📍 DIVIDEND

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC): The state-run oil marketing company's shares are trading ex-dividend today for an interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share for the financial year 2025-26. The record date to determine eligible shareholders for this payout is December 18, 2025. Eligible shareholders will receive the dividend on or before January 11, 2026. Furthermore, the strikes of IOC options and the base price of its futures contracts will be revised due to this extraordinary dividend.

📍 BUYBACK

• VLS Finance: The company has initiated a buyback offer, proposing to repurchase up to 2,631,578 fully paid-up equity shares at Rs 380 per share, amounting to a total of Rs 1 billion. This represents 7.74% of the company's total paid-up equity share capital. The buyback offer commenced on December 18, 2025, and is scheduled to close on December 24, 2025. The record date for eligible shareholders was December 12, 2025.

📍 REGULATORY APPROVAL

• Paytm (One97 Communications): One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, announced that its subsidiary, Paytm Payments Services, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator. This approval covers offline and cross-border transactions, including payments flowing into and out of India.

📍 NEW PARTNERSHIP

• HCLTech: The information technology services firm, HCL Technologies, has been selected as a strategic partner by ASN Bank in the Netherlands.

📍 OFFER FOR SALE (OFS)

• Indian Overseas Bank: The government is proceeding with its plan to sell up to 3% equity in Indian Overseas Bank through an Offer for Sale (OFS). The sale for non-retail investors occurred on December 17, 2025, with the retail portion of the OFS taking place on December 18, 2025.

📍 RIGHTS ISSUE

• Anirit Ventures Ltd: The company's shares are trading ex-date today for its rights issue of equity shares. This action allows existing shareholders to purchase additional shares at a predetermined price.

📍 MACROECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• India-Oman Free Trade Agreement: India and Oman are slated to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) today, December 18, 2025. This agreement marks Oman's first trade pact in 19 years and is expected to offer significant opportunities across various sectors, including textiles, automotive, gems and jewellery, and renewable energy.

📍 MARKET SENTIMENT

• Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, continued their downward trend for a third consecutive session on December 17, closing lower amidst weak global cues. A cautious opening was anticipated for December 18. India's Volatility Index (VIX) reached a new lifetime low of 9.84, indicating expectations of reduced market volatility due to muted trading and a scarcity of significant market triggers.

TAGS: India Daybook, Stocks in News, Corporate News, Stock Market, Company News

Tags: India Daybook Stocks in News Corporate News Stock Market Company News