SENSEX slumps 287 pts, NIFTY50 below 26,000 in noon deals; Coforge, PNB, Hindustan Copper among buzzing stocks

The Indian equity market remained volatile, as both the SENSEX and NIFTY50 indices gave up early gains and were trading lower in the afternoon session on Monday, December 29.

The SENSEX slumped as much as 0.35% to an intra-day low of 84,745.59. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 touched the day’s low of 25,960.70.

At 12:27 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX fell by 287.16 points, or 0.34%, to 84,754.29, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was trading at 25,969.40, reflecting a 72.90 points, or 0.28% decline.

On Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth ₹317.56 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth ₹ 1,772.56 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

Furthermore, the India VIX, the volatility gauge, spiked over 6% during Monday’s noon session.

Shares of Power Grid Corporation of India, which fell 1.51%, topped the list of laggards on the NIFTY50 index. It was followed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (-1.47%), Trent (-0.91%), Jio Financial Services (-0.83%) and Tata Consultancy Services (-0.75%), which were also among the top losers.

On the other hand, the top gainers included Tata Steel (2.55%), JSW Steel (1.48%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.37%), Eternal (0.83%) and Nestle India (0.74%).

Buzzing stocks on December 29: Check list

Shares of NBCC rose as much as 3.1% to hit an intraday high of ₹125.85 on the NSE, after the company informed exchanges that it has settled a legal case with the Delhi government regarding land measuring 42.46 acres in Sultanpur/Ghitorni village in South Delhi.

As per the settlement, the total 42.46-acre Ghitorni land will be equally divided between NBCC and the Government, NCT of Delhi (GNTCD), resulting in a 21.23-acre share for NBCC, it said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

The stock of Ceigall India gained as much as 5.42% to an intraday high of ₹274 per equity share, as its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ceigall Infra Projects, bagged a highway construction project worth ₹1,089 crore from the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Ltd (MPRDC).

The EPC firm received a Letter of Award (LoA) on December 27 for the construction of the Indore–Ujjain Greenfield (Access Control) four-lane highway with paved shoulders, which will be executed under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), it said in a regulatory filing.

The project will be executed over a period of 24 months from the date of appointment, it added.

Shares of defence firms, including Mishra Dhatu Nigam (13.94%), Mazagon Dock (3.72%), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (3.34%), Mtar Technologies (2.63%), Bharat Dynamics (2.16%) and more, were trading higher on December 29, ahead of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting.

According to reports, the DAC council is likely to approve defence procurement proposals worth around ₹80,000 crore.

The meeting, which will be headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will discuss key agenda items, including overhauling four regiments of T-90 tanks, enhancing the Navy's capabilities with ten new tugs and SDR software radios, and acquiring seven fuel mission simulators for the Air Force, as per news reports.

Hindustan Copper stocks surged for the seventh straight session on Monday to hit a new record high of ₹545.95 per unit. In the last seven trading sessions, the share has rallied as much as 48.27%, data from the NSE showed.

This comes after prices of copper surged to record highs in the international and domestic markets. Copper futures for delivery on December 31 rose as much as 9% to hit a record high of ₹1,372.60 per kilogram on the MCX.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper futures rose nearly 7% to hit an all-time high of $12,960 per tonne.

Shares of Coforge slumped into negative territory after surging as much as 2.25% to an intra-day high of ₹1,711 per unit in early trade.

This comes after the company announced that it will acquire 100% stake in the Silicon Valley-based AI firm Encora for an enterprise value of $2.35 billion (about ₹21,133 crore).

The acquisition will be funded through an all-stock transaction. Coforge will issue preferential shares worth about $1.89 billion to Encora's current shareholders, including private equity giants Advent International and Warburg Pincus. Upon completion, the sellers will hold a 20% stake in the expanded share capital of Coforge.

Punjab National Bank stock declined over 3% to touch an intraday low of ₹116.60 apiece, after the state-owned lender reported a loan fraud of ₹2,434 crore committed by former promoters of SREI Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) to the Reserve Bank of India.

These two entities with financial debt amounting to ₹32,700 crore went through resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and the new promoter, National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), acquired them in December 2023.

The bank has reported a case of borrowing fraud to the RBI against the erstwhile promoters of SEFL and SIFL, amounting to ₹1,240.94 crore and ₹1,193.06 crore, respectively, PNB said in a regulatory filing.

The bank has already made 100% provisions against the entire outstanding amount, it said.

Shares of EPC player SEPC Ltd advanced as much as 7.53% reaching a session peak of ₹10.57 apiece on the NSE on Monday.

In an exchange filing, the company informed that it has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) from MOIL, a Government of India undertaking, for the designing, construction and commissioning of a third vertical shaft at Maharashtra's Chikla mine.

The project was awarded via a global tender process, with SEPC emerging as the lowest bidder. "The order value stands at ₹167.85 crore for domestic scope, along with USD 36.52 lakh towards imported plant and machinery," the company said.

The scope of work includes full turnkey execution, covering engineering, furnishing, civil works and installation of equipment. The project will strengthen mining infrastructure and operational efficiency at the Chikla Mine.

The stock of Vikran Engineering rallied as much as 9.54% to an intraday high of ₹110.36 per equity share, after it accepted Letters of Awards (LOAs) from M.P. Urja Vikas Nigam Limited for the implementation of grid-connected Solar PV-based power plants with a total capacity of 45.75 MW AC in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh.

The projects will be developed under the Surya Mitra Krishi Feeders Scheme, with feeder solarisation as part of the PM KUSUM-C scheme, for the sale of power to Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL), it said in a regulatory filing on December 26.

Under the awards, Vikran Engineering will act as a Renewable Power Generator (RPG) for the implementation of the solar power plants. The projects will have a power purchase tenure of 25 years, with tariffs ranging between ₹2.75 per kWh to ₹2.80 per kWh, as specified in the LOAs, it added.

SolarWorld Energy Solutions shares soared as much as 14.51% to the day’s high of ₹303 per unit, as it received a letter of award of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) package for the development of a 250 MWac grid-connected solar PV project from NTPC Renewable Energy.

The project, with an approximate order value of ₹725.33 crore (including taxes), is scheduled to be completed in the financial year 2026- 27, as per the terms of the order, it said in a regulatory filing on Saturday.