The Close

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The Close · The Open · The Long Desk · Archive · Research · Top Stocks
Mon, 28 Sep 2026
1428 companies · 1449 sector slots · 21 sectors · 21 below Rs1000cr and not scanned · long-term lens

Trend Spotlight

Brent crude spikes on Strait of Hormuz uncertainty as the rupee slides near record lows, compounding the Fed's Sept 16 hike.

Crude rallied sharply into the close on renewed uncertainty over US-Iran talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz; sources disagree on the exact Brent print for Sept 28 ($104.46/bbl per Fortune vs $106.89/bbl per Trading Economics, both up roughly 2% on the day), but agree on the direction and the geopolitical driver. The rupee is trading near record lows around 95.86-96.07/USD, a weakening trend consistent with the crude spike and the Fed's Sept 16 25bp hike to 3.75-4.00% (its first since 2023, with markets pricing at least one more move this year). Together these widen India's import bill and current-account pressure -- a macro headwind, not a single-sector catalyst, with the RBI's next MPC decision due Oct 7.

Market Overview

IndexClosePoints ChangeP/EP/B
Nifty 50 22,780.25 ▼ -360.25 ▼ -1.56% 19.26 2.75
Nifty Next 50 70,309.50 ▼ -1,469.15 ▼ -2.05% 18.59 3.13
Nifty 500 22,232.15 ▼ -371.35 ▼ -1.64% 21.54 3.08
Nifty Bank 54,471.65 ▼ -1,108.75 ▼ -1.99% 12.89 1.63
NIFTY Midcap 100 59,914.20 ▼ -991.80 ▼ -1.63% 28.88 4.06
▲ 438 advancing ■ 29 unchanged ▼ 2186 declining of 2653 equities, vs the 2026-09-25 close
Cash market, ₹ crore
FII / FPI net
▼ -5,353.22
bought 9,048 · sold 14,401
DII net
▲ +5,189.02
bought 15,918 · sold 10,729
FII / FPI DII
FII / DII daily net cash flow · ₹ crore · scroll to zoom, drag to pan

Source: NSE ind_close_all_20260928 (levels, index P/E and P/B) and the full-market bhavcopy (breadth).

Index P/E from NSE's official daily index file.

Sector performance

This session's index move, next to the desk's standing stance. The stance is a valuation-and-quality reading over years — it does not move because an index had a good day. Sectors with no listed NSE index show — for the session columns; the stance still applies.

SectorIndexSession Idx P/EStance
Information Technology Nifty IT · 17 researched 28,086.50 ▼ -0.26% 17.9 WATCH
Healthcare & Hospitals Nifty Healthcare Index · 8 researched 16,537.15 ▼ -0.85% 43.3 WATCH
Pharmaceuticals Nifty Pharma · 19 researched 26,761.65 ▼ -0.89% 41.4 WATCH
FMCG Nifty FMCG · 8 researched 45,264.35 ▼ -1.47% 31.4 WATCH
Automobiles Nifty Auto · 35 researched 26,525.05 ▼ -1.64% 30.8 WATCH
Financial Services Nifty Financial Services · 11 researched 24,671.65 ▼ -1.69% 15.1 WATCH
Metals & Mining Nifty Metal · 19 researched 12,854.40 ▼ -1.78% 15.7 WATCH
Hospitality & Tourism Nifty India Tourism · 8 researched 7,639.95 ▼ -1.92% 86.2 ACCUMULATE
Banks Nifty Bank · 13 researched 54,471.65 ▼ -1.99% 12.9 WATCH
Energy & Power Nifty Energy · 18 researched 36,693.20 ▼ -2.00% 14.2 WATCH
Realty Nifty Realty · 4 researched 850.90 ▼ -2.12% 36.1 WATCH
Construction & Materials no listed index · 10 researched — — — ACCUMULATE
Capital Goods no listed index · 15 researched — — — WATCH
Chemicals no listed index · 8 researched — — — WATCH
Commercial Services no listed index · 6 researched — — — WATCH
Diversified & Other no listed index · 1 researched — — — WATCH
Logistics & Transport no listed index · 6 researched — — — WATCH
Packaging & Plastics no listed index · 2 researched — — — WATCH
Retail & Consumer no listed index · 4 researched — — — WATCH
Telecom & Media no listed index · 5 researched — — — WATCH
Textiles & Apparel no listed index · 5 researched — — — WATCH

Movers in the universe

Largest moves among the 1424 tracked names this session, against the 2026-09-25 close.

