L&T, Maruti, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's, TCS, Godrej Consumer among top stocks to watch today

Stocks to watch on Wednesday: At 8:15 AM, GIFT Nifty futures traded 2.05 points, or 0.01 per cent, lower at 21,623, indicating a muted start for domestic equities today.

Benchmark equity indices declined on Tuesday, a day after recording sharp gains, with BSE Sensex falling over 1 per cent due to selling in Reliance Industries, ITC, and Bajaj Finance.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 801.67 points, or 1.11 per cent to settle at 71,139.90. During the day, it plummeted 865.85 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 71,075.72. The Nifty declined 215.50 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 21,522.10.

Here, we go through the stocks that can be in the limelight on Wednesday (January 31, 2024).

Dr Reddy's Laboratories

One of India's leading pharmaceutical companies, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, announced its December quarter results on Tuesday (January 30, 2024), reporting a 10.74 per cent jump in its consolidated PAT YoY.

The company's consolidated profit after tax (PAT) beat Zee Business research estimates of Rs 1310 crore, as it rose to Rs 1381 crore in the December quarter from Rs 1247 crore year-on-year (YoY).

L&T

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,947 crore for the October-December period, an increase of 15.4 per cent compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

However, the infrastructure conglomerate's net profit for the fiscal third quarter fell short of analysts' estimates.

L&T registered revenue of Rs 55,128 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, as against Rs 46,390 crore for the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

Jubilant FoodWorks

The company said on Tuesday that Domino’s, India's largest food service brand, has announced that it has joined the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) Network.

"With this integration, Domino’s catalogue will be seen on all apps that a consumer is shopping from across a network that is rapidly developing while seamlessly facilitating transactions," said the company in a statement on Tuesday. Customers in Delhi, NCR, can order Domino’s Pizza via ONDC, and other cities will be live soon, says the company.

TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday announced a 15-year expansion of its partnership with Aviva, the UK’s leading insurance, wealth, and retirement provider, to transform Aviva’s UK life business and enhance customer experience leveraging the TCS BaNCSTM-based platform.

As part of this, the end-to-end policy administration and servicing will expand to cover over 5.5 million policies, to be managed by Diligenta, TCS’ FCA-regulated subsidiary in the UK, on behalf of Aviva, the company said in a statement.

Gillette India Limited

The company on Tuesday declared an interim dividend of Rs. 85 per equity share with a face value of Rs. 10 each (including a one-time special dividend of Rs. 40 per share) for the company's financial year 2023–24.

The said interim dividend will be payable to those shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members of the company or the records of the depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as of the close of business hours on Thursday, February 8, 2024 (the record date), it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Astral

Astral, a pioneer in the manufacturing of CPVC pipes and fittings, also announced its third-quarter results on Tuesday, indicating consolidated revenue growth of 10 per cent, PAT growth of 39.8 per cent and plumbing volume growth of 24 per cent for 9M FY 2023-24.

KPI Green

On Tuesday, the company got a new order of 5 MW for executing a solar power project by M/s. KPIG Energia Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company under the ‘Captive Power Producer (CPP)’ segment of the company.

Voltas

The Tata Group company, which is into AC manufacturing, reported a mixed set of results for the December quarter. The company for the period under review posted a loss of Rs 28 crore versus a loss of Rs 111 crore in the same period last year. Zee Business estimated the company to report a Rs 87 crore profit. Revenue at the company edged higher by 31 per cent on year, while margins shrank to 1.1 per cent from 3.8 per cent in Q3 FY23.

SRF

The specialty chemicals company posted weak Q3 results with profit declining 50 per cent on year, while margins also declined considerably YoY to 19.1 per cent versus 24.5 per cent in the same period last year.  The company expects performance improving in the chemicals business and is confident of a significantly improved performance in Q4.

M&M Finance:

The NBFC company posted Q3 results better than estimates, nevertheless, the management has cut guidance for NIM and loan growth. Profit at the company declined 12.1 per cent on year, but came in better than estimates at Rs 552.8 crore. NII or net interest income also inched higher by 9.4 per cent. CLSA has retained its buy call on the counter with a raised target of Rs 360 per share.

PB Fintech:

In Q3, the fintech firm posted profit for the first time on a consolidated basis. Revenues at the firm grew 42.8 per cent on year. For the period under review, the company reported PAT of Rs 38 crore compared to Rs 87 crore loss in the same period last year. 

Cochin Shipyard: 

The PSU company posted good Q3 results with profit increasing 2.2 times on year to Rs 244 crore. Meanwhile, the company's topline also increased 65 per cent on year. 

Kaynes Technology: 

For the December quarter, the company reported 95.6 per cent increase in profit on year, while revenues surged 76.1 per cent YoY.  Margins, however, came in lower at 13.7 per cent versus 14.2 per cent in the same period last year.