Indian equities reversed early gains on Wednesday as selling pressure in banking stocks and the broader market dragged benchmarks lower, offsetting strength in information technology shares.
The Nifty 50 declined 77.60 points, or 0.34%, to close at 22,811.35. According to Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder and CEO of HST Wealth, the 22,900–23,000 zone is likely to act as resistance, while 22,700 remains the immediate support for the index.
Against this backdrop, several stocks including Reliance Industries, Eternal, Alkem Labs, BEL, HPCL, Swiggy, GMDC and other are likely to remain in focus on Thursday, October 22, as investors track September-quarter earnings, credit rating updates, fundraising plans, regulatory developments and new business wins.
Reliance Industries said ICRA has reaffirmed its credit ratings of [ICRA]AAA (Stable) on its non-convertible debenture programme worth Rs 12,000 crore and assigned the same rating to bank loan facilities worth Rs 50,000 crore. The rating agency also reaffirmed the [ICRA]A1+ rating on the company's commercial paper programme of Rs 10,000 crore. With the latest rating action, the total rated amount has increased to Rs 72,000 crore from Rs 22,000 crore previously. The company received the rating letter on October 21.
Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, reported a 92.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 125 crore for the second quarter of FY27, compared with Rs 65 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations surged 77.6% to Rs 24,138 crore from Rs 13,590 crore in the year-ago quarter. On a sequential basis, net profit rose 36% from Rs 92 crore in the June quarter, while revenue increased 19.4% from Rs 20,211 crore.
The Tata Group hospitality company reported a 19.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 380 crore for the September quarter, compared with Rs 318 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations rose 21.7% to Rs 2,484 crore from Rs 2,041 crore. EBITDA increased 23.9% to Rs 706 crore from Rs 570 crore, while EBITDA margin contracted to 19.95% from 27.9% a year earlier.
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services posted a 55% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 882 crore in the second quarter of FY27, compared with Rs 569 crore in the year-ago period. Net interest income rose 13.2% to Rs 2,391 crore, while total income increased 18% to Rs 5,962 crore. Total assets grew 21% to Rs 1.80 lakh crore, and quarterly disbursements rose 22% to Rs 16,499 crore. Business assets increased 15% to Rs 1.47 lakh crore.
KEI Industries reported a 29.3% year-on-year increase in second-quarter profit after tax to Rs 262.4 crore, while revenue rose 38.5% to Rs 3,776.4 crore. EBITDA increased 39.8% to Rs 376 crore, with the margin improving marginally to 10% from 9.9% a year earlier. Revenue exceeded the estimate of Rs 3,442 crore. However, profit and EBITDA fell short of estimates of Rs 275 crore and Rs 395 crore, respectively. The EBITDA margin was also below the projected 11.5%.
The Ministry of Defence has signed a Rs 770 crore contract with Bharat Electronics (BEL) for the supply of improved low-level light-weight radar (LLLR-I) systems to the Indian Army. The systems are designed to strengthen the Army's surveillance capabilities and help detect aerial threats, including small drones that can be difficult to identify.
Persistent Systems has launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise up to $450 million, or approximately Rs 4,265 crore. A committee appointed by the company's board approved the opening of the issue on October 21. The company has set the floor price at Rs 5,550 per equity share.
