Nifty hovers above 18,100; Sensex adds 79 pts

The key equity benchmarks traded near the flat line with tiny gains in mid-morning trade. Positive Asian cues and strong FII buying boosted the investors sentiment. The Nifty hovered above the 18,100 level. Consumer durable shares declined for the second day in a row.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 48.05 points or 0.08% to 60,906.48. The Nifty 50 index added 7.20 points or 0.04% to 18,115.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.05% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.12%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,860 shares rose, and 1,459 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 399.98 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 128.96 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 January, provisional data showed.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Consumer Durables index fell 0.78% to 24,423. The index declined 1.40% in the two trading sessions.

Havells India (down 3.53%), Relaxo Footwears (down 2.09%), Voltas (down 0.71%), Bata India (down 0.65%), Rajesh Exports (down 0.64%), Dixon Technologies (India) (down 0.63%), Whirlpool of India (down 0.3%), Kajaria Ceramics (down 0.26%), Orient Electric (down 0.19%) and Titan Company (down 0.12%) slipped.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Zinc tumbled 6.93% after the mining company's consolidated net profit slipped 20.2% to Rs 2,156 crore from Rs 2,701 crore recorded in Q3 FY22. Sequentially, the net profit declined 19.6% on account of lower EBITDA partly offset by lower tax expense.

Coforge jumped 6.05% after the company reported 13.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 228.2 crore on a 4.9% increase in gross revenues to Rs 2,055.8 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q2 FY23.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) declined 2.69%. 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.

Global markets:

Asian stocks advanced on Friday as investors digested Japan's inflation data. The nationwide core consumer price index 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.

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.

US stocks fell Thursday as investors grew increasingly concerned the Federal Reserve will keep raising rates despite signs of slowing inflation.

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.

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