Stocks to watch: Muthoot Finance, RIL, UCO Bank, Prakash Industries, Airtel

Nifty futures on the SGX traded at 14,930, up 0.45 per cent, around 8.25 am, indicating a positive start for the benchmark indices on Thursday. 

Here are the top stocks that are likely to be in focus today:

Muthoot Finance: The company is planning to raise Rs 1,700 crore through public issue of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures. The issue opens on April 8 and will close on April 29.

Reliance Industries: Sebi imposed a total penalty of Rs 25 crore on Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, other individuals and entities for non-compliance with takeover norms in a Reliance Industries case dating back to 2000. READ HERE

Ashok Leyland: The company said it has decided to form two new subsidiaries as part of its plans to strengthen green transport solutions. The first unit -- Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd -- is being formed to carry on the electric vehicle strategy in India and forms part of its global entity. The second subsidiary -- OHM Global Mobility Pvt Ltd -- will focus on providing mobility as a service offering.

Tanla Platforms: The communications services firm announced the appointment of Aravind Viswanathan as chief financial officer effective June 1, 2021. Viswanathan joins the company from Wipro, where he served as senior vice president and CFO -– iDEAS Global Business Line.

Wipro: The IT major said it has appointed former Walmart executive Subha Tatavarti as its Chief Technology Officer. The company has also appointed Suzanne Dann as Senior Vice President and Sector Head for Capital Markets and Insurance, North America region.

UCO Bank: The lender on Wednesday said its board has approved allotment of preference shares to the government for infusing Rs 2,600 crore capital.

IRCTC: The company has temporarily suspended Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express until April 30, due to recent increase in coronavirus cases.

Hindustan Copper: The company said the company opened its qualified institutional placement issue for subscription on April 7. The floor price has been fixed at Rs 125.79 per share.

Vedanta: Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources Ltd's sweetened offer to buy back 17.5 per cent share in its Indian flagship firm was subscribed 57.5 per cent, helping it raise its stake to about 65 per cent. If the maximum 651 million shares would have got tendered the promoter stake would have increased to72.6 per cent. 

Airtel: Bharti Airtel announced an integrated platform that enables enterprises to leverage the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and gear up for the emerging era of 'connected things'.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality: UTI Mutual Fund bought 2.50 lakh shares at Rs 579.62 per share while Integrated Core Strategies Asia PTE sold 4.01 lakh shares at Rs 545.15 per share.

Prakash Industries: In Q4FY20-21, Prakash Industries achieved the highest-ever sales of around 2,72,142 tonnes of steel,up 31.16 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 8.85 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). In FY21, the company achieved the highest-ever sales of around 9,54,760 tonnes of steel, a growth of 3.13 per cent over FY20 despite disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Godrej Consumer Products: In Q4FY21, in India, Godrej Consumer expects to deliver sales growth around the thirties, driven by strong volume growth and calibrated price increases.