Indian equities remained under pressure on Wednesday, August 19, with the Nifty 50 hovering around 24,050 and the Sensex around 76,900 by midday. Despite the broader weakness, buying emerged in select pockets, particularly IT stocks, infrastructure counters, city gas distributors and recently listed companies.
Coforge, Persistent Systems and HCL Tech led the recovery in IT, while Zaggle Prepaid, H.G. Infra Engineering and Milky Mist Dairy Food posted sharp gains on stock-specific developments. Here are the stocks and sectors that remained in focus by midday:
IT stocks
Coforge Ltd. share price gained 2.5% by midday, while Persistent Systems rose 2.4%, OFSS gained 2%, LTM advanced 2%, HCL Tech climbed 1.8%, Infosys added 1.7% and Wipro rose 1%. The gains came as the Nifty IT index recovered 1.47% after three consecutive sessions of losses, although the sectoral index remained down 3.4% over the past five sessions amid weak global technology sentiment and a softer US dollar.
Titagarh Rail Systems
Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd. share price remained in focus by midday after Maharashtra approved the 25-km Metro Line 13 corridor connecting Mira-Bhayandar with Vasai-Virar. The project includes 16 stations and could create future procurement opportunities for metro coaches and rail systems, although no rolling stock order has been awarded so far.
Zaggle Prepaid
Zaggle Prepaid Ocean share price surged 15.1% by midday after a Vijay Kedia-run company acquired a 1.48% stake through a bulk deal. Trading volumes crossed 17.6 million shares across NSE and BSE, providing the immediate trigger for the sharp buying interest in the fintech SaaS company.
HG Infra Engineering
Stock price of HG Infra Engineering Ltd. gained 6.36% by midday after the company received a letter of intent from REC Power Development and Consultancy for construction of two 220/132/33 kV substations and associated transmission lines in Uttar Pradesh. The order covers substations at Ranipur in Mau and Chunar in Mirzapur.
Milky Mist Dairy Food
Milky Mist Dairy Food share price rose 10% by midday and hit the upper circuit after the stock had made its market debut at a 17.86% premium to its IPO price. The company raised Rs 1,553 crore through the IPO, with proceeds earmarked for production expansion, cold-chain infrastructure, debt clearance and new dairy product facilities.
RailTel Corporation
RailTel Corporation share price gained 4.1% by midday after the company received a one-year extension worth Rs 166.80 crore from EPFO for providing Infrastructure-as-a-Service through RailTel. The company has now secured four orders in August, while its Q1 FY27 revenue rose 20% to Rs 893.2 crore and EBITDA increased nearly 14%.
City gas distribution stocks
Mahanagar Gas Ltd. share price gained 3.83% by midday, Indraprastha Gas rose 3.09% and Adani Total Gas advanced 2.24% after the Centre approved an incentive scheme to accelerate billed domestic PNG connections. Under the scheme, eligible companies can receive additional lower-priced APM gas for incremental household connections, potentially lowering procurement costs and supporting margins.
Gujarat Energy
Stock price of Gujarat Energy Ltd. declined 0.32% by midday after giving up its early gains despite the broader rise in city gas distribution stocks. The Centre’s new PNG incentive scheme is aimed at expanding household connections and improving access to cheaper domestic APM gas across the sector.
Tata Steel
Tata Steel share price fell 1.43% by midday, making it the top loser in the NIFTY 50, after the Competition Commission of India approved Tata Steel’s proposed acquisition of an additional 23% stake in TM International Logistics.