Indian equities were trading marginally higher around midday on March 17, 2026. The Nifty hovered near 23,470, up about 0.26%, while the Sensex was around 75,700, higher by roughly 0.28%.
Individual stocks were moving sharply, and in some cases aggressively, on the back of deal announcements, policy tweaks, and sector-specific triggers that refused to wait for the broader market to catch up.
Here are the top movers and shakers at this hour:
MRPL
The Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals share price was trading in red down around 3% after crashing around 7%. Additionally, nearly 6 crore shares changed hands, as the stock crashed 7% in intraday trade on the NSE, a day after surging 16%. On a monthly basis, MRPL stock is up 2% for March, looking set to extend gains for the third consecutive month. Year-to-date, the stock has surged over 30%.
Chennai Petro
Meanwhile the other key refinery stock, Chennai Petroleum Corporation is up over 6% intra-day. In the last one month, the stock has gained 14%. Meanwhile crude prices have jumped over 2% in today’s session.
Oil marketing companies
Several oil marketing companies, like IOCL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and HPCL are down as much as 3% in intra-day trade. High crude oil prices is a key negative for several oil marketing companies, as it increases the raw material cost. Crude has been consistently hovering above the key $100/bbl mark in international market as the tension across West Asia continues to escalate.
Bajaj Electricals
Bajaj Electricals share price surged about 10.27% by midday.
The move followed the company’s decision to acquire the intellectual property and brand rights of Morphy Richards in India and select South Asian markets for Rs 141.4 crore. This is not a routine transaction dressed up as a strategy. The company has been associated with the brand for over two decades under licensing arrangements, and now it is taking full control.
Morphy Richards, founded in 1936 in the United Kingdom, has built a presence in premium home appliances. In India, Bajaj Electricals has already spent years building that franchise under a licensing model. Owning the brand outright changes the equation. It gives the company room to invest, expand and control positioning without waiting for approvals or renegotiations every few years.
The company has indicated that the acquisition will support its multi-brand strategy and allow deeper focus on product design and market execution across India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Sugar stocks
Shares of sugar companies moved higher, with gains ranging between 2% and 7% by midday.
Shares of sugar manufacturers such as Rajshree Sugars, Gayatri Sugars, Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, EID Parry (India), Mawana Sugars and Rana Sugars rose between 2% and 7% on Tuesday, March 17, after government approved additional export quota of 87,587 tonnes of sugar for the 2025-26 marketing year (October-September).
The trigger was a government decision to allow an additional export quota of 87,587 tonnes of sugar for the 2025–26 marketing year. The approval followed requests from sugar mills and came on top of earlier export permissions.
The government had already allowed exports of 1.5 million tonnes for the season and later added another 500,000 tonnes. However, only 87,587 tonnes were applied for and approved under the additional allocation, while the remaining quota lapsed.
There is a second layer to this move. Expectations of higher ethanol blending have been building as crude supply disruptions continue due to tensions in West Asia. Sugar mills, which are increasingly linked to ethanol production, tend to benefit when that narrative gains traction. That link has not gone unnoticed in the market.
Sagar Cements / Andhra Cements
Andhra Cements share price jumped over 9% by midday, while Sagar Cements stock was up about 0.23%.
The move followed Sagar Cements’ decision to sell up to 7.24% stake in its subsidiary Andhra Cements through an offer for sale route. The company plans to offload up to 66,76,843 equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each.
The announcement came after market hours on March 16, and the reaction was immediate. The filing made it clear that the decision was approved by the investment committee of the board. It is a straightforward stake sale, but the market tends to react sharply when parent-subsidiary structures begin to change, even marginally.
GMDC and NMDC
Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation share price gained about 1.94% by midday, while NMDC share price rose around 0.26%.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration in the rare earth elements segment. The agreement covers the entire value chain, from exploration and mining to processing and downstream manufacturing.
GMDC has been working on developing the Ambadungar deposit, and this partnership adds technical and operational weight to that effort. The companies stated that they will examine opportunities for project development, technical cooperation and possible business structures.
Roopwant Singh, IAS, Managing Director, GMDC, said, “The collaboration with NMDC brings together complementary institutional strengths and technical expertise to explore opportunities in the rare earth sector. Through this initiative, GMDC aims to advance the development of a sustainable rare earth value chain while contributing to India’s critical mineral resilience and industrial progress.”
Clean Max Enviro Energy
Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions share price rose about 2.84% by midday.
The stock moved ahead of the company’s board meeting scheduled for March 17 to consider and approve financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 2025. Pre-result positioning is not unusual, but the reaction suggests expectations are building.
The company had listed earlier this month at Rs 960 per share, below its IPO price of Rs 1,053. The Rs 3,100 crore issue included a fresh issue of Rs 1,200 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 1,900 crore.
The proceeds from the fresh issue are being used for debt reduction and general corporate purposes. The company operates in the commercial and industrial renewable energy space, which has been drawing attention as energy demand patterns continue to change.
Kalpataru
Kalpataru share price surged nearly 10% by midday. The stock has rallied after Kalpataru Projects International secured new orders worth Rs 2,471 crore, which strengthens its order book and improves near-term revenue visibility. The wins span key segments like metro rail, power transmission and distribution, and buildings, signaling broad-based demand across its core businesses. Management also highlighted a strong year-to-date order inflow of around Rs 22,000 crore and a healthy pipeline, reinforcing confidence in growth prospects for FY26.
Adani Power
Shares of Adani Power rose over 2% on Tuesday, extending their recent gains, as the stock continued to rally on the back of a major order win and improving demand outlook.
The Adani Group stock climbed to Rs 157.50, marking its highest level in three months, after surging more than 5% in the previous session following the announcement of a Letter of Award (LoA) from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company. With this, the stock has gained 7.5% over the last two trading sessions.
IT stocks
Coforge share price declined around 6% then started showing signs of recovery, while heavyweights Wipro and Infosys, along with Mphasis, LTIMindtree and Persistent Systems fell more than 2% each. Most of these stocks have hit fresh 52-week lows today.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies shares dropped nearly 2%, and Tech Mahindra shares were down over 1%, pushing the Nifty IT index down over 2% to emerge as the top sectoral loser on NSE.
The shares of Indian IT companies dropped up to 6% on Tuesday as new announcements around artificial intelligence by global chip giant Nvidia may have retriggered worries around AI-led disruption in the sector. Investors also remain on edge ahead of the Fed’s FOMC meeting later this week.
During its annual GTC developer conference in San Jose, California, Nvidia said the revenue opportunity for its artificial intelligence chips may reach at least $1 trillion through 2027. CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a new central processor and an AI system built on technology from Groq, a chip startup from which Nvidia licensed technology for $17 billion in December.
IDBI Bank
IDBI Bank shares remained under pressure on Tuesday, slipping 2.28%. The stock is extending losses after Monday’s sharp decline.
The bank had responded to an exchange query following a Moneycontrol report that suggested the government may reconsider the proposed majority stake sale due to low bids. In its filing, IDBI Bank maintained that the disinvestment process is confidential and handled by the Government of India.
The bank stated it has not received any communication from the government indicating that the process is being scrapped. It also said it is not in a position to confirm or deny the media report.