Market at day's high, Sensex jumps 497 pts, Nifty near 17,900 level

The domestic equity barometers marched higher and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded around the 17,900 level. IT, FMCG and financial services stocks were in demand while realty, media and healthcare shares corrected.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 497.25 points or 0.82% to 60,929.09. The Nifty 50 index gained 125.70 points or 0.71% to 17,896.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.46% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.53%

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,224 shares rose and 2,122 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Traders in domestic as well as global markets will await the US retail inflation reading for January 2023, scheduled for release later in the day. Although the annual figure is expected to show further easing in price growth last month, it is still predicted to remain relatively high, which could invite more interest rate hikes by the Fed.

Adding to the broader economic picture was the release of fresh growth forecasts for the European Union. The European Commission lifted its projections for the EU, saying the bloc will likely dodge a recession, thanks in part to easing gas costs. The outlook for headline inflation in the 27-member bloc was also lowered, but the EU's executive arm warned that price pressures remain both strong and persistent.

Economy:

India's annual wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation eased to 24-month low of 4.73% in January 2023 as compared to 4.95% recorded in December 2022 and 13.68% in January 2022.

Decline in the rate of inflation in January 2023 is primarily contributed by mineral oils, chemicals & chemical products, textiles, crude petroleum & natural gas, textiles, and food products, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement today.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.73% to 13.4425.

The Nifty option chain for the 23 February 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 40.8 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 42.3 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index rose 0.45% to 18,512.10.The index shed 0.47% in the past trading sessions.

Bajaj Finance (up 1.61%), Shriram Finance (up 0.74%), ICICI Bank (up 0.72%), Bajaj Finserv (up 0.68%), SBI Cards & Payment Services (up 0.67%), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (up 0.57%), HDFC Bank (up 0.57%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (up 0.49%), Axis Bank (up 0.36%) and Power Finance Corporation (up 0.32%) edged higher.

On the other hand, REC (down 1.75%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.23%) and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 0.78%) declined.

Earnings Impact:

Ratnamani Metals & Tubes rallied 3.46% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 49.6% to Rs 133.32 crore on 18.5% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,098.71 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

Gujarat State Petronet (GSPL) rose 1.60%. The company reported 31.1% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 170.93 crore on a 14.6% decrease in net sales to Rs 402.41 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY22.

National Fertilizers (NFL) surged 10.97% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 554.03 crore in Q3 FY23 as against a net loss of Rs 23.08 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations soared 99.1% year on year (YoY) to Rs 10,137.34 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

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