Shares of fintech firm Paytm surged over 12% to Rs 623.8 during Friday's intraday trading, driven by heavy volumes on the NSE, with 2.96 crore equity shares worth Rs 1,763.6 crore traded. At 2:47 p.m., the stock was up 11.4% at Rs 618. The shares have climbed 16% in the past two days following the company’s approval from the finance ministry to invest in its payment services business.

Short covering happens when traders buy back shares they previously sold short, often due to a shift in market sentiment or new information. This usually results in a decrease in open interest and can drive the stock price higher. In Friday's trading session, five stocks saw short covering. Here's the list:

A former student of Benjamin Graham, Buffett is known as a legendary value investor, though he is also believed to incorporate an emphasis on management quality and company growth prospects.

Many investors are attracted to low-priced stocks, but random selection can be risky. It would be interesting to see when foreign investors are showing interest in these stocks, as they usually invest only after thorough research.To identify these stocks, ETMarkets analyzed those trading below Rs 20 at the end of the March 2024 quarter, with a market cap exceeding Rs 250 crore, and noted an increase in FII holdings in the June quarter compared to March 2024. From the BSE universe, about 23 stocks met these criteria. We further refined this list and highlighted 8 stocks that have gained over 50% in the first five months of FY25. (Data Source: ACE Equity)

Sebi has cancelled the registrations of 39 stock brokers, seven commodity brokers, and 22 depository participants for failing to meet registration requirements. The regulator aims to prevent misuse of registrations and protect investors. These entities are still responsible for any past actions and dues owed to Sebi.

There are enough examples from the long history of markets that most wrong investment decisions are made in bullish times. The reason is that everyone feels that making money in the stock market is easy and why he or she should leave the opportunity of making a quick buck. In the process they end up buying bad stocks and high prices. If one is thinking about increasing the exposure it would be better to stay with good business. This is not to say that one would not go wrong in buying newly coined large caps or what we would call neo but as they would be able to weather any storm which might emerge due to any reason, the damage would be controlled. In a bullish market, remember that bears just go for hibernation.

GRSE stock surged by up to 7% after Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers signed an MoU with the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation. The agreement involves the construction and delivery of Double-Lane Class 70 Modular steel & Bailey bridges, enhancing connectivity along India's borders.

Domestic brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher (PL Capital) has updated its Nifty target to 26,820 in its latest India Strategy Report. This target is based on a valuation of Nifty at 19 times its March 2026 EPS estimate of Rs 1,411, reflecting the index's 15-year average PE ratio. The previous target was 26,398. In a bull case, PL Capital sees a potential target of 28,564 with a PE of 20.2x.

Natco Pharma shares surged 5% to Rs 1,569 after filing an ANDA with the US FDA for a generic cancer drug. The company aims for 180 days of marketing exclusivity.

Shares of Bharti Hexacom surged 6% on Friday to a high of Rs 1,245.70 on BSE after Citi initiated coverage with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 1,405. Citi highlighted the company as an attractive midcap telco with strong growth potential, a healthy balance sheet, and positive prospects for tariff hikes amid reduced competitive intensity.

Sugar Stocks: Shares of sugar and ethanol production companies surged on BSE following the government's decision to allow sugar mills to use cane juice or syrup for ethanol production starting November 1, 2024. This policy shift aims to boost renewable energy usage and reduce fossil fuel dependence.

Despite enthusiasm over Reliance Industries' bonus issue, RIL's AGM lacked new catalysts for brokerages to raise target prices.

Tata Motors announced that trading of its DVR shares would stop due to their conversion into ordinary shares. For every 10 DVR shares, investors receive seven ordinary shares. Tata Motors DVR shares have provided substantial returns over the past two years. The company's restructuring has been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.

The FMCG sector experienced top-line growth due to a summer spike, despite challenges from the general elections. The outlook for H2 is positive, with anticipated revenue growth supported by rural recoveries. As sector rotations favor defensives, FMCG stocks are expected to attract investor focus.

Sugar Stocks: Shares of sugar and ethanol production companies surged on BSE following the government's decision to allow sugar mills to use cane juice or syrup for ethanol production starting November 1, 2024. This policy shift aims to boost renewable energy usage and reduce fossil fuel dependence.

Realty firm Prestige Estates Projects Ltd has launched a plan to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). The floor price for the equity shares has been set at Rs 1,755.09 per share. Recently, the company reported a 13% decline in net profit for the June quarter due to higher expenses.

