After opening the day flat, Indian share markets struggled for direction throughout the session, only to turn higher during the last hour of trade.

Benchmark indices closed in the green today led by positive sentiment in IT and finance stocks, while the Adani-Hindenburg saga came back to haunt the indices as most Adani group stocks fell.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 142 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 21 points (up 0.1%).

Bajaj Finserv, Hindalco, and HDFC Life Insurance were among the top gainers today.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Cipla on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,944, up by 54 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets settled on a negative note. The BSE Midcap ended flat while the BSE SmallCap index fell 0.2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the capital goods sector, IT sector, and finance sector witnessing buying.

While stocks in the power sector, realty sector, and telecom sector witnessed selling.

Shares of M&M Financial Services, Cummins India, and Supreme Industries hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian share markets ended the day on a mixed note. The Hang Seng rose 1.6%, while the Shanghai Composite index ended 1.2% higher. The Nikkei ended today with 0.1% lower.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note. Dow futures are trading up by 0.7% and Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 1.1%.

The rupee is trading at 82.53 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.1% at Rs 57,256 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 67,637 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, auto stocks are buzzing these days and one auto company, in particular, has been in focus for many reasons.

This auto stock, already up by 75% in the last year, has come out with a brand-new electric vehicle, which should give its prospects a boost.
 

Adani group stocks crack up to 15%

After showing some recovery in the last two trading sessions, Adani group stocks were again under selling pressure today after index provider MSCI said it will conduct a free-float review of the conglomerate's securities.

In Adani's 10-stock pack, flagship entity Adani Enterprises was the worst performer as it was locked in at a 15% lower circuit limit at Rs 1,834.9.

Four other stocks, Adani Transmission, Adani Power,  Adani Green, and Adani Total Gas, were trading 5% lower each.

While Adani Ports and SEZ, and Ambuja Cement fell 7% today.

On the other hand, Adani Wilmar was the only stock in the group to be trading on a positive note.

Today's selloff came after MSCI said the characteristics of some investors have sufficient uncertainty that they should no longer be designated as free float under their methodology.

The index provider defines the free float of security as the proportion of shares outstanding that are considered available for purchase in the public equity markets by international investors.

MSCI will implement the resultant free float changes and associated market capitalization determinations along with its index review tonight.
 

Why IRCTC share price is rising

Moving on to news from the travel support services sector, IRCTC was among the top stocks to watch out for today.

IRCTC shares gained on the back of robust Q3 results.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on 9 February 2023 reported a 70% YoY jump in revenue to Rs 9.18 billion (bn) from Rs 5.4 bn a year back.

Its net profit grew by 22.3% YoY to Rs 2.6 bn from Rs 2.1 bn a year back.

The company has also declared an interim dividend of Rs3.5 per share, which is 175% of the paid-up share capital amounting to Rs 1.6 bn.

The company has fixed Wednesday, 22 February 2023, as the record date for payment of the said dividend for the financial year 2022-23.

IRCTC is a mini ratna (category-I) central public sector enterprise under the ministry of railways, the government of India. It is a classic monopoly stock with a 100% market share in this space.

IRCTC's share price was falling in 2022. Even when railway stocks gained traction towards the latter half of 2022, IRCTC continued its downtrend.

Expensive valuations, poor quarterly results, stock being in a consolidation zone, and continuous stake sales by the government led to a sharp fall in IRCTC share price.

To know how IRCTC is stacked up for 2023, check out our editorial: How India's top monopoly stocks performed in 2022 offers clues for 2023.
 

Hindalco Q3 results

Moving on to news from the aluminum sector, shares of Hindalco rose 2.2% today.

Hindalco, on 9 February 2023, reported a 6% YoY rise in revenue to Rs 531.5 billion (bn) from Rs 502.7 bn logged in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The net profit came in at Rs 13.6 bn for the December 2022 quarter, down 63% YoY against Rs 36.7 bn registered in the same quarter last year.

Profit and revenue were hit due to a below-par performance by its subsidiary Novelis. However, higher volumes and steady operational performance across India operations helped overall performance.

The company's copper business and aluminum downstream reported 40% and 24% YoY growth in EBITDA, driven by better pricing and recovery in domestic demand.

It reported a total shipment of India's primary aluminum at 349 kilotonnes vs 345 kilotonnes, rising 1% YoY.

The company also recorded all-time high copper rod sales at 88 kilotonnes, up 24% YoY.

Its consolidated net debt to EBITDA stood at 1.60x as of December 2022 quarter against 1.62x as of December 2021 quarter.

Hindalco Industries is an Indian aluminum and copper manufacturing company. The company is a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group.

With a huge cash balance of Rs 116.3 bn, it is among the 5 Indian Companies with insane cash reserves to watch out for big dividends.

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