Stocks to Watch: Lenskart, BPCL, Hindalco Among 10 Key Shares in Focus Today

Indian Stock Market Declines Amid Global Uncertainty

The Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty 50, closed lower on Tuesday, May 19, due to profit booking and mixed global signals. Investor sentiment remained cautious due to ongoing concerns surrounding the US-Iran conflict, high crude oil prices, and weakness in the rupee.

The Sensex declined by 114 points, or 0.15%, to settle at 75,200.85, while the Nifty 50 slipped 32 points, or 0.14%, to close at 23,618. Trends in the Gift Nifty index signaled a negative opening on Wednesday, with the index trading near the 23,433 mark, up over 127.50 points from the previous close of Nifty futures.

Market analysts expect sentiment across Indian markets to remain fragile, with rising energy prices, currency weakness, and uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict continuing to weigh on investor confidence. As the market points towards a negative start, some stocks are likely to remain in focus on Wednesday due to their own positive/negative triggers.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

Stocks to Watch

The following companies will declare Q4 results on Wednesday, making their shares likely to remain in focus:

Key results from companies that have already declared their Q4 results include:

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation posted a 57.7% quarter-on-quarter fall in its fourth-quarter net profit to ₹3,192 crore, weighed down by exceptional items amounting to ₹4,349 crore.
• Hindalco Industries' subsidiary, Novelis, posted a net loss of $84 million in the fourth quarter, against a profit of $294 million in the same period last year, impacted by fire incidents at its Oswego facility in the US during September and November.
• Mankind Pharma posted a largely muted performance in the fourth quarter, with net profit declining 30.4% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹420.8 crore. Revenue increased 11.8% to ₹3,443 crore, while EBITDA surged 36.1% to ₹930 crore.
• Bharat Electronics posted a 5% YoY increase in consolidated net profit for the March quarter, driven by consistent execution of defence projects and growth in operational revenue.
• Maruti Suzuki has commenced commercial production at the second unit of its Kharkhoda manufacturing plant in Haryana, effective May 18.
• Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported a consolidated net loss of ₹104 crore for the quarter ended March, compared with a net profit of ₹188 crore in the corresponding period last year.
• JSW Energy announced that it will increase its stake in Toshiba JSW Power Systems from 10.7% to 20.7% by acquiring shares from Toshiba Corp through a secondary share purchase transaction worth ₹150 crore.
• Sula Vineyards announced that Abhishek Kapoor has stepped down as the company's Chief Financial Officer and Key Managerial Personnel, with effect from July 14.