Key equity indices traded sideways with tiny gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty hovered above the 17,550 level. Metal stocks saw buying while realty, media and auto shares declined.
At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 20.98 points or 0.04% at 58,809.27. The Nifty 50 index was up 7.5 points at 17,567.40.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.04% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.18%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,851 shares rose and 1341 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Realty index slipped 1.41% to 480.05, slipping for second trading session in a row. The realty index lost 3% in two days.
Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.61%), Macrotech Developers (down 1.42%), Brigade Enterprises (down 1.05%) and Phoenix Mills (down 0.68%) were top losers in realty space.
Godrej Properties slumped 6.66% after a foreign brokerage reportedly maintained a "sell" rating on the stock and cut its target price to Rs 1,424 from Rs 1,563. The brokerage reportedly stated that Godrej Properties (GPL)'s deal with DB Realty (DBR) lacks merit due to the direct purchase of a stake in the company. The brokerage is concerned over convoluted deal structure and risk-prone slum rehab projects of GPL. Both the deal with DBR and the foray into slum rehab project was unwarranted, it added. The board of GPL on 3 February 2022 approved a potential investment in DBR and also the setting up of a special purpose vehicle along with DBR to jointly undertake slum rehabilitation and MHADA redevelopment projects. Following the news, shares of D B Realty hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 100.90.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were trading higher on Friday, following heavy losses overnight on Wall Street that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunging nearly 4%.
Markets in Hong Kong returned to trade on Friday after being closed for most of this week due to the Lunar New Year holidays. Over in mainland China, markets remain closed on Friday for the holidays.
U. S. stocks fell on Thursday, dragged down by technology and social-media companies, as Facebook owner Meta Platforms plunged after a disappointing earnings report. Meta Platforms shares plunged after the company's quarterly profit fell short of expectations. The company also issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the current quarter. It was the biggest drop ever for the Facebook parent.
On the data front, investors are awaiting the U. S. Labor Department's nonfarm payroll count due Friday, which is seen as one of the major indicators of the how the U. S. economy is doing.
In commodities, front-month U. S. oil futures rose 2.3% to settle at $90.27 per barrel, the first time the benchmark had topped $90 since October 2014. Crude prices rose as demand for petroleum products surges while supply remains constrained.
In Europe, the Bank of England pressed ahead with raising borrowing costs Thursday, nudging up its policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%. The European Central Bank kept its key interest rates unchanged, but ECB President Christine Lagarde signaled concern about inflation and opened the door to a possible rate hike later this year.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU