Asian markets traded mixed on Monday ahead of China's interest rate decision amid cautiousness over the US-China trade tensions.

US stocks closed mixed on Thursday, the final session of trading this week, ahead of the long Easter weekend, while booking weekly losses.

US markets are closed today, Friday, in observance of Good Friday.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 590 points higher, and the NSE Nifty is trading 175 points higher.

SBI, Axis Bank, and Infosys are among the top gainers today.

ITC, Bharti Airtel, and Adani Ports, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Midcap index is trading 1.2% higher, and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.8% higher.

Barring the FMCG sector, all other sectoral indices are trading positively today, with stocks in the banking sector and the power sector witnessing a buying spree.

The rupee is trading at Rs 85.4 against the US dollar.
 

MTNL's Bank Loan Defaults

State-run telecom firm MTNL has defaulted on bank loans worth Rs 83.5 bn from seven public sector banks.

The loss-making public sector telecom firm's total debt obligations reached Rs 335.7 bn as on 31 March 2025, according to the filing dated 19 April.

The total loan default includes Rs 36.3 bn of debt raised from Union Bank of India, Rs 23.7 bn of Indian Overseas Bank, Rs 10.8 bn of Bank of India, Rs 4.6 bn Punjab National Bank, Rs 3.5 bn from State Bank of India, Rs 2.7 bn from UCO Bank and Rs 1.8 bn with principal and interest payment.

The defaults in loan payment have occurred between August 2024 to February 2025.

MTNL, in the disclosure made to exchanges on March 15 for the period up to February 28, 2025, had declared a total default to banks of Rs 82.8 bn. As of 31 March the total default stands at Rs 83.5 bn, an increase of Rs 690 m.

HDFC Bank Q4 Results

HDFC Bank announced its January-March quarter results for fiscal 2024-25 (Q4FY25) on Saturday, April 19, reporting a rise of 6.7%t in standalone net profit at Rs 176.2 bn, compared to Rs 165.2 bn in the corresponding period last year.

Net interest income (NII)-the difference between interest earned and paid-rose 10.3% to Rs 320.7 bn in the fourth quarter of FY25 compared to Rs 290.7 bn in the year-ago period.

India's largest private lender beat D-Street estimates in the March quarter driven by higher NII and improving asst quality. Total income increased to Rs 894.9 bn during the quarter under review, as against Rs 896.4 bn in the same period of last year.

HDFC Bank's board recommended a dividend of ?22 per equity share of Re 1 each (2,200 per cent) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

As regards asset quality, the bank witnessed slight deterioration, with gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) rising to 1.33% of the gross loans by the end of March 2025, from 1.2% a year ago. Similarly, net NPAs or bad loans rose to 0.4%, from 0.3% at the end of the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.
 

Coal India's Arm SECL Enters a New Pact

Coal India arm SECL on Friday said it has entered into a Rs 70.4 bn pact with TMC Mineral Resources for undertaking large-scale coal production using paste filling technology.

Paste filling is a modern underground mining method that eliminates the need to acquire surface land. After coal extraction, the mined-out voids are filled with a specially prepared paste made from fly ash, crushed overburden from opencast mines, cement, water, and binding chemicals. This process prevents land subsidence and ensures the structural stability of the mine.

Under this agreement, large-scale coal production will be undertaken using paste filling technology in the Singhali underground coal mine located in SECL's Korba area.

Over a period of 25 years, the project is expected to produce approximately 8.4 million tonnes of coal.

The Singhali underground mine was approved in 1989 for a production capacity of 0.24 million tonnes per year and commenced operations in 1993.

Presently, the mine has 8.45 million tonnes of extractable reserves of non-coking coal. It was developed using the Bord and Pillar method, employing load haul dumpers and universal drilling machines for underground operations.

However, the surface area above the mine is densely occupied - with villages, high-tension electricity lines, and a public works department road - rendering the traditional caving methods unfeasible due to safety and environmental concerns.

With the introduction of paste filling technology, mining activities in this area can now proceed without disturbing the surface infrastructure.

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