Nifty at 17,850; Sensex adds 348 pts; IT shares advance

The frontline equity benchmarks continued to trade with significant gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty marched near the 17,850 level. Metal, IT and healthcare shares advanced while realty, auto and consumer durable stocks declined.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 348.27 points or 0.58% to 60,634.31. The Nifty 50 index added 128.95 points or 0.73% to 17,850.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.43% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.31%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,772 shares rose, and 1,495 shares fell. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the key policy repo rate by 25 basis points and said it remained focused on the withdrawal of accomodation.

RBI MPC meet outcome:

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting today (8 February 2023) decided to increase the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.50% with immediate effect.

Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate stands adjusted to 6.25% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.75%.

These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth. The outlook for inflation is mixed. Inflation is projected at 6.5% in 2022-23, with Q4 at 5.7%. On the assumption of a normal monsoon, CPI inflation is projected at 5.3% for 2023-24, with Q1 at 5%, Q2 at 5.4%, Q3 at 5.4% and Q4 at 5.6%, and risks evenly balanced.

Real GDP growth for 2023-24 is projected at 6.4% with Q1 at 7.8%, Q2 at 6.2%, Q3 at 6% and Q4 at 5.8%, and risks broadly balanced.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index jumped 1.91% to 30,888.95. The index slipped 0.94% in past two trading sessions.

Coforge (up 3.89%), Mphasis (up 2.38%), Infosys (up 2.24%), LTI Mindtree (up 2.17%), L&T Technology Services (up 2.05%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.73%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.44%), Persistent Systems (up 1.4%), HCL Technologies (up 1.36%) and Wipro (up 1.36%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NHPC fell 0.62%. The power generation company's consolidated net profit declined 17.4% to Rs 671.67 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 813.21 crore recorded in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations was at Rs 2,582.76 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 as against Rs 2,156.72 crore posted in Q3 FY22, registering a growth of 19.8%.

Aurobindo Pharma rose 0.85%. The drug maker said that its step-down subsidiary company, Aurolife Pharma, has received US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) approval to manufacture and market Diclofenac Sodium Topical Solution USP.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) declined 1.04%. The company said that it emerged as lowest bidder for provision of automatic block signalling on Madar-Sakhun section (51.13 Kms) of Jaipur Division over North Western Railway. The cost of the project is Rs 69,48,11,094.74. It will be executed within 9 months. Letter of Award (LoA) is still awaited.

Global markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell overnight acknowledged that inflation is declining, a sign the central bank may soon pause its rate hikes.

US stocks advanced on Tuesday, but trade was choppy as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about how long the central bank might need to tame inflation.

US inflation is starting to cool but the road ahead will likely be long and bumpy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Tuesday, adding that stronger-than-expected economic data could bring more rate hikes.

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