Indices drift higher in early trade; Nifty above 17,750

The key equity indices were trading with minor gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,750 level. Pharma, PSU bank and IT shares advanced while metal, FMCG and oil & gas stocks declined.

At 09:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 120.55 points or 0.20% to 60,627.45. The Nifty 50 index added 33.20 points or 0.19% to 17,797.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.13%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,602 shares rose, and 978 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,218.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,203.09 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 February, provisional data showed.

The RBI policy review meeting began on 6 February and concludes on 8 February 2023. The central bank is projected to raise the repo rate but at a slower pace. In its December monetary policy committee meeting, the RBI raised the policy repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Steel slipped 3.19%. Tata Steel reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2502 crore in Q3 FY23, compared to net profit of Rs 9598 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Turnover fell to Rs 57084 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 from Rs 60783 crore recorded in the quarter ended 31 December 2021.

UltraTech Cement rose 0.88%. The company announced the commissioning of 1.5 mpta brownfield cement grinding unit at Jharsuguda, Odisha, taking the company's total cement capacity in the state of Odisha to 4.1mtpa. With this commissioning the company's total cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 122.85 mtpa.

Muthoot Finance declined 1.11%. The company reported 11% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 933.9 crore on 4% fall in total income to Rs 3030.5 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

Global markets:

Asian stocks were trading mostly higher on Tuesday, as investors await Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision.

US stocks ended lower on Monday as investors shifted gears after considering the possibility that the Federal Reserve may take longer to start cutting interest rates.

Traders are keeping a close eye on speeches by Fed officials this week, including Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday, for any change in the central bank's rhetoric after data last week showed services activity was strong in January as well as strong job growth.

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