Stocks in focus: GAIL, Hindalco, Ashok Leyland, Coal India, Tata Steel, TCS, Emami, pharma stocks

Indian share markets are set to extend rally to the seventh straight day on Tuesday as Pfizer Inc said its experimental vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study. Trends on SGX Nifty points to a higher opening for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 as Nifty futures were trading 203 points up at 12,701 on Singaporean Exchange. The progress on a Covid-19 vaccine fueled a rally across global stock markets. On a domestic front, market participants will track the counting of votes for Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Analysts expect the near-term trend of Nifty to remain positive and see more upside in the coming sessions. “The overall chart pattern (intraday/daily/weekly) indicate more new highs in the coming sessions. The upside targets to be watched around 12750-12800 levels in the next 1-2 weeks,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Stocks in focus today:

Pharma stocks: In today’s session, pharmaceutical shares will remain in focus after Pfizer Inc said its experimental coronavirus vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE have said that they expect to seek US emergency use authorization later this month.

GAIL, Hindalco: A total of 532 listed companies including GAIL India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco Industries, Tata Power, Bata India, Century Plyboards, Exide Industries, GMR Infrastructure, Minda Industries, Motherson Sumi Systems, Info Edge India, NCC, NMDC, Raymond, RITES, Shalimar Paints, Sintex Industries, Suzlon Energy, Symphony, TeamLease Services, TTK Prestige, and VST Tillers Tractors are scheduled to announce their July-September quarterly earnings today.

Ashok Leyland: Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland expects commercial vehicle (CV) sales to pick up in the remaining months of the current fiscal year after witnessing huge decline in volumes in the first half owing to the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.

Coal India: Coal India is likely to decide on the buyback of shares in its board meeting on November 11, in view of its stocks under-performing for quite sometime. A company official said buyback will prevent the declining value of stocks, leading to improvement in earning per share.

SAIL: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has unveiled a scheme under which a majority of its around 72,000 employees will be able to opt for shorter working period against proportionate forgoing of salary benefits. The company believes the scheme will help its employees attain a better work-life balance.

Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc: Tata Steel has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Zinc to procure the firm’s complete domestic zinc requirements, according to a statement. This initiative would bolster the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat with one of the largest companies choosing to become vocal for local.

TCS: Tata Consultancy Services said it will acquire 100 per cent shares of Postbank Systems AG (PBS) from Deutsche Bank AG. PBS has approximately 1,500 employees across nine locations in Germany.

Emami: After the Diwali festival, the company will add more products in health and hygiene and home categories that saw a spurt in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, PTI quoted an official as saying.