Indian markets closed lower amid rising crude and weaker financial stocks, but key earnings headlines, including SBI’s strong profit growth, point to cautious resilience amid signposts of economic health.
Indian equities ended the previous session under pressure as financial stocks weakened and crude oil climbed, setting a cautious tone for a busy earnings day that will see a long list of companies report first-quarter numbers, including Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Delhivery, PNC Infratech, Power Mech Projects and Affle 3i.
State Bank of India offered one of the clearest signals on the health of corporate and consumer demand, reporting a 10.23% rise in quarterly net profit to ₹21,121 crore for the April-to-June period. According to SBI, net interest income climbed 14.41% to ₹46,992 crore, supported by 18.63% loan growth, while its domestic net interest margin improved sequentially to 3%, in line with the bank’s FY27 guidance. Chairman C S Setty also said the lender expects to raise $10 billion through foreign currency non-resident deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s concessional swap scheme.
The broader market’s mood on August 7 reflected that mix of caution and resilience. The Sensex fell 455.59 points, while the Nifty 50 also closed lower. Financial services and private banks were the weakest sectors, though auto and IT names held up better, and the mid-cap index edged higher even as small caps slipped.
Among the most closely watched results expected on August 8 is Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail. Livemint reported that the company posted operating profit of ₹203.93 crore in the latest quarter, more than doubling from the previous quarter, while profit after tax rose sharply to ₹211.98 crore. The company’s total income came in at ₹1,831.46 crore, with the operating margin still negative, underscoring that profitability remains uneven even after a strong sequential improvement.
Delhivery, another key name on the day’s list, reported a strong start to its financial year in its earlier quarter, with revenue from services of ₹2,294 crore, EBITDA of ₹149 crore and profit after tax of ₹91 crore. The logistics company said shipment volumes and tonnage both grew at double-digit rates, a sign that scale gains and operating discipline are continuing to improve results.
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