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Nifty hovered in a broad 23,800–24,700 band last week before closing at 24,175.65. Analysts say the index must clear the 24,200–24,400 zone to regain strength. Strategies vary: some recommend bullish option spreads to capture rebounds, while a cautious camp warns of further downside if 23,900 breaks.

CHANDAN TAPARIA, HEAD – DERIVATIVES & TECHNICALS, MOTILAL OSWAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

Trading Strategy:

The recommended Nifty Options strategy for the weekly September 1 expiry is a Bull Call Spread, suitable for support-based buying. Traders are advised to buy one lot of the 24,200 strike Call Option and simultaneously sell one lot of the 24,400 strike Call Option. The maximum risk in this strategy is 75 points (Rs 4,875).

TOP BETS FOR THE WEEK

HEG:

Buy | CMP: Rs 737 | Target: Rs 780 | Stop loss: Rs 710

The stock has retested its earlier breakout zone near Rs 700 and bounced strong ly, confirming that the breakout zone is acting as support. It has maintained its broader uptrend, with dips being bought into. A pole-and-flag break out above Rs 750 could trigger the next leg of the upmove.

Laurus Labs:

Buy | CMP: Rs 1,938 | Target: Rs 2,050 | Stop loss: Rs 1,880

The stock is in a strong uptrend, trading at all-time highs and outperforming the broader market. It has formed higher highs, reflecting buyer strength, and has respected its 20 DEMA, bouncing from that level.

NILESH JAIN, HEAD – EQUITY TECHNICAL AND DERIVATIVE RESEARCH, CENTRUM FINVERSE

Trading Strategy:

The Nifty has a crucial support at 24,000. As long as the index sustains above this level, a rebound towards 24,300 remains possible. With expectations of a near-term pullback, a Bull Call Spread is recommended for the upcoming weekly expiry: Buy 1 lot of 24,200 Call @ Rs 97 Sell 1 lot of 24,300 Call @ Rs 51 This results in a net debit of 46 points, with maximum loss capped at Rs 2,990. The strategy offers a maximum profit potential of 54 points per lot (Rs 3,510), with breakeven at 24,246.

TOP BETS FOR THE WEEK

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals:

Buy | CMP: Rs 2,515 | Target: Rs 2,701 | Stop loss: Rs 2,420

The stock has witnessed a fresh breakout backed by strong volumes, confirming buying interest.

Shipping Corporation of India:

Buy | CMP: Rs 299 | Target: Rs 320 | Stop loss: Rs 288

The stock has formed a strong base and moved higher, clearing the 21 DMA and 50-DMA hurdles near Rs 294. It continues to trade above short- and long-term averages.

RUPAK DE, SENIOR TECHNICAL ANALYST, LKP SECURITIES

Trading Strategy:

As long as the index remains below 24,200, sentiment is likely to stay weak, with a possible decline towards 23,900 in the near term. A fall below 23,900 could trig ger further correction. Conversely, a decisive move above 24,200 may improve sentiment and strengthen the near-term trend. Selling Nifty September Futures below 24,315 for a target of 24,200, while maintaining a stop-loss at 24,376, is recommended.

TOP BETS FOR THE WEEK

Newgen Software Technologies:

Buy | CMP: Rs 567.1 | Target: Rs 590 | Stop loss: Rs 549

The stock has given a falling trendline breakout and is sustaining above the 50 EMA. The chart setup looks positive.

Elgi Equipments:

Buy | CMP: Rs 628.85 | Target: Rs 685 | Stop loss: Rs 610

The stock has moved higher after finding support above the 50 EMA. RSI has re-entered a bullish crossover, indicating improving momentum.

Mumbai: August witnessed a deluge of large secondary market deals, with the tally rising to the highest in 14 months, as promoters and private equity investors sold stakes amid elevated valuations following the sharp rebound in mid- and small-cap shares.

Block and bulk trades worth at least ₹80,000 crore were executed during the month – the highest since June 2025. Domestic mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and a clutch of foreign institutions lapped up the increased supply of shares in the market.

In July, these transactions were worth around ₹48,500 crore.

Among the large trades in August, Centella Mauritius Holdings sold a 6.67% stake in Aster DM Quality Care for ₹4,451 crore, while Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma-controlled Resilient Asset Management offloaded a 3% stake in One 97 Communications for ₹2,949 crore.

Capital Ammunition
SoftBank Vision Fund II Lightbulb (Cayman) sold nearly 2.6% in Lenskart Solutions for ₹2,888 crore, while American Funds Insurance Series Global Growth and Income Fund sold a 1.04% stake in Avenue Supermarts for ₹2,537 crore.
General Atlantic Singapore RR Pte offloaded shares worth ₹2,300 crore in Rubicon Research, while Ribbit Capital V and Ribbit Cayman GW Holdings V sold shares worth a combined ₹2,217 crore in Billionbrains Garage Ventures. SAIF III Mauritius Company, SAIF Partners India IV and Elevation Capital V sold Paytm shares worth ₹2,038 crore, while Elevation Capital V and Peak XV Partners Investments V sold shares worth ₹1,949 crore in Meesho.
Other large transactions included stake sales worth ₹1,433 crore in Welspun Corp and ₹1,259 crore in Viyash Scientific. Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II also exited its entire 1.61% stake in Physicswallah for about ₹550 crore.

