Nifty will aim clear skies in a truncated Diwali week.

Please note that there are only 3 trading sessions for the week ahead as our stock markets will remain closed on Tuesday, October 21st and Wednesday, October 22nd on account of Diwali Celebrations.

Dalal Street enters the new week with a measured sense of optimism, as focus continues to be on the Q2 earnings season.

Hopefully, Reliance should lead from the front on backdrop of spectacular Q2.

The street will also react to Q2 results from HDFC BANK, ICICI BANK, ULTRATECH CEMENT and PNB which trickled in on Saturday, October 18th.

On the technical front, the Nifty will look to defend support at 25300 while on the upside targets remain at Nifty’s all-time-high at 26277.35 mark and then aggressive targets at psychological 28000 mark.

The broader market undertone stays constructive, aided by a steady pickup in foreign institutional inflows (FII) and sustained domestic investor participation.

The good news is that President Trump told reporters that current tariffs on China were “not sustainable” and confirmed plans to meet with President Xi Jinping

Key Earnings on Radar

The earnings calendar promises to be eventful:

Thursday, October 23 – HUL, COLPAL, LARUS LAB

Friday, October 24 – SBI LIFE, DR REDDYS LAB, SBI CARD, COFORGE,

Saturday, October 25 – KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

With global cues in flux and a dense corporate results calendar ahead, the coming week is likely to see stock-specific action dominate trading patterns. Investors may find opportunities in quality names where earnings visibility remains robust — while maintaining a balanced, risk-aware stance.

Bottom-line: Well, the only thing which could glitter brighter than Gold and Silver could be the Nifty index – confirmation of strength only above Nifty 26277.35 mark.

The Nifty options data suggests Nifty is likely to be in a trading range of 24000-26000 zone. Maximum Call OI is at 26000 followed by 26500 strike prices. 26000 mark is now Nifty’s major resistance zone on closing basis. Maximum Put open interest stands at 25000 levels followed by 25500 levels. Call writing was seen at 25900 and then at 26000 strike price, while there was meaningful Put writing at 25300 and then at 25400 strike prices.

Price Forecast:

Nifty CMP (25710)
Support : 25300/24851
RESISTANCE: 26000/26500
RANGE: 25511-26000
200 DMA: 242301
Nifty PCR: 1.06
BIAS: Positive

Bank Nifty CMP (57713)
Support: 56800/55000
RESISTANCE: 59000/60700
RANGE: 56900-58650
200 DMA 53472
BankNifty PCR: 1.16
BIAS: Positive

Preferred trade for the week:

Nifty (25710): Buy at CMP. Targets at 26000/26277. Aggressive targets at 26500 zone. Stop at 25299.

TOP SECTORS

Bullish Sectors: BANKS, AUTO, FMCG, DEFENCE

Bearish Sector: IT, MEDIA

STOCKS IN FOCUS:

BULLISH VIEW: HDFCBANK, BEL, SBIN, IDFCFIRSTB, BHARTIARTL, M&M, HAL, HUL, TRENT, TVSMOTOR, EICHERMOT, BAJFINANCE, MARUTI, BRITANNIA

BEARISH VIEW: INFY, POLICYBZR, BHARATFORGE, DMART, KEI, MPHASIS, POLYCAB, OFSS, HDFCAMC, TIINDIA, DIXON, SHREECEM

CHART OF THE WEEK: Thyrocare Technologies

Thyrocare Technologies
(BSE: 539871 / NSE: THYROCARE) BUY
CMP 1244
Target Price 1701
Stop 977
52 Week H/L 1470/658
P/E 51.70
EPS (TTM) 29.90
Promoters/FIIs/DIIs//Public 71.06%/4.85%/13.47%/10.61%
Book Value 101
Market Cap (INR) 6599

Company Overview

• Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. is a diagnostics & preventive healthcare services company, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. Founded in 1996 by Dr. A. Velumani, the company operates a centralised processing laboratory (“CPL”) in Mumbai and multiple regional labs across India, offering technology-driven pathology and imaging tests (e.g., CLIA, HPLC, LC-MS). The business model combines franchise/partner network collection centres + own processing labs + tie-ups with hospitals/diagnostic centres. The company is now part of the broader diagnostics ecosystem (notably linked with PharmEasy (India) Private Limited / API Holdings as parent context).

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Key Strengths & Competitive Advantages

• Strong network & scale in diagnostics: Thyrocare has a large pool of collection centres via its franchise/partner model, and a centralised lab model that helps drive economies of scale and faster turnaround. For example, in Q1 FY26 the number of franchisees exceeded ~9,500.
• Growth in non-metropolitan regions: By expanding into tier-2/3 cities and underserved geographies, Thyrocare taps growth beyond saturated metros. Q1 FY26 saw new labs in Bhagalpur, Kashmir, Roorkee.
• Business mix evolution: Growth from both franchise revenues (+20 % YoY) and partnerships (+36 % YoY) shows diversified channel strength.

