Stocks in Focus on March 31: Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank to SpiceJet; here are the expected Newsmakers of the Day

Stocks in Focus on March 31: Equity benchmark Sensex plunged over 1,375 points on Monday, March 30, 2020, tracking losses in global equities as an unabated spike in COVID-19 cases across the world have hammered economic growth, sending the world into an economic recession. The 30-share BSE barometer closed 1,375.27 points or 4.61 per cent lower at 28,440.32. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 379.15 points, or 4.33 per cent, to 8,281.10. But certain stocks came in news after the market was closed and can impact the indices when it reopens on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. List of such five stocks:

Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel has extended the pre-paid pack validity for over 8 crore customers to April 17, enabling them to get incoming calls even if the validity has ended. The company will also provide these users with unrestricted incoming services till 17 April and Rs 10 talk time. The action was taken to shield its low-income user base during the three-week nationwide lockdown to curb the novel Coronavirus epidemic. 

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IndusInd Bank: The bank in an investor concall on Monday provided an update on the impact of COVID-19 and the steps it is taking to strengthen the business. The private lenders said that it expects its credit cost (bad loan provisioning as a percentage of loan book) to be around 2-2.10% (200 to 210 basis point) in March 2020 quarter, which indicates a rise in bad loans. In March quarter so far, the bank witnessed 10-11 per cent fall in deposits. The bank expects its commercial vehicle (CV) segment (12 per cent of loans) to be the first to bounce back once the situation normalises.

Fortis Healthcare: ICRA has upgraded the company's long-term rating to ICRA A- from ICRA BBB+.

Textile companies in Focus: Indian Textile industry has asked the government to announce a bailout package for them and protect them from FOREX losses. Losses in forex contracts could run into crores of rupees for the exporters that had used anticipated dollar receivables to enter into contracts with banks.

SpiceJet: HDFC Trustee Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC, has bought 3.4 crore shares or 5.45% stake in low fare airline SpiceJet.