As per the provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 138.59 points or 0.26% at 52,975.76. The Nifty 50 index closed 32 points or 0.2% higher at 15,856.45.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.07% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.11%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1575 shares rose and 1670 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 247.59 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 942.55 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 July 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,25,78,206 with 41,35,859 deaths. India reported 4,05,513 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,19,470 deaths while 3,04,68,079 patient have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Supreme Court AGR Verdict:

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea of telecom companies for correction of alleged errors in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) calculation. The top court had in September last year granted telecom companies a period of 10 years to clear their pending AGR dues to the central government with 10% payment every year. The deadline given to the company for first instalment was 31 March 2021.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted telecom companies 10 years to clear AGR (adjusted gross revenue) dues of around Rs 1.43 lakh crore to the Centre, providing much needed relief to some of the telcos which could have faced the prospect of winding up their operations for being unable to pay the entire amount at one go.

The matter came back to the court after the telcos didn't submit the amount disputing the calculation done by the department of telecom (DoT) and claiming that they have already submitted more than 10% of the amount.

The total liability on Vodafone-Idea is Rs 58,254 crore, while Bharti Airtel has to pay Rs 43,980 crore and Tata Teleservices owes Rs 16,798 crore to the government.

Bharti Airtel (up 0.09%), Vodafone Idea (down 9.62%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 5%).

Nifty Result Today:

Index major Reliance Industries (down 0.66%) will announce its quarterly result today.

New Listing:

Shares of Zomato were currently trading at Rs 125.15 on the BSE, a premium of 64.67% as compared with the issue price of Rs 76 per share. The scrip listed at a price of Rs 115 apiece, at a premium of 51.32% to the issue price. So far, the scrip has hit a high of Rs 138 and a low of Rs 114 in trade today. Over 450.33 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter till now.

The initial public offer of online food delivery platform Zomato received bids for 2,751.27 crore shares as against 71.92 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data. The issue was subscribed 38.25 times. The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (14 July 2021) and closed on Friday (16 July 2021).

Earnings Impact:

IndiaMART InterMESH gained 3.39% after the B2B company's consolidated net profit jumped 18.62% to Rs 87.90 crore on a 18.61% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 181.60 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Total revenue grew due to improvement in realization from existing customers and increase in number of paying subscription suppliers. The consolidated deferred revenue increased to Rs 715 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 628 crore in Q1 FY21. Consolidated EBITDA grew 21% to Rs 89 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 73 crore in Q1 FY21. EBITDA margin improved to 49% during the quarter as compared to 48% during Q1 FY21. Profit margin stood at 42% in Q1 FY22 over 40% in Q1 FY21.

Indian Energy Exchange fell 0.29%. The company recorded a 49.3% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 62.82 crore on a 34.1% rise in net sales to Rs 91.03 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. On a sequential basis, net profit increased by 2.11% while net sales declined nearly 3% in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. On the operational front, electricity volume increased by 42.9% to 21,266 million units (MU) in Q1 FY22 as against 14,878 MU recorded in the same period last year. IEX said the growth in electricity volume was largely driven by competitive power prices on the exchange, growing electricity consumption, and vibrant performance of new market segments.

Mphasis surged 4.98% after the IT firm reported a 7.17% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 339.68 crore in Q1 FY22 over Rs 316.93 crore in Q4 FY21. Consolidated revenue from operations grew 6.59% to Rs 2,690.83 crore in Q1 June 2021 from Rs 2,524.28 crore in Q4 March 2021. In constant currency, growth was 5.9% QoQ and 16.3% YoY. Profit before tax climbed 8.12% to Rs 458.05 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 423.62 crore in Q4 FY21.

Persistent Systems jumped 6.38% after the IT firm reported a 9.79% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 151.24 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Rs 137.75 crore in Q4 March 2021 (Q4 FY21). Consolidated revenue from operations grew 10.47% to Rs 1,229.92 crore in Q1 June 2021 from Rs 1,113.35 crore in Q4 March 2021. Profit before tax climbed 9.83% to Rs 203.05 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 184.87 crore in Q4 FY21. The Q1 result was declared post market hours yesterday, 22 July 2021. Consolidated EBITDA soared 7% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) and 37.6% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) to Rs 201.52 crore, with margins at 16.4% during the quarter. The order booking for the quarter ended on 30 June 2021 stood at $244.8 million in Total Contract Value (TCV) and at $188.83 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV).

Can Fin Homes fell 2.13%. The housing finance company posted a 16.84% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 108.84 crore on a 13.71% rise in total income from operations to Rs 450.84 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21 Standalone profit before tax climbed 15.83% to Rs 146 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 126.04 crore in Q1 FY21. New Approvals surged 214.01% to Rs 829 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 264 crore in Q1 FY21. Disbursements soared 122.94% to Rs 894 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 401 crore in Q1 FY21. Outstanding loan book rose 6.61% to Rs 22,221 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 20,843 crore in Q1 FY21.

Biocon fell 1.44% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 43.5% to Rs 84.4 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 149 crore in Q1 FY21. Revenue from operations increased by 4% YoY to Rs 1,761 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 1693.8 crore in Q1 FY21. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and revenue from operations have declined by 67% and 4%, respectively. On the segmental front, revenue from Generics was Rs 486 crore (down 22% YoY), revenue from Biosimilars was Rs 758 crore (up 10% YoY) and revenue from research services was Rs 595 crore (up 41% YoY) in the first quarter. The Novel Biologics segment recorded revenue of Rs 11 crore during the period under review.

Federal Bank rose 1.48%. The private sector bank reported 23% fall in net profit to Rs 367 crore on a 5% increase in total income 4,006 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Net interest income (NII) remained flat at Rs 1,418 crore in the first quarter as compared with Rs 1,420 crore in the same period last year. Net interest margin (NIM) was at 3.15% as on 30 June 2021 as against 3.23% as on 30 June 2020. Operating profit jumped 28% to Rs 1,135 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 885 crore in Q1 FY21. Total provisions increased by 89% to Rs 768 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 407 crore in Q1 FY21. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 4,649.33 crore as on 30 June 2021 as against Rs 4,602.39 crore as on 31 March 2021 and Rs 3,655.59 crore as on 30 June 2020.

Global Markets:

European markets were trading higher while Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as investors monitored Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong after regulatory concerns resurfaced. Markets in Japan were closed on Friday for a holiday.

As per reports, Beijing is considering harsh penalties on ride-hailing giant Didi. The penalties being planned range from a fine likely bigger than the record $2.8 billion Alibaba paid earlier this year to even a forced delisting after Didi's IPO last month.

Tech shares led U.S. stocks higher Thursday, despite an unexpected jump in jobless claims that resurfaced some concerns about the economy and sent bond yields lower. Investors jumped back into their favorite tech stocks as optimism about the sector grows ahead of big earnings reports next week for some of the largest names in the space.

Jobless claims in the US unexpectedly rose to 419,000, more than the upwardly revised 368,000 from the previous period.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank on Thursday said interest rates would stay at their current record low levels until it sees inflation "durably" reaching the bank's new target of 2%. The 25-member governing council "expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it sees inflation reaching 2% well ahead of the end of its projection horizon and durably for the rest of the projection horizon," the bank said in a statement, adding that "this may also imply a transitory period in which inflation is moderately above target".