HUL, ITC, Cyient, HCL Technologies, Cyient, Mphasis, UBL, and Zomato among top stocks to track today

Stocks to watch: At around 8:05 a.m. on Friday, October 20, the GIFT Nifty futures traded 99.6 points, or 0.51 per cent, lower at 19,516.5 suggesting a negative opening of the market.

Mirroring weak global markets, Indian equity benchmarks continued their losing run for the second straight session on Thursday (October 19). Nifty ended below 19,650 levels with a drag of 0.24 per cent, while BSE Sensex ended 248 points lower at 65,629. Sectorally, auto was the top performer, while metal and energy corrected by over 0.5 per cent. Furthermore, a quick recovery from lower levels helped broader markets outperform their frontline peers.

ZeeBiz will take you to the list of stocks that will be on focus on Friday (October 20).

Results today, October 20: CSB Bank, CG Power and Industrial, Central Bank, CreditAccess Grameen, Butterfly Gandhimathi, Glenmark Life Sciences, Hindustan Zinc, and Sunteck Realty, among others, will announce their results for the second quarter (Q2FY24) today.

HUL: Shares of the FMCG company will be on the radar after its Q2 numbers were released after market hours on Thursday (October 19). The firm’s standalone net profit climbed around 4 per cent YoY, beating estimates.

Cyient: The IT-enabled services firm came out with its September results on Thursday (October 19). Net profit at the firm grew marginally quarter-on-quarter to Rs 178 crore in the July-September period as against Rs 168 crore in the June-ended quarter.

Aarti Drugs: The small-cap drug company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 39.6 crore in the Q2 FY24 period. The figure stood at Rs 38.8 crore during the same period last year.

ITC: The cigarettes-to-hotel major posted its Q2 results on Thursday, and on the back of it, its shares will gain traction. The company’s standalone net profit increased during the quarter to Rs 4927 crore as against Rs 4,466 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Havells: The consumer electronics company will be tracked after its financials came in lower than estimates. Margins, however, came in decent at 9.6 per cent.

Voltas: Shares of the Tata Group company will be tracked after its mixed Q2 show. Margins at the firm witnessed a sharp decline and came in lower than estimates.

Mphasis: The IT services company will be tracked post its Q2 results. The company’s revenue and profit for the period under review came in lower than estimates, while margins came in better at 15.5 per cent as against estimates of 15.3 per cent.

Tata Communications: For the Q2 period, the company posted weak results, with profit declining 42.1 per cent to Rs 221 crore on the back of a fall in other income.

United Breweries: The company’s results came in higher than estimates, with impressive growth in volume. JP Morgan has upgraded the counter from neutral to overweight, with a target price of Rs 1,800.

Zomato: SVF Growth Fund is likely to offload a 1.1 per cent stake, or 93,569,368 equity shares, in the online food delivery major on Friday, October 20. The deal will likely take place at a floor price of Rs 109.4–Rs 111.65 per equity share. The fund, as of September 30, held a 2.17 per cent stake in Zomato.

Sonata Software: The IT company’s board will meet on October 25 to mull bonus share issuance, together with Q2 results.

Natco Pharma: The shares of the pharma company will be the focus after it announced the completion of an inspection of its pharma division in Kothur, Hyderabad, by the USFDA and the subsequent issuance of eight observations.

Hindalco/NALCO: Shares of Hindalco and NALCO will be in focus after ALCOA reported weak results due to lower aluminium prices, and its stock was down 8.6 per cent in Friday's trade. In the last two days, ALCOA has lost around 12.7 per cent. Hindalco will be in more focus as it has international subsidiaries Aleris and Novelis.

Jindal Stainless: Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) on Thursday said its consolidated net profit has more than doubled to Rs 764.03 crore in the September quarter, on the back of higher income. It had clocked Rs 347.02 crore net profit in the year-ago period, JSL said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Corporate actions:

Ex-dividend: Shares of KPI Green, Anand Rathi Wealth, Angel One, HCL Technologies, and Dalmia Bharat will trade ex-dividend today.