Top stocks to buy (AI image)

Stock market recommendations: Bajaj Broking Research recommends Colgate-Palmolive (India), and Varun Beverages as the top stocks to buy on February 27, 2026. The brokerage shares a detailed outlook on Nifty and Bank Nifty:Index view: NiftyIndian equity markets witnessed a highly volatile trend during last week, oscillating within a defined range before ultimately settling on a flat note. The choppiness reflects prevailing uncertainty, with investors closely tracking geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. In addition, ongoing developments related to artificial intelligence and tariff policies are expected to play a crucial role in shaping overall market sentiment and determining the near-term directional bias.Technically, the index has been consolidating within a broad range of 25,350–25,900 over the past 10 sessions. This prolonged sideways movement indicates a phase of equilibrium between buyers and sellers. A decisive breakout above 25,900 or a breakdown below 25,350 will likely provide clarity on the next directional trend. Until such a move occurs, volatility is expected to remain elevated amid uncertain global cues.Within the current consolidation band, immediate resistance is positioned at 25,650. A sustained move above this level could trigger a pullback rally toward the upper boundary of the range at 25,900. On the downside, a breach below Tuesday’s low of 25,327 would signal renewed weakness, potentially dragging the index toward the 200-day EMA and the previous gap-up zone in the 25,100–25,200 region.Overall, markets remain in a wait-and-watch mode, with participants advised to monitor key levels closely for confirmation of the next meaningful move.Bank NiftyBank Nifty continues to outperform and maintain higher highs and higher low in the long-term chart. PSU banking stocks within the bank nifty continues to outperform the private banking stocks.Bias remains positive and we believe dips should be used as buying opportunity, with short term support seen at 60,500-60,200 levels being the confluence of the 20 days EMA and the key retracement of previous up move. Volatility is likely to remain elevated amid uncertain global cues. In the near-term, the index is likely to trade in the range of 60,000-61,750. A decisive move beyond this range could trigger fresh directional momentum. We expect the index to move higher above 61,750 and gradually head higher towards 62,500 levels in coming weeks.

Stock Recommendations:

Colgate-Palmolive (India)Buy in the range of ₹ 2265-2305

The stock has recently broken out above a seven-month falling wedge pattern, a classic bullish technical formation that often precedes a continuation of the uptrend. This breakout signals that the prolonged corrective phase has ended and that buying momentum is returning in stock.The recent move above this consolidation zone signals a breakout from the base formation, reinforcing a positive bias and open upside towards 2470 levels being the confluence of the measuring implication of the last three months consolidation range and the 61.8% retracement of the last 7 months decline (2747-2030).Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL)Buy in the range of 455-463

Management reiterates double – digit growth outlook supported by weather normalization, category expansion, and distribution penetration. All four India Greenfields commissioned in H1 CY 25 provide >50 % incremental capacity without major capex for the next two years. Rural/semi – urban growth, increasing cooler footprint and higher traction in hydration and dairy categories sustain growth visibility, while low/no sugar now forming ~59% of volumes reinforces mix resilience.We assign a 25 x EV/EBITDA multiple to CY 27E EBITDA, yielding a target price of ₹519, capturing VBL’s multi – year earnings trajectory supported by capacity – led volume growth, margin gains from backward integration and disciplined capex. The valuation reflects the durability of the core franchise while conservatively treating new categories and international scaling as incremental optionality.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

Australia, the old guard, are one win away from clinching the ODI leg of this multi-format tour, fuelled by the sentimental energy of Alyssa Healy’s farewell series. But standing in their way is a “New India”, the reigning World Champions who already shocked the hosts by snatching the T20I trophy 2-1 just last week. For Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, this isn’t just a game; it’s a do-or-die mission to prove that their World Cup triumph wasn’t an outlier, but a true changing of the guard.

With the Hobart clouds likely to assist the swing of Megan Schutt and Renuka Singh Thakur, we are set for a tactical masterclass in a series that is currently balanced on a knife-edge.

The series opener in Brisbane was a testament to Australian clinical efficiency. Despite half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana (58) and Harmanpreet (53), India’s innings stalled at 214. Australia chased it down with 70 balls to spare, fueled by a vintage Beth Mooney (76) and a gritty Alyssa Healy (50) in her farewell ODI series.

For India, the loss was compounded by a knee injury to skipper Harmanpreet during her knock. However, the latest word from the camp via Deepti Sharma is that the captain is “fit and fine” and expected to lead the side tomorrow.