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Risks & Challenges

• Competition & fragmentation: The Indian diagnostics market is highly fragmented with local labs, hospital chains and new players (D2C, online collection). Keeping margins and brand differentiation will be a challenge.
• Franchise/partner dependency: The business model relies heavily on collection centres operated by third parties; risks include churn, quality control, compliance, and logistical network issues. For example churn was mentioned.

Key Financial Results (Q1 FY26):

Metric Q1 FY26 Q1 FY25 YoY Change
Revenue from Operations ₹193.03 crore ₹156.91 crore +23%
Gross Margin ₹137.40 crore (71%) ₹111.46 crore (71%) +23% absolute, margin stable

Profit After Tax (PAT) ₹38.06 crore ₹23.47 crore +62%
PAT Margin 20% 15% +500 bps
Tests Processed 46.9 million tests 40.8 million tests +15%
Active Franchisees 9,500+ 8,145 +17%

Summary & Technical Outlook:

Thyrocare is showing a strong start to FY26 with healthy double-digit growth in revenue, improved margins, and solid expansion of its franchise/partner network. The stock at the moment is witnessing massive bullish consolidation and aiming to breakout on the long-term charts and that’s on backdrop of one way up move since April 2025 low at Rs 685. Major supports are now placed at 1125-1150 zone. The 200 DMA is placed at 1478 levels.

Preferred Strategy: Look to buy at CMP, and on dips between 1100-1150 zone, targeting 1500/1651, and then aggressive targets at 1750-1800 zone. Stop below 977. Holding Period 12-15 Months.

Disclaimer: The investments & trading ideas recommended in the market analysis, research reports, etc. may not be suitable for all investors. This article or data points does not construe investment advice as stock market investments are subject to market risks so please refer to your financial consultant advice before Investing or trading. All information is a point of view, and is for educational, Learning and informational use only. The author or the group admin accepts no liability for any interpretation of articles or comments on this platform being used for actual investments. Registration granted by SEBI and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. Investors must make their own investment decisions based on their specific investment objectives, goals and financial position only after consulting with registered market intermediaries.

September 13th to October 17th

Before we start, here is a Wishing All Our Readers a Prosperous Dhanteras!

On this Dhanteras, let conviction compound and optimism shine bright — Happy Investing!”

Happy Dhanteras & Happy Investing!

Nifty (+1.68%, 25710)
Sensex (+1.76%, 83952)
Bank Nifty (+1.95%, 57713)

Well, festive cheer swept through Dalal Street in the week gone by, with the Nifty clocking gains for the third straight week.

That brings us to our call of the week which suggests, “Diwali comes early at Dalal Street — We believe Nifty Bulls are likely to Keep the Bullish Momentum Alive with all eyes on Nifty 26277.35 mark.

Animal Spirits are revived amidst positive catalysts like:

1) PM Modi–President Trump Talks continue to ignite trade tariff optimism.

2) Comments from Fed Chair Powell who has reinforced expectations for an October rate cut and hinted at a possible pause in balance sheet runoff.

3) Global tailwinds, especially strong Wall Street cues.

4) Fading trade war fears

5) WTI crude oil futures stayed depressed near $58.60 per barrel, near its five-month low as investors weighed escalating US-China tensions and a bearish outlook from the International Energy Agency.

6) The optimism is underpinned by strengthening rate-cut bets, driven by policy signals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Long Story Short: Dalal Street Cheers! Nifty ends the week on a high note, promising to prevail in the week ahead.

Weekly Recap:
Instruments LTP Weekly % Change
Nifty 25710 +1.68%
Sensex 83952 +1.76%
Bank Nifty 57713 +1.95%
Nifty Midcap 15529 (-0.19%)
India VIX 11.66 +15.07%

Dow 46191 +1.56%
Nasdaq 24818 +2.46%
Bovespa 143399 +1.93%

Crude Oil 57.47 (-2.42%)
Gold 4248 +5.71%
Silver 51.97 +3.21%
USD/INR 87.99 (-0.87%)

Here are how indices performed in the week gone by:

1) Nifty (+1.68%) gained for the 3rd consecutive week and is now way above its 21 DMA (25114), 50 DMA (24930) and its 100 DMA (24986). Nifty’s 200 DMA at 24230 mark.

2) Bank Nifty (+1.95%) was seen mirroring Nifty’s rebounding action and the positive takeaway was that it scaled fresh all-time-high at 57830.20 mark.

Bank Nifty’s 200-DMA is at 53472 mark.

3) Nifty Private Bank index gained 1.72% higher while Nifty PSU Bank index slipped 0.74% lower.

4) The broader markets however remained sluggish with Nifty Mid-cap 50 index gaining -0.19% while the Nifty Small-cap index ended -0.06% lower.

