At 13:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 34.39 points or 0.06% to 60,997.87. The Nifty 50 index shed 2.55 points or 0.01% to 17,927.30.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.16% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.11%
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1,580 shares rose and 1,784 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.
Investor sentiment took a hit after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation readings ramped up fears of more hawkish moves from the Federal Reserve. The U.S. consumer price index data for January showed that inflation remained resilient despite a slew of interest rate hikes by the Fed. Regional central banks are also expected to raise rates to keep up with the Fed, further tightening the liquidity conditions.
Gainers & Losers:
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 5.10%), Eicher Motors (up 4.45%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.95%), Reliance Industries (up 1.85%) and Adani Enterprises (up 1.39%) were major Nifty gainers.
Hindustan Unilever (down 1.26%), Britannia Industries (down 1.16%), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 1.04%), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (down 1.02%) and Ultratech Cement (down 0.86%) were top Nifty losers.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) shed 1.04%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 11665.24 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared to net profit of Rs 11636.67 crore in Q3 FY22. Total income increased to Rs 171041.32 crore from Rs 147854.38 crore.
Reliance Industries advanced 1.85%. The Ahmedabad bench of NCLT approved the resolution plan jointly submitted by Reliance Industries and Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise for Sintex Industries.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise jumped 5.10%. The healthcare major's consolidated net profit tumbled 32.8% to Rs 153.46 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared to Rs 228.37 crore in Q3 FY22. However, revenue from operations stood at Rs 4,263.58 crore during the quarter, up 17.2% from Rs 3,638.93 crore recorded in the same period last fiscal.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Vodafone Idea rose 0.52%. The debt-ridden telco reported net loss of Rs 7,990 crore in Q3 December 2022, higher than net loss of Rs 7230.90 crore in Q3 December 2021. The company's net loss stood at Rs 7,595.50 crore in Q2 September 2023. Net sales rose 9.2% year-on-year to Rs 10,613 crore in Q3 December 2022, aided by improvement in subscriber mix, tariff intervention and 4G subscriber additions.
ARPU (average revenue per user) improved to Rs 135, up 3.3% QoQ versus Rs 131 in Q2 FY23. On a YoY basis, ARPU witnessed strong growth of 17.4% aided by tariff hikes and migration of subscribers to unlimited plans.
PI Industries gained 2.24% after the company reported 58% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 351.80 crore on 18.9% rise in revenue to Rs 1,613.20 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
Biocon added 1.32% after the biopharmaceutical company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 41.80 crore in Q3 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 187.10 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations jumped 35.3% year on year to Rs 2,941.10 in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.
Global markets:
Shares in Europe traded mostly lower while Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday after the release of U.S. inflation data that came in hotter-than-expected.
Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Tuesday after US consumer price data for January offered little to change expectations about the Federal Reserve's path forward on interest rate hikes.
Inflation in the US continued to surge in January, with the latest data showing higher-than-expected increases both year-on-year and month-on-month. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 6.4% from January 2022.
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