Daily Market News Update — 28th-29th July 2026

Midnight News Update: 28-29 Jul 2026

For June 2026, the IIP growth came in at a 23-month high of 7.3%; sharply higher than 5.1% reported in May 2026. Manufacturing and Electricity showed a strong growth in June at 10.6% and 7.8% respectively. Mining & quarrying was marginally in the positive; while water supply and waste management also saw growth of 6.1% for the month. Within manufacturing, 19 out of the 23 groups witnessed positive growth in June; led by electrical equipment, motor vehicles, and food products. On use-based classification; capital goods recorded robust growth of 14.2%.

In an interesting move, Jefferies upgraded the Indian IT sector from “Underweight” to “Neutral.” It has also added Infosys to its model portfolio. According to Jefferies, the AI euphoria was gradually waning as there was now greater focus on ROI in AI initiatives. That was evident in the sharp fall in the KOSPI in the last few weeks. For instance, MSCI Korea has already fallen 30% from its June peak, as the AI trade has petered out. Jefferies continues to remain the most positive on financials and realty in India, but it also believes that the worst may be over for Indian IT.

For Q1FY27, L&T reported a 14% increase in net profits at ₹4,123 crore. Domestic demand more than offset the weak order flow from the Middle East. Revenues for the quarter were up 7% yoy at ₹67,942 crore. In the quarter, L&T secured fresh orders worth ₹1,08,014 crore, taking its total outstanding order book to nearly ₹8,00,000 crore. Significant orders in the quarter were seen in realty, transport infrastructure, heavy engineering, wind energy etc. For the quarter, global orders accounted for 56% of total order flows. EBITDA fell 3% yoy to ₹6,116 crore in Q1FY27.

Coal India is aggressively monetizing value of its subsidiaries. After bringing out IPOs of BCCL and CMPDI; the next off the block is Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL), which plans an IPO of ₹10,000 crore. It has sounded out investment bankers for the IPO pitch. MCL remains the big dividend machine for Coal India, distributing dividend of ₹8,600 crore in FY25. The entire IPO will be an offer for sale, in which Coal India will dilute its stake in MCL. Mahanadi Coalfields operates a number of open-cast and underground coal mines in Odisha. MCL delivered 225 MT of coal in FY25.

MF buying in small caps is nothing new, but buying for 4 quarters in a row speaks something of the stock. There are around 13 small caps where mutual funds have been net buyers for 4 quarters in a row, and the stock prices of these companies have rallied anywhere between 60% and 120% in this period. These stocks, where mutual funds accumulated for 4 quarters in a row, included names like Senores Pharma, Astra Micro, SPR Auto, Honasa, Data Patterns, Ujjivan SFB, J&K Bank, Aditya Vision, Sai Life, Dredging Corp, Craftsman Automation, KRN Heat, Neuland Labs etc.

High input costs took its toll on the quarterly numbers of Hindustan Unilever as its net profits fell by -2% to ₹2,680 crore for Q1FY27. While this can be partially explained by a one-off tax credit in Q1FY26, the pressure of input costs was also visible in the current quarter. While Q1 EBITDA grew 8% yoy to ₹3,947 crore, the EBITDA margins at 23% showed some stress. HUL has maintained its margin guidance but warned of dual pressures from higher input costs and possible weak rural demand, if El Nino was to hit Kharif output. Home care grew sales at 14% in Q1FY27.

According to a recent report by Equirus, India’s IPO lineup is starting to look impressive, although a lot will depend on how the market appetite pans out amid the fluid geopolitical situation. There have been 245 DRHPs file with SEBI and nearly 175 DRHPs have already received observations from SEBI, which is equivalent to an approval from SEBI. With 175 IPOs cleared for launch, the focus shifts to the experience of big upcoming IPOs; and the appetite of retail and QIB investors. The current year has seen tepid IPO flows, but IPO performance has been a lot better.

India’s dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) are actually redrawing trucking demand in a big way. With the DFCs in place, much of the long-haul cargo is expected to shift from road to rail. Thus, the core trucking business will be focused more on the last-mile delivery and mining movement. India currently has only 2 DFCs operational, but there are more on the anvil. Trains in DFCs run at nearly 2.5X the normal speed of freight trains and carry 2.5X the normal load, making it quicker and economical. The real beneficiaries of this trend may be the LCV and the MCV segment.