August 19, 2026

TOP NEWS

War update: The UAE’s Foreign Ministry says Iranian missiles targeted maritime traffic and has announced that “all trade, commercial exchange and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice”. Iran has rejected accusations from the UAE that it launched two ballistic missiles at the Gulf country as “baseless”. US President Donald Trump says that no conversations are taking place or scheduled with Iran, while maintaining that the US naval blockade remains in full force and mines in the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared. With the tensions escalated oil has reached $91.77/ barrel. Asian markets have opened negative with Nikkei and Kospi down by 3 and 2% respectively. Gift nifty indicates a flattish start with 38 points positivity on the bourses.

LTTS: L&T Technology Services has secured a landmark engagement valued at over $75 Million from a leading global technology enterprise. As part of the 5-year agreement, LTTS will deploy its Engineering Intelligence (“EI”) capabilities across the end-to-end product development and engineering lifecycle, helping accelerate the development of next generation solutions for the customer’s global portfolio. LTTS will also enable the creation of a dedicated Engineering Center for technology and digital functions, leveraging its full stack of EI solutions.

Swiggy: Secured shareholder approval for key changes aimed at helping it qualify as an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC), clearing a major hurdle after a similar proposal was rejected by investors in May. The move is particularly important for Instamart. Swiggy currently operates the quick commerce business as a marketplace, with inventory owned by third-party sellers. The company said that upon qualifying as an IOCC, it would have the flexibility, subject to applicable laws and business requirements, to move towards inventory-led models for Instamart. Swiggy has said it expects the transition to an inventory-led model to take two to four quarters after shareholder approval. Positive news for Swiggy.

Atlanta Electricals: Received a significant Letter of Intent (LOI) from Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APTRANSCO). This order is for the design, manufacture, testing, and supply of 12 units of 160 MVA, 220/132 kV Auto Transformers. Order value is at Rs 194 crore.

Gas distribution companies: India is offering incentives to gas distributors across cities to boost domestic connections of piped cooking gas, as the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupts fuel shipments and drives ‌up import costs. Under the incentive scheme, effective September, city ​gas distribution companies will get an additional 200 standard cubic metres ​of cheaper, domestically produced gas for every household they connect to, which starts using and paying for piped natural gas (PNG). The ⁠extra gas, which will lower overall gas-sourcing costs, is also expected to help distributors recoup their investment in new connections in about three years, down from roughly 10 currently. Positive for ATGL, MGL and IGL.

Aster DM Quality Care: Centella Mauritius Holdings, managed by affiliates of TPG, is likely to sell a 7.2 percent stake in Aster DM Quality Care through a block deal, with a floor price of Rs 766.1 per share, reports CNBC-TV18.Centella Mauritius Holdings held a 9.9 percent stake in Aster DM Quality Care as of June 2026.

PNB Housing Finance Limited shareholders approved a Rs. 10,000 crore NCD issuance and increased borrowing limits to Rs. 1,50,000 crore at its 38th AGM on August 17, 2026.

Jubilant Ingrevia will remain in focus on August 19 following board approval to enter into a binding term sheet to acquire a 40% strategic equity stake in Zettaone Technologies India for approximately ₹189.2 crore.

Macro Wrap

• US–Iran tensions remain high, keeping supply risks elevated and the Strait of Hormuz constrained. Trump says there are no talks with Tehran and confirms the US naval blockade. Despite claims the waterway is open, traffic remains limited. Iranian forces have escalated hostilities, with eight vessel attacks reported this month, including on UAE- and Saudi-linked ships, keeping the global benchmark crude oil prices higher.
• The elevated crude oil prices putting pressure on global markets and that is leading to correction in equity indices in US overnight. The technology sell-off was the main market development overnight. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell around 5%, reversing part of its recent sharp rally, as concerns over elevated valuations and the sustainability of AI-related investment returned to focus. The combination of stretched valuations and long-term borrowing costs near multi-year highs appears to have triggered profit-taking following the strong recent gains in AI-related stocks.
• Asian stocks dropped as a semiconductor selloff deepened, with investors retreating from one of the year’s hottest trades amid elevated bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty. Treasuries stabilized following recent losses.
• Long-dated US Treasury yields remained another important focus. Persistent fiscal deficits, elevated inflation uncertainty and heavy government and corporate debt issuance continue to weigh on the long end. The combination of higher energy prices and elevated long-term borrowing costs is becoming an increasingly important headwind for richly valued stocks and broader risk sentiment.
• US 30-Year Treasury yields hit 5.31–5.32%, the highest level since June 2007, driven by investor angst over surging government spending, a flood of long-dated bond supply, and inflation that has remained above the Fed's target for five years. The US Treasury disbursed a record $85bn in semi-annual coupon payments to bondholders on 17 August. US 30-Year Treasury yields hit 5.31–5.32%, the highest level since June 2007, driven by investor angst over surging government spending, a flood of long-dated bond supply, and inflation that has remained above the Fed's target for five years. The US Treasury disbursed a record $85bn in semi-annual coupon payments to bondholders on 17 August.
• USD is stabilizing, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index at 99.61 after earlier hitting mid‑May lows, as a bear‑steepening US yield curve blunts traditional rate support. USDJPY is at 159.46 and edging toward the key 160 level, with elevated US yields, high oil and Middle East risk supporting the pair, though reduced speculative shorts leave it vulnerable to a sharp squeeze on a break.
• US housing starts fell 12.4% in July 2026 to an annualized 1.239 million units, well below expectations of 1.35 million and near a six-year low. Multi-family starts dropped 15.6% and single-family 9.9%. Regionally, starts fell in the Midwest, South, and West, but rose in the Northeast.
• US manufacturing output rose 0.2% in July 2026, matching expectations. Durable goods production climbed 0.7%, while nondurable output fell 0.4%. Capacity utilization edged up to 76%, still 2.2 points below its long-run average.

