DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities: Friday close

The Nifty opened 36 points lower at 24,362 after mixed global cues and continued caution in the Indian market.

The index fell towards 24,310 during the first 20 minutes, then recovered to around 24,350 to 24,360 by 10 am. It remained volatile during the first half, mostly moving between 24,310 and 24,350.

Buying picked up after 1:30 pm. The Nifty moved above 24,380 and touched an intraday high of around 24,405 near 2 pm.

It later gave up some gains and moved back towards 24,360. Another recovery towards 24,380 also faded. The index closed at 24,366, almost exactly where it had opened.

The session extended the recent period of range-bound trading.

Sector performance

Only three of the 12 sector indices in the report ended higher.

Media was the strongest sector, rising 0.96%. Consumer Durables gained 0.76%, while Services rose 0.09%.

Pharma was the weakest sector, falling 0.90%. Metal declined 0.71%, while Auto fell 0.63%.

F&O winners and losers

Vodafone Idea was the strongest F&O stock, rising 4.44%. Apollo Hospitals gained 3.85%, while Oracle Financial Services Software rose 3.57%.

National Aluminium was the biggest loser, falling 6.12%. TMPV declined 4.32%, while Laurus Labs fell 3.48%.

Commodities

The commodity data showed positive reported changes across the seven MCX futures, with zinc recording the largest move at 1.30%.

Currency and bond yields

USDINR closed at 95.44, down 0.05%.

The US 10-year bond yield increased slightly to 4.65. India’s 10-year government bond yield remained around 6.76.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors bought Indian equities worth a net ₹508 crore on 14 August.

Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹356 crore.

Across the five sessions ending 14 August, FIIs bought a net ₹1,228 crore and DIIs bought ₹9,286 crore.

Macro view

Wholesale inflation

Wholesale price inflation fell to 9.78% in July as food and fuel costs cooled.

This was the first monthly decline under the new 2022-23 base year.

The decline came after wholesale inflation had been rising because of higher global oil prices and supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict.

Foreign-exchange reserves

India’s foreign-exchange reserves rose by $14.14 billion to $707 billion in the week ending 7 August.

This followed an increase of $10.51 billion in the previous week.

The increase comes as the RBI and the government use measures to attract foreign-currency inflows.

The FCNR(B) scheme has attracted around $40 billion so far.

Government contracts may move from WPI to PPI

The Finance Ministry has asked ministries and government departments to move from the Wholesale Price Index to the Producer Price Index for price-escalation and adjustment clauses in future government procurement contracts.

The Department of Expenditure sent an office memorandum to all ministries on 13 July.

PPI is more widely used internationally than WPI.

The Commerce Ministry began releasing monthly PPI data for both goods and services in June.

This could allow wholesale price inflation numbers to be phased out over the next five years.

Closing auction trading volumes

Trading activity during the new Closing Auction Session has been much lower than during other parts of the day.

The closing auction began on 3 August.

Between 3 and 14 August, the 3:15 pm to 3:30 pm auction window accounted for only 1.59% of the 1.43 billion average daily shares traded during continuous trading.

By comparison:

• The 9:15 am to 9:30 am opening window accounted for 13.1% of average daily volume.
• The 3:00 pm to 3:15 pm window accounted for 9.55%.

Average daily volume during the closing auction was 22.89 million shares across 213 eligible stocks.

The analysis used NSE data because the exchange accounts for 93.1% of the cash market.

The session was divided into 25 windows of 15 minutes each, and average volumes were calculated for the 213 eligible stocks over 10 days.

PSB Confluence 2026

The Department of Financial Services is holding PSB Confluence 2026 on Monday and Tuesday in New Delhi.

Nearly 125 senior leaders from public-sector banks and public financial institutions are expected to attend.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to address the gathering.

The first day begins with discussions on deposit mobilisation and banking for young customers.

Later sessions will focus on helping the investment cycle and global capability centres.

Public-sector bank performance

Public-sector banks reported a record combined net profit of ₹1.98 trillion in 2025-26.

Gross non-performing assets fell to around 1.9%.

Growth in lending was broad:

Deposits rose 10.6% year-on-year to ₹156.3 trillion in March.

Advances grew faster, rising 15.7% to ₹127 trillion.

Inland waterways

The government plans to develop more than a dozen new national waterways over the next five to 10 years.

Investment is expected to exceed ₹10,000 crore.

Cargo movement on national waterways rose from 29 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 218 million tonnes in 2025-26.

This represents a compound annual growth rate of 20.13%.

Cargo volume has already crossed the government’s 2030 target of 200 million tonnes.

Inland waterways network

The National Waterways Act, 2016, declared 111 inland waterways as national waterways.

Together, they cover around 20,187 km across 23 states and four union territories.

Of these, 32 waterways covering a navigable length of 5,155 km are operating for cargo and passenger movement.

The government has identified another 19 waterways, mainly for cruise tourism and passenger ferries.

Around 85% of existing cargo traffic is concentrated on four waterways:

• NW-1
• NW-91
• NW-100
• NW-10

Electric two-wheeler star ratings

Indian automakers are opposing a government plan to introduce standard energy-efficiency star ratings for electric two-wheelers.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has discussed the proposal.

Its members include Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy and TVS Motor.

The industry view is that electric two-wheelers are not yet financially self-sustaining and still depend on government incentives.

India sold 1.4 million electric two-wheelers in 2025-26, up 20% year-on-year.

Total two-wheeler sales were 21 million units.

Energy efficiency among electric two-wheelers varies from around 2.2 kWh per 100 km to more than 5 kWh.

On 10 August, the Heavy Industries Ministry extended the main electric two-wheeler subsidy scheme until 2027-28.

The subsidy fund was increased by ₹1,000 crore.

LPG production targets

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has set cooking-gas production targets for refineries for the first time.

The move follows the LPG supply squeeze created by the West Asia war.

A notification issued on 13 August set maximum production levels for 21 refineries and upstream companies.

Their combined production potential is 63,810 tonnes per day.

Reliance Industries’ unit focused on the domestic market received the largest allocation at 18,000 tonnes per day.

Refineries have already increased LPG production to 54,000 tonnes per day from a pre-war level of 36,000 tonnes.

Foreign asset tax amnesty

India opened a tax amnesty scheme on Sunday for small taxpayers with certain undeclared foreign assets.

The scheme is available until 31 December.

Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign income of up to ₹1 crore can use the scheme until 31 December 2026.

They must pay:

• 30% tax.
• An equal amount as penalty.

Taxpayers who acquired foreign assets worth up to ₹5 crore using already-taxed income but failed to report the assets can use the one-time scheme by paying ₹1,00,000.

Parliament’s monsoon session

The Lok Sabha functioned for 17.5 hours during the monsoon session held from 20 July to 13 August.

This was its lowest working time in more than two decades.

The Rajya Sabha functioned for 37.4 hours.

Twelve Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha.

Most were passed in less than 15 minutes.

Eleven of the 12 Bills introduced during the session were passed in the same session.

Only 1% of starred questions were answered orally in the Lok Sabha.

The figure was 6% in the Rajya Sabha.

This represented two questions in the Lok Sabha and 16 in the Rajya Sabha.

Dividend payouts and corporate capex

Dividend payouts by BSE 500 companies rose 8.2% year-on-year to ₹5.13 trillion in FY26 from ₹4.74 trillion.

However, dividends as a share of net profit fell to 27.6% from 30.4% in FY25 and 36.5% in FY23.

The FY26 payout ratio was the lowest in 12 years.

The 12-year average is around 35.5%.

Ambit Capital analysed 3,243 listed companies and found that capital expenditure grew at a compound annual rate of 13.5% between FY23 and FY26.

The 10 largest corporate houses accounted for around 61% of listed-company capex.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint; PTI; PRS Legislative Research; Vahan; Bureau of Energy Efficiency; Reuters; Ambit Capital

Corporate action and earnings

Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland’s Q1FY27 standalone net profit rose 2.5% year-on-year to ₹609 crore.

Revenue increased 10.4% to ₹9,634 crore.

EBITDA remained flat at ₹970 crore.

The EBITDA margin declined to 10.1% from 11.1% a year earlier.

Bharat Dynamics

Bharat Dynamics reported Q1FY27 consolidated net profit of ₹119 crore.

This was more than six times the ₹18.3 crore reported a year earlier.

Revenue from operations rose around 131% to ₹572 crore from ₹248 crore.

Page Industries

Page Industries’ June-quarter revenue rose almost 8% year-on-year to ₹1,420 crore.

Sales volume increased 5.7% to 61.2 million pieces.

Volume growth slowed from the double-digit increase recorded in Q4FY26.

The EBITDA margin fell to 20.3% from 22.4% a year earlier.

Net profit declined 4% to ₹192 crore.

The company linked the slowdown in volumes to temporary factors such as higher cotton and synthetic-material costs and logistics disruptions.

Private and public-sector banks

Eighteen private banks reported combined Q1FY27 net profit of ₹55,019 crore.

Twelve public-sector banks reported ₹50,173 crore.

Private-bank profits grew 15.6% year-on-year.

Public-sector bank profits increased 13.5%.

Gross NPAs at public-sector banks fell 13.1% year-on-year to ₹2.41 trillion.

Gross NPAs at private banks fell 8.9% to ₹1.29 trillion.

Aggregate net interest income at public-sector banks rose 13% to ₹1.20 trillion.

Private banks reported combined NII of ₹1.12 trillion.

Cement companies

Blended cement prices for companies covered by Axis Securities rose 5% from the previous quarter to ₹5,700 per tonne.

Volumes increased 8%.

Production cost per tonne rose:

• 11% from the previous quarter.
• 5% year-on-year.

EBITDA per tonne fell:

• 7% from the previous quarter.
• 16% year-on-year.

EBITDA per tonne stood at ₹1,005.

After Q1 results, Jefferies reduced combined EBITDA estimates for the cement companies it covers by around 2%.

Its estimates for Ambuja Cements, Ramco Cements and JSW Cement were cut by 6% to 9%.

Aurobindo Pharma

The US FDA issued a warning letter to Eugia Pharma Specialities’ Unit-I in Telangana.

The action followed an inspection that resulted in four observations and an Official Action Indicated classification.

Existing supplies to the US market remain unaffected.

The plant contributes around 2% of Aurobindo Pharma’s total group revenue.

TCS and Rolls-Royce hydrogen test

TCS and Rolls-Royce completed what the report described as an industry-first fully simulated flight cycle of a modern aero gas turbine using 100% hydrogen.

The simulation covered:

• Take-off.
• Cruise.
• Landing.

The test validated hydrogen combustion, fuel-system technology and engine-control systems.

Aluminium producers

Shares of Vedanta Aluminium, Hindalco and NALCO fell between 2% and 6%.

Aluminium prices moved down from a seven-week high as supply concerns reduced.

Prices weakened after Norsk Hydro increased production at its Alunorte refinery in Brazil.

The company received regulatory approval allowing it to import natural gas directly.

Yotta Data Services

Yotta Data Services plans to raise $1.5 billion by the end of FY27.

The company plans to use private-equity funding before a proposed Indian listing.

Its IPO is targeted for the fourth quarter, subject to SEBI approval.

The IPO could raise up to $400 million.

Most of the planned $1.5 billion may come from a pre-IPO round.

Yotta plans to raise $8.5 billion by 2029.

It aims to increase installed data-centre capacity from 180 MW to 800 MW.

For the year ended March 2025, Yotta reported:

• Revenue of ₹890.7 crore.
• Profit of ₹11.1 crore.

MTNL Mauritius

The government has paused plans to sell its stake in Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Ltd.

The decision comes as India seeks to maintain its presence in Mauritius.

The business operates under the CHiLi brand.

Revenue for the year ended March was around ₹79 crore, down 3%.

Its loss increased to ₹6.5 crore.

Parent company MTNL reported:

• FY26 loss of ₹3,107 crore, compared with ₹3,328 crore in FY25.
• Revenue from operations of ₹956 crore, down 15.3% year-on-year.
• Liabilities of ₹37,223 crore at the end of June.

ONGC in Venezuela

ONGC received a licence from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control allowing it to resume full operations in Venezuela.

ONGC Videsh owns:

• 40% of the San Cristobal oil project.
• 11% of the Carabobo project.

The company expects to recover more than $500 million of pending dividends.

Jindal Stainless

Jindal Stainless is investing ₹900 crore to increase cold-rolling capacity.

Capacity will rise from 2.05 million tonnes per annum to 2.67 million tonnes by FY28.

The expansion covers plants in:

• Hisar.
• Kharagpur.
• Jajpur.

Style Union funding

Style Union is in talks with investors including Venturi Partners and Elev8 Venture Partners to raise more than ₹800 crore.

The funding round could value the company at more than ₹7,000 crore.

Style Union is a value-focused fast-fashion retail chain backed by the Biyani family and operated by Nexon Omniverse.

It has more than 170 stores.

Nexon reported FY25 revenue of ₹588 crore, up from ₹351 crore a year earlier.

Losses narrowed to ₹24 crore from ₹37 crore.

Semiconductor and physical-AI funding

Semiconductor and physical-AI companies in India raised $523.3 million across 44 deals in 2025.

This was up from $114.4 million across 48 deals in 2024.

Another $193.3 million was raised across 26 deals through 10 August 2026.

Growth-stage funding reached $423.1 million in 2025.

ILJIN Electronics and Tessolve Semiconductor accounted for $348.4 million of this amount.

Page Industries product mix

Page Industries expects athleisure, loungewear and women’s lingerie to become larger than innerwear within two to three years.

Together, these categories are expected to contribute more than half of company revenue.

Page Industries is the exclusive licensee for Jockey and Speedo in India.

The company increased prices by 2.2% in mid-May.

Speedo contributes only around 2% of the business.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint; Bloomberg; Axis Securities; Jefferies; PTI; Tracxn

Upcoming events

Corporate actions: 17 August 2026

All the following corporate actions have an ex-date and record date of 17 August.

Earnings calendar

IPO pipeline

Six companies are expected to raise nearly ₹5,600 crore through IPOs this week.

• Horizon Industrial Parks opens on 17 August with a ₹2,600 crore IPO.
• Lalithaa Jewellery Mart opens on 17 August with a ₹1,700 crore issue.
• Shankesh Jewellers opens on 18 August with a ₹367 crore IPO.
• Sunshine Pictures opens on 18 August with a ₹282 crore IPO.
• Gaja Alternative Asset Management opens on 19 August with a ₹550 crore IPO.
• Tempsens Instruments India opens on 20 August.

Week ahead

Several events are scheduled during the week:

• 17 to 18 August: PSB Confluence in New Delhi.
• 19 August: Minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s 28 to 29 July meeting.
• 19 August: Shiprocket listing after its IPO was subscribed 98.84 times.
• 19 to 21 August: Gaja Alternative AMC ₹550 crore IPO, with a price band of ₹152 to ₹160.
• 21 August: India HSBC Manufacturing PMI.
• 23 August: National Space Day.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; BSE; Mint; PTI

Global pulse

Global markets

US markets moved higher.

The S&P 500 gained 0.46%, the Dow Jones rose 0.13%, and the Nasdaq 100 increased 0.26%.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.59%.

The Hang Seng fell 1.10%, while the FTSE 100 declined 0.06%.

US retail sales

US retail sales fell 0.6% from the previous month in July.

Markets had expected a 0.1% increase.

June had recorded a 0.2% rise.

This was the first decline since October 2025 and the largest fall since May last year.

The decline came from weaker spending at:

• Online and other non-store retailers.
• Auto dealers.
• Petrol stations.
• Electronics stores.

Euro area trade

The euro area recorded a trade surplus of €8.6 billion in June.

The surplus was €4.8 billion a year earlier.

Markets had expected a €2.2 billion deficit.

Exports increased 14.4% year-on-year to €272.5 billion.

Imports rose 13.1% to €264 billion.

Larger surpluses in chemicals, manufactured goods and food and beverages helped the overall trade balance.

Crude oil

WTI crude moved above $81 per barrel.

It gained almost 5% during the week.

The US increased economic pressure on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Prices were also helped by an International Energy Agency warning that the global oil supply deficit is the widest in five years.

Iran and Oman have still not reached an agreement on reopening the waterway.

Reddit joins the S&P 500

Reddit shares rose more than 12% in premarket trading.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Reddit would join the S&P 500.

It will replace AvalonBay Communities.

TerraPower and SK Innovation

TerraPower and SK Innovation signed a preliminary global agreement to work together on small modular reactor projects.

The agreement could allow SK Innovation to participate in TerraPower projects in the US and other markets.

TerraPower is developing its sodium-cooled Natrium reactor in Wyoming.

The project received a US construction permit in March.

Commercial operations are targeted for 2031.

Pony.ai and Uber

Pony.ai plans to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe through an expanded partnership with Uber.

