Investors bank on banks

Nifty50: 18,178 ▼-88 (-0.4%)
Sensex: 60,923 ▼-336 (-0.5%)

The selling pressure continued and the markets closed in the red for yet another day. Out of the Nifty50 pack, 28 stocks closed lower.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, PSU Bank (+2.7%) and  Nifty Bank (+1.3%) were the top gainers and Nifty IT (-2.5%) and Nifty Metal (-1.7%) were the top losers.

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Here are the top stories of the day.

Asian Paints results misses street estimates

Shares of India’s leading paint maker fell nearly 5% as the company reported a 28% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹595 crore for the September quarter. The result was sharply below the street estimates of ₹879 crore.  Profits fell despite a robust 32% growth in revenues to ₹7,096 crore. 

The decline in the company’s bottomline was largely due to the steep rise in raw material prices.  The management plans to undertake further price hikes to beat higher raw material costs and expects performance improvement in the December quarter. Meanwhile, other paint companies like Berger paints (-6.0%), Kansai (-3.7%) and Indigo paints (-1.8%) also witnessed selling pressure.

IDBI Bank’s Q2 profit surges

The LIC-controlled bank’s net profit rose 75% year-on-year to ₹567 crore in the September quarter. The lender’s net interest income (NII) also rose 9% YoY to ₹1,854 crore. The strong growth in profit was supported by the rise in NII and a sharp drop in provisioning for non-performing assets (NPAs). 

The lender’s asset quality also improved with gross NPAs falling to 20.9% of the loan book in Q2FY22 from 25% in Q2FY21. In the same period, the CASA ratio rose to 54.6% from 48.3%. Despite the strong results, IDBI Bank’s shares fell about 2% today. However, they have risen nearly 20% so far this month. 

Sterlite Tech posts strong Q2 results

In the September quarter, Pune-based digital network solutions provider reported net profit of ₹106 crore, up 81% year-on-year. The company’s revenue also increased 30% YoY to ₹1,508 crore. The rise in revenue was driven by the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region and America.   

The company’s order book also rose to ₹11,500 crore with key deal wins such multi-million dollar deals with large service providers in the UK to connect homes to broadband. Meanwhile, the management expects the company to benefit from macro tailwinds like revival in the capex in the Indian telecom sector.  Shares of Sterlite Technologies were down 1% today amidst the weak market.

Closing bell

The Nifty50 fell for the third day in a row. However, to an extent, the fall was limited by the strong rise in the banks. Private banks were up today led by Kotak Bank. Similarly, PSU banks also saw strong buying interest. PSU banks are likely to receive capital infusion from the government in the March quarter. Meanwhile, shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries were down 2.4% ahead of its September quarter results, which are expected tomorrow. The street expects refining margins and performance of telecom and retail units to support the profits.

Good to know

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