The headline equity indices traded with modest losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,850 mark. PSU bank, media and realty stocks advanced while metal, oil & gas and FMCG shares corrected.
At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 224.41 points or 0.37% to 60,581.81. The Nifty 50 index declined 61.05 points or 0.34% to 17,832.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.11% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.80%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,877 shares rose and 1,467 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 1.13%), UPL (up 1.02%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) (up 0.99%), Cipla (up 0.85%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 0.72%) were major Nifty gainers.
HCL Technologies (down 3.20%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.63%), Tata Steel (down 2.16%), Reliance Industries (down 1.32%) and Coal India (down 1.03%) were top Nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) shed 0.65%. The auto major's standalone net profit rose 14% to Rs 1,528.06 crore on 41% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 21,653.74 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. M&M sold 1,76,094 vehicles in Q3 FY23, recording a growth of 45.3% as against 1,21,167 vehicles sold in the same quarter a year ago. Total tractors sold in Q3 FY23 stood at 1,04,850 units, rising 14.3% year on year; recording its highest ever quarterly volumes.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) rose 1.41% after the state-run life insurer reported a standalone net profit of Rs 6,334.2 crore in Q3 FY23, steeply higher than Rs 234.91 crore recorded in Q3 FY22. The insurer's total premium income rose 14.51% to Rs 1,11,787.60 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 as against Rs 97,620.34 crore reported in the corresponding quarter previous year.
The insurance behemoth sold 1.29 crore policies in the individual segment in 9M FY23, registering an increase of 1.92% from 1.26 crore policies sold in the same period last year.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) added 0.28%. HPCL reported 80% drop in standalone net profit to Rs 172.43 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 868.86 crore in Q3 FY22. Net revenue from operations rose by 13% to Rs 1,09,221.81 crore during the quarter.
Pfizer gained 2.39% after the company reported 5% rise in net profit to Rs 150.66 crore despite an 8% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 621.75 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22
Adani Total Gas was locked in 5% lower circuit. The company's standalone net profit rose 12.8% to Rs 148.39 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 131.58 crore reported in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) was at Rs 1,105.56 crore in Q3 FY23, registering a growth of 25.2% as against Rs 883.27 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.
United Breweries (UBL) slipped 4.76% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1.97 crore in Q3 FY23 from a net profit of Rs 90.79 crore in Q3 FY22. Net sales rose marginally to Rs 1,613.02 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 1,582.79 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.
Global Markets:
Most of the Asian stocks traded lower on Friday, following moves on Wall Street as China's inflation data came in lower than expected. Consumer prices in the nation rose 2.1% in January compared to a year ago.
Japan's wholesale prices rose 9.5% in January from the previous year, slightly lower than the revised figure of 10.5% recorded in December 2022.
Australia's central bank on Friday said inflation remains high and hinted at further interest rates hikes. In its quarterly monetary statement, RBA observed global inflation is still very high but looks to have peaked. The Board expects that further increases in interest rates will be needed to ensure that the current period of high inflation is only temporary, said RBA.
US stocks closed lower Thursday as concerns over the Federal Reserve's future moves on monetary policy offset excitement around the latest batch of corporate earnings.
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