Six Stocks In The News At Noon: ICICI Bank, IDFC First, NTPC, And More

The Indian stock markets were trading in the red on Monday, ahead of the Union Budget 2025, with Nifty 50 down 0.96% and BSE Sensex lower by 0.90%. The market decline can be attributed to a combination of muted earnings and global uncertainties, including developments under the Trump administration. Amid the market slump, certain stocks were making headlines for specific reasons. Here’s a look at the stocks in the spotlight as of noon

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd. rose 1.62% on Monday, bucking the downward trend in the broader market. The gain came after analysts raised their target price for the bank, citing better-than-expected earnings for the December quarter.

ICICI Bank reported a 15% year-on-year increase in its profit after tax, reaching Rs 11,792 crore, surpassing analysts' expectations of Rs 11,495 crore. However, provisions and contingencies for the quarter rose by 17% on the year, totaling Rs 1,227 crore, indicating higher loan loss provisions.

Trident Ltd.'s shares fell sharply, hitting a near two-year low in Monday’s session. The share was down 9.85%. The company reported a 26.7% year-on-year drop in net profit, with its profit standing at Rs 80.1 crore for the December quarter, down from Rs 109 crore in the same period last year.

The decline was attributed to a 9.18% fall in revenue, which stood at Rs 1,667 crore compared to Rs 1,835 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s operating profit also declined by 21.1%, contributing to a fall in its operating margin to 12.4% from 14.2% in the same period last year.

IDFC First Bank Ltd.’s shares dropped by a significant 7.74% following disappointing quarterly results for the period ending December 2024. The private sector lender reported a 53% year-on-year decline in its net profit, which stood at Rs 716 crore.

The fall in profit was primarily driven by a sharp rise in provisions, particularly for the microfinance institutions segment. Despite a 69% improvement in net profit on a sequential basis, the higher provisioning for stressed loans in the MFI segment weighed heavily on the bank's financial performance.

Central Depository Services Ltd. also saw its shares decline, hitting their lowest level since October 2024 despite reporting a 21% year-on-year growth in net profit for the quarter ended December 2024.

CDSL posted a net profit of Rs 130 crore, up from Rs 107 crore in the same quarter last year. The company also reported that approximately 92 lakh new demat accounts were opened during the quarter, which failed to provide sufficient support for the stock.

NTPC Ltd.'s share price fell nearly 3% during early trading on Monday, following the release of its third-quarter financial results. The state-owned power generation company reported a 1.8% year-on-year decline in net profit, which stood at Rs 5,063 crore for the October-December 2024 quarter, compared to Rs 5,155 crore a year ago.

While revenue increased by 5.2% to Rs 45,053 crore, it missed analysts' consensus estimate of Rs 46,577 crore. The decline in profits was mainly attributed to higher current and deferred taxes.

Waaree Energies Ltd. extended its losses for the fourth consecutive session, with shares dropping nearly 10% in early trade on Monday. This brings the total decline in the stock over the past four sessions to 18%. The pressure on the stock comes amid a global decrease in solar photovoltaic module prices due to persistent overcapacities.