The cooling of fuel costs and the Union government’s construction spree in the run-up to the 2024 general elections are expected to help margins and volumes.

The loss was primarily due to coal costs going from $60 to $300-plus. This affected the fuel cost directly, and indirectly, it pushed up the cost of packaging materials and the like.

The company's total expenses were at Rs 1,528.01 crore, up 27.16 per cent in the September quarter of FY23, as against Rs 1,201.61 crore a year ago.Shares of India Cements were trading at Rs 248.50 on BSE, up 1.02 per cent from the previous close.

India Cements Ltd., incorporated in the year 1946, is a Small Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 7263.99 Crore) operating in Cement sector.

The sale of the subsidiary may also signal that the company is reviewing its business plan for the long term

Dr Lal PathLabs shares gained 1.7 percent to Rs 2,694.35, continuing uptrend for the seventh consecutive session. It has seen formation of bullish candle on the daily charts with higher high higher low formation for seven straight sessions, and has given a breakout of downward sloping resistance trend line adjoining April 8 and August 26.

If derivative contracts in securities cross 95 percent of the market-wide position limit, they end up in the ban list, the NSE said.

If derivative contracts in securities cross 95 percent of the market-wide position limit, they end up in the ban list, the NSE said.

Vedanta was the biggest gainer in the futures & options segment, climbing 10 percent to Rs 305.60. It has seen formation of bullish candlestick pattern on the daily charts with robust volumes.

Given the expiry week, there could be volatility with also focus on global cues. If the index fails to sustain Friday's low of 17,710 then we can see further selling pressure, experts said.