CompanyCallPrev CloseMove
R Systems International Ltd RSYSTEMS HOLD ₹235.62 ₹275.21 ▲ +16.80%
Dam Capital Advisors Ltd DAMCAPITAL HOLD ₹138.18 ₹158.66 ▲ +14.82%
SMC Global Securities Ltd SMCGLOBAL AVOID ₹85.60 ₹97.23 ▲ +13.59%
Syncom Formulations (India) Ltd SYNCOMF HOLD ₹20.05 ₹22.20 ▲ +10.72%
Sunflag Iron & Steel Company Ltd SUNFLAG QUALITY-WAIT ₹410.65 ₹449.20 ▲ +9.39%
Paisalo Digital Ltd PAISALO HOLD ₹89.02 ₹79.60 ▼ -10.58%
Arman Financial Services Ltd ARMANFIN HOLD ₹1,885.60 ₹1,700.10 ▼ -9.84%
Network People Services Technologies Ltd NPST AVOID ₹1,796.30 ₹1,635.00 ▼ -8.98%
Rajputana Stainless Ltd RSL HOLD ₹183.46 ₹167.41 ▼ -8.75%
Antelopus Selan Energy Ltd ANTELOPUS QUALITY-WAIT ₹1,261.70 ₹1,159.45 ▼ -8.10%

Calls this session

A change to anything but AVOID publishes only after two consecutive sessions say the same thing; AVOID publishes at once.

Sector stance changed (2)

Published this session (19)

new
Weighted average rating 4.36/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: price
Unconfirmed: price not checked — Weighted average rating 4.23/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 4.2/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 4.14/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 4.38/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 4.22/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.98/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: price
Unconfirmed: price not checked — Weighted average rating 4.48/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.91/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.87/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Good business, bad price today (Value 2/5) — PEG 0.83; P/E cheaper than 43% of sector peers (P/E 36.93); EV/EBITDA 25.7, B/M 0.142. Watch for a better entry.
new
Good business, bad price today (Value 2/5) — PEG 0.66; P/E cheaper than 57% of sector peers (P/E 29.05); EV/EBITDA 25.7, B/M 0.16. Watch for a better entry.

and 7 more — full list on the site.

Awaiting a second session (18)

TickerClosePublished PendingNote
AEGISLOG ₹1,308.10 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
CENTUM ₹4,571.20 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
EMCURE ₹1,927.80 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
GLENMARK ₹2,325.70 QUALITY-WAIT → BUY if next session holds
GPIL ₹225.46 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
IPCALAB ₹1,919.30 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
JUBLINGREA ₹654.80 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
KALYANKJIL ₹564.00 HOLD → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
LENSKART ₹655.20 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
LUPIN ₹2,062.00 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
MANINDS ₹953.35 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
NAVA ₹547.00 BUY → HOLD if next session holds
NH ₹1,820.10 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
ORIENTELEC ₹160.00 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
SANOFICONR ₹3,976.20 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
STAR ₹1,151.40 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
SUNCLAY ₹1,229.90 AVOID → HOLD if next session holds
THELEELA ₹547.90 HOLD → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds

Top Stories

DOMS's margin-recovery thesis stays unresolved: management reiterates the trough call, but Q2/Q3 FY27 proof isn't out yet Retail & Consumer

On the Q1 FY27 earnings call, DOMS CFO Rahul Shah said the quarter's EBITDA margin collapse (17.6% to 12.3%, on ~20% West Asia-linked input inflation with only 4-5% pricing passed through) marks the bottom, and reaffirmed the path to 16-17% margin by FY28 via further calibrated price hikes. That confirms the open claim's factual basis but does not test it -- Q2 FY27 results (quarter ended Sept 30) haven't been published, so the claim stays open pending that print.

DOMS

IT sees genuine deal-win momentum, but it's set against a Nifty IT index still down ~25% YTD Information Technology

LTIMindtree announced its largest-ever deal at roughly $580 million, and mid-caps LTIMindtree, Coforge and Mphasis are reported winning new AI-outcome logos with AI-services revenue scaling 40-60% YoY -- a real positive that likely extends to sector peers beyond the names cited. Against that, Nifty IT remains down about 25% year-to-date on pricing and revenue-deflation pressure, which is why this reads as a narrow positive rather than something that flips the sector's WATCH stance.

