Indices trade with minor cuts, breadth negative

The domestic equity barometers were trading lower in early trade amidst rate hike fears. Reserve Bank of India and U.S. Federal Reserve minutes revealed that they are willing to keep increasing the interest rates as inflation remains a concern. The Nifty traded around the 17,500 level. Barring the Nifty Metal index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red. Trading could be volatile on account of monthly options expiry.

At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 162.75 points or 0.27% to 59,582.23. The Nifty 50 index shed 52.15 points or 0.30% to 17,502.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.70% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.14%

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,158 shares rose and 1,409 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 579.82 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 371.56 crore in the Indian equity market on 22 February, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hero MotoCorp shed 0.32%. VIDA, Powered by Hero, the mobility brand of Hero MotoCorp has initiated operations of its public charging infrastructure in Bengaluru, Delhi and Jaipur. The brand has set up nearly 300 charging points at 50 locations across the three cities for public use.

Wipro added 0.19%. Wipro Lab45, the innovation lab of Wipro, announced the launch of its Decentralized Identity and Credential Exchange (DICE) ID, which puts users in control of their personal data and enables faster, easier and secure sharing of private information online.

Biocon declined 1.04%. The company has fulfilled its payment obligation and has fully redeemed the commercial papers (CPs) of Rs. 2,250 crore on maturity date of 22 February 2023.

Lemon Tree Hotels rose 1.70%. The company has signed a License Agreement for a 47 room property in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh under the company's brand 'Lemon Tree Hotel'. The hotel is expected to be operational by December, 2023.

H.G. Infra Engineering gained 1.77%. The company has been declared as lowest bidder by Rail Vikas Nigam , Chandigarh for the project in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The estimated project cost is Rs 535.15 crore.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve released the minutes of its most recent meeting that showed central bank members are still committed to fighting inflation with rate hikes. Japanese market is closed today for the Emperor's birthday.

The Bank of Korea held its interest rates at 3.5%, a first in nearly a year of rate hikes, and in line with expectations.

Wall Street ended broadly lower on Wednesday, with investors cautious despite the latest guidance on rate policy from the US central bank showing few surprises.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's January 31-February 1 meeting said that "almost all" Fed officials agreed to slow the pace of increases in interest rates to a quarter of a percentage point.

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