The Close

The Long Desk

The Close · The Open · The Long Desk · Archive · Research
Tue, 1 Sep 2026
1439 companies · 1460 sector slots · 21 sectors · 11 below Rs1000cr and not scanned · long-term lens

Trend Spotlight

India's Q1 FY27 GDP growth beat expectations at 7.8%, but a hawkish Fed clouds the read-through.

MoSPI's Aug 31 release put Q1 FY27 (Apr-Jun 2026) real GDP growth at 7.8% YoY, well above the RBI's own 7% forecast and a Reuters poll's 7.1% consensus, holding up despite disruptions tied to the ongoing West Asia crisis. That domestic strength is being weighed against Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's unexpectedly hawkish Jackson Hole remarks, which pushed September rate-hike odds from roughly a third to over 60%, alongside Brent crude jumping into the low-$90s -- a combination that pressures the rupee and dampens the boost from the growth surprise for long-term entry decisions.

Market Overview

IndexClosePoints ChangeP/EP/B
Nifty 50 24,055.80 ▼ -24.60 ▼ -0.10% 20.34 2.92
Nifty Next 50 72,874.75 ▼ -884.95 ▼ -1.20% 19.26 3.24
Nifty 500 23,339.90 ▼ -110.45 ▼ -0.47% 22.62 3.26
Nifty Bank 57,409.60 ▼ -615.35 ▼ -1.06% 13.58 1.72
NIFTY Midcap 100 63,334.50 ▼ -890.25 ▼ -1.39% 30.53 4.36
▲ 887 advancing ■ 34 unchanged ▼ 1721 declining of 2642 equities, vs the 2026-08-31 close
Cash market, ₹ crore
FII / FPI net
▲ +1,143.38
bought 17,808 · sold 16,664
DII net
▲ +1,846.94
bought 15,635 · sold 13,789
FII / FPI DII
FII / DII daily net cash flow · ₹ crore · scroll to zoom, drag to pan

Source: NSE ind_close_all_20260901 (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 · 14 researched 31,496.70 ▲ +0.98% 20.1 WATCH
FMCG Nifty FMCG · 3 researched 46,457.15 ▲ +0.94% 32.2 WATCH
Metals & Mining Nifty Metal · 3 researched 13,189.85 ▼ -0.03% 16.1 WATCH
Energy & Power Nifty Energy · 4 researched 37,806.10 ▼ -0.38% 14.7 WATCH
Banks Nifty Bank · 12 researched 57,409.60 ▼ -1.06% 13.6 AVOID
Financial Services Nifty Financial Services · 1 researched 26,003.90 ▼ -1.10% 15.9 WATCH
Automobiles Nifty Auto · 10 researched 28,491.05 ▼ -1.22% 33.1 WATCH
Hospitality & Tourism Nifty India Tourism · 3 researched 7,814.65 ▼ -1.33% 88.1 ACCUMULATE
Realty Nifty Realty · 2 researched 891.30 ▼ -1.42% 37.9 WATCH
Pharmaceuticals Nifty Pharma · 10 researched 26,792.65 ▼ -1.45% 41.5 AVOID
Healthcare & Hospitals Nifty Healthcare Index · 1 researched 16,669.85 ▼ -1.60% 43.7 WATCH
Capital Goods no listed index · 2 researched WATCH
Chemicals no listed index · 1 researched WATCH
Commercial Services no listed index WATCH
Construction & Materials no listed index 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 WATCH
Telecom & Media no listed index WATCH
Textiles & Apparel no listed index · 2 researched WATCH

Movers in the universe

Largest moves among the 1438 tracked names this session, against the 2026-08-31 close.

CompanyCallPrev CloseMove
Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Ltd TBZ BUY ₹305.70 ₹366.80 ▲ +19.99%
Steel Strips Wheels Ltd SSWL BUY ₹305.65 ₹357.25 ▲ +16.88%
Savita Oil Technologies Ltd SOTL HOLD ₹688.50 ₹771.40 ▲ +12.04%
Sakar Healthcare Ltd SAKAR QUALITY-WAIT ₹863.35 ₹965.75 ▲ +11.86%
IZMO Ltd IZMO HOLD ₹833.00 ₹916.30 ▲ +10.00%
Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd HAPPSTMNDS HOLD ₹406.95 ₹362.70 ▼ -10.87%
Wonder Electricals Ltd WEL HOLD ₹89.82 ₹80.84 ▼ -10.00%
Alok Industries Ltd ALOKINDS AVOID ₹8.50 ₹7.69 ▼ -9.53%
Prudent Corporate Advisory Services Ltd PRUDENT HOLD ₹3,674.40 ₹3,352.30 ▼ -8.77%
EPL Ltd EPL BUY ₹262.06 ₹240.35 ▼ -8.28%

