March 18, 2026

LATEST NEWS

>>12:23 PM

Radico Khaitan: Magic Moments Vodka has crossed 8 million cases sales volume so far in FY26 (against 7.1 million cases in FY25), fortifying its position as India’s No.1 vodka brand and one of the fastest-growing vodka brands globally. Magic Moments is India’s largest premium vodka brand with ~60% market share and was ranked as the 6th largest vodka brand in the world last year. Magic Moments Vodka offers an extensive portfolio across Semi-Premium and Premium Vodka categories, including Magic Moments Remix, Verve and Dazzle, along with a growing lineup of innovative flavours and experiences that resonate with evolving consumer preferences. Positive

TOP NEWS

War update: Israel killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow to the Islamic Republic's leadership as it faces its greatest test in decades, and Iran responded with renewed missile and drone attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel. Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil. Oil prices slightly fell on Wednesday (March 18) morning after sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures showed an increase in US crude inventories. Brent futures dropped $1.15, or 1.11%, to $102.27 a barrel

Clean max Enviro: Net Profit surged to Rs 2.7B vs Rs 1B YoY, reflecting strong earnings growth Revenue jumped to Rs 15.2B vs Rs 6.4B YoY, showing robust business expansion EBITDA increased to Rs 4.7B vs Rs 1.99B YoY EBITDA Margin stood at 30.7% vs 31.07% YoY. Guides oover 1.5GW RE power sales capacity addition in FY27.

Fractal launched LLM Studio, an enterprise workbench for enterprise-grade GenAI customization. It enables organizations to design, build, evaluate, and operate domain-specific language models using open-source models powered by NVIDIA NeMo and NVIDIA NIM microservices. It includes two modules AutoLLM (for creating smaller specialized models with synthetic data, customization, and benchmarking) and LLMOps (for deployment, monitoring, and governance). The solution reduces hallucinations, ensures proprietary models, and will be demonstrated at NVIDIA GTC 2026.

Godrej Properties: The company has acquired a ~20-acre land parcel near Whitefield, Bengaluru for a premium residential project with an estimated revenue potential of ~Rs.1,350 crore.

Strides Pharma: The company, through its step-down subsidiary Strides Pharma International AG (SPIAG), has entered into definitive agreements with Sandoz AG, Switzerland, and its group entities for the acquisition and in-licensing of a portfolio of branded generic products across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As part of the deal, the portfolio includes multiple brands across anti-infective, cardiovascular, and dermatology therapeutic segments. Positive

Aurobindo Pharma: The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) inspected Unit-II of the company's subsidiary, Eugia Pharma Specialities, at RIICO Industrial Area, Rajasthan, from November 3 to November 14, 2025, and issued a Form 483 with nine observations. Subsequently, the US FDA has classified the inspection status of this unit as Official Action Indicated (OAI). Negative

Thomas Cook: To hold a Board meeting on March 20, 2026 to review a corporate restructuring and capital-structure plan; trading window closed for insiders from March 18–22, 2026.

Dee Development: Disclosed potential operational impacts from West Asia geopolitical conflicts and government gas supply regulations. The company faces export delays to West Asia customers due to Strait of Hormuz disruptions and domestic supply constraints from 80% gas supply caps under the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026. Despite these challenges, the company maintains a healthy order book, intact manufacturing capabilities, and stable financial position, viewing these as transient external pressures. Short term negative read through.

Shree Cement: The company has been declared the preferred bidder for the Dommarnandyala-1 limestone block in YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, which spans an area of 373 hectares.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries: Manufacturing operations at one of the two high-pressure moulding lines at the Solapur plant have been temporarily affected from March 17 until further notice. The management is monitoring the current supply chain crisis and exploring alternate sources or resources to minimise the impact of the disruption.  Negative

Tamilnadu Petroproducts: The company’s HCD plant has been shut down due to business factors arising from the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. This temporary shutdown constitutes a force majeure event, as it is beyond the company’s control, and the impact cannot be quantified at this stage.

Varun Beverages: The company's subsidiary, The Beverage Company Proprietary Ltd (Bevco), has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100% equity stake in Crickley Dairy Proprietary Ltd. Bevco will acquire the entire equity stake in Crickley for an enterprise value of ZAR 238 million, equivalent to Rs. 131.468 crore. Acquisition is inline with the company’s strategy to diversify its product portfolio into new categories viz. value-added dairy and juice-based drinks.

Adani Enterprises: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) by Adani Enterprises, clearing the way for one of the most high-profile resolutions under India's insolvency framework.  The Adani Group had emerged as the winning bidder in November 2025, offering an upfront payment of around Rs 14,535 crore, surpassing competing bids from Vedanta and Dalmia Bharat. the flagship of the Jaypee Group, has a portfolio which spans across cement, power, engineering, hospitality, real estate, and sports infrastructure. Positive read through for company.

