December 18, 2025

TOP NEWS

KP Green Energy: Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Republic of Botswana to collaborate on the development of large-scale renewable energy generation, energy storage, and transmission infrastructure. The MoU marks an important milestone in KP Group's international expansion and Botswana's ambition to become a net-zero country by 2030. The total investment is expected at Rs 36,000 crore. The collaboration envisages the upgrading and construction of high voltage transmission lines within Botswana, as well as strengthening interconnections with neighboring countries to enable regional power transmission. Positive

TCS: CEO K Krithivasan has said annualised revenue from AI services reached $1.5 billion, growing 16.3% quarter-on-quarter. Over 85% of clients with revenues above $20 million leverage TCS for AI work. Krithivasan said AI is becoming a core growth engine across TCS' portfolio. AI services are growing at 38.2% year-on-year in constant currency, significantly faster than other segments such as interactive, cybersecurity, cloud, enterprise solutions, and IoT & digital engineering. Overall, TCS showcased $11 billion in annualised revenue across these services. Positive

Mahindra Lifespaces has launched Mahindra Blossom, a net zero waste premium residential project in Whitefield, Bengaluru, with an estimated GDV of ~Rs. 1,900 crore. The low-density project offers 2–4 BHK homes, ~75% open spaces, strong sustainability features, and is the company’s third net-zero residential development in Bengaluru, benefiting from metro connectivity and proximity to key IT hubs. Positive

Antony waste: Secured two municipal solid waste collection and transportation contracts from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, with a combined value of approximately Rs 1,330 crore. Each contract carries a tenure of seven years and involves the collection and transportation of municipal solid waste to designated landfill sites using owned new vehicles. Positive

One 97 Communications Paytm: The Reserve Bank of India has authorised Paytm Payments Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications, to operate as a Payment Aggregator for physical (offline) payments and cross-border transactions (both inward and outward), in addition to the online Payment Aggregator authorisation already granted by the RBI on November 26. With this authorisation, Paytm Payments Services now holds Payment Aggregator licences across all key segments, enabling it to offer end-to-end payment aggregation services across online, offline, and cross-border use cases.  Positive

GE Vernova T&D: Company has been awarded a significant contract by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for the refurbishment of the 2x500MW HVDC Chandrapur back-to-back link between Northern and Southern India. The project scope includes design, supply, and execution of upgrades to HVDC Thyristor Valves, Controls & Protection systems, and complete infrastructure refurbishment. Positive

AMC Industry: SEBI has approved a comprehensive overhaul of mutual fund regulations aimed at improving cost transparency and reducing the expense burden on investors. The board cleared changes to the Total Expense Ratio (TER) framework, including the exclusion of statutory levies such as securities transaction tax (STT), GST, stamp duty and commodities transaction tax from TER calculations. Statutory levies to be charged on actuals, over and above base expense ratio (BER). Additional 5 bps expense allowance linked to exit loads has been removed. SEBI revised its earlier proposal to cap the brokerage that mutual funds pay, raising the limit to 6 basis points from the earlier proposed 2 bps for equity cash transactions. Presently, fund managers pay up to 12 bps as brokerage to buy and sell stocks in their portfolios. SEBI changed brokerage rates for derivative mutual fund deals from proposed 1 to 2 basis points (exclusive of levies). Currently, the rate is 5 basis points. SEBI cuts base expense ratio limit for index funds, ETFs to 0.9% from 1.0%; SEBI cuts base expense ratio for liquid-scheme based fund of funds to 0.9%; SEBI cuts base expense ratio for close-ended equity schemes to 1% vs 1.25%.  AMC stocks like HDFC AMC, Nippon Life AMC and Broking stocks like Motilal Oswal, 360 One Wam etc. to be in focus.

Ola Electric: Ola Electric founder and promoter Bhavish Aggarwal has sold another 4.2 crore shares of the company through open market transactions on Wednesday, extending a series of stake sales. Negative

MACRO OUTLOOK

• The DJIA, the S&P500, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5%, 1.2%, and 1.8% respectively. The Eurostoxx 50 fell 0.6%. The Dollar Index rose 0.2% to 98.38. EUR-USD was slightly lower at 1.1740. The US 2Y yield was little changed at 3.48% and the 10Y yield edged higher at 4.15%. The UK 10Y yield fell 4bp to 4.48%. Gold rose 0.8% to USD4,338.
• Euro Area's annual core inflation held at 2.4% in November 2025, consistent with estimates and unchanged for three months. Since May's near four-year low of 2.3%, it has stabilized, suggesting no further ECB rate cuts. Monthly core prices decreased by 0.5%. neutral for Euro.
• Fed Speaks: US Fed's Waller sees a "very soft" labor market but is optimistic about 2026. Inflation expectations are stable, with rates above target but expected to decrease. He sees no rush to cut rates, despite being 50-100bps over neutral. Fed's Bostic expects solid GDP growth next year, with employment trends uncertain. Sentimentally positive for gold.
• Geopolitics took centre stage once again due to heightened geopolitical risks in Venezuela and Russia. US President Trump ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The US is also preparing new sanctions on Russian energy exports if Russia rejects a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. The WTI January contract rose 2.1% to $56.50. sentimentally positive for oil prices.
• Data watch: todays focus would remain on US weekly initial jobless claims and the November CPI which is expected at 3.1% yoy and central banks policy meet where the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to leave the deposit rate unchanged at 2% today. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) is expected to cut the bank rate by 25bp to 3.75% today.

INVESTMENT CALL

Stock Update: JK Lakshmi Cement– On expansion spree; medium-term outlook bright.

Reco: BUY              Reco. Price: Rs. 765                Price Target: Rs.992

• JK Lakshmi Cement is entering a multi-year capacity expansion phase, eyeing a capacity of 30 mtpa by FY30, enhancing long-term growth visibility.
• Company’s focus is on boosting profitability through premiumisation, higher share of blended cement, cost-efficiency initiatives, including renewable energy usage.
• Balance sheet discipline remains intact, with company aiming for net debt below 3-3.5x EBITDA despite high capex in the next few years.
• We retain a Buy rating with a PT of Rs. 992 on better earnings visibility and medium-term margin expansion potential.

Valuation (Standalone)                                Rs. Crore

OTHER NEWS

Titagarh Rail: The company has Received a Rs 273.24 crore order from the Ministry of Railways for supply of Rail Borne Maintenance Vehicles, including training and maintenance. Delivery to start in 15 months and complete within 48 months. Positive

Axis Bank: Private sector lender Axis Bank has partnered with Google to introduce a co-branded credit card linked to the Unified Payments Interface. The Google Pay Flex Axis Bank Credit Card runs on the RuPay network and allows users to access credit while making everyday digital payments.