The companies already operate a commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia.

The partnership will expand to four additional European cities.

Lebanon fighting

Lebanon experienced its deadliest day of fighting in months as Iran and the US remained stuck in negotiations before the scheduled Monday expiry of their ceasefire agreement.

The Israel Defence Forces said it killed Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior Hezbollah commander, in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Eleven people were killed in Israeli strikes, including several children.

Strait of Hormuz negotiations

Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains central to the stalled talks between Iran and the US.

Around one-fifth of global oil and gas moved through the strait before the war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an agreement with Oman would not mean the strait was reopening.

He said those discussions are separate from negotiations with the US.

Brent crude rose almost 6% during the week as several ships were attacked in and around the waterway.

Shipping incidents

Around 65 confirmed incidents involving ships in the Strait of Hormuz were recorded between early March and 11 August.

At least 17 people were killed.

On Saturday, UK Maritime Trade Operations said it had been informed that a projectile had struck the hull of a bulk carrier.

Two Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessels were hit while passing through the strait on Thursday.

Another was hit on Friday.

Sanctions and Iran’s economy

Iran’s economy has been heavily affected by the conflict.

A large part of its industrial capacity has been damaged.

Crude-oil exports have also been sharply reduced by the US blockade.

China buys more than 90% of Iranian oil.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint; Bloomberg; AFP; International Maritime Organization; WAM

Management commentary

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint; PTI

Feature: The closing auction session

What changed on 3 August

Until the end of July, the closing price of Indian shares was based on the volume-weighted average price of trades completed during the final 30 minutes of continuous trading.

SEBI changed this system on 3 August 2026.

A Closing Auction Session was introduced for stocks with listed derivatives.

How the closing auction works

Continuous trading in eligible stocks ends at 3:15 pm.

At the same time, the exchange calculates the volume-weighted average price from the previous 15 minutes.

This becomes the reference price for the auction.

The auction closes at a random time between 3:28 pm and 3:30 pm. The random close is meant to reduce last-minute order flooding.

Existing open orders are carried into the auction except:

• Stop-loss orders.
• Iceberg orders.
• Orders outside a 3% range on either side of the reference price.

F&O contracts on these stocks continue trading until 3:40 pm.

During order entry, the exchange provides:

• An indicative price.
• Total buy quantity.
• Total sell quantity.
• The order imbalance.

Which stocks are covered

The new system currently applies only to stocks that have derivative contracts.

Other stocks continue to use the earlier VWAP closing-price method.

SEBI says bringing all closing orders into one transparent auction allows buying and selling interest to interact at the same time.

The regulator believes this should produce a more reliable closing price than the earlier system.

The reform also brings India closer to closing mechanisms used by the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, the London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

Gap between 3:15 pm and the official close

One early problem has been the difference between the price visible when continuous trading stops at 3:15 pm and the official closing price around 20 minutes later.

The first two sessions produced unusually large movements during the auction.

The Nifty’s official closing level ended well above its 3:15 pm level.

Nifty and Sensex divergence

Another early issue was the difference between movements in the Nifty and Sensex.

The NSE uses the auction system for eligible F&O stocks.

The BSE continues to use the earlier VWAP system for determining closing prices.

Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research at Ventura, described this difference as structural rather than accidental.

He expects the gap to reduce once the BSE adopts a similar system or SEBI introduces common market-wide rules.

Thin liquidity in the auction

Many proprietary trading firms and high-frequency traders initially stayed away from the closing auction or reduced their activity while they studied the new system.

This left the auction with less liquidity than expected.

With fewer buy and sell orders, relatively small transactions could move the equilibrium price more than traders were used to.

A Goldman Sachs note also raised the concern that low participation could allow small order flows to cause large closing-price movements.

Derivatives settlement

The change has had a larger effect on derivatives traders because F&O contracts are settled using the official closing price.

This may differ from the cash-market level at 3:15 pm.

Derivatives prices did not always move in line with the eventual cash-market closing price.

This made it harder for traders to estimate final settlement levels.

Information shown to investors

Brokerages received many questions from clients after the system was introduced.

Some retail investors complained that indicative equilibrium prices during the auction were not clearly visible on several trading applications.

Trader complaints

Within days of the rollout, some traders complained about unfamiliar and sharp price movements near the market close.

A social-media campaign called for a one-day trading boycott.

The campaign was not described as an industry-wide movement.

Possible impact on trading revenues

Zerodha estimated that the change could reduce total brokerage revenue across the industry by 1% to 5%.

Jefferies estimated that a 10% to 20% decline in expiry-day contracts could lead to a 5% to 10% reduction in overall options volumes.

This could also affect the IPO-bound NSE because derivatives trading contributes a significant part of its revenue.

SEBI’s position

SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on 12 August that the regulator had not seen evidence of manipulation in the new closing auction.

He described the system as a major market-structure reform that is consistent with global standards.

Pandey asked brokers and other market participants to understand the system and adopt it.

He said similar mechanisms have been used for more than two years in markets including Australia, Europe, the US and Japan.

He also said the auction is useful for passive investors, mutual-fund NAV calculations and index investors.

The earlier closing process carried a risk that late trades could influence the closing price.

SEBI is willing to make changes to the system if required.

SEBI meets brokerages

Senior SEBI officials, including board member KVR Murty, met major brokerages during the first week of the new system.

SEBI described the problems as early implementation issues.

Brokers were asked to:

• Speed up technology upgrades.
• Increase order flow into the auction.
• Improve participation.

SEBI also made clear that the closing auction would not be withdrawn.

Market depth and securities lending

Nithin Kamath argued that the closing auction has exposed existing weaknesses in India’s capital markets rather than creating them.

He pointed to:

• Shallow market depth.
• Limited two-sided liquidity.
• An underdeveloped securities lending and borrowing market.
• Higher trading costs after recent tax changes.
• Tighter institutional funding conditions.

Market participants expect the system to stabilise

Kotak Mutual Fund Managing Director Nilesh Shah said the system may take time to stabilise.

He expects it to become a normal part of the Indian market as participants become more familiar with it.

He said some early problems are normal when a new market system is introduced.

He also noted that closing auctions already operate in many markets globally and that SEBI remains open to feedback and improvements.

Criticism of the rollout sequence

Deepak Sanchety, a retired IRS officer and former chief of surveillance at SEBI, criticised the way the reform was introduced rather than the idea of a closing auction itself.

SEBI had issued consultation papers in 2024 and 2025 and discussed the proposal through its Secondary Market Advisory Committee.

The criticism is that a reform of this size could have been preceded by:

• More mock trading.
• Exchange simulations.
• Broker demonstrations.
• A longer public education campaign.

Securities lending and liquidity

The same analysis raised a sequencing issue.

A successful closing auction requires buyers and sellers on both sides of the market.

Securities lending can help create this liquidity.

India has had a Securities Lending and Borrowing Mechanism for years, but usage remains relatively low.

The analysis questioned whether the securities-lending market should have been developed more deeply before changing the closing-price system.

It also noted that India has unusually high retail participation and a very active equity-derivatives market.

Conditions that make closing auctions work in other countries may therefore not exist in exactly the same form in India.

Shorter securities-lending contracts begin on 17 August

NSE Clearing is introducing shorter securities-lending contracts from 17 August.

The new R3 series will be available daily.

For a trade completed on the transaction date:

• The first leg will settle on T+1.
• The reverse leg will settle on T+3, excluding settlement holidays.

The contracts are available only for stocks eligible for equity derivatives.

Rules for the new R3 contracts

Unlike existing SLB contracts, R3 contracts will not be closed early because of an annual general meeting or extraordinary general meeting.

The following facilities will not be available:

• Repay.
• Recall.
• Rollover.

Other rules covering market timings, clearing and settlement, risk management and corporate-action treatment remain unchanged.

Auction moves became smaller after the first sessions

The size of closing-auction movements reduced during the first four trading sessions.

The Nifty moved more than 200 points during the first session.

The size of the auction-driven moves then became smaller over the following sessions.

Outlook Business; Free Press Journal; Business Standard; PTI; ANI; NSE Clearing; Zerodha support documentation; Bloomberg; Moneycontrol

Closing note

DayStarter is compiled from the Zerodha AfterMarket Report for the 14 August 2026 close and the Mint Mumbai print edition dated 17 August 2026. The feature on the closing auction session uses Outlook Business, Free Press Journal, Business Standard, PTI, ANI, NSE Clearing and Zerodha support documentation. Aggregated from published reports. This brief is for information only and is not investment advice.