Asian markets traded mostly higher on Friday as investors assessed a slew of economic data from the region.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.48%, while the Topix rose 0.5%.

US stock market ended choppy session little changed on Thursday after the House of Representatives passed the US President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 480 points higher and the NSE Nifty is trading 158 points higher.

Eternal, Trent, and Infosys are among the top gainers today.

Sun Pharma, Hindalco, and ICICI Bank hand are among the top losers today.

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

Barring healthcare and consumer durables all other Sectoral indices are trading positive today with stocks in oil & gas sector, IT sector and telecom sector witnessing buying.

The rupee is trading at Rs 85.9 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 95,700 per 10 grams today.
 

ITC Q4 Results

Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd announced its Q4 FY25 results on Thursday, May 22, reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 198.07 billion (bn), significantly boosted by an exceptional gain of Rs 151.45 bn from the demerger of its hotels business into ITC Hotels Limited.

This gain was recorded under discontinued operations in the consolidated financial statements.

Excluding the exceptional item, adjusted net profit stood at Rs 46.6 bn, lower than the Rs 51.90 billion reported in the same quarter last year.

Revenue from operations rose by 10% year-on-year to Rs 203.76 bn, beating Street estimates and up from Rs 185.61 bn reported in the March 2024 quarter.

On the operational front, EBITDA stood at Rs 68.36 bn, registering a 3.7% YoY growth compared to Rs 65.90 bn last year. However, the EBITDA margin declined to 33.5% from 35.8% in the year-ago quarter.

ITC's core FMCG segment, including cigarettes and other FMCG products, posted revenues of Rs 147.32 bn in Q4, up from Rs 139.96 bn a year earlier.

The company also declared a dividend of Rs 7.85 per equity share along with its Q4 earnings.
 

Tata Motors Plans Another Affordable EV

Tata Motors is gearing up to launch another affordable electric vehicle, as rivals increasingly focus on the mid and premium segments of the EV market.

The long-awaited Altroz EV, which has been under development for a few years, is expected to hit the market once conditions stabilise. The company had initially outlined its EV product strategy in 2020-21, with clear differentiation across models and target price bands.

However, the EV landscape has evolved considerably since then, with falling battery costs and cheaper aggregates reshaping market dynamics.

Tata Motors currently holds the largest portfolio of passenger battery electric vehicles in India, with five models ranging from Rs 7.99 lakh (Tiago.ev) to Rs 17.49 lakh (Curvv.ev). In the sub-Rs 11 lakh category, the Punch.ev serves as the company's second entry after the Tiago.ev.

Separately, Tata Motors also launched an updated version of its Altroz premium hatchback on Thursday. Now available in petrol, diesel, and CNG variants, the new Altroz starts at Rs 6.89 lakh (ex-showroom, petrol).

This marks the model's first major refresh since its 2020 debut and pits it directly against segment leaders like the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai Elite i20.

Sun Pharma Profit Declines 19%

Pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported a 19% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for Q4FY25, which came in at Rs 21.5 bn, compared to Rs 26.6 bn in the same quarter last year.

Despite the dip in profit, total revenue from operations rose 8% YoY to Rs 129.6 bn, up from Rs 119.8 bn in Q4FY24.

EBITDA for the quarter grew 22% YoY to Rs 37.16 bn, compared to Rs 30.35 bn in the previous year. EBITDA margin also improved sharply to 28.7%, up 340 basis points from 25.3%.

In terms of segment performance, India formulation sales rose 13.6% YoY to Rs 42.13 bn, while US formulation sales declined 2.5% YoY to USD 464 m.

Sun Pharma also declared a final dividend of Rs 5.50 per share for FY25.

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