Top 5 stocks in focus on October 19: Reliance Industries, NTPC to IT Sector, here are the 5 newsmakers of the day

After opening higher in the morning session, the market failed to hold on to gains and reversed direction and closed in the negative zone on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. But there were certain stocks that came in the news after the market was closed for trading and can have an impact on the market on October 19, 2018. Here is the list of five such stocks:

Reliance Industries (RIL): The former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya has joined the board of Reliance Industries (RIL) as independent additional director. With this, Bhattacharya becomes the first woman outside the Ambani family to join the RIL board and will serve on the board for a period of five years starting from October 17, 2018, subject to shareholder approval. 

NTPC Limited: India's largest electricity producer plans to raise USD 150 million in foreign currency term loan to finance its capital expenditure. The loan will be for a minimum term of 10 years, the company said in the offer document. 

Novartis: The Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis will acquire the US-based cancer drugmaker Endocyte Inc for $210 crore in cash as the Swiss drugmaker expands its radiopharmaceuticals business. 

Fortis Healthcare: Market regulator, SEBI has in its interim order has directed Malvinder Singh, Shivinder Singh and eight other entities to repay a sum of Rs. 403 crores of diverted funds to Fortis Healthcare.

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Information technology (IT) Sector: Stocks of IT sector will remain in focus today as the Trump administrator has said that it is planning to revise the definition of employment and speciality occupations under the H-1B visas by January. The move will have an adverse impact on Indian IT companies in the US and small and medium-sized contractual firms mostly owned by Indian-Americans.