Sensex gyrates 1,175 pts intraday, ends 535 pts higher; Nifty tops 22,200

Stock market highlights on Thursday, February 22, 2024: The Nifty50 index hit a record high of 22,252.5 in late deals

SI Reporter New Delhi

7:59 AM

Nvidia posts revenue up 265% on booming AI business

>> Nvidia has projected a significant threefold increase in quarterly revenue, surpassing market expectation.

>> It said the robust demand for Nvidia's data centre chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) continues to rise as companies strive to expand their AI capabilities.

>> Nvidia has reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue for the first three quarters of 2023, exceeding analyst estimates by 10-20 percent.

>> The company forecasts a first-quarter revenue growth of 233 percent, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of 208 percent growth.

Source: Reuters

7:55 AM

ALERT :: Fed officials expressed caution about lowering rates too quickly

US Fed meeting minutes: Key highlights

>> Federal Reserve officials indicated at their last meeting that they were in no hurry to cut interest rates

>> The meeting summary did indicate a general sense of optimism that the Fed’s policy moves had succeeded in lowering the rate of inflation

>> Officials noted that they wanted to see more before starting to ease policy, while saying that rate hikes are likely over.

>> While the minutes assessed the "solid progress" being made, the committee viewed some of that progress as "idiosyncratic" and possibly due to factors that won't last.

>> Consequently, members said they will "carefully assess" incoming data to judge where inflation is heading over the longer term.

Source: CNBC

7:50 AM

ALERT :: Australia's February composite PMI shows a return to growth

>> Australia's Judo Bank composite purchasing managers’ index for February showed a return to growth at 51.8, up from 49.0 in January.

>> The reading indicated that private sector activity returned to growth for the first time in five months, and at the fastest rate since last April.

Source: Agencies

7:47 AM

ALERT :: Japan's flash PMI shows further contraction in factory activity in Feb

>> The au Jibun Bank's flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to to 47.2 in February

>> This compares with January's 48.0 reading, indicating continued contraction in private sector business activity.

>> The reading signals a ninth consecutive deterioration in business activity, according to Jibun Bank.

Source: Agencies

7:44 AM

ALERT :: Japan's Nikkei surpasses 1989 all-time high on robust corporate earnings

>> Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a record high on Thursday as robust corporate profitability and steps aimed at boosting investor returns fuel a blistering rally in Japanese equities this year.

>> The Nikkei 225 hit 38,924.88, surpassing the previous record high of 38,915.87 reached in 1989.

>> Both the Nikkei and the broader Topix have been standout outperformers in the Asia Pacific, up more than 10% so far this year 2024 after surging more than 25% in 2023 — their respective best annual gains in at least a decade.

>> Japan Inc's solid third-quarter corporate earnings have prompted Bank of America equity strategists to upgrade their 2024 year-end forecasts for the Nikkei 225 to 41,000 from 38,500. T

>> hey raised their forecasts for the Topix to 2,850 from 2,715.

Source: Agencies