Indices drift higher in early trade, breadth strong

The key equity indices were trading with minor gains in early trade amid positive global cues. The Nifty traded above the 18,300 level. PSU bank, IT and bank stocks advanced while metal and realty shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 147.5 points or 0.24% to 61,658.08. The Nifty 50 index added 50.45 points or 0.28% to 18,317.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.31% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.53%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,882 shares rose, and 827 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 789.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 413.75 crore in the Indian equity market on 23 November, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.11%. RIL said that Jio announced that Jio True 5G will now be available in Pune from 23 November 2022. Jio users in Pune will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, to experience Unlimited Data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds, at no additional cost.

Biocon rose 0.30%. Biocon announced the signing of a semi-exclusive partnership agreement with Zentiva, a leading pharmaceutical company in Europe, for the commercialization of its vertically integrated, complex formulation, Liraglutide, a drug-device combination for the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Can Fin Homes rose 0.47%. Can Fin Homes said its board of directors will hold a meeting to consider a proposal for payment of interim dividend for financial year 2022-23 on 28 November 2022.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading mostly higher on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve said they expect to switch to smaller rate hikes soon, according to minutes released on Wednesday.

The Bank of Korea raised Its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, a smaller hike than its previous move and widely in line with expectations.

US markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and will close early on Friday. Stocks rose Wednesday and notched the second straight day of gains as investors cheered minutes from the Federal Reserve that signaled a slower pace of interest rate hikes ahead.

The report showed that the central bank sees progress in its fight to lower inflation and expects to slow the pace of interest rate hikes going forward. A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate, the minutes stated. The uncertain lags and magnitudes associated with the effects of monetary policy actions on economic activity and inflation were among the reasons cited regarding why such an assessment was important.

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