Sensex, Nifty end flat on F&O expiry day; midcaps, smallcaps outperform

The key equity benchmarks ended nearly flat on Tuesday amid volatility on the monthly derivatives expiry day. Elevated crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions and caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision weighed on sentiment. The Nifty closed at 22,749.75. Broader indices, however, advanced. Media stocks led sectoral gains, followed by realty and pharma shares. IT, oil and gas, and private banking stocks declined.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 8.08 points or 0.01% to 73,598.67. The Nifty 50 index fell 3.45 points or 0.02% to 22,749.75.

State Bank of India (down 1.63%), ICICI Bank (down 1.15%) and HDFC Bank (down 1.14%) were major Nifty drags today.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap 150 Index advanced 1.01% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index rose 2.01%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,946 shares rose and 1,370 shares fell. A total of 241 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for the December 2026 settlement advanced 45 cents or 0.39% to $116.26 a barrel.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.07% to 7.487 compared with the previous session close of 7.482.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.1950 compared with its close of 95.1500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 4 December 2026 settlement fell 0.51% to Rs 1,42,350.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.26% to 102.22.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.04% to 4.984.

Global Markets:

Dow futures rose 141 points, signalling a higher opening for US stocks.

Most European indices advanced on Tuesday as investors assessed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices and the outlook for global interest rates. Caution also prevailed ahead of major US technology earnings and key central bank policy decisions.

Asian equities ended mixed as the filing for artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic's planned initial public offering revived appetite for technology stocks ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and central bank decisions.

South Korea's economy grew 3.4% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, slowing from 3.7% in the previous quarter, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed on Tuesday. GDP expanded 1.0% quarter on quarter, accelerating from 0.6% in the April-June quarter. Semiconductor exports and investment in production equipment supported the expansion, although private consumption fell 0.2% quarter on quarter.

Wall Street ended higher on Monday, 26 October 2026. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to 52,361.58. The S&P 500 gained 53.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,676.77, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 214.04 points, or 0.83%, to 26,169.38. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 2.8%, marking its biggest one-day gain in a month, as chip-related shares led the recovery. The technology sector gained 1.5%, leading the S&P 500's 11 major sectors.

Anthropic's IPO filing helped revive the AI trade by highlighting rapid revenue growth alongside the substantial costs and risks of developing advanced AI systems. The company's first-half 2026 net loss widened to $80.7 billion, largely because of a non-operating accounting item related to convertible bonds. Its operating loss narrowed to $693 million, while adjusted operating income turned positive at $1.62 billion, compared with a loss of $1.85 billion a year earlier. Revenue grew 1,368% year on year in the three months ended 30 June 2026. The filing also highlighted risks linked to infrastructure costs, cloud-provider dependence and AI safety.

Individual stocks reflected renewed interest in AI infrastructure. Lumentum gained about 8% and Coherent rose around 6%, while Tesla advanced 5.2% after a Barclays upgrade. Meta Platforms fell 1.9% after announcing plans to raise up to $95 billion through equity offerings to fund its AI infrastructure expansion. The fundraising includes about $35 billion in public offerings and a separate share-sale programme of up to $60 billion. Meta's plans underscore investor scrutiny of the financing required to sustain AI-related capital expenditure.

Economic data offered a mixed signal on US activity and price pressures. The Dallas Federal Reserve's general business activity index rose to 13.4 in October from 9.8 in September, exceeding the 8.8 consensus forecast. However, the production index fell to 15.8 from 29.5, and the new-orders index declined to 9.3 from 30.7. The survey also showed the raw-materials price index rising to 55.3 from 52.2, pointing to continued input-cost pressure.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Maruti Suzuki India rose 2.05%. The company's net profit declined 26.89% to Rs 2,414.9 crore from Rs 3,302.8 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Net sales increased 26.09% to a record Rs 50,615.5 crore from Rs 40,135.8 crore in the year-ago period. Operating profit (EBIT) fell 17.10% to Rs 2,803.7 crore from Rs 3,382 crore in Q2 FY26, owing to commodity price increases linked to the West Asia conflict.

Cipla fell 0.37% after the drug major's consolidated profit attributable to shareholders stood at Rs 878 crore in Q2 FY27, down 35% year on year from Rs 1,351 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations declined 2.44% year on year to Rs 7,404 crore from Rs 7,589 crore.

Mankind Pharma jumped 8.24% after reporting strong financial results for Q2 FY27, with revenue, EBITDA and net profit increasing year on year. The company's profit after tax rose 37.7% year on year to Rs 716 crore from Rs 520 crore. Sequentially, net profit increased 24.7% from Rs 574 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 17.3% year on year to Rs 4,338 crore from Rs 3,697 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue grew 7.6% from Rs 4,031 crore.

OneSource Specialty Pharma surged 13.78% after the company reported strong Q2 FY27 results, with revenue and adjusted net profit increasing year on year. The company's adjusted net profit rose 108.69% year on year to Rs 93.7 crore from Rs 44.9 crore in Q2 FY26. Sequentially, adjusted net profit increased 47.25% from Rs 63.7 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 37.39% year on year to Rs 516.24 crore from Rs 375.76 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue rose 14.97% from Rs 449.02 crore in Q1 FY27.

Aequs tumbled 9.61% after the company?s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 52.39 crore in Q2 FY27 compared with net loss of Rs 20.59 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations soared 45.27% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 409.07 crore in Q2 FY27, supported by growth across its aerospace and consumer businesses.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings rose 8.95% after the company reported strong Q2 FY27 results, with net profit and revenue reaching record levels. The company reported an adjusted net profit of Rs 223.4 crore in Q2 FY27, up 28.38% year on year from Rs 174.02 crore. Sequentially, adjusted net profit increased 23.79% from Rs 180.47 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations rose 34.93% year on year to Rs 1,535.84 crore from Rs 1,138.29 crore. On a sequential basis, revenue increased 18.03% from Rs 1,301.20 crore in the previous quarter.

VA Tech Wabag jumped 7.55% after securing a mega order from Reliance Industries. The contract is for a desalination plant and a remineralisation facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Valiant Communications spurted 15.06% after the company announced that it had received a domestic order worth Rs 14.76 crore, inclusive of taxes, for grid communication and grid protection solutions.

Initial Public Offer (IPO):

EAAA India Alternatives received bids for 14,86,143 shares as against 52,99,684 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on 27 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.28 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 26 October 2026 and will close on 28 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 1,585 and 1,665 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 9 equity shares and multiples thereof.

BLS Polymers received bids for 11,12,95,100 shares as against 1,19,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on 27 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 9.35 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 27 October 2026 and will close on 29 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 142 and 150 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and multiples thereof.

SFC Environmental Technologies received bids for 13,42,035 shares as against 1,41,59,744 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on 27 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.09 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 27 October 2026 and will close on 29 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 313 and 330 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 45 equity shares and multiples thereof.

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