“Gujarat Gas stock has bounced off from its horizontal trend line on the daily chart, indicating a potential upward move. Traders can buy for a target of Rs 655 in the next few weeks,” Kkunal V. Parar, Vice-President of Technical Research and Algo, Choice Broking, said.

Stocks in Japan and South Korea both fell over 2%, with chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. tumbling even with solid earnings. In the US, the S&P 500 slumped 2.3%, its worst showing since December 2022 and one that ended the best stretch without a 2% drop since the start of the global financial crisis.

Incidentally, the silver lining has been the underlying volume growth at 4% - the highest in the past five quarters - aided by the spending on advertising and promotion. The company spent nearly 11% of its revenues on advertising. It took price corrections especially in fabric wash and household care products - passing on the benefit accruing from the softening of commodity prices.

In her budget speech on Tuesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to hike the short-term capital gains tax on all listed equity instruments to 20% from 15%. Long-term capital gains on listed equity instruments and specified financial and non-financial assets have been hiked to 12.5% from 10%. Moreover, the indexation benefit has also been removed from all the assets for computing long-term capital gains which will disallow any inflation adjustment, increasing the tax outgo.

After the budget, global brokerage Jefferies upgraded the stock from hold to buy and raised the target price to ₹585 from ₹435, citing ITC's clear advantage. The stock, which surged 17% in the past month compared to a 3.6% gain in the Sensex, ended at ₹494 on Wednesday, up 0.4%.

Axis Bank on Wednesday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 6,035 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 which was up by 4% year-on-year.

"The recovery noticed from today's low will be evident only post the monthly expiry on Thursday. At the same time, the ongoing Q1 results, which till date is muted, will decide the near-term trend," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

ET spoke to three top wealth managers for their portfolio recommendations for an investable sum of Rs 20 lakh. All three of them still recommend a majority allocation of 60-70% to equities and the rest to debt and gold.

The Reserve Bank of India mandated banks and payment operators to keep a trail of domestic fund transfers to curb money laundering and frauds. Banks must record beneficiary details and validate transactions with additional authentication. This rule aims to enhance KYC compliance and tackle mule accounts, which have surged recently due to advancements in banking services.

The study showed 76% of these traders in intraday segment were under the age of 30 years. The share of traders less than 30 years of age grew to 48% in FY23 from 18% in FY19.

The energy stock reached a new one-year high of Rs 663 on July 2nd. However, it lost momentum shortly after and found support around Rs 620, which also coincided with the breakout level of a 4-month consolidation period observed on daily charts. Since February 7th, when the stock reached Rs 620, it has been trading within a range.

IIFL Securities is the sole book runner for the deal. According to the term sheet issued by IIFL, Maple II BV, an entity of EQT AB, is offering to sell 4.78 crore shares of the bank at a floor price of Rs 226 per share — a 5% discount to Wednesday’s closing price of Rs 237.95.

The Nasdaq fell to a one-month low as Tesla and Alphabet's earnings disappointed investors. Market heavyweights like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia also dropped. Investors shifted focus from tech stocks to other sectors, questioning the sustainability of the 2024 equity rally.

​Among the public shareholders, Damani held about 34.66% in the company. Damani raised stake in VST Industries during the June quarter by 2%. At the end of March quarter, the investor had held about 32.7% in the company, according to data from Trendlyne.

Alphabet fell more than 3% on Wednesday on fears that its rising investments in AI infrastructure would squeeze margins and YouTube was facing tough competition for ad dollars.

Indian benchmark indices fell on Wednesday, dragged down by financials. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.35% lower at 80,148, while the NSE Nifty50 index ended below the 24,450 level."The short term trend of Nifty continues to be weak. Further weakness from here could find lower support around 24270-24100 and one may expect emergence of buying from the lows. Immediate hurdles to be watched around 24580," said Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.Here are 8 stock recommendations for Thursday:

Short covering refers to the buying of shares to close an existing short position, signaling a shift from extreme bearishness to bullishness. In Wednesday's trading session, four stocks saw short covering. Here's the list:

Musk hypes everything but cars. The electric automaker reported a five-year low-profit margin and missed earnings estimates for the fourth consecutive quarter. Despite its market value of $785 billion surpassing other automakers, analysts caution that this valuation relies on future technologies yet to be realized.

