Stocks to Watch: Bajaj Finance, Marico, M&M Fin, IRB Infra, Adani Ports

Stocks to watch today: SGX Nifty futures were up 51 points at 18,162 levels in early deals on Thursday, tracking gains in Asian peers. Most A-Pac markets climbed today as investors shrugged off the US Federal Reserve's commitment to higher interest rates in tackling inflation.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.42 per cent, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was up 0.35 per cent, while the Kospi rose 0.71 per cent in South Korea.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped two-day losing streak and rose 0.4 per cent; the S&P 500 0.75 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.69 per cent.

Here's a list of stocks in focus for Thursday, January 5:

M&M Financial Services: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted restrictions on Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited wherein the company was stopped from carrying out any recovery or repossession activity through outsourcing arrangements. READ MORE

Separately, the Board of Directors will meet on Friday, February 3, 2023, to consider and approve the unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results of the Company for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2022.

IndiGo, SpiceJet: Price of Aviation Turbine Furel (ATF) in Delhi were cut by nearly 8 per cent on Thursday morning to Rs 1,08 Lk/kL from Rs 1.17 Lk/kL, reports suggested.

Indus Towers: Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers on Wednesday said it has appointed Prachur Sah as managing director and chief executive officer of the company with effect from January 3, 2023. The position had been vacant since the resignation of Bimal Dayal in July. READ MORE

Bajaj Finance: In a Q3 business update, the company said that new loans booked during Q3FY23 were the highest-ever at 7.8 million as compared to 7.4 million in Q3FY22. Assets under management (AUM) grew by 27 per cent to approximately Rs 2.31 trillion at the end of Q3 as compared to Rs 1.81 trillion as of Q3FY22. AUM in Q3FY23 grew by approximately Rs 12,500 crore. READ MORE

The company also recorded the highest-ever quarterly increase in its customer franchise of 3.1 million in Q3FY23.

Marico: In a business update, the company said the sector witnessed some improvement in demand during the December quarter, which was more visible in specific categories buoyed by the festive fervour and oncoming winter season. The India business marked a slight improvement over the preceding quarter to post a mid-single-digit volume growth.

Oil Marketing Companies: Brent crude price slipped over 5 per cent overnight to $78 per barrel after the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes ruled out interest rate cuts in 2023.

Meanwhile, after two tight quarters of profit-margin shrinkage due to global volatility, Indian OMCs are expected to see reduction in operational losses in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23 (FY23), observed analysts. READ MORE

Adani Ports and SEZ: In December 2022, APSEZ handled nearly 25.1 million metric tonne (MMT) of total cargo, suggesting a growth of 8 per cent in container volumes.

Likhitha Infrastructure: The company received total orders worth of Rs 457.39 crore (excluding GST) from various Oil and/or Gas Distribution Companies during the quarter from October 2022 to December 2022.

Srei Infrastructure Finance: National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) has emerged as the leading bidder in the auction for Srei Infrastructure Finance and Srei Equipment Finance. NARCL's bid was the highest with a net present value (NPV) of Rs 5,555 crore, banking sources said. READ MORE

RBL Bank: The lender's gross advances during the December quarter (Q3FY23) grew 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 68,371 crore, while deposits climbed 11 per cent YoY to Rs 81,746 crore. CASA deposits were up 18 per cent YoY with ratio improving 220 basis points.

SJVN: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved investment of Rs 2,614 crore for 382 Mega Watts Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh. The project is scheduled to be commissioned within 63 months of the commencement of construction works and shall generate 1,382 million units annually.

KIMS: The Board of Directors has approved the raising of funds by way of issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs 300 crore in one or more tranches over a period of time.

IRB Infrastructure Developers: The Board of Directors has approved stock split of existing equity share of the company from 1 equity share into 10 equity shares. READ MORE

Nalco: A meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, to consider Interim Dividend, if any, for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).

HPCL: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has forayed into Petrochemical Business with pre-marketing of "HP DURAPOL" brand polymers. This is a pre-cursor to marketing of HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) petrochemical products.

Separately, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between HPCL and NTPC Green Energy Ltd which envisages cooperation and collaboration in the field of Renewable Energy (RE), Energy Storage Projects, RTC Power, Electric Mobility, SolarlWind Value Chain, and meeting HPCL's Green Power requirements. READ MORE

HUL: Hindustan Unilever Limited has completed the acquisition of 19.8 per cent shareholding of Nutritionalab, for a total consideration of Rs 70 crore.