After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets gave up gains amid volatility in the afternoon session and ended lower.

Benchmark indices closed in the red as weak earnings from some companies played a spoilsport.

The key indices kept see-sawing with a small optimism among investors that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will pause rate hikes after Wednesday.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 221 points (down 0.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 43 points (down 0.2%).

Adani Enterprises, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Kotak Mahindra were among the top gainers today.

Tata Steel, ITC, and Hindalco on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,730, down by 31 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets settled on a mixed note. The BSE Midcap ended marginally higher while the BSE SmallCap index fell 0.2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the banking sector, finance sector, and realty sector witnessing buying.

While stocks in the telecom sector, FMCG sector, and metal sector witnessed selling.

Shares of Zydus Lifesciences hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian share markets ended the day on a mixed note. The Hang Seng rose 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite index ended 0.3% higher. The Nikkei ended the day marginally lower.

US stock futures are trading on a mixed note. Dow futures are trading down by 0.1% and Nasdaq futures are trading down by 0.3%.

The rupee is trading at 82.73 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.3% at Rs 57,120 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 67,599 per kg.
 

Adani Ports Q3 results

In news from the ports sector, shares of Adani Ports & SEZ climbed over 5% today before settling 1.7% higher.

Adani Ports & SEZ on 7 February 2023 reported a 17.5% YoY rise in revenue to Rs 47.8 billion (bn). This was on the back of a rise in cargo volumes.

Meanwhile, the Adani group company reported a 16% YoY fall in consolidated net profit for the December 2022 quarter at Rs 13.2 bn, against Rs 15.7 bn a year back.

The depreciation in the rupee dragged down the profit. The foreign exchange loss stood at Rs 3.2 bn compared with Rs 130 million (m) a year earlier.

Its cargo volume rose by about 1% to 75.4 million metric tonnes (MMT). Container volume rose 2%.

Easy cost volume and non-Mundra volume were up 7% each, while west coast volume fell 2% and Mundra volume fell 4%.

Note that billionaire Gautam Adani-headed Adani group has been in the focus ever since the short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged the firm.

In its report dated 24 January 2023, Hindenburg Research accused the group of 'stock price manipulation by using shares as collateral'. In a 413-page rebuttal, Adani group denied all the charges.

To know more, check out the technical analysis which Brijesh has shared in this note: Adani Group Stocks: Beginning of an End?

It remains to be seen how the Adani vs Hindenburg battle pans out.
 

Why Tata Steel's share price is falling

Moving on to news from the steel sector, shares of Tata Steel tanked 5.5% today.

Shares of Tata Steel were trading lower today after the metal firm reported a weak set of earnings for the December 2022 quarter.

It reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 22.2 bn in the December 2022 quarter on the back of a sharp drop in realizations in Europe coupled with a non-cash deferred tax expense on account of the British Steel Pension Scheme.

In the year-ago period, the firm had posted a net profit of Rs 95.7 bn.

Consolidated revenues from operations at Rs 567.6 bn were down 6.2% YoY from Rs 605.2 bn in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 41.5 bn, with an EBITDA margin of 7%.

India deliveries stood at 4.74 million tons and were up 7% YoY, primarily driven by 11% growth in domestic deliveries.

The company's deal with the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) as the sponsor has completed a substantial part of its de-risking journey with 60% of its liabilities insured.

Tata Steel is Asia's first integrated private steel company.

The company is primarily engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling finished steel goods. Tata Steel is also among the top undervalued stocks in India.

Balaji Amines Q3 results disappoint markets

Moving on to news from the chemical sector, shares of Balaji Amines plunged 5.4% today.

Shares of the company hit a 52-week low after the company reported a weak operational performance in the December 2022 quarter.

The company's EBITDA margin contracted to 22.1% in the December 2022 quarter, down from 27.9% a year ago. The fall in operating margin was primarily on account of degrowth in the pharma and active pharmaceutical ingredients sector.

The disappointing operational performance also dragged the specialty chemical manufacturer's bottom line down 17.5% on year to Rs 837.9 m.

The company's management, however, remains hopeful of delivering improved performances in the coming quarters.

The company also plans to spend Rs 400-500 crore in the next two-three years as part of its capacity expansion plans which may further aid its performance in the long term.

Balaji Amines is a leading manufacturer of aliphatic amines & specialty chemicals in India, specializing in the manufacturing of methyl amines, and ethyl amines.

A similar downward movement in the company's share price was seen last month. 

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