“Strong SIP flows into small-cap and mid-cap equity mutual funds are giving fund houses sizeable pools of capital to deploy through block deals, creating attractive exit opportunities for promoters and PE investors while allowing funds to selectively accumulate stocks they favour,” said Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative & Quant Research.

Late Surge

The surge in these deals gathered pace in the second half of August. Between May and August, block and bulk deals worth ₹2.51 lakh crore were recorded, more than double the ₹1.25 lakh crore between January and April.

So far in 2026, 9,754 deals worth ₹3.77 lakh crore have been recorded, compared with 14,926 deals worth ₹5.85 lakh crore in the whole of 2025. Block and bulk deal activity typically picks up when valuations are elevated, and liquidity is strong, allowing promoters, private equity investors and other large shareholders to cash out without significantly disrupting stock prices.

ET Intelligence Group: Purple Style Labs, a multi-brand luxury fashion platform, plans to raise ₹680 crore through a fresh issue to pay for lease liabilities of experience centres, offices and marketing expenses. The promoter group’s stake will fall to 22.7% after the IPO from 26.3%. It operates under the brand name ‘Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop’. Nearly 30% of the revenue comes from repeat customers. Any changes in international trade policies or trade tariffs could affect the business as around 16% of the revenue comes from the US and UK. The company has cash flow deficit and is yet to generate profit. Given these factors, investors may wait to see clarity in the financials.

Business

Incorporated in 2015, Purple Style Labs offers a curated portfolio of luxury fashion products across womenswear, menswear, jewellery, accessories and kidswear, with a focus on wedding and occasion wear. It sourced products from 1,109 active designer brands as of March 2026, including Seema Gujral, Anushree Reddy, Amit Aggarwal and Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna. Top 10 designer brands contribute 30% to revenue. Around 78% of the revenue comes from women’s wear, 18% from men’s wear and rest from jewellery, accessories and kidswear. It has 14 experience centres, 12 of which are in India, one is in London and one in New York. Nearly four-fifth of the revenue comes from India.

Financials

Revenue from operations rose 5.2% annually to ₹557.8 crore while operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 2% to ₹30.4 crore between FY24 and FY26. EBITDA margin dropped to 5.4% in FY26 from 6.3% in FY24. Net loss widened to ₹285.4 crore in FY26 from ₹47.7 crore in FY24. Average order value jumped to ₹75,500 in FY26 from ₹45,500 in FY24. The company’s operating cash flow deficit widened to ₹34.9 crore in FY26 from ₹31.3 crore in FY24, primarily driven by the strategic shift towards large-format experience centres, which led to higher security deposit payments, increased accumulation of GST input credit, and higher inventory levels. Net debt more than tripled to ₹355.8 crore from ₹113.1 crore over FY24-26.
Read more: FPIs net buyers for 2nd month; Rs 30,919 crore inflow in August: is selling spree easing?

Valuation

Given the absence of profits, the price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple is not a relevant valuation metric. Further, it has no directly comparable listed peers in India. The stock is valued at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 8.3, significantly higher than Go Fashion (India), a listed apparel retailer, which trades at a P/S multiple of 2.1.

ET Intelligence Group: India Inc distributed record dividends at the aggregate level in FY26 though the pay-out ratio moderated to a five-year low. This reflects a lower proportion of profits returned to shareholders via dividends amid share-buybacks and the need to conserve cash in a volatile geopolitical scenario. Companies from the sectors including banking and finance, information technology (IT), oil and gas, and power together contributed two-third to the total dividends.

For a sample of 187 companies from the BSE 200 index that have reported audited results so far, aggregate dividends touched ₹4.5 lakh crore, implying a 15% five-year annual growth rate. The sample’s aggregate dividend increased two-fold in FY26 from ₹2.2 lakh crore in FY21.

Each of the banking and finance, and IT sectors accounted for 21.6% of the aggregate dividends, followed by oil and gas, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and power sectors at 9.2%, 8.8% and 5.6% respectively.

The share of the banking and finance sector expanded significantly from 15% in FY22, reflecting the rising profits of the sector helped by improving asset quality, reducing credit costs and expanding loan assets. On a year-on-year basis, dividends grew by 5.9% compared with double-digit growth in the previous four years.

Read more: Corporate actions this week: NTPC, Coal India among nearly 90 cos set to hit record dates for dividend payouts, bonus issues & stock splits

It was slower than the sample’s net profit growth of 21%, implying a lower dividend payout. The pay-out ratio or dividends relative to net profit fell to 27% in FY26 from 31% in the previous year.
The IT sector continued to report the highest payout ratio of 75% for the second straight year, though it fell from 81% in the previous year. The FMCG sector followed, increasing its payout to 71% from 68% a year ago.