Stock Market Today: Sensex Gains For Fourth Session; Nifty Remains Flat; FPIs Turn Net Sellers

Overseas investors in Indian equities turned net sellers after a day on Thursday.

Foreign portfolio investors sold equities worth Rs 3,065.35 crore, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.

On the other hand, domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the ninth day in a row, buying stocks worth Rs 2,371.36 crore.

Foreign institutions net bought Rs 14,398.8 crore worth of Indian equities in December, but have remained net sellers of Rs 42744.83 crore of Indian stocks so far in 2023.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed largely flat at 7.29% on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency weakened by 24 paise to 82.18 rupees at close against the greenback on Thursday. It closed at 81.94 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The headline indices diverged at closing at the end of trading session on Thursday, mirrioring the mixed trend from the volatile budget session on Wednesday.

All Adani group stocks ended lower in trade, except the cement contours after the company withdrew their Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public subscription, citing martekt volatility.

Asian markets were mixed as the U.S. and Europe futures climbed, building on Wall Street’s advance after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank had made progress in its battle against inflation. It raised interest rates by 25 basis points, which now stand at 4.5–4.75%.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed up 224 points or 0.38% at 59,932.24 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 6 points or 0.03% down at 17,610.40.

ITC Bank Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Enterprises Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., UPL Ltd., HDFC Life Insurance Co. and Divi's Laboratories Ltd. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The broader market indices traded higher; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.21%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 0.36%.

Ten out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while nine advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,659 rose, 1,840 declined and 128 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Revenue up 2% at Rs 3043.17 crore Vs Rs 2986.5 crore

• Net profit down 3% to Rs 475.94 crore Vs Rs 490.06 crore

• EBITDA up 2% to Rs 609.88 crore Vs Rs 600.73 crore

• Margins at 20% Vs 20.1%

Source: BSE Filing

• ACC Ltd.'s 12-month calendar-year closing has been changed to 15 months i.e. till March 2023

• New promoters took over the company on Sept. 16, 2022 wherein the cash and cash equivalent was Rs. 4,019 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

• Revenue up 16% at Rs 11,609 crore Vs Rs 10,037 crore

• Net profit down 10% to Rs 904 crore Vs Rs 1,004 crore

• EBITDA down 7% to Rs 1,347 crore Vs Rs 1,442 crore

• Margins at 11.6% Vs 14.4%

Source: BSE Filing

Indian benchmarks were trading diverged towards the end of market close.

Sensex went up 0.29%, while Nifty 50 was largely flat.

Source: Bloomberg

The shares of Dr Lal Pathlabs declined after the company's Q3 earnings missed street estimates.

The scrip was trading 1.50% lower at Rs 2,021.75.

Of the 22 analysts tracking the stock, five maintained 'buy', three recommended 'hold' and fourteen suggested 'sell'. The 12-month consensus price target implies a potential upside of 8.8%.

Dr Lal Pathlabs Q3 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 2% at Rs 489 crore Vs Rs 497 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 516 crore)

• Net profit down 8% to Rs 53 crore Vs Rs 57 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 67 crore Profit)

• EBITDA up 4% to Rs 113 crore from Rs 109 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 127 crore Profit)

• Margins at 23.1% Vs 22% (BBG estimate : 24.7%)

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of I.T. companies advanced in trade on Thursday, a day after the announcement of the Union Budget 2023 by the Indian government.

The NSE IT Index was up 1.45% in trade. Nine out of the 10 constituents compiled by the gauge advanced, while only Tech Mahindra Ltd. declined.

LTIMindtree Ltd., Persistent Systems Ltd., L&T Technology Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., TCS Ltd. and Wipro Ltd. advanced more than 1% in trade.

Source: NSE

• Revenue up 13% at Rs 1,559 crore Vs Rs 1,385 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 1,467 crore)

• Net profit up 7% to Rs 269 crore Vs Rs 252 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 268 crore Profit)

• EBITDA up 15% to Rs 419 crore from Rs 364 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 403 crore Profit)

• Margins at 28.3% Vs 27.8% (BBG estimate : 27.5%)

Source: Exchange filing

• Net Profit: Rs 3,691 crore Vs Rs 3,261 crore (YoY)

• NII: Rs 4,840 crore Vs Rs 4,284 crore (YoY)

• GNPA: 1.49% Vs 1.59% (QoQ)

Source: Exchange filing

• Adani Enterprises Ltd. declined 20% in trade on Thursday after the company withdrew its follow-on public offer.

• Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., Adani Wilmar Ltd., ACC Ltd. and Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd. were also trading lower.

• Ambuja Cements Ltd., on the other hand, rose in trade.

Source: Bloomberg

• Total income down 8% to Rs 366 crore vs Rs 399 crore [Bloomberg Estimate: Rs 444 crore]

• Ebitda up 33% at Rs 153 crore vs Rs 115 crore [Bloomberg Estimate: Rs 68.70 crore]

• Highest ever quarterly sales with booking value of Rs 3,252 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

• Orders worth Rs 1,427-crore of residential and commercial buildings construction projects in India.

• Orders of Rs 498-crore in India and overseas markets as a pert of T&D business.

• Railway project in India of up to Rs 299-crore.

• Oil and gas pipeline projects in India worth Rs 232-crore.

Source: Exchange filing

The headline indices turned flat amid trade after a sluggish start on Thursday. While, the benchmarks were mixed amid volatility on the budget session on Wednesday, Adani Group shares continued witnessing deep cuts in trade despite suspending their Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public subscription, citing market volatility.

Asian markets were mixed as the U.S. and Europe futures climbed, building on Wall Street’s advance after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank had made progress in its battle against inflation. It raised interest rates by 25 basis points, which now stand at 4.5–4.75%.

As of 12:26 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was up 42 points or 0.07% at 59,749.74 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 33 points or 0.19% down at 17,583.

ITC Bank Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd., Infosys Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Enterprises Ltd., UPL Ltd., HDFC Life Insurance Co., Eicher Motors Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The broader market indices traded higher; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.06%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 0.85%.

Thirteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while seven advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,811 rose, 1,526 declined and 138 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Receives letter of award from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., for the work of 'Water Treatment Plant' including reverse osmosis, demineralization plant, condensate polishing unit, zero liquid discharge plant and operation and maintenance.

• The Rs 726.13 crore contract will extend for two years for their Panipat refinery capacity expansion project at Haryana.

• The project is to be commissioned within 24 months from the date of letter of acceptance.

Source: Exchange filing

• Torrent, with Rs 8640 crore, had emerged as the highest bidder in the Dec 2022 auction.

• The extended challenge mechanism, proposed by CoC, is in violation of the Insolvency Code, says NCLT.

• Torrent investments had approached the NCLT to prevent the CoC from considering a revised bid by the Hinduja Group.

• Adani Enterprises Ltd. declined after opening higher in pre-market trade whereas Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., Adani Wilmar Ltd. and Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd. were also trading lower.

• ACC Ltd. and Ambuja Cements Ltd., on the other hand, rose in trade.

Source: Bloomberg

• The auto maker completed the merger by absorption of Mahindra Electric Mobility.

• The scheme has become effective from Feb 2. on which the copy of order of NCLT has been filed with the Registrar of Copmpanies.

• The Last Mile Mobility division of company will be responsible for its mix of petrol, CNG, diesel and electric last mile mobility 3- and 4-wheelers – passenger and cargo vehicles.

• These include the Mahindra Jeeto 4-wheeler, Alfa range of 3-wheelers, Zor Grand electric and the exclusive electric Treo range.

Source: Exchange filing.

• The launch is in collaboration with ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

  Source: Joint press event

• Movements in the equity market have no impact on credit quality

• SBI exposure is backed by cashflows and we have good visibility on the future cash flows

• All Adani Group assets are generating strong cash

• FPO event might impact future projects, but has no immediate impact for us

• Regulator has sought details in the normal course of business

Source: SBI official speaking to BQ Prime anonymously

Shares of UTI Asset Management declined 2.61% after it reported weaker-than-expected third quarter profit.

The scrip fell as much as 6.85% intraday, with volumes 1.0 times the 30-day average. The relative strength index stood at 32.

