The Close

The Long Desk

The Close · The Open · The Long Desk · Archive · Research · Top Stocks
Thu, 17 Sep 2026
1429 companies · 1450 sector slots · 21 sectors · 21 below Rs1000cr and not scanned · long-term lens

Trend Spotlight

US Fed hikes rates 25bp to 3.75%-4.00%, first increase since 2023, an inflation-fighting move tied to the Iran war's oil shock.

The FOMC voted 12-0 on September 16 to raise the fed funds range to 3.75%-4.00%, responding to inflation running above target, driven largely by Iran-war-linked energy prices; 16 of 18 officials' updated dot-plot projections show at least one more hike this year. It's a hawkish surprise against the market's earlier expectation of a cut, and pushed USD/INR past 96 for the first time since July — a headwind for import-heavy and rate-sensitive sectors, though Indian equities recovered intraday on financials, auto and PSU banks.

Sources: cnbc.com · newsx.com

Market Overview

IndexClosePoints ChangeP/EP/B
Nifty 50 23,270.60 ▲ +53.00 ▲ +0.23% 19.67 2.81
Nifty Next 50 71,144.00 ▲ +775.40 ▲ +1.10% 18.81 3.17
Nifty 500 22,654.65 ▲ +122.65 ▲ +0.54% 21.95 3.14
Nifty Bank 56,055.75 ▼ -236.70 ▼ -0.42% 13.26 1.68
NIFTY Midcap 100 61,432.10 ▲ +557.90 ▲ +0.92% 29.61 4.21
▲ 1745 advancing ■ 30 unchanged ▼ 864 declining of 2639 equities, vs the 2026-09-16 close
Cash market, ₹ crore
FII / FPI net
▼ -3,208.76
bought 8,762 · sold 11,970
DII net
▲ +3,617.75
bought 14,105 · sold 10,487
FII / FPI DII
FII / DII daily net cash flow · ₹ crore · scroll to zoom, drag to pan

Source: NSE ind_close_all_20260917 (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
Hospitality & Tourism Nifty India Tourism · 8 researched 7,679.05 ▲ +1.87% 86.6 WATCH
Pharmaceuticals Nifty Pharma · 18 researched 26,579.25 ▲ +1.66% 41.1 WATCH
Healthcare & Hospitals Nifty Healthcare Index · 4 researched 16,529.15 ▲ +1.56% 43.3 WATCH
Realty Nifty Realty · 5 researched 834.25 ▲ +1.45% 35.4 WATCH
Automobiles Nifty Auto · 31 researched 27,159.15 ▲ +0.99% 31.6 WATCH
Metals & Mining Nifty Metal · 12 researched 12,858.45 ▲ +0.94% 15.7 WATCH
Energy & Power Nifty Energy · 14 researched 37,381.75 ▲ +0.53% 14.5 WATCH
Information Technology Nifty IT · 17 researched 29,155.60 ▲ +0.23% 18.6 WATCH
Financial Services Nifty Financial Services · 9 researched 25,318.35 ▲ +0.22% 15.5 WATCH
FMCG Nifty FMCG · 6 researched 45,572.70 ▲ +0.03% 31.6 WATCH
Banks Nifty Bank · 13 researched 56,055.75 ▼ -0.42% 13.3 WATCH
Construction & Materials no listed index · 8 researched ACCUMULATE
Capital Goods no listed index · 9 researched WATCH
Chemicals no listed index · 5 researched WATCH
Commercial Services no listed index · 4 researched WATCH
Diversified & Other no listed index · 1 researched WATCH
Logistics & Transport no listed index · 1 researched WATCH
Packaging & Plastics no listed index WATCH
Retail & Consumer no listed index · 2 researched WATCH
Telecom & Media no listed index · 2 researched WATCH
Textiles & Apparel no listed index · 3 researched WATCH

Movers in the universe

Largest moves among the 1425 tracked names this session, against the 2026-09-16 close.

CompanyCallPrev CloseMove
Astec Lifesciences Ltd ASTEC AVOID ₹661.95 ₹755.15 ▲ +14.08%
Tega Industries Ltd TEGA HOLD ₹1,717.10 ₹1,920.00 ▲ +11.82%
Share India Securities Ltd SHAREINDIA HOLD ₹196.05 ₹218.44 ▲ +11.42%
Venus Pipes & Tubes Ltd VENUSPIPES HOLD ₹1,938.10 ₹2,131.70 ▲ +9.99%
AXISCADES Technologies Ltd AXISCADES AVOID ₹1,684.50 ₹1,852.30 ▲ +9.96%
Sigachi Industries Ltd SIGACHI AVOID ₹31.16 ₹29.33 ▼ -5.87%
Alok Industries Ltd ALOKINDS AVOID ₹7.48 ₹7.05 ▼ -5.75%
Rajratan Global Wire Ltd RAJRATAN HOLD ₹462.95 ₹438.10 ▼ -5.37%
TechNVision Ventures Ltd TECHNVISN AVOID ₹4,362.00 ₹4,144.00 ▼ -5.00%
Onix Solar Energy Ltd ONIXSOLAR AVOID ₹395.95 ₹376.20 ▼ -4.99%

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 (1)

Published this session (7)

new
unconfirmed: sector
Unconfirmed: sector not checked — Weighted average rating 3.99/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: sector
Unconfirmed: sector not checked — Weighted average rating 4.28/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: sector, news
Unconfirmed: sector, news not checked — Weighted average rating 4.14/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: news
Unconfirmed: news not checked — Weighted average rating 4.09/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
unconfirmed: price, sector, news
Unconfirmed: price, sector, news not checked — Weighted average rating 3.8/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Good business, bad price today (Value 1/5) — PEG n/a; P/E cheaper than 0% of sector peers (P/E 43.89); EV/EBITDA 33.8, B/M 0.027. Watch for a better entry.
new
Good business, bad price today (Value 2/5) — PEG n/a; P/E cheaper than 39% of sector peers (P/E 34.97); EV/EBITDA 21.3, B/M 0.363. Watch for a better entry.

Awaiting a second session (14)

TickerClosePublished PendingNote
ARTEMISMED ₹330.85 QUALITY-WAIT BUY if next session holds
ASTRAMICRO ₹1,607.80 QUALITY-WAIT BUY if next session holds
BLUEJET ₹568.20 QUALITY-WAIT HOLD if next session holds
FORCEMOT ₹17,650.00 BUY HOLD if next session holds
IFBIND ₹1,217.90 BUY HOLD if next session holds
IPCALAB ₹1,970.30 HOLD QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
KMCSHIL ₹156.74 HOLD QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
LEMONTREE ₹104.06 BUY HOLD if next session holds
NAVA ₹546.60 BUY HOLD if next session holds
NH ₹1,868.60 BUY HOLD if next session holds
PNBGILTS ₹78.50 AVOID HOLD if next session holds
REDTAPE ₹118.65 HOLD QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
RIIL ₹700.25 AVOID HOLD if next session holds
SANOFICONR ₹3,989.50 QUALITY-WAIT BUY if next session holds

Top Stories

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank's Q1 print outpaces its stock price Banks

TMB's Q1 FY27 results show profit before provisions up 48% YoY to Rs 611cr, NII up 32% to Rs 765cr, and asset quality improving sharply (gross NPA down to 0.69% from 1.22%, net NPA to 0.17% from 0.33%), with deposits and advances both up ~20-27% YoY. Despite this, the stock fell from Rs 939 (Sep 7) to Rs 904 (Sep 16) — the market hasn't caught up, which is the case behind the pending HOLD->BUY call flip. Single-sourced.

TMB
Sources: tickertape.in

IRCTC racks up a third straight quarter of board-composition fines Hospitality & Tourism

IRCTC has been fined by both BSE and NSE for LODR non-compliance (no woman independent director) across three-plus consecutive quarters (~Rs 5-11 lakh cumulative), a compliance gap the company attributes to pending Ministry of Railways/Presidential approval on director appointments rather than internal failure. Small in monetary terms, but a real recurring governance thread against the BUY call.

IRCTC

Firstsource's 15-18% rally looks like sector beta, not a company catalyst Information Technology

FSL surged on very heavy volume over Sep 15-16, prompting an exchange query; the company confirmed the move was market-driven with no undisclosed news. The rally coincided with a broader ~4% Indian IT rebound after a 7-day losing streak, weakening the case that the pending HOLD->BUY flip reflects firm-specific improvement.

FSL

Antelopus Selan's rally splits into a real catalyst and a technical one Energy & Power

The stock's 32%-in-3-days move to a record high is tied to two new DSF Bid Round-IV onshore blocks and Q1 FY27 net profit up 384% YoY — a real, dated catalyst. A further 7.15% intraday surge on Sep 16 is described separately as pure technical/momentum trading, with no news cited. The two legs should not be read as the same story.

ANTELOPUS

DOMS's margin-recovery guidance is more conditional than it first looked Retail & Consumer

A fuller read of DOMS's Q1 FY27 materials shows management already took a 4-5% price hike this quarter and flagged that 'additional 4-5% price increases may be required' to reach the 16-17% FY28 margin target if commodity costs stay elevated. Q2/Q3 FY27 results — the actual test of the open margin-trough claim — aren't out yet.

