Mumbai: The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty jumped on Thursday as bank stocks climbed on a government move to tackle surging bad loans, with ICICI Bank Ltd up nearly 9% after it said additions to non-performing assets would be lower this year. India’s cabinet has taken significant decisions on the country’s banking sector, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday, declining to give further details, saying it needed a Presidential accord.
The government would likely provide the Reserve Bank of India with more power and flexibility to deal with bad loans. “If the government has come out with a meaningful step which will help banks speed up the process of resolution of stressed assets that will be a significant boost for the profitability of corporate banks,” said Shibani Kurian, senior vice-president and head of equity research at Kotak Mutual Fund.
The NSE Bank Nifty rose as much as 1.42% to an all-time high. Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India and Canara Bank gained more than 2.5% each. ICICI Bank was up 8.9% after the lender said it expected additions to stressed assets to be significantly lower this financial year, although it posted weaker-than-expected earnings. Steel makers rose after the cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to make the use of local steel mandatory for government’s infrastructure projects, aimed at boosting the sales of local companies. Jindal Steel & Power and JSW Steel and Steel Authority of India Ltd rose more than 2% each. Here are the latest updates.
3.30pm: BSE Sensex closed higher by 231 points, or 0.77%, to 30,126, while the Nifty 50 rose 48 points, or 0.51%, to 9,360.
Also Read: ICICI Bank leads banking stocks rally as govt close to announcing NPA package
2.27pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 243 points, or 0.81%, to 30,138, while the Nifty 50 rises 45 points, or 0.48%, to 9,357.
1.47pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 207 points, or 0.69%, to 30,101, while the Nifty 50 rises 30 points, or 0.33%, to 9,343.
12.20pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 114 points, or 0.38%, to 30,009, while the Nifty 50 rises 19 points, or 0.21%, to 9,331.
10.30am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 186 points, or 0.62%, to 30,081, while the Nifty 50 rises 36 points, or 0.38%, to 9,348.
9.50am: Amtek group stocks trade higher after The Economic Times reports DA Capital, SSG Capital bid for stakes in Amtek group units. Amtek Auto shares rise 5%, Castex Technologies Ltd shares rise 6%, Metalyst Forgings Ltd shares rise 6.7%.
9.45am: IDFC Ltd shares rise 3% to Rs62.25 after a huge block deal. Around 20.4 million shares of the company or 1.28% stake of the company changed hands in three block deals, according to Bloomberg report. However, details of the buyers and sellers were not known.
9.30am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 167 points, or 0.56%, to 30,062, while the Nifty 50 rises 39 points, or 0.42%, to 9,351.
9.25am: Banking stocks gain after the cabinet decided to amend the Banking Regulation Act to put in place a scheme to tackle stressed assets in the banking system totalling about Rs9.64 trillion as of end-December and to enable this capital to be redeployed productively in the economy.
ICICI Bank rose 6%, State Bank of India 1.3%, Uco Bank 4.2%, Dena Bank 3.3%, Punjab National Bank 2.7%, Oriental Bank of Commerce 2.4%, Indian Overseas Bank 2.4%, Bank of India 2.4%, Bank of Baroda 2.3%, Syndicate Bank 2%, Union Bank of India 2% and Allahabad Bank 1.8%
9.15am: The rupee opened at 64.20 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.23 a dollar, down 0.12% from its Wednesday’s close of 64.15.
9.12am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.974% compared to its previous close of 6.954%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.10am: Asian currencies trade mixed. Philippines peso was down 0.17%, South Korean won 0.12%, China renminbi 0.04%. However, Taiwan dollar was down 0.16%, Indonesian rupiah 0.14%, Malaysian ringgit 0.11%, Thai Baht 0.06%.
9.00am: US markets closed slightly lower. S&P 500 lost 0.13% to 2,388 points. As expected, the Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged. In Asia, South Korean equities gained in morning trade.
With inputs from PTI