Bullish Sectors:
Nifty Reality (+4.14%)
Nifty FMCG (+3%)
Nifty Auto (+1.9%)
Nifty Infra (+1.70%)
Nifty Oil & Gas (+0.27%)
Nifty Pharma (+0.16%)
Nifty Energy (+0.0%)

Bearish Sectors:
Nifty Media (-2.7%)
Nifty IT (-1.85%)
Nifty Metal (-0.61%)
Nifty PSE Index (-0.27%)

STOCK SPECIFIC NEWS:

1) LG Electronics made a stellar market debut, listing at nearly 50% above its issue price, reflecting strong investor appetite for a high-quality consumer durables brand with strong brand equity, scale, and profitability.

2) Tech Mahindra (-0.66%) slips after Q2 PAT climbs 5% QoQ to Rs 1,194 cr. Tech Mahindra reported a 4.73% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,194.50 crore on 4.82% increase in net sales to Rs 13,994.90 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26.

3) HDFC Life (-0.18%) slipped in yesterday’s trade after its Q2 Consolidated PAT Rose 3% YoY to ₹448 Crore; Net Premium Income Grew 14%

4) HDFC AMC (+3.54%) gained after the firm announced its first-ever 1:1 bonus issue, alongside a strong set of Q2 results. Net profit surged 24.6% YoY to ₹718.43 crore for Q2 FY26, compared to ₹576.61 crore in the year-ago period.

5) Persistent Systems (+7.43%) rallied after its Q2 results beat Street estimates. Robust growth in its key BFSI and healthcare verticals led +4.4% CC revenue growth QoQ (vs Est: +3.9% QoQ). And the cherry on top: Persistent also reported its highest-ever total contract value at $609 million; +15% YoY.

6) Wipro (-3.14%) slipped after reporting a 2.53% sequential decline in consolidated net profit to ₹3,246.2 crore, despite a 2.54% increase in revenue to ₹22,697.3 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26.

7) Infosys fell 4.87% even as the company posted a 6.4% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹7,364 crore on a 5.2% increase in revenue to ₹44,490 crore in Q2 FY25, compared to the previous quarter.

8) Zee Entertainment Enterprises declined 5.43% after its consolidated net profit slumped 63.47% YoY to ₹76.5 crore, with total income down 1.57% to ₹1,969.2 crore in Q2 FY26. The sharp drop was attributed to lower advertising revenue, partially offset by higher subscription income.

9) JSW Steel Q2 PAT zooms 270% YoY to Rs 1,623 cr. JSW Steel reported a massive 269.7% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,623 crore in Q2 FY26, compared to Rs 439 crore in the corresponding period last year.

10) Reliance delivers robust Q2. RIL Q2FY26 results: Net profit rose 14% to ₹22,092 crore, revenue up 10%

In the week gone by, notable gainers amongst Nifty 50 were:

NESTLE (+7.50%)
ASIAN PAINTS (+7.16%)
M&M (+5.57%)
ADANI PORTS (+4.97%)
BAJAJ FINANCE (+4.52%)

And the losers were:

INFOSYS (-4.87%)
TATA MOTORS (-3.51%)
WIPRO (+3.14%)
TCS (-2.10%)
ETERNAL (-1.62%)

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NIFTY?

Dalal Street enters the new week with a measured sense of optimism, as focus continues to be on the Q2 earnings season.

Hopefully, Reliance should lead from the front on backdrop of spectacular Q2.

The street will also react to Q2 results from HDFC BANK, ICICI BANK, ULTRATECH CEMENT and PNB which trickled in on Saturday, October 18th.

On the technical front, the Nifty will look to defend support at 25300 while on the upside targets remain at Nifty’s all-time-high at 26277.35 mark and then aggressive targets at psychological 28000 mark.

The broader market undertone stays constructive, aided by a steady pickup in foreign institutional inflows (FII) and sustained domestic investor participation.

The good news is that President Trump told reporters that current tariffs on China were “not sustainable” and confirmed plans to meet with President Xi Jinping

Key Earnings on Radar

The earnings calendar promises to be eventful:

Thursday, October 23 – HUL, COLPAL, LARUS LAB

Friday, October 24 – SBI LIFE, DR REDDYS LAB, SBI CARD, COFORGE,

Saturday, October 25 – KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

With global cues in flux and a dense corporate results calendar ahead, the coming week is likely to see stock-specific action dominate trading patterns. Investors may find opportunities in quality names where earnings visibility remains robust — while maintaining a balanced, risk-aware stance.

Bottom-line: Well, the only thing which could glitter brighter than Gold and Silver could be the Nifty index – confirmation of strength only above Nifty 26277.35 mark.

Disclaimer/ Disclosure: The investments & trading ideas recommended in the market analysis, research reports, etc. may not be suitable for all investors. This article or data points does not construe investment advice as stock market investments are subject to market risks so please refer to your financial consultant advice before Investing or trading. All information is a point of view, and is for educational, Learning and informational use only. The author or the group admin accepts no liability for any interpretation of articles or comments on this platform being used for actual investments. Registration granted by SEBI and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. Investors must make their own investment decisions based on their specific investment objectives, goals and financial position only after consulting with registered market intermediaries.