After opening the day lower, benchmark indices remained muted as the session progressed and ended the day lower.

After a steep sell-off seen in the morning deals, benchmarks -- BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 clocked a steady recovery during the day.

The recovery, which was aided by strength in shares of Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, L&T, Sun Pharma, and Kotak Bank, came amid the monthly F&O expiry for the July series.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 109 points (down 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 7 points.

Tata Motors, ONGC, and BPCL are among the top gainers today.

Axis Bank, Titan, and Tata Steel, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,451, up 38 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.2% lower and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.1% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with stocks in the power sector, auto sector, and oil & gas sector witnessing the most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the banking sector and realty sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Sun Pharma, Pfizer, and Natco Pharma hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.71 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 1.8% lower at Rs 68,218 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 3.8% lower at Rs 81,656 per 1 kg.
 

Canara Bank Q1 Results

In news from the banking sector, Canara Bank on Thursday posted a net profit of Rs 39.1 bn in the first quarter, up about 10% from Rs 35.3 bn in the same quarter of last year.

Net interest income (NII) during the reporting quarter increased 6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 91.7 bn against Rs 86.7 bn in the last year period.

Operating profit (before provisions and contingencies) was flat at Rs 76.2 bn in the June quarter, compared with Rs 76.1 bn in the same quarter of last year.

Provisions for the reporting quarter fell 16% YoY to Rs 22.8 bn, of which provisions for the non-performing assets declined 10% YoY.

The non-interest income for the first quarter rose 10% YoY to Rs 53.2 bn against Rs 4,819 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Net interest margins, meanwhile, declined to 2.9% in the April-June 2024 period from 3.05% in the last year period and 3.05% in the preceding March quarter.

Net NPAs too declined to 1.2% in the reporting period against 1.3% in the March quarter and 1.6% in the year-ago quarter.

Canara Bank is one of the largest Indian government-owned banks.

The bank operates in four segments namely treasury operations retail banking operations wholesale banking operations and other banking operations.

A large part of the lender's advances come from the corporate (42.1%) and retail (28.1%) segments followed by agriculture (15.6%) and micro, small, and medium enterprises (14.2%).

Why Jyothy Labs Shares are Rising

Moving on, shares of Jyothy Labs Limited jumped more than 6% after the FMCG firm on July 25 reported a 5.7% rise in net profit in the first quarter of FY25.

The FMCG company reported a net profit of Rs 1 bn in the June quarter against Rs 963 m in the year-ago period.

In the March quarter, the net profit came in at Rs 781.6 m.

The company reported an 8% year-on-year increase in revenue at Rs 7.4 bn. In the previous quarter, revenue was at Rs 6.6 bn.

The firm said demand is expected to accelerate with normal monsoon. Rural demand pick-up is key for positive momentum.

In addition to direct distribution expansion and augmentation of manufacturing capacity, the company continues to boost A&P spending to enhance brand visibility.
 

Why Axis Bank Share Price is Falling

Moving on Axis Bank shares took a 6 percent dive on 25 July, a day after the lender reported its April-June earnings which highlighted its worsening asset quality that soured investor sentiment.

The lender reported a sharp spike in its net profit, which came at Rs 60.4 bn for Q1 FY25, up from Rs 34.5 bn in the year ago period.

Even though this net profit came in well above the Street's estimate of Rs 57.9 bn, it was the rise in non-performing assets that worried investors.

Meanwhile, the lender's net credit cost stood at 0.9% in Q1FY25, up 0.5% year-on-year (YoY). Credit costs refer to expenses incurred by a lender due to default or potential default on loans.

The management indicated that roughly 55% of the increase in credit costs was due to lower recoveries and upgrades in the corporate loan portfolio.

Although they expect these recoveries to eventually take place, the timing could shift between one and two quarters.

Axis Bank is the third-largest private-sector bank in India (in terms of loan book) with a pan-India presence of 5,000+ branches.

More By This Author: