The Indian stock market is expected to open on a stronger note, as indicated by the GIFT Nifty, which was up 0.3 per cent, or 66 points, at 24,428.5 as of 8:50 am. According to reports from ET Now, the GIFT Nifty serves as a pre-market indicator for the Nifty 50 and often signals whether the benchmark index is likely to open higher, lower, or flat based on global market cues. This positive opening indicator comes despite mixed Asian market performance, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 4.3 per cent while South Korea's KOSPI was the best-performing major Asian index, gaining about 14 per cent.
Multiple international and domestic brokerages have reiterated 'Buy' ratings on several stocks ahead of today's trading session. Goldman Sachs maintained a 'Buy' rating and increased the target price to ₹3,800 from ₹3,650 on Mahindra & Mahindra, while Motilal Oswal maintained its 'Buy' rating and raised the target price to ₹4,108 from ₹3,910. Similarly, Citi maintained a 'Buy' rating on Swiggy with a target price of ₹390, and Emkay issued 'Buy' ratings on Waaree Energies (₹3,800 target) and Vedanta Aluminium Metal (₹550 target). The latest development includes ICICI Securities joining the bullish sentiment with a 'Buy' rating and target price of ₹4,100 for M&M, as reported in their research dated July 31, 2026. Prabhudas Lilladher has also joined the positive sentiment, recommending a 'Buy' rating with a target price of ₹3,950, up from their previous target of ₹3,900, as reported in their research dated July 31, 2026. Other notable recommendations include Hyundai Motor India with a Motilal Oswal target of ₹2,334 and Ajanta Pharma with a Motilal Oswal target of ₹4,000. According to The Financial Express, Nuvama maintains a 'Buy' rating on Swiggy with a target price of ₹444, implying an upside of about 72%, while Bernstein has maintained an 'Outperform' rating on Swiggy with a target price of ₹430, indicating an upside of 71%.
Mahindra & Mahindra's Q1FY27 standalone operating revenue and PAT were modestly above estimates, while margins missed estimates as it was impacted by RM inflation, supply chain disruption, and manpower issues. According to Prabhudas Lilladher's research report dated July 31, 2026, the management is taking aggressive cost reduction measures and has maintained FY27 volume growth guidance for its SUVs at mid-to-high teens, tractor industry at mid-single digits, and LCV industry at high-single digits. The brokerage notes that operating leverage from accelerating BEV volumes and pricing should improve profitability along with the Growth Gems contributing to group's topline and bottomline. Prabhudas Lilladher estimates volume/realization CAGR of 8.0%/3.6% over FY26-28E, translating into revenue/EBITDA/APAT CAGR of 12.7%/10.3%/9.2%. The brokerage reiterates their 'BUY' rating with a target price of ₹3,950, valuing the core business at 24x P/E on FY28E standalone EPS, and its share of subsidiaries' value.
The June quarter reinforced that execution, rather than growth alone, is becoming the biggest differentiator in India's food delivery market. Jefferies believes Eternal continues to lead India's food delivery market on almost every operating metric, with Eternal's food delivery market share increasing to more than 58% in Q1 FY27. According to Jefferies analysis, Eternal also overtook Swiggy on take rates over the past two quarters and maintained around 1.4 times Swiggy's monthly transacting users. Swiggy's food delivery Gross Order Value (GOV) increased 17.4% year-on-year to ₹9,490 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹8,083 crore in Q1 FY26, while Adjusted EBITDA rose to ₹292 crore from ₹192 crore, with the Adjusted EBITDA margin standing at 3.1% of GOV. Monthly transacting users increased to 19.2 million, and the company retained its 18% to 20% medium-term growth guidance. Eternal's food delivery NOV increased 20.1% year-on-year to ₹10,770 crore, while Adjusted EBITDA rose to ₹606 crore from ₹451 crore, with Adjusted EBITDA margin improving to 5.6% of NOV from 5.4% in the previous quarter. According to The Financial Express, Nuvama maintains a 'Buy' rating on Swiggy with a target price of ₹444, implying an upside of about 72%, while Bernstein has maintained an 'Outperform' rating on Swiggy with a target price of ₹430, indicating an upside of 71%. Nuvama reports that revenue increased 37% year-on-year, while Instamart achieved contribution margin breakeven during May 2026, with management expecting the quick commerce business to reach EBITDA breakeven after scaling to around three times its current size.
The contrast is even sharper in quick commerce, where Jefferies believes Blinkit has widened its lead across scale, profitability and customer engagement. According to the brokerage, Blinkit now accounts for about 75% of the combined quick commerce NOV, compared with 25% for Instamart. Blinkit also commands larger shares of dark stores, monthly transacting users and order volumes, delivering almost 2.9 times as many orders as Instamart. Blinkit's new order value increased 86.2% year-on-year while its network expanded to 2,443 dark stores after adding 200 stores during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA improved to ₹102 crore, prompting Eternal to indicate that Blinkit is now likely to finish at the upper end of its earlier 5% to 6% steady-state Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance. Swiggy's Instamart reported 38.9% year-on-year increase in new order value, while the contribution margin improved to -0.3% from -2.5% in the previous quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA loss narrowing to ₹778 crore from ₹858 crore.
