Stocks to Watch Today, Friday, July 3, 2026: PNB, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Marico & HCL Tech

Mumbai, July 3: Investors in India will be tracking Punjab National Bank shares on Friday after the bank reported 12.85 growth in its global business in Q1 of FY27. State-owned BPCL shares will be under spotlight after it bought the remaining stake in Brazilian oil company. Here is what you should watch.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) Global Biz Surges 12.85% YoY in Q1FY27 

Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) global business grew 10.32% year-on-year to Rs 29.99 lakh crore in June quarter compared to Rs 27.19 lakh crore in the same period last year. Domestic business grew by 9.91% to Rs 28.75 lakh crore from Rs 26.16 lakh crore in Q1FY26. Global deposits grew 8.52% to Rs 17.24 lakh crore from Rs 15.86 lakh crore in Q1FY26 while domestic deposits increased 8.63% to Rs 16.70 lakh crore from Rs 15.40 lakh crore. Global advances were PNB’s standout metric growing 12.85% to Rs 12.75 lakh crore from Rs 11.29 lakh crore year-on-year. Global advances growth beating deposit growth indicates accelerated credit growth for the PSU lender at the start of the fiscal year and suggests that PNB may be relying more on its loan book to drive business growth moving forward. We will learn more about PNB’s exposure to riskier corporate credit when the bank releases its full quarterly earnings. 

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) To Buy Remaining Stake In Brazil’s Oil & Gas Firm IBV Brasil Petroleo

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has bought the remaining 39.14% stake in IBV Brasil Petroleo Limitada for Rs 2,312 crore to take its indirect stakeholding in the Brazil-based oil and gas firm to 100%. The consideration paid by BPCL values IBV at around Rs 5,911 crore or about $750 million. BPCL had in June acquired operatorship of IBV Brasil, previously held by oil major Petrobras, which has also exited its stake from the entity as part of the transaction that will give complete ownership of IBV to BPCL. The state-run Indian refiner will consolidate IBV’s operations into its balance sheet as part of its growing overseas upstream exploration and production (E&P) business in Brazil. IBV has interests in three producing offshore fields located off the coast of Brazil. BPCL will now have greater control over how these assets are developed and how capital is allocated to them in the future. Full ownership of IBV is also expected to give BPCL more flexibility with regard to future capital investments at IBV. Indian state-run oil firms have been steadily increasing their equity ownership in overseas oil and gas assets in recent years as they look to both secure energy supplies for the long term as well as supplement their earnings with oil and gas production beyond India’s domestic refining and fuel marketing business. 

Equitas SFB (ESFB) Gross Advances Jump 26.70% YoY in Q1FY27. 

Equitas Small Finance Bank’s (ESFB) gross advances grew by 26.70% year-on-year to Rs 47,653 crore as of June 30, 2026. Total deposits increased 10.44% to Rs 48,976 crore. The 16.26% gap between advances growth and deposit growth indicates the bank relied more on its loan book than deposits to grow business during the quarter. Deposit and funding costs will likely come under scrutiny when ESFB releases its quarterly earnings report. 

Marico (MARICO) India Biz Growth Continues; Expect Margins To Improve Further 

Marico said India business continued to report double-digit underlying volume growth during the June quarter. Consolidated revenue is expected to be in the early twenties percentage range. “Operating profit (growth) will be strong, supported by continued softness in copra prices,” the company said in a statement. Copra prices have corrected 45% from peak levels and are expected to improve Marico’s gross margin sequentially. The company’s international business grew in the mid-teens on a constant currency basis. While overall growth was led by domestic business, international markets also reported steady demand growth across categories for Marico. Volume growth in Parachute coconut oil was in double-digits, marking several quarters of recovery for the brand after prolonged pressure from high input costs weighed on volumes and margins. 

HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) Bags $1.14-B Tranche of AI Deal with European Client. 

HCL Technologies said it has signed an agreement with a European company to build a transformative AI-based operating model that would help it deliver and manage its global digital workplace and enterprise networks. This deal is valid till December 20 31 but has an option to extend it further by another five years. During its initial tenure, the deal is worth about $1.14 billion to HCL Tech. This is the second large deal that HCL Tech has signed in recent times with customers that include another Artificial Intelligence-led digital transformation pact with JPMorgan Chase last month.