Axis Bank | Mutual Fund | ITC

NEW DELHI: Axis Bank shares were under heavy selling pressure on Friday amid rumours of a scam in its subsidiary Axis Mutual Fund. The stock plummeted over 4 per cent on BSE.

Media reports said the mutual fund arm of the lender removed Viresh Joshi, head trader and fund manager, from the fund management team of seven of its equity schemes. Deepak Agrawal, equity research analyst and fund manager, has also been removed from the management team of three funds.

According to sources, both the fund managers have been suspended on allegations of front running. The fund house, in a media statement, said it conducted a suo moto investigation for two months before taking this decision.

Buying before Q4

Shares of ITC saw buying after the company said it would come out with its earnings in mid-May. ITC, in a stock exchange filing, announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company has been scheduled for May 18, 2022.

The board will also consider the recommendation of the final dividend for the aforesaid financial year. YES Securities, in its projection for the quarterly earnings, said two-year revenue growth of 18 per cent, led by stable excise and improvement.

The stock has seen some buying in the last couple of months. The counter is up 32 per cent in the last year.

Good Q4 Show

CSB Bank on Friday said its net profit more than doubled from Rs 218.40 crore in FY21 to Rs 458.49 crore in FY22. Q4FY22 net profit was at Rs 130.67 crore as against Rs 42.89 crore in Q4FY21—a growth of 205 per cent.

In Q4, the net interest income (NII) stood at Rs 303.83 crore as against Rs 275.70 crore in the same quarter last year, registering a growth of 10.20 per cent. Increase in NII has been powered by spread and volume effects, the lender said.

Thanks to superb numbers, shares of the company were in demand. The stock climbed 10 per cent on BSE.