Indian equities have outperformed major global markets in the past decade and in last one year. Investec brokerage predicts a high probability of a 10% correction in 2024 due to overperformance of large-cap and mid-cap stocks. However, a major crash is unlikely as valuations are not excessive. The brokerage also sees an improving current account and a recovering private investment cycle in India.

Public sector banks continued to post a decent set of numbers in the December quarter on the back of higher interest income, lower credit costs, and improved asset quality. The combined profit of 12 Indian public sector banks (PSBs) in Q3 FY24 jumped 3.84% to ₹30,297 crore as compared to ₹29,175 crore recorded in the same period last year.For the first nine months of the current financial year.

Reviewing the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector's December quarter (Q3Y24) results so far, brokerage house Anand Rathi noted that the higher cost of fund (CoF) impact seen in banks has not yet hit NBFCs (non-banking financial companies). The incremental CoF, however, is likely higher due to risk weight tweaking by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it added.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 13 said it will conduct a two-day variable rate repo auction of Rs 25,000 crore on February 14. “On a review of current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided to conduct a Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction on February 14,” RBI said in a release. The auction will be held between 10:30 AM and 11:00 AM.

The markets have remained volatile in past few sessions. As on one hand the US federal Reserve has not given any indication of an early rate cut against market expectations of a rate cut by March, the various data points also have not been providing any clear road map for the rate cuts. The Sensex and the Nifty that closed with cuts of more than 0.7% on Monday, though rebounded on Tuesday.

Ashish Kacholia portfolio: Fineotex Chemical shares are one of the multibagger stocks that the Indian stock market has produced in the last few years. This Ashish Kacholia-backed chemical stock has risen from around ₹33.75 to ₹400 apiece level on the NSE, delivering over 1,000 percent return to its positional investors in this time.This Ashish Kacholia portfolio stock has been in a bull trend.

On the evening of 29 January, billionaire stock broker Motilal Oswal created a flutter when he declared on microblogging platform X that he would henceforth shun foreign goods in favour of locally produced ones, starting with the purchase of a new Tata Safari, a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Oswal used the hashtag #vocalforlocal, a catchphrase popularized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

SoftBank Group Corp.'s stock is surging thanks to the success of Arm Holdings Plc., a chip designer that has almost doubled in value due to its focus on artificial intelligence. SoftBank holds a 90% stake in Arm and their shares rose by 11% on Tuesday. Arm's stock jumped 29% on Monday and it is now valued at $153 billion, surpassing SoftBank's market value of $86 billion.

Jana Small Finance Bank IPO Listing: As the Jana Small Finance Bank IPO allotment is done, investors now focus on the share listing which will take place on February 14. The initial public offering (IPO) of Jana Small Finance Bank received strong response from investors across the board. The bidding for the Jana Small Finance Bank IPO commenced on February 7 and concluded on February 9.

BSE Smallcap index is down over 3% in February so far, while Sensex is down 0.3%. Some of the stocks, such as Ramky Infra, IFGL Refractories, WPIL, Dhunseri Ventures and PTC India Financial Services have fallen between 25-35% this month. Some 16 components of the BSE Smallcap index have fallen over 20% while as many as 195 components have declined over 10% in the smallcap index.

PSU stocks, which rallied significantly in recent times, are currently experiencing notable fluctuations as investors engaged in profit booking over the last few sessions, triggered by disappointing earnings announced by major companies so far. Overall, 25 stocks from the S&P BSE PSU index are trading between 10% and 37% lower from their 52-week highs.

US stock futures fell as investors awaited the release of the Consumer Price Index, a key data input for the Federal Reserve's policy making. A lower-than-expected inflation rate could potentially lead to an early interest-rate cut this year. The market also has its eye on upcoming corporate earnings, hoping for signs of a broadening beyond top-performing companies.

Fintech solutions provider Trust Fintech Limited said on Monday that it has filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with NSE Emerge. The company’s initial public offering comprises a fresh issuance of 62,82,000 equity shares, each with a face value of ₹10.According to the DRHP, the company intends to utilise net proceeds from the IPO to establish a new development facility at Mihan SEZ.

The combined revenue of the companies that have declared their December-quarter financial results so far has risen 10.95% year-on-year, while net profits have risen 25.08%, a Mint analysis showed. Excluding the companies in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sectors, the topline grew 5.29%, while profits were up 38.59%.

Premji Invest backed Gold Plus Glass Industry, on Monday, submitted draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise funds through initial public offering (IPO). The initial public offering (IPO) includes a primary issuance of shares valued at ₹500 crore, alongside a secondary offering of 1.57 crore shares by two promoters.