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 (140)

new
Mixed signal (weighted avg 3.36/5 across available lenses) — no strong edge either way.
new
Weighted average rating 3.98/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.92/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.76/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.89/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.82/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.96/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Weighted average rating 3.75/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Sector AVOID gate: BANK stance blocks new BUY — Weighted average rating 3.88/5 including quality and value — the rare combination.
new
Mixed signal (weighted avg 3.48/5 across available lenses) — no strong edge either way.
new
Mixed signal (weighted avg 3.69/5 across available lenses) — no strong edge either way.
new
Mixed signal (weighted avg 3.74/5 across available lenses) — no strong edge either way.

and 128 more.

Awaiting a second session (11)

TickerClosePublished PendingNote
AJANTPHARM ₹3,504.80 QUALITY-WAIT HOLD if next session holds
CMLL ₹501.40 BUY HOLD if next session holds
GEOJITFSL ₹83.22 AVOID HOLD if next session holds
GODREJAGRO ₹654.40 HOLD QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
INDIAGLYCO ₹1,111.70 BUY HOLD if next session holds
INTERARCH ₹1,722.60 HOLD QUALITY-WAIT if next session holds
KDDL ₹3,877.40 QUALITY-WAIT HOLD if next session holds
QUESS ₹379.50 QUALITY-WAIT BUY if next session holds
RECLTD ₹314.05 HOLD BUY if next session holds
SHILPAMED ₹889.70 QUALITY-WAIT HOLD if next session holds
VEEDOL ₹1,489.80 QUALITY-WAIT BUY if next session holds

Top Stories

Godrej Consumer's CEO handover completes cleanly, easing governance-risk overhang FMCG

Aasif Malbari, GCPL's former CFO, took over as MD & CEO from Aug 12 for a five-year term, with Vishal Kedia named interim CFO. Multiple outlets confirm a defined successor was already in place before Sudhir Sitapati's abrupt exit became public, and no further senior departures or governance/regulatory red flags have surfaced since. This weighs against the open claim that the resignation signaled an undisclosed internal issue, though the claim's Nov 30 resolution window is still running.

GODREJCP

Bail denied to TCS executive in Nashik POSH case as litigation deepens at one unit Information Technology

A Nashik court denied bail to TCS executive Ashwini Chainani, finding she allegedly ignored repeated harassment complaints against colleagues; police separately arrested an Assistant General Manager for failing to trigger POSH protocols. Accountability is now being litigated at a senior/panel level, a mild negative for the open claim that this is an isolated, unit-level failure -- though no second TCS facility or new regulator finding has surfaced, so the claim's core framing isn't yet falsified.

TCS

Aurobindo subsidiary Eugia Pharma receives US FDA warning letter after OAI classification Pharmaceuticals

Eugia Pharma Specialities, an Aurobindo Pharma subsidiary, received an FDA warning letter following four observations from a February inspection and a May Official-Action-Indicated classification at a Hyderabad-area facility. It's a confirmed compliance flag weighing on AUROPHARMA's pending BUY->HOLD call review, though it's contained to one subsidiary facility and comes alongside a strong Q1 FY27 (revenue +16.3% YoY) and an active Hong Kong investor roadshow.

AUROPHARMA

Mastek's order backlog grows 25% YoY on a $25M Salesforce deal, at odds with today's 8% share drop Information Technology

12-month order backlog rose 25% YoY (13% in constant currency) in Q1 FY27, driven by AI transformation, healthcare, public-sector and financial-services demand, including a five-year, $25M Salesforce Agentforce contract in North America and continued UK ramp-up. The backlog strength argues for the pending HOLD->BUY call flip, but doesn't explain today's -8.05% move -- no company-specific negative catalyst was found in this session's search, so the price action and the fundamentals currently point in different directions.

