What bulk and block deals expose
Every day, the exchanges publish:
- Every trade where one party transacted 0.5%+ of a company's shares (bulk deal)
- Every pre-market block trade of ₹10 crore+ (block deal)
With buyer and seller names disclosed. This is unique to Indian markets — most other exchanges hide counterparty identities. See bulk and block deals for the regulatory background.
The five patterns to watch
1. Marquee investor entering
A well-known investor or fund (Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's family office, Mukul Agrawal, Akash Bhanshali, large mutual funds, prominent FPIs) appearing as buyer.
Why it matters: these participants have research budgets and execution discipline. Their entries are rarely impulsive.
How to find: Deals page → search by buyer name. The platform tracks recurring marquee names automatically.
2. Multi-day accumulation
Same buyer appearing across 3+ consecutive trading days, in the same stock. Pattern usually means the buyer is building a position they couldn't complete in one print.
Why it matters: continued buying over multiple days is a higher-conviction signal than a one-day trade.
3. Promoter buying via block window
Promoters using the 8:45–9:00 AM block window to acquire significant chunks at near-market prices. Often pre-arranged with institutional sellers.
Why it matters: promoters using their personal balance sheet to add stake. Combine with promoter activity tracking.
4. Major institutional exits
Reverse signal — a known long-term holder (mutual fund, PE fund, foreign investor) exiting a position. Especially noteworthy when the exit is multi-day or the size is significant relative to their original holding.
Why it matters: if the smart-money buyer of yesterday is now the seller, the thesis they had may have changed.
5. Deal-vs-market-price spread
A bulk deal that happened at a meaningful discount or premium to the prevailing market price. Typical magnitudes:
- Block deals are within ±1% of previous close by regulation, so meaningful spread there is rare
- Bulk deals can happen at meaningful spreads — a deal at 5% premium to market signals strong urgency to acquire
The workflow
Daily scan of the deals feed
Open Deals once a day, post-market (after 5 PM IST). The day's bulk and block deals appear together. Scan for:
- Watchlist symbols (cross-reference automatically)
- Marquee buyer/seller names you recognise
- Large deal sizes relative to daily volume
This takes 2 minutes.
Investigate matching watchlist names
For any watchlist stock with a meaningful deal:
- Click into the stock page
- Read the conviction strip — has the deal already lifted conviction?
- Open the Filings tab — any related news around the deal?
- Open the Peers tab — is the deal making the stock interesting relative to peers?
Check the deals factor in conviction
The conviction engine's deals factor (one of the four core factors) reflects bulk and block activity in the last 5 trading days. A stock with strong bullish deals factor is already attributing weight to the deal you spotted.
Decide on the trade
The deal itself isn't a trade signal. The deal plus conviction context plus your own thesis is.
A useful test: would you buy this stock today without the deal information? If yes, the deal is confirmation. If no, the deal alone shouldn't change your mind — you're following someone else's research without doing your own.
Common mistakes
Treating every deal as actionable
Most bulk deals happen in mid- and small-cap stocks with no marquee participants. They're commercial paper changing hands. Don't trade every deal — filter for size, identity, and pattern.
Chasing late
A stock that's already up 20% on a 5-day rally with deal activity each day is a stock the market has already priced in. The deal pattern was actionable on day 1, not day 5.
Ignoring sell-side deals
Most retail attention goes to buy-side deals. Sell-side deals from known long-term holders are equally informative — they're a warning to be careful, not a buy signal.
Scan today's deals