Of the 15 analysts tracking the stock, 14 maintained 'buy', and one suggested 'hold'. Meanwhile, no analyst recommended a 'sell' rating. The return potential of the stock is 40.3%.

UTI Asset Management Co. Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues down 32.27% at Rs 295.15 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 295.33 crore)

• Ebitda down 56.83% at Rs 116.9 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 146.4 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 39.61% vs 62.14% (Bloomberg estimate: 49.57%)

• Net profit down 70.07% at Rs 60.01 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 111.2 crore)

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• IDFC First Bank says funded outstanding is 0.06% of the funded assets as of December 2022.

• Non-funded outstanding of 0.51% of funded assets as of December 31, 2022.

• Bank says has been receiving payments as per the quarterly amortising payment schedule.

• IDFC First says group’s companies have strong cash-flows and operating models.

• Bank does not have any exposure to any offshore entities in Adani Group or against the shares of Adani Group companies.

• Bank says it continues to bring down exposure to top 10 group borrowers.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of ITC Ltd. rose 4.98% to Rs 379.4 apiece in trade on Thursday after National Calamity Contingent Duty on cigarettes was increased by 16% during the budget announcement on Wednesday.

The stock gained as much as 6.45% intraday and hit a 52-week high at Rs 384.7 apiece. Total traded volume stood at 8.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index at 82 implies that the stock maybe overbought.

Out of the 36 analysts tracking the company, 34 maintain a 'buy' rating and two recommend to 'hold' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 5.6% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Timken India Ltd. declined 4.53% as of 10:25 am, to Rs 3,056.3 apiece in trade on Thursday after the third-quarter earnings missed analyst estimates.

Timken's net profit was up 1.15% year-on-year at Rs 70.6 crore, missing Bloomberg's pooled consensus of estimate of Rs 134.1 crore.

Company's revenue also missed the analyst estimates. however, it was 19.49% higher at Rs 609.4 crore annually in the said quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

Timken India Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 19.49% at Rs 609.4 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 709.4 crore)

• Ebitda down 9.11% at Rs 103.7 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 141.9 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 17.02% vs 22.37% (Bloomberg estimate: 20%)

• Net profit up 1.15% at Rs 70.6 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 134.1 crore)

The stock declined as much as 7.35% intraday, falling the most in over 19 weeks since Sept. 16, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 6.1 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index at 20 implies that the stock maybe oversold.

Out of the seven analysts tracking the company, five maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommends a 'hold' and one suggests to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 11.2% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Adani Enterprises Ltd. declined after opening higher in pre-market trade where as Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., Adani Wilmar Ltd. and Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd. were also trading lower.

ACC Ltd. and Ambuja Cements Ltd., on the other hand, rose in trade.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Banking companies declined in trade on Thursday after a volatile trading session on the budget day.

State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bandhan Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. declined in trade.

The NSE Nifty Bank Index declined 0.86% in trade. Eight out of of total twelve constituents compiled by the gauge advanced, while four declined.

Source: NSE

Shares of Adani Enterprises opened 10% higher on Thursday before quickly reversing gains and plunging 10% to Rs 1,921.85.

The scrip, on Wednesday, had extended losses up to 35%.

So far on Thursday, the stock was trading 12.1 times its 30-day average volume. The relative strength index stood at 14, suggesting that it might be oversold.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone also reversed its 3% openeing gains to plunge 10% at Rs 445.65. It was trading 19.8 times its 30-day average volume. The relative strength index stood at 9, suggesting the stock might be oversold.

Adani Total Gas plunged 10% to Rs 1707.7 at open, set to extend losses for the seventh straight session. The scrip was trading 0.2 times its 30-day average volume. The relative strength index stood at 15, indicating that the stock may be oversold.

Adani Transmission was trading 10% lower at Rs 1,551.15 after declining 8% at open. Total traded quantity stood at 1.7 times the 30-day average volume. The relative strength index at 20 suggested that the stock may be oversold.

The Indian benchmark indices opened lower in trade on Thursday after they ended mixed amid volatility on the budget session on Thursday.

