Top stocks in news: TechM, Tata Steel, Wipro, HexT, Auro Pharma, CleanMax, Midhani, CESC

Indian benchmark indices managed to post decent gains on Tuesday led by bargain hunting, despite West Asia uncertainties. The BSE Sensex advanced 567.99 points, or 0.75 per cent, to close at 76,070.84, while NSE's Nifty50 jumped 172.35 points, or 0.74 per cent, to end at 23,581.15. Here are the stocks that may remain under spotlight before the opening bell on Wednesday, March 18, 2026:

Corporate actions today: Gaudium IVF and Women Health will announce its Q3 results today, while shares of Mishra Dhatu Nigam and Banco Products (India) shall trade ex-dividend. SAIL and Sammaan Capital remain in F&O ban.

Swan Defence and Heavy Industries: Promoter Hazel Infra will sell up to 26.38 lakh equity shares (5.01 per cent stake) via an offer-for-sale on March 18–19. The floor price for the offer is Rs 1,900 per share.

Tech Mahindra: The IT solutions company’s subsidiary, Tech Mahindra London, has executed a share sale and purchase agreement with Midad Company to acquire Midad’s 20 per cent equity stake in Tech Mahindra Arabia, a subsidiary of the company, for Rs 206.2 crore. Post this transaction, Tech Mahindra Arabia will become a wholly owned subsidiary.

Tata Steel: The company board has approved the merger of Neelachal Ispat Nigam with Tata Steel. It will also invest up to $2 billion (around Rs 18,488.10 crore) via subscription to equity shares of its foreign subsidiary, T Steel Holdings, in one or more tranches from FY2026–27 onwards.

Wipro: The software solutions player has announced a collaboration with Harness, an AI software delivery platform company, to help global enterprises accelerate AI-native software delivery with greater speed, reliability, and governance.

Shree Cement: The cement company has been declared the preferred bidder for the Dommara Nandyala-1 limestone block in YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, which spans an area of 373 hectares.

Varun Beverages: The beverage bottler player's subsidiary, The Beverage Company Proprietary, has executed an agreement to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in Crickley Dairy Proprietary, South Africa, for Rs 131.4 crore. The acquisition aims to diversify its product portfolio into new categories, including value-added dairy and juice-based drinks.

Hexaware Technologies: The IT services player has launched Agentverse, an enterprise AI agent platform featuring 600+ ready-to-deploy AI agents designed to help organizations operationalise agentic AI across business and technology functions.

Aurobindo Pharma: The USFDA inspected Unit-II of the company’s subsidiary, Eugia Pharma Specialities, at RIICO Industrial Area, Rajasthan, from November 3 to November 14, 2025, and issued a Form 483 with nine observations. Subsequently, the USFDA has classified the inspection status of this unit as Official Action Indicated (OAI).

Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions: The recently listed energy solutions player returned to black as the company reported a net profit of Rs 21 crore, while its revenue increased 13 per cent YoY to Rs 423 crore for the December 2025 quarter. It clocked an ebitda of Rs 307 crore, up 40 per cent YoY. It has a total energy sale (contracted capacity) of about 5.7 GW as of March 1, 2026.

JK Cement: The cement maker's subsidiary, JK Cement Saifco (Saifco), has received a notice from the Office of the Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology Department (Enforcement), Jammu & Kashmir, citing lack of packaging registration, a non-functional customer care number, and non-verification of electronic weighing scales.

CESC: The utility solutions player has issued four letters of award (LoA) to the following entities—Purvah Green Power (its subsidiary), Vismaya Renewables India Projects, Hexa Climate Solutions, and Spring Energy—for setting up wind-solar hybrid power projects.

Ceigall India: The infra company’s subsidiary, Ceigall Infra Projects, has emerged as the L1 bidder for two projects worth Rs 207 crore from Punjab Infrastructure Development. The projects involve the construction and development of world-class urban streets in Ludhiana under the Hybrid Annuity Model.

India Glycols: The company board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 7.5 per share for FY2025–26 and has fixed March 23 as the record date to determine shareholders’ eligibility for the dividend.

Strides Pharma Science: The pharma company, through its subsidiary Strides Pharma International (SPIAG), has entered into definitive agreements with Sandoz AG, Switzerland, and its group entities for the acquisition and in-licensing of a portfolio of branded generic products across sub-Saharan Africa including multiple brands across anti-infective, cardiovascular, and dermatology therapeutic segments.

Mafatlal Industries: The textile player company has secured a five-year order worth Rs 114 crore from the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) for setting up 500 robotic laboratories across 16 districts in Odisha under the School and Mass Education Department.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries: Manufacturing operations at one of the two high-pressure moulding lines at the Solapur plant have been temporarily affected from March 17 until further notice. The management is monitoring the current supply chain crisis and exploring alternate sources or resources to minimise the impact of the disruption.

Tamilnadu Petroproducts: The company’s HCD plant has been shut down due to business factors arising from the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. This temporary shutdown constitutes a force majeure event, as it is beyond the company’s control, and the impact cannot be quantified at this stage.