Asian share markets dropped following another down day for US equities, with Treasury yields at the highest level since the global financial crisis.

The Nikkei fell by 0.3% while the Hang Seng was down 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.5%.

US stocks closed lower on Thursday as data on the labor market and comments from a US Federal Reserve official reinforced expectations the central bank will be aggressive in hiking interest rates outweighed a flurry of solid corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones was down 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended lower by 0.6%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a positive note.

Benchmark indices opened on a positive note today following the trend on SGX Nifty. And as the session progressed gains were extended.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 286 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 73 points.

Axis Bank and HUL are among the top gainers today.

IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance are among the top losers today.

IndusInd Bank's share price is falling even after it declared strong Q2 earnings.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up by 0.1% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.3%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the finance sector, banking sector, and consumer durable sector witness buying.

Meanwhile, stocks from the IT sector, metal sector, and energy sector are trading in the red.

Shares of Page Industries and Nestle hit their 52-week high today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices trade lower by Rs 189 at Rs 50,225 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at Rs 56,065 per 1 kg.

The rupee is trading at 82.7 against the US dollar. Yesterday, the rupee touched its record low.

Speaking of stock markets, in 2021, we witnessed a flurry of IPOs. 63 companies came out with their IPOs last year.

Too many tech companies that provide platform as a service (PAAS) also came out like Nykaa, Zomato, Paytm. All three companies have been beaten down on the bourses recently.

But have these companies bottomed out or will they fall more? 
 

Astral share price under pressure

Astral share price was performing well on the bourses after it announced its diversification plan. On 9 September 2022, it reached its lifetime high of Rs 2,593.1.

However, at present, Astral is trading 21% below its lifetime high, which is quite a substantial fall for a fundamentally strong stock.

Rising inflation, rising interest rates, and lockdowns in China have increased the housing crisis in the UK, US, and China. Resultantly, PVC resins are dumped in India. Hence there is an excess supply of PVC in India.
 

ITC declares Q2 results

Cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported a 24% growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 46.2 bn (attributable to owners of the parent) for the quarter ended 30 September 2022, driven by demand for its cigarettes and snacks. It was Rs 37.2 bn in the year-ago period.

On a sequential basis, the FMCG company's consolidated profit after tax (PAT) has risen 5% from Rs 43.9 bn in the June quarter.

Its revenue from operations rose 25% to Rs 186.1 bn in the July-September quarter from Rs 148.4 bn in the same quarter last year.

Total expenses during the quarter stood at Rs 128.2 bn, up 25% over Rs 102.6 bn of the corresponding period last year.

The recent easing in raw material costs could further boost the earnings of diversified consumer companies such as ITC, which suffered from inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the lingering impact of Covid-19.

To say that ITC's performance in 2022 has surprised investors would be an understatement. But after rising after a long period of stagnancy, will ITC rise, or will it crash?
 

Axis Bank zooms 5% post Q2 results

Among the best banking stocks in India, Axis Bank on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 53.3 bn, up 70% for the quarter ended September 2022, as against Rs 31.3 bn in the year-ago quarter.

The lender's net interest income grew 31% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 103.6 bn from Rs 79 bn in the last year's quarter.

The strong growth in the bottom line was on the back of lower provisions. Provisions in the quarter under review fell to Rs 5.5 bn, as against Rs 17.4 bn a year ago.

The bank's asset quality improved further during the reporting quarter. The gross non-performing asset ratio dropped to 2.5% as on 30 September 2022 from 2.8% a quarter ago and 3.5% a year ago.

The net non-performing asset ratio came at 0.5% was lower than 0.6% a quarter ago and 1.2% a year ago. The capital adequacy ratio for the lender fell to 16.5% from 17.3% a quarter ago, and 19.2% a year ago.

Meanwhile, the operating profit in the September quarter grew by more than 30% YoY to Rs 77.2 bn.

Credit cost for the quarter that ended 30 September 2022 stood at 0.4%, declining by 16 bps YoY.

The total deposits grew by 10% YoY on a quarterly average balance basis as well as on a period end basis.

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