Market Movers: HUDCO climbs, Hexaware slides, Power Grid gains

Dalal Street woke up a little brighter on Saturday, September 3, 2026. The broader market managed to inch up, with the Nifty Midcap gaining about 0.3% and the Smallcap adding a full 1% – a modest but pleasant lift after a few quiet days.

HUDCO was the star of the show, jumping roughly 3% after it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Bihar. The deal is huge – up to ₹25,000 crore over the next five years to fund industrial infrastructure, including land acquisition for new projects. Investors seemed to like the idea of a big‑ticket, state‑backed commitment, and the stock reflected that optimism.

On the flip side, Hexaware Technologies couldn’t keep the momentum going. Its shares slipped about 3% after the company announced that its long‑time CEO, Srikrishna Ramakarthikeyan, would step down on October 28, 2026. While the firm also named Vivek Jetley as the incoming CEO‑designate, the market reacted a bit nervously to the leadership shuffle, despite assurances that Ramakarthikeyan will stay on as a senior adviser.

Power Grid also found a reason to smile, rallying after it received a Letter of Intent for an ambitious inter‑state transmission system. The project, run on a BOOT basis, involves setting up 6,000 MW ±800 kV HVDC terminals linking Rajasthan’s Barmer‑II and Maharashtra’s South Kalamb substations, with quoted annual transmission charges of ₹3,244.33 crore. Such large‑scale infrastructure work often lifts utility stocks, and Power Grid was no exception.

Sector‑wise, the IT index dragged the market down, slipping about 1%. Meanwhile, energy, media, metals, PSU banks, private banks and realty all posted gains ranging from 0.5% to 2%, suggesting that investors were cherry‑picking cyclical names while staying cautious on tech. It was a mixed bag, but overall the vibe was slightly bullish.

Even with the headline gains, the breadth on the BSE painted a more nuanced picture. Out of roughly 3,424 stocks tracked, 2,304 advanced, 943 declined and 177 were unchanged. The advance‑decline ratio hinted at underlying weakness, even as the headline numbers stayed positive.