Stocks To Watch Today, August 4: Airtel, LIC, Paytm, DLF, Dabur, Torrent Power And Others In Focus

Equities benchmarks are looking forward to a a muted start on Tuesday after four straight sessions of gains, with GIFT NIFTY signalling the NIFTY50 could open marginally higher, in a range of roughly 8 points on one estimate.

Global cues were mixed overnight, and crude held its ground in early Asian trade after Monday's sharp swing, with Brent inching up to around $84.4 a barrel and WTI near $81.Here is a long list of individual names that are likely to see some action in the stock market today.

LICStock in Focus

Insurance giant LIC shares are in the spotlight as the Centre begins offloading up to a 6.5 per cent stake in the company through a two-day offer for sale. The floor price has been set at Rs. 382 apiece. Institutional and other non-retail bidders get their window on Tuesday itself, with the offer opening up to retail participants a day later, on Wednesday.

Paytm

One97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, is set to stay in the news cycle after word emerged that a set of early backers are lining up to trim their holdings via a block deal.

Oil Marketing Companies in Focus

The government's decision to raise the windfall tax on fuel exports puts oil marketing and upstream companies in focus. Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, together with other players ONGC and Oil India, are likely to be watched closely after the special additional excise duty on diesel exports was hiked to Rs. 25.5 a litre from Rs. 15.5, while the levy on exports of aviation turbine fuel was raised to Rs. 22 a litre from RS. 14.5. The export duty on petrol was also increased, moving to Rs. 3.5 a litre from Rs. 2.5, a rate that had itself only been set in mid-July.

DLF

Realty heavyweight DLF reported a rise of around 4% in consolidated net profit for the June quarter, with the bottom line coming in near Rs. 794 crore against about Rs. 763 crore a year earlier.

Torrent Power

Torrent Power's June-quarter numbers show consolidated net profit falling YoY, the revenue from core operations grew a modest 3% to about Rs.8,124 crore, and profit nearly doubled sequentially from the March quarter's Rs. 318 crore.

Dabur

Consumer goods maker Dabur India is in sharp focus after the food safety regulator barred the company from selling a few products which are carrying 100% claims on their packaging.The regulator termed these claims misleading an has issued a prohibition order against their sale in that form.

SBI Funds Management

Asset manager SBI Funds Management posted a 3% YoY rise in standalone profit after tax for the June quarter, taking it to Rs. 873 crore from Rs. 845 crore in the same period last year. Total income for the quarter grew 5% to Rs. 1,385 crore, while total expenses climbed a faster 8% to Rs. 242 crore, according to the company's stock exchange filing.

IREDA

State-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency delivered one of the stronger results of the day, with net profit climbing roughly 37% YoY to Rs. 337 crore up from Rs. 247 crore a year ago. Revenue from operations rose to Rs. 2,250 crore from Rs. 1,960 crore, while the company's loan book, net worth and asset quality all showed improvement.