Stocks to Monitor: Infosys, Coal India, Vedanta, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank

Equity markets are expected to open positively on Friday, February 16th, 2024, following gains in overseas markets. Gift Nifty futures were quoted at around 22,107 at 7:30 AM, indicating a likely gap-up of over 100 points on the Nifty50 index. These are the stocks to keep an eye on today.

Infosys: Infosys, which faced the loss of a billion-dollar deal in December, started the year 2024 with positive news by securing two significant contracts. According to industry executives, one of the recent contracts is worth $300 million and has been signed with Singapore-based Pacific International Lines. This contract will run until 2027. The other major deal was signed on 31st January with Irish food retailer Musgrave for a seven-year period. Under this deal, Infosys will automate Musgrave's IT functions using AI and cloud solutions. In the quarter ending in December, Infosys announced a total contract value of $3.2 billion, which is a decline from $7.7 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. However, this still includes a net new of 71 percent.

Coal India: On Thursday, the state-owned company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Haryana Power Purchase Centre for the supply of 800 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd. This MoU serves as a basis for a future power purchase agreement and will aid Haryana in meeting its increasing energy needs, as per the statement released by Coal India.

Vedanta: Promoters of mining and resources major Vedanta offloaded a 1.76 percent stake in the company for Rs 1,737 crore on Thursday through a bulk deal on BSE, data shows. The stake was sold by Finsider International Co. Ltd, a promoter entity, for a weighted average price of Rs 265.14 per share. This translates to a discount of 5 percent over Wednesday’s closing price. Vedanta shares closed 4 percent lower on BSE on Thursday at Rs 268 apiece.

NBCC: The Chairman and Managing Director of the state-owned construction firm, KP Mahadevaswamy, mentioned to CNBC-TV18 on Thursday that the company is expected to achieve its revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore in FY24, following a strong third-quarter performance in the current financial year. Mahadevaswamy further added that the public sector undertaking is well-positioned to meet its revenue target, which may further extend to Rs 13,000 crore in the next financial year. In Q3FY24, NBCC reported a revenue of Rs 2,412.6 crore, which is an increase of 13 percent from the year-ago period. Additionally, the net profit of the company grew by 58.9 percent to Rs 113.16 crore in the December quarter year-on-year.

Axis Bank: On Thursday, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a case in the Delhi High Court, accusing Axis Bank of a scam worth nearly Rs 5,100 crore in the process of selling and buying shares of Max Life Insurance Company. Max Life is a joint venture between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank, a private lender. On 6 February, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) approved a proposal by Axis Bank to buy another 7 percent stake in Max Life for Rs 1,612 crore. Consequently, the Axis group entities will now collectively own 19.02 percent of the insurer, up from the current less than 13 percent.

Yes Bank: Global investment firm The Carlyle Group on Thursday sold a 1.3 percent stake, amounting to 39 crore shares, in the private sector lender for Rs 1,057 crore through an open market transaction on BSE. According to the bulk deal data available on BSE, the shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 27.10 apiece. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte acquired more than 30.63 crore equity shares, representing a 1.06 percent stake in Yes Bank. The shares were purchased at the same price, taking the deal size to Rs 830.08 crore.

HDFC Bank: The private bank plans to launch the Home Saver product in April and Home Refurbishment loans in the coming months, said a senior bank official on Thursday. The Home Saver product is like an overdraft facility and will directly compete with the State Bank of India’s Maxgain home loan scheme. HDFC Ltd offered a Home Refurbishment loan before its merger with HDFC Bank, and it will be relaunched soon.

One 97 Communication: It is believed that Paytm Payments Bank's exit from the UPI platform may not have a significant impact on the cashless transaction ecosystem. This is because most users have multiple backend accounts that are not affected by the central bank's restrictions. Only about one-sixth of the 90 million Paytm UPI users exclusively use the app for transactions. Moreover, around 70 percent of the merchants who use Paytm services have their accounts outside of Paytm Payments Bank. However, according to a report by Macquarie Capital Securities, Paytm's revenues are expected to decline across various segments due to the potential exodus of customers.

Cipla: On Thursday, a major drug company announced its partnership with CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute to develop a new and safe ophthalmic formulation to treat fungal keratitis. The collaboration aims to use the expertise and resources of both organizations to create an effective drug for fungal keratitis. According to the Mumbai-based drug maker, over 1.2 million cases of fungal keratitis are reported worldwide every year, with a higher incidence in tropical countries.

Indian Hotels Company: The Tata Group has recently teamed up with Kolkata's Ambuja Neotia Group to expand its brand portfolio. This partnership has been formed to promote Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels, which was recently acquired by Ambuja Neotia Group. The boutique hotel chain, based in Gurgaon, was acquired by Ambuja Neotia Group in November last year for an undisclosed amount.