SGX Nifty indicates a positive start to the trade in Indian equities on May 16, 2023. However, China's industrial data for April, which came below expectations, may dent sentiment. At 08:08 AM, the Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) traded 53.5 points, or 0.29 per cent higher at 18,457 levels. In the overnight trade. US stocks ended higher, and benchmark Treasury yields rose amid flickering optimism that Washington will get past partisan wrangling and reach a debt ceiling deal. Asian stocks were mixed in the early morning deals. Further, China's industrial output grew 5.6 per cent in April from a year earlier. It was well below expectations for a 10.9 per cent increase in a Reuters poll of analysts although it marked the quickest growth since September 2022.

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Here's a look at key stocks that may remain in focus today - 

Oil exploration and upstream companies such as ONGC, RIL, and Oil India as well as aviation stocks are expected to remain in focus today as the government has cut the windfall gain tax on the export of petroleum crude to zero. The government also informed that there is no change in the excise duty on diesel, petrol and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). 

Bharti Airtel: The telecom major is slated to announce its March quarter results today. 

Shares of HDFC Bank and HDFC will trade ex-dividend today. HDFC Bank has recommended a dividend of Rs 19 per share of Re 1 each fully paid up (i.e. 1900 %) out of the net profits for the year ended March 2023.

Indian Oil Corporation: The oil marketing company is also scheduled to release its Q4 earnings today. The company is expected to report a 15.4 times growth in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 6,900 from Rs 448 crore a year ago, according to Zee Business Research.

Pfizer: The drug firm on Monday said its net profit increased by 3 per cent to Rs 130 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 126 crore in the January-March quarter of last year. The total income increased to Rs 604 crore in the fourth quarter as compared with Rs 567 crore in the year-ago period, Pfizer Ltd said in a regulatory filing. For the year ended March 31, 2023, the company reported a net profit of Rs 624 crore as against Rs 613 crore in FY22.

UltraTech Cement: The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary has commissioned 0.8 mtpa brownfield cement capacity at Neem Ka Thana, Rajasthan. UltraTech Cement along with its subsidiary now has a 17.05 mtpa grey cement capacity in Rajasthan and its total grey cement manufacturing capacity, including that of UNCL, now stands at 129.95 mtpa in India.

Berger Paints: The paints company on Monday reported a 15.56 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 186.01 crore for the fourth quarter that ended on March 31, 2023, due to a loss from a fire incident at its Goa plant. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 220.29 crore in the January-March period a year ago, Berger Paints said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 11.7 per cent at Rs 2,443.63 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,187.51 crore in the year-ago period.

LIC Housing Finance — a mortgage lending major that is a subsidiary of insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) — will report its financial results for the quarter that ended March 2023 on Tuesday, May 16. Analysts expect a weak performance from the mortgage lender. 

Bank of Baroda is all set to report its financial results for the January-March period on Tuesday, May 16. Analysts expect the lender — India's second-largest state-run bank by market capitalisation — to clock an overall strong performance backed by improvement in asset quality with a reduction in new bad loans. 

PVR-Inox: Leading cinema exhibitor PVR Inox Ltd (earlier known as PVR Ltd) on Monday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 333.99 crore for the fourth quarter that ended on March 31, 2023. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 105.49 crore in the January-March period a year ago, PVR Inox said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was at Rs 1,143.17 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 536.17 crore in the year-ago period.

Granules India is also expected to announce its March quarter earnings today. The Hyderabad-based pharma company Granules India, which makes the painkiller drug Paracetamol, is all set to report its financial results for the quarter ended March 2023 on Tuesday, May 16. Analysts expect the drug maker's active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and finished dosage formulation (FDF) segments to support its overall growth.