Bajaj Finance Jumps 5% as Quarterly Profit Rises 28%

Shares of Bajaj Finance, one of India's largest non-bank lenders, rose 5 percent after the company reported strong quarterly results. The Economic Times reported that standalone net profit climbed 28 percent from a year earlier to 6,081 crore rupees, while net interest income, the gap between what a lender earns on loans and pays on deposits, grew 23 percent to 12,571 crore rupees.

The results prompted several brokerages, including Nomura and Nuvama, to raise their price targets on the stock. The strength came from lending to Indian households and small businesses, the domestic demand that has supported the country's financial-sector earnings.

The performance stands out against a global backdrop of oil-price risk from the Middle East and shifting interest-rate expectations abroad. India's large, credit-hungry consumer base gives its lenders an earnings stream that is relatively insulated from external shocks, a quality that continues to draw investors seeking growth separated from global stress.

That insulation is not absolute. A sharp rise in oil prices or a sustained tightening in global funding would eventually reach Indian borrowers. For now, the domestic credit cycle is sustaining financial-sector profits even as external conditions remain uncertain.