The key equity barometers extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,850 mark. FMCG shares advanced for second consecutive session.
At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 384.88 points or 0.64% to 60,816.72. The Nifty 50 index gained 85.50 points or 0.48% to 17,856.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.47% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.63%
Indiabulls Real Estate (down 8.53%), Rhi Magnesita (down 7.86%), SPARC (down 5.59%), NLC India (down 5.42%) and PolyPlex Corp (down 5.06%) were the top losers in the broader market segment.
Meanwhile, Oil India (up 5.93%), Cyient (up 5.56%), Glenmarka Pharma (up 5.08%), Suprajit Engineering (up 4.28%) and G R Infra (up 3.58%) outperformed.
The market breadth remained weak. On the BSE, 1,214 shares rose and 1,905 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.
Traders in domestic as well as global markets will await the US retail inflation reading for January 2023, scheduled for release later in the day. Although the annual figure is expected to show further easing in price growth last month, it is still predicted to remain relatively high, which could invite more interest rate hikes by the Fed.
Adding to the broader economic picture was the release of fresh growth forecasts for the European Union. The European Commission lifted its projections for the EU, saying the bloc will likely dodge a recession, thanks in part to easing gas costs. The outlook for headline inflation in the 27-member bloc was also lowered, but the EU's executive arm warned that price pressures remain both strong and persistent.
Economy:
India's retail inflation accelerated to a three-month high in January, reverting to over the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance band of 6% after a gap of two months, led by a spike in food prices and elevated prices in the non-food segment.
Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hardened to 6.52% in January, after declining to a one-year low level of 5.72% in December, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday. Core inflation, which is non-food, non-fuel inflation remained over the 6% mark at 6.2% in January.
The unexpected surge in headline inflation has raised the likelihood of further tightening of the monetary policy in April, with economists reportedly estimating inflation to remain over the 6% mark over the coming months due to sticky core inflation.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.94% to 45,936.40. The index has added 0.99% in two sessions.
ITC (up 2.15%), Marico (up 0.93%), Nestle India (up 0.93%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.67%) and Emami (up 0.48%) were the top gainers.
Among the other gainers were Hindustan Unilever (up 0.38%), Britannia Industries (up 0.34%) and Dabur India (up 0.02%).
On the other hand, Varun Beverages (down 1.77%), Radico Khaitan (down 1.36%) and United Breweries (down 0.67%) moved lower.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Allcargo Logistics tumbled 15.29%. The company's consolidated net profit (from continuing operations) slumped 61.59% to Rs 124.43 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 323.95 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations dropped 26.8% year on year to Rs 4,099.02 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.
Campus Activewear rose 1.01%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 11.7% to Rs 48.31 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 54.72 crore posed in Q3 FY22. However, revenue from operations rose 7.4% to Rs 465.62 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 as against Rs 433.55 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2021.
FCS Software Solutions surged 7.76%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 0.76 crore in Q3 December 2022 as against net loss of Rs 0.06 crore in Q3 December 2021. On a consolidated basis, revenue from operations rose 13.3% year-on-year to Rs 9.21 crore in Q3 December 2022 over Q3 December 2021.
Global markets:
Asian stocks mostly advanced on Tuesday as investors await the release of the U.S. consumer price index report, which will shape the Federal Reserve's path ahead.
Japan's economy expanded by 0.6% on an annualized basis for the fourth quarter of 2022. The figure was a rebound from a revised contraction of 1% seen in the third quarter of 2022 compared to a year ago.
On Tuesday, the Japanese government is expected to name academic Kazuo Ueda as its pick to become the next central bank governor. Kazuo Ueda's probable appointment as the next governor of the Bank of Japan could improve the odds of an end to its unpopular yield control policy.
A global research house on Monday reportedly cut Japanese stocks to "underweight", saying that a Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy change away from its "ultra-loose" monetary strategy could push global yields higher and reduce risk appetite.
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday as investors awaited inflation data likely to hint at the path of the Federal Reserve's future interest rate hikes, while Meta Platforms gained after a report that the Facebook parent was planning fresh layoffs.
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