The Close

The Long Desk

The Close · The Open · The Long Desk · Archive · Research · Top Stocks
Tue, 29 Sep 2026
1426 companies · 1447 sector slots · 21 sectors · 23 below Rs1000cr and not scanned · long-term lens

Trend Spotlight

Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz reignited the oil shock, sending Brent above $105 and pushing Sensex/Nifty to six-month lows.

Crude's backwardation (WTI near-month at a 38% premium to the 12-month contract) signals acute near-term supply fear, not a one-off spike, and the Fed has already resumed hiking (to 3.75-4.00% on Sept 16) explicitly citing this as an inflation driver while RBI holds at 5.25% — a widening rate gap that is pressuring the rupee toward six-month lows near 96.08/USD. For a long-term holder this is a genuine macro regime shift (a persistent oil-import-bill and rate-differential headwind), not a single day's noise, and it is the lens through which today's sector and stock reads below should be weighed.

Market Overview

IndexClosePoints ChangeP/EP/B
Nifty 50 22,716.20 ▼ -64.05 ▼ -0.28% 19.20 2.75
Nifty Next 50 69,460.20 ▼ -849.30 ▼ -1.21% 18.36 3.09
Nifty 500 22,101.00 ▼ -131.15 ▼ -0.59% 21.42 3.06
Nifty Bank 54,259.95 ▼ -211.70 ▼ -0.39% 12.84 1.62
NIFTY Midcap 100 59,319.40 ▼ -594.80 ▼ -0.99% 28.59 4.02
▲ 1039 advancing ■ 26 unchanged ▼ 1604 declining of 2669 equities, vs the 2026-09-28 close

FII/DII cash flows have not published for this session yet — NSE releases them later in the evening, after this report goes out. They appear in tomorrow morning's Open. No figure is shown here rather than the previous session's.

FII / FPI DII
FII / DII daily net cash flow · ₹ crore · scroll to zoom, drag to pan

Source: NSE ind_close_all_20260929 (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
Metals & Mining Nifty Metal · 19 researched 12,954.45 ▲ +0.78% 15.8 WATCH
Pharmaceuticals Nifty Pharma · 20 researched 26,933.65 ▲ +0.64% 41.7 AVOID
Healthcare & Hospitals Nifty Healthcare Index · 8 researched 16,562.65 ▲ +0.15% 43.4 WATCH
Financial Services Nifty Financial Services · 11 researched 24,648.50 ▼ -0.09% 15.1 WATCH
Banks Nifty Bank · 12 researched 54,259.95 ▼ -0.39% 12.8 WATCH
Hospitality & Tourism Nifty India Tourism · 8 researched 7,609.60 ▼ -0.40% 85.8 ACCUMULATE
Energy & Power Nifty Energy · 18 researched 36,509.75 ▼ -0.50% 14.2 WATCH
FMCG Nifty FMCG · 8 researched 44,790.30 ▼ -1.05% 31.1 WATCH
Automobiles Nifty Auto · 36 researched 26,173.35 ▼ -1.33% 30.4 WATCH
Information Technology Nifty IT · 17 researched 27,670.00 ▼ -1.48% 17.6 ACCUMULATE
Realty Nifty Realty · 4 researched 833.85 ▼ -2.00% 35.4 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 1422 tracked names this session, against the 2026-09-28 close.

CompanyCallPrev CloseMove
D.P. Abhushan Ltd DPABHUSHAN HOLD ₹1,388.20 ₹1,665.80 ▲ +20.00%
Pashupati Cotspin Ltd PASHUPATI AVOID ₹77.27 ₹92.72 ▲ +19.99%
Syncom Formulations (India) Ltd SYNCOMF HOLD ₹22.20 ₹26.18 ▲ +17.93%
Fermenta Biotech Ltd FERMENTA HOLD ₹479.30 ₹551.35 ▲ +15.03%
Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd KIRLOSENG HOLD ₹2,141.20 ₹2,402.00 ▲ +12.18%
Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Ltd BLUECLOUDS HOLD ₹21.71 ₹20.23 ▼ -6.82%
Commercial Syn Bags Ltd COMSYN QUALITY-WAIT ₹280.85 ₹261.95 ▼ -6.73%
Veranda Learning Solutions Ltd VERANDA AVOID ₹238.02 ₹223.31 ▼ -6.18%
PB Fintech Ltd POLICYBZR QUALITY-WAIT ₹1,151.30 ₹1,081.00 ▼ -6.11%
Algoquant Fintech Ltd ALGOQUANT HOLD ₹69.55 ₹65.64 ▼ -5.62%

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 (2)

new
Weighted average rating 3.82/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Good business, bad price today (Value 2/5) — PEG n/a; P/E cheaper than 30% of sector peers (P/E 40.07); EV/EBITDA 25.0, B/M 0.107. Watch for a better entry.