AUS-W vs IND-W, 2nd ODI: Match Details

• Date and Time: February 27; 09:20 am IST/ 03:50 am GMT/ 2:50 pm Local
• Venue: Bellerive Oval, Hobart

AUS-W vs IND-W Head-to-Head Record in ODIs

Matches played: 62 | Australia Women won: 50 | India Women won: 12

Bellerive Oval Pitch Report

The Bellerive Oval surface is a balanced deck that traditionally offers a fascinating game of two halves. In the initial 10–15 overs, the open nature of the ground and the proximity to the Derwent River allow seamers to find significant swing and nip-back. However, once the lacquer wears off, the pitch settles into a batting-friendly paradise with true bounce, rewarding stroke-makers who play with horizontal-bat shots. Spinners might find some grip as the game progresses, but they’ll need to vary their pace to avoid being milked on the relatively compact boundaries.

With an average first-innings score of 236 and 64% of matches won by the team batting first, the toss will be a high-stakes moment for both captains.

Squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal

Also READ: Fans erupt as Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney steer Australia to dominant victory over India in Women’s ODI opener

AUS-W vs IND-W: Today’s Match Prediction

Case 1:

• Australia Women wins the toss and bats first
• Australia Women’s powerplay score: 65-75
• Australia Women’s total score: 270-280

Case 2:

• India Women wins the toss and bats first
• India powerplay score: 50-60
• India Women’s total score: 240-250

Match result: Australia Women’s to win the contest.

Also WATCH: Georgia Voll plucks a screamer to remove Richa Ghosh in 1st WODI

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

(Image credits: X @NYCMayor)

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday for a previously unannounced meeting that lasted about an hour, focusing on major new housing investments in the city while also addressing the arrest of a Columbia University student.After the meeting, Mamdani posted on X, “I had a productive meeting with President Trump this afternoon. I’m looking forward to building more housing in New York City.”As part of his visit, Mamdani presented Trump with a mock newspaper front page created by his team. It featured the headline, “Trump to City: Let’s Build” — a riff on the famous 1975 New York Daily News cover that read “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” referring to Gerald Ford’s vow to veto financial assistance to the city.Mamdani’s office declined to provide details about the housing proposal, but Anna Bahr, the mayor’s communications director, said Trump was “very enthusiastic” about it. She said that during their first one-on-one meeting at the White House in November, Trump encouraged Mamdani to return with an idea to build major projects together in New York City. Bahr added that the mayor’s team created the mock front page and headlines to show what kind of reaction new federal housing investments could generate. During Thursday’s meeting, Mamdani also raised the arrest of Columbia University student Ellie Aghayeva, who had been detained earlier in the day by federal immigration authorities. The arrest triggered protests on campus and allegations that agents gained entry to a university-owned residence by posing as police officers searching for a missing child.Just hours after detaining Aghayeva, the federal government reversed course and allowed her to walk free following what appeared to be an intervention by Donald Trump. Mamdani also gave White House chief of staff Susie Wiles a list of four other students targeted by federal authorities and asked for the administration’s help.“He has just informed me that she will be released imminently,” Mamdani wrote on social media, referring to Aghayeva.The rapid developments underscored the evolving relationship between Trump and Mamdani, a democratic socialist whom Trump once threatened to have deported. During the mayoral campaign, Trump repeatedly criticised Mamdani as a “communist,” but appeared more receptive after their November meeting.

The AI battle: Defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Thursday said the artificial intelligence company “cannot in good conscience accede” to Pentagon demands for unrestricted use of its technology, escalating an unusually public standoff with the Donald Trump administration that could cost the firm its government contract as early as Friday.The company behind the AI chatbot Claude said it remains open to negotiations, reported AP, but warned that revised contract language from the defense department “made virtually no progress on preventing Claude’s use for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons.”Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell pushed back on those concerns, writing on social media that the military “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.”Anthropic’s internal policies prohibit such uses. The company is currently the only major AI developer — alongside firms such as Google, OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI — that has not agreed to supply its technology to a new internal U.S. military network.“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision,” Amodei said in a statement. “But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.”The dispute intensified after defense secretary Pete Hegseth issued an ultimatum on Tuesday following a meeting with Amodei: allow unrestricted military use of Anthropic’s AI technology by Friday or risk losing the Pentagon contract. Officials also warned that the company could be designated a supply-chain risk or that the Defense Production Act — a Cold War-era law — could be invoked to grant the military broader authority over its products.Amodei criticised the threats as inconsistent, saying that “those latter two threats are inherently contradictory: one labels us a security risk; the other labels Claude as essential to national security.”Parnell reiterated that the Pentagon seeks to “use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes,” without specifying what those uses would include. He argued that wider access to the technology is necessary to avoid “jeopardizing critical military operations.”“We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” he said.Negotiations between the two sides have been ongoing for months. Amodei said that if the Pentagon does not revise its position, Anthropic “will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider.”The public nature of the dispute has drawn criticism on Capitol Hill.Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the Pentagon had handled the issue unprofessionally and suggested Anthropic was “trying to do their best to help us from ourselves.”“Why in the hell are we having this discussion in public?” Tillis told reporters. “This is not the way you deal with a strategic vendor that has contracts.”He added, “When a company is resisting a market opportunity for fear of negative consequences, you should listen to them and then behind closed doors figure out what they’re really trying to solve.”Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was “deeply disturbed” by reports that the Pentagon was “working to bully a leading U.S. company.”“Unfortunately, this is further indication that the Department of Defense seeks to completely ignore AI governance,” Warner said. It “further underscores the need for Congress to enact strong, binding AI governance mechanisms for national security contexts.”Pentagon officials maintain that AI systems will be used in accordance with the law, even as the department has sought to reshape its internal legal culture.Hegseth told Fox News last February that the military wants lawyers who provide constitutional advice but do not serve as “roadblocks.” The same month, he dismissed the Army and Air Force’s top legal officers without explanation. The Navy’s top lawyer had resigned shortly after the 2024 election.