SUGS Lloyd: announced winning Letters of Award worth ₹639.24 crores from Konkan Railway Corporation Limited for supply, installation, testing and commissioning of plant contract including SCADA-DMS work. With a current market capitalization of Rs 250 crores, this contract represents a significant business achievement for the railway infrastructure specialist, featuring a 24-month execution timeline and comprehensive turnkey solution delivery.

MACRO WRAP

·         Market sentiment turned cautious as President Donald Trump abandoned efforts to recruit international partners for the Iran war, openly criticizing NATO allies as well as Japan, Australia, and South Korea for rejecting his appeals for military aid. Tensions in the Middle East remain acute following reports that Israel killed Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani.

·         The DJIA, the S&P500, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% respectively. The Eurostoxx 50 rose 0.5%. The Dollar Index eased 0.1% to 99.58. The US Treasury yield curve showed mixed results as investors positioned for the Fed meeting. The US 2Y yield held steady at 3.67%, while the 10Y yield dropped 2bp to 4.20%

·         The primary focus today is the FOMC interest rate decision. While a hold at 3.50%-3.75% is expected, the updated "dot plot" and PPI data will be critical in determining if the Fed will pivot to address energy-driven inflation.

·         Aluminium demand in China is weakening despite prices hitting a four-year high amid the Iran conflict. Inventories of primary aluminium have exceeded 1.3 million tons, the highest since 2020, while buyers limit purchases to immediate needs, Primary Aluminum cash-to-three-month spread was quoted at $5.38 a ton on March 17, 2026, on the London Metal Exchange, decreasing $27.62 from the previous trading day. Negative for Aluminium prices.

·         US business activity in the New York Fed district for Mar rose to -22.6, compared to -25.7 in Feb, according to the Business Leaders Survey. Six-month business activity fell to 12.7 vs 17.5, business climate fell to -46.2 vs -41.7 prior month, employment rose to -8.5 vs -9.7, wages fell to 33.7 vs 37.

·         US ADP private payrolls rose an average of 9,000 per week in the four-week period ending 28 Feb, with ADP reported a previous week revised reading of 14,750. Sentimentally positive for USD.

·         Data watch: Key data releases out of the US tonight include Feb’s PPI final demand (est. 0.3% m/m or 3% y/y vs. 0.5% prior or 2.9% y/y) and PPI final demand ex food and energy (est. 0.3% m/m or 3.7% y/y vs. 0.8% m/m or 3.6% y/y before); Jan’s factory orders (est. 0.1% m/m vs. -0.7% prior).

INVESTMENT CALL

Ambuja Cements Ltd: PLANT VISIT NOTE – Asset Optimisation in Focus.

Reco: NR                 CMP: Rs. 428               Price Target: NA

• Adani has rapidly built India’s second-largest cement platform since acquiring Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited from Holcim in September 2022. Through a series of bolt-on acquisitions including Sanghi Industries, Penna Cement and Orient Cement, consolidated capacity has expanded from ~67 MTPA to ~109 MTPA through a combination of organic and inorganic expansion, with a long-term target of ~155 MTPA by FY28.
• The acquisition of Sanghi Industries strengthens Ambuja’s west coast presence, providing a large integrated plant with significant limestone reserves and a captive jetty that enables low-cost marine logistics. The plant is being positioned as a strategic clinker hub for the west coast as utilisation improves and cost optimisation initiatives are implemented.
• Cost optimisation at Sanghi is already underway, with clinker cost declining from ~Rs. 2,400/t at the time of acquisition to ~Rs. 2,000/t currently. Management targets further reduction to ~Rs. 1,500/t.
• Management prioritizing increasing utilisation of acquired assets, focusing value over volumes, increasing premium product mix, driving cost efficiencies and strengthening profitability across the platform.

Valuation (Consolidated)             Rs. Crore

Source: Bloomberg

OTHER NEWS

MOIL have given an ambitious guidance achieving production target of ~79% of FY21 production in Q4FY26 and for FY30 is 3.5 million tons (up from 1.8 million tons in FY25). Furthermore, it aims to raise its market share from 20% to 32% by FY30. Positive

Tata Steel: The company board has approved the merger of Neelachal Ispat Nigam with Tata Steel. It will also invest up to $2 billion (around Rs 18,488.10 crore) via subscription to equity shares of its foreign subsidiary, T Steel Holdings, in one or more tranches from FY2026–27 onwards. Positive

JSW Steel: To finance its joint venture with JFE Steel at Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd., JSW Steel intends to raise approximately ₹9,500 crore through rupee denominated bonds.