Stocks to Watch: Maruti, gas distribution firms, Titan, ONGC, CreditAccess Grameen

Stocks in focus today: The Indian equity market is expected to see a flat opening on Monday (April 10) as indicated by SGX Nifty. At 08:28 am, the Singapore Exchange Nifty traded 0.06 per cent lower at 17,706.5 levels. On Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 143.6 points or 0.24 per cent higher at 59,832.97 levels while the broader Nifty50 settled at 17,599.15, up 42 points or 0.24 per cent. Equities were closed on Friday on account of Good Friday.

Let's take a look at some of the stocks that may remain in focus during today's session:

Gas distribution companies such as Mahanagar Gas Ltd, Petronet LNG, and Gujarat Gas Ltd, among others are expected to hog the limelight as the companies slashed the prices of CNG and PNG after the government on Friday indexed domestic gas prices to crude with a cap of $6.57 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units), delinking them from rates at gas hubs in surplus markets such as the US, Canada, and Russia.

Maruti: Foreign brokerage Goldman Sachs has downgraded the stock to neutral with a target price of Rs 8,800/share from Rs 11,000/share. The brokerage said the downgrade was due to persistent weakness in small car demand.

Titan Company: The Tata Group-owned company released its March quarter business update on Friday, wherein it posted a healthy double-digit growth across all of its key businesses, with revenues growing by 25 per cent YoY, aided by higher growth contributions from watches and wearables and emerging businesses.

Sobha: The real estate company reported pre-sales of Rs 1,463.4 crore for the March quarter, up 26 per cent YoY and marginally up on a quarterly basis. 

Tata Motors: The company's flagship unit Jaguar Land Rover registered a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in retail sales at 1.02 lakh units for the quarter ended March, 2023. Nomura has given a 'buy' call to the company with a target price of Rs 508.

CreditAccess Grameen: The microfinance lender's disbursements improved to Rs 7,171 crore in Q4, thus registering a growth of 24 per cent YoY. 

ONGC: The company informed that its board has approved the acquisition of a 23.04 per cent stake in Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd.

Ramkrishna Forgings: The company has renewed a contract with a North America-based firm till December 31, 2027

Godrej Properties (GPL)'s in its Q4 business update said its sales volumes for the full financial year grew by 40 per cent in area terms. Q4 FY23 collections came in at Rs 3,822 crore, up 52 per cent YoY and 127 per cent QoQ.

Shakti Pumps: The firm has received a patent for inventing a "Switching Circuit To Start Single Phase-Induction Motor". Shakti Pumps received this patent from "Intellectual Property India, a Ministry of Commerce & Industry Organisation". The patent will hold a validity of 20 years.