 |
STREET INVESTMENT |
The key equity indices continued to trade near the day's high with significant gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,900 level. IT, FMCG and financial services stocks were in demand while realty, media and healthcare shares saw a bit of selling pressure.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 567.51 points or 0.94% to 60,999.35. The Nifty 50 index gained 145.35 points or 0.80% to 17,913.25.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.45%
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,278 shares rose and 2,127 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.
Traders in domestic as well as global markets will await the US retail inflation reading for January 2023, scheduled for release later in the day. Although the annual figure is expected to show further easing in price growth last month, it is still predicted to remain relatively high, which could invite more interest rate hikes by the Fed.
Adding to the broader economic picture was the release of fresh growth forecasts for the European Union. The European Commission lifted its projections for the EU, saying the bloc will likely dodge a recession, thanks in part to easing gas costs. The outlook for headline inflation in the 27-member bloc was also lowered, but the EU's executive arm warned that price pressures remain both strong and persistent.
Economy:
India's annual wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation eased to 24-month low of 4.73% in January 2023 as compared to 4.95% recorded in December 2022 and 13.68% in January 2022.
“Decline in the rate of inflation in January 2023 is primarily contributed by mineral oils, chemicals & chemical products, textiles, crude petroleum & natural gas, textiles, and food products,” the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement today.
India's retail inflation accelerated to a three-month high in January, reverting to over the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance band of 6% after a gap of two months, led by a spike in food prices and elevated prices in the non-food segment.
Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hardened to 6.52% in January, after declining to a one-year low level of 5.72% in December, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday. Core inflation, which is non-food, non-fuel inflation remained over the 6% mark at 6.2% in January.
The unexpected surge in headline inflation has raised the likelihood of further tightening of the monetary policy in April, with economists reportedly estimating inflation to remain over the 6% mark over the coming months due to sticky core inflation.
Gainers & Losers:
UPL (up 3.29%), ITC (up 3.05%), Reliance Industries (up 2.38%), HCL Technologies (up 2.05%) and Infosys (up 1.75%) were major Nifty gainers.
Adani Enterprises (down 3.41%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 1.57%), NTPC (down 1.43%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.20%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (down 1.06%) were top Nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) fell 1.10% after the company's consolidated net profit slumped 91.9% to Rs 24.31 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 298.73 crore recorded in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations declined marginally to Rs 2,111.18 crore in quarter ended 31 December 2022 from Rs 2,112.64 crore posted in the same period a year ago.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL) rose 0.18%. The iron & steel maker's standalone net profit slumped 67.9% to Rs 463.54 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared to Rs 1,443.10 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations declined marginally to Rs 25,041.88 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 25,245.92 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year.
Shree Cement advanced 1.25%. The cement maker said that Prakash Narayan Chhangani, has resigned from the post of whole time director with effect from close of business hours on 13 February 2023. Chhangani resigned from the post to pursue his career outside the organization.
Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company tumbled 7.68%. The company reported a net profit of Rs 10.15 crore in Q3 FY23 as against a net loss of Rs 15.84 crore in Q3 FY22. The company returned to black after posting losses for nine back-to-back quarters. The last time it posted a quarterly profit was in June 2020 at Rs 58 crore.
Global markets:
Most of the Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday as investors await the release of the U.S. consumer price index report, which will shape the Federal Reserve's path ahead.
Japan's economy expanded by 0.6% on an annualized basis for the fourth quarter of 2022. The figure was a rebound from a revised contraction of 1% seen in the third quarter of 2022 compared to a year ago.
On Tuesday, the Japanese government is expected to name academic Kazuo Ueda as its pick to become the next central bank governor. Kazuo Ueda's probable appointment as the next governor of the Bank of Japan could improve the odds of an end to its unpopular yield control policy.
A global research house on Monday reportedly cut Japanese stocks to underweight, saying that a Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy change away from its ultra-loose monetary strategy could push global yields higher and reduce risk appetite.
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday as investors awaited inflation data likely to hint at the path of the Federal Reserve's future interest rate hikes, while Meta Platforms gained after a report that the Facebook parent was planning fresh layoffs.
