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BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle shares surged nearly 7% on Wednesday, extending their one-month rally to around 50% after the company’s strong Q1 earnings boosted investor sentiment. However, technical indicators suggest investors should keep an eye on key support and resistance levels following the sharp run-up.

Earlier this month, the jewellery retailer reported a net profit of Rs 14 crore for the April-June quarter of FY27, compared with a net loss of Rs 21 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company said its standalone revenue rose nearly 49% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 733 crore during the quarter. Same-store sales growth stood at 39% YoY, while standalone EBITDA jumped 134.6% YoY to Rs 55 crore. BlueStone also added 12 stores in Q1 FY27, taking its total store count to 352 across 139 cities.

What do technical charts indicate for BlueStone’s share price?

BlueStone’s sharp rally following its quarterly results was accompanied by a significant increase in trading volumes, indicating strong buying interest, said Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities. He added that after the sharp upmove, the stock has witnessed a healthy breather over the past three trading sessions.Technically, the stock continues to trade well above its key short- and long-term moving averages, reflecting a strong underlying trend, Shah said. He added that the Average Directional Index (ADX) is rising, signalling strengthening bullish momentum.

“On the weekly timeframe, the MACD line remains above the zero line and continues to trend higher, while the expanding green histogram bars further reinforce the positive bias,” he said.
According to Shah, the stock has immediate support in the Rs 740-730 zone, and the bullish outlook is expected to remain intact as long as it sustains above this range. On the upside, the immediate resistance is placed at Rs 840-850. “A decisive breakout above this resistance could pave the way for a continuation of the uptrend,” he added.
Also read |Bluestone Jewellery shares rocket 36% in just three days after Q1 results. Can the momentum sustain?

BlueStone share price

BlueStone shares had a muted stock market debut in August last year, listing at Rs 510 apiece on the NSE, nearly 2% below their issue price.

The company announced its Q1 FY27 results on July 20, following which the stock surged 45% in just three trading sessions to hit a lifetime high of Rs 869.50. It was trading at Rs 807.90 on Wednesday.

Overall, the stock has gained 2% over the past week and around 50% in the last month. It is up more than 65% in 2026 so far and has delivered a 58% return since its listing.

Also read | Why is market rising today? Sensex soars over 800 pts, Nifty tops 24,200; 4 key factors powering D-Street

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Driehaus Capital Management LLC is a privately held investment management boutique based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1982, the firm manages active equity and alternative investment strategies on behalf of institutional investors. To promote diversification, DCM offers strategies across: US Growth Equities, Life Sciences, International Growth Equities, Emerging Markets Equities and Global Equities. Note: This account is not managed or monitored by Driehaus Capital Management, and any messages sent via Seeking Alpha will not receive a response. For inquiries or communication, please use the firm’s official channels.

The first phase at the 116 acre site owned by the Welsh Government will see a major industrial unit built

The first development at the Welsh Government’s Brocastle Employment Park in Bridgend has been confirmed.

Joint venture partners Hilllwood and Maple Grove Developments (Deeside Regeneration) have agreed terms with the Cardiff Bay administration to speculatively develop a 57,486 industrial unit on a 4.85 acre plot at the park.

The wider brownfield site extends to 116 acres where the Welsh Government has invested in infrastructure in the hope of attracting new investment and jobs.

The amount the developers have agreed to pay the Welsh Government for the land, known as plot five, has not been disclosed. They are also receiving grant funding for the scheme from the Welsh Government via the Development Bank of Wales. The grant amount has also not been disclosed.

The site benefits from outline consent planning and is being marketed specifically to the manufacturing sector.

Subject to full planning work on site will commence early next year with the building ready for occupancy towards year end.

The developers are confident of securing a tenant for the building with proximity to the M4 and the current lack of grade A industrial space in Wales.

The Brocastle land had been earmarked for a 500 job factory for production of the Grenadier 4x 4 vehicle from Ineos Automotive. However, at a late stage, the company opted for a site in France. The site adjoins the former Bridgend Ford engine plant which is being turned into a data venture campus by US firm Vantage.

Bob Tattrie, managing director of Hillwood, said “We are excited to be bringing forward a further advanced build industrial scheme in South Wales, which suffers from a lack of frade A industrial accommodation. We are also delighted to again work with Maple Grove in delivering this.”

Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, Adam Price, said: “Developing modern employment sites and premises which provide investment ready platforms is a key part of the new Welsh Government’s mission to halve Wales’ productivity gap with the UK average.

“Such sites support businesses to plan and invest with confidence, and this development provides important opportunities for both new investment into Wales and for existing Welsh businesses to grow.”

Andrew Dewhurst, director at Maple Grove Developments, said: “We are pleased to have secured the development plot for the upcoming business unit on Brocastle Business Park. Planning works progress well with a view to being on site in early 2027. Bringing forward our third joint venture in Wales is a proud moment for Maple Grove and we’re delighted to be working with our partners at Hillwood.”

Letting agents for the Brocastle site are property advisory firms JLL and Knight Frank through their Cardiff offices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.69% Tuesday morning, rising 362.51 points to 52,572.59, as strong corporate earnings from traditional blue-chip companies helped offset a deepening global selloff in semiconductor and memory stocks that dragged down the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The gains extended a stretch of divergent performance across major U.S. indexes, with the Dow benefiting from earnings-driven strength even as artificial intelligence-linked stocks continued to sell off sharply worldwide.

A Market Split Between Old Economy and Tech

Tuesday’s trading reflected a clear split between traditional industrial and consumer names and the technology sector. Stocks were mixed Tuesday as a selloff in semiconductor and artificial-intelligence stocks offset gains from traditional blue-chip companies reporting strong earnings. The S&P 500 gained 0.13%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.93% by one measure, while the Nasdaq lost 0.63% and the Russell 2000 edged up 0.19%.

Market strategists pointed directly to the source of the divergence. “The semiconductor group is being hit hard Tuesday morning,” said TheStreet Pro contributor James “Rev Shark” DePorre. “South Korea’s Kospi fell more than 10% and triggered a temporary trading halt. This selling started in Asia and it is about Asian memory makers.” DePorre added that U.S. chip names were being “dragged along rather than leading the way down,” with the broader market largely shrugging off the weakness.

A Historic Selloff Across Asian Markets

The roots of Tuesday’s chip-sector weakness trace back to an extraordinary overnight rout across Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 3.95% lower at 62,364.92, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 10.84% to 6,023.66, with both indexes weighed down heavily by losses in technology stocks. Kospi heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix dropped 13.4% and more than 14.7%, respectively, while in Japan, SoftBank declined 4.43% and Advantest fell more than 10%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200, by contrast, rose 0.60% to 8,947.80, reflecting a more mixed picture outside the hardest-hit chip-heavy markets.

What’s Driving the Chip Stock Concerns

US tech stocks slid on Tuesday as a selloff in Korean memory makers underscored concerns about AI circular financing deals, overshadowing a drop in oil prices and earnings optimism. Fresh concerns that circular AI financing arrangements could unravel if hyperscale technology companies scale back capital spending continued to pressure chipmakers broadly, with individual names including Micron, Nvidia, SanDisk, AMD and SK Hynix each posting steep losses in the sessions leading up to Tuesday’s trading.

Falling Oil Prices Provide a Tailwind for the Dow

Beyond earnings, retreating oil prices also contributed meaningfully to the Dow’s outperformance relative to tech-heavy indexes. The retreat in oil prices on news of de-escalating tensions in the Middle East went some way toward easing inflation fears, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling more than 8% to around $82 a barrel, providing a direct boost to the blue-chip index even as the chipmaker selloff weighed on other parts of the market.

Individual Earnings Winners Lead the Dow Higher

Several specific corporate results stood out as key drivers behind the Dow’s gains. Sherwin-Williams rose 7% on the back of better-than-expected second-quarter results, helping lead the benchmark higher, while fellow Dow member Coca-Cola also gained sharply following its own earnings beat. Other contributors to Monday’s session, which set the stage for Tuesday’s continued strength, included Salesforce, 3M and additional Sherwin-Williams gains, even as Nvidia, Chevron and Caterpillar posted losses during the same stretch.

A Historic Shift in Market Capitalization Rankings

Tuesday’s trading also coincided with a notable shift atop the list of the world’s most valuable companies. Apple shares gained, and the company overtook Nvidia as the biggest company by market capitalization, a reversal that reflects investors’ rotation away from AI infrastructure-heavy names and toward companies seen as having more disciplined capital spending approaches.

Big Tech Earnings and the Fed Loom Large This Week

Investor attention is increasingly turning toward a heavy slate of upcoming events that could reshape sentiment further as the week progresses. Investors are now focused on earnings from Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft later this week for further insight into hyperscaler spending, while Apple is also scheduled to report its results. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, with markets continuing to price in the possibility of a rate hike in September.

Analysts Urge Caution Despite the Dow’s Strength

Not all market commentary Tuesday was uniformly optimistic, with some strategists flagging seasonal and macroeconomic risks even as the Dow notched gains. A note from Bank of America gave investors another reason to hold off on buying the dip broadly, with analysts noting that stocks have historically performed worst during the three-month stretch between August and October. Combined with elevated energy costs, rising bond yields and ongoing anxiety about AI-related spending, strategists say there remain multiple signals reinforcing the need for continued caution despite Tuesday’s blue-chip strength.

With Wall Street entering the heart of second-quarter earnings season and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision looming Wednesday, investors are likely to remain focused on whether traditional blue-chip strength can continue to offset ongoing turbulence in the technology and semiconductor sectors. Much may hinge on how Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple report this week, along with any signals from the Fed about the path of interest rates heading into the fall, a period analysts have already flagged as historically challenging for equity markets.

Rachel Diamond, 23, moved from her family home in Oldham to Portsmouth to follow her dream job as a graduate engineer. She earns in the early £30,000s and says: “I was quite lucky when I got my job straight after uni. So I’ve kind of done everything right, but still I’m not saving any money from my paycheck, like months and months, just because it’s so expensive with renting and bills. I don’t think people realise how expensive it is to rent.

“That’s the thing, like council tax, you only get 25% discount, so that’s expensive on my own. Again, that’s a choice, living on my own, but still.”

Rachel’s dad Paddy says: “When I started out in work I was in a similar situation to Rachel. I moved away from home and I lived on my own because I didn’t know anybody where I was moving to, and certainly it was hard for me, and it seems to be, equally as hard, if not, well, probably harder for Rachel.

“I bought my first flat when I was in my early 20s. I was earning £20,000 a year and my first flat was £36,000.”

Beefeater will close all 106 of its UK restaurants on Thursday 10 September, owner Whitbread has confirmed, as part of a five-year plan the group says will deliver £250 million of cost savings.

Brewers Fayre’s 89 sites will stop trading after evening service on 7 September. Whitbread’s other branded restaurant formats, Bar + Block, Cookhouse + Pub and Table Table, will close on 3 September.

The FTSE 100 group first set out the restructuring on 30 April, when it said it intended to become a pure-play hotel business focused on Premier Inn.

In a statement published in June, Whitbread said the change “will involve exiting all of our remaining branded restaurants, which trade under brands including Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, a number of which will be converted into approximately 600 additional Premier Inn rooms, with the remainder expected to be sold as going concerns”.

The company said the proposals, which are subject to consultation, “would result in a reduction of around 3,800 roles of a total UK and Ireland workforce of around 30,000”. Whitbread said it recruits around 15,000 people a year and expects “to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected”, adding that it would look to redeploy as many staff as possible.

The exit follows Whitbread’s Accelerating Growth Plan, announced in 2024, which converted more than 200 branded restaurants into hotel rooms and introduced an integrated restaurant in each hotel. Whitbread said that format “has proved highly popular with guests”.

Searches for “Beefeater UK restaurant shutdown” rose by 5,000 per cent on Google Trends after the closure dates were confirmed.

The closures come as the licensed trade continues to contract. Analysis from CGA by NIQ found the number of licensed premises across the UK fell to 98,609 by the end of March, a net loss of 305 venues since December, with casual dining restaurant numbers down 0.9 per cent in the first quarter.

Richard Hunt, director at Liquidation Centre, said the cost programme showed “a proactive effort to protect the long-term health of the business” but would not resolve the group’s wider trading position on its own.