According to Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities, the Nifty has breached the 10-day EMA support level and is now hovering near the 20-day EMA support level of approximately 24,270. These moving averages have held strong for the past 5-6 weeks, and the market's failure to remain above these levels could trigger a significant downturn.

The Indian space sector has immense economic potential, likely to be worth Rs 35,200 crore, about 8% of the global share by 2033. On 23 July, the Finance Minister announced the creation of a dedicated “space fund” worth Rs 1,000 crore, aiming to boost India’s space economy, attract investment and in the global space industry.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 147.46 points, or 0.37%, at the open to 40,210.63.

The Indian market turned volatile on Wednesday but bulls helped the index recoup some losses towards the close of the day.The S&P BSE Sensex fell 280 points but managed to close above 80,100 levels while the Nifty50 closed above 24,400 levels.

Petronet LNG (PLL) reported a 45% jump in the first quarter profit to Rs 1,142 crore as a scorching summer boosted capacity utilization of its import terminal, sending its shares up 5% on Wednesday.

In an exclusive chat with ETMarkets, Aamar Deo, Senior VP at Angel One Ltd talks about how the Union Budget 2024 could impact the markets in the near term along with key sectors that will be in focus from now on. Take a look.

India's leading brokerage Zerodha on Wednesday said it is now making demat account opening for all resident investors in India free of cost.

Markets regulator Sebi has validated a well-known secret on Dalal Street - most retail intraday traders don't make money. According to a study by Sebi, 71% of individual traders in intraday equity segment incurred losses during FY23, up from 65% in FY19 and 69% in FY22.

IIFL Securities is the sole book runner for the deal. According to the term sheet issued by IIFL, Maple II BV, an entity of BPEA, is offering to sell 4.78 crore shares of the bank at a floor price of Rs 226 per share — a 5% discount to Wednesday’s closing price of Rs 237.95.

As the dust around the Union Budget 2024 settles down, potential losers in the market as a result of announcements or rather lack of it, are coming to the fore.

In a continuation of post-Budget blues, the BSE Sensex fell 280 points to settle at 80,149 and the broader NSE Nifty declined 65 points to end at 24,413. From the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, HUL, Adani Ports, SBI, and Axis Bank were the top laggards, falling 1-2.5%. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Asian Paints closed in the green.

Alphabet's shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the Google-parent flagged higher expenses due to competition heating up in search and cloud computing.

On a day when nifty and sensex are trading in red, thanks to the banking sector. It is the mid-cap index which is not only keeping its head above the water but even market breadth in that segment is better. This is pretty much the opposite of what happened on the day of the budget. So, as a principle of investing, don't look at short term movement of indices to decide whether to invest in a particular stock or not. It is the underlying business which matters. Second, because the reaction of the market to STCG and LTCG has been very muted, there is a possibility that the party on the street might continue, with the usual phase of profit booking at regular intervals. So,one can be bullish, but take into account the fact that valuations are not cheap, so have more stringent parameters when looking at small cap stocks and also have a long term outlook.

Bajaj Finance reports a 14% YoY increase in net profit but falls short of Street estimates. Brokerages have mixed views on the first quarter results, with concerns over credit costs and growth prospects.

Indian equity benchmark indices traded deep in the red on Wednesday, a day after the government raised the tax on gains from equity investments. However, in Wednesday's trading session, six midcap stocks from the Nifty200 index hit fresh new 52-week highs. Here's the list:

The government, committed to fiscal discipline, has projected a reduced fiscal deficit and introduced major tax reforms impacting capital markets in the Budget. Focus has been laid on on soft infrastructure, youth employment, and support to MSMEs, highlighting inclusive development.