Adani Group shares witnessed deep cuts in trade on Wednesday after its FPO was fully subscribed despite, short-seller Hindenberg Reseach's report on the company, however, Adani Enterprises withdrew its FPO later on Wednesday, citing martekt volatility.

Asian shares advanced with the U.S. and Europe futures on Thursday, extending the rally on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank had made progress in its battle against inflation. It raised interest rates by 25 basis points, which now stand at 4.5–4.75%.

As of 9:19 a.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was down 474 points or 0.79% at 59,234.53 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 146 points or 0.83% lower at 17,470.25.

SBI Life Insurance Co., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ITC Ltd. and HCL Technologies were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., Adani Enterprise Ltd., HDFC Life Insurance Co., SBI Ltd., and UPL Ltd. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened lower by three bps at 7.25% on Thursday. It closed at 7.28% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency strengthened by 12 paise to 81.82 rupees at open against the greenback on Thursday. It closed at 81.94 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• Yesterday’s decision of FPO withdrawal would have surprised many.

• Decision will not have any impact on our existing operations and future plans.

• Will continue to focus on long term value creation and growth will be managed by internal accruals.

• Once the market stabilises, we will review our capital market strategy.

Source: Gautam Adani address to shareholders

• U.S. Dollar Index at 100.97

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.41%

• Brent crude down 0.68% to $83.40 per barrel

• Nymex crude at $77.05 per barrel

• SGX Nifty down 0.74% to 17,568.5 as of 8:18 a.m.

• Bitcoin up 1.10% to $23,943.05

Titan Co., Aditya Birla Capital, Coromandel International, Apollo Tyres, APL Apollo Tubes, Tata Consumer Products, Dabur, SIS, Berger Paints, Welspun Corp., Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp., Aegis Logistics, Mahanagar Gas, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, Max Healthcare Institute, Bajaj Electricals, Birlasoft, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Gulf Oil Lubricants, GMM Pfaudler, Hikal, Dr Lal Path Labs, Greenlam Industries, Godrej Properties, CERA Sanitaryware, Zydus Wellness, Aavas Financiers, Clean Science & Technology, Aptus Value Housing Finance, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Sheela Foam, HDFC, Thomas Cook India, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, Lloyds Steels, Karnataka Bank, Hawkins Cookers

Ashok Leyland Q3 FY23 Highlights (YoY):

• Revenue up 63% at Rs 9,029.7 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 8,701 crore)

• Ebitda up 256% to Rs 797.3 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,563 crore)

• Ebitda margin stood at 8.8% Vs 4.0% (Bloomberg estimate: 7.6%)

• Net profit up 6,173% at Rs 361.3 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 314.7 crore)

Timken India Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 19.49% at Rs 609.4 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 709.4 crore)

• Ebitda down 9.11% at Rs 103.7 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 141.9 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 17.02% vs 22.37% (Bloomberg estimate: 20%)

• Net profit up 1.15% at Rs 70.6 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 134.1 crore)

Gillette India Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 9.79% at Rs 618.62 crore

• Ebitda up 10.42% at Rs 126.04 crore

• Ebitda margin at 20.37% vs 20.26%

• Net profit up 5.6% at Rs 74.45 crore

• The board recommended a dividend of Rs 35 per share.

UTI Asset Management Co. Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues down 32.27% at Rs 295.15 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 295.33 crore)

• Ebitda down 56.83% at Rs 116.9 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 146.4 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 39.61% vs 62.14% (Bloomberg estimate: 49.57%)

• Net profit down 70.07% at Rs 60.01 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 111.2 crore)

Mahindra Logistics Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 17.04% at Rs 1329.55 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,296.18 crore)

• Ebitda up 38.38% at Rs 62.74 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 71.3%)

• Ebitda margin at 4.72% vs 3.99% (Bloomberg estimate: 5.5%)

• Net profit down 21.47% at Rs 1.39 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 15.43 crore)

Sundram Fasteners Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 16.19% at Rs 1403.03 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,282.8 crore)

• Ebitda up 2.78% at Rs 196.28 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 87.1 crore(loss))

• Ebitda margin at 13.99% vs 15.82%

• Net profit up 8.28% at Rs 117.02 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 85.1 crore)

