July 23, 2026

TOP NEWS

War update: The U.S. military launched a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Wednesday. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group claimed Wednesday it attacked two oil tankers in the Red Sea, following through on a threat that could snarl another key maritime chokepoint. President Trump threatened Wednesday to "bomb and destroy" an Iranian bridge or power plant for every new attack by Iran on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil crosses $95/ barrel and gift nifty indicates a cut of 96 points on bourses and Asian markets flaring well.

IndusInd Bank Q1 (Standalone YoY): Profit surges 46.5% to Rs 1,002.5 crore Vs Rs 684.3 crore. Net interest income rises 1% to Rs 4,684.7 crore Vs Rs 4,639.8 crore. Provisions and contingencies fall 22.9% to Rs 1,339.9 crore Vs Rs 1,737.8 crore. Gross NPA declines to 3.25% Vs 3.43% (QoQ). Net NPA drops to 0.95% Vs 1% (QoQ). Strong Quarter

IIFL Finance Q1 (Consolidated YoY): Profit zooms 189.3% to Rs 675.1 crore Vs Rs 233.4 crore. Net interest income surges 54.8% to Rs 2,003.9 crore Vs Rs 1,294.7 crore. Impairment on financial instruments sinks 42.6% to Rs 294.2 crore Vs Rs 512.5 crore.  Strong Quarter

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Wednesday reported a 69 percent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 443 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, hit by inventory and related costs arising from disruptions in semaglutide supplies. Revenue from operations declined 5.6 percent to Rs 8,070.5 crore during the April-June quarter from Rs 8,545.2 crore in the year-ago period, impacted by pricing pressure and rising competition in its key US market. The company said it made a provision of Rs 240 crore towards inventory and other associated costs related to semaglutide supply disruptions during the quarter. Negative

HPCL: Q1 Net loss at Rs 11,526.4 Cr Vs Net profit of Rs 4,901.5 Cr (QoQ). Revenue up 22.3% at Rs 1.41 lakh Cr vs Rs 1.15 lakh crore (QoQ) EBITDA loss at Rs 16,141 Cr vs EBITDA profit of Rs 8,979 Cr (QoQ). Raw material cost increased lead to overall fall in profitability. Also surging crude oil prices near $ 96/ barrel will be negative for the oil distribution companies. Negative

NTPC Green Energy Q1 (Consolidated YoY): Profit zooms 38.3% to Rs 304.8 crore Vs Rs 220.5 crore. Revenue grows 62.7% to Rs 1,106.9 crore Vs Rs 680.2 crore.

Oracle Financial Services Software Q1 (Consolidated YoY): Profit surges 120.5% to Rs 1,415.5 crore Vs Rs 641.9 crore. Revenue spikes 68.7% to Rs 3,125.2 crore Vs Rs 1,852.2 crore

Sona BLW Precision Forgings: The company has signed definitive agreements with DENSO Corporation, Japan, to establish two joint ventures to develop, design, manufacture, and market advanced electric and hybrid powertrain systems across multiple vehicle.

Waaree Renewable: Revenue grew 53% to Rs 924 crore, EBITDA grew by 48% to Rs 173 crore with margins declining 120 bps to 18.77%. PAT grew by 385 to Rs 119 crore.

Waaree Energies: Subsidiary bags 125 MW HJT solar module order Order from international utility-scale renewable power project owner Supply scheduled for Financial Year 2026-27.

UTI AMC Q1 profit rises 24% to ₹294 cr on lower costs: UTI Asset Management Company posted a net profit of ₹294 crore for the June quarter, up 24 per cent from ₹237 crore a year earlier, supported by reduced operating expenses. Revenue increased 7 per cent to ₹584 crore ( ₹547 crore). However, revenue from sales and services was flat ₹379 crore while net gain from fair value changes increased to ₹187 crore (₹153 crore). Overall expenses were down at ₹217 crore ( ₹223 crore).

PREVIEW:

MACRO WRAP

• Global news flows kept revolving around Middle East conflict and investors’ views on the future of AI – including its impact on major megacaps’ earnings – remained the two key drivers of financial markets. Iran and the US both played down the prospect of peace negotiations, keeping geopolitical risk elevated heading into the Asia open. US-Iran war escalates: US Central Command launched further strikes against Iranian military targets on and Houthi Red Sea attacks: Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers — ENCELIA and LAYLA — in the Red Sea, firing ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. The UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed one vessel was struck 70 nautical miles southwest of Saudi Arabia.
• Fed rate hike risk re-emerges: Higher oil prices and the prospect of stronger global inflationary pressures weighed on sovereign bonds. In the US, yields rose by 4bp at the front end, while long-dated yields increased by less. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly traded above 4.66% on Wednesday, approaching May's year-to-date high of 4.687%. The 2- and 5-year yields hit fresh 2026 highs above 4.30% and 4.40% respectively. The 30-year yield held above 5.135%, marking 12 consecutive sessions and 27 total days above 5% in 2026 .
• Forex market: the DXY moved sideways after appreciating in the prior two days. The EUR gained 0.1%, while GBP was unchanged. The yen was also flat, having depreciated beyond 163 in the prior session. The Japanese currency has weakened by more than 4% since the start of the year, adding to upward pressure on inflation. The latest reports suggest that BoJ officials might be considering additional monetary policy tightening beyond what is currently expected to stem the inflationary impulse.
• UK headline consumer price inflation came in softer than expected, with the annual pace slowing from 2.8%yr to 2.6%yr, below consensus expectations of 2.7%yr. Declines in the food and energy categories were the main drivers, while the core inflation rate was unchanged at 2.6%yr, suggesting that the inflationary impulse from higher energy prices has not broadened into other categories. Services inflation decreased by 0.1ppt to 3.6%yr, but was still a touch stronger than consensus expected.
• India’s silver imports have sharply declined due to a new licensing regime introduced in May 2026, causing shipment disruptions and pushing local premiums to multi-month highs. Imports plunged to just 29 tons in June from 747 tons in January, most banks are still awaiting government approval for import permits, with only a few having obtained licenses, leading to a supply squeeze as demand remains steady. The bottleneck may worsen ahead of India’s peak buying season, with festivals and weddings from October through March, and there is no clarity yet on how quotas will be managed or when the situation will improve. Sentimentally negative for Silver demand and prices

