Stocks to Watch, October 23: HUL, BEL, PNB, NMDC, Wipro, Tata Motors, HCLTech, Torrent Pharma

The $100,000 fee imposed by the Trump administration on new H-1B visa petitions will not apply to applicants seeking a "change of status" or "extension of stay", according to fresh guidelines.

Issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Monday, the guidelines clarified the exemptions to President Donald Trump's September 19 proclamation, 'Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers', which will raise the fee for new H1-B visas to a steep $100,000 (approx. ₹88 lakhs).

Further, in a bid to curb user harm from AI-generated deepfakes and synthetically produced content, the IT Ministry has proposed draft amendments to IT rules that mandate labelling and prominent markers to ensure users can distinguish synthetic and authentic content and mooted greater accountability for major social media platforms.

"...the Promoter and Promoter Group of the Company have expressed their intention of not participating in the Buyback vide their letters dated September 14, 2025, September 16, 2025, September 17, 2025, September 18, 2025, and September 19, 2025," the company said.

The promoters collectively hold 13.05% of the company's equity as of the buyback announcement date.

Infosys promoters include company co-founder N R Narayana Murthy's wife, Sudha N Murty; daughter, Akshata Murty; and son, Rohan Murty. It also includes company co-founder Nandan Nilekani, his wife Rohini Nilekani, and children Nihar and Janhavi Nilekani. Other co-founders and their families are also promoters of the company.

“Through this collaboration, DIB will leverage HCLTech’s Advanced AI capabilities, including AI Advisory, and global alliances with hyperscalers and technology partners to deploy AI responsibly, effectively and at scale,” HCLTech said in a regulatory filing.

It has fixed the price of lump ore at ₹5,550 per tonne and fines at ₹4,750 a tonne, the country's largest iron ore miner said in a regulatory filing. Lump ores or high-grade iron ores contain 65.5% iron content, while fines are inferior-grade ores with 64% or less iron content.

The prices effective from October 22 are inclusive of royalty, district mineral fund (DMF), and National Mineral Exploration Trust (DMET) and exclude cess, forest permit fee, transit fee, GST, environmental cess and other taxes.

"...Nachiket Deshpande has decided to resign from the position of Whole-time Director and President with effect from October 31, 2025, to explore new opportunities beyond LTIMindtree," according to a release.

"Over the 30-day period from Navratri to Diwali, we have achieved a landmark milestone with over 1 lakh vehicle deliveries, reflecting a robust 33% growth compared to the same period last year," he said.

The company's EV portfolio also showed strong traction, with over 10,000 EVs retailed during this period, marking a 37% growth, he said.

Further, the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), an independent non-profit that evaluates cyber events in the UK, has designated the recent cyber-hack of Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Wednesday as the most damaging cyber event to hit the UK, causing a financial hit of 1.9 billion pounds to the economy and impacting over 5,000 businesses.

The state-owned lender expects about ₹1,500 crore in treasury income during the third quarter and an improvement in margins.

The approval comes after Torrent in June this year announced plans to acquire a majority stake in JB Chemicals in a ₹19,500-crore deal, the second-biggest transaction in India’s pharmaceutical sector after Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2015.

The fair-trade regulator said the proposed combination involves Torrent acquiring a shareholding in JB Chemicals, followed by the amalgamation of the latter with the acquirer. After the completion of the deal, Torrent Pharmaceuticals will become India's second most valued pharma company.