First full-fledged FY24-25 Union Budget by the newly elected coalition government was presented on Tuesday which prioritized 9 areas, i.e, productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment & skilling, inclusive human resource development and social justice, manufacturing & services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research & development and next generation reforms.Domestic brokerage firm SBI Securities believes that Union Budget 2024-25 has set the stage for the next leg of inclusive growth of the Indian economy on the backdrop of global policy uncertainties, elevated asset prices and political uncertainties.With this, SBI Securities listed it top 10 Budget picks with investment horizon of 12 months:

Despite a drag from banks and other financial stocks on Sensex and Nifty due to a capital gains tax hike in the Budget, smallcaps and midcaps continued rallying unaffected by the Finance Bill changes. Sensex plummeted around 500 points, led by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Bajaj twins with losses up to 3%. In contrast, the Nifty Smallcap250 index surged 1.4%, and the midcap index also rose around 1%. Microcaps saw even higher gains, rallying over 2%. While the increased tax rates for equities are a long-term negative, the hike's magnitude remains marginal.

Thyrocare’s pathology and radiology segments’ revenues grew 16% and 15% YoY, respectively. Meanwhile the revenue from partnerships surged 29% YoY and franchise revenue saw an increase of 11% YoY.

Japan's Nikkei closes lower for the sixth consecutive day due to mixed U.S. tech earnings and yen's rally. Topix also falls. Market cautious ahead of Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve meetings. Big Tech earnings under scrutiny. Fast Retailing and Mitsubishi Motors among the companies affected by the market movements.

On July 23, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the “angel tax” would be scrapped, bringing cheer among startups and their investors. Let's understand more about what Angel Tax is and what its removal means for the startup ecosystem.

Analysts recommend over 50 stock picks post Budget, including Ultratech, HUL, ICICI Bank, TCS, and more. Industries like agro-chemicals and automobiles are expected to benefit.

Finance Minister Sitharaman's Rs 15,000 crore Amaravati support announcement led to a surge in Andhra stocks, benefiting KCP and Andhra Cements.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories' board will consider a stock split at the July 27 meeting. Last split was in 2001. Shares rose 17.5% this year, 27% last year. A licensing deal with Takeda for Vonoprazan tablets was signed. Suzlon Energy shares hit an all-time high with 200% YoY PAT jump. Economic Times disclaimer applies.

United Spirits' shares rose 6.5% to Rs 1,416.85 on BSE after a Q1 net profit of Rs 485 crore for June 2024, up 2%. Revenue grew 7%, with beverage alcohol up 8% and sports down. CEO Hina Nagarajan mentioned fiscal 2025 performance, renovation, long-term competitiveness, and soft demand. Investments worth Rs 7.

Analysts recommend over 50 stock picks post Budget, including Ultratech, HUL, ICICI Bank, TCS, and more. Industries like agro-chemicals and automobiles are expected to benefit.

A long buildup occurs when there is an increase in open interest and trading volumes alongside a rise in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment, indicating a bullish trend in the market. In Wednesday's trading session, five stocks experienced a buildup of fresh long positions. Here's the list:

For risk takers with patience and stock picks for next five years. To some it might appear to be contradictory. Normally risk is taken when one is looking for short term gains and the suggestion is to keep it for 5 years There is a reason for it. Majority of the stocks in the list are from a sector, which despite being in existence for 3 decades has not grown the way it was expected by all shareholders. In this budget a number of steps have been taken to revive this sector. Right from providing institutional finance to lowering of duty to raw material. If policy changes work well, the top and bottom line will grow manifold and stocks will do well and might be a multibagger. If not then capital invested in them might end up being an under performer. So, a combination of risk and patience to play out the turnaround of the sector.

Suzlon Energy's shares rose 10% to Rs 60.71 post a 200% YoY net profit rise to Rs 302 crore in June 2024. 50% revenue growth to Rs 2,016 crore. Achieved a 103% rise in Q1 deliveries, 3.8 GW order book, 203% share rise in a year, highest EBITDA in 7 years. Pune-headquartered with Germany R&D centers.

ITC's shares soared nearly 10% in 2 days, surpassing Rs 500 and hitting a record Rs 510.60 on BSE. A 5% jump followed after the government kept tobacco tax rates unchanged. Taxation, handled by the GST Council, includes NCCD on cigarettes, adjustable in Budget.