Tale of the Tape 

Good evening everyone!

Nifty (+1.2%) and Sensex (+1.1%) rallied for a fifth straight session tracking positive global cues. Midcaps (+2.5%) and Smallcaps (+2.2%) were up BIGGG! An insane 419 stocks in the NSE 500 closed in the green. Here’s the Nifty500 heatmap:

Except FMCG (-1%), all other sectors ended in the green. Energy (+2.5%) led the rally, followed by PSU Banks (+2.5%) and IT (+2.3%).

Tata Elxsi jumped +9% after guiding for a bullish Q1FY26. Meanwhile, HDFC (+1%) Q4 numbers show it may be back with a bang. More details below.

Why has Eternal aka Zomato capped foreign ownership? Also, ITC is shelling out Rs 427 cr to buy a cooking oil brand. Find out how this will affect their future prospects below. 

Just Dial, Suzlon and GAIL saw big moves today. Check out their charts below to find out why.

Tech Mahindra (+5%) was the top Nifty gainer, leading the IT rally today.

IDFC First Bank jumped +6%. Global brokerage firm Jefferies sees a further ~10% upside from current levels.

Q4 reactions. International Gemmological Institute India was locked in a 5% upper circuit. GNA Axles zoomed +14% after its PAT jumped +52% YoY.

Interarch Building Solutions was up +5% after bagging a Rs 300-cr pre-engineering buildings order in Gujarat.

Here are the closing prints:

Earnings
Earnings Roundup

Tata Elxsi rallied +9% intraday after signalling a bullish FY26! The firm is betting big on two large deal wins --  a €50 million deal with a European automotive OEM and a $100 million contract in its media vertical -- to drive growth starting Q1. 

Another big trigger has been Trump hinting at potential relief on auto tariffs. Tata Elxsi’s ‘transportation’ segment accounts for more than 50% of its software services revenue, so a tariff rollback would be a huge W. Finally, investors cheered a juicy Rs 75 p/sh dividend announcement. TBH, the stock needed it after its disastrous Q4 results. Most verticals reported degrowth, margins shrank more than 300 bps and profits hit a 3-year low!!!  

It’s wise to be cautious here. Yes, the management is bullish but many experts aren’t. PS - JP Morgan has cut its target price to Rs 4,400 vs Rs 4,500 p/sh earlier.

Here are its key stats:

• Revenue: Rs 908 cr; -3% QoQ (vs Est: Rs 924 cr)

• EBIT: Rs 183 ce; -17% QoQ

• EBIT Margin: 20.1% vs 23.5% QoQ

• PAT: Rs 172 cr; -13% QoQ (vs Est: Rs 182 cr)

Tata Elxsi is down -21% YTD.

HDFC Bank (+1%) Q4 results beat Street estimates! The lender has been killing it, with its quarterly PAT coming in at a 2-year-high, led by solid loan growth + improved net interest margins. Its loan-deposit ratio also came in at 96.5% (vs 104% last year) and it aims to lower it to ~85% by FY27. Beyond this, every metric looked solid, with the final cherry on top being an improvement in asset quality as well! 

Here is its Q4 report card:

• Net Interest Income: Rs 32,066 cr; +10% YoY (vs Est: Rs 30,769 cr)

• PAT: Rs 17,616 cr; +7% YoY (vs Est: Rs 17,058 cr)

• Gross NPA: 1.33% vs 1.42% QoQ

• Net NPA: 0.43% vs 0.46% QoQ

Big Picture: After years of going nowhere, it looks like things are FINALLY looking up for HDFC The merger difficulties have finally been worked out and loan growth is starting to return. With banks being seen as ‘Trump-proof’ and the RBI set to cut rates further, analysts are bullish and see on an average a 21%-23% upside from current levels.

Specials
Vijay Kedia Portfolio Changes

Who doesn’t want to know which stocks legendary investor Vijay Kedia is currently holding? In this video, we cover his top holdings and latest portfolio updates along with fundamental and technical views on the same.