The BSE Sensex closed 8 points higher at 35,216 on Tuesday, rising for a second straight day. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) benchmark index held the 10,700 mark, finishing the session 2 points higher at 10,717. Gains were led by banking and real estate stocks, however upside in the markets was limited due to selloff witnessed in IT, auto and capital goods stocks. Shares in ICICI Bank, which had reported earnings the previous day, rose nearly 7 per cent. Hindustan Petroleum, Eicher Motors and Bharat Petroleum were other top gainers on the Nifty 50, settling around 2-3 per cent higher.
ICICI Bank had on Monday reported that its net profit for January-March almost halved to Rs 1,020 crore. On bad loans, ICICI's long-serving Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar, said the focus was turning to recovery and resolution and the bank would aim to lower its net non-performing loan ratio to 1.5 per cent in two years from 4.77 per cent at the end of March. "We believe that since a lot of the stress has already been recognised, going forward, in fact, our focus will be on recovery and resolution," she said.
The rupee traded in the range of 67.27-66.99 against dollar in afternoon deals. The Indian currency had closed at a 15-month low of 67.13 against the US dollar on Monday. (Also read: Rupee continues to fall against dollar)
Global crude oil prices stood near their highest since late 2014, ahead of an announcement by US President Donald Trump on whether he would withdraw from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, which fuelled concerns about crude supply.
Investors awaited an announcement by US President Donald Trump later in the day on whether the United States would reimpose sanctions on Iran. Should Mr Trump pull the US out of a multi-nation agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme, Iranian crude exports might be affected, but analysts said it would also fan the flames of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which is home to a third of the world's daily oil supply.
(With agency inputs)
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