Indian share markets ended the day on a flat note. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex finished higher by 8 points. While, the NSE Nifty finished up by 2 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap Index ended down by 0.1% while S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended up by 0.1%.
Sectoral indices ended the day on a mixed note with bank stocks and realty stocks leading the gainers. While, consumer durables stocks and capital goods stocks ended the day in red.
Overseas, Asian stock markets finished broadly higher today with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. The Hang Seng is up 1.36% while China's Shanghai Composite is up 0.79% and Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 0.18%. European markets are mixed. The FTSE 100 is higher by 0.09%, while the CAC 40 is leading the DAX lower. They are down 0.53% and 0.52% respectively.
The rupee was trading at Rs 67.08 against the US$ in the afternoon session.
ICICI Bank share price was among the top gainers today after the company declared results for the March 2018 quarter. ICICI Bank surged by 5%, while BSE Bankex ended up 1.3%
The bank reported 49.6% YoY drop in standalone profit at Rs 10.2 billion for the March quarter on sharp rise in provisions for the bad loans.
In the news from the banking sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Bank of India (BoI) has an exposure of Rs 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank fraud case and the public-sector lender has initiated insolvency proceedings against Nirav Modi firms.
Diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are alleged to have perpetrated the country's biggest banking sector scam of Rs 130 billion at Punjab National Bank, mainly by way of issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).
The Centre has also intervened in the bankruptcy proceedings of Nirav Modi firms in the US to protect the interests of PNB.