Stocks to Watch: LIC, Zomato, Adani group, Varun Beverages, Voltas, M&M

Stocks to Watch: As per reports, MSCI on Thursday evening said it had cut its determined free float for four companies in the Adani Group: Adani Enterprises, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission & ACC

Equity benchmark indices may start Friday’s trade on a weak note as indicated by the SGX Nifty, quoting 60 points below Thursday’s close at 17,830 levels.  

The domestic markets are likely to remain subdued in Friday's trading session, amid feeble global sentiments.

Globally, the US equity markets edged lower overnight. Key indices like Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite, slipped up to 1 per cent.

Asia-Pacific markets, meanwhile, were mixed this morning ahead of Chinese inflation data. Barring the Nikkei 225 index, other indices like Kospi, Kosdaq, and the S&P 200 fell up to 0.7 per cent.

Here are some stocks to watch out in trade today: 

Q3 earnings watch: Mahindra and Mahindra, ABB India, PB Fintech, Abbott India, Alkem Laboratories, Ashoka Buildcon, Astrazeneca Pharma, BEML, BHEL, Dilip Buildcon, Delhivery, EIH, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, JK Lakshmi Cement, KFin Technologies, Lemon Tree Hotels, Metropolis Healthcare, NALCO, Info Edge India, and Oil India will release their quarterly earnings today.

Adani group stocks: Following its review, global index provider MSCI said there will be weight reduction in select Adani Group stocks. Changes will be effective from March 01, 2023. As per a report by FT, MSCI on Thursday evening said it had cut its determined free float for four companies in the Adani Group: Adani Enterprises, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission and ACC. The cuts will result in smaller weightings for these stocks in MSCI’s closely watched indices, triggering outflows. 

MSCI rejig: As per the latest rejig, Bank of Baroda will be added to the MSCI Global Standard Index. CG Power & Shriram Fin will be added to the India Index, while Biocon will be removed from India Index & added to Small Cap Index. 

LIC: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) reported a manifold increase in its net profit in the December quarter (Q3) of financial year 2022-23 (FY23), aided by a transfer of Rs 5,670 crore from non-participatory to shareholders’ accounts. Its net profit in Q3 stood at Rs 6,334.19 crore, compared with Rs 234.91 crore in the year-ago period. READ

Zomato: The restaurant aggregator’s losses widened to Rs 346.6 crore for the quarter that ended in December (2022-23, or FY23), compared with Rs 63.2 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year (2021-22). The food delivery giant had reported a net loss of Rs 250.8 crore in the second quarter (Q2) of FY23. READ

GAIL: State-run GAIL (India) Limited entered into a advance pricing agreement (APA) with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for determining the transfer pricing margin payable on its long-term LNG sourcing contract from the United States for a period of five years.

Aurobindo Pharma: Aurobindo Pharma Limited on Thursday said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31 fell 18.7 per cent to Rs 491.2 crore against Rs 604.3 crore in Q3FY22. Its revenue from operations during the quarter was up by 6.7 per cent to Rs 6,407.10 crore against Rs 6,002.2 in the same period last fiscal.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation: The oil marketing company has turned profitable with Q3FY23 net at Rs 172.4 crore against loss of Rs 2,172 crore in previous quarter, with better operating performance. Standalone revenue grew by 1 per cent to Rs 1.09 lakh crore compared to previous year. 

Mahindra & Mahindra: M&M has signed a MoU with Telangana Government to expand its existing manufacturing facilities at Zaheerabad plant. The company will invest approximately Rs 1,000 cr over 8 years for the proposed expansion. Expansion will include 3,4-wheeler EV making.

NTPC : NTPC Green Energy has signed a MoU with HPCL for development of renewable energy-based projects.

Varun Beverages: As per reports, promoters are looking to sell Rs 850 crore worth of shares via block deal today. They will likely offer upto 5-7 per cent discount on the deal. 

ITC: Subsidiary ITC Infotech India has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in France under the name of ITC Infotech France SAS. Consequently, ITC France has become a step-down wholly owned subsidiary of ITC.

Pfizer: The pharma company has reported a 4.7 per cent year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 150.66 crore for three-month period ended December FY23, driven by good operating performance, but revenue from operations fell 8 per cent YoY to Rs 621.75 crore for the quarter. The company appointed Meenakshi Nevatia as the Managing Director and Additional Director for five years.

Voltas: Voltas Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 110.49 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022 on account of provisioning made on overseas projects. The Tata group firm had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 96.56 crore in the October-December quarter last fiscal, Voltas said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 11.82 per cent to Rs 2,005.61 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 1,793.59 crore in the year-ago period. 

Greaves Cotton: The company will acquire 100 per cent equity stake through multiple tranches in motion‐control  systems player, Excel Controlinkage.