Sensex, Nifty drift higher in early trade

After a gap-up opening, the key benchmark indices were trading higher with decent gains in early trade. The Nifty hovered above the 17,700 mark.

At 9:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 506.46 points or 0.86% at 59,369.27. The Nifty 50 index advanced 143.95 points or 0.82% at 17,720.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.66% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.08%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,918 shares rose and 625 shares fell. A total of 80 shares were unchanged.

Investors cheered the union budget 2022-23 with its higher capital expenditure and thrust on infra. The government's focus on boosting manufacturing as well as an underlined emphasis on areas such as startups, modern mobility and clean energy, boosted investors sentiment.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 21.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,597.70 crore in the Indian equity market on 1 February, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tech Mahindra declined 3.13%. The IT services company reported a 6.82% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,378.20 crore on 18.69% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 11,450.80 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. During the quarter, profit before tax rose 9.9% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) to Rs 1,886.40 crore. EBITDA grew by 8.7% year on year to Rs 2,060 crore in Q3 FY22 over Rs 1,895.40 crore in Q3 FY21. EBITDA margin stood at 18% in Q3 FY22 as against 18.3% in Q2 FY22 and 19.6% in Q3 FY21. In dollar terms, revenue stood at $1,533.50 million, up 4.1% quarter-on-quarter and 17.2% year on year. Revenue growth was reported at 4.7% quarter on quarter in constant currency terms.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone fell 0.48%. The company reported 6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1479 crore on 1% rise in operating revenue to Rs 3797 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

Eicher Motors gained 2.22%. The two-wheeler maker said that its total motorcycles (Royal Enfield) sales dropped 15% to 58,838 units in January 2022 as against 68,887 units sold in the same period last year.

Global markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Wednesday, with multiple major markets in Asia remaining closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are closed on Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holidays.

US stocks rose for a third day Tuesday, as Wall Street tried to recover its footing after a wild January. Bank stocks led the market higher.

On the macro front, the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index came in at 57.6 for January, down 1.2 points from December. The data also showed that prices jumped by 7.9 points to 76.1 month over month.

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