Indian equity benchmarks witnessed selling pressure throughout the session and ended with losses of over a percent on Wednesday as market participants booked profit ahead of upcoming Union Budget 2023-24 to be announced on February 1, 2023. Local bourses made negative start and extended selloff as the day progressed. Sentiments were dampened as exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 760.51 crore. Some anxiety spread among the investors with private report stating that Venture capital (VC) investments in Indian startups plunged over 38 per cent in 2022 as economic uncertainty and market volatility affected fundraising and investment activities. Bourses continued to reel under pressure in late afternoon deals, due to heavy selling in Utilities, Power and Banking shares amid mixed global trends. Traders remained concerned as ICRA Ratings said after remaining stable for many weeks, the cost of borrowing for states inched up by 5 basis points to 7.64 per cent at Tuesday's auction when 15 of them raised Rs 25,700 crore from the market. Traders took note of a private report stating that the Centre is likely to cut its 2023-24 (FY24) fiscal deficit in the range of 5.8-5.9 per cent of the GDP from 6.4 per cent in FY23. However, the deficit is expected to remain much larger than the 4-4.5 per cent of the GDP that was usual for decades. Furthermore, a weak economic growth outlook that stoked recession fears pulled down global markets. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 773.69 points or 1.27% to 60,205.06 and the CNX Nifty was down by 226.35 points or 1.25% to 17,891.95.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic activity surged by more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2022. The report said real gross domestic product shot up by 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter after spiking by 3.2 percent in the third quarter. Street had expected GDP to jump by 2.6 percent. The stronger than expected GDP growth reflected increases in private inventory investment, consumer spending, government spending, and non-residential fixed investment. Meanwhile, the positive contributions were partly offset by decreases in residential fixed investment and exports. The Labor Department also released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly dipped to a nine-month low in the week ended January 21st. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 186,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 192,000. The dip surprised participants, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from the 190,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 181,000 in the week ended April 23, 2022. On the sectoral front, Steel stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 3.2 percent to its best closing level in over eleven years. Substantial strength was also visible among oil stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Oil Index. With the increase, the index reached a record closing high.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday on expectations that global demand will strengthen as top oil importer China reopens its economy and on positive U.S. economic data. The Commerce Department report showed stronger than expected U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. The report said real gross domestic product shot up by 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter after spiking by 3.2 percent in the third quarter. Street had expected GDP to jump by 2.6 percent. China has been easing stringent COVID-19 restrictions this month, with Beijing reopening borders for the first time in three years. Benchmark crude oil futures for March delivery rose $0.86 or 1.1 percent at $81.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery gained $1.35 or 1.6 percent at $87.47 (Provisional) a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee appreciated against dollar on Wednesday despite subdued domestic market sentiments. Investors awaited cues from the Union Budget due to be unveiled next week and some key economic data to be released in the coming days. Besides, investors were expecting a balanced Budget with a focus on job creation, increased spending on infrastructure, reigning in the deficit, and bringing the economy back on track. On the global front, dollar ticked up on Wednesday in subdued trading as investors looked towards the Federal Reserve's policy decision next week, while the euro slipped from near a nine-month high. Finally, the rupee ended at 81.61 (Provisional), stronger by 2 paise from its previous close of 81.63 on Tuesday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 6448.56 crore against gross selling of Rs 6562.84 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1094.33 crore against gross selling of Rs 0.14 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4.00 crore against gross selling of Rs 4.25 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as traders combed through the latest batch of corporate earnings and fourth-quarter gross domestic product that came in above expectations. Asian markets were trading higher on Friday as Wall Street's major indexes gained after the US economy grew more than expected. Domestic equity indices ended lower on Wednesday as traders were indulging in booking profits. Markets were closed on Thursday, January 26, for Republic Day. Today, markets are likely to make positive start on frim global cues. Traders may get support as Hamid Rashid. Head, Global Economic Monitoring at United Nations, has said India is a bright spot in the world economy currently and is on a strong footing, projected to grow at 6.7 per cent next year, a very high growth rate relative to other G20 member countries. This is a sustainable growth rate for India. India also has a significant number of people living in poverty. So this would be a great boost. If India can sustain this growth rate in the near term, that would be good for the Sustainable Development Goals, good for poverty reduction globally. Support may also come in as the President of India said most sectors of the economy have shaken off the pandemic effect and the nation has been among the fastest-growing major economies. Traders may take note of RBI Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudhary's statement that digital currency will further bolster the digital economy, make payment system more efficient, reduce cost involved in physical cash management and also contribute to further financial inclusion.  Adani Group's Rs 20,000-crore FPO will open for subscription today, and will run till January 31.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Titan Company has launched its latest smartwatch, Titan Talk S.
•  IOC has lined up investments of over Rs 2,200 crore in Tamil Nadu in the next two years towards taking up major grassroots and expansion projects in the state.
•  Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has launched SEZABY (phenobarbital sodium) in the U.S. for the treatment of neonatal seizures.
•  Cipla has reported rise of 6.73% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 807.83 crore for Q3FY23 as compared to Rs 756.88 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.