Indian equity markets are likely to open on a negative note on Thursday as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-down start for benchmark indices, with a loss of 189.50 points or 1.70%. The Nifty futures were trading around 16,773.50 level on the Singaporean Exchange. “Markets on Wednesday remained in a tight range with increased volatility ahead of F&O monthly expiry and uncertain global environment. Nifty has been witnessing selling pressure at higher levels with the range shifting lower every day. While the Russia- Ukraine conflict seems to be mostly factored in by the market, other events like assembly election, commodity inflation, Fed rate hike and consistent FII selling are likely to be overhang on the market in the near term, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Stocks to watch on Thursday, 24 February 2022

RIL: Bernstein said on Wednesday it has an ‘outperform’ rating on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) with a target price of Rs 2,830. It expects the oil-to-telecom conglomerate’s retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), to grow at a CAGR of around 30% over FY22-FY25 with expanding margins. “Reliance Retail continues to execute strongly, has grown its retail footprint by 39 percent since the pandemic, added multiple brands and expanded digital/new commerce,” the brokerage said in a research report.

Bharti Airtel, Indus Towers: British telco major Vodafone announced the launch of a block deal earlier on February 23 to sell 2.4 per cent stake in Indus Towers, India’s largest telecom tower firm. “Vodafone Group Plc holds 757.8 million shares in Indus Towers Limited, equivalent to a 28.1% shareholding. 190.7 million of these shares, equivalent to a 7.1% shareholding, are currently pledged to Indus as part of the security arrangements entered into between Vodafone and Indus at the time of the merger of Indus Towers with Bharti Infratel,” the UK-based telco said in a disclosure to the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The promoters of the joint venture Indus Towers, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group, currently hold 41.73 percent and 28.12 percent stake in the company, respectively.

Wipro: Wipro Limited announced that it has joined the global partnership network of o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making. The partnership combines o9 Solutions’ demand management, sales and operations/business planning suite with Wipro’s integrated digital and domain expertise. o9 Solutions’ AI-powered, insights-based planning capabilities will also enhance Wipro’s existing supply chain capabilities, helping global companies effectively manage end-to-end supply chain functions and deliver significant business values.

Vedanta: Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday said its board of directors will consider on March 2 a third interim dividend for fiscal year 2021-22. “The board of directors of the company on Wednesday, 2 March 2022, will consider and approve third interim dividend on equity shares, if any, for the financial year 2021-22,” the company informed the stock exchanges. The record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the equity shareholders for the said dividend, if declared, is being fixed as Thursday, 10 March 2022.

Sun Pharma: Sun Pharma’s US arm Taro has acquired a skin care company Alchemee for USD 90 million from derma focused pharma company Galderma. Alchemee which was till last year known as The Proactiv Company has the Proactiv line of products used to treat acne. The anti-acne brand that at one time had a billion dollar in sales in the US and was endorsed by celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. The acquisition is viewed as positive.

Dabur India: Dabur India has announced an exclusive partnership with Indian Oil to offer its range of products to nearly 14 crore Indane LPG consumers across the country. Under this partnership, Indane LPG distributors will become retail business partners for the homegrown FMCG major and help sell its products directly to LPG consumer households through their network of delivery personnel.

Powergrid: The board of state-run Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has approved the transfer of 26% residual equity in POWERGRID Vizag Transmission Ltd to PGInvIT, according to a regulatory filing. “The Board of Directors of POWERGRID in their meeting held today i.e. 23 February, 2022 have approved transfer of 26 per cent residual equity shareholding in POWERGRID Vizag Transmission Ltd to PGInvIT,” a BSE filing said.