Redington Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues up 13.77% at Rs 21,674.31 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 20,034.65 crore)

• Ebitda up 8.83% at Rs 579.42 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 546.8 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 2.67% vs 2.79% (Bloomberg estimate: 2.7%)

• Net profit down 1.88% at Rs 379.7 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 363.35 crore)

ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 34.18% at Rs 876.06 crore

• Ebitda up 104.64% at Rs 120.06 crore

• Ebitda margin at 13.71% vs 8.99%

• Net profit up 168.28% at Rs 85.42 crore

Alembic Pharma Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 18.66% at Rs 1,509.02 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,423.2 crore)

• Ebitda up 2.9% at Rs 248.76 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 225.27 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 16.48% vs 19.01% (Bloomberg estimate: 15.8%)

• Net profit down 29.03% at Rs 121.92 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 129.7 crore)

Tata Chemicals Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 32% at Rs 4,148 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 4,193.20 crore)

• Ebitda up 69% at Rs 922 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 963.75 crore)

• Ebitda margin 22.2% vs 17.4% (Bloomberg estimate: 23%)

• Net profit up 26% at Rs 391 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 546.90 crore)

Britannia Industries Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 16.17% to Rs 4,101.49 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 4,230.22 crore)

• Ebitda down 8.1% at Rs 722.27 crore (Bloomberg Estimate: Rs 683.39 crore)

• Operating margin 18.14% vs 13.67% (Bloomberg Estimate: 16.20%)

• Net profit up 152.56% to Rs 932.40 crore (Bloomberg Estimate: Rs 469.61 crore)

Ajanta Pharma Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 15.98% at Rs 971.77 crore

• Ebitda down 29.44% at Rs 169.05 crore

• Ebitda margin at 17.4% vs 28.6%

• Net profit down 29.86% at Rs 134.51 crore

Hindustan Copper Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 2.32% at Rs 557.04 crore

• Ebitda down 13.35% at Rs 113.97 crore

• Ebitda margins at 20.46% vs 24.16%

• Net profit down 53.28% at Rs 80.20 crore

• Adani Enterprises: The company decided not to proceed with its Rs 20,000 crore “to protect the interest of its investing community”.

• Tata Steel: The company bought 29.98 crore shares in subsidiary Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services for Rs 58 crore.

• Nirlon: The board will consider an interim dividend for the current fiscal during its meeting on Feb. 9.

• IDFC: The company will invest Rs 2,200 crore in IDFC First Bank to increase its stake to 40% from 36.38%.

• Welspun Enterprises: The company will acquire 100% stake in promoter group company Welspun New Energy at the fair value of Rs 1 lakh to venture into sustainable energy solutions sector. Meanwhile, the board has appointed Lalit Jain as interim chief financial officer of the company.

• RailTel Corporation of India: The company has received an order worth Rs 253.35 crore for provisioning of 4G LTE connectivity for offsite 15,000 ATMs and maintenance for five years.

• Rail Vikas Nigam: The company received an order worth Rs 41.78 crore provision of automatic block signalling in Nagari-Taduku section and replacement of EI/RRI at Vepagunta station of Chennai Division in Southern Railway.

Asian markets open higher as U.S. shares advance after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank has made progress in its battle against inflation. It raised interest rates by 25 basis points, which now stand at 4.5–4.75%.

The S&P 500 jumped more than 1% after Powell said the "disinflation process has started," suggesting the aggressive tightening cycle is starting to have its desired effect of reducing the pace of price growth. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed major benchmarks, closing at its highest since September.

At 8:18 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of India's benchmark Nifty 50, was down 0.74% at 17,568.5.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 3.41%. Crude oil was trading near $83 per barrel, while Bitcoin surpassed the $23,000 mark.

Indian benchmark indices ended mixed after a volatile session on Wednesday, after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2023 in Parliament.

The rupee ended largely flat against the U.S. dollar in the wake of the Indian Budget and ahead of the FOMC policy meeting.

Foreign investors turned net buyers of Indian stocks on wednesday, ending a 7-day selling streak. FPIs bought up equities worth Rs 1,785.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the eighth day in a row, buying stocks worth Rs 529.47 crore.