Awaiting a second session (15)

TickerClosePublished PendingNote
ASTRAMICRO ₹1,652.60 BUY → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
DEEPINDS ₹782.50 HOLD → BUY if next session holds
FERMENTA ₹551.35 HOLD → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
GEOJITFSL ₹76.76 AVOID → HOLD if next session holds
JUBLFOOD ₹463.00 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
KRN ₹1,443.10 AVOID → HOLD if next session holds
MARKSANS ₹342.75 HOLD → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
METROPOLIS ₹562.30 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
NAVINFLUOR ₹8,234.50 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
PRAJIND ₹307.75 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
RACLGEAR ₹1,588.60 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
REDTAPE ₹117.48 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
SOLARINDS ₹18,650.00 QUALITY-WAIT → HOLD if next session holds
TATASTEEL ₹188.00 HOLD → QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
ZENTEC ₹1,619.80 QUALITY-WAIT → BUY if next session holds

Top Stories

CONCOR more than doubles its FY27 volume guidance to 18%, undercutting the case for a downgrade Logistics & Transport

Management now guides for 18% overall FY27 volume growth (EXIM raised to 15% from 8%), up from the 9.5% guide that an open claim flagged as running behind pace, and reaffirmed a 24-25% EBITDA margin target. Q1 throughput growth of 8.89% YoY was broadly in line with the prior guide rather than confirming a widening gap. This is evidence against the pending BUY->HOLD call review, not for it.

CONCOR

IRDAI's commission-cap consultation is real and open for comment, but more product-specific than the headline figure suggests Financial Services

IRDAI's Sept 23 paper proposes a five-year glide path on distribution commissions, but the product-level detail found (near-2% on single-premium credit life, nil on new-vehicle third-party motor, ~5% on own-damage) differs from the flat 20-25%-to-12.5% figure the sector's open claim cites. The comment window runs to Oct 25, 2026, so nothing is finalised yet either way.

HDFCLIFE · MFSL · LTF

Centum Electronics rallies 10.7% on a new export order and investor-meeting momentum Capital Goods

A ~$3.22mn export order from a global OEM for its Build-to-Specification business, plus a run of investor meetings, drove the stock from Rs 4,333.70 to a 52-week high of Rs 4,928 over the week of Sept 21-25, sharply outperforming a declining Sensex. This is a genuine, if company-specific, catalyst behind the sector's pending QUALITY-WAIT->HOLD call flip.

CENTUM

TCI jumps ~15% on a Rs 150 crore buyback even as Q1 profit growth stayed flat Logistics & Transport

TCI's board approved a buyback of up to 15,62,500 shares at Rs 960 apiece (record date Oct 9), driving a sharp share-price move, but underlying Q1 FY27 net profit was down 0.75% YoY despite revenue up 9.58%, implying margin pressure the buyback alone does not resolve.

TCI

Aegis Logistics' $1.5bn Tristar talks remain unresolved, with no September update confirming a signing or collapse Energy & Power

Multiple sources place Aegis in advanced, exclusive bilateral talks to acquire UAE's Tristar for roughly $1.5bn, financed via a mix of refinanced and new debt plus equity, but caution the deal could still fall apart. The most recent dated reporting found is from mid-August, so the open claim stays exactly as open as it was.

AEGISLOG

Sector Scorecard

Entry score is 40% cheap-vs-history + 25% quality trend + 20% news catalyst + 15% technicals, for the 5 sectors with a researched catalyst. The other 16 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 ACCUMULATE 62.1 64.3 78.5 28.8 — ▼ -1.48% 17.6 4/9/54/8
Banks 40 scanned · 12 researched WATCH 50.5 48.5 52.3 53.2 — ▼ -0.39% 12.8 1/0/29/10
Pharmaceuticals 85 scanned · 20 researched AVOID 43.4 16.8 72.0 66.8 — ▲ +0.64% 41.7 0/19/55/11
Automobiles 109 scanned · 36 researched WATCH 53.4 35.5 78.3 64.4 +0 ▼ -1.33% 30.4 14/22/63/10
FMCG 105 scanned · 8 researched WATCH 59.4 58.9 68.8 44.8 — ▼ -1.05% 31.1 4/18/66/17
Metals & Mining 82 scanned · 19 researched WATCH 50.6 35.0 68.2 63.0 — ▲ +0.78% 15.8 0/10/54/18
Realty 38 scanned · 4 researched WATCH 51.8 55.6 52.0 41.4 — ▼ -2.00% 35.4 1/2/15/20
Energy & Power 83 scanned · 18 researched WATCH 55.7 50.0 63.4 58.2 — ▼ -0.50% 14.2 4/8/39/32
Financial Services 148 scanned · 5 ranked elsewhere · 11 researched WATCH 55.1 67.6 43.6 47.9 +0 ▼ -0.09% 15.1 0/4/90/54
Healthcare & Hospitals 58 scanned · 16 ranked elsewhere · 8 researched WATCH 49.8 28.4 73.8 66.5 +0 ▲ +0.15% 43.4 5/15/33/5
Hospitality & Tourism 37 scanned · 8 researched ACCUMULATE 63.8 68.3 68.6 44.0 — ▼ -0.40% 85.8 0/6/21/10
Chemicals 98 scanned · 8 researched WATCH 61.9 61.5 68.5 51.9 — — — 2/12/61/23
Construction & Materials 123 scanned · 10 researched ACCUMULATE 62.4 71.9 61.8 38.0 — — — 3/11/69/40
Capital Goods 101 scanned · 15 researched WATCH 52.7 33.9 78.5 62.4 +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 57.1 55.3 68.4 52.4 +0 — — 2/10/36/19
Packaging & Plastics 34 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 54.4 41.8 64.7 70.6 — — — 2/4/20/8
Logistics & Transport 25 scanned · 6 researched WATCH 45.8 29.9 67.6 52.0 — — — 5/3/10/7
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 59.8 63.0 52.8 62.8 — — — 2/2/14/13
Diversified & Other 32 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 51.6 42.1 59.7 63.3 — — — 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 79th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 21.2% (up 14.2pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/9
Composite 65.7 Mkt Cap 58,778 cr · Large P/E 40.07 ROCE 21.2% Piotroski 7/9
P/E in the 6th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 19.2% (up 12.2pt over 5y)
Composite 88.5 Mkt Cap 279,172 cr · Large P/E 125.47 ROCE 19.2% Piotroski 5/9
new call this session
P/E in the 36th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 15.5% (up 13.5pt over 5y)
Composite 73.1 Mkt Cap 36,570 cr · Mid P/E 42.46 ROCE 15.5% Piotroski 5/9
new call this session
P/E in the 22th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 12.8% (up 0.8pt over 5y) · -25.3% off its 52-week high
Composite 67.8 Mkt Cap 15,454 cr · Mid P/E 20.42 ROCE 12.8% Piotroski 4/9
new call this session
P/E in the 27th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 20.5% (down 13.5pt over 5y) · -27.6% off its 52-week high
Composite 58.3 Mkt Cap 14,896 cr · Small P/E 18.19 ROCE 20.5% Piotroski 5/9
P/E in the 0th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 24.3% (up 24.3pt over 5y)
Composite 90.8 Mkt Cap 12,454 cr · Small P/E 57.31 ROCE 24.3% Piotroski 6/9
new call this session
Highly Volatile
P/E in the 1th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 19.9% (down 15.1pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/8
Composite 61.8 Mkt Cap 3,334 cr · Micro P/E 27.98 ROCE 19.9% Piotroski 7/8
new call this session
Highly Volatile
P/E in the 70th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 18.3% (up 8.3pt over 5y) · Piotroski 7/8
Composite 61.7 Mkt Cap 4,941 cr · Micro P/E 18.51 ROCE 18.3% Piotroski 7/8

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.