April 20, 2026

TOP NEWS

War update: In a u-turn of its order to reopen Hormuz, Iran on Saturday again shut the energy choke point, adding fresh uncertainty to the war. Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader said Iran's navy was ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on its enemies. Trump called the move "blackmail" even as he praised the talks. US has already announced that he is sending his team to Islamabad for possible peace talks with Iran. But an Iranian source says Tehran will not show up for negotiations unless the US lifts its blockade. The US has said that the Iranian-flagged vessel that was seized in the Gulf of Oman had failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period. Iran condemns the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz as an act of “armed piracy” and vows to retaliate. Meanwhile the oil prices have risen again to $ 95/ barrel increasing almost 5% for the day. Increasing crude prices will be positive for ONGC and negative for downstream companies such as HPCL/BPCL, paint industry, aviation industry etc.

Yes Bank Q4 (Standalone YoY): Profit zooms 44.7% to Rs 1,068 crore Vs Rs 738 crore. Net interest income soars 15.9% to Rs 2,638 crore Vs Rs 2,276 crore. Provisions fall 41% to Rs 188 crore Vs Rs 318 crore. Gross NPA slips to 1.3% Vs 1.5% (QoQ). Net NPA drops to 0.2% Vs 0.3% (QoQ). Strong Quarter, Positive

Dredging Corp: Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) for fuel supply. The partnership is viewed as a strategic hedge against current energy sector instabilities, ensuring that critical maintenance of India’s maritime infrastructure and national port projects remains uninterrupted. The contract value is at Rs 2157 crore.

Trent: The Board will meet on April 22 to consider the issuance of bonus shares and seek enabling approval for raising additional funds through the issue of equity shares via a rights issue or any other permissible mode. On the same date, the company will also announce its audited (standalone and consolidated) financial results for FY26.

JSW Steel Limited: Company have approved entering into a Share Subscription and Joint Venture Agreement with POSCO Co., Ltd and POSCO-India Private Limited to establish a 50:50 joint venture. The joint venture will develop a greenfield integrated steel plant with a capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in Odisha. This is beneficial to the company because the joint venture with POSCO will develop strategic links and provide access to advanced technology for high-grade steel used in automotive and specialized applications. Positive

BHEL: The company reported a provisional turnover of ₹32,350 crore for financial year 2026, marking a growth of 18% from last year. The company also secured orders worth ₹75,000 crore during the year, taking the total outstanding order book to ₹2.4 lakh crore. The company's industrial segment saw orders worth ₹16,000 crore across the sectors. The company also commissioned power capacity worth around 8.9 GW.

EMS Ltd: Emerged as the lowest bidder (L-1) for two sewerage infrastructure projects awarded by UP Jal Nigam (Urban) in Varanasi, with a combined order value of about Rs 208.6 crore (excluding GST). Both projects are domestic turnkey contracts and are to be executed within 24 months and 18 months. Positive

MACRO WRAP

China left benchmark lending rates unchanged for an 11th month as policymakers assess Middle East war risks against resilient domestic growth and easing deflation. The People’s Bank of China kept the one-year LPR at 3.0% and five-year at 3.5%. Q1 GDP grew 5%, up from 4.5%, near the top of the annual 4.5%–5% target. Factory-gate prices rose 0.5% in March, while CPI peaked at 1.3% in February before easing to 1%. Strong growth and rising inflation reduce pressure for stimulus, supporting a wait-and-see stance.

US forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it ignored orders while leaving Hormuz, while Iran targeted ships and claimed control of the strait, citing US violations of a ceasefire. Hopes for peace have faded despite renewed talks, and the prolonged conflict has triggered a major energy shock, stoking inflation risks and fears of a global slowdown. Positive for UD and Crude oil.

Oil prices ‌jumped, Brent crude futures jumped 7% to $96.8 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $90.74 a barrel, up over 8%. The U.S. dollar firmed to its highest level in a week against major currencies at 98.38 as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and shaky prospects of a peace deal in the Middle East sent investors toward safe havens. The euro slipped, sterling fell, and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar sank in early trading as oil prices rebounded.

On Friday the S&P 500 closed at a fresh record on Friday, gaining 1.2% as the index jumped more than 3% for the third consecutive week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.8%. Big Tech stocks powered the rally, with the Magnificent Seven technology giants up 20% since the March 30 bottom, reversing a 17% decline.

Data watch: Attention will centre on geopolitical developments in the Middle East, ahead of key truce deadlines and talks that would be main catalysts for oil prices and risk sentiment.

INVESTMENT CALL

First Cut: ICICI Bank – Q4FY26 : Strong show on most counts

Recommendation: Buy, CMP Rs.1,345 , PT Rs. 1,700

• NII and NIM improved; in case of the latter, a sharper decline in cost of funds than yield on loans aided growth.
• Provisions collapsed to ~Rs. 96 crore (versus Rs. 2,556 crore in Q3) this was led by sharp improvement in asset quality and recovery from certain corporate accounts, PAT rose 8.5% y-o-y, beating estimates by ~5%.
• Rural and business banking boosted credit growth above our expectations of ~14%.
• Asset quality improved as both GNPA and NNPA fell. Overall, Q4 numbers beat estimates on most parameters. We maintain a Buy rating with an unchanged PT of Rs. 1700.

First Cut: HDFC Bank – Q4FY26 result update: PAT in-line, asset quality improves

Recommendation: Buy, CMP Rs. 796, PT Rs. 1,025

• NII missed estimates by ~2.0%, yet NIM grew 3 bps q-o-q, marginally above estimate, as cost of funds fell.
• Opex was controlled; provisions fell 18.3% y-o-y to Rs. 2,610 crore as asset quality improved.
• PAT was largely in-line, growing 9.1% y-o-y on lower credit cost.
• Management is confident of keeping credit growth strong in FY27; RoA remains key. We maintain a Buy rating with an unchanged PT of Rs. 1025.

OTHER NEWS

Lemon Tree Hotels (LTHL): The company has announced the signing of Lemon Tree Hotel, Garudeshwar, Gujarat. The upcoming property will feature 90 well-appointed rooms, along with a restaurant, banquet hall, meeting room, and recreational amenities including a swimming pool, spa and fitness centre. The hotel will be managed by Carnation Hotels Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of LTHL. With this addition, LTHL will have 32 properties in Gujarat (11 operational and 21 upcoming). Positive

Jindal Stainless:  India’s leading stainless-steel manufacturer launches ‘Jindal Infinity’ stainless steel rebars in Punjab, taking product to retail. This is marking a strategic step towards bringing advanced construction solutions closer to end consumers. Company had an annual turnover of Rs 40,182 crore (USD 4.75 billion) in FY25 and is ramping up its facilities to reach 4.2 million tonnes of annual melt capacity in FY27. Positive

Jio Financial Services Q4 (Consolidated YoY): Profit falls 13.9% to Rs 272.2 crore Vs Rs 316.1 crore. Revenue surges 106.5% to Rs 1,018.5 crore Vs Rs 493.2 crore. Board recommended dividend of Rs 0.60 per share for FY26.