Indian equity indices clinched modest gains during the week. Broader markets, however, underperformed the key indices. Strengthening rupee and decent Q2 earnings supported buying in domestic shares. Trading was volatile due to expiry of monthly F&O contracts on the NSE. The Nifty settled above the 17,750 level. In the week ended on Friday, 28 October 2022, the Sensex advanced 652.70 points or 1.1% to settle at 59,959.85. The Nifty 50 index gained 210.50 points or 1.2% to settle at 17,786.80. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.98% to settle at 25,047.34. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.43% to settle at 28,688.57. Weekly Index Movement:

The key equity indices ended with decent gains on Monday on the Muharat Trading Day. The domestic market was open for a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali. The session also marks the beginning of Samvat 2079 -- the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 524.51 points or 0.88% to 59,831.66. The Nifty 50 index added 154.45 points or 0.88% to 17,730.75.

The equity barometers ended with modest losses on Tuesday, snapping their seven-day rising streak. Mixed global cues spoiled the sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 287.70 points or 0.48% to 59,543.96. The Nifty 50 index lost 74.40 points or 0.42% to 17,656.35.

The exchanges remained closed on Wednesday, (26 October 2022), on the occasion of Diwali Balipratipada.

The domestic equity barometers ended with decent gains on Thursday amid mixed global cues. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 212.88 points or 0.36% to 59,756.84. The Nifty 50 index added 80.60 points or 0.46% to 17736.95.

The key equity barometers ended with modest gains on Friday. Strengthening rupee and decent Q2 earnings supported buying in domestic shares. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 203.01 points or 0.34% to 59,959.85. The Nifty 50 index gained 49.85 points or 0.28% to 17,786.80.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.19%. Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) announced that it is introducing JioTrue5G-powered Wi-Fi services in high footfall areas such as educational institutes, religious places, railway stations, bus stands, commercial hubs and more.

On a consolidated basis, the diversified conglomerate's net profit fell 0.2% to Rs 13,656 crore on 37.3% increase in net revenue to Rs 230055 crore in Q2 September 2022 over Q2 September 2021.

Meanwhile, the RIL board, at its meeting held on Friday, 21 October 2022, approved to demerge the company's financial services undertaking into Reliance Strategic Investments (RSIL). The financial services undertaking will be renamed Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL). Shareholders will get one equity share of Jio Financial Services (JFS) for each RIL share held.

Maruti Suzuki India rallied 9.13%. The auto major reported a standalone net profit of Rs 2,061.5 crore in Q2 FY23, steeply higher than Rs 475.3 crore recorded in Q2 FY22. Net sales jumped 47.91% to Rs 28,543.5 crore in quarter ended 30 September 2022, as against Rs 19,297.8 crore posted in the same period last year.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell 4.89%. The FMCG major reported 20% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 2,616 crore on a 16% rise in net sales to Rs 14,514 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. HUL delivered underlying volume growth of 4%. Growth was significantly ahead of the market with more than 75% of the business winning value and volume market shares.

ICICI Bank rose 0.08%. The private lender's standalone net profit surged 37.14% to Rs 7,557.84 crore on 19.43% rise in total income to Rs 31,087.91 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shed 1.01%. The private lender reported a 27% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,580.68 crore on a 19.48% increase in total income to Rs 10,047 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22.

Vedanta rose 1.7%. On consolidated basis, Vedanta's net profit declined 53.71% to Rs 2,690 crore despite of 20.6% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 36,237 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22. The mining company said that the increase in revenue was supported by higher sales volume, strategic hedging gains and foreign exchange gains; partially offset by lower commodity prices.

Gland Pharma slumped 14.61%. The pharma company's consolidated net profit tumbled 20.1% to Rs 241.24 crore on 3.3% decline in net sales to Rs 1,044.40 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will hold an additional meeting on 3 November 2022. The MPC last met on 28 - 30 September 2022. It was slated to meet for the last time this calendar year on 5 - 7 December 2022.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted in a latest update that India's economy is likely to expand at 6.8% in 2022, revised down by 1.4% points since the April 2022 World Economic Outlook because of a weaker-than- expected recovery in the second quarter and subdued external demand. A further slowdown of India's growth to 6.1% is expected in 2023 as external demand and a tightening in monetary and financial conditions weigh on growth.

Global Markets:

China's gross domestic product grew 3.9% in the third quarter from a year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. In the second quarter, GDP increased 0.4% compared with the same period in 2021.

Japan's central bank left interest rates unchanged on Friday. The Bank of Japan also said it would purchase necessary amounts of Japanese government bonds at a fixed rate in order to keep 10-year JGB yields at 0%.

South Korea's third-quarter GDP grew 0.3% from the previous quarter, according to official advance data — the slowest growth since the third quarter of 2021. China's industrial profits for January to September fell 2.3% compared to a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.6% annualized pace for the period, the Bureau of Economic Analysis report showed. The chain-weighted price index, a cost-of-living measure that is adjusted to reflect changing consumer behavior, rose 4.1% for the quarter. Headline inflation rose 4.2%, down sharply from 7.3%, according to a gauge the Federal Reserve uses.

The European Central Bank (ECB) hiked its interest rate by 75 basis points on Thursday, its third consecutive increase this year. The latest rate hike takes the ECB's main benchmark from 0.75% to 1.5%. The ECB also announced that it was changing the terms and conditions of its targeted longer-term refinancing operations or TLTRO.

Meanwhile, Indian Origin former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak became UK's prime minister on Monday (October 24). Replacing former PM Liz Truss, Sunak became the first Indian-origin prime minister of the UK.

The German business sentiment remained bleak in October, according to the Ifo Institute's business climate index reportedly published Tuesday. The index slipped to 84.3 points in October from 84.4 points in September.