Stocks in focus: Vedanta, ITC, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Solara Active, banks, financials, auto stocks and more

Nifty futures were trading 26 points up at 11,872 on Singaporean Exchange, suggesting a positive start for the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on Friday. All eyes will be glued to the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision. The monetary policy address will be given by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das at 10 am today. Besides, market participants will track stock-specific action, rising COVID-19 cases, oil prices, rupee movement and other global cues. In the early deals on Friday, Asian peers were seen trading mixed, while US stocks ended higher in the overnight trade US stimulus talks restarted.”Participants will now be eyeing the outcome of the MPC’s policy meet. It is widely expected that RBI would maintain the status quo on rates, however, the commentary on growth, moratorium and inflation would be actively tracked,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Stocks in focus today:

Rate sensitive stocks: The rate-sensitive stocks such as from bank, financial real estate, and auto sector will react to the monetary policy decision. Analysts expect RBI MPC will maintain status quo on the benchmark lending rates and accommodative stance in today monetary policy.

Vedanta: Around 74 crore shares of Vedanta Ltd have been tendered in the buyback offer made by promoters to delist the company. A total of 134 crore shares or 86 per cent of 169.73 crore shares held by public shareholders need to be tendered for the delisting to succeed.

ITC: Cigarette-to-soap maker ITC, which forayed into the pouch milk category two years ago, will focus on expanding its range and footprint of fresh dairy products in eastern India in the next few years. “For the pouch milk and fresh dairy offerings, we will focus on east India for superior business in the next few years,” Sanjay Singal, chief operating officer, Dairy and Beverages, ITC, said.

LIC Housing Finance: LIC Housing Finance has launched Project RED (re-imagining excellence through digital transformation). The company plans to implement it in the next 21 months. The lender said its business was back to pre-Covid levels in September, and it expects the momentum to continue with the onset of the festive season.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank: Troubled private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) on Thursday said it has received an indicative non-binding offer from Clix Group, moving a step closer to an amalgamation of the group’s entities with itself.

Solara Active Pharma Sciences: Ascent India Fund III sold 3.41 lakh shares of the pharmaceuticals company Solara Active Pharma Sciences at Rs 1,212.64 per share, according to bulk deals data.

Majesco: Majesco’s board has approved a buyback plan of up to Rs 631.26 crore. The buyback will be done through the tender offer route.