HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank lead India's stock benchmarks higher, Reliance caps gains
The Nifty 50 added 0.49% to 25,090.7, while the BSE Sensex rose 0.54% to 82,200.34.
Eight of the 13 major sectors logged gains, with heavyweight financials' 1.6% rise leading the gains.
India's top two private banks, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, gained 2.2% and 2.8%, respectively, after posting stronger-than-expected June quarter profit. HDFC Bank also announced its first-ever bonus share issue.
'Robust earnings from ICICI Bank and the bonus issue by HDFC Bank lifted market sentiment and drove gains, though Reliance's mixed performance kept a lid on the rally,' said Anita Gandhi, founder and head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Markets.
Reliance Industries, which reported a quarterly profit beat, lost 3.2%, after multiple brokerages flagged weakness in its oil-to-chemicals and retail businesses. The stock dragged the oil and gas index 1.1% lower.
Financials, IT drag India's equity benchmarks to third weekly loss
The broader small-cap index ended flat, pressured by post-earnings declines in Newgen Software and Indiamart Intermesh, while mid-caps rose 0.6%.
'While strong macro fundamentals, a steady monsoon, and healthy domestic flows support the market setup, trade deal uncertainty with the U.S. will likely keep indices range-bound in the near term,' Gandhi said.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal with India was very close, ahead of the August 1 deadline.
Metal stocks gained about 1% on expectations of additional stimulus from China.
Among other stocks, Bandhan Bank lost 2.4% on a steeper-than-expected drop in profit due to bad loan provisions spiking.
Anthem Biosciences listed at a nearly 27% premium to its issue price and closed 28.1% higher in debut trade.
UltraTech Cement closed 0.5% higher after a quarterly profit beat while Eternal surged 5.6% on June quarter revenue spike.
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