Stocks to Watch: RIL, Asian Paints, HUL, BoM, PNB Housing, VodaIdea, Biocon

Bandhan Bank, HDFC Life, Hindustan Zinc, Voda Idea, Inox Leisure, JSW Steel, Kajaria Ceramics, L&T Fin Holdings, PVR, Reliance Industries, SBI Life and Supriya Lifescience to announce results today

The key benchmark indices seemed poised for yet another negative start, as global cues continue to remain bearish amid fears of US Federal monetary tightening and high oil prices. As of 08:05 AM, the SGX Nifty January futures quoted at 17,670 as against the spot Nifty 50 close of 17,757.

Meanwhile, here are the top stocks in focus for trade today.

Earnings Watch: 20 Microns, Bandhan Bank, CSB Bank, Elixir Capital, Gland Pharma, HDFC Life, Heritage Foods, Hindustan Zinc, IDBI Bank, Vodafone Idea, Inox Leisure, JSW Steel, Jyothy Labs, Kabra Extrusion, Kajaria Ceramics, L&T Finance Holdings, Max Ventures, Pioneer Distilleries, PNB Gilts, Polycab India, Ponni Sugars, PVR, Ramco Industries, Reliance Industries, SBI Life, Supreme Petrochem, Supriya Lifescience, Tanla Platforms, Vinyl Chemicals and Wendt India are some of the companies to announce December quarter results today.

Further over the weekend, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank shall be announcing the Q3 earnings.

Reliance Industries (RIL): The Mukesh Ambani-led firm is expected to see strong growth in net profit and sales for the December quarter (Q3), aided by an improved performance in oil-to-chemicals, retail, and Jio business verticals, said brokerages. Analysts expect profit to grow on both a year-on-year (YoY) and sequential basis. READ MORE

Asian Paints: The paint major reported 18 per cent decline in Q3 net at Rs 1,015.7 crore as higher input costs hurt margins. However, two price hikes in the December quarter (Q3), which took the cumulative increase to 15 per cent, helped Asian Paints reverse four consecutive quarters of falling margins. The company posted a gross profit margin of 37.5 per cent, 180 basis points (bps) higher on a sequential basis while operating profit margins rose 540 bps sequentially to 19.6 per cent. READ MORE

Hindustan Unilever: The FMCG major posted better than expected performance for the quarter ended December 2021 (Q3FY22) on all fronts -- sales, operating profit, and net profit. The company's Q3FY22 net rose 18.6 per cent YoY to Rs 2,297 crore when compared with Rs 1,937 crore in Q3FY21. Revenue increased by 10.3 per cent from Rs 12,181 crore to Rs 13,439 crore. READ MORE

Biocon: The pharma company reported a 17.7 per cent YoY jump in Q3FY22 net profit at Rs 219.60 crore from Rs 186.60 crore in Q3FY21. Total income rose 17.9 per cent to Rs 2,222.50 crore from Rs 1,885.30 crore.

Persistent Systems: The company’s Q3FY22 net rose by 45.9 per cent YoY to Rs 174.40 crore, and revenue increased by 38.7 per cent to Rs 1,491.70 crore on a year on year basis.

MphasiS: The company posted a 9.9 per cent YoY growth in Q3FY22 net profit at Rs 357.68 crore, backed by a  25.6 per cent jump in Q3 revenue at Rs 3,154.36 crore.

Shoppers Stop: The company reported a turnaround in Q3FY22 with a net profit of 77.22 crore as against a net loss of Rs 25.35 crore in Q3FY21. Total income grew by 30.3 per cent to Rs 972.65 crore from Rs 746.45 crore.

PNB Housing Finance: The mortgage lender’s net profit in October-December quarter dropped 19 per cent to Rs 188 crore on the back of a 20 per cent decline in interest income and deteriorating asset quality. PNB’s interest income dropped to Rs 1,411 crore from Rs 1,758 crore. READ MORE

Bank of Maharashtra (BoM): The bank’s Q3FY22 net profit more than doubled to Rs 325 crore on robust growth in net interest income, when compared with Rs 154 crore in Q3FY21.  The profit in Q2FY22 stood at Rs 263 crore. READ MORE

Stocks in F&O ban: BHEL, Escorts, Granules India, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Vodafone Idea are the only stocks in the F&O ban period on Friday.