Benchmarks trade with minor cuts; Nifty below 17,600

The key equity indices traded with small losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a below the 17,600 mark. Oil & gas shares extended losses for the seventh consecutive trading session.

At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 51.35 points or 0.09% to 59,656.73. The Nifty 50 index fell 43.25 points or 0.25% to 17,573.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.04% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.83%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,793 shares rose and 1,545 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.

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.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.72% to 16.3225. The Nifty 23 February 2023 futures were trading at 17,964.10, at a premium of 122.5 points as compared with the spot at 17,841.60.

The Nifty option chain for the 23 February 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 28 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 30.4 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index fell 1.88% to 7,292.30, extending losses for the seventh day. The index lost 15.53% in seven trading sessions.

Adani Total Gas (down 10%), Mahanagar Gas (down 3.03%), Petronet LNG (down 2.36%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 1.89%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 1.63%), GAIL (India) (down 1.2%), Indraprastha Gas (down 1.17%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.88%), Oil India (down 0.67%) and Aegis Logistics (down 0.15%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Redington was up 0.25%. 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 rose 0.57% 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.

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