The Nifty ended almost flat while the Sensex settled with decent gains on Thursday. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE. The Nifty managed to close a tad above the 17,600 level after hitting the day's low of 17,445.95 in early trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 224.16 points or 0.38% to 59,932.24. The Nifty 50 index fell 5.90 points or 0.03% to 17,610.40. Gains in the Nifty 50 index were capped due to steep selling in Adani Enterprises (down 26.70%), Adani Ports & SEZ (down 7.20%) and HDFC Life Insurance (down 4.40%).

Adani Enterprises tanked after the company called off its Rs 20,000 crore FPO. A press release issued by the conglomerate late on Wednesday stated, "Given the unprecedented situation and the current market volatility the company aims to protect the interest of its investing community by returning the FPO proceeds and withdraws the completed transaction."

HDFC Life slumped as the latest Union Budget proposals made life insurance schemes less appealing as a tax-saving instrument.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.36%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,578 shares rose and 1,926 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 6.24% to 15.73.

The US Federal Reserve hiked its key interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, taking the rate to a target range of 4.50-4.75%. Further, the Fed signaled that even though inflation is easing, it remains high enough to require further rate hikes.

Indian equity markets were factoring in the Union Government's 2023 budget, which was released on Wednesday. The budget outlined more income tax breaks, and also flagged increased government spending this year.

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty FMCG index (up 2.28%), the Nifty IT index (up 1.83%) and the Nifty Private Bank index (up 0.68%) outperformed the Nifty50 index. Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index (down 4.35%) the Nifty Oil & Gas index (down 1.97%) and the Nifty Healthcare index (down 0.45%) underperformed the Nifty50 index.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.295 from its close of 7.277 recorded in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.23, compared with its close of 81.80 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 February 2023 settlement jumped 1.29% to Rs 58,700.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 101.24.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.60% to 3.418.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2023 settlement added 15 cents or 0.18% to $82.99 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones Futures were down 141 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.

Markets in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's smaller rate hike of 25 basis points and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledgement inflation is falling.

On Thursday, investors in Europe will be focused on the latest monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.

US stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease, in remarks he made following a quarter-point rate hike by the U.S. central bank.

The US central bank announced a quarter-point hike to the benchmark lending rate at the end of its two-day policy meeting, taking the rate to a target range of 4.50-4.75%. "Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated," said the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in a statement. "The committee anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate" to bring inflation back to policymakers' 2% target over time, the statement said.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Titan Company shed 1.80% after the company's net profit declined 4% to Rs 951 crore on 11% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 10,444 crore in Q3 FY22. Total income for the quarter was Rs 10,651 crore, registering a growth of 12% compared with Rs 9,516 crore of Q2 FY22 (excluding bullion sale). EBIT fell 3% to Rs 1,328 crore during the quarter as against Rs 1,369 crore in corresponding quarter last year. EBIT margin stood at 12.5% in Q3 FY23 as against 14.4% in Q3 FY22.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) fell 1.85%. The housing finance major's standalone net profit rose 13.19% to Rs 3,690.80 crore on 29.3% increased in total income to Rs 15,246.81 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. The net interest income (NII) for the quarter ended 31 December 2022 stood at Rs 4,840 crore compared to Rs 4,284 crore in the previous year, registering a growth of 13%. The monetary policy and interest rate actions have had a short-term impact on the net interest income (NII).

Britannia Industries rallied 4.72% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 151.2% to Rs 932.39 crore on 16.2% increase in net sales to Rs 4,101.49 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. The net profit includes an exceptional gain (net of tax) of Rs 359 crore, pursuant to a joint venture agreement with Bel SA for the Cheese business and consequent sale of 49% equity stake in its subsidiary & fair valuation of the residual stake of 51%. The counter hit a 52-week high of Rs 4,596.65 in intraday today.

Symphony rose 0.38% after the company said its board will consider a share buyback on 8 February 2023.

Ashok Leyland jumped 2.95% after the company reported net profit of Rs 361.34 crore in Q3 FY23 compared with net loss of Rs 5.76 crore in Q3 FY22. Net sales jumped 63.3% to Rs 8,984.95 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 5,503.64 crore in Q3 FY22. EBITDA surged 255% to Rs 797 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 224 crore in Q3 FY22. EBITDA margin stood at 8.8% in Q3 FY23 as compared with 4.0% in Q3 FY22.

Meanwhile, the company's total sales (including domestic and exports) for January 2023 stood at 17,200 units, up by 23% as against 13,939 units in January 2022.

Eicher Motors fell 2.68%. The company said that its unlisted subsidiary, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) sold 7,181 units of commercial vehicles (CV) in January 2023, registering a growth of 32.1% compared with 5,434 units sold in January 2022.

Hero MotoCorp declined 2.38%. The two-wheeler major's total sales slipped 6.25% to 356,690 units in January 2023 as against 380,476 units sold in January 2022.

Coal India shed 1.25%. The state-run coal major's total offtake stood at 64.5 million tonnes (MT) in January 2023, registering a growth of 6.1% as compared with 60.8 MT recorded in the same month previous year. The company's coal production jumped 11.5% to 71.9 million tonnes (MT) in January 2023 from 64.5 MT in January 2022.

Cera Sanitaryware jumped 6.09% after the company reported 33.3% rise in net profit to Rs 564 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 423 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations increased by 17.8% YoY to Rs 4,558 crore during the quarter. The company's revenue in the same period last year was Rs 3,870 crore.