Asian share markets jumped today after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a disinflationary process was underway, boosting risk appetite and hopes that the US central bank will soon end its monetary tightening streak.

The Nikkei is up 0.1% while the Hang Seng is trading higher by 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.3%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed sharply higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease, in remarks he made following a quarter-point rate hike by the US central bank.

The Dow Jones ended flat while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended higher by 2%.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed yesterday:

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note.

Benchmark indices are volatile today, tracking Adani group stocks' selloff and post-Budget 2023 announcements.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 104 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 4 points.

ITC, IndusInd Bank, and UltraTech Cement are among the top gainers today.

Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, and HDFC are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading higher by 0.3%, while the BSE Small Cap index is up 1%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the IT sector, telecom sector, and FMCG sector witness buying.

Meanwhile stocks in the oil and gas sector, power sector, and energy sector witness selling.

Shares of Ratnamani Metals and Polycab India hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.77 against the US dollar.

In the commodity markets, gold prices trade higher by Rs 748 at Rs 58,700 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading higher by 2.25 Rs 71,360 per 1 kg.
 

Adani Enterprises FPO canceled

The board of Adani Enterprises scrapped its Rs 200 billion (bn) (about Rs 20,000 crore) follow-on public offering (FPO), citing investor protection concerns, as a massive selloff in Adani group stocks continued for a fifth day after a scathing report alleging accounting fraud and stock manipulation was released by a US short seller.

Billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship is now working on returning the funds raised from investors lying in an escrow account.

The company's withdrawal comes on a day the shares of Adani Enterprises plunged nearly 29%, dealing a massive blow to institutional investors and family offices that rescued the offer on the last day.

Top Adani group stocks are under pressure even today.
 

Titan Q3 results

One of the best Tata Group stocks will release its earnings today.

Backed by the healthy consumer demand during the festive season, the company saw a 12% on-year growth in combined sales in the standalone business during the December quarter, according to the provisional update it provided in January.

The positive consumer sentiment helped all categories clock healthy double-digit growth, despite a high base in the same period of last year.

Titan has been investors' favorite stock for a long time now.

So, every lakh turned into Rs 4.5 lakh.

Holding on to the stock to date would have fetched Rs 1.4 crores!

And there is more to it.

You did not even need a big sum to accumulate these crores. Even a tiny investment of Rs 1,000 per month in the stock of Titan, since 2002, would have led to mouth-watering results.

Take a look at how the power of compounding has gone wild here...

The key lesson here is that it's possible to accumulate a few crores by investing small amounts in good businesses. Especially when the business is in distress and comes with a margin of safety in valuations.
 

Raymond Q3 results

Raymond on Wednesday reported a decline of 4.4% in its December quarter net profit at Rs 966 m, mainly because of a one-time tax hit.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,010.7 m during the October-December period of the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from operations rose 17.6% to Rs 21.7 bn during the quarter under review, as against Rs 18.4 bn in the year-ago period.

According to Raymond, it has recorded the highest-ever revenues in a quarter.

Total expenses were at Rs 19.8 bn, up 17.3% from Rs 16.9 bn earlier.

Raymond has exercised the option of a lower corporate tax rate which has resulted in a one-time net impact of Rs 735 m in the profit and loss account.

Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were at Rs 3,510 m in the quarter under review.

This was the fifth straight quarter where Raymond registered strong performance and overall generated free cash flows to further deleverage the balance sheet to below Rs 10 bn of net debt levels.

Speaking of Raymond, did you know that it is one of the top stocks to watch this wedding season?
 

Rail Vikas Nigam bags new order

Rail Vikas Nigam has bagged orders worth Rs 418 m from Southern Railway to build railway infrastructure in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

The company was incorporated as a public sector undertaking for the mandate to: ?undertake and execute successfully the project development, financing, and implementation of projects related to rail infrastructure. Mobilize financial and human resources for project implementation.

Rail Vikas Nigam is one of the 5 penny stocks with a high dividend yield.

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