Top Nifty gainers and losers at mid-day: Coal India, Maruti soar, Infosys, Cipla tumble

The benchmark indices gave up most gains to trade marginally higher at noon on October 12. At 12.06 pm, the Sensex was up 22.64 points or 0.03 percent at 66,495.69, and the Nifty was up 11.20 points or 0.06 percent at 19,822.50. About 1,976 shares advanced, 1,088 declined and 101 were unchanged.

Coal India Ltd: The shares of the public sector unit traded nearly 2 percent higher at Rs 307 after the company said that a three-day strike call given by five central trade unions has been deferred. The representatives of trade unions, while considering the appeal of management, conveyed that the strike in the establishments of CIL and its subsidiaries is deferred,” Coal India said.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd: The country’s largest automobile company stock traded over a percent higher at Rs 10,574, gaining for the third day in a row after the company said it started exports of the Jimny 5-Door. “The vehicle will be shipped to destinations including Latin America, Middle East, and Africa regions”.  Jimny 5-Door was launched in the domestic market in June.

BPCL: The share price of the petroleum major jumped over 2 percent to Rs 349, gaining for the third day. The surge comes after domestic brokerage firm Citi maintained a “buy” rating and assigned a target price of Rs 445 to the stock. Robust Q2 earnings are on the cards, which should cement expectations of a healthy interim dividend.

NTPC Ltd: The stock was up nearly 1.5 percent at Rs 242, extending gains for the third day. Volumes were fairly low as only 52 lakh shares changed hands against the one-week average of 1 crore shares.

JSW Steel Ltd: The stock traded a percent higher at Rs 786 after JSW was featured among the likely bidders for the iron ore mines and a steel plant of ESL Steel, which is a part of Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Ltd. The development indicates potential acquisition opportunities and strategic investments in the iron and steel industry as various entities explore options to expand their portfolios and operations.

TCS Ltd: The IT major stock fell 1.5 percent to Rs 3,558, becoming the top loser on the Nifty, a day after the company posted tepid numbers in Q2. The lower-than-expected revenue for the July-September quarter turned out to be a disappointment for brokerages.

Cipla Ltd: The stock slumped over a percent to Rs 1,159 after the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) inspected the pharma giant’s American facility and issued an establishment inspection report. The FDA inspected InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla, in Central Islip, Long Island, New York.

Infosys Ltd: The IT company stock was down a percent at Rs 1,485 ahead of its Q2 results. As per research, Infosys is likely to see a marginal decline in revenue on a sequential basis to Rs 37,694 crore in the July-September quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q2FY24) amid weak discretionary spending and slower deal ramp-ups, said analysts.

Bajaj Finance Ltd: The stock traded almost a percent lower at Rs 8,033, snapping its two-day gaining streak. Volumes were low. Only 3 lakh shares changed hands against 8 lakh shares the previous day.

Tech Mahindra Ltd: Shares of the IT company slid almost a  percent to Rs 1,220. Volumes were low as only 7 lakh shares changed hands as against the 1-month average of 25 lakh shares.