Indian equity markets are likely to open higher on Wednesday amid positive global cues. SGX Nifty hinted at a flat to positive start for benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50. Nifty futures were up 17 points, or 0.10% at 17,873 on the Singapore Exchange ahead of today’s session. “We expect Nifty to consolidate at higher levels and inch upwards towards the 18,000 mark. Investors would also keep an eye on the minutes from US Fed July meeting, for further clues on its rate hike stance,” 

Stocks in focus on 17 August, Wednesday

Adani Enterprises: Shares of Adani Enterprises surged on Tuesday to hit a fresh record high of Rs 2,985 apiece on the BSE, days after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared the billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate’s acquisition of Holcim’s stake in cement firms Ambuja Ltd and ACC Ltd. In a tweet on Friday, the anti-trust regulator approved the “acquisition of the stake in Holderind Investments, Ambuja Cements and ACC by Endeavour Trade and Investment”.

Cipla: The pharmaceutical major on August 16 said its board has approved the appointment of Ashish Adukia as the Global Chief Financial Officer and Key Managerial Personnel of the company. In a stock exchange filing, the company said the new appointment will relieve Dinesh Jain from the additional responsibility of interim Chief Financial Officer. Jain will continue as Senior Vice-President and Head-Corporate Finance.

Adani Transmission: The company crossed the Rs 4 lakh crore mark in market capitalisation for the first time and became the second Adani Group and 15th Indian listed firm to hit this milestone. In terms of market cap, it has overtaken telecom giant Bharti Airtel, cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate ITC, and paint maker Asian Paints. It is the eleventh most valuable company in India currency and is counted among multibaggers stocks that have delivered more than three times returns to its investors.

Hindustan Zinc: The government has zeroed in on five merchant bankers, including ICICI Securities, Axis Capital and Citi Group, to manage the Centre’s 29.53% residual stake sale in Hindustan Zinc (HZL) in the open market tranches. The other bankers, which have been selected by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam), are HDFC Bank and IIFL Securities. Six bankers, which were shortlisted from the applicants, made their presentations before Dipam on August 12.

NTPC: The state-owned power company floated a tender to raise Rs 5,000 crore term loan from financial institutions. The bids can be submitted till 1100 hours on August 31. The minimum amount of loan offered by banks or FIs should be Rs 500 crore or in multiple of Rs 500 crore, according to the document.

SAIL: The state-owned steel maker will produce some quantity of special rails used in high-speed freight corridors and metro rail projects this year, according to a company official. It has set up a facility for the production of head hardened (HH) rails at the new Universal Rail Mill (URM) at its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh.

Mahanagar Gas: The gas distributor cut the prices of kitchen fuel PNG and automobile fuel CNG, following an increase in allocation of domestically produced natural gas from the government. The price of PNG has been reduced by Rs 4 per standard cubic metre to Rs 48.50 per SCM, while that of CNG by Rs 6 a kilogram to Rs 80 per kg.

HDFC Asset Management Company: Promoter BRDN Investment Management divested its 5.58 per cent stake or 1.19 crore shares in the mutual fund sponsor for Rs 1,935.63 apiece aggregating to Rs 2,303.4 crore through an open market transaction, according to the bulk deal data from BSE.