Benchmarks drift higher in early trade; Nifty above 17,400

The benchmark indices opened with modest gains in early trade, backed by a strong demand in auto and oil & gas scrips. The Nifty re-claimed the 17,400 level.

At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 242.27 points or 0.42% at 58,238.95. The Nifty 50 index gained 78.75 points or 0.45% at 17,400.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.45% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.51%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,712 shares rose and 481 shares fell. A total of 74 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,890.96 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,180.14 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 February 2022, provisional data showed.

Meanwhile, oil skid in early Asian trade on Thursday after both France and Iran said parties were closer to an agreement to salvage Iran`s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, offsetting ongoing concerns over the situation in Ukraine. In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement fell $1.77 at $93.04 a barrel.

Upcoming Results:

Nestle India (up 0.70%) and Ambuja Cements (up 1.12%) will announce their quarterly results today.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro rose 1.45%. The IT major has been awarded a five-year, strategic engagement to drive transformation for ABB`s Information Systems digital workplace services. The agreement, worth over $150 million, will help ABB`s Information Systems deliver enhanced, consumer-grade digital experiences for its 1,05,000 employees in over 100 countries.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gained 0.32%. TCS announced a partnership with MATRIXX Software to integrate TCS HOBS, its plug and play digital business platform for subscription, device and data management, with the cloud native, converged charging capabilities of the MATRIXX Digital Commerce Platform.

Infosys added 0.82%. The IT major announced it has been named a Foundational Partner for the launch of Google Cloud Cortex Framework. As a Foundational Partner, Infosys will help clients accelerate digital transformation and power new business capabilities with its market-leading data, analytics and AI expertise.

Tata Motors advanced 2.07%. Jaguar Land Rover has formed a multi-year strategic partnership with NVIDIA, the leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and computing, to jointly develop and deliver next-generation automated driving systems plus AI-enabled services and experiences for its customers. Jaguar Land Rover is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) lost 0.69%. The company has received award by consent passed by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in the arbitration claim filed by RUAG Aerospace Services GmbH (now taken over by General Atomics AeroTec Systems GmbH) against the company, on joint request by both the parties after resolving their disputes pursuant to a settlement agreement between both the parties.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding Ukraine.

Japan`s January exports came in far below expectations, with official data released on Thursday showing a 9.6% year-on-year rise for that month.

Wall Street bounced off session lows Wednesday with the S&P 500 crossing into positive territory by the closing bell as investors surveyed the latest update from the Federal Reserve and the status of Russia`s military build-up near Ukraine.

Federal Reserve officials last month agreed that, with inflation tightening its grip on the economy and employment strong, it was time to raise interest rates, but also that any decisions would depend on a meeting-by-meeting analysis of inflation and other data, according to the minutes of the January 25-26 policy meeting.

"Most participants noted that, if inflation does not move down as they expect, it would be appropriate for the FOMC to remove policy accommodation at a faster pace than they currently anticipate," the minutes stated.

In geopolitical developments, NATO on Wednesday accused Russia of increasing the number of troops it has gathered at the Ukrainian border, a day after Moscow claimed it had begun withdrawing some of its military units.

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