The coming years could be exciting for Bandhan Bank, IDBI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and CSB Bank.
Equity benchmark Nifty scaled the psychological milestone of 21,000 in afternoon trade on Friday, and the Sensex touched its all-time intraday high of 69,888.33 after the central bank's decision to keep policy rates unchanged in line with market expectations. The 50-share benchmark index opened on a bullish note, after taking a breather on Thursday, and rose to 21,006.10. As many as 25 stocks were trading in the green, and 24 stocks defied the broader market and were trading in the negative territory.
From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Titan, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers. On the other hand, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the only laggards.
The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector has moved back into focus for investors this calendar year, after lagging the broader market for two consecutive years. BFSI stocks have outperformed benchmark indices in 2025 so far, driving a steady rise in the sector's weighting within the Nifty 50 index.
'Foreign capital will continue to come directly into India, but companies have realised that GIFT City is a more cost-efficient way of channelling funds.'
Among the Sensex shares, Infosys, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, BEL and Power Grid were among the lead gainers. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, and Titan were the among the laggards.
Food delivery and quick commerce firm Eternal, which owns the Zomato and Blinkit brands, on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 25 crore for the June quarter, as continuing investments in quick commerce and going-out businesses weighed on its bottom line. Titan, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, ICICI Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the gainers. However, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.
The April-June quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY25) may be soft for banks with loan growth moderation, net interest margin (NIM) pressures, and higher staff and credit costs inching up, according to analysts. Credit growth could ease due to the lagged impact of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightening and deposit growth has weakened, and the current account and savings account (CASA) ratio has declined 10-370 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) for many banks.
Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and Bharat Electronics were the major laggards. However, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Asian Paints and Titan were among the gainers.
Investors who constantly hop between 'top-performing' funds often end up earning far lower returns than the very funds they invest in -- simply because they enter late and exit early. Best investors don't chase returns, they chase discipline, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were the major gainers. However, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Titan and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.
Among Sensex firms, Power Grid and Tata Steel fell more than 2 per cent. HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC were among the major laggards. Nestle, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.
After the State Bank of India, Bank of India has classified the loan account of insolvent Reliance Communications as fraudulent and named its former director, tycoon Anil Ambani, citing alleged fund diversion in 2016, according to a regulatory filing. State-owned Bank of India granted a Rs 700 crore loan in August 2016 to Reliance Communications for its ongoing capital and operational expenditure and repayment of existing liabilities.
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
Banking stocks led by SBI, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Federal Bank and Yes Bank fell as much as 2.77 per cent.
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Electronics were the major gainers. However, Power Grid, Eternal, Hindustan Unilever and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
Among Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, Axis Bank, Maruti, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were the gainers. However, Adani Ports, Trent, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC were among the laggards.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
ICICI Bank jumped 2.76 per cent after the company posted a 15.9 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter to Rs 13,558 crore compared to Rs 11,696 crore in the year-ago period. HDFC Bank climbed 2.19 per cent despite the firm reporting a 1.31 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 16,258 crore for the June 2025 quarter. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors were also among the gainers.
State Bank of India-led public sector banks posted a record cumulative profit of Rs 49,456 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year growth despite two lenders reporting a decline. All 12 public sector banks (PSBs) together made a profit of Rs 45,547 crore in the September quarter of FY25.
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Mutual funds (MFs) - flush with cash amid record inflows in July - invested heavily in the Rs 25,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) of India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI). Fund managers acquired SBI shares worth Rs 10,200 crore last month, making the lender their biggest buy in July.
Assessing where their funds are flowing gives traders a hidden edge in predicting the market direction and momentum.
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 3.33 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, SBI, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Maruti.
Among Sensex shares, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Eternal, BEL, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, ITC and Sun Pharmaceutical were the major laggards. However, Titan, Maruti, Trent, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, L&T, HCL Technologies and NTPC were among the gainers.
Among Sensex firms, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Axis Bank and Infosys were among the major gainers. Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints emerged as the laggards from the pack.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) , the country's largest domestic institutional investor (DII), has seen a Rs 46,000 crore erosion in the value of its equity holdings amid market downturns in July. The benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex, have slipped 2.6 per cent from their June 2025-end level to 24,837 and 81,463.09 respectively.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
The broader NSE Nifty went up to a fresh life-time high of 10,494.45, but failed to stay on the top as it slipped and closed down 19 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 10,444.20.
Among Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest gainer, gaining 1.7 per cent after the October sales data. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) rose by 1.69 per cent. Eternal, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the major gainers.
Given the stronger rural activity, and potential goods and services tax (GST) impact, investors are bullish on the two-wheeler (2W) segment. In August, dealers in the domestic market picked up 11 per cent more 2Ws year-on-year (Y-o-Y), despite only 2 per cent growth in retail registrations. This indicates inventory stocking ahead of the festival season. Export trends were good. TVS Motor and Royal Enfield may have gained domestic market share.
Among major Sensex gainers Bajaj Finserv rose the most by 1.42 per cent, Axis Bank gained 0.80 per cent, Infosys by 0.72 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra by 0.60 per cent, Tata Motors by 0.55 per cent, Bajaj Finance by 0.53 per cent and Tata Steel by 0.52 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki India, Trent Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services were the losers.
Shares of Yes Bank may face selling pressure as the Reserve Bank-mandated three-year lock-in period for individual investors and exchange-traded funds is ending on Monday, according to analysts. The analysts expect distress on the bank counter on Monday as they expect investors, primarily the nine banks led by State Bank, which picked up almost 49 per cent of its stocks in March 2020 for Rs 10 per share -- at a premium of Rs 8 on the face value as part of the RBI bailout, making an exit. Exchange-traded funds are also likely to press the exit button.