DOMS
Sources: investing.com

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 59.9 64.0 78.5 31.0 +0 ▲ +0.23% 18.6 5/9/54/7
Banks 40 scanned · 13 researched WATCH 47.5 36.6 52.3 65.4 +0 ▼ -0.42% 13.3 2/0/29/9
Pharmaceuticals 85 scanned · 18 researched WATCH 46.3 21.8 72.0 68.8 ▲ +1.66% 41.1 6/19/49/11
Automobiles 108 scanned · 31 researched WATCH 51.4 28.5 78.4 67.3 ▲ +0.99% 31.6 16/20/61/11
FMCG 103 scanned · 6 researched WATCH 57.3 53.3 69.0 48.4 ▲ +0.03% 31.6 4/21/60/18
Metals & Mining 83 scanned · 12 researched WATCH 52.8 40.1 67.9 61.4 ▲ +0.94% 15.7 8/9/48/18
Realty 38 scanned · 5 researched WATCH 55.3 59.6 52.0 49.4 ▲ +1.45% 35.4 1/1/16/20
Energy & Power 83 scanned · 14 researched WATCH 54.7 50.0 63.4 58.8 +0 ▲ +0.53% 14.5 5/6/40/32
Financial Services 149 scanned · 5 ranked elsewhere · 9 researched WATCH 53.1 57.5 43.3 57.6 ▲ +0.22% 15.5 4/4/91/50
Healthcare & Hospitals 58 scanned · 16 ranked elsewhere · 4 researched WATCH 47.3 23.7 73.8 66.2 ▲ +1.56% 43.3 6/14/33/5
Hospitality & Tourism 38 scanned · 8 researched WATCH 60.8 63.0 67.4 43.6 ▲ +1.87% 86.6 6/4/18/10
Chemicals 99 scanned · 5 researched WATCH 57.3 50.4 68.7 56.6 2/10/64/23
Construction & Materials 123 scanned · 8 researched ACCUMULATE 62.0 71.9 61.8 36.0 5/9/69/40
Capital Goods 103 scanned · 9 researched WATCH 52.7 32.7 78.5 63.2 10/14/64/15
Textiles & Apparel 47 scanned · 3 researched WATCH 56.0 50.0 62.6 61.0 2/4/29/12
Retail & Consumer 67 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 56.2 50.0 68.4 61.0 +0 2/8/38/19
Packaging & Plastics 34 scanned WATCH 54.2 40.3 64.7 73.9 1/3/22/8
Logistics & Transport 25 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 47.6 29.7 67.6 62.0 5/3/10/7
Telecom & Media 29 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 52.9 50.0 60.2 48.6 3/1/14/11
Commercial Services 31 scanned · 4 researched WATCH 57.9 61.9 52.8 56.0 3/1/14/13
Diversified & Other 32 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 53.5 45.0 59.7 66.0 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
P/E in the 0th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 17.4% (up 6.4pt over 5y) · Altman Z 1.32 — distress zone
Composite 72.8 Mkt Cap 59,623 cr · Large P/E 6.73 ROCE 17.4% Piotroski 6/9
new call this session
composite 67.0 on growth, quality, timing, valuation
Composite 67.0 Mkt Cap 153,139 cr · Large P/E 43.89 ROCE 115.0% Piotroski 5/8
new call this session
unconfirmed: sector
P/E in the 37th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 17.0% (up 20.0pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/9
Composite 76.6 Mkt Cap 18,455 cr · Mid P/E 34.51 ROCE 17.0% Piotroski 7/9
new call this session
P/E in the 9th percentile of its own 3-year range · Piotroski 8/9 · -37.7% off its 52-week high
Composite 74.7 Mkt Cap 32,229 cr · Mid P/E 34.97 ROCE 11.2% Piotroski 8/9
new call this session
unconfirmed: price, sector, news
ROCE 16.2% (up 14.2pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/9
Composite 83.9 Mkt Cap 6,923 cr · Small P/E 14.25 ROCE 16.2% Piotroski 7/9
new call this session
P/E in the 8th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 17.1% (up 4.1pt over 5y) · -32.2% off its 52-week high
Composite 79.0 Mkt Cap 14,658 cr · Small P/E 12.87 ROCE 17.1% Piotroski 5/9
new call this session
Highly Volatile
P/E in the 64th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 19.7% (down 3.3pt over 5y)
Composite 64.1 Mkt Cap 3,870 cr · Micro P/E 86.66 ROCE 19.7% Piotroski 3/9
new call this session
Highly Volatile
P/E in the 97th percentile of its own 3-year range
Composite 50.9 Mkt Cap 3,336 cr · Micro P/E 29.14 ROCE 9.57% Piotroski 3/9

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.