NEW DELHI: Smartphones, led largely by Apple’s iPhone, emerged as India’s top export category for the first time, overtaking automotive diesel fuel in 2025, official data showed, indicating the impact of policy measures to boost exports. Exports of smartphones during Jan-Dec 2025 rose to about $30.1 billion, up 47.5% from $20.4 billion in 2024, while automotive diesel fuel exports were at $16.3 billion. Other major export categories were cut and unmounted diamonds at $12.4 billion, medicines for retail sale at $10.7 billion, motor gasoline at $9.7 billion, and aviation turbine fuel at $9.5 billion.Data on export destinations shows that the US widened its lead as India’s largest market, as exports to the US rose 14.2% to $92.3 billion in 2025 from $80.7 billion a year earlier. The UAE remained the second-largest destination at $38.6 billion, while exports to China rose 19.3% to $18 billion, and shipments to the Netherlands and the UK declined.The surge in smartphone exports was driven largely by Apple’s iPhone shipments from India to the US and UAE. Industry estimates indicate that iPhones accounted for nearly three-quarters of total smartphone exports, with shipments reaching about $23 billion in 2025 as Apple’s exports nearly doubled from the previous year. Experts said several policy initiatives unveiled by govt, including the performance-linked incentive scheme, had helped push exports of smartphones significantly.Nilanjan Banik, professor of economics at Mahindra University, said India’s rise as a major iPhone exporter reflects both policy support and demand trends. “India is emerging as the world’s largest seller and exporter of iPhones due to massive local manufacturing scale-up and booming domestic demand. Apple now produces about 25% of global iPhones in India,” he said.He added that shipments hit a record 14 million units in 2025, capturing 9% volume share and 28% value share, making India Apple’s third-largest market. Rising incomes, premiumisation, easier financing, festive discounts, and expansion into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities supported growth. “India built a formidable supply chain ecosystem, especially in states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, to sustain this growth further,” said Banik.

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NEW DELHI : SC asked the environment ministry and other stakeholders on Thursday to suggest names of domain experts for the committee to be tasked with defining the Aravali hills and ranges, and observed that only lawful mining would be allowed in the region.The top court, on Dec 29, had taken note of the outcry over the new definition of Aravalis and kept in abeyance its Nov 20 order accepting a uniform definition of the hills and ranges. It had also put all mining on hold.On Thursday, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi extended its earlier stay order on mining for the time being.Aravali case: We will allow lawful mining only, says SCDuring the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for a litigant, said the company had a mining license and had won the right to mine after a protracted battle. Now, because of the court order, mining had been stalled.“We will allow lawful mining only… let the experts tell us (the definition). We will cross all bridges and reach the right destination,” the CJI said.The bench asked lawyer Jay Cheema to assist it. Senior advocate K Parmeswar is already assisting the bench as amicus curiae.“We request the (environment) ministry to suggest a panel of domain experts along with their profiles. Senior counsel are also requested to give profiles of some eminent domain experts for the purpose of constituting the committee, as was observed by this court,” the bench said.The bench said it was conscious of the fact that all activities, especially mining by licenced firms, have come to a halt. “However, status quo will have to be maintained for the time being till some preliminary issues are answered in a phased manner. Post this matter for the constitution of the committee,” the CJI said.The bench asked stakeholders to submit written notes by March 10 after the amicus curiae submitted his suggestions on the aspect of definitions of the Aravali hills and ranges.The bench said it will set up the panel of experts and frame issues to be decided on the next date of hearing.Earlier, the bench said it seemed prima facie that the earlier report of a committee and the verdict had “omitted to expressly clarify certain critical issues” and there was a “dire need to further probe” to prevent any regulatory gaps that might undermine the ecological integrity of the Aravali region.“There has been a significant outcry among environmentalists, who have expressed concern about the potential for misinterpretation and improper implementation of the… definition and this court’s directions,” the bench had said.