LTIM

HAL delivers three indigenous platforms as its order book holds near Rs 2.54 lakh crore Capital Goods

HAL's order book stood at roughly Rs 2.54 lakh crore as of March 31, 2026, and Q1 FY27 consolidated net profit rose 14.9% YoY on operating margins steady around 30%. On Sept 14 HAL delivered three indigenous platforms -- the HTT-40 trainer, Dhruv NG and LCA FOC trainer -- to the IAF and Pawan Hans, reinforcing execution against the order book. Nothing found this session -- client loss, guidance cut or governance flag -- would falsify the BUY call.

HAL

Sundaram-Clayton: leadership settled since April, but institutional shareholders opposed the auditor reappointment by 57% Automobiles

CEO Vivek S Joshi resigned effective March 31, 2026, with R Venkatesh installed as Director & CEO from April 1; that transition is no longer news. What is new: at the July 28 AGM, institutional shareholders voted 57.18% against the five-year statutory auditor reappointment, a notable governance-dissent signal even though the resolution still passed. Q3 FY26 EBITDA margin expanded from 14.7% to 19.7%, an operational positive cutting the other way. Single-sourced; mixed evidence for the pending AVOID-to-HOLD flip, not a clean resolution either direction.

SUNCLAY

Man Industries books ~Rs 600cr in new pipe orders, order book to ~Rs 4,100cr; stock jumped 19% intraday Metals & Mining

A step-down subsidiary won new domestic and international pipe-supply orders of roughly Rs 600 crore (one source puts it near Rs 1,000 crore), executable in six to nine months, lifting the unexecuted order book to about Rs 4,100 crore. Shares rallied as much as 19.1% intraday to a record high on the news. Trading window closes Oct 1 ahead of Q2 FY27 results -- routine SEBI compliance, not a flag.

MANINDS

Sector Scorecard

Entry score is 40% cheap-vs-history + 25% quality trend + 20% news catalyst + 15% technicals, for the 4 sectors with a researched catalyst. The other 17 show —: no catalyst was researched for them, so their score renormalises over the remaining three inputs rather than assuming a neutral headline. ≥62 accumulate · 45–61 watch · <45 avoid.

SectorStanceEntryCheap QualityTechNews IndexIdx P/EB/W/H/A
Information Technology 75 scanned · 17 researched WATCH 59.1 62.6 78.5 28.4 +0 ▼ -0.26% 17.9 4/9/54/8
Banks 40 scanned · 13 researched WATCH 50.9 47.0 52.3 59.0 — ▼ -1.99% 12.9 1/0/30/9
Pharmaceuticals 85 scanned · 19 researched WATCH 45.4 19.8 72.0 69.2 — ▼ -0.89% 41.4 0/20/54/11
Automobiles 109 scanned · 35 researched WATCH 52.4 32.4 78.3 66.0 +0 ▼ -1.64% 30.8 14/22/62/11
FMCG 105 scanned · 8 researched WATCH 57.5 54.1 68.8 48.0 — ▼ -1.47% 31.4 4/19/65/17
Metals & Mining 83 scanned · 19 researched WATCH 51.7 38.0 67.9 61.2 — ▼ -1.78% 15.7 0/11/53/19
Realty 39 scanned · 4 researched WATCH 51.5 53.5 52.0 45.2 — ▼ -2.12% 36.1 1/2/15/21
Energy & Power 83 scanned · 18 researched WATCH 55.8 50.0 63.4 58.6 — ▼ -2.00% 14.2 5/9/37/32
Financial Services 148 scanned · 5 ranked elsewhere · 11 researched WATCH 55.9 66.0 43.6 49.7 — ▼ -1.69% 15.1 0/4/90/54
Healthcare & Hospitals 58 scanned · 16 ranked elsewhere · 8 researched WATCH 49.1 27.1 73.8 65.0 +0 ▼ -0.85% 43.3 4/16/33/5
Hospitality & Tourism 37 scanned · 8 researched ACCUMULATE 63.6 67.4 68.6 45.2 — ▼ -1.92% 86.2 0/6/21/10
Chemicals 98 scanned · 8 researched WATCH 57.4 52.5 68.5 52.0 — — — 2/12/61/23
Construction & Materials 123 scanned · 10 researched ACCUMULATE 62.8 73.3 61.8 36.6 — — — 3/11/69/40
Capital Goods 101 scanned · 15 researched WATCH 53.0 35.0 78.5 62.2 +0 — — 10/11/66/14
Textiles & Apparel 47 scanned · 5 researched WATCH 56.0 50.0 62.6 61.0 — — — 2/6/27/12
Retail & Consumer 67 scanned · 4 researched WATCH 59.1 55.3 68.4 53.8 — — — 2/9/37/19
Packaging & Plastics 34 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 53.9 40.9 64.7 70.6 — — — 2/4/20/8
Logistics & Transport 25 scanned · 6 researched WATCH 48.5 35.3 67.6 52.0 — — — 6/3/9/7
Telecom & Media 29 scanned · 5 researched WATCH 52.7 50.0 60.2 47.6 — — — 3/1/14/11
Commercial Services 31 scanned · 6 researched WATCH 59.9 64.0 52.8 61.0 — — — 2/2/14/13
Diversified & Other 32 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 47.7 34.3 59.7 63.2 — — — 0/3/18/11

Source: data/verdicts.json × NSE sector index closes.

Stocks to Watch

Split evenly across large/mid/small/micro cap so this list isn't one tier's picks — new calls first, then the highest long-term composites within each. Micro-cap names are boxed and flagged Highly Volatile — worth watching, not a call to buy — since their price swings run about twice every other tier's. Each card shows the figures that selected it — open the desk for the full six-lens panel.

new call this session
unconfirmed: price
composite 75.7 on quality, timing, valuation
Composite 75.7 Mkt Cap 159,321 cr · Large P/E 21.51 ROCE 35.9% Piotroski 3/3
new call this session
P/E in the 64th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 35.2% (up 11.2pt over 5y)
Composite 67.0 Mkt Cap 107,870 cr · Large P/E 19.46 ROCE 35.2% Piotroski 6/9
new call this session
P/E in the 3th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 13.9% (up 4.9pt over 5y) · Piotroski 9/9
Composite 77.1 Mkt Cap 24,744 cr · Mid P/E 11.66 ROCE 13.9% Piotroski 9/9
new call this session
unconfirmed: price
Piotroski 8/9
Composite 69.7 Mkt Cap 20,248 cr · Mid P/E 32.6 ROCE 60.8% Piotroski 8/9
new call this session
P/E in the 16th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 14.8% (up 7.8pt over 5y)
Composite 81.8 Mkt Cap 8,657 cr · Small P/E 45.3 ROCE 14.8% Piotroski 5/9
new call this session
ROCE 7.71% (up 4.7pt over 5y)
Composite 79.5 Mkt Cap 5,368 cr · Small P/E 18.11 ROCE 7.71% Piotroski 6/9
new call this session
Highly Volatile
ROCE 40.4% (up 33.4pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/8
Composite 74.9 Mkt Cap 3,328 cr · Micro P/E 33.5 ROCE 40.4% Piotroski 7/8
new call this session
Highly Volatile
P/E in the 98th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 21.2% (up 23.2pt over 5y)
Composite 66.1 Mkt Cap 4,076 cr · Micro P/E 29.05 ROCE 21.2% Piotroski 5/8

How We Evaluate

MetricWhy it is in the frameworkSource
Return on capital, level and trendDurable high ROCE predicts future returns; the trend separates a moat from a good year Novy-Marx 2013 JFE
Gross profitability (GP/assets)As predictive as book-to-market, and less prone to the value trap Novy-Marx 2013 JFE
Piotroski F-scoreA nine-signal accounting checklist that separates real improvers from statistically cheap traps Piotroski 2000 JAR
Cash-flow-to-net-profitAccrual-heavy profit reverts; cash-backed profit persists Sloan 1996 TAR
P/E versus the stock's own historyCheap relative to itself, not to a peer set that may be expensive as a whole Basu 1977 JF
Book-to-marketThe value premium, in its original form Fama–French 1992 JF
EV/EBITDACapital-structure-neutral, so it compares a leveraged firm to an unleveraged one Practitioner standard
Altman Z and interest coverageDistressed firms have delivered lower, not higher, returns — screen them out rather than chase them Altman 1968 JF; Campbell/Hilscher/Szilagyi 2008 JF
52-week-high proximity, 200-DMANearness to the high has predicted continuation — but momentum crashes, so never alone George & Hwang 2004 JF; Daniel & Moskowitz 2016 JFE
Promoter pledgePledged promoter holding is a governance red flag ahead of a forced sale Not currently available from either source — no penalty is applied

Full derivation in METHODOLOGY.md.