Stocks to watch: L&T, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, ZEEL, Bharti Airtel, Havells

At 08:32 am, Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) were trading 36 points or 0.30 per cent higher at 12,227, indicating a positive start for the Indian market on Wednesday. 

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

Bharti Airtel: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has approved raising of foreign direct investment in Bharti Airtel to 100 per cent from 49 per cent allowed earlier, a stock exchange filing of the company said on Tuesday. READ MORE

L&T: A significant slowdown in government orders, coupled with muted private capex, is likely to have hit order inflows for most engineering and capital goods companies, including industry heavyweight Larsen & Toubro (L&T), during the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY20). READ MORE

Axis Bank: A stable quarterly performance could be in the offing for private lender Axis Bank, which, according to analysts, could report up to 61 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in the net profit at Rs 2,705.4 crore for the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY20). Besides, steady credit growth and moderation in slippages could also be expected. READ MORE

Other earnings: Besides, L&T and Axis Bank, 34 other companies are scheduled to list their Q3 results today. The list includes name such as Asian Paints, AU Small Finance Bank, Ceat Ltd, Raymond, RBL Bank, SBI Life, and Tata Communications.

Piramal Enterprises: The company's rights issue to raise over Rs 3,600 crore was fully subscribed on Tuesday. 

Allahabad Bank informed that that a meeting of board of directors of the bank will meet on 24 January 2020, to consider and approve a proposal for raising equity capital of the Bank by an amount aggregating upto Rs 2153 crore (including premium).

HCL Technologies: The company on Monday announced the launch of a dedicated HCL Microsoft Business Unit focused on Microsoft Technologies.

RESULTS IMPACT

ZEEL: Media and entertainment firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises on Tuesday reported a 38 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit for October-December quarter at Rs 348.60 crore, mainly on account of decline in advertising revenue. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 562.76 crore in the same period a year-ago. 

PolyCab: Wires and cables maker Polycab (PIL) on Tuesday said its profit after tax (PAT) rose 14 per cent to Rs 221.4 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, helped by higher income. Total income in the latest quarter stood at Rs 2,507.6 crore as against Rs 2,048.6 crore in the same period of 2018-19. 

Havells: Consumer electrical goods maker Havells India on Tuesday posted 2.81 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 201.22 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. Total income, however, declined to Rs 2,298.39 crore as compared with Rs 2,553.85 crore in the year-ago period, Havells India said in a regulatory filing. 

HDFC AMC: HDFC Asset Management Company on Tuesday reported a 45 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 352.5 crore for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The total asset managed by the fund house increased by 14 per cent to Rs 3,82,500 crore at the end of December, 2019 from Rs 3,35,000 crore in the end of December, 2018.

Indiamart Intermesh reported 123.83% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 62.00 crore on 23.47% rise in total income to Rs 181.50 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018.