Stocks Radar: Biocon, HDFC, Himachal Futuristic, Tata Motors

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session as the rupee strengthened past 70-mark against the U.S. dollar for the first time since January.

The S&P BSE Sensex traded nearly 0.20 percent higher at 36,700.15 and the NSE Nifty 50 traded flat at 11,057, as of 9:50 a.m. The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. Eight out of the 11 sectoral gauges declined, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index's 1.35 percent fall. The NSE Nifty FMCG Index was the biggest sectoral gainer, up 0.79 percent.

Here Are The Stocks Moving The Market This Morning:

HDFC Fluctuates After Declaring Interim Dividend

Shares of the non-banking lender swung between gains and losses to trade at Rs 1,876.10 apiece as 9:55 am.

HDFC said it will pay Rs 3.5 per share as interim dividend, according to its notification to the exchanges, for which it has set March 18 as record date.

Of the 40 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, 35 analysts recommended ‘Buy' on the stock and two had a ‘Hold' rating while three analysts recommended ‘Sell'.

Himachal Futuristic Gains After Winning Tata Order

Shares of the telecom equipment manufacturer gained for the fourth straight day after it rose nearly 3 percent to Rs 24.50 apiece. The stock has returned over 10 percent in the past four sessions.

Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd. bagged orders worth Rs 117 crore for the supply of optical fibre cables from Tata Project Ltd. under Bharat Net Phase-II project in Chhattisgarh, according to its exchange filing. The order will be executed over 24 months.

The stock has declined 16 percent in the past 12 months compared with a 10 percent increase in BSE Sensex.

Biocon Falls On Regulatory Woes

Shares of the Bengaluru-based biotechnology firm declined 3.1 percent intraday, the most in three weeks, to Rs 607.1 per share.

Biocon received six observations under form 483 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Bengaluru facility, according to its exchange filing. The inspection at the facility took place between Feb. 25-March 5, the filing said. Form 483 is used by the FDA to document and communicate concerns discovered during plant inspections.

The trading volume was more than 14 times the 20-day average for this time of the day, according to Bloomberg data.

Tata Motors Gains After Pact To Supply Electric Vehicles

Shares of the carmaker rose as much as 2.1 percent to Rs 192.75 per share.

The company signed an agreement with Wise Travel to supply Tigor Electric Vehicles, according to Bloomberg.

The consensus one-year target of analysts tracked by Bloomberg was Rs 210.75, indicating a potential return of 10 percent.

Oil Marketers Rise After UBS Boost

Shares of oil retailers rose after brokerage firm UBS raised their price target, citing their marketing margins increasing to a record.

• IOCL: Maintained ‘Buy' and hiked price target to Rs 185 from Rs 170, implying a potential return of 15.6 percent from last close.
• BPCL: Maintained ‘Buy' and hiked price target to Rs 415 from Rs 380, implying a potential return of 11.7 percent from last close.
• HPCL: Maintained ‘Buy' and hiked price target to Rs 315 from Rs 290, implying a potential return of 25.9 percent from last close.
  

Here's what UBS had to say on the stocks:

• Near all-time high marketing margin should lead to re-rating.
• Higher marketing margins to help offset lower refining margins.