Stocks In Action: December 13, 2012

TCS said that it has signed a multi-year deal with Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), a UK-based hospitality player. This deal has been signed to streamline the management of its HR and Payroll operations, which serve 38000 employees across 1600 restaurants and pubs in the country, according to Business Standard. TCS' HCM core HR and Payroll solution will streamline M&B's support processes and benefit employees. The TCS HCM Platform is an integrated and global solution that encompasses key areas of payroll, time management, workforce administration, compensation, recruitment, learning management and performance management. The stock price of TCS is expected to see some upward movement today.

L&T said that it has secured a number of orders valued over Rs 1000 crore across various business segments from November, till date. Among these orders, Rs 742 crore has been bagged by the Power Transmission & Distribution Business and Rs 260 crore by L&T Construction. There have been signs of a healthy order pipeline in the case of L&T. This is likely to cause an upside movement in the stock price of L&T today.

Arvind announced that it has signed a distribution pact with Billabong. This move of partnering with an international brand comes in after recent deals like Next, Nautica and Debenhams. Arvind has been concentrating on bringing global players and international brands to India through its subsidiary, Arvind Lifestyle Brands. The stock is likely to see some action on the positive side today.

Media reports indicate that ONGC is all set to undertake exploratory drilling work in three offshore oil and gas blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin soon. It has been reported that about Rs 1700 crore would be spent on developing these three blocks. As many as 19 exploratory wells will be drilled in the three blocks - KG-OSN-2009/1, KG-OSN-2009/2 and KG-OSN-2009/4- put together. An upward movement is likely in the prices of ONGC.

Honeywell Automation said that it is selling 551333 equity shares of Rs 10 each, representing 6.24% of the equity share capital of Honeywell Automation India. The stake sale would commence on December 14 and close on the same day. This stake sale is being carried out to bring the promoter stake down to 75% from 81.24%. This is likely to cause volatility in the stock price of Honeywell Automation today.