Stocks in news: HUL, Infosys, M&M, Titan, AU Bank, ITC, Mankind, Adani Power & NPTC

Indian benchmark indices continued to settle lower on Wednesday as they erased all the mid-day due to fag-end selling for the day amid muted Q2 earnings and consistent FII selling. BSE Sensex shed 138.74 points or 0.17 per cent, to end at 80,081.98. NSE's Nifty50 fell 36.60 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 24,435.50. Here are the stocks that may remain under spotlight before the opening bell on Thursday, October 24, 2024:

Q2 results today: ITC, Godrej Consumer Products, NTPC, JSW Energy, IndusInd Bank, Oracle Financial Services Software, Colgate Palmolive (India), Dixon Technologies (India), GMR Airports Infra, Adani Total Gas, Patanjali Foods, Petronet LNG, ACC, United Breweries, Coromandel International Adani Wilmar and more will announce their results for September 2024 quarter later today.

Infosys: The digital services and consulting company unveiled its new and expanded Living Labs to help clients accelerate innovation and leverage emerging technologies for future-proofing their businesses. It also announced a collaboration with the University of Cambridge to establish a new AI Lab in London.

Hindustan Unilever: The FMCG major reported a 4 per cent fall in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2024 to Rs 2,612 crore. The revenue from operations in the reported quarter stood at Rs 15,319 crore, up 2 per cent YoY. The company has declared a total interim dividend of Rs 29 per equity share.

Titan Company: The Tata Group player board has appointed PB Balaji as Nominee Director of Tata Sons on the board of the company, effective October 28.

Mahindra and Mahindra: The automobile company has inaugurated its two development test facilities: the Mahindra Passive Safety Lab and the Battery & Cell Research Lab, in Chennai.

Adani Power: The Adani Group company's board will meet on October 28 to consider raising funds of up to Rs 5,000 crore via public issue and/or private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in one or more tranches.

Mankind Pharma: The pharma company and its subsidiary, Appian Properties, have completed the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in Bharat Serums and Vaccines for Rs 13,768 crore. Post-acquisition, Bharat Serums and Vaccines has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

AU Small Finance Bank: The drug maker reported a 42 per cent YoY rise in net profit for the September quarter at Rs 571 crore, buoyed by the impact of its acquisition of Fincare Small Finance Bank. Operating profit jumped 80 per cent YoY at Rs 1,132 crore. Its net interest margin for the quarter rose to 6.1 per cent, while net interest income grew 58 per cent YoY at Rs 1,974 crore.

Escorts Kubota: The commercial vehicle firm company has entered into a business transfer agreement with Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) for transferring the existing railway equipment business division (RED) as a going concern, on a slump sale basis, for Rs 1,600 crore. This aligns with the company's strategic focus on the agri and construction equipment sectors.

Dr Lal PathLabs: The leading diagnostics firm reported a bigger-than-expected second-quarter profit, driven by continued demand and a rising awareness for health and wellness. The company's consolidated net profit increased 18 per cent YoY to Rs 129 crore  The company operates about 300 labs in India, said it climbed 10 per cent and that it is building back volumes.

NLC India: The coal player has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam for setting up a 3x125 MW lignite-based thermal power station in Rajasthan. It will also develop the mines to meet the fuel requirements of the thermal power station.

Birlasoft: The IT services and solutions provider reported a 12.06 per cent YoY decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 127.5 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. Revenue for the reporting quarter came in at Rs 1,368.2 crore, an uptick of 4.45 per cent YoY.

Signature Global: The real estate player has executed a Sale Deed to sell its property in Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation at Udyog Vihar, Phase-V, Gurugram, to Culture Holidays India for Rs 25.5 crore.

Karnataka Bank: The private lender reported a net profit of Rs 336.07 crore for the second quarter of FY25, up 1.76 per cent YoY. Net interest income (NIIs) for Q2 FY25 rose by 1.36 per cent YoY to Rs 833.56 crore but the net interest margin (NIM) dipped to 3.23 per cent in Q2 FY25. Gross NPA fell 33 bps to 3.21 per cent.

Kalpataru Projects International: The company board will meet on October 28 to consider its unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and half-year ended September 2024, as well as a proposal for raising funds via Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP).