Axis Bank Gives Up Most Of Day's Gains After Quarterly Earnings

Axis Bank shares gave up most of early gains to close on a flat note on Wednesday, a day after the private sector lender reported an improvement in its asset quality. In a regulatory filing after market hours on Tuesday, Axis Bank reported  a net loss of Rs 112.08 crore for the quarter ended September 30, surprising analysts. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Axis Bank shares rose as much as 2.42 per cent to an intraday high of Rs 730 apiece on Wednesday. The stock opened higher at Rs 718 apiece and rose to as much as Rs 730 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), marking an increase of 2.42 per cent.

Axis Bank's net interest income (NII) - the difference between interest earned and interest expended - stood at Rs. 6,101.83 crore in the second quarter of current financial year.

Gross non-performing assets as a percentage of total loans stood at 5.03 per cent in the July-September period.

Its tax expense rose 6.75 times to Rs. 2,545.27 crore in the quarter ended September 30.

The bank said the spike in tax expenses was on account of a write-down of net deferred tax assets worth Rs. 2,137.59 crore, which was fully charged to the profit and loss account. 

Axis Bank shares rose 2.10 points or 0.85 per cent higher to close at Rs 714.80 apiece on the BSE. On the NSE, it advanced 3.65 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at Rs 716.40 apiece.

The Sensex ended 95 points or 0.24 per cent higher at 39,059 and the NSE Nifty 50 index advanced 16 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 11,604.