Local stocks logged modest gains in the week marked with high volatility. Indices settled lower in three out of five trading sessions in the week. The Nifty reclaimed the the key 18,000 level. Small and mid-cap stocks were under selling pressure. In the week ended on Friday, 20 January 2023, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 360.59 points or 0.6% to settle at 60,621.77. The Nifty 50 index rose 71.05 points or 0.4% to settle at 18,027.65. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.66% to settle at 25,005.19. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.79% to settle at 28,630.19. Weekly Index Movement:

The benchmark indices ended a volatile session with moderate losses on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 168.21 points or 0.28% to 60,092.97. The Nifty 50 index shed 61.75 points or 0.34% to 17,894.85.

The domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's high with strong gains on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 562.75 points or 0.94% to 60,655.72. The Nifty 50 index added 158.45 points or 0.89% to 18,053.30.

The benchmark indices registered strong gains on Wednesday, led by metals and financial stocks. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 390.02 points or 0.64% to 61,045.74. The Nifty 50 index added 112.05 points or 0.62% to 18,165.35.

Domestic benchmark indices corrected on Thursday, after gaining for two straight sessions. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 187.31 points or 0.31% to 60,858.43. The Nifty 50 index lost 57.50 points or 0.32% to 18,107.85.

The Indian benchmark indices ended lower for the second straight session on Friday. Selling was wide spread led by metals, pharma and consumer durables shares. Banks and energy shares bucked the weak market trend. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 236.66 points or 0.39% to 60,621.77. The Nifty 50 index declined 80.20 points or 0.44% to 18,027.65.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Bank rose 3.74%. The private lender's net profit rose 18.54% to Rs 12,259.49 crore on 25.97% increase in total income to Rs 51207.61 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. The bank's profit before tax (PBT) increased 17.67% year on year to Rs 16,217.63 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

Hindustan Unilever fell 1.22%. The FMCG major reported 12% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,505 crore on a 16% increase in turnover to Rs 14,986 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

HUL's board approved the proposal to enter a new arrangement wherein it will now be paying royalty and central services fees to Unilever Group at 3.45% of turnover, up from 2.65% in FY22. This increase will be affected in a staggered manner over a period of 3 years, the company said.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) slipped 6.24%. The company reported a 7.51% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 303.60 crore on 2.68% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2,048.60 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q2 FY22.

Asian Paints slipped 2.64%. The paint major's consolidated net profit rose 5.61% to Rs 1,072.67 crore on 1.72% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 8,607.50 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.

Adani Enterprises tumbled 7.12%. The company said it will offer Rs 20,000 crore worth of shares in a price band of Rs 3,112 to Rs 3,276 each through a follow-on public offer (FPO). The FPO is slated to open on 27 January 2023 and close on 31 January 2023. The floor price is at a discount of 13.44% to Wednesday's Rs 3,595.35 closing price of the stock on BSE.

The FPO committee of the board of directors of the company, at its meeting held on 18 January 2023, approved a discount of Rs 64 per FPO equity share for retail individual investors bidding in the retail portion of the offer.

IndusInd Bank declined 2.53%. The private lender's standalone net profit surged 68.71% to Rs 1,959.20 crore on 19.96% rise in total income to Rs 11,533.74 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. IndusInd Bank's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 1,963.64 crore in quarter ended 31 December 2022 as compared to Rs 1,241.55 core posted in Q3 FY22, registering a growth of 58.16%. Consolidated total income rose by 19.96% year on year to Rs 11,533.89 crore during the period under review.

Economy:

India's annual wholesale price index (WPI) inflation for the month of December 2022 eased to 4.95%, at a 22-month low, mainly due to fall in prices of food articles and crude petroleum. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was 5.85% in November 2022 and 14.27% in December 2021.

"Decline in the rate of inflation in December 2022 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, food products, textiles and chemicals & chemical products", the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.

Separately, India's merchandise exports declined by 12.2% to $34.48 billion in December 2022, as against $39.27 billion recorded in the same month of the preceding year, as per the government data shared on 16 January 2023.

The country's imports in December declined to $58.24 billion as against $60.33 billion recorded in the year-ago period.

The merchandise trade deficit fell further to $23.76 billion in December, after declining to a seven-month low of $23.89 billion in November.

India's exports contracted 12.2% to $34.48 billion in December 2022, mainly due to global headwinds, and the trade deficit widened to $ 23.76 billion during the same period, according to official data released on Monday. Imports in December 2022 also declined 3.5% to $58.24 billion as against $ 60.33 billion in the year-ago period. In December 2021, exports stood at $39.27 billion and the trade deficit was at $21.06 billion.

The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of November, 2022 (Base: 2011-12=100) at 105.8, is 9.7% higher as compared to the level in the month of November, 2021. As per the provisional statistics of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the cumulative growth for the period April-November, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year is 4.7%.

Global Markets:

China reported 3% GDP growth for 2022. Retail sales in December declined 1.8% from a year ago. Industrial production rose by 3.6% in 2022. The figure rose by 1.3% in December.

The People's Bank of China left the loan prime rates for 1-year and 5-year unchanged, widely in line with expectations. The 1-year LPR stayed at 3.65% while the 5-year LPR remained at 4.3%, both unchanged since August, 2022.

The nationwide core consumer price index in Japan rose 4% in December on an annualized basis, the fastest pace since 1981. The reading climbed from the inflation print of 3.7% seen in November.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan announced no change to its yield curve control policy.

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said Thursday that she thinks the central bank can enact smaller interest rate hikes after a series of aggressive moves last year. Collins said she is "reasonably optimistic that there is a pathway to reducing inflation without a significant economic downturn."

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said Wednesday that interest rates have to keep moving higher even with recent inflation readings softening.

US retail sales fell by the most in a year in December. Retail sales plummeted 1.1% last month, the biggest drop since December 2021. Data for November was revised to show sales decreasing 1% instead of 0.6% as previously reported. Retail sales rose 6% year-on-year in December.

The annual rate of inflation in the U.K. fell in December to 10.5%. It marked the second month of falls, after the rate slipped from a 41-year high to 10.7% in November.