Opening bell: Headline indices trade higher in early deals

On Thursday, domestic equity indices opened on a weak note in the red territory owing to the 75-basis point rate hike by the Federal Reserve and hawkish commentary for aggressive rate hikes in the coming months.

At 9:20 AM, Nifty 50 is trading at levels of 17,630 down by 0.50%. Top large-cap losers include Power Grid Corp, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and HDFC.

Watch out for these buzzing stocks in today’s session!

Venus Pipes & Tubes - The company has approved a capacity expansion of Rs 50 crore for bigger diameter tube mill to manufacture stainless steel welded pipes. This new line will increase the existing welded pipes range to maximum 20” inch (508mm) diameter and thickness up to SCH80s with a capacity by 700 mt per month. The project will be funded through a mix of debt (term loan) & internal accruals and commercial production is expected to start by Q1 FY24.Post completion of both these capacity expansion projects the total welded capacity will increase by almost 3 times from current 700 MT per month to 2,000 MT per month by FY24.

Ashoka Buildcon – The company had submitted its bid to the South Western Railway (“SWR”) and the has received a letter of acceptance (LOA) from SWR for the Project viz. ‘Construction of New BG Line Between Chainage 192 and Chainage 171.640 including electrical & telecommunication works Between Tolahunse (Ex.) & Bharmasagar (Ex.) Stations on engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) mode. The accepted bid project cost for the project is Rs 258.12 crore.

KEC International – The company has secured new orders of Rs 1,123 crore across its various businesses. The company is primarily engaged in engineering, procurement, and construction business (EPC) relating to infrastructure, projects and systems and related activities for power transmission, distribution, railway, and others.

Central Bank of India – Heavy buying was seen in this counter yesterday and the scrip rallied more than 8% to record an intraday high of Rs 23.40 per share on NSE. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the regulatory curbs from Central Bank of India. The apex bank said that the lender has also provided a written commitment that it would comply with norms on an ongoing basis.

S P Apparels – The company’s Board of Directors at their recent meeting have approved proposal to buy back up to 6,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares of the company at a price of Rs 585 per share. The company is a leading manufacturer and exporter of knitted garments for infants and children in India.