Tale of the Tape 

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Nifty and Sensex hit new all-time highs before ending flat. Midcaps (+0.2%) saw muted gains, but Smallcaps (-0.6%) ended in the red. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bears (3:2). Check out the Stocktwits Sentiment Meter:

It was a mixed-bag kinda day for sectors. Metals (+3%) and Energy (+0.8%) were the top winners. On the flipside, PSU Banks (-0.9%) and FMCG (-0.8%) witnessed some selling.

It’s no secret that big algo trading firms are feasting on small F&O traders. Read our top story on the gory details from SEBI’s new study.

This smallcap music label stock could see a +25% upside from current levels. More details below.

Metal stocks were on fire today after China’s latest stimulus. Check out their charts below.

Astrazeneca Pharma India (+14%) was the top NSE 500 gainer after its new cancer drug got approval from Indian authorities.

IEX cracked -12% and was the top NSE 500 loser after reports said the GOI will implement ‘market coupling’ for power exchanges by FY25.

Market debuts. Arkade Developers and Northern Arc Capital had decent listings. Arkade ended the day +29% higher than its IPO price. Northern Arc closed at Rs 322 p/sh; +22% from its IPO price of Rs 263 p/sh.

Brokerage reactions. GMR Power and Urban Infra was locked in a +5% upper circuit after Emkay initiated coverage; it sees a +15% upside. Paytm also rose +5% after Emkay upgraded the stock.

Firstsource Solutions gained +6% after acquiring a customer experience outsourcing firm based in the UK for £42 million.

Reliance Power was locked in a +5% upper circuit after its board approved raising Rs 1,525 cr through a preferential issue of shares.

Here are the closing prints:

Market
Retail Traders Are Royally F*cked

When US investment firm Jane Street declared profits worth $1 billion from India’s derivatives markets, everyone wondered who was on the other side of the deal. Today, SEBI wants to make it clearer than ever: it's you, our dear retail F&O traders.

SEBI’s updated study on F&O losses paints a grim picture. 93% of individual F&O traders incurred average losses of around Rs 2 lakh per trader from FY22-FY24.  What’s worse: only 1% of individual traders earned profits >Rs 1 lakh after adjusting for transaction costs. It doesn’t stop there. Nearly 76% of Individual F&O traders earned less than Rs 5 lakh per year -- that’s a LOT of delivery boys, plumbers and security guards hoping to get rich. Which category do you fall in? Let us know 👇️ 

In stark contrast, sophisticated ‘proprietary traders’ and ‘foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs) were ridiculously profitable. While individuals as a trading class incurred a loss of over Rs 61,000 cr in FY24, proprietary traders and FPIs booked gross trading profits of Rs 61,000 cr. FYI - most of the latter’s profits came from “larger entities” that used “trading algorithms”. In fact: 97% of FPI profits and 96% of proprietary trader profits came from algorithmic trading.

Finally, the house always wins. Brokers and exchanges know it, Nirmala Sitharaman knows it, and Madhabi Puri Buch knows it. Individual traders paid a whopping Rs 50,000 cr in transaction costs from FY22-FY24. Half of that went to brokerage, while the GOI scooped up Rs 13,800 cr in the form of STT, GST and stamp duty. Yikes.

Big Picture: There is very little difference between F&O trading and gambling. For individual traders, the odds are just as bad and you’re up against highly funded & skilled players who will always win. It’s also just as addictive as SEBI makes sadly clear: Over 76% of loss-making traders continued to play the F&O game despite racking up losses for two consecutive years.

Stocktwits Specials
Buy The Dip In Defence Stocks?

Most defence stocks are down 25-30% from their all-time highs. Experts say this could be a “golden opportunity” to add select defence stocks at current levels. Find out which are these stocks and their 12-month target prices in our latest video.