Indian markets open on Thursday with a mixed set of corporate triggers — Wipro’s below-estimate quarterly results and weak guidance dominating the red side, while RVNL’s Rs 968 crore contract win, Brookfield REIT’s Rs 2,000 crore QIP launch, and strong performances from Angel One and Waaree RE provide green catalysts. The rupee strengthened 10 paise to settle at 93.23 against the dollar on Thursday, supported by declining global crude oil prices amid hopes of a West Asia truce following Trump’s swimmingly assessment of the Iran talks.
WIPRO — THE BIGGEST STORY
Wipro is the dominant negative trigger of the morning with Q4 FY26 organic growth missing expectations and Q1 FY27 guidance coming in at minus 2% to 0% in constant currency — a guidance range that spans flat to negative and that has prompted a sharply divided analyst response.
Morgan Stanley has an underweight call with a price target cut to Rs 194, citing the organic growth miss and below-estimate Q1 guidance, saying valuation is likely to stay at a discount to peers. Kotak Institutional Equities has the most bearish call with a sell rating and Rs 190 target — describing a weak quarter with muted guidance, client churn signalling weak execution, market share losses, deal wins lacking impact, and margin levers getting stretched. It has cut FY27 and FY28 EPS by 2%.
CLSA holds at Rs 194, calling it a weak quarter with more negatives — revenue miss, ongoing leakage, soft deal wins year-on-year, weak Q1 growth guidance, deal ramp-up delays, stalled top account mining, weakening BFSI momentum, and FY26 marking the third consecutive year of negative constant currency growth. HSBC holds at Rs 210, saying the recovery outlook continues to weaken and that the buyback may support near term but is not a long-term buy trigger.
The more constructive voices are Nomura with a buy at Rs 250, noting deal wins remain steady, EBIT margin to stay in a tight band, FY27 and FY28 EPS raised 1% to 2%, and a large buyback with dividend yield supporting the stock. JPMorgan is neutral at Rs 200, acknowledging the mixed quarter but noting the buyback at Rs 250 per share at a 19% premium and margin guidance of 17% to 17.5%.
GREEN STOCKS
RVNL has been declared the lowest bidder for a three-year construction contract worth Rs 968 crore for East Coast Railway — a clean order win for the rail infrastructure PSU that adds to its order book and extends its track record of consistent L1 wins across Indian Railways projects.
Brookfield REIT is in sharp focus with a QIP launch to raise Rs 2,000 crore at an indicative issue price of Rs 323 per unit — a 2.1% discount to the current market price — involving 61.9 million units or approximately 8.3% of outstanding units, with proceeds to be used for debt repayment. Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, and Avendus Capital are the bankers to the issue.
Waaree RE reported EBITDA up 64% year-on-year with revenue of Rs 1,102.4 crore against Rs 476.6 crore in the same period last year — a strong set of numbers reflecting the rapid scaling of its renewable energy business. Angel One reported revenue up 9% quarter-on-quarter with margins up 400 basis points, with Citi maintaining a buy call at Rs 340 and noting strong Q4 performance with PAT growth above estimates, core PBT up 19% quarter-on-quarter excluding one-offs, trading orders up 31% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter.
VA Tech Wabag clarified it has no Rs 600 crore Saudi contract but confirmed it is the lowest bidder for a Rs 3,400 crore Kuwait desalination project and is awaiting letters of award. CESC signed power purchase agreements for 600 MW of wind-solar hybrid projects including a 300 MW PPA with Purvah Green Power, all with 25-year tenures. NTPC Green declared 150 MW of solar capacity in Rajasthan commercially operational. KPI Green received an inter-state power trading licence from CERC. HDFC Bank approved an investment of up to Rs 1,000 crore in HDFC Life subject to RBI approval. Paytm converted a Rs 197 crore loan into equity in First Games raising its stake to 82.6% from 55% and approved a default loss guarantee of up to Rs 90 crore. RVNL’s Rs 968 crore contract win for East Coast Railway confirms another L1 bid converting to order.
