Mid, smallcap outperform their larger peers

Wed, 22 Oct Closing

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As was the trend throughout the day, the Indian stock markets ended the day on a firm note with the BSE-Sensex closing higher by about 212 points or 0.8%, while the NSE-Nifty ended higher by about 0.9% or 70 points. Stocks from across the board were in favour today, with those from the automobiles and capital goods spaces being the most in demand. Midcaps and smallcaps however outperformed their larger peers as the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices ended higher by about 1.2% each.

Stock markets in other parts of Asia ended the day on a firm note with Hong Kong and Japan up by about 1.4% and 2.6% respectively. European stocks were trading mixed at the time of writing. The rupee was trading at Rs 61.24 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Stocks of housing finance companies ended the day on a firm note led by LIC Housing Finance, Gruh Finance and HDFC Limited. India's largest mortgage finance company HDFC Limited announced its numbers for the quarter ended September 2014. The company's net profits came in higher by 7% YoY during the quarter. On a consolidated basis, profits were up by about 9% YoY. As per report, the company's loan book rose to Rs 2.1 trillion during the quarter, up by 15% YoY from a year ago. As per the company, the gross non-performing loans as of September 30, 2014 stood at Rs 14.7 bn, which is equivalent to 0.69% of the loan portfolio (0.79% as of last year). Further, the non-performing loans of the individual portfolio stood at 0.53% while that of the non-individual portfolio stood at 1.02%.

Banking stocks ended the day on a mixed note with Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IDBI Bank leading the pack of gainers, while Canara Bank and Yes Bank were amongst the top underperformers. Private sector banking major Kotak Mahindra Bank announced its results for the quarter ended September 2014 recently. The bank reported a sharp 26% YoY jump in profits led by higher other income and lower provisions. Net interest income of its standalone operations rose by 12.4% YoY, while other income rose by a higher pace of 57% YoY. Further the banks net interest margin (NIM) climbed rose to 5%, up by 0.1% YoY on sequential basis. The bank's gross non-performing assets remained stable at about 1.9% as compared to about 2% a year ago. The bank's advances came in higher by 20% YoY which is a strong growth figure for the bank. Closing higher by about 5% today, the stock of Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top performer amongst banking stocks. It may be noted that during the previous quarter, the bank's revenues and profits grew at a relatively slower pace of 5% YoY and 11% YoY respectively.