Sensex ends 383 points higher; metal and realty stocks rally

Benchmark indices gyrated between zones in trade today before firming-up in the latter half of the trading session taking cues from the broader markets.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 383 points (up 0.6%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 143 points (up 0.8%).

Tata Motors and Tata Steel were among the  top gainers today.

IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,349, up by 208 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended up by 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the realty sector, metal sector and consumer durables sector witnessing buying interest.

Shares of TCI Express and Jindal Stainless hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite ended down by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The Nikkei ended up by 1.8% in today’s session.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 104 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.96 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.3% at ₹48,078 per 10 grams.

In news from the banking sector, Kotak Mahindra Bank was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank today reported a 7% fall in its quarter two standalone net profit at ₹20.3 bn compared to ₹21.8 bn in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Kotak Bank surged nearly 3% at ₹2,217 apiece on the BSE in Tuesday's deals after the earnings announcement.

The bank's net interest income (NII), the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose over 3% to ₹40.2 bn from ₹39 bn in the same quarter last year.

The private lender's provisions and contingencies declined to ₹4.2 bn from ₹7 bn quarter on quarter (QoQ), though rose from ₹3.3 bn year on year (YoY).

Kotak Mahindra Bank's gross non-performing assets (NPA) during the second quarter stood at 3.2% compared to 3.4% in the June quarter, however, it was higher than 2.7% in the year ago quarter.

Meanwhile, the net NPA improved to 1.06% versus 1.28% on a sequential basis, and remained flat on the YoY basis.

The lender's tax expenses for the quarter ended September declined to ₹6.6 bn from ₹7.4 bn in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

On the other hand, its capital adequacy ratio (Basel III) stood at 21.8% from 23.1% QoQ and 22.1% YoY.

The future direct and indirect impact of Covid-19 on bank, results of operations, financial position and cash flows remains uncertain and will depend on present as well as future developments, including steps to contain its spread or mitigate its impact, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in an exchange filing.

The bank, as at 30 September 2021, continues to hold provisions of ₹12.8 bn made on account of Covid-19 pandemic.

Kotak Mahindra Bank share price ended the day up by 2.5% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the finance sector…

HDFC, India Post Payments Bank Tie Up to Offer Home Loans

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up with HDFC, India’s premier housing finance company, to offer home loans to nearly 47 m customers of IPPB.

Leveraging its countrywide network of 650 branches and over 1.4 lakh banking access points (post offices), IPPB aims to make HDFC’s home loan products and its expertise available to its customers across India.

According to the HDFC,

The partnership aims to facilitate HDFC home loans to customers, especially in unbanked and underserved areas with many of them having little or no access to finance, to fulfil their dream of owning a home.

IPPB will offer housing loans through nearly 1.9 lakh banking service providers (postmen and gramin dak sevaks).

As per the MoU, credit, technical and legal appraisals, processing and disbursement for all home loans will be handled by HDFC while IPPB will be responsible for sourcing of loans.

HDFC has initiated a number of digital and online initiatives to reach out to homebuyers during the pandemic. Over 88% of new home loan applications are received through digital channels.

Further, HDFC’s website is available in seven languages keeping in mind customers’ comfort while interacting in their local language, as per the press release.

HDFC share price ended the day up by 0.7% on the BSE.

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This cycle defines everything in markets. If you can master this cycle, then nothing can stop you from making huge profits.

This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com