Mumbai: Shares rose for a second consecutive session as lenders such as State Bank of India rallied after finance minister Arun Jaitley said the government would soon announce new measures to tackle non-performing assets (NPAs). The government and the Reserve Bank of India would announce the measures in “a couple of days”, Jaitley said at a media event. Lenders also got a boost from expectation of good demand for Yes Bank’s up to $750 million share sale announced on Thursday. But broader sentiment remained cautious, with the NSE Nifty poised to record its first weekly loss in three, retreating from a record high hit last week.
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“Yes Bank’s Qualified Institutional Placement yesterday was subscribed at almost 1,500 rupees per share and this has improved the sentiment in the sector, resulting in a rally in bank stocks. The finance minister’s statement on the NPAs issue too was a positive,” said Rakesh Tarway, head of research at Reliance Securities Ltd. ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 index, rising more than 2% each after Jaitley’s comments. Yes Bank rose as much as 1.72%. Bharat Petroleum Corp was the top loser as oil retailers fell after CLSA analysts forecast a weak January-March quarter for major oil marketing companies.
2.04pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 150 points, or 0.51%, to 29,482, while the Nifty 50 rises 38 points, or 0.42%, to 9,125.
2.00pm: The banking stocks rise. The shares of Bank of Baroda rise by over 5.46%, Punjab National Bank by 5.34%, State Bank of India by 3.48%, ICICI by 3.35%, FederalBank by 2.49% and Yes Bank by 1.15%. The BSE Bankex index rises by 1.46% to trade at 24,117 points and NSE PSU bank index rises by 4.10%.
1.22pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 93 points, or 0.32%, to 29,425, while the Nifty 50 rises 26 points, or 0.29%, to 9,113.
11.35am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 125 points, or 0.43%, to 29,457, while the Nifty 50 rises 31 points, or 0.34%, to 9,117.
10.18am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 140 points, or 0.48%, to 29,472, while the Nifty 50 rises 38 points, or 0.42%, to 9,124.
9.50am: Bank of India shares rise 2.5%, Union Bank of India shares 2.4%, Bank of Baroda 2.4%, ICICI Bank 2.3%, Punjab National Bank 2.1%, Canara Bank 2%, Syndicate Bank 2%, Oriental Bank of Commerce 1.5%, Allahabad Bank 1.5%.
9.45am: Bharti Airtel Ltd rose 1.5% to Rs 343.35. Bharti Airtel Ltd has agreed to buy Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd’s 4G business, including its broadband wireless access spectrum and 350 cellular sites in five telecom circles, the country’s largest telecom operator said on Thursday.
9.34am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 104 points, or 0.35%, to 29,436, while the Nifty 50 rises 24 points, or 0.26%, to 9,110.
9.30am: Yes Bank Ltd shares rise 1.4% to Rs 1536.90 after the private sector lender revived its qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue on Thursday with a reduced size of $750 million after its attempt to raise $1 billion in September flopped, reports Mint.
9.25am: IDBI Bank Ltd shares fall 2%, Indian Overseas Bank fell 0.6%, Uco Bank fell 0.6%. According to PTI report, the Reserve Bank has put four public sector lenders, including IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank, under watch and advised them to stay off risky assets so that their financial health is not stressed further. While UCO Bank also figures in the list, the name of the fourth lender could not be immediately ascertained.
9.20am: Shriram EPS Ltd shares rise 9.1% to Rs 29.35 ahead of its board meeting which will consider raising funds of Rs 35 crore via preferential issue.
9.15am: The rupee opened at 65.49 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 65.50, up 0.04% from its previous close of 65.53.
9.10am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.823%, compared to its Thursday’s close of 6.829%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.00am: Asian currencies were trading lower. Japanese yen was down 0.31%, Thai baht 0.23%, Singapore dollar 0.14%, China Offshore 0.13%, China renminbi 0.09%. However, Philippines peso was up 0.13%.
With inputs from Reuters
