Stocks in focus on April 25, 2018

NEW DELHI: The domestic equity market is likely to see a negative start on Wednesday, tracking weak global cues and Nifty on Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). At 08:00 am, the Nifty50 futures of SGX were trading 61 points or 0.57 per cent lower at 10,589.

Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in today's trading session:

Fortis Healthcare: Malaysian healthcare group IHH and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care have submitted binding offers for Fortis Healthcare on Tuesday to compete with Manipal-TPG and a joint offer from Hero Enterprise Investment-Burman Family Office. IHH has submitted a binding offer to infuse Rs 650 crore immediately into Fortis Healthcare, while Radiant-KKR have submitted a binding offer to purchase Fortis Mulund for Rs 1,200 crore without any due diligence.


Bharti Airtel: The telecom major's India operations reported their first net loss in almost 15 years in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 and joined Idea Cellular and Vodafone India in the red, as Reliance Jio-led low tariffs and a cut in international termination rates (ITR) took toll on the country’s largest telco. The company eked out a net profit of Rs 83 crore on a consolidated basis — also its lowest in nearly one-and-a-half decades — in the just-ended quarter, a 78 per cent year-on-year drop, thanks largely to its Africa operations which clocked a profit of Rs 698.70 crore. This apart, the company's board has approved merger of Indus Towers into Bharti Infratel.

Wipro: Leading IT exporter Wipro is slated to declare its March quarter results today. All eyes are firmly on the management commentary on its energy segment that accounts for nearly 13 per cent of the software major's revenues. Besides, an update on healthcare vertical will be keenly tracked. HDFC Securities Institutional Research believes that the IT firm would lag peers in terms of FY19-20 growth. The management guidance of reaching industry level growth rate seems difficult, it noted.

Religare Enterprises, Dabur: The Burman family of Dabur Group has picked up a 9.9 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises by converting warrants that were issued to three of their companies last week after they committed to invest Rs 150 crore. Anand C Burman and Mohit Burman have acquired stake in Religare due to private equity firm Bay Capital’s involvement in the company, the two industrialists told ET.

Advanced Enzyme: HDFC Mutual Fund on Tuesday bought 22 lakh shares or 1.97 per cent stake in Advanced Enzyme Technologies at Rs 226 per share, bulk deal data on the NSE website showed. The data showed that promoter entity Chandrakant Rathi Innovations & Projects sold 23.30 lakh shares or 2.09% stake in Advanced Enzyme at Rs 226.03 per share.

Indiabulls Real Estate: The real estate developer is scheduled to release its March quarter results today. Shares of the company ended 1.55 per cent higher at Rs 196.80 apiece on Tuesday.

Shree Digvijay Cement: Votorantim Cimentos, Brazilian promoter of Shree Digvijay Cement, is planning to sell its stake in the Indian company as part of its strategy to prioritise assets and reduce debt, according to two people familiar with the development. The Brazilian firm owns 75 per cent stake in the Gujarat-based cement company.

IDFC Bank: Private player IDFC Bank today reported over 76% plunge in standalone net profit to Rs 41.93 crore for the March quarter on rise in bad loans and higher provisioning. The bank had registered a net profit of Rs 175.95 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, 2016-17. Its total income was however higher during the fourth quarter of 2017-18 at Rs 2,374.35 crore as against Rs 2,279.65 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Raymond: Diversified group Raymond on Tuesday reported a 61.46 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 54.38 crore for the fourth quarter ended March of 2017-18. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 33.68 crore in January-March period a year ago, Raymond said in a BSE filing.

ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank has abandoned plans to sell its non-banking finance company that was primarily into home finance after more than two years of trying and is now looking to expand its loan book through the affordable housing segment that saw a spike in demand due to government subsidy. ICICI Home Finance (IHF) will also restart financing consumer durables purchases 10 years after stopping that business in the bank, IHF chairman Anup Bagchi said in an interview with ET.

Tata Motors: Tata Motors is working on revamping its product portfolio and entering new large markets to strengthen its overseas presence once vehicles developed on its recently-unveiled advanced modular platform start hitting the roads in 2019. As part of its transformation, the automaker, which took the fourth spot in the local passenger vehicle market last year, has made significant changes to its exports strategy, said an ET report.