Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Friday with the Sensex gaining 104.25 points or 0.18% to settle at 59,307.15. The Nifty gained 12.35  points or 0.07% to end at 17,576.30.

The broader indices ended mixed with the BSE MidCap index gaining 0.30% and the SmallCap index up by 0.01%. The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex by 2.07%, Realty by 0.10%, and PSU by 0.09%. While the top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods by 1.12%, Industrials by 1.07%, Metal by 0.89%, Power by 0.74% and Utilities by 0.55%.

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Here are the key stocks that moved the most on October 21:

Axis Bank: The stock ended nearly 9% higher at Rs 900.25 on the BSE after announcing better-than-expected earnings in the September quarter. The private lender recorded a 70% increase in its consolidated net profit for the September quarter, which came in at Rs 5,329.77 crore. This rise was driven mostly by margin growth and a considerable decrease in bad loan costs. The assets climbed by 14%, while the net interest margin improved by 0.57 percentage points to 3.96%, resulting in a 31% rise in core net interest income to Rs 10,360 crore.

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Bajaj Finance: The stock ended 3.22% lower at Rs 7,192.75 after the company reported its performance for the second quarter of the financial year 2022-23. It reported a net profit of Rs 2,781 crore, a hike of 88% against its net profit of Rs 1,481 crore in the corresponding quarter of the financial year 2021-22. The net interest income (NII) jumped by 31% YoY to Rs 7,001. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) reported by the company were 1.17%, while net non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 0.44%. 

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Bharat Dynamics: The stock ended 3.76% higher at Rs 956.25 on the BSE after it entered into an MoU with Dassault Aviation Pvt Ltd for the Integration of BDL Weapon Systems like Astra & Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon on Rafale Aircraft for the Indian Armed Forces and future export market.   

Delhivery: The stock ended 17.98% lower at Rs 386.55 on the BSE, hitting a new low. The share is down by over 30% in the last two trading sessions, since it released a weak quarterly update. 

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Hindustan Unilever: The stock ended 2.11% higher at Rs 2,655.05 on the BSE ahead of its September quarter reports. The company will announced its second-quarter results after market hours.   

ITC Limited: The stock ended 1.19% lower at Rs 345.55 on the BSE after the company reported a 20% rise reaching Rs 4,426 crore in the second quarter of the financial year 2022-23. The net profit is up by 7.1% quarter-on-quarter.

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Rane (Madras): The stock ended 4.79% higher at Rs 348.00 on the BSE after the company reported an 11% hike in its second quarter net profit at Rs 9.7 crore against Rs 8.7 crore. Revenue was up 31% at Rs 600.4 crore compared to Rs 468.4 crore year-on-year.