INVESTMENT CALL

Sector Update: Cement Review– Volume Led Growth; Margins Face Near-Term Cost Pressures

• Cement companies under coverage (ex-Grasim) reported 7.2% y-o-y revenue growth, led by 5.7% volume growth and a 1.3% rise in realisations.
• EBITDA per tonne declined 9.8% y-o-y as the West Asia crisis pushed up fuel and other input costs. UltraTech was the clear outperformer, with EBITDA per tonne up 1.4% y-o-y.
• We expect industry volumes to grow 7-8% in FY27. Cost pressure is likely to remain in Q2FY27 before easing in H2, assuming fuel prices normalise. Players with scale, sourcing flexibility and strong cost control should outperform.
• Preferred Pick - UltraTech Cement

Sector Update- Capital Goods and Power Q1FY27 result review: Orderbook stays strong; margins seen stressed in the short run

• Our coverage universe’s Q1 numbers were a mixed bag, versus our expectations. Revenue growth broadly remained in line, but margins were below estimates. Heavy exposure to West Asia has faced margin headwinds due to higher raw material costs. Traction across sectors like T&D, datacenter, real estate and defence remained strong. Revenue and bottomline grew ~12%/~16% y-o-y with a margins falling 77 bps to 10.07%.
• Margins saw short-term pressure across the sector with a select companies impacted deeply such as Thermax, Triveni Turbines, Cummins India, etc. All the companies in a single trend indicated the margins pressure could be persisting in the upcoming quarter.
• Preferred Picks - Triveni Turbines, L&T, Bharat Electronics, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Va tech Wabag, KEI industries, Dee Development, and Kalpataru Projects International Ltd. In power, we like NTPC, Powergrid and Tata Power.

OTHER NEWS

Infosys: The company announced a strategic, long-term collaboration with Knorr-Bremse AG, a global manufacturer of braking systems and safety-critical components for rail and commercial vehicles. As part of Knorr-Bremse AG’s Tech4Value (T4V) IT transformation program, Infosys will deliver end-to-end managed services across the company’s entire enterprise application ecosystem spanning both Rail and Commercial Vehicle divisions.

Exide Industries | The firm has invested ₹200 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary Exide Energy Solutions Ltd (EESL), stepping up funding for the greenfield multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility being developed in India. The investment was made on August 18, through subscription to 5.71 crore equity shares of EESL on a rights basis, at a face value of ₹10 per share and a premium of ₹25 per share.

Shilpa Medicare Ltd | Drug firm said it had initiated a voluntary recall of 27,923 vials of Pemetrexed Injection 100 mg/10 mL and 500 mg/50 mL (Pemetri RTU) in the United States due to atypical discolouration of the drug product.

Prism Johnson: Secured successful bids for an additional 1,28,000 TPA of coal linkage from Coal India subsidiaries ECL and SECL, expanding its total coal linkage to 2,79,400 TPA. The 10-year contracts are valued at approximately ₹70.49 crore per annum and cover nearly half of its Cement Division's annual fuel requirement. 

Krystal Integrated Services: The company has received a work order worth Rs 134 crore from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation for providing integrated facility management services in the allocated regions of Mumbai and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar for a period of three years

Interarch Building Solutions: The company has received an order worth Rs 128 crore for the manufacturing, supply and erection of a pre-engineered steel building system for a major FMCG player of international repute. The project involves the construction of a manufacturing facility for homecare, beauty and wellness products

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation: ONGC has commissioned gas evacuation facilities at Khoraghat GGS-1 in Golaghat, Assam. The facility will enable surplus associated natural gas from the Upper Assam Shelf to be processed and evacuated through the North East Gas Grid (NEGG), developed by Indradhanush Gas Grid (IGGL).

Hindustan Zinc: Vedanta Group company Hindustan Zinc said that August 18 that it has increased the share of renewable power in its overall electricity consumption to 22%, from around 18% in FY26. The company has set a target of meeting 70% of its power requirements through renewable sources by FY28. These initiatives form part of its broader sustainability roadmap and support its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-validated decarbonisation pathway towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Tata Steel: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Tata Steel Ltd’s proposed acquisition of an additional 23% equity stake in TM International Logistics Ltd (TMILL), paving the way for the steelmaker to become the majority shareholder in the logistics joint venture. The proposed transaction involves Tata Steel acquiring the entire 23% stake held by existing joint venture partner IQ Martrade Holding Und Management GmbH.