After opening the day marginally higher, Indian share markets reversed the trend as the session progressed and ended the day lower

Indian equities, which started with decent gains on Wednesday, took a sharp U-turn within an hour of opening.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 117 points (down 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 15 points (down 0.2%).

Coal India, BPCL and Cipla among the top gainers today.

Tata Motors, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,274, down by 40 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.6% higher and the BSE SmallCap index ended 1% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the metal sector, realty sector, and power sector witnessing the most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the auto sector and FMCG sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Bosch, ABB India and Siemens hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.5 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.5% higher at Rs 72,980 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.4% higher at Rs 85,721 per 1 kg.
 

PFC Q4 Results

In news from the finance sector, state-run Power Finance Corporation reported loan growth of 14% year-on-year and 5.3% sequentially for the financial year 2024 to Rs 4.8 tn. That number is in line with the management guidance of 12% to 15% guidance issued by the management earlier.

Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter stood at Rs 42.4 bn, which is flat compared to the December quarter and up 22% compared to the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter went up by 20.2% from last year to Rs 122.4 bn.

Net profit for the quarter was also aided by a 32.6% jump in other income to Rs 7.6 bn.

There was also a write-back of provisions worth Rs 3.4 bn, compared to an outgo of Rs 2.6 bn in the December quarter and a write-back of Rs 4.9 bn in the year-ago quarter.

Out of these 25%, 45% of the projects are under generation with a longer tenor.

For the financial year 2025, PFC expects Assets Under Management to grow between 12% to 15%, while spreads will remain in the 2.5% - 2.75% range. Net Interest Margin for the quarter is expected to be between 3% to 3.5%.

PFC's asset quality improved on a sequential basis. Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) for the quarter stood at 3.3% compared to 3.5% in the December quarter.

Net NPA for the quarter also improved to 0.8% from 0.9% in the December period.

Additionally, the company has also declared a final dividend of Rs 2.5 per share for the financial year 2024. The company has already paid out dividends worth Rs 11 per share so far this financial year.

Canara Bank Surges 5% Today

Moving on to news from the banking sector, Canara Bank shares surged 4.6% to the day's high of Rs 118.40 on BSE in Wednesday's trade as the board's decision to split the stock in a 1:5 ratio came into effect today.

For each share equivalent to a face value of Rs 10, the investors were to receive 5 shares of face value of Rs 2 per share.

The board of Canara Bank had approved the sub-division of its equity shares earlier this year stating that the move is aimed at improving liquidity in the bank's shares and making it more affordable for retail investors along with broadening the retail investors' base.

The PSU lender had posted an 18% growth in its standalone net profit at Rs 37.6 bn for the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 31.7 bn posted in the same period last year period.

The company's Board has also recommended a dividend of Rs 16.10 per share, 161% of face value each, for the financial year 2023-24.
 

Why M&M Share Price is Rising

Moving on to news from the auto sector, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd shares touched a fresh 52-week high of Rs 2,306.9 per piece on the NSE on Wednesday, 15 May, after the company announced the successful sale of its entire stake eye care chain New Delhi Centre for Sight Limited (NDCFS) for Rs 4.3 bn.

the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Mahindra Holdings (MHL), on Tuesday executed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with three buyers to sell its entire stake of 30.8% of the paid-up capital of NDCFS on a fully diluted basis.

The buyers in this sale include Space Investments Limited, Defati Investments Holdings BV and Infinity Partners, and neither of them belongs to the Promoter or Promoter Group Companies of Mahindra Holdings.

The SPA was executed by Mahindra Holdings on 14 May 2024, with the three buyers and NDCFS, along with the promoters of the eye care chain.

The entire stake sale deal has been conducted for an aggregate consideration of Rs 4.3 bn.

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