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 closed a tad above the 17,600 level. FMCG, IT and private bank scrips advanced. On the other hand, metal, oil & gas and healthcare stocks witnessed a bit of a selling pressure. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 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. 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, 1,660 shares rose and 1,840 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 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.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index tumbled 4.35% to 5,908.20. The index slumped 8.66% in two trading sessions.

Adani Enterprises (down 26.97%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 5.29%), Tata Steel (down 1.72%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.27%), MOIL (down 1.2%), National Aluminium Company (down 0.55%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.51%), JSW Steel (down 0.29%), Vedanta (down 0.06%) and Steel Authority of India (down 0.06%) dropped

On the other hand, Hindustan Zinc (up 3.13%) ,APL Apollo Tubes (up 3.12%) and Welspun Corp (up 1.41%) edged higher.

Adani Enterprises slumped 26.97%. The board of Adani Enterprises on Wednesday (1 February 2023) decided to call off the Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (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."

Stocks in Spotlight:

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) fell 2.04%. 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 4.85% 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.

Tata Chemicals added 0.80%. The company reported 27% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 432 crore on a 32% increase in revenue to Rs 4,148 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. The company said that the soda ash realisations robust across geographies. Cost environment is stabilizing and likely to stay at the current levels in the near term, it added.

Godrej Properties shed 0.16%. The realtor's consolidated net profit jumped 51% to Rs 59 crore in Q3 FY23 compared with Rs 39 crore in Q3 FY22. The company's revenue from operations declined 29.61% to Rs 196.23 crore as against Rs 278.76 crore in Q3 FY22. On the operational front, total booking value surged 111% to Rs 3,252 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared with Rs 1,541 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Total booking volume surged 99% to 4.42 million sq. ft. in Q3 FY23 as compared to 2.22 million sq. ft. in Q3 FY22.

Redington rose 0.27%. The company reported 2.2% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 379.70 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 388.07 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations surged 30.6% to Rs 21,674.31 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022 as against Rs 16,600.74 crore recorded in the same period last year.

Gillette India gained 1.40% after the company reported 5.6% rise in net profit to Rs 74.45 crore on 9.8% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 618.62 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 over quarter ended December 2021. The company said that net sales was driven by the strength of its brands and product portfolio, superior innovation, and improved retail execution. The profit after tax (PAT) was supported by strategic productivity interventions.

Eicher Motors fell 2.73%. 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 1.97%. 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 1.13%. 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.

Global Markets:

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 acknowledged 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.