While intense FII selling capped the gains, it failed to dent the market’s resilience. This is in contrast to the pre-Covid market scenario where heavy FII selling always invariably led to sharp market corrections. Analysts believe this new trend suggests retail investors are calling the shots on D-Street now.
That said, traders will also respond to the India Inc earnings as eight Nifty50 companies – L&T, ITC, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, SBI Life, Adani Ports, Titan and Bajaj Auto – are scheduled to announce their quarterly numbers today.
Analysts see higher inflation as a major concern for the markets. The CPI print is lower due to the favourable base effect but the prices are rising fast. This is bound to get reflected in inflation numbers soon and RBI will have to normalise policy earlier than expected, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“The flood of results today will witness the market responding to the numbers. Corrections in prices in high-quality stocks may turn out to be buying opportunities,” he added.
How are bluechips doing
At 9.30 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 140 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 61,490. The Nifty50 gained 36.30 points or 0.2 per cent to 18,304. Both indices were on track to rise for the third day in a row.
was the best performing stock in the Nifty50 pack as it soared 5.66 per cent to Rs 3,137.95 after the company took high-single-digit price increases across their portfolio in a move to offset the rising input costs.
It was followed by Divis Labs, UPL, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Life, Shree Cement, Nestle, Britannia, SBI Life, Dr Reddy’s Labs and SBI, which added 1-2 per cent each.
On the contrary, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance tanked 3 per cent each to Rs 815.85 and Rs 7,647.15, respectively, despite a decent set of numbers in the September 2021 quarter.
Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra,
, Hindalco, Coal India, IndusInd Bank and Power Grid, down 1-3 per cent, were among other losers.
Broader markets action
Broader market indices edged higher and outperformed the headline peers in morning trade. NSE Smallcap 100 and NSE Midcap 100 indices gained 0.3 per cent each. The broadest index Nifty500 index added 0.22 per cent.
Triveni Turbine zoomed 9 per cent to Rs 185.65 as the industrial steam turbine posted a seven-fold jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 173.76 crore in the July-September quarter compared to the year-ago period mainly on the back of higher revenues.
Zensar Technologies surged over 8 per cent to Rs 487.35 after the IT firm reported a 7.5 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 94.4 crore for the second quarter ended on September 30, 2021. It had posted a profit of Rs 87.8 crore in the year-ago period.
IRB Infrastructure Developers tanked 8 per cent after the company announced plans to raise Rs 5,347 crore. The firm will sell the shares at Rs 211.79 each to investors, a 28 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price.
In the broader markets, Vardhman Textiles, Tanla Platforms, HFCL, Infibeam Avenues, Sequent Scientific, JK Paper, Canara Bank and ABB India led the gainers.
On the other hand, KEI Industries, Metropolis Healthcare, Grindwell Norton, Zee Entertainment, Balrampur Chini Mills, Balaji Amines, Alkyl Amines, Dr Lalpath Labs and Federal Bank declined the most during the early trade.
Things to watch: Q2 earnings
Barring the above-mentioned bluechips, United Spirits, Punjab National Bank, United Breweries, Lupin,
Bank and Dalmia Bharat are among other companies that will announce their September quarter results today.
