graphite Limited and Bhilwara Energy Limited.

• Shareholders to receive shares in a 1:1 ratio.

HDFC Life has received regulatory approval for the continued appointment of its managing director and chief financial officer.

• IRDAI approved reappointment of Vibha Padalkar as MD & CEO for five years.

• Niraj Shah approved as CFO for five years.

Cipla has received regulatory approval for the merger of its wholly owned subsidiary Inzpera Healthsciences with the company.

• NCLT approved the Scheme of Amalgamation of Inzpera Healthsciences with Cipla.

Hyundai Motor India will raise vehicle prices across its portfolio from September, with the company citing higher input and commodity costs.

• Price increase of up to 1%.

• New prices effective from September 2026.

Aditya Infotech's CP Plus business has received approval to raise funds through an equity issue, putting the proposed capital raise in focus.

• Approved raising up to Rs 1,500 crore through equity shares.

• Fund raise can be undertaken through a public issue and/or QIP.

Brokerage views on the RBI minutes point to a possible shift towards tighter policy, with both Goldman Sachs and BofA expecting 50 basis points of hikes in FY27.

Goldman Sachs

• Expects 50 bps of cumulative policy rate hikes, with 25 bps each in December 2026 and February 2027.

• Says members acknowledged that food and fuel inflation could trigger second-round effects.

• Core-goods inflation pressure appears to be firming, while pass-through to core services remains limited.

BofA

• Says the RBI delivered a dovish hold but minutes indicated caution.

• Expects 50 bps of hikes in FY27.

• Says the real rate could turn negative from Q3FY27 through Q1FY28 based on revised inflation projections.

Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services said weak global cues, crude prices near $91.20 a barrel, geopolitical tensions and higher global bond yields could keep the Nifty under pressure.

He said IT stocks gained on value buying, while government incentives supported city gas distributors. Higher crude costs weighed on refiners, while sugar stocks gained as domestic and global prices rose.

Crude traded around $91.20 a barrel as investors assessed geopolitical developments after the 60-day deadline expired without a resolution. Higher crude prices remained a concern for equity markets.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 19 points, or 0.04%.

The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday as longer-dated US Treasury yields retreated from multi-year highs. The decline followed US government measures aimed at easing pressure in the bond market.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 4.41%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.21% and Australia’s ASX 200 advanced 0.29%. Asian markets followed a rebound on Wall Street as US Treasury yields declined.

The GIFT Nifty traded at 24,209.50, indicating the opening trend for the Nifty 50.