Indices slump in early trade on weak global cues

The key equity indices are trading with steep losses in early trade amid heavy selling in index pivotals. The Nifty was trading below the 17,600 mark. Shares across sectors declined, with IT, metals, banks and healthcare stocks falling the most. Weak global cues played the spoilsport.

At 09:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 669.31 points or 1.13% to 58,795.31. The Nifty 50 index lost 194.75 points or 1.10% to 17,562.25.

Power Grid Corp (up 0.84%), BPCL (up 0.55%), Hindalco (up 0.37%), and NTPC (up 0.26%) were the top index gainers.

Bajaj Finserv (down 2.85%), Dr Reddy's Lab (down 2.61%), Infosys (down 2.29%) and Divi's Lab (down 2.28%) were the top index losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.91% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.56%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 932 shares rose and 1712 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) added 0.15% to Rs 2265. The FMCG major posted 16.76% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,243 crore on 10.43% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 12,900 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Havells India shed 0.54% to Rs 1303.10. The company registered a 12% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 306 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 349 crore posted in Q3 FY21. Net revenue increased by 15% to Rs 3,652 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 3,166 crore posted in Q3 FY21.

Surya Roshni gained 1.74% to Rs 528.65. The company received orders of Rs 123.17 crore for ERW line pipe (API 5L GRADE) and MS bare pipe 3LPE coated.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Friday, tracking declines on Wall Street overnight.

Japan's inflation data released on Friday showed that core consumer prices rose 0.5% in December compared to a year earlier, as fuel and raw material costs increased, as per reports.

US stocks moved lower on Thursday, giving up their sharp gains from earlier in the session, as Wall Street continues to struggle this year in a rising interest rate environment.

Concern that the Federal Reserve will aggressively move to raise rates this year took toll on the market. Investors are anxiously awaiting the U.S. central bank's policy meeting next week for new details on how it will tackle inflation.

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