Key barometers turn rangebound; realty shares advance

The domestic equity barometers traded in a narrow range in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 18,100 mark. Realty shares advanced for second consecutive session.

At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 363.17 points or 0.59% to 61,638.26. The Nifty 50 index added 99.90 points or 0.55% to 18,115.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.71% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.79%

The market breadth remained strong. On the BSE, 1,974 shares rose and 1,294 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

The overall gains remained capped as higher-than-estimated January US retail sales data further flamed concerns about further interest rate hikes by the Fed. US retail sales rose to 3% in January 2023 after two consecutive monthly declines, due to a rise in motor vehicle purchases. The number is the highest since the 4.9% revised jump for January 2022.

Economy:

India's trade deficit narrowed in January as imports fell at a faster rate than exports. The trade deficit narrowed to $17.75 billion in January, compared with $23.76 billion in December 2022.

India's exports in January dipped by 6.58% to $32.91 billion, as against $35.23 billion in the same month last year. Imports in January also declined by 3.63% to $50.66 billion, as against $52.57 billion in the same month last year.

Engineering exports dipped by 3.37% to $88.27 billion during April-January 2022-23. In the same period, gems and jewellery shipments declined by 0.54% to $31.61 billion. Gold imports during April-January this fiscal declined by 11.26% to $29 billion, as against $40.35 billion in the same period last year.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index rose 1.38% to 411.15. The index has added 2.70% in three sessions.

Prestige Estates Projects (up 6.37%), Sunteck Realty (up 3.09%), DLF (up 2.63%), Sobha (up 2.22%) and Oberoi Realty (up 1.81%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Phoenix Mills (up 1.47%), Godrej Properties (up 1.23%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.09%).

On the other hand, Macrotech Developers (down 2.67%) and Brigade Enterprises (down 0.77%), moved lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta advanced 0.78%. The company was declared the preferred bidder for Sijimali Bauxite Block, located in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha, under the mineral block auction conducted by the Odisha government. The block has estimated reserves of 311 million tonnes of bauxite.

Patel Engineering jumped 5.45%. The company, along with its joint venture partners, has been chosen for projects worth Rs 1,567 crore in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, to be completed within 36 months.

Dalmia Bharat rose 0.28% while Jaiprakash Associates gained 2.53%. The Competition Commission of India approved the acquisition by Dalmia Cement (Bharat), wholly owned subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat, of clinker, cement and power plants belonging to Jaiprakash Associates and its associate.

Shalby advanced 2.13%. Shalby Global Technologies Pte. Ltd, Singapore, a step-down subsidiary of the company, has received regulatory approval to market and sell knee implants, hip systems, knee and hip instruments, etc. by Ministry of Health, Indonesia.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading higher on Thursday as investors digested Japan's record trade deficit of $26 billion. Investors also digested a stronger than expected US retail sales report from Wall Street.

US stocks ended higher on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data offered evidence of resilience in the U.S. economy, but gains were capped as investors worried about more interest rate hikes by Federal Reserve in the months ahead.

US retail sales increased by the most in nearly two years in January after two straight monthly declines. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales surged 3% percent last month, the largest increase since March 2021, after declining by an unrevised 1.1% in December.

Production at US factories rebounded in January. Manufacturing output increased 1% last month, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. Data for December was revised down to show production at factories declining 1.8% instead of the previously reported 1.3%.

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