Indices trade with modest gains; breadth positive

The domestic equity barometers traded with modest gains in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. The Nifty traded tad below the 16,200 mark. Banks and financials advanced while IT stocks witnessed some bit of selling pressure.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 285.69 points or 0.53% to 54,338.30. The Nifty 50 index added 71.15 points or 0.44% to 16,196.30.

SBI Life (up 2.88%), IndusInd Bank (up 2.72%), Nestle India (up 1.81%), HDFC Life (up 1.80%) and SBI (up 1.68%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Asian Paints (down 3.12%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.91%), JSW Steel (down 1.10%) were the top Nifty laggards.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.06%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,243 shares rose and 1,079 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Grasim Industries shed 0.84%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 61.89% to Rs 2,777.15 crore on 18.07% rise in net sales to Rs 28,811.39 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) slipped 2.47%. The company's consolidated net profit dropped to Rs 1033 crore in Q4 March 2022 from Rs 1321 crore in Q4 March 2021. Total income rose to Rs 4,418 crore from Rs 4,072 crore.

RITES fell 1.26%. The company's consolidated net profit rose to Rs 142.36 crore in Q4 March 2022 from Rs 141.55 crore in Q4 March 2021. Total income rose to Rs 787.52 crore from Rs 649.55 crore.

Metropolis Healthcare lost 0.80%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 35% to Rs 40.10 crore on 5% rise in total income to Rs 305.90 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading higher on Wednesday, with New Zealand's central bank announcing yet another 50 basis point rate hike. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced Wednesday its decision to hike its official cash rate by 50 basis points to 2%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished in the red on Tuesday as worries that aggressive moves to curb decades-high inflation might tip the US economy into recession dampened investors' risk appetite.

Investors continued to assess the global macroeconomic outlook as they await the minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, due on Wednesday, which could give clues on whether the monetary tightening would continue.

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