After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets pared gains as the session progressed and ended marginally lower.

Benchmark indices fell for the sixth straight session and posted their worst week in more than eight months on fears of aggressive interest rate hikes by global central banks and a fall in liquidity.

So far in 2023, FIIs have remained net sellers in Indian equities, offloading Rs 48.1 billion (bn) (US$ 580.6 million) in the first half of February and Rs 288.52 bn in January 2023.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 142 points (down 0.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 45 points (down 0.3%).

Divis Laboratories, Adani Ports, and Asian Paints were among the top gainers today.

Hindalco, Adani Enterprises, and Mahindra & Mahindra, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,542, down by 50 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Midcap and BSE SmallCap index ended 0.2% lower.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the energy sector, healthcare sector and consumer durables sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the metal sector, auto sector and power sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Finolex Cables, Mahindra CIE Automotive, and Jindal Saw hit their 52-week highs today.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Asian share markets ended in red led by the slide in Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng ended lower by 1.7% while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6%. The Nikkei ended 1.3% higher.

US stock futures are trading on a negative note. Dow futures are trading lower by 0.2% while Nasdaq futures are trading down by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 82.7against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.1% at Rs 56,655 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 64,114 per kg.

The price of precious metals has remained quite volatile lately. In these uncertain times what should one do? Trade in gold or silver?
 

SpiceJet Q3 result

In news from the airline sector, the airline operator SpiceJet on 24 February 2023, reported a 160% YoY jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1.1 billion (bn) for the December 2022 quarter.

Its net profit stood at Rs 420 m in the year-ago period.

The company's revenue from operations jumped 2.4% to Rs 23.2 bn against Rs 22.6 bn in the year-ago period.

Despite a big jump in passenger traffic, business continued to be impacted by high fuel prices and the depreciating rupee.

However, the company exceeded its operational targets, clocking the highest load factor for every single month in 2022.

On operational parameters, SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor amongst all airlines in the country.

The average domestic load factor was 91% for the quarter. The airline launched 15 new routes and operated 254 charter flights in the quarter.

SpiceJet is a low-cost carrier engaged in providing air transport services for the carriage of passengers and cargo.

Following the results announcement, SpiceJet's share price spiked by 10%.

However, the entire airline sector took a beating when the first covid wave hit in 2020.

But with the onset of 2022, the industry has picked up the pace and started to recover. 
 

Adani row: Supreme Court refuses to gag media

Moving on, the Supreme Court, on Friday, rejected a plea seeking to gag the media from reporting on the Adani-Hindenburg issue till the court pronounces its order.

The Supreme Court had reserved its order on 17 February 2023 on a batch of PILs on the recent Adani Group shares crash triggered by the Hindenburg Research's fraud allegations.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud declined the plea of advocate ML Sharma who mentioned the matter.

The Supreme Court had on 17 February 2023 refused to accept names of experts submitted to it by the Centre in a sealed cover for a panel to suggest remedial measures to safeguard investors' interests in the wake of the Hindenburg Research report that led to the crash of the Adani Group shares.
 

Why Zee Entertainment's share price is rising

Moving on to news from the media sector, Zee Entertainment's share price rose over 3% after the Indian tribunal on Friday put on hold insolvency proceedings against the company.

The bankruptcy proceedings were initiated after IndusInd Bank filed a petition against Zee Entertainment over a default of Rs 830.8 million (m) ($10.04 million).

The tribunal has put on hold the insolvency proceedings for the time being, saying the matter required detailed deliberations and will be next heard on 29 March 2023.

During the hearing, Zee counsel Mukul Rohatgi warned its merger with Sony will get stuck if the insolvency proceedings continue.

Further, Zee is in the advanced stages of merging with Sony in one of the biggest deals in the media and entertainment sector.

On Thursday, Zee Entertainment shares hit a lower circuit after being admitted to insolvency proceedings. To know what the technical charts say, check out why zee Entertainment shares are falling.

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