Asian shares snapped three days of losses to rise on Monday, before a week of key central bank decisions in Japan, the US, and the UK, as well as some big tech earnings releases.

Stocks rose in Australia, Japan, and South Korea while Hong Kong futures edged higher.

US stocks closed a volatile week with a flash of optimism as investors mounted a comeback off promising inflation data and hardening expectations of coming interest-rate cuts.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 309 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 77 points higher.

NTPC, SBI, and BPCL are among the top gainers today.

Titan, Bharti Airtel, and Cipla the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.5% higher and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 1% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today, with stocks in the oil & gas sector and the realty sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the telecom sector and FMCG sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.72 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.5 higher at Rs 68,630 per 10 grams today.
 

ICICI Bank Q1 Results

Top private sector lender ICICI Bank on Saturday reported that its June quarter standalone profit after tax grew by 14.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 110.6 bn while the net interest income (NII) rose 7.3% YoY to Rs 195.5 bn.

The net interest margin was 4.3% in Q1 compared to 4.4% in Q4 of FY24 and 4.78% in Q1 of FY24.

ICICI Bank's total advances increased by 15.7% YoY and 3.3% sequentially to Rs 1.2 trillion (tn). The retail loan portfolio grew by 17.1% YoY and 2.4% sequentially and comprised 54.4% of the total loan portfolio.

During the quarter, ICICI Bank reported that its average deposits grew by 17.8% YoY to Rs 1.4 tn at the end of the June quarter while the average current account and savings account (CASA) ratio was 39.6%.

With the addition of 64 branches during Q1, the bank had a network of 6,587 branches and 17,102 ATMs & cash recycling machines in June-end.

The value of the bank's merchant-acquiring transactions through UPI grew by 51.6% YoY in Q1.

It had a market share of about 32.1% by value in electronic toll collections through FASTag, with a 16.9% YoY growth in collections in Q1.

The gross NPA ratio was 2.15% on 30 June 2024 compared to 2.16% on 31 March 2024. The net NPA ratio was 0.43% on 30 June 2024 compared to 0.42% on 31 March 2024. The gross NPA additions were Rs 5,916 crore in Q1 compared to Rs 5,139 crore sequentially.
 

BHEL's New Order Win

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on Friday (26 July) said it has been awarded a contract by Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to set up the 2x800 MW Koderma phase-II thermal power station in Koderma district, Jharkhand.

The project involves the supply of crucial equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, and associated auxiliaries, along with electrical and control & instrumentation (C&I) systems and balance of plant packages.

BHEL will also be responsible for erecting, commissioning, and civil works required for the power station. The project is scheduled to be completed within 52 months. The total value of the order exceeds Rs 100 bn, excluding taxes and duties.

Cipla Forecasts US Sales Run-Rate

Umang Vohra, CEO of Cipla, has guided for a US sales run-rate of US$ 235- US$ 240 million (m) for the remaining quarters of FY25.

This comes after the drugmaker clocked in its best-ever sales in the US generics market at US$ 250 m in Q1 of FY25.

The management attributed the best-ever sales in the US market to market share gains in asthma drug Albuterol, which now stands at 17%, combined with the launch of a new generic version of hormone drug Lanreotide, which happens to be the company's key peptide launch for FY25.

Along with that, a marginal increase in the contribution from the cancer drug Revlimid also aided US sales.

The strong show in the US generics market and improved product mix drove the company's EBITDA margin to 25.6%, well above the 24.2% estimated by a poll of seven brokerages by Moneycontrol. On that front, Vohra expects margins to stabilize around the current levels of 24.5-25.5% for FY25.

Regarding regulatory actions on the Goa plant, the management emphasized that resolving the US FDA's observations is a top priority.

Cipla is collaborating with external consultants and awaits the US drug regulator's response to the remedial measures taken.

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