The domestic equity barometers ended with modest losses on Tuesday. The Nifty settled below the 17,750 mark after hitting the day's high of 17,811.15 in early trade. Traders booked profits ahead of RBI's monetary policy outcome on Wednesday, 8 February 2023. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 220.86 points or 0.37% to 60,286.04. The Nifty 50 index lost 43.10 points or 0.24% to 17,721.50. ITC (down 2.65%), Tata Steel (down 5.23%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 1.29%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.16%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,484 shares rose, and 2,010 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 3.82% to 14.13.

Among the sectoral indices, the S&P BSE Realty index (up 0.77%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.49%) and the S&P BSE Bankex (up 0.29%) outperformed the benchmark Sensex. The S&P BSE Metal index (down 1.89%), the S&P BSE Telecommunication index (down 1.31%) and the S&P BSE Utilities index (down 1.15%) underperformed the benchmark Sensex.

The RBI policy review meeting began on 6 February and concludes on 8 February 2023. The central bank is projected to raise the repo rate but at a slower pace. In its December monetary policy committee meeting, the RBI raised the policy repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25%.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined to 7.314 from its close of 7.32 recorded in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.7250, compared with its close of 82.7600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 April 2023 settlement advanced 0.26% to Rs 57,101.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% to 103.59

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.20% to 3.625.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2023 settlement advanced $1.53 or 1.89% to $82.52 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday, as investors digested the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate hike of 25 basis points, which was in line with expectations.

US stocks ended lower on Monday as investors shifted gears after considering the possibility that the Federal Reserve may take longer to start cutting interest rates.

Traders are keeping a close eye on speeches by Fed officials this week, including Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday, for any change in the central bank's rhetoric after data last week showed services activity was strong in January as well as strong job growth.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Steel tumbled 5.23% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,502 crore in Q3 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 9,598 crore in Q3 FY22. Total revenue from operations during the quarter amounted to Rs 57,084 crore, down 6% YoY. The fall in revenues was primarily driven by drop in realisations across geographies.

Bharti Airtel fell 0.51%. The telecom major's consolidated net income surged 91.5% to Rs 1,588 crore on 19.9% increase in total revenues to Rs 35,804 crore in Q3 December 2022 over Q3 December 2021. EBITDA jumped 24.8% YoY to Rs 18,601 crore in Q3 FY23. EBITDA margin stood at 52% in Q3 FY23, up 205 bps as against 49.9% in Q3 FY22. EBIT stood at Rs 9,260 crore, up 46% YoY. EBIT margin was at 25.9%, expansion of 462 bps YoY.

Ambuja Cements rose 1.12% after the company's consolidated net profit grew 13.23% to Rs 488 crore on 4.23% increase in net revenue to Rs 8,036 crore in Q4 CY22 over Q4 CY21. The company's sales volume (cement+ clinker) was at 13.7 million tons in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 (up 7.03% QoQ and down 3.52% YoY). The sequential volume growth was supported by an increase in blended cement (clinker factor reduced from 60.1% to 59.5%), better route planning and higher operational synergies with its subsidiary, ACC. Market leadership strongly maintained across key markets, said the company.

UltraTech Cement shed 0.73%. The cement major on Monday announced that it has commissioned 1.5 MTPA brownfield cement grinding unit at Jharsuguda, Odisha. This forms part of the on-going capacity expansion, said the company. The company's total cement capacity in Odisha has increased to 4.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) gained 1.33%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 12.95% to Rs 1,336.51 crore as against Rs 1,535.28 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 4,786.17 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022, registering a growth of 17.54% to Rs 4,071.98 reported in Q3 FY22. Cargo volumes grew 1% to 75.4 MMT in Q3 FY23 as compared to 74.4 MMT reported in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Muthoot Finance fell 2.56% after the NBFC's standalone net profit slipped 12.4% to Rs 901.65 crore on 7.1% decrease in total income to Rs 2,667.10 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. Sequentially, the NBFC's net profit and total income in Q3 FY23 rose 3.97% and 6.53%, respectively.

JK Paper shed 3.16%. The company's consolidated net profit zoomed 119.2% to Rs 329.32 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 150.21 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Net revenue from operations was at Rs 1,643.06 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022, registering a growth of 60.5% as against Rs 1,023.62 crore reported in the same period last year.

Kalyan Jewellers India slipped 1.75%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 10.34% to Rs 148.44 crore on 13.06% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,884.09 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) skid 1.74% after the company's consolidated net profit tumbled 94.30% to Rs 11.21 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 196.80 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations rose 20.14% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3,588.80 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022. The company said that it continued with its strong growth trajectory with fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth over pre-COVID period.

LIC Housing Finance declined 3.19% after the housing finance company reported 37% drop in net profit to Rs 480.30 crore despite a 16% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 5,871 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. Net interest income (NII) was Rs 1,606 crore, as against Rs 1,455 crore for the same period in the previous year, up by 10 %. Net interest margin (NIM) for the quarter ended 31 December 2022 remained stable at 2.42%.