Benchmarks rise for 4th session, Nifty settles above 17,900

The benchmark indices rose for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, supported by firmness in banks and financial services. Gains were capped due to weakness in IT stocks.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 367.22 points or 0.61% at 60,223.15. The Nifty 50 index surged 120 points or 0.67% at 17,925.25. Both these indices have risen a little over 4% in four straight sessions.

The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.36% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,830 shares rose and 1,555 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

In last 24 hours, India recorded 58,097 new COVID-19 cases taking the country`s active caseload to 2,14,004 patients. The country reported 534 new deaths taking the death toll to 4,82,551 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, India recorded 2,135 cases of Omicron infection as of Tuesday, the most in Maharashtra with 653 cases, followed by Delhi with 464 cases.

India Services PMI:

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell to a three-month low of 55.5 in December, from 58.1 in November.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.509% as compared with 6.518% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.35, compared with its close of 74.58 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement rose 0.06% to Rs 47,980.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.17% to 96.115.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2022 settlement fell 14 cents at $79.86 a barrel.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Bank rose 2.32% to 37,695.90. The index has risen 7.56% in five sessions.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.46%), Axis Bank (up 2.38%), HDFC Bank (up 2.19%), ICICI Bank (up 1.83%), SBI (up 1.7%), Federal Bank (up 1.69%), RBL Bank (up 1.07%), PNB (up 1.04%) and IDFC First Bank (up 0.91%) surged.

AU Small Finance Bank surged 7.13%. The bank`s total deposits increased by 49% to Rs 44,278 crore as on 31 December 2021 as against Rs 29,708 recorded on 31 December 2020. The deposits have risen by 13% as compared with Rs 39,034 crore as on 30 September 2021. CASA ratio was 39% as on 31 December 2021 as compared with 22% as on as on 31 December 2020 and 30% as on 30 September 2021.

Bandhan Bank advanced 3.83%. The bank said that its advances have increased by 11% to Rs 89,213 crore as on 31 December 2021 as against Rs 80,255 recorded on 31 December 2020. The advances are higher by 9% as compared with Rs 81,661 crore as on 30 September 2021. Total Deposits were at Rs 84,500 crore as on 31 December 2021, up 19% YoY and up 3% Q-o-Q. CASA ratio was 45.6% as on 31 December 2021 as compared with 42.9% as on as on 31 December 2020 and 44.6% as on 30 September 2021.

IndusInd Bank shed 0.01%. The bank`s total deposits increased 19% to Rs 2,84,835 crore as of 31 December 2021 from Rs 2,39,584 crore as on 31 December 2020. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, deposits grew by 3% from Rs 2,75,473 crore posted on 30 September 2021. Net advances of the bank rose by 3% sequentially and 10% year-on-year to Rs 2,28,128 crore as on 31 December 2021. CASA ratio improved to 42.2% as on 31 December 2021 as against 40.5% as on 31 December 2020.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Panama Petrochem surged 11.46% after veteran investor Ramesh Damani acquired 1.26% stake in the company in October-December 2021 quarter.

HFCL climbed 8.03% after the company announced that it will power its network offerings with Artificial Intelligence (Al) based analytics by partnering with Aprecomm.

Aprecomm offers Al-enabled cloud-based automated solutions to enhance Wi-Fi performance.

United Drilling Tools soared 15.33%. The company said it has appointed marketing associates and representatives to promote its product portfolio for oil exploration and completion equipments in Egypt and Libya. This representation will open opportunities for UDTL to expand its market base in Egypt & Libya, both in North Africa, the company said in a statement.

Bajaj Finance jumped 4.44%. The NBFC major`s customer franchise grew nearly 20% to 55.4 million on 31 December 2021 as compared to 46.3 million as of 31 December 2020. The company`s customer franchise increased by 18% to 2.6 million in Q3 FY22 as compared to 2.2 million in Q3 FY21. New loans booked during Q3 FY22 were at 7.4 million, rising 23% from 6 million in Q3 FY21. Assets under management (AUM) stood at approximately Rs 181,300 crore as of 31 December 2021, up 26% from Rs 143,550 crore as of 31 December 2020. AUM in Q3 FY22, adjusted for IPO financing receivable grew by approximately Rs 14,500 crore.

Macrotech Developers fell 0.26%. The realty developer said that its UK-based projects had their best ever quarter with sales totalling 191 million pound (about Rs 1900 crore) in Q3FY22.

Bharti Airtel rose 0.41%. The telecom major announced a joint venture with Hughes Communications India to provide satellite broadband services in India. The combined India Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) operations of both companies will offer wide range of satellite and hybrid network solutions to business and government customers.

The agreement, announced in May 2019, has received all statutory approvals, including those from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Department of Telecom (Government of India) and the joint venture has been formed, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

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