Infosys, NMDC, Kridhan Infra and IndusInd Bank among top stocks to watch

Positive Asian cues and Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) indicate firm opening for the domestic stocks on Wednesday. At 08:38 am, the Nifty futures on SGX traded 82 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 10,919.50.

Here's a look at the top stocks that may remain in focus today - 

Infosys: India's second largest IT services firm Infosys Tuesday said its board will consider a buyback programme and payment of special dividend, among other proposals, at its meeting on January 11.

Earnings to watch: Bajaj Corporation, Delta Corporation and IndusInd Bank are slated to announce their December quarter earnings during the day.

Kridhan Infra: Kridhan Infra announced that its Singapore Subsidiary - Swee Hong (SHL), together with its step-down subsidiaries, has successfully secured a contract from the Public Utilities Board worth SG$ 32.5 million (Rs 167.6 crore) in aggregate for construction of link sewers for the DTSS Phase 2 Project at Old Choa Chu Kang Road/ Jalan Bahar, in Singapore.

NMDC: The finance ministry has approved state-owned iron ore producer NMDC's share buyback plan worth Rs 1,000 crore. The timeline for the launch of the offer will be decided by NMDC's board.

Pfizer: US pharma major Pfizer Inc has decided to shut down its manufacturing units in Irungattukottai, Chennai and Aurangabad, Maharashtra, which came to it through an acquisition of injectables manufacturer Hospira in 2015. Over 1,700 employees working in these two factories are expected to be impacted by the decision, said a Business Standard report. 

HT Media, Jagran Prakashan, DB Corp: The Information & Broadcasting Ministry hiked the advertisement rates for print media by 25 per cent for a period of three years. The ministry stated that this decision will be of immense benefit to small and medium newspapers.

IL&FS group stocks: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has declined a request by some lenders to the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group to allow them a standstill arrangement for six months for their loans. This means, the central bank has asked banks to treat IL&FS loans as non-performing assets (NPAs). 

Jet Airways: Bankers led by SBI met top executives of Jet Airways on Tuesday to discuss the financial state of the airline and how loans of over Rs 8,000 crore could be recast. It is learnt that SBI could possibly consider converting its debt to equity in the Goyal-led company, said a Business Standard report. The report also said that banks want Goyal to quit the airline's board.

InterGlobe Aviation and other airlines: The government has given temporary relief to Airbus A320neo operators IndiGo and Go Air, but is planning to increase scrutiny on Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines.