India Cements Surges 22% in Two Days on Heavy Trading Volume

Shares of Chennai-headquartered cement manufacturer India Cements Ltd surged up to 9% in intraday trade on Thursday, October 22, 2026, reaching a high of ₹359 on the BSE. The sharp move extended the stock's two-day rally to 22%, defying broader market weakness. By mid-afternoon, the counter traded around ₹352.90, up over 7%, while the benchmark BSE Sensex slid 0.34%.

The rally was accompanied by an extraordinary surge in trading activity. A combined 35.96 million shares—representing roughly 11.6% of the company's total equity—changed hands across the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE, clocking more than a ten-fold jump over its recent daily average volume.

Drivers Behind the Sudden Rally

Market sentiment turned sharply positive on the back of resilient operational metrics and strategic corporate developments:

• Robust Operational Beat: For the second quarter of FY27 (July–September 2026), brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services noted that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged 78% year-on-year to ₹140 crore, beating consensus estimates by 32%. The beat was driven by improved sales volume and a reduction in per-tonne variable costs.
• Volume Expansion: India Cements clocked domestic sales volume of 2.83 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) during Q2, marking a 16.2% year-on-year increase and outpacing the broader cement sector's estimated 10% volume growth.
• Green Energy Transition: The company recently disclosed an investment exceeding ₹20 crore to acquire a 3.62% equity stake in Zenataris Renewable Energy. The move is designed to procure 11 MW of captive renewable power for its manufacturing units to reduce power tariffs and stabilize fuel costs.
• Capacity Additions: The company is currently executing a modernization plan to expand its grinding capacity by 3.1 MTPA, which will raise overall capacity to 17.6 MTPA by FY28. Motilal Oswal projects India Cements' EBITDA compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 49% over FY26–FY28, forecasting EBITDA per tonne to improve from ₹385 in FY26 to ₹717 by FY28.

Price Trajectory and Sector Backdrop

The sharp rebound offers significant relief to investors after an extended slide. The stock had slipped to a 52-week low of ₹287.60 on October 5, 2026, well off its 52-week high of ₹489.65 recorded in January 2026.

India remains the second-largest cement market globally. According to industry estimates cited in India Cements' disclosures, around 100 million tonnes of fresh grinding capacity is projected to come online across the country over the two-year period ending FY28 to meet rising infrastructure and housing demand.

While near-term challenges such as fluctuating petcoke and crude prices remain monitorables, market participants are watching whether India Cements can sustain trading above intermediate technical hurdles to solidify a long-term structural turnaround.

Tags: India Cements UltraTech Cement BSE Sensex NSE Cement Sector Motilal Oswal Financial Services