Top stocks in news: Maruti Suzuki, MCX, Voda Idea, Auro Pharma, NMDC, RailTel

Domestic benchmark indices kicked off 2026 on a mixed note and ended flat amid a lack of global cues, with investor focus expected to shift soon to December quarter earnings. On Thursday, the BSE Sensex fell 32 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 85,188.60, while the NSE’s Nifty50 rose 16.95 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 26,146.55. Here are the stocks that may remain in focus ahead of the opening bell on Friday, January 02, 2026:

Corporate actions today: Shares of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) shall trade ex-split, while shares of CWD, Magnanimous Trade & Finance and Pro Fin Capital Services shall trade ex-bonus today. Corona Remedies will announce its results for the September 2025 quarter today.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd: India's largest carmaker closed the calendar year with its strongest-ever sales performance, highlighting resilient demand despite an SUV-heavy market. The country’s largest carmaker reported its highest sales in 42 years, with combined domestic and export volumes in December crossing 2.17 lakh units, up 32 per cent year-on-year.

Vodafone Idea Ltd: The telecom operator has received an order from the Office of the Additional Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Ahmedabad South, confirming a penalty of Rs 638 crore. The order has been passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and includes the demand for tax along with applicable interest.

NMDC: The state-run miner produced 5.40 MT in December 2025, up 14.7 per cent from 4.71 MT in the year-ago period. This included 1.52 MT from Karnataka and 3.88 MT from Chhattisgarh. Sales in December rose to 4.64 MT from 3.91 MT a year earlier. Chhattisgarh accounted for 3.21 MT, while Karnataka contributed 1.43 MT.

Sapphire Foods India: The KFC and Pizza Hut operator is set to merge into Devyani International which also operates the QSR chains in the country. Devyani will issue 177 shares for every 100 shares of Sapphire as part of the deal and it expects annual synergies of Rs 210 crore to Rs 225 crore from the second full year of operations.

Aurobindo Pharma: The pharma company's wholly owned arm, Auro Pharma, has acquired the branded non-oncology prescription formulations business of Khandelwal Laboratories on a going-concern basis. The all-cash transaction is valued at Rs 325 crore. The acquisition was completed through a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) and is effective from January 1, 2026.

RailTel Corporation of India: The state-run railway company has received a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from the Assam Health Infrastructure Development & Management Society (AHIDMS) for the procurement, implementation, and maintenance of a Hospital Management Information System (HMIS). The estimated size of the order is Rs 56.71 crore.

Indian Bank: The state-run bank reported double-digit year-on-year growth in key balance-sheet metrics for the third quarter of FY26. Total business rose 13.4 per cent to Rs 14.30 lakh crore in Q3FY26, while gross advances increased 14.5 per cent to Rs 6.40 lakh crore, indicating continued credit growth.

Time Technoplast: The plastic and industrial products player has received approval from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) and TÜV Rheinland (India) for the manufacture and supply of high-pressure Type-3 fully wrapped fibre-reinforced composite cylinders of 2-litre capacity for compressed gas applications.

MOIL: The state-owned metal player announced the fixation and revision of prices for various grades of manganese ore and other products for the quarter January–March 2026, with the updated rates effective from January 1. all Ferro grades of manganese ore with Manganese content of Mn-44 per cent and above have been increased by 3 per cent over prices.

South Indian Bank: The Kerala-based private lender reported steady business momentum for the December quarter, with double-digit growth in both advances and deposits, supported by a healthy rise in CASA balances. Its gross advances rose 11.27 per cent YoY to Rs 96,765 crore as of December 31, 2025.

Akzo Nobel India: The paints and coatings maker has received an order from the Karnataka GST Department revising the pending tax demand for the financial year 2018–19. The matter relates to a show-cause notice issued by the Karnataka GST Department on June 27, 2025, which had proposed a total demand of Rs 176.65 crore.

Olectra Greentech: The automobile firm has declared December 31, 2025, as the commercial operation date for its greenfield electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, with an annual per-shift production capacity of 2,500 buses. This Phase-I capacity achievement of 2,500 buses per annum represents 50% of the planned per-shift annual capacity of 5,000 buses.

Punjab & Sind Bank: The PSU lender reported steady business growth for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, as per provisional figures. Total business rose to Rs 2.49 lakh crore, up 3.49 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 11.84 per cent year-on-year, reflecting continued expansion across key balance-sheet parameters.