Stocks to watch: Axis Bank, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, IndiGo, PVR, ABFRL, Nalco

Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange were trading 120 points down at 13,860, signalling a gap-down start for the benchmark indices on Thursday. 

Here are the top stocks to watch in today's session:

Axis Bank: The private sector lender reported a 36 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 1,117 crore in the December quarter compared with Rs 1,757 crore a year ago, due to higher provisions. Net interest income, meanwhile, rose 14 per cent YoY to Rs 7,373 crore. READ HERE

HUL: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) posted an 18.87 per cent YoY rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,921 crore in the December quarter. The revenue from the sale of products came in at Rs 11,862 crore, up 21 per cent YoY. READ HERE

Q3 earnings: Maruti Suzuki. Lupin, InterGlobe Aviation, Angel Broking, IRCTC, Tata Chemicals, and TVS Motor Company are among 129 companies slated to announce their December quarter earnings later today.

Maruti Suzuki is expected to post a healthy set of numbers for the December quarter. Analysts are building up to 30 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in the company's bottom-line while revenue is seen growing in the early teens. READ MORE

As for IndiGo, the Street is baking in strong sequential growth amid improved traffic and cost-saving measures. The figures, however, may be half of the previous year. READ MORE

PVR, Inox Leisure: Stocks of multiplex operators will be in focus after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday allowed cinema halls and theatres to operate with more people. At present, cinema screens are operating with 50 per cent seating restrictions. Meanwhile, PVR also launched QIP in order to raise funds. The floor price of Rs 1,495.93 per share is a 0.7% premium to Wednesday's closing price. 

ABFRL: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has announced a strategic partnership with designer brand Sabyasachi by signing a definitive agreement for acquiring 51% stake in Sabyasachi brand.

Union Bank of India: The firm will raise Rs 205 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds later this week. The bank is issuing Basel III compliant perpetual debt instruments in the nature of debentures on a private placement basis.

SBI Card: The company said its Managing Director and CEO Ashwini Kumar Tewari has resigned pursuant to his appointment as MD of State Bank of India.

ICICI Prudential: The private sector insurer reported a marginal 1.3 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 306 crore for the three months to December on higher tax outgo, which whittled down the massive investment gains.

Tata Coffee: Tata Coffee reported a 20 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 50.18 crore for the quarter ended December on higher income. Its net profit stood at Rs 41.99 crore in the year-ago period. Total income rose to Rs 538.19 crore in the third quarter of this financial year from Rs 505.75 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

HCL Tech: HCL Technologies (HCL) has partnered with University of California, Berkeley to create a Health Technology Collaborative Laboratory (CoLab).

JK Paper: JK Paper reported a decline of 51 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 64.59 crore for the third quarter ended December. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 131.85 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago. Its total income was down 9.28 per cent YoY to Rs 770.45 crore.

USL: United Spirits (USL) on Wednesday reported a 20.82 per cent YoY rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 280.3 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020. The company's revenues from operations jumped 7.65 per cent YoY to Rs 8,410.3 crore in the latest December quarter.

Bank of India: The state-run lender has raised Rs 750 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. The issue was over-subscribed with receipt of bids of up to Rs 1,017 crore against the issue size of Rs 750 crore.

OIL: Oil India (OIL) has started its first-ever seismic survey in Tripura, kicking off exploration and production operation in the north-eastern state. OIL commenced a seismic survey in block AA-ONHP-2018/5, the company said in a statement.

GMR Infrastructure: GMR Hyderabad International Airport, a subsidiary of GMR Airports and a step down subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, announced that it had on 26 January 2021 successfully priced an offering of USD 300 million bond in the international bond market.

PNB Housing Finance: The firm reported a nearly flat consolidated net profit at Rs 232 crore in the third quarter ended December against Rs 237 crore posted in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Total revenue during October-December fell by 9 per cent YoY to Rs 1,896 crore.

Nalco: State-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) approved buyback of 13.02 crore shares for about Rs 749.10 crore. The board approved buyback of shaes not exceeding 13,02,79,083 at a price of Rs 57.50 per equity share.

NTPC: The company's 140 MW solar photovoltaic project in Uttar Pradesh started commercial operations.

Power Grid: Power Grid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT), has filed a draft offer document with SEBI, in relation to the proposed IPO. The IPO is proposed to consist of a fresh issue of units by PGInvIT and an offer for sale of units by Power Grid.

Hero MotoCorp: The firm has entered into a distribution agreement with Grupo Salinas in Mexico to form one of the largest distribution networks globally to sell competitive, high-quality products in the Mexican market.