Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty 50 stare at a muted start amid mixed global cues. ITC, Glenmark Pharma, Rail Vikas Nigam and IndusInd Bank among stocks to watch on Wednesday.
Indian benchmark indices are likely to open marginally in green, hinted SGX Nifty. On the Singapore Exchange, Nifty futures were trading 35 pts or 0.19% higher at 18,111.0. In the previous session, BSE Sensex gained 562.75 points or 0.94% to end at 60,655.72, and NSE Nifty 50 settled 158.50 points or 0.89% higher at 18,053.30. “The bulls are trying hard to cap the damage amid the prevailing consolidation phase and awaiting some trigger for further recovery. We feel buying in select index majors may result in some respite ahead but not enough to trigger the next directional move. We thus reiterate our view to focus on stock selection and risk management until we see some decisive signal,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
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Stocks in focus on 18 January, Wednesday
ITC: Cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC on Tuesday announced plans to acquire 100% of Sproutlife Foods (SFPL), a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup and parent company of health food brand ‘Yoga Bar’ over a period of three to four years. The FMCG major will initially acquire a 39.4% stake in SFPL for Rs 175 crore. ITC will then pick up a 47.5% stake, in one or more tranches, for Rs 80 crore through primary subscription by March 31, 2025. The balance stake will be acquired basis pre-defined valuation criteria, subject to other conditions agreed to in the binding documents.
ICICI Lombard: ICICI Lombard General Insurance on Tuesday reported a 11% on-year rise in its net profit to Rs 352.53 crore for the third quarter of the current financial year, backed by a 17% on-year growth in gross premiums underwritten. The net profit for the third quarter last fiscal had stood at Rs 317.53 crore. During Q3FY23, the combined ratio stood at 104.4%, against 104.5% in the year-ago period, according to an exchange filing.
Tata Metaliks: The Tata Group company has reported a profit of Rs 9.48 crore for the December FY23 quarter, falling 74% on-year, dented by weak operating performance. Input cost and finance cost hit the bottom line. However, revenue from operations grew by 14.5% on-year to Rs 790.23 crore for the quarter.
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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: The pharma company entered into an agreement with Eris Oaknet Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eris Lifesciences, to divest the tail brands from its dermatology segment, for India and Nepal territories. The transaction cost is Rs 340.48 crore. The divested tail brands include Onabet, Halovate, Sorvate, Luligee, Demelan, Aceret, Dosetil, Revize, and Powercort, and their sub-brands. This divestment is in line with Glenmark’s strategy of focusing on its leading brands in the dermatology segment.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company: The life insurance company has recorded a 29% on-year fall in standalone profit at Rs 220.63 crore for quarter ended December FY23. Net premium income grew by 4.3% on-year to Rs 9,464.5 crore in Q3FY23.
Delta Corp: The casino gaming company has reported a 20.5% on-year growth in consolidated profit at Rs 84.82 crore for the quarter ended December FY23, led by other income and operating revenue. Revenue from operations increased by 10.6% on-year to Rs 273.4 crore in Q3FY23.
Rail Vikas Nigam: The company has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for the commissioning of power supply receiving and distribution system for Surat Metro Rail Project Phase-I with a cost Rs 673.8 crore, and for Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II with a cost of Rs 384.3 crore. Siemens is the lead partner with a 65% share and RVNL is having 35 percent share in these projects.
Q3 Results Today: IndusInd Bank, Alok Industries, CCL Products (India), Central Bank of India, Oracle Financial Services Software, Persistent Systems, PSP Projects, Rallis India, Shemaroo Entertainment, and Surya Roshni stocks will be in focus ahead of quarterly earnings on 18 January.
