Nifty above 17,750 mark; strong market breadth

The domestic equity barometers traded with strong gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,750 mark. Metal, bank and financial stocks led the charge.

At 09:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 340.67 points or 0.57% to 59,884.63. The Nifty 50 index gained 105.95 points or 0.6% to 17,762.30.

JSW Steel (up 2.43%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2%), Hindalco (up 1.96%), HDFC (up 1.79%) and Tata Steel (up 1.33%) were the top Nifty 50 gainers.

NTPC (down 0.92%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.30%), ITC (down 0.29%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.14%) and HDFC Life (down 0.12%) were top Nifty 50 laggards.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.38% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.55%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,838 shares rose and 760 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hero MotoCorp added 0.34%. The company is set to commence its operations in the Philippines. Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC), a part of the Columbian Group of Companies, one of the leading and most experienced automotive group is partnering with Hero MotoCorp in bringing its globally popular motorcycles to the country. As part of the partnership, TMC will be the exclusive assembler and distributor of Hero MotoCorp motorcycles in Philippines.

Dabur India rose 2.19%. The FMCG major announced that it has signed definitive transaction agreements to acquire 51% shareholding of Badshah Masala Private Limited, which is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and export of ground spices, blended spices and seasonings. Dabur is acquiring 51% stake in Badshah for Rs 587.52 crore, less proportionate debt as on the closing date, with the Badshah enterprise being valued at Rs 1,152 crore.

Separately, Dabur reported consolidated net profit of Rs 490.86 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 from Rs 505.31 crore reported in Q2FY22. Total income rose to Rs 3109.77 crore during Q2FY23 against Rs 2930.02 crore recorded in Q2FY22.

Trident gained 1.55%. The company said it has completed a solar power project of 8.87 MWp at Budhni in Madhya Pradesh. The power generated from this new solar power project shall be consumed captively in manufacturing facilities located at Budhni resulting in considerable savings for the company.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading higher on Thursday on growing expectations that major central banks could start slowing the pace of interest rate hikes in coming months.

The Bank of Japan begins its two-day meeting on monetary policy Thursday.

South Korea`s third-quarter GDP grew 0.3% from the previous quarter, according to official advance data � the slowest growth since the third quarter of 2021. China`s industrial profits for January to September fell 2.3% compared to a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday as investors parsed fresh economic data and disappointing earnings while mulling the Federal Reserve`s path after the Bank of Canada announced a smaller-than-expected rate hike of 50 basis points.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to roll out another super-size rate hike Thursday to combat runaway inflation, despite concerns higher borrowing costs could deepen the pain of a looming eurozone recession. The ECB`s 25-member governing council is likely to lift its key interest rates by 75 basis points for the second consecutive time, as per reports.

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