India's foreign exchange reserves increased $1.25 billion for the week ended April 21 to close at $371.13 billion, apparently aided by sustained buying of Indian debt and equity by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The reserves came close to the all-time high of $371.99 billion reported for the week ended September 30, 2016.
FIIs had invested almost $3.4 billion in Indian stocks and about $3 billion in debt till Wednesday this month, indicating optimism in the world's fastest-growing economy.
The increase in foreign exchange reserves was mainly on account of the $1.24 billion rise in foreign currency assets that stood at $347.48 billion. Gold reserves remained unchanged at $19.87 billion, according to the weekly statistical supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday evening.
The stock markets retreated on Friday mainly due to profit-booking after closing at historic highs the previous day. The BSE Sensex ended 111 points lower at 29,918 while the NSE Nifty closed 38 points down at 9,304.
"There was profit booking which pulled down the market into negative territory. Traders were booking profit at higher levels on concern of weak Asian markets. Asian stocks slid from fresh 22-month highs on uncertainty surrounding U.S President Donald Trump's long- term plans and ongoing geopolitical concerns," brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities said in a note on Friday.
Top Sensex losers were ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and TCS while index stocks that gained included ONGC, State Bank of India and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Stocks that hit new 52-week high on Friday included private sector lender Federal Bank, state-owned lenders Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank, Bank of India and Canara Bank, and Maruti Suzuki and Hindalco.
Federal Bank Q4 net profit spurts 25 times
Federal Bank reported robust numbers for the March 2017 quarter (Q4) on Friday. The lender's net profit rose 25 times to Rs 256 crore from Rs 10 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The bank declared a dividend of 45 percent. The gross and net non-performing assets (NPAs) 2.33 percent and 1.28 percent, respectively, as of March 31, 2017.
"Federal Bank has come out with a strong set of results for the quarter. Business growth remained robust with loan and deposits growing by 26% and 23% respectively. Slippages during the quarter at INR 244 cr were also lower compared to INR 274 cr in Q3FY17," Siddharth Purohit, sr. equity research analyst-banking, at brokerage Angel Broking, said in a note.
FII, DII activity on Friday
FIIs were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 1,150 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Indian stocks worth Rs 1,684 crore.
The Indian rupee closed 8 paise lower at 64.24 to the US dollar on Friday. The domestic currency has gained 5.84 percent to the US dollar since January 2, 2017 when the rupee closed at 68.23.
