Sensex, Nifty end with decent gains; bank stocks outperform

24 Oct 2022 , 07:38 PM

The key equity indices ended with decent gains on the Muharat Trading Day. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 524.51 points or 0.88% to 59,831.66. The Nifty 50 index added 154.45 points or 0.88% to 17,730.75. In broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.50% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.99%. The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2662 shares rose and 744 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged. The domestic market is open today for a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali. The session also marks the beginning of Samvat 2079 — the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali. The exchanges will remain closed on Wednesday, (26 October 2022), on the occasion of Diwali Balipratipada. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Bank index added 1.28% to 41,304.90. State Bank of India (up 2.01%), IDFC First Bank (up 2.01%), Federal Bank (up 1.66%) and HDFC Bank (up 1.41%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Punjab National Bank (up 0.86%), Axis Bank (up 0.73%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.7%) and IndusInd Bank (up 0.15%). Meanwhile, Bandhan Bank (down 1.61%) and AU Small Finance Bank (down 0.15%) moved lower. Stocks in Spotlight: ICICI Bank rose 2.84%. The private lenders standalone net profit surged 37.14% to Rs 7,557.84 crore on 19.43% rise in total income to Rs 31,087.91 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. Kotak Mahindra Bank shed 0.42%. The private lender reported a 27% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,580.68 crore on a 19.48% increase in total income to Rs 10,047 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. Reliance Industries (RIL) added 0.31%. On a consolidated basis, the diversified conglomerates net profit fell 0.2% to Rs 13,656 crore on 37.3% increase in net revenue to Rs 230055 crore in Q2 September 2022 over Q2 September 2021. For the quarter, RIL achieved gross revenue of Rs 253,497 crore in Q2 FY23 compared with Rs 191,532 crore in Q2 FY22. The increase of 32.4% in gross revenue was driven by higher realization in O2C business with sharp increase in energy prices. Revenue growth also reflects continued growth momentum across consumer businesses. Meanwhile, the RIL board, at its meeting held on Friday, 21 October 2022, approved to demerge the companys financial services undertaking into Reliance Strategic Investments (RSIL). The financial services undertaking will be renamed Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL). Shareholders will get one equity share of Jio Financial Services (JFS) for each RIL share held. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell 3.09%. The FMCG major reported 20% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 2,616 crore on a 16% rise in net sales to Rs 14,514 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. HUL delivered underlying volume growth of 4%. Growth was significantly ahead of the market with more than 75% of the business winning value and volume market shares. DLF lost 0.69%. On a consolidated basis, net profit of DLF rose 25.88% to Rs 477.04 crore while sales declined 12.06% to Rs 1302.34 crore in Q2 September 2022 over Q2 September 2021. United Spirits gained 2.08%. On a consolidated basis, net profit of United Spirits rose 89.55% to Rs 553.10 crore while net sales rose 16.09% to Rs 2911 crore in Q2 September 2022 over Q2 September 2021. Yes Bank slipped 1.87%. The private lender reported 32.23% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 152.82 crore despite of a 17.75% increase in total income to Rs 6,394.11 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. Global Markets: The US Dow Jones index futures were up 363 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today. European shares advanced Monday, following the news that Rishi Sunak will reportedly be named the U.K.s new prime minister, following a fast-tracked Conservative Party leadership race initiated to fill the void left by Liz Truss resignation. Sunak ? who will be the countrys first leader of color ? won the role of Conservative Party leader after his sole competitor, Penny Mordaunt, dropped out of the race moments before votes from members of parliament (MPs) were due to be announced Monday afternoon. It follows the withdrawal of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson from the leadership race Sunday. The 42-year-old takes over just seven weeks after placing second to Truss, who stepped down Thursday, bringing to a swift close her 44 days in office ? the shortest tenure of any U.K. prime minister. Most Asian shares ended higher today. However, shares in China and Hong Kong tanked as Chinese tech stocks slumped after Chinese President Xi Jinping paved the way for an unprecedented third term as leader and packed the Politburo standing committee with loyalists. Investors fear continuing strict policy that could hamper growth of tech giants and very few people who can challenge Xis policies, even those that are negative for growth. Meanwhile, Chinas gross domestic product grew 3.9% in the third quarter from a year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. In the second quarter, GDP increased 0.4% compared with the same period in 2021. U.S. stocks soared on Friday following the media report that some Fed officials are concerned about tightening policy too much. On Friday in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 748.97 points, or 2.47%, to close at 31,082.56. The S&P 500 added 2.37% to 3,752.75. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.31% to 10,859.72. Powered by Capital Market – Live News