Benchmarks drift lower in early trade; Nifty below 17,750

The key equity indices were trading with minor losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,750 level. Banking and media shares advanced while metal, IT and oil & gas stocks declined.

At 09:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 262.15 points or 0.43% to 60,579.73. The Nifty 50 index lost 105 points or 0.59% to 17,749.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.24% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.49%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,468 shares rose, and 933 shares fell. A total of 176 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 932.44 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,264.74 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 February, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

SBI rose 1.05%. The banking giant reported 68.47% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 14,205.34 crore on a 25.18% rise in total income to Rs 98,083.77 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

ITC was up 1.20%. The company's standalone net profit rose 21.05% to Rs 5,031.01 crore on 2.51% increase in net sales to Rs 16,082.40 crore in Q3 December 2022 over Q3 December 2021. EBITDA improved 22% to Rs 6,223 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 5,102 crore in Q3 FY22.

InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo) advanced 1.16%. Indigo reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,422.6 crore in Q3 FY23, steeply higher than Rs 129.79 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations surged 60.66% to Rs 14,932.97 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 from Rs 9,294.77 crore recorded in Q3 FY22.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Monday as a stronger-than-expected jobs report from the U.S. worrying investors the Federal Reserve has room for more interest rate hikes, as it continued its efforts to control inflation.

US stocks dropped on Friday after a shockingly strong US jobs report renewed concerns the Federal Reserve may remain aggressive in its path of interest rate hikes as it tries to tame inflation.

US job growth accelerated sharply in January while the unemployment rate hit more than a 53-1/2-year low of 3.4%. The survey of establishments showed nonfarm payrolls surged by 517,000 jobs last month. Data for December was revised higher to show 260,000 jobs added instead of the previously reported 223,000.

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