Indices spurt in early trade; strong market breadth

The key equity benchmarks edged higher in early trade amid across the board buying in index pivotals. The Nifty hovered near the 17,400 mark. Positive Asian stocks boosted sentiment.

At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 477.64 points or 0.83% to 58,286.22. The Nifty 50 index added 132.40 points or 0.77% at 17,399.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.79% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.86%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1863 shares rose and 683 shares fell. A total of 71 shares were unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting commenced on 8 February 2022 and the outcome would be announced on 10 February 2022. The RBI may hold its repo rate steady but an increase in the reverse repo rate is expected as part of a process to reduce the surplus liquidity poured into the markets earlier during the pandemic, as per reports.

On the political front, developments in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur will be closely watched. Polls in all the five states will be held between February 10 and March 7 in seven phases. The counting of votes and the result will be declared on March 10.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel shed 0.30% to Rs 706.70. The telecom major reported a 2.8% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 830 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 853.6 crore posted in Q3 FY21. Total revenues stood at Rs 29,867 crore, up 18.3% YoY on a comparable basis.

Vedanta slipped 0.51% to Rs 367.70. The board of directors of the company concluded that the current structure is optimal and is commensurate with the current scale and its diversified lines of businesses. Therefore, the company will not undertake any corporate restructure including demerger/spin off etc. and will continue with its existing structure.

IRCTC advanced 2.06% to Rs 855.35. The company reported net profit at Rs 208.8 crore in Q3FY22 as against Rs 78.08 crore in Q3FY21. Total revenue jumped to Rs 556.51 crore from Rs 245.23 crore YoY.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) fell 3.79% to Rs 406.35. The company posted consolidated net profit of Rs 1622 crore in Q3FY22 against Rs 2440 crore in Q3FY21. Gross revenue rose to Rs 14152 crore from Rs 10449 crore YoY.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading higher on Wednesday, with stocks in Hong Kong leading gains regionally.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors digested another batch of corporate earnings and awaited key inflation data later this week.

The US trade deficit surged to a record high in 2021 as imports increased sharply amid the restocking of shelves by businesses to meet robust domestic demand. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that the trade deficit increased 27% last year to an all-time high of $859.1 billion. The deficit was at $676.7 billion in 2020.

Meanwhile, investors await the release of U.S. consumer inflation data expected Thursday for clues on how the Federal Reserve could react to the rising price pressures.

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