Indian equities were trading firm in midday trade with benchmark indices holding on to gains despite continued global uncertainty. The Nifty has scaled past 23,800 while the Sensex climbed up almost 1%. The strength at the index level was driven by broad-based buying in heavyweights, yet beneath that surface, individual stocks were reacting sharply to specific triggers.
IT stocks on a roll
Tech stocks across the board, from large caps like Infosys and TCS, to midcaps like Cofoge are seeing a smart rally. In fact, the Nifty IT Index is up over 3%, led by the likes of Coforge, HCL Technologies and Infosys. In fact, the IT stocks had been battered by over 20% so far this year on worries about AI-led disruption. However, most brokerage houses believe that the AI-led selloff was overdone, and many like Nuvama and Nomura have turned positive on select large and midcap plays in the sector.
Auto stocks surge
The auto sector has also seen brisk buying in today’s trade. The Nifty Auto Index is up over 2% and independent counters like M&M and Tata Motors have seen a smart upmove. Leading brokerage house Nomura has upgraded the target price for M&M and sees room for almost 49% upside. This has also added to the optimism in the sector.
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries share price fell 5% by midday.
The stock hit its lower circuit after the company approved a promoter stake sale through the offer for sale route. The filing confirmed that Hazel Infra Limited, a promoter entity, received approval to offload up to 26,38,747 equity shares.
Urban Company
Urban Company‘s share price surged about 15.43% by midday.
The sharp move followed bulk deal activity, where SBI Mutual Fund increased its stake in the company. The fund acquired a significant number of shares across exchanges at an average price near Rs 109.8 per share, taking an additional exposure of roughly 4%.
The company’s recent financials show a net loss of Rs 21.3 crore in the December quarter, compared with a profit in the previous year. The decline was attributed to continued investment in scaling its quick-service vertical, InstaHelp.
Revenue, however, rose 33% year-on-year to Rs 382.7 crore.
Bharat Electronics
Bharat Electronics Ltd. share price gained about 1.57% by midday.
The defence PSU reported fresh orders worth Rs 1,011 crore since its last disclosure in February. The list of contracts is long and not ornamental communication equipment, radar warning systems, fire control systems, electro-optic devices, jammers, software solutions and more.
The company has been steadily building its order book through the quarter. Earlier disclosures included orders worth Rs 733 crore, Rs 581 crore and Rs 610 crore across January and February.
For the December quarter, Bharat Electronics reported net profit of Rs 1,579 crore, up 20.4% year-on-year, while revenue rose 24% to Rs 7,154 crore.
Varun Beverages
Varun Beverages share price rose about 2.12% by midday.
The company announced that its South African subsidiary, Bevco, will acquire Crickley Dairy Proprietary for Rs 131.47 crore. The deal involves a full equity acquisition from Clark Holdings.
Godrej Properties
Godrej Properties share price gained about 1.5% by midday.
The company acquired a nearly 20-acre land parcel in East Bengaluru, with plans to develop a premium residential project carrying an estimated revenue potential of around Rs 1,350 crore.
The location, near NH-648 within the Whitefield corridor, is not incidental. It sits in a zone that has already seen sustained residential and commercial activity, supported by metro connectivity and established infrastructure.
DEE Development Engineers
DEE Development Engineers share price dropped about 8.72% by midday.
The company pointed to disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict, which have started to affect export orders to customers in the region. That alone would have been enough to unsettle sentiment, but there was more.
The firm also indicated that the invocation of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, would impact supplies to certain domestic clients in the near term.
GMDC and NMDC
GMDC share price was up about 1.94%, while NMDC share price gained around 0.26% by midday.
The two companies signed an agreement to explore collaboration in the rare earth elements segment, covering exploration, mining, processing and downstream manufacturing.
The agreement also includes technical cooperation, project development and coordinated resource assessment. GMDC has been advancing work on the Ambadungar deposit, and this arrangement adds operational depth to that effort.
Clean Max Enviro Energy
Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions share price gained about 1.22% by midday.
The company reported net profit of Rs 21.17 crore for the December quarter, compared with a net loss of Rs 4.31 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 13% to Rs 422.45 crore.
Operating performance improved as well, with EBITDA rising 33.96% to Rs 564 crore. The shift from loss to profit is not subtle, and the market has taken note, though the reaction remains measured rather than aggressive.