INVESTMENT CALLS

First Cut: Nippon Life Asset Management company - Strong AUM growth and market share gains.

• NAM India posted its highest-ever quarterly PAT (₹504 crore, +27% YoY, +31% QoQ) and operating profit (₹494 crore, +31% YoY), aided by strong AUM growth and stable yields (~38bps blended, flat QoQ).
• MF QAAUM grew 23% YoY to ₹7.52 lakh crore, making NAM India the fastest-growing AMC among the top 10; overall market share rose 54bps YoY to a post-2019 high of 9.04%, with equity market share up 34bps YoY to 7.38%.
• SIP flows grew 13-16% YoY (₹11,030 crore for the quarter, annualized systematic book of ~₹44,600 crore), with management citing diversification away from a few anchor schemes; equity net sales market share remained in double digits despite April-May moderation before a June pickup.
• Other expenses rose 17% QoQ on continued digital/brand/tech spend; management guided to 18-20% YoY growth in this expense line for the next 6-8 quarters, a modest drag on near-term margin expansion even as core profitability scales (Total AUM closed the quarter at ₹8.62 lakh crore, +16% YoY).

First Cut: Schaeffler India Q2CY26 Standalone results  -  Beat on all front

• Revenue for the company grew by 17.5% y-o-y and 7% q-o-q to Rs. 2,681crores led by strong performance in the automotive technologies division which grew by 33% y-o-y and 4% q-o-q.
• EBITDA for the quarter increased by 16% y-o-y and 7% q-o-q to Rs. 502 crores primarily led by the management of inventory and slower employee related expenses. Margins were marginally reduced by 17bps y-o-y to 18.7% indicating effective cost management.
• PAT improved by 14% y-o-y and 5% q-o-q to Rs. 337 crore while PAT margins reduced by 42bps y-o-y and 19bps q-o-q despite lower other income
• We remain positive on the stock and will release a detailed report post the Concall of the company at 10:30am

Results Highlights (Rs. Cr.)

Margin Profile

Segmental Highlights (Rs Cr)

First Cut: CIE Automotive Q2CY26 Consolidated results -  Inline results

• Revenue for the Quarter grew by 10.6% y-o-y to Rs. 2,621crores led by strong performance in the domestic business of the company.
• EBITDA for the quarter increased by 15.7% y-o-y but declined 3.1% q-o-q to Rs. 390 crores on back of better inventory management and relatively stable employee costs. Margins improved marginally by 65bps y-o-y but declined 52bps q-o-q to 14.9% reflecting operational hold on business.
• PAT improved by 15.5% y-o-y but declined 5% q-o-q to Rs. 337 crore while PAT margins reduced by 55bps q-o-q and increased 38bps q-o-q.
• We remain positive on the stock and will release a detailed report post the Concall of the company at 1:30pm

Results snapshot:

Margin Profile

First Cut: SRF Q1FY27: Way ahead of expectations mostly on inventory gains

• SRF posted very strong results for Q1Fy27 lead by growth in Packaging film business and technical textile Business.
• It beat our/street estimates on  sales by 15%/18%. On EBITDA it beat our/street estimates by 33% /46%.
• EBITDA margin was way ahead of our estimates by 360bps.
• This should lead to upward revision of street estimates. Chemical business was down on seasonality. We await for the call that will take place tomorrow. The stock was down on account of weakness in market on account of crude rising.
• We have a BUY on SRF, with a TP of Rs 3,170. We will come up with a detailed report after the call.

Stock Update: Mastek: Order Book momentum builds; Execution holds the key to recovery
CMP: 1,715                       Reco: BUY                       PT: 2,000

• Revenue grew 1.3% q-o-q (down 2.4% y-o-y) to $ 104.8 million. CC growth came in at 1.8% q-o-q (down 3.0% y-o-y), driven by strong traction in North America and Europe offset by weakness in AMEA.
• Margin performance was impacted by delayed ramp-ups, higher bench costs, and collection delays, but management expects these headwinds to gradually ease. We expect margins to witness near-term pressure due to annual wage hikes, ESOP costs starting from Q2, and underutilization/bench costs in the Middle East. Margins will most likely improve from H2FY27 as North America scales up, healthcare projects ramp, and Middle East inefficiencies gradually normalize. Accordingly, we model EBITDA margin at 15.5%16.0% for FY27E/FY28E.
• FY27 is expected to be stronger than FY26, the growth profile is likely to be back-end loaded (H2-led). The acceleration should be driven by the ramp-up of UK Healthcare (NHS data modernization projects), Financial Services in the UK, North America Government/Public Sector (including the $25 mn Salesforce deal), and AI-led transformation programs, supported by a robust 25% YoY growth in backlog and rising AI deal conversions. Accordingly, we revise our target price to Rs 2,000, implying a valuation of 13x on FY28E EPS of Rs 155.1, and maintain our BUY rating on the stock.