Sensex, Nifty trade sideways; European markets edge higher

The key equity benchmarks traded sideways in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a tad above the 18,050 mark. Shares in Europe advanced while most markets in Asia traded in the green.

At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 87.66 points or 0.14% to 60,748.75. The Nifty 50 index rose 1.50 points or 0.01% to 18,054.20.

Hindalco (up 3.33%), Bajaj Finserv (up 3.31%), JSW Steel (up 2.54%), Ultratech Cement (up 2.34%) and Tata Motors (up 1.79%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Infosys (down 1.58%), BPCL (down 1.56%), Dr Reddy's Lab (down 1.53%), HDFC Life (down 1.25%) and Sun Pharma (down 1.08%) were the top Nifty losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.41%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,936 shares rose and 1,424 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hero MotoCorp declined 2.37%. The two-wheeler maker reported consolidated net profit of Rs 682.28 crore in Q2FY23 as compared with net profit of Rs 747.79 crore reported in Q2FY22. Total income rose to Rs 9,252.22 crore during Q2FY23 against Rs 8,696.8 crore recorded in Q2FY22.

Adani Enterprises jumped 4.32%. The company's consolidated net profit zoomed 117% to Rs 460.94 crore in Q2 FY23 as against Rs 212.41 crore posted in Q2 FY22. The company's net sales surged 188.8% to Rs 38,175.23 crore in Q2 FY23 from Rs 13,218.02 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Amara Raja Batteries zoomed 9.20%. The company reported 39% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 201.22 crore in Q2 FY23 from Rs 144.32 crore in Q2 FY22. Revenue from operations rose by 19% YoY to Rs 2,700.47 crore during the quarter.

To further strengthen its efforts in the advanced energy storage technologies, the company has announced the incorporation of a wholly owned subsidiary that will set up a multi-gigawatt hour lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility.

Vodafone Idea fell 2.22%. The debt-ridden telecom operator reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 7,595.5 crore in Q2 FY23 as against a net loss of Rs 7,132.3 crore recorded in the same period last year. Revenue during the quarter increased by 12.8% to Rs 10,614.6 crore in the second quarter. The teleco had posted a revenue of Rs 9,406.4 crore in Q2 FY22.

ARPU improved to Rs 131, up 2% QoQ from Rs 128 in Q1FY23. On a YoY basis, ARPU witnessed strong growth of 19.5% aided by tariff hikes and migration of subscribers to unlimited plans.

The subscriber base declined to 234.4 million as against 240.4 million in Q1 FY23 and 253 million in Q2 FY22. The 4G subscriber base, however, continued to grow and with 1.5 million 4G customers added in Q2, and accordingly 4G subscriber base stood at 120.6 million.

Gillette India rose 0.46%. The company reported 5.92% rise in net profit to Rs 86.78 crore on 8.13% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 619.92 crore in the quarter ended September 2022 over quarter ended September 2021.

Global markets:

European markets advanced while Asian stocks traded mostly higher on Friday with investors awaiting domestic earnings reports for cues on corporate health and U.S. jobs data for hints on future rate hikes. The Fed had raised rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday and said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further.

Japan's services sector activity grew at the fastest clip in four months in October, a private survey showed on Friday. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.2 from the prior month's 52.2, growing at the quickest rate since June.

US stocks closed lower for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday as markets awaited key US jobs data, while taking in hawkish moves by major central banks.

US Federal Reserve and Bank of England in separate statements said it was premature to think about pausing as part of the fight against inflation. Investors will be watching the US employment report due out Friday for any signs of cooling in the economy.

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