Punjab National Bank, BPCL, Biocon

The domestic stock markets are likely to open firm, after an absolutely flat closing on Wednesday, going by trends from the global front. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive start for the index in India, with a gain of 50 points. At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading at 13,629, higher by 50 points or 0.45 per cent on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Here are some stocks to watch in Wednesday’s (December 16) session:

Punjab National Bank

Punjab National Bank shares are set to see some investor interest as the bank’s Rs 7,000 crore  Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) opens on December 15. The state-owned lender has set the floor price for its proposed QIP at Rs 7,000 crore. The capital raising committee of the bank has authorised the opening of the QIP issue and approved the floor price.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)

The shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation are likely to be in the limelight after the company said its board, at a meeting scheduled on December 17, will consider buying out Oman Oil Company in the Bina refinery project in Madhya Pradesh. BPCL board will also consider merging Bharat Gas Resources ((a wholly owned subsidiary of BPCL) with itself.

Union Bank of India

Union Bank of India shares could witness some buying after the state-owned lender raised Rs 500 crore debt capital by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. The bank has allotted unsecured, subordinated, non-convertible taxable perpetual fully paid-up Basel III compliant debt instruments in the nature of debentures aggregating to Rs 500 crore.

Biocon

Biocon shares could head higher on the bourses after the biotechnology major said its arm Biocon Biologics signed a pact with the Christian Social Services Commission in Tanzania as part of its affordable insulins programme for low- and middle-income countries. With an estimated 1 million diabetes patients, Tanzania is among the top 5 countries for the number of people with diabetes in Africa.