Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, following an overnight rally on Wall Street.

US stock market ended mostly higher on Monday as tariff negotiations between the US and its trading partners gathered pace ahead of the August 1 deadline.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Monday:

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 167 points higher, and the NSE Nifty is trading 13 points higher.

ICICI Bank, Trent, Bharat Elec among the top gainers today.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, and Sun Pharma, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.2% lower, and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.3% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today with stocks in banking sector and financial services sector were witnessed buying. Meanwhile stocks in realty sector and auto sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 86.2 against the US dollar.
 

PNB Housing Finance Net Profit Jumps 23%

Strong demand for home loans in Q1 drove PNB Housing Finance's net profit of Rs 5.3 billion (bn), up 23% year over year.

The company's retail loan asset portfolio increased 18% year over year to Rs 769.2 bn, with the affordable and emerging markets segments accounted for 37% to the retail booking.

The retail loan assets of PNB Housing Finance experienced notable growth, with prime segment loans rising 10% to Rs 484.8 bn, affordable housing loans rising 143% to Rs 57.4 bn, and emerging markets loans growing 20% to Rs 227 bn.

Assets under management (AUM) grew 13% year-over-year (YoY) and 2% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 821 bn.

In Q1FY26, its net interest margin was 3.74%, up from 3.75% in Q4FY25 and 3.65% in Q1FY25. Its net interest income increased by 17% YoY and 4% QoQ to Rs 7.6 bn.

During the quarter, the gross margin, net of acquisition costs, was 4.06%. Although it fell 2% QoQ to Rs 6.2 bn, its pre-provision operating profit rose 17% year over year.

Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) at PNB Housing Finance decreased from 1.35% to 1.06%, indicating an improvement in asset quality. Additionally, retail GNPA fell to 1.07%. The business recovered Rs 0.6 bn from written-off loans, and its return on assets (RoA) was 2.57%.
 

LIC Boosts SBI Stake to 9.49%

Through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), LIC invested Rs 50 bn to increase its stake in State Bank of India (SBI) by 0.28%.

LIC's ownership of SBI has grown from 9.21% with 0.8 bn shares to 9.49% with 0.9 bn shares.

SBI has successfully raised Rs 250 bn through QIP to strengthen its balance sheet, increase capital, and support loan growth.

SBI authorised the distribution of 30.6 crore equity shares at Rs 817 each with a face value of Rs 1 and a premium of Rs 816 per share.

In May, the SBI board authorised raising up to Rs 250 bn through QIP, and in June, shareholders approved it. Additionally, SBI intends to issue bonds worth Rs 200 bn. Since raising Rs 150 bn in 2017-18, this is SBI's first QIP.
 

BL Kashyap Bags Big Construction Order

BL Kashyap and Sons shares in focus after the company announced it has received a letter of intent (LoI) for a Rs 9.1 bn contract for civil structure construction.

According to a stock exchange filing, the contract is for the construction of a civil structure for residential towers, including community building and related non-tower areas. The order would be completed by BL Kashyap in about 36 months.

On 18 July, Manyata Promoters Private Limited sent the company a work order worth Rs 1.6 bn. It is anticipated that the order will be fulfilled over a period of roughly 16 months.

More By This Author: