Bandhan Bank’s Loans Surge, Bajaj Finance’s AUM Grows, L&T Finance’s Retailization Increases, Vedanta’s Aluminum Production Rises

Opening Bell:             

Gift Nifty is up by 72.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market                            

Asian markets traded higher on Thursday, with Japan’s Topix reaching a record high. The Topix rose by 0.56%, and the Nikkei 225 increased by 0.55%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.98%, while the Kosdaq advanced 0.75%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index signaled a higher opening.

U.S. stock market indices ended mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 23.85 points, or 0.06%, to finish at 39,308.00. The S&P 500 increased by 28.01 points, or 0.51%, to close at 5,537.02. The Nasdaq Composite gained 159.54 points, or 0.88%, to end at 18,188.30. Tesla’s share price surged 6.5%, Nvidia’s shares rose 4.6%, and Amazon’s shares declined by 1.2%. Paramount Global’s stock price jumped nearly 7%, while First Foundation’s shares plummeted almost 24%.

Stocks News:

👉 Bandhan Bank reported a 21.8% year-on-year (YoY) and 0.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in loans and advances, reaching Rs 1,25,619 crore for Q1FY25. Total deposits grew 22.8% YoY to Rs 1,33,203 crore, despite a 1.5% QoQ decline. CASA deposits saw a 13.8% YoY growth, while retail deposits (including CASA) increased by 19.2% YoY. Bulk deposits surged 31.6% YoY for the quarter.

👉 Bajaj Finance, a non-banking finance company, reported assets under management (AUM) of Rs 3.54 lakh crore for Q1FY25, marking a 31% increase over the same period last year. The deposits book rose by 26% compared to Q1FY24, reaching Rs 62,750 crore. As of June 2024, the net liquidity surplus stood at Rs 16,200 crore. The number of new loans booked during Q1FY25 grew by 10% YoY to 10.97 million.

👉 L&T Finance reported an estimated retailisation rate of 95% in Q1FY25, up from 82% in Q1FY24. Retail disbursements for Q1FY25 are estimated at Rs 14,830 crore, reflecting a 33% year-on-year (YoY) growth. The retail loan book at the end of June FY25 is estimated at Rs 84,440 crore, marking a 31% YoY increase.

👉 Vedanta reported a 3% year-on-year (YoY) increase in cast metal aluminum production at its smelters, reaching 5.96 lakh tonnes, driven by improved operational performance. Alumina production at the Lanjigarh refinery grew by 36% YoY to 5.39 lakh tonnes, thanks to new capacity. However, oil and gas production for the quarter declined by 17% YoY.

👉 The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers as they sold equities worth Rs 5,483.63 crore on July 3, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 924 crore.

Domestic and International Events

• Indian social media platform Koo is discontinuing its services, as announced by its top executives in a social media post. “Our partnership talks fell through and we will be discontinuing our service to the public,” read a LinkedIn post from CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna and co-founder Mayank Bidawatka. The shutdown was attributed to a lack of funding and high technology costs needed to keep the app running.

• The measure of U.S. services sector activity fell to a four-year low in June. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 48.8 last month, the lowest level since May 2020, down from 53.8 in May. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the services PMI to decline to 52.5.

• Crude oil prices traded lower on Thursday after gaining a percent in the previous session. Brent crude futures fell 0.39% to $87 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 0.42% to $83.53.