Stocks to watch, March 21: Manappuram Finance, defence stocks, IndiGo, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, Hindalco, and more

At 07:35 AM, the GIFT NIFTY futures were trading at 23,217, up 16 points, or 0.07%. This implies that the NIFTY50 index will open 16 points higher.

In the overnight trade, US stocks posted modest losses and the dollar strengthened on Thursday amid notes of caution about trade from world central bank leaders such as the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, and Sweden's central bank. All these leaders flagged increasing worries over the global impact of US President Donald Trump's trade policies.

Geopolitical tensions increased with reports of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and a huge blast triggered by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian airfield. This too weighed on the sentiment.

"I think the way to compete and grow is to invest. And I don't think there is any reason for us to wait and watch," the group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla told reporters after making the announcement.

Amid concerns over sluggish private sector capex, Birla said all the basics are right with the health of the economy, the financial strength of companies and the banking system's capabilities to support the private sector's investment intentions.

The company, with nearly 800,000 employees around the world, said new procurement actions had decreased amid President Donald Trump’s spending crackdown, hurting its sales and revenue, according to a report by AFR.

Lucro Plastecycle Pvt Ltd (Lucro) is a well-integrated waste management, recycling and product manufacturing company, working to create a circular plastics economy for a better tomorrow, it noted.

"Our strategic investment in Euler is a bold step towards realising our vision to be the future of mobility," Hero MotoCorp Executive Chairman Pawan Munjal said in a regulatory filing.

This investment reinforces the company's commitment to accelerated growth through organic and inorganic expansion while highlighting the power of collaboration and adaptability in an ever-evolving market, Munjal added.

The proposal in this regard was approved by the bank's board meeting on Thursday.

The board approved raising additional long-term infrastructure bonds, aggregating up to ₹5,000 crore over and above ₹10,000 crore already raised by the bank in the current FY 2024-25, in one or more tranches during the current or subsequent financial year, Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The deal will make it one of the promoters of the company and provide joint control.

As part of the transaction, Bain Capital will be investing ₹4,385 crore to acquire an 18% stake on a fully diluted basis via preferential allotment of equity and warrants at a price of ₹236 per share, which is at a premium of about 30 per cent over the 6-month average trading price, a joint statement said.

Earlier in January, the board had approved a proposal to raise up to ₹3,000 crore through the issuance of rated and listed non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis.

According to the filing, the Finance Committee, at its meeting held on March 20, 2025, has approved the allotment of 80,000 unsecured, rated, listed, taxable, redeemable NCDs bearing a face value of ₹1,00,000 each, aggregating to ₹800 crore in two tranches.

The asset, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of PFC Consulting Limited, was transferred to Adani Energy Solutions Limited, the successful bidder, on March 20, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) said in the filing.

PFC Consulting is a wholly owned subsidiary of PFC.

Piramal Critical Care (PCC) has secured the commercialisation rights for Neoatricon, the first paediatric strength solution for infusion of dopamine hydrochloride, for the EU, the UK, and Norway markets, Piramal Pharma said in a regulatory filing.

Last month, the company had announced that its wholly owned arm, Asian Paints International Pvt Ltd, Singapore (APIPL), a subsidiary of Omega Property Investments Pty Ltd, Australia, has entered into a share purchase agreement with Berger Paints Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore, for the sale of a 100% stake held in PT Asian Paints Indonesia (PTAPI) and PT Asian Paints Colour Indonesia (PTAPCI).

The approvals include the procurement of 1,350 horsepower engines for T-90 tanks, Varunastra torpedoes, and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft systems.

India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew by 11.04% in February 2025 on a year-on-year basis, official data showed on Thursday.

According to the data, IndiGo achieved the highest market share among all the domestic airlines during the month under review. The airline ferried 89.40 lakh passengers in February 2025 to attain a market share of 63.7%.

The data showed that budget carrier SpiceJet flew 4.54 lakh to reach a market share of 3.2%, and Akasa Air carried 6.59 lakh to attain a share of 4.7%.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said, “The Board of Directors at its meeting held today declared an interim dividend of ₹10/- per share (1000%) on 47,50,87,114 equity shares of ₹1/- each fully paid up, absorbing a sum of ₹475 crore, for the financial year ending 31st March 2025.”

The record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of the second interim dividend is March 26, 2025.

The shareholders of Zomato had earlier this month approved a special resolution to rename the firm 'Eternal'.

The brand name of the company's food delivery business, Zomato, will remain the same, along with the app. However, the name of the corporate entity will change to Eternal along with the stock ticker.

Eternal will comprise four major businesses (as of now) -- Zomato, Blinkit, District, and Hyperpure.

Last week, the lender disclosed an accounting discrepancy that is estimated to have affected 2.35% of its net worth.

Analysts have pegged the discrepancy at ₹2,100 crore in absolute terms.

The company said Jain will be re-designated as its vice chairman for three years, effective April 1. Saha, who currently serves as the deputy managing director, will also take on his new role starting April 1 until the end of his tenure on March 31, 2028.