SpiceJet shares dropped 6.4% after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation imposed enhanced surveillance due to identified deficiencies. The audit uncovered operational issues and financial stress. Despite previous fundraising efforts, the airline still faces financial challenges, including defaulting on vendor payments. SpiceJet's revenue and net profit have also declined significantly.

Sensex and Nifty50 reached record highs on Friday, buoyed by gains in Asian markets. The rally was led by banking and financial stocks. U.S. economic data showed a growth of 3% last quarter, easing recession fears. Investors are now focusing on U.S. inflation data and India's upcoming April-June growth figures.

Granules India Ltd, a pharma stock, has surged over 100% in the past year, recently breaking out from a Pole & Flag pattern on daily charts. Experts suggest short-term traders buy now for a target of Rs 777. The stock has shown strong performance and technical indicators suggest potential further gains.

Rapid Multimodal Logistics, based in Chennai, made its debut on the BSE SME platform with a 22.6% premium, listing at Rs 103 against an issue price of Rs 84. The IPO, fully subscribed with fresh equity of 10.11 lakh shares, was overbooked 300 times at close. The company reported revenues of Rs 71.

Shares of sugar and ethanol production companies surged on BSE following the government's decision to allow sugar mills to use cane juice or syrup for ethanol production starting November 1, 2024. This policy shift aims to boost renewable energy usage and reduce fossil fuel dependence.

Sensex and Nifty50 reached record highs on Friday, buoyed by gains in Asian markets. The rally was led by banking and financial stocks. U.S. economic data showed a growth of 3% last quarter, easing recession fears. Investors are now focusing on U.S. inflation data and India's upcoming April-June growth figures.

First it was union minister Nitin Gadkari, who spoke about the need to remove the GST on life and health insurance. While his letter, which apparently was revealed without his permission but then there were some reports which suggested that the fitment committee will recommend it to the GST council to look at considering the waiver. Whether this happens or not it has to be seen. But one thing is for sure that the insurance sector is one sector where a narrative got created around overall opportunity and expectations were sky high and then in reality things didn't turn out to be as expected and the stocks have also not performed. But over the years, insurance companies have also learnt their lesson over time and probably after a long phase they have reached a point where things would improve as the insurance product finally becomes a product which is taken as a need and not as tax saver.

William J. O'Neil, founder of MarketSmith, transformed equity investing by blending fundamental and technical analysis with a focus on historical precedents. His strategy highlights seven key traits of top stock market winners. MarketSmith applies O'Neil's methodology to screen for companies with strong earnings growth and relative price strength within 15% of their 52-week highs—ideal in early bull markets. Here are eight Indian stocks that align with O'Neil's investing principles, as identified by MarketSmith.

Macquarie has maintained a "Neutral" rating on Reliance Industries (RIL) with a target price of Rs 2,750. The firm views the New Energy business as a key driver for future growth and value creation. Progress in other areas like 5G, home broadband, media, retail, and O2C was largely seen as consistent with prior expectations. While New Energy ambitions are seen as supportive of long-term growth, they need to be de-risked.

Bondada Engineering, which listed on the BSE SME in August 2023, has surged over 4,400% from its IPO price of Rs 75. The company will start trading ex-split from the upcoming Monday following its announcement of a 1:5 stock split in July, with September 2 set as the record date. Today is the final opportunity to purchase shares to be eligible for the stock split.

This means today will be the last day to buy the shares of these companies in order to be able to qualify for the dividends announced by them.

Nvidia shares fell over 6% after forecasting third-quarter gross margins below market expectations. However, the company expects production of Blackwell chips to ramp up in the fourth quarter. Despite the dip, Nvidia's stock remains up 137% this year, driven by strong revenue forecasts and a $50 billion share buyback.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced new products to transform ATM infrastructure, including UPI interoperable cash deposits and digital banking units. Customers can now deposit cash at ATMs using UPI without a physical card. Additionally, RBI has rebranded the Bharat Bill Payment System to Bharat Connect, while open architecture ATMs will offer various banking services.

The Reserve Bank of India warns the public about fraudsters falsely using its name through fake letterheads, emails, and calls. These criminals impersonate RBI employees to steal personal and banking details. RBI also identifies unauthorized digital lending apps and financial service providers pretending to be registered with the regulator.

“Trent stock has consistently been on the up move for the last 18 months and it has seen a good follow-up action after every breakout. Traders can buy for the target of Rs 7525 in the next 2-3 weeks,” Shivangi Sarda, Analyst, Derivatives and Technical Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

The Dow reached a record high on Thursday amid mixed trading following strong U.S. economic data, while Nvidia dropped after its forecast failed to impress investors. The U.S. economy grew faster than anticipated, bolstering expectations of avoiding a recession. Apple rose as Citigroup named it a top AI pick, while other AI stocks saw mixed performance.

Equities in Australia and South Korea rose while those in Japan inched up. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index headed for a fourth month of gains as traders awaited a key US inflation report due Friday. Japan’s 10-year bond futures opened lower after data showed inflation in Tokyo quickened in August, backing the case for a further normalization of monetary policy.

Aviation watchdog DGCA decided to place SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance that will entail increased spot checks and night surveillance to ensure the safety of the airline's operations.

​​Film star Shah Rukh Khan made his debut on the Hurun India Rich list with a wealth of Rs 7,300 crore, fuelled by his stakes in Kolkata Knight Riders and Red Chillies Entertainment Juhi Chawla and family (Rs 4,600 crore), Hrithik Roshan (Rs 2,000 crore), Karan Johar (Rs 1,400 crore), and Amitabh Bachchan (Rs 1,600 crore) are among the others from the film industry.

The Reserve Bank of India is expected to release final guidelines soon on provisioning and accounting norms for project finance. Discussions are also ongoing for Expected Credit Loss guidelines. The RBI aims to implement new provisions at 5% in phases, addressing concerns from stakeholders about the increased costs for banks and borrowers.

The Reserve Bank of India reassures there is no systemic risk in the microfinance sector despite recent stress. Senior officials highlighted that concerns are entity-specific, and no strict regulatory action is planned. Ashima Goyal of the Monetary Policy Committee indicated non-performing assets are manageable and the banking system remains resilient.

The expiry of the August derivatives series saw the Nifty 50 index experiencing volatility before closing with a gain of 99.60 points. Reliance Industries could resume its uptrend, supported by technical indicators. JM Financial Services is poised for a breakout, potentially rising by 7% as key resistance levels are surpassed.

"Inefficiencies and opacity dog not only the Indian domestic investor; they also impact foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). While India fully moved to a T+1 settlement cycle in January 2023, most FPIs are only able to access their funds from sale of securities on T+2 or later," Sebi whole time member Ananth Narayan said. He was speaking at the Global Fintech Fest.

​​As of June 30, Tencent Cloud Europe B.V. held a 4.26% stake in the company. Axis Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset MF, Marshall Wace Investment Strategies Eureka Fund, SBI MF and Goldman Sachs (Singapore) PTE-ODI were among some of the buyers.

Adoption of technology has helped Sebi conduct extensive consultations before coming out with new rules, said Buch. "Imagine if we had tried to do this manually (on analysing the 6,000 comments received). We would have died!," she said

In February 2022, Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of India's largest carrier, announced his decision to gradually reduce stake in the company and stepped down from the company's board. This decision followed a two-year-long bitter battle with co-promoter Rahul Bhatia.

"MSCI's August 2024 review changes for its standard and small-cap indices will be implemented on Friday, likely leading to $5.5 billion in net inflows," said Sriram Velayudhan, head of alternative research at IIFL. "This includes adjustments to country weightings, with India expected to gain substantially post-rebalancing."

Trent Ltd, a specialty retail company under Tata Group, surged over 200% in the past year. Experts suggest the stock is poised for further gains, potentially reaching Rs 7,500 in the next 2-3 weeks. Both weekly and daily charts show bullish trends, with FIIs increasing their stake in the stock.

The stock had fallen more than 5% before the bell after Nvidia on Wednesday forecast third-quarter gross margins that could miss market estimates and revenue that was largely in line.

Indian benchmark equity indices closed at fresh record highs on Thursday, led by RIL, financial and IT stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.43% higher at 82,134, while the NSE Nifty50 ended above the 25,150 mark."The short-term uptrend of Nifty continues to be positive. The next upside levels to be watched around 25360-25400 (1.382% Fibonacci extension). Immediate supports to be watched at 25000 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.Here are 5 stock recommendations for Friday:

State-owned NHPC has received shareholders nod to raise its borrowing limit to Rs 50,000 crore in its annual general meeting held on Wednesday.

The government has received about Rs 5,091 crore from Indian Oil Corp as dividend, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said on Thursday.

Capital markets regulator Sebi has proposed mandating Qualified Stock Brokers (QSBs) to offer the facility of trading in the secondary market using the UPI-based block mechanism to their clients, similar to the ASBA facility.

Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday proposed to make it mandatory for all entities regulated by it to maintain communication records, including acknowledgements, for at least eight years.