“While reducing costs can significantly improve resilience during challenging trading conditions, it is not a cure-all,” Hunt said. “Businesses cannot simply cut their way to sustainable growth, they must also continue to attract customers, remain competitive and adapt to changing market trends. If these wider challenges persist, further restructuring may still be required by the company in the future.”

Hunt said closing underperforming sites “can improve the financial health of a business, but it only creates long-term value if the remaining estate is stronger, more profitable and better aligned with what customers want”.

He said maintaining large estates of physical locations had become increasingly challenging for established chains, and that the Beefeater closures “reflect the wider challenges facing the casual dining industry rather than an isolated issue”.

“Many consumers are eating out less frequently due to the cost of living, while those who do are placing greater emphasis on value, quality and the overall dining experience,” Hunt said. “Businesses that fail to evolve alongside these changing expectations risk seeing footfall decline over time and become less profitable.”

Rising food and energy costs, higher employment expenses and inflation had all increased the financial burden on operators, he said. “Even well-known brands are not immune when operating costs continue to outpace revenue growth, making it difficult to sustain less profitable locations.”

Hunt said that for operators under financial pressure, the first priority “should be carrying out a thorough review of income, expenditure and site performance”, and that renegotiating contracts and improving operational efficiency could relieve strain. Where cash flow problems become more severe, he said, early advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner “can help businesses understand their options and, in some cases, avoid formal insolvency proceedings altogether”.

Separate research reported earlier this year found a third of UK hospitality businesses were operating at a loss following April’s tax changes.

“Closures of this scale inevitably have an impact on employees, local communities and loyal customers,” Hunt said. “They also serve as a reminder that even long-established household names cannot afford to stand still.”

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Shares of OLX India operator CarTrade Tech fell more than 7% on Wednesday after the company reported its Q1 FY27 results, with consolidated net profit rising 19% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 51 crore.

Revenue from operations increased more than 16% YoY to Rs 201 crore during the quarter. On a sequential basis, however, net profit declined around 21%, while revenue slipped nearly 1% from the fourth quarter of FY26.

The company reported its highest-ever quarterly total income of Rs 230 crore, up 16% YoY. EBITDA surged 45% YoY to Rs 63 crore, with the EBITDA margin improving to 31% in the April-June quarter of FY27.

CarTrade Tech said OLX India’s income grew 29% YoY, while EBITDA jumped 76% YoY. It added that each of its flagship digital platforms—CarWale, BikeWale and OLX India—now attracts over 150 million annual unique visitors, underscoring the scale and depth of engagement across its ecosystem.

The company also said it now operates more than 500 physical locations, including Shriram Automall, CarWale abSure and Signature dealerships, as well as OLX India franchise outlets, strengthening its nationwide reach and customer accessibility.

It further added that its platforms engaged nearly 80 million average monthly unique visitors during Q1 FY27, continuing the growth seen in Q4 FY26. Organic traffic accounted for 95% of total traffic, reflecting the strength of its brand and content leadership.
Also read |CarTrade Tech partners Spinny to expand used-car marketplace across CarWale, OLX India

What CarTrade Tech management said

“We are pleased to begin FY27 on a strong note, delivering another quarter of profitable growth. Total income grew 16% to an all-time high, EBITDA increased 45%, with margins at 31%, and profit after tax stood at Rs 57 crore. This performance reflects the strength of our diversified business portfolio across consumer group, remarketing, and OLX India, supported by disciplined execution, operating leverage, and a continued focus on profitable growth,” said Vinay Sanghi, Chairman and Founder, CarTrade Tech.
With the launch of VAYA AI, Sanghi added that the company remains focused on leveraging technology, artificial intelligence, and partnerships to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and create long-term value for customers, partners, and shareholders.

CarTrade Tech share price

CarTrade Tech shares fell more than 7.5% to Rs 2,740 apiece after the results announcement. The stock later recovered some losses and was trading around 4% lower at Rs 2,856 apiece at around 12 pm.

The shares have declined marginally over the past week but have gained more than 5% in a month. The stock is down over 1% in 2026 so far. Over the longer term, it has surged more than 34% in a year and 452% in three years.

Also read |UBS initiates coverage on CarTrade Tech with Buy rating, sees 42% upside. 4 reasons why

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)