Lupin executed a settlement agreement with Humana and will pay $30 million — a resolution of a pharma legal dispute that removes an overhang from the company’s US business. Kolte Patil reported Q4 sales up 13% and collections up 18% year-on-year — a strong real estate operational result. VST Industries reported cigarette volume growth of 8.6% with margins at 45.50% against 20% year-on-year — a dramatic margin expansion story.
RED STOCKS
HDFC Life reported VNB margin down 250 basis points and VNB slipping 8.62% year-on-year — a weak set of insurance metrics that reflects the challenging APE growth environment. HSBC maintains a buy at Rs 690 but acknowledges Q4 was soft across metrics. JPMorgan is overweight at Rs 810 but notes weak APE growth at 0.4% year-on-year, VNB margin falling to 23.9%, competition hurting retail growth, and near-term growth likely to stay weak. Sammaan Capital will exit the F&O segment on July 1 with no new contracts — a business restructuring that removes a revenue stream.
ANALYST CALLS — SECTOR THEMES
Morgan Stanley on consumer stocks recommends preferring discretionary and retail stocks in a volatile geopolitical environment with rising inflation, saying they offer strong growth levers for FY27 and better insulation from macro headwinds. It has moved Jubilant FoodWorks to equal-weight with a target price cut to Rs 486 from Rs 693 due to near-term growth risks, while maintaining overweight on Titan at Rs 5,102, Avenue Supermarts at Rs 5,188, and Trent at Rs 4,835.
CLSA on autos notes that early April demand has been better than expected despite geopolitical uncertainties and recent OEM price hikes, with retail volumes for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and commercial vehicles growing at mid-single digits year-on-year in early April. M&HCV goods and tractors stood out with mid-to-high-teen growth. Passenger vehicles remain weak with volumes down 9% year-on-year. EV penetration has reached 5.8% in passenger vehicles and 8.3% in two-wheelers. CLSA remains constructive on CVs and positive on M&M and Bajaj Auto.
MOSL on Dixon Tech maintains a buy at Rs 14,700 noting that higher memory prices are impacting volumes and creating pressure on low and mid segments, but that key JV approvals and PN3 relaxation supporting the Vivo JV are positives, with display module plans progressing.
CORPORATE ACTIONS
Axis Bank’s board will consider fundraising through equity and other means on April 25. DCB Bank’s board will consider fundraising via debt and QIP on April 24. M&M Financial Services will consider increasing its borrowing limit at a board meeting on April 24. DCM Shriram’s arm has entered a joint venture named PolyTek with Teknor Apex to expand its polymer compounds business. Aditya Infotech has entered a 50:50 joint venture with Orient Cables to manufacture LAN, CCTV, and electric cables. Gravita India increased its stake in Rashtriya Metal to 99.44% from 98.95%. TVS Motor increased its shareholding in DriveX Mobility to 92.4% from 87.4%. Dodla Dairy’s arm HR Food has been allotted 7.15 acres in Bihar to set up a new dairy processing plant. Isgec Heavy Engineering signed an MoU with the Nigeria Sugar Council to provide technical support for sugar projects. R Systems announced that NCLT Delhi has sanctioned the merger of Velotio and Scaleworx with R Systems. Firstsource Solutions launched Kairos, its embedded intelligence engine.
TRADING TWEAKS
Puravankara and Simplex Infrastructures have been shortlisted for the Short-Term ASM Framework Stage. Suven Life Sciences has been excluded from the ASM Framework. Gallantt Ispat and Indiabulls have seen price band changes from 20% to 10%.
RUPEE
The rupee strengthened 10 paise to settle at 93.23 against the US dollar on Thursday, buoyed by declining global crude oil prices and optimism around a potential West Asia truce following Trump’s assessment that the Iran talks are going swimmingly and that a deal could be announced fairly soon. The strengthening rupee is a positive signal for Indian markets opening Thursday and is the first meaningful reversal from the record low near 95 per dollar that the currency had been testing through the Iran war disruption period.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Analyst ratings, price targets, and corporate action data are sourced from publicly available information. Readers are advised to consult a SEBI-registered financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Business Upturn is not responsible for any gains or losses arising from decisions made based on this article.