Although the benchmark indices opened higher, they traded positively throughout the session and ultimately closed green.

Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty50, ended higher on Thursday, led by gains in information technology (IT) and banking stocks, even as selling pressure weighed on pharma and consumer durables shares.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 187 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed 28 points higher (up 0.1%).

Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and HCL Tech are among the top gainers today.

Eternal, Asian Paints, and Sun Pharma, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at  25,7367 lower by 47 points at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.1% higher, and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.5% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today, with stocks in the power sector and the healthcare sector witnessing selling pressure. Meanwhile, stocks in the oil & gas sector and the banking sector witnessed buying.

The rupee is trading at Rs 90 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.1% lower at Rs 143,006 per gram.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.1% higher at Rs 291,750 per 1 kg.
 

HBL Engineering Drops on Order Miss

In the news from industry sector, shares of HBL Engineering came into focus after it did not receive any order in an Indian Railways tender for the CLW Loco Kavach project. The tender was for 6,300 locomotive units.

The company also said that its total expected Kavach orders for the current financial year have been reduced to 12,129 loco units, compared to the earlier estimate of 18,429 units.

HBL Engineering now expects Kavach-related sales of about Rs 18.8 bn in FY26.

Overall, the company has orders worth ?900 crore in hand, which will be billed in the next financial year.

For FY27, HBL Engineering expects Kavach sales of Rs 10 bn from loco units and Rs 9 bn from station-related systems.

Kavach is a very important product for HBL Engineering, as it makes up a large part of its orders and profits, according to the FY25 annual report.

In FY25, Kavach, chargers, and train electronics together contributed about 29% of the company's total revenue.

Kavach is an Indian-developed train collision avoidance system. In September 2024, HBL Engineering became the first company to successfully demonstrate the new Kavach system on the West Central Railway route between Kota and Sawai Madhopur. After this successful trial, Kavach orders began coming in from the following month.
 

Jio Financial Services Q3 Results

Moving on to the news from financial services sector, shares of Jio Financial Services came into focus after the company reported its Q3 FY26 results.

Total income for the quarter doubled, rising 101% YoY to Rs 9.01 bn from Rs 4.49 bn in Q3FY25.

Pre-provisioning operating profit increased by 7.3% YoY to Rs 3.54 bn from Rs 3.30 bn, as the rise in income was partly offset by higher expenses.

The company's assets under management (AUM) also grew 29% sequentially, reaching Rs 190.49 bn by the end of Q3FY26, up from Rs 147.12 bn at the end of Q2FY26.

Jio Financial Services reported a nearly 9% year-on-year (YoY) drop in consolidated profit to Rs 2.69 bn for the December quarter. In the same quarter last year, the company's profit was Rs 2.95 bn.
 

Kernex Microsystems Shares Jump on Order

Moving on to the news from engineering sector, shares of Kernex Microsystems came into focus after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 24.6 bn from Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.

Kernex Microsystems has received an order to supply, install, test, and commission 3,024 sets of on-board KAVACH equipment for locomotives, following the latest RDSO specifications (Version 4.0 or newer).

Kernex is a company that designs, develops, and implements advanced electronic systems, mainly for the railway sector.

The company has a strong record in delivering safety-critical solutions like level-crossing protection systems, anti-collision systems, and train passenger information systems (KTPIS).

With deep expertise in embedded systems, Kernex handles everything from hardware and software design to testing and system integration, offering complete end-to-end solutions.

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