Infosys announced that it will expand its collaboration with Microsoft

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is up by 52.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asian equities edged up Friday after US stocks closed higher in a volatile session as investors await inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike campaign. The Japanese Nikkei is up by 1.14 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down by 1.31 percent and South Korea’s Kospi is up by 0.12 percent in early morning deals.

Wall Street ended a volatile Thursday in positive territory, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-session losing streak, as investors grappled with how interest rate policy might affect the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 gained 0.53 percent and Nasdaq Composite added by 0.72 percent respectively

Stocks News:

?Fitch Ratings has affirmed “BBB-” rating on the $400 million for Adani Transmission senior secured notes issued by the restricted group of Adani Transmission Limited (ATL RG1), with a stable outlook.

?The NSE has excluded Zee Entertainment Enterprises from the futures and options segment following the bankruptcy board’s move to admit the media company for insolvency proceedings.

?USFDA has closed the inspection at Alkem Laboratories manufacturing facility at Indore. In response to Form 483 issued by the FDA containing one observation, the company had submitted a detailed corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plan to the regulator.

?India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC will invest over $2 billion in drilling a record 103 wells on its main gas-bearing asset in the Arabia Sea as it pivots a turnaround plan that will add 100 million tonnes to production, PTI reported.

?Infosys announced that it will expand its collaboration with Microsoft to help accelerate enterprise cloud transformation journeys worldwide.

?Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 1,417 crore on Thursday. DIIs, on the other hand, bought shares worth Rs 1,586 crore.

Domestic and International Events

• The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting show that the US central bank is far from convinced about cooling inflation. In short, rate hikes may be smaller, but they won’t stop.
• US economic growth in the fourth quarter was weaker than previously estimated, reflecting a downward revision to consumer spending.
• After plunging for six straight sessions on economic growth concerns, oil prices have now gained over 2% on the back of indications that gasoline demand is starting to improve alongside a weekly decline in U.S. gasoline inventories.
• Japan’s core consumer inflation hit a fresh 41-year high in January as companies passed on higher costs to households, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to phase out its massive stimulus programme.

Key Equity Indices