The domestic equity benchmarks extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded some points above the 17,500 level, after hitting the day's high of 17,709.15 in morning trade. European markets edged lower while those in Asian traded in a mixed manner.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 281.76 points or 0.47% to 59,049.14. The Nifty 50 index lost 87.65 points or 0.5% to 17,516.70.
IndusInd Bank (down 4.31%), JSW Steel (down 3.33%), Power Grid Corp (down 3.31%), Hindustan Unilever (down 2.81%) and Hindalco (down 2.61%) were the top Nifty losers.
Ultratech Cement (up 1.42%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.30%), Coal India (up 1.17%), Infosys (up 1.04%) and Wipro (up 0.73%) were the top Nifty gainers.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.18%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,404 shares rose and 2,104 shares fell. A total of 182 shares were unchanged.
Investors turned cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that begins Tuesday, post which the US FOMC will announce its latest interest rate decision. Further, the Union Budget 2023, to be presented on February 1, will keep the markets buzzing throughout this week.
Earnings Impact:
Bajaj Finserv advanced 2.11%. The company reported 41.9% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,782.02 crore on a 23.47% increase in total income to Rs 21,755.35 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
Bajaj Finance rose 3.93%. The NFBC's consolidated net profit surged 39.89% to Rs 2,973 crore on 26.31% jump in total income to Rs 10,785.95 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
NTPC gained 1.95%. The state-run power major's consolidated net profit rose 6.18% to Rs 4,776.61 crore on 33.97% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 44,601.84 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
Vedanta shed 0.11%. On consolidated basis, the mining company's net profit declined 42.25% to Rs 3,092 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 5,354 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations fell marginally to Rs 33,691 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 33,697 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year.
Bharat Electronics (BEL) slumped 6.63%. BEL reported 2.64% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 598.77 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 583.37 crore in Q3 FY22. The PSU company's net sales increased 10.6% to Rs 4,046.11 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2022 compared with Rs 3,656.22 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Global Markets:
Markets in Europe declined across the board while their Asian peers traded in a mixed manner on Monday as investors focus on the next U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that begins Tuesday.
The two-day meeting will conclude with the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee announcing its latest interest rate decision.
The Fed is expected to hike rates by one-quarter of a percentage point. Investors will be looking for clues about how much higher the central bank will take rates in the fight against inflation.
US stocks ended higher on Friday, fueled by gains in Tesla shares and a better-than-expected GDP report on Thursday.
