LIC, ITC, SAIL, Aurobindo, Hindalco, Tata Consumer, Vedanta, Bharti Airtel stocks in focus on F&O expiry

BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 likely to jump on Thursday, a day of weekly F&O expiry, following the better-than-expected US inflation data. SGX Nifty 50 Index Futures for August were trading at 17,747, up 200.50 points or 1.14 per cent up on Singaporean Exchange in early trade. Asian peers were also seen trading higher on Thursday. Technical analysts say that though, Nifty placed at the highs, the short term uptrend status remains intact and there is no signs of any reversal pattern unfolding at the higher levels. “On any upside from here, the market could find strong resistance around 17800 levels. Immediate support is placed at 17450 levels,” Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.

Also read: US inflation falls more than expected in July to 8.5% as petrol gets cheaper, eases pressure on Fed

Aurobindo, Bata: BSE-listed companies such as Aurobindo Pharma, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Aster DM Healthcare, Bata India, Bharat Forge, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Greaves Cotton, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Himadri Speciality Chemical, KNR Constructions, Page Industries, The Phoenix Mills, Puravankara, Quess Corp, Sapphire Foods India, Shilpa Medicare, Spencers Retail, Sunteck Realty, Trent, Vipul Organics, and Wonderla Holidays will remain in focus on the day of F&O expiry ahead of June quarter earnings.

Also read: Nifty may fall to 16300, Bank Nifty to 36300 by Aug-end; Sanjiv Bhasin bets on these sectors | IIFL Interview

SAIL: SAIL on Wednesday reported an 80% decline in Q1FY23 net profit, on a standalone basis, at Rs 776 crore on higher input costs and lower realisation. During the same quarter last fiscal, SAIL reported a Rs 3,850 crore net profit.

Hindalco: Hindalco Industries is cautiously optimistic about the global markets and the business environment in India, while the Aditya Birla Group company’s capex plans for the fiscal would continue unabated. The company has posted a consolidated net profit of ₹4,119 crore for the quarter ended June.

Tata Consumer Products: Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) on Wednesday posted a net profit of Rs 277 crore in the April-June quarter, up 38% year-on-year (y-o-y), on the back of improved sales and margin.

ITC: ITC will invest Rs 2,500 crore to set up five new plants in different parts of the country, including a state-of-the-art packaging plant at Nadiad in Gujarat, over the next two years.

Vedanta: Diversified natural resources conglomerate Vedanta plans to invest $3 billion over two years, including $2 billion in FY23, to build capacities in zinc, oil & gas, and aluminium businesses as it believes supply will remain a challenge in the commodities’ space in the medium term.

Bank of Baroda: Public sector lender Bank of Baroda on Wednesday increased its marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 5-20 basis points (bps), effective August 12. The bank has hiked its one-year MCLR by 5 bps to 7.70%. This is the fifth consecutive MCLR increase by the bank.

Bharti Airtel: Airtel Africa has signed up for a USD 125 million revolving facility from American banking major Citi. The company, which has telecom and mobile money operations in 14 African countries, said the facility involves borrowing both in local currencies and US dollar.

Max Healthcare: Max Healthcare on Wednesday said its consolidated net profit increased by 12 per cent to Rs 229 crore for the June quarter driven by annual price revision and normalisation of patient footfalls.

JSW Energy: JSW Energy has signed an agreement to acquire Mytrah Energy’s 1,753 MW renewable energy portfolio for an enterprise value of about Rs 10,530 crore.