SGX Nifty Up 144 Points, Axis Bank Q4 Results, Info Edge's Stake Sale in Zomato, and Buzzing Stocks Today

Thu, 29 Apr Pre-Open | Monish Vora, TM Team

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Indian share markets ended on a positive note yesterday.

Benchmark indices edged higher by 1.6%, clocking gains for the third straight day, helped by sharp gains in banking and finance stocks.

At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 790 points (up 1.6%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 212 points (up 1.4%).

Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were among the top gainers.

Britannia and Hindalco, on the other hand, were among the top losers.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 1% and 0.7%, respectively.

On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the banking sector, finance sector and auto sector.

Shares of TVS Motors and Bajaj Finserv hit their respective 52-week highs.

At 8:00 am today, the SGX Nifty was trading up by 144 points, or 0.9% higher at 14,989 levels. Indian share markets are headed for a positive opening today following the positive trend on SGX Nifty.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading down by 0.9% at Rs 46,871 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours yesterday.

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Top Stocks in Focus Today

Among the buzzing stocks today will be TVS Motor Company.

Shares of TVS Motor Company witnessed buying interest yesterday after the two-wheeler maker posted better-than-expected results for the March quarter (Q4FY21).

The company's standalone net profit for the quarter ended March jumped almost fourfold to Rs 2.9 billion, helped by higher sales volume. The company's revenue from operations grew 53% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 53.2 billion.

Two-wheeler sales of the company grew 41% in the domestic market and by 74% in the international market, surpassing the industry growth of 24% and 33% respectively, TVS Motor said in a statement on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.

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The company said it achieved a new milestone in March by selling more than 100,000 units in the international market.

From the IT sector, Info Edge will be in focus today.

Info Edge said it will sell stake worth Rs 7.5 billion in the initial public offering (IPO) of its investee company Zomato.

In a regulatory filing, the company said said Zomato is proposing an IPO of its equity shares, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale by Info Edge (India).

"The Board of Directors of the Company considered and have given their approval to the company to participate in the said Offer for Sale of up to such number of shares of Zomato Ltd as would aggregate upto Rs 7,500 million" it added.

On a fully converted and diluted basis, Info Edge's effective stake in Zomato stands at 18.4%.

Axis Bank Reports Highest Quarterly Profit in Q4FY21

Axis Bank reported a net profit of Rs 26.7 billion for the quarter ended March, its highest ever, as against a net loss of Rs 13.9 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The bank's net interest income in the quarter also jumped 11% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 75.5 billion.

The lender's top line was affected by a strong quarter for the non-interest-bearing functions. Fee income in the quarter grew 15% YoY to Rs 33.8 billion, which helped non-interest income rise 17% YoY to Rs 46.7 billion.

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Axis Bank's operating performance was also strong as operating profit jumped 17% YoY to Rs 68.7 billion in the reported quarter.

The bank reported a strong growth of 12% YoY in its loan book. The growth in the loan book was led by corporate loans, which grew 16% YoY, whereas retail loans rose 11% YoY in the reported quarter.The lender's asset quality also showed improvement during the quarter as net non-performing assets ratio fell 14 basis points sequentially to 1.05%.

For the quarter, the lender's specific loan-loss provisions were at Rs 70.4 billion as against Rs 42 billion in the year-ago quarter. The bank also made additional provisions of Rs 8 billion on account of change in NPA provision rates on loans to the commercial banking segment, the lender said.

The bank said that its overall capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 19.1% including the Common Equity Tier I ratio of 15.4%. It said that Covid-19 related provisions of Rs 50 billion provided an additional cushion of 69 basis points.

HDFC Bank to Upgrade its Credit Card Business

HDFC Bank, India's biggest private sector lender, is looking to replace its legacy credit card system with a modern technology platform to make the processes more efficient and cost-effective.

A person aware of the matter said that the decision to upgrade the system of credit cards is also expected to give customers a better experience and more security.

"There are many new-age fintechs that have developed a good platform for online banking, credit card issuance and management that are offering banks the option to migrate it to their platforms. The bank is in talks with fintech companies such as Zeta and Sprinklr for launching their credit cards once the ban is lifted," the person added.

Note that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had stopped HDFC Bank from issuing new cards in December.

Since RBI banned HDFC Bank from issuing new credit cards, the bank has seen its cards portfolio decline by 189,000 cards as of February-end, data from RBI showed.

While HDFC Bank continues to be the largest credit card issuer with an outstanding base of 15.2 million cards, ICICI Bank has managed to capture 43% of the incremental cards issued between December and February.

HDFC Bank started the conversation with fintech companies nearly two years ago. But the need to move the credit card operations to a more efficient digital platform was felt following the surge in digital transactions during the pandemic.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

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