MASTEK

Aster DM and Advent in talks for a controlling stake in Yatharth Hospitals as hospital consolidation continues Healthcare & Hospitals

Advent International and Aster DM Healthcare are reportedly negotiating for a controlling stake in Yatharth Hospital & Trauma Care Services, part of a broader wave of consolidation across Indian hospital chains amid rising patient volumes and capacity expansion. This is sector-positive M&A activity for two names on this session's watch list, though the talks are not yet a confirmed deal.

ASTERDM · YATHARTH

Sector Scorecard

Entry score is 40% cheap-vs-history + 25% quality trend + 20% news catalyst + 15% technicals, for the 6 sectors with a researched catalyst. The other 15 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 · 14 researched WATCH 60.4 61.8 78.7 39.8 +0 ▲ +0.98% 20.1 15/10/43/7
Banks 40 scanned · 12 researched AVOID 40.9 20.1 52.3 64.9 +0 ▼ -1.06% 13.6 0/0/28/12
Pharmaceuticals 85 scanned · 10 researched AVOID 44.4 18.8 72.0 66.6 ▼ -1.45% 41.5 0/20/55/10
Automobiles 109 scanned · 10 researched WATCH 48.6 23.3 78.3 66.4 ▼ -1.22% 33.1 37/21/39/12
FMCG 106 scanned · 3 researched WATCH 55.3 50.0 68.3 53.2 +0 ▲ +0.94% 32.2 16/20/53/17
Metals & Mining 82 scanned · 3 researched WATCH 50.0 32.9 68.2 65.2 +0 ▼ -0.03% 16.1 16/10/37/19
Realty 38 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 54.2 55.2 52.1 55.1 ▼ -1.42% 37.9 3/2/14/19
Energy & Power 82 scanned · 4 researched WATCH 54.7 49.0 63.8 61.1 +0 ▼ -0.38% 14.7 14/7/30/31
Financial Services 148 scanned · 5 ranked elsewhere · 1 researched WATCH 50.5 50.0 44.2 62.3 ▼ -1.10% 15.9 11/4/81/52
Healthcare & Hospitals 57 scanned · 16 ranked elsewhere · 1 researched WATCH 47.8 22.5 74.6 66.4 +0 ▼ -1.60% 43.7 11/15/25/6
Hospitality & Tourism 37 scanned · 3 researched ACCUMULATE 62.4 66.0 69.5 41.2 ▼ -1.33% 88.1 12/7/8/10
Chemicals 100 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 57.5 50.0 68.5 59.5 15/14/47/24
Construction & Materials 126 scanned WATCH 61.4 69.7 62.3 37.9 17/12/60/37
Capital Goods 103 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 50.3 27.8 78.1 63.8 18/18/51/16
Textiles & Apparel 48 scanned · 2 researched WATCH 53.6 45.7 62.0 61.0 11/7/16/14
Retail & Consumer 67 scanned WATCH 58.1 50.6 68.4 61.0 7/11/31/18
Packaging & Plastics 34 scanned WATCH 50.7 35.3 65.3 67.4 8/3/15/8
Logistics & Transport 25 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 45.9 24.2 70.0 63.4 9/3/6/7
Telecom & Media 29 scanned WATCH 52.4 50.0 60.3 45.4 8/1/9/11
Commercial Services 29 scanned WATCH 59.0 62.0 52.8 61.2 4/3/10/12
Diversified & Other 40 scanned · 1 researched WATCH 47.4 34.7 59.5 61.1 2/5/18/15

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

Stocks to Watch

Split 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. Each shows the figures that selected it — open the desk for the full six-lens panel.

new call this session
P/E in the 12th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 35.1% (up 25.1pt over 5y)
Composite 80.5 Mkt Cap 63,212 cr · Large P/E 20.07 ROCE 35.1% Piotroski 5/9
new call this session
P/E in the 0th percentile of its own 3-year range · Piotroski 7/9 · -34.7% off its 52-week high
Composite 83.7 Mkt Cap 38,538 cr · Mid P/E 27.94 ROCE 46.1% Piotroski 7/9
new call this session
P/E in the 0th percentile of its own 3-year range · ROCE 21.3% (up 12.3pt over 5y) · -25.2% off its 52-week high
Composite 86.0 Mkt Cap 8,451 cr · Small P/E 32.98 ROCE 21.3% Piotroski 4/8
new call this session
P/E in the 0th percentile of its own 3-year range · -55.3% off its 52-week high
Composite 84.0 Mkt Cap 1,320 cr · Micro P/E 7.